Neutral Is Cool If You're Switzerland, Not So Much On A Motorcycle

Ah gentle readers, I have to start with a bit of a confession. And as with most confessions, I'm nagged by a faint sense of shame, of that little smug voice in my cranium; ".....told you so, you shouldn't have looked!"

But I did look, and look again.......at the traffic counter for this very blog. Hmmmm. It would appear that I should change the name of this blog to "Table for One"! Hey, Snookie's career wasn't built in a day, nor most likely was her chest either........so I'll soldier on, if only for that one reader.........mom, mom are you there??? Dammit.......

On task now. I've been riding motorcycles for over 32 years, all kinds of bikes; sportbikes, enduro and motocross machines, even those lead sleds from Milwaukee. Spoiler alert, I'm a relatively late convert to the cult of Harley Davidson, but I do like the machines, own two, and am pretty fond of riding the piles. Say what you will, but nothing in the motorcycling world is as good at being a Harley as a Harley. I've never raced (unless you consider an enduro a race, which no self-respecting racer would), but I've run professional AMA road race teams; I'm not a designer, but I've helped design and market all manner of parts, accessories and clothing for my fellow motorcyclists; I'm not an "Iron Butt" guy, but I've got more miles on two wheels than I can count; I'm not a writer, but..........well, you get the idea. And my point would be?

Sound question, you're paying attention, good. The aforementioned shameless promotion of my motorcycling bona fidis, was merely my way of illustrating that while I may be an old windsack, I'm a windsack with a lot of seat time........

Which brings me conveniently to the thrust of this already too lengthy missive; taking a neutral stance while loitering about an intersection.........or more accurately, slipping the bike into neutral while waiting for the signal to change. Just the other day while terrorizing, as only a middle aged guy can, the back roads of east Contra Costa county on "Paint Shaker", the mighty '06 FLHRCI (for those that don't speak Harley, translation; 2006 Road King Classic) I came to a light as I entered town, pulling up behind a fellow on a late model BMW GS.....you know, an adventure bike. We waited.

As the light switched to green, I spied my fellow riders left foot retract gracefully up from the ground, and with a gentle downward "snick", he clicked into first gear and accelerated off into the distance. Which I have to confess is a pretty common occurrence when you ride a Harley, most everything accelerates off into the distance.......personally I draw the line at Kia's. The point being, the entire period of time my new found friend was sitting at the light, he was in neutral, and just one social networking, type A, soccer mom away from being a decidedly reluctant recipient of an SUV enema.

Here's the deal kids.........NEVER, and I mean NEVER sit at a light, stop sign, or lemonade stand with your motorcycle in neutral.........ever!! Should bad things happen, the extra time it takes for you to recognize the threat, click it into gear, and begin to accelerate out of Dangerville, means you're likely to get an up close and personal glimpse of Obama-care in action. Not good.

It's all about reaction time, being in gear at a stop means you'll be able to scoot should the situation call for it just that much quicker. And that fraction is likely to be the difference. It has been for me, on more than one occasion. And while we're at it, give your passenger a heads up that when you're at a light, stay frosty, and be ready for a quick acceleration even if the light is still red......remember, leave no one behind!

And so endith the lesson..........mom, your thoughts??? If anyone else happened to stumble upon this blurb and managed to struggle to the end.......am I whack? Got another angle, topic, or whatever......let me know........