Related Manuals for MSF Sixteenth Edition
Summary of Contents for MSF Sixteenth Edition
- Page 1 EDITION A N M S F M A N U A L A N M S F M A N U A L OTORCYCLE OTORCYCLE PERATOR PERATOR ANUAL ANUAL...
- Page 2 Organ Donation. Giving life a second chance. hen you obtain your driving license, you will be asked, “Do you wish to be an organ donor?” If you say “yes”, what does that mean? • “Yes” means that you want to give someone a very special gift…a second chance at life.
- Page 3 PREFACE Welcome to the Sixteenth Edition of This latest edition has undergone the MSF Motorcycle Operator Manual significant improvements, and contains (MOM). Operating a motorcycle safely new, more in-depth information, in traffic requires special skills and designed to: knowledge. The Motorcycle Safety...
- Page 4 Alabama Department of REPLY MAY BE MADE TO A Message to Alabama’s Motorcyclists: Thousands of Alabama motorists choose each day to travel by motorcycle, sharing roadways with a variety of other vehicles. To ensure everyone’s safety, the Department of Public Safety encourages motorcyclists to study and understand the material found in this manual.
- Page 5 M OTORCYCL E OPERATOR L I CENSE REQUI REM ENTS LICENSE REQUIRED TO DRIVE Every person who operates a motor vehicle on the highways of the State of Alabama must first secure a driver license. Alabama law recognizes two classes of engine-equipped cycles: 1.
- Page 6 License inquiries should be directed to your local driver license examining office or to the Driver License Division, Department of Public Safety, P .O. Box 1471, Montgomery, Alabama 36102. Informa- tion regarding the local examining schedule and location for testing is available from the office of your local probate judge, license commis- sioner, or trooper office, or online at www.dps.alabama.gov.
- Page 7 MOTORCYCLE OPERATION IN ALABAMA...
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Page 8: Table Of Contents
CONTENTS CONTENTS THE RIDER AND BEING IN SHAPE TO RIDE THE MOTORCYCLE ......4 Why This Information Is Important ........42 PREPARING TO RIDE Alcohol and Other Drugs in Wear the Right Gear ......5 Motorcycle Operation ....42 Know Your Motorcycle ......7 Alcohol in the Body ......42 Know Your Responsibilities ....10 Alcohol and the Law ......44 Minimize the Risks ......44... -
Page 9: The Rider And The Motorcycle
THE RIDER AND THE MOTORCYCLE Motorcycling is a RIDING ENVIRONMENT unique experience. Compared to a car, you don’t sit in a motorcycle, you become part of it. Not as a passive driver, but as an active rider arcing into a string of smooth corners, playing along with the rhythm of the... -
Page 10: Preparing To Ride
PREPARING TO RIDE What you do before you start a trip goes a long way toward determining whether or not you’ll get where you want to go safely. Before taking off on any trip, a safe rider makes a point to: Wear the right gear. - Page 11 PREPARING TO RIDE Whatever helmet you HELMETS decide on, keep it securely fastened on your head when you ride. Otherwise, if you are involved in a crash, it’s likely to fly off your head before it gets a chance to protect you. Eye and Face Protection A plastic shatter-resistant...
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Page 12: Know Your Motorcycle
KNOW YOUR Gloves allow a better grip and help protect your hands in a crash. Your MOTORCYCLE gloves should be made of leather or There are plenty of things on the similar durable material. highway that can cause you trouble. Hearing protection reduces Your motorcycle should not be one noise while allowing you to hear... -
Page 13: Motorcycle Controls
PREPARING TO RIDE Front and rear brakes. involve riders with less than five months of experience on their motorcycle. Turn signals. Get Familiar with the Horn. Motorcycle Controls Two mirrors. Make sure you are completely familiar Borrowing and Lending with the motorcycle before you take it out on the street. -
Page 14: Check Your Motorcycle
O — Oil and Other Fluids A convenient reminder developed by MSF is T-CLOCS . There is a T-CLOCS Check engine oil and transmission “tear-out” sheet at the back of this fluid levels. -
Page 15: Know Your Responsibilities
PREPARING TO RIDE C — Chassis Be visible S — Stands Communicate your intentions Maintain an adequate space cushion Search your path Identify and separate Be prepared to act KNOW YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES TEST YOURSELF More than half of all crashes: Answer - page 47... -
Page 16: Ride Within Your Abilities
This manual cannot teach you how to control direction, speed or balance. That’s something you can learn only through practice, preferably in a formal course of instruction like an MSF RiderCourse. But control begins with knowing your abilities and riding within them, along with knowing and obeying the rules of the road. -
Page 17: Shifting Gears
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES for neutral, which is selected by either enough before downshifting safely. a “half lift” from 1st gear or a “half When downshifting, use a 3-step press” from 2nd gear. Most motorcycles process: 1) Roll off the throttle as you have five gears, but some have four or squeeze the clutch lever, 2) press the six gears. -
Page 18: Braking Systems
slow or stop. The front brake is more To stop as quickly and as safely as powerful and can provide at least 70% possible in a curve, and depending on of your total stopping power. The front road and traffic conditions, try to get the brake is safe to use if you use it properly. - Page 19 RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES Turning In normal turns, the rider and the motorcycle should lean together at the Approach turns and curves with same angle. caution. Riders often try to take curves or turns too fast. When they can’t hold NORMAL TURNS the turn, they end up crossing into another lane of traffic or going off the...
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Page 20: Keeping Your Distance
KEEPING YOUR DISTANCE Avoid windblast from other vehicles. The best protection you can have is Provide an escape route. distance — a “cushion of space” — separating yourself from other vehicles Set up for turns. on the roadway. This will provide you with a clear view of emerging traffic third of the lane –... -
Page 21: Following Another Vehicle
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES FOLLOWING average center strip permits adequate count off the seconds: “one- thousand-one, one-thousand-two.” traction to ride on safely. You can operate to the left or right of the grease If you reach the marker before strip and still be within the center third you reach “two,”... -
Page 22: Being Followed
When behind a car, ride where the Passing driver can see you in the rearview mirror. 1. Ride in the left portion of the Riding in the center portion of the lane lane at a safe following distance should put your image in the middle of to increase your line of sight and the rearview mirror —... -
Page 23: Lane Sharing
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES Being Passed Do not move into the portion of the lane farthest from the passing vehicle. It When you are being passed from might invite the other driver to cut back behind, stay in the center portion of into your lane too early. -
Page 24: Merging Cars
Merging Cars Cars Alongside Drivers on an entrance ramp may Do not ride next to cars or trucks in not see you on the highway. Give them other lanes if you do not have to. You plenty of room. Change to another lane might be in the blind spot of a car in the if one is open. -
Page 25: See
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES RIDER RADAR Good, experienced riders are always aware of what is going on around them. They reduce their risk by using MSF’s three- step SEE strategy: Search Evaluate Execute SEE will help you assess what is going on in traffic so you can plan... -
Page 26: Intersections
Hazardous road conditions that Apply the old adage “one step at a require you to be alert, especially in time” to handle two or more hazards. areas with limited visibility. Visually Adjust speed to permit two hazards “busy” surroundings could hide you to separate. - Page 27 RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES LARGE INTERSECTIONS There are no guarantees that Increase your chances of being others see you. Never count on “eye seen at intersections. Ride with your contact” as a sign that a driver will headlight on and in a lane position that yield.
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Page 28: Blind Intersections
the intersection, move away from the BLIND INTERSECTIONS vehicle. Do not change speed or position radically, as drivers might think you are preparing to turn. Be prepared to brake hard and hold your position if an oncoming vehicle turns in front of you, especially if there is other traffic around you. -
Page 29: Increasing Conspicuity
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES A bigger problem can occur if the PARKING AT CURBS driver pulls away from the curb without checking for traffic behind. Even if he does look, he may fail to see you. In either event, the driver might cut into your path. -
Page 30: Brake Light
Once you turn, make sure your signal is SIGNALING off or a driver may pull directly into your path, thinking you plan to turn again. Use your signals at every turn so drivers can react accordingly. Don’t make them guess what you intend to do. Brake Light Your motorcycle’s brake light is usually not as noticeable as the brake lights on... -
Page 31: Using Mirrors
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES from behind. If the drivers aren’t USING MIRRORS paying attention, they could be on top of you before they see you. Before you change lanes. Make sure no one is about to pass you. Before you slow down. The driver behind may not expect you to slow, or may be unsure about where you will slow. -
Page 32: Crash Avoidance
CRASH AVOIDANCE Keep in mind that a motorcycle’s horn isn’t as loud as a car’s — therefore, use it, No matter how careful you are, there but don’t rely on it. Other strategies, like will be times when you find yourself in a having time and space to maneuver, may tight spot. - Page 33 RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES Stopping Quickly STOPPING DISTANCE in a Curve If you know the technique, using both brakes in a turn is possible, although it should be done very carefully. When leaning the motorcycle some of the traction is used for cornering.
- Page 34 Front-Wheel Skids locks, your ability to change direction is lost. To regain control the brake must If the front wheel locks, release the be released. However, if the rear wheel front brake immediately and completely. is out of alignment with the front, there Reapply the brake smoothly.
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Page 35: Handling Dangerous Surfaces
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES a curve or turn and colliding with the possible. Approach it at as close to a 90˚ roadway or a fixed object. angle as possible. Look where you want to go to control your path of travel. If you Every curve is different. - Page 36 OBSTACLES can cause a skid. Be as smooth as and overpasses. Wet surfaces or wet possible when you speed up, shift leaves are just as slippery. Ride on the gears, turn or brake. least slippery portion of the lane and reduce speed.
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Page 37: Grooves And Gratings
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES Railroad Tracks, Trolley Tracks For track and road seams that run parallel to your course, move far enough and Pavement Seams away from tracks, ruts, or pavement Usually it is safer to ride straight within seams to cross at an angle of at least 45˚. -
Page 38: Mechanical Problems
MECHANICAL PROBLEMS power from the rear wheel, though engine sound may not immediately You can find yourself in an emergency decline. Once the motorcycle is “under the moment something goes wrong control,” pull off and stop. with your motorcycle. In dealing with After you have stopped, check the any mechanical problem, take into throttle cable carefully to find the source... -
Page 39: Animals
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES Drive Train Problems approach it, accelerate and leave the animal behind. Don’t kick at the animal. The drive train for a motorcycle uses Keep control of your motorcycle and either a chain, belt, or drive shaft to look to where you want to go. -
Page 40: Getting Off The Road
Pull off the road — Get as far off the motorcycle about 10 feet from a the road as you can. It can be very wall in an unlighted garage and mark hard to spot a motorcycle by the the headlight beam location on the side of the road. -
Page 41: Riding With Passengers
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES As you prepare for your ride, tell your Approach surface hazards such as passenger to: bumps or uneven road surfaces. Get on the motorcycle only after Are about to start from a stop or begin moving into traffic. you have started the engine and have the transmission in neutral. - Page 42 it does not catch any of the brake Tips for Traveling with lines or cables in the area of the Passengers and Cargo steering head. Keep the load forward. Pack heavier Secure loads low, or put them in items in the front of the tank bag. saddlebags.
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Page 43: Group Riding
RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES Pre-Ride Test Plan Before starting out, hold a rider’s Prior to starting out, take a test meeting to discuss the route, length of ride with your fully loaded motorcycle riding segments, rest stops and locations through some familiar neighborhood for fuel, meals and lodging. -
Page 44: Keep Your Distance
Keep Your Distance Interstate Highways and Freeways Maintain close ranks, but at the same time, maintain an adequate space A staggered formation is essential cushion to allow each rider in the group when riding on freeways and interstates. time and distance to react to hazards. However, enter in single file and form up A close group takes up less space on only after all riders have safely merged... - Page 45 RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES Passing in Formation GROUP PASSING (STAGE 1) When the group wants to pass slow traffic on a freeway or interstate, the group may pass as a unit. On a two-lane highway, riders in a staggered formation should pass one at a time.
- Page 46 Ten Rules of Group Riding Do not pass in the group, except in the case of emergency. Base the length of the route and Place inexperienced riders just segments on ability of the least behind the leader so they can keep experienced rider.
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Page 47: Being In Shape To Ride
BEING IN SHAPE TO RIDE BEING IN SHAPE TO RIDE Riding a motorcycle is a demanding and complex task. Skilled riders pay attention to the riding environment and to operating the motorcycle, identifying potential hazards, making good judgments and executing decisions quickly and skillfully. - Page 48 Blood Alcohol Concentration A 12-ounce can of beer, a mixed drink with one shot (1.5 ounces) of liquor, Blood Alcohol Concentration or BAC and a 5-ounce glass of wine all contain is the amount of alcohol in relation to the same amount of alcohol. blood in the body.
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Page 49: Alcohol And The Law
BEING IN SHAPE TO RIDE – Four drinks over the span of two If you are convicted of riding under hours, you would have at least two the influence of alcohol or drugs, (4 – 2 = 2) drinks remaining in your you may receive any of the following system at the end of the two hours. -
Page 50: Step In To Protect Friends
Or Don’t Ride — If you haven’t It helps to enlist support from others controlled your drinking, you must when you decide to step in. The more control your riding. people on your side, the easier it is to be firm and the harder it is for the rider to Leave the motorcycle —... -
Page 51: Earning Your License
EARNING YOUR LICENSE Safe riding requires knowledge and skill. Licensing tests are the best measurement of the skills necessary to operate safely in traffic. Assessing your own skills is not enough. People often overestimate their own abilities. It’s even harder for friends and relatives to be totally honest about your skills. Licensing exams are designed to be scored more objectively. - Page 52 On-Motorcycle Skill Test Stop, turn and swerve quickly. Make critical decisions and carry Basic vehicle control and crash- them out. avoidance skills are included in on- motorcycle tests to determine your Examiners may score on factors ability to handle normal and hazardous related to safety such as: traffic situations.
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Page 53: Hand Signals
HAND SIGNALS Single File – Double File – arm and index arm with index finger extended and middle finger straight up. extended straight up. Speed Up – Stop – arm extended arm extended straight out, straight down, palm facing up, palm facing swing upward. - Page 54 HAND SIGNALS Hazard in Roadway – on the left, point with left hand; on the right, point with right foot. Highbeam – Fuel – tap on top of arm out to side helmet with open pointing to tank with palm down. finger extended.
- Page 59 Consult your local regulatory agencies for informa tion concerning the operation of motor- cycles in your area. Although the MSF will continue to research, field test and publish responsible viewpoints on the subject, it disclaims any liability for the views expressed herein.
- Page 60 Highways Dieways? ALABAMA Driver License Offices Telephone Numbers Birmingham......(205) 252-7445 Decatur ......(256) 351-4667 Dothan ......(334) 983-5616 Evergreen ......(251) 578-5726 Huntsville ......(256) 539-0681 Jacksonville .....(256) 435-7006 Mobile .......(251) 660-2330 Montgomery.....(334) 272-8868 Opelika......(334) 742-9986 Quad Cities.......(256) 383-2923 Selma ........(334) 875-1341 Tuscaloosa .......(205) 553-0729 Consult your local telephone directory for the Driver License office in your area.
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