Changing Lanes Without Turning Your Head?

[NathanF]

Hello all,
Newbie here, a few weeks in. Took the course, practicing often, but I'm having trouble with turning my head for lane changes.

A lot of it is a simple inability to turn my neck effectively. My neck is fairly stiff, which makes it difficult for me to do wide sweeping turns. Another big problem is that my helmet (RF-1100) catches on the shoulder armor in my jacket. I tried three separate jackets, and while in riding position, they all catch. Raising my handlebars up a bit fixed it slightly, but I definitely have to consciously lower my shoulder a bit to turn without catching. That means a quick, panic turn can result in a catch.

It also just feels wrong to take my eyes off my path of travel, especially with the "go where you look" phenomenon.

Any thoughts on this?

Would it be totally insane to just rely on the mirrors assuming I have them properly adjusted and use the lean forward method to check the blindspots? (And this is assuming I replace the stock mirrors with proper, further out mirrors that don't just show my shoulders, as well as spend some time learning exactly where the boundary lines of coverage are?)

I already added stick on blind spot mirrors, though I've found they come with their own serious problem - the illusion of distance. Those things make cars look a good 50 feet away when they are really 10-20.

I am intrigued by the rear view camera kit that is sold for the Ninja, so that is an option as well.

Thanks for your input - just trying to be as safe as possible.

[kawboyCAFE]

never had a problem with turning my head. maybe you need a different helmet if it keeps catching.

[bob706]

Practice, practice, practice. Don't rely soley on your mirrors.

[Bols]

You have to check that big blindspot by turning your head before changing lanes. I would never rely on just the small mirrors that are on our bikes.

[jstrain]

I've always tried to remember the saying "Your mirrors can only tell you no, they can never tell you yes".

Always a smart idea to do an actual head check. As mentioned, maybe a different helmet would help? Maybe even getting in the habit of trying to turn your head and stretch your neck a bit each day while you're watching tv or something?

[reaubideux]

I'm still a new rider myself and had (still have, kinda) the same problem as you where I couldn't turn just my head w/o my helmet kinda catching on my shoulders. I think, in my case, it has more to do with being a bit broad shouldered so I can't just drop my shoulder. I had the same fear of turning my head too much and having a problem with the whole go-where-you-look thing but I managed to train myself to slightly twist my body a bit while also snapping my neck around as far as I can instead of just my head and concentrating on not moving my hands. I've only got about 700 miles under my belt and I've already got it down like 2nd-nature when I change lanes. It feels very natural for me, I just had to concentrate on it and force myself to do it - practicing on lower speed roads first, of course, before doing it on the highway. The whole "snapping around" part may not work well for you if you have problems with a stiff neck though, but it's just a suggestion.

If this is a wrong technique I hope a veteran can comment as I don't want to be handing out bad advice but it's just my suggestion to maybe try and twist your upper body a bit and I guess practice making quicker glances so you're not taking your eyes off the road in front of you too long. You're not having to pick up enough detail to give a description to a police sketch artist, just enough to see if there's something there, or something coming up fast enough to prohibit you from changing to that lane.

[Yasko]

Originally Posted by bob706

Practice, practice, practice. Don't rely soley on your mirrors.

+1 you are developing your habits now as a new rider... Turning your head can save your life...

[yeabuddy]

Get off the seat and turn your butt if you have to

[KJohnson21]

Nathan - Try lifting your chin a little before turning your head. Sort of like picking up your chin, moving it "over" your shoulder, and then putting it back down to look behind you. Practice that a few times and see if it seems like it might help. If it seems promising, try it a couple of times on a test ride.

Jason - As long as that works for you and you're maintaining control, I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

[Liquidtoon]

I had this problem I think it is more body position, try getting a more aggressive body position. your chin naturally comes up a little thus making the head turn a bit easier.

[NathanF]

Thanks everyone for the tips, and nice to hear I'm not the only one with this problem, Jason. I myself only have 150 miles so far, so I'm even more new than you.

I'll work on just forcing myself to do it. Tipping my chin up and twisting a bit are good advice, and they seem to help from what I just tried sitting in my garage. I was worried about panic situations where I don't have time to think about that, but it will probably become muscle memory if I just do it enough.

Might see about doing some neck stretches as well. Had incidents of bad neck pulls in my past, so it's not something I'm really fond of doing, since I always worry I'll pull something. Stretching will probably make that less likely, I suppose.

As for switching helmets, I'd do it if I really had to, but I spent big bucks on it ($396) and really don't want to take the hit by selling it. Plus, it fits like an absolute glove and I really like the build quality.

Thanks everyone.

[nealt]

I also have the same issue with my helmet catching on my shoulder armour. What I do is dip my head down so that my chin tucks in just in front of my shoulder when I turn my head. I just look back from there and I get a good view up to several car lengths behind. Of course this all depends on how mobile your neck is.
I found that raising my head to clear my shoulder and armour would cause lift and buffeting at speed plus it felt very unnatural to me...you may have a different experience....do what makes you comfortable but like everyone says do not dispense with doing head checks they are very important for your safety especially in our case as our bikes do not have great mirrors to begin with.

[adouglas]

As was mentioned, you don't need to look directly AT the blind spot. Use your peripheral vision... all you need to do is verify that you've got enough room, not make eye contact.

The head check is also important for other drivers... it's another signal to them that you're about to move into their lane. I've had people back off and give me room when they see me turn my head.

One thing that has not been mentioned is the importance of maintaining situational awareness. You should always be checking your mirrors and thinking about what's around you. This practice is very useful on the highway... the head check basically confirms what you already know about what's in the next lane. When I do a head check and see something that I didn't expect, it gives me a start. I don't like that.

[TXJ]

When I first started riding this was a issue as well. I practiced in a parking lot by driving a lane distance away from a lamp post, and following it with my head as I passed to have a more "natural" head turn, then progressed to passing it at different speeds and doing a quick head turn to see it in my peripheral vision. It helped me learn where the best spot to look for a quick head turn is. After a day it became almost natural because it was burned into my memory how to turn my head quickly to check the blind spot. This also helped to learn the limitations and what distance you can see with your mirror, and how to overcome gear getting in the way.

I don't advise doing this with a lamp post though... Maybe get a couple cheap cones or something. lol.

[rockNroll]

use the Force









or your peripheral vision, like Andrew said

[Cali619]

try leaning forward a bit then looking more in a downward/backward view. You wont have to turn your head as much and can see your blind spots with less neck turn since its stiff.

[phr3ek]

i dont turn my head all the way around
i just put it over my collar bone and look the rest with my eyes
anything further than that would be seen by your mirrors

i dont even do head checks all the time
if i just passed a car
i know i can "safely" go in front of said car

i only do head checks if cars have been passing me
or to check for other motorcyclists b4 passing in the carpool lane

[RedCromwell]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Use your peripheral vision... all you need to do is verify that you've got enough room, not make eye contact.

This is one reason I don't like to use my glasses when I ride. I always make it a point to wear my contacts.

One night I decided to go for a spur of the moment jaunt and had my glasses on. Trying to use peripheral vision by looking out the corner of your eyes when you wear glasses doesn't work. Especially, at night... with glasses, all I saw out of the corner of my eyes where blurry star bursts of headlights coming at me. I couldn't tell what lanes they were in unless I fully turned my head and looked.

When I'm stopped at a light I always make it a point to look all around me. If I've got the bike in neutral I'll turn my torso around to get a good look behind me. How many cars are around? What type of cars? Any other bikes?

I'll sometimes catch admirers checking out Simone.

[ally99]

Can you turn at the waist? I do that when I'm checking to see if a cop is behind me. Obviously if you're in a lot of traffic and needing to do a very quick lane change, that's a different story, but if you have a second or two and you're not boxed in, it's fine.

[Enfemus]

You could be like this dude, he doesn't need any mirrors. LINK

[RedCromwell]

Originally Posted by Enfemus

You could be like this dude, he doesn't need any mirrors. LINK

Ack! OK, now that video has me really freaked out. My neck hurts just watching it.

[Francis]

I used to have trouble turning as well. Now I can turn a lot without putting too much effort. But, I usually let go of the handlebar so I can turn not just by head, but part of my body so I can see more.

I just make sure there's a lot of room between me and the car in front of me before doing it. I check the mirror before I let go of the handlebar. I actually shoulder check a couple of times lol

[seldom]

Mate you're on an extinction list if you don't check blind spot by turning your head. If you head is stiff do some simple exercises to relief stiffness. Don't rely soly on your mirrors.

[kaiserz]

I even turn my head now when I'm riding my cage...

[Luxodave]

Maybe if you try to relax your shoulders a bit it will help.

[Moldbuster]

Originally Posted by Luxodave

Maybe if you try to relax your shoulders a bit it will help.

Ditto. Make sure your arms aren't stiff. They should be loose along with your shoulders and hands. If you are tense on the bike it will make it harder to turn your head. Also, make sure you aren't sitting up on the tank...that forces you to stiff arm. You should be slightly back with your legs gripping the tank and your torso holding you up. This also allows you to rotate your trunk easier and to move side to side easier on the bike in the corners.