Indian Motorcycle Scout 2015, Rider'S Manual

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7
Safe ty
Safe Riding Prac tic e s
Follow the s e g e ne ral s afe riding prac tic e s :
• Be fore e ach r id e , p e rform the p re -r id e insp e ctions as
outline d b e g inning on p ag e 34. Failure to d o so may re sult
in d amag e to the motorcycle or an accid e nt.
• Until you're thoroug hly familiar with the motorcycle and
all of its controls, p ractice r id ing whe re the re is little or no
traffic. Practice r id ing at a mod e rate sp e e d on var ious
road surface s and in d iffe re nt we athe r cond itions.
• Know your skills and limits, and r id e within the m.
• Allow only lice nse d , e xp e r ie nce d op e rators to r id e your
motorcycle , and the n only afte r they have b e come
familiar with its controls and op e ration. Make sure all
r id e rs re ad and und e rstand this r id e r’s manual b e fore
r id ing.
• Do not r id e whe n you're fatig ue d , ill or und e r the
influe nce of alcohol, p re scr ip tion d r ug s, ove r-the -counte r
d r ug s or any othe r d r ug s. Fatig ue , illne ss, alcohol and
d r ug s can cause d rowsine ss, loss of coord ination and loss
of b alance . They can also affe ct your aware ne ss and
jud g me nt.
• If your motorcycle op e rate s ab normally, cor re ct the
p rob le m imme d iate ly. Se e the INDIAN MOTORCYCLE
Se rvice Manual or an author ize d INDIAN MOTORCYCLE
d e ale r.
• Rid e d e fe nsive ly, as if you are invisib le to othe r motor ists,
eve n in b road d aylig ht. A m otorist's failure to se e or
re cog nize a m otorcycle is the le ad ing cause of autom ob ile /
m otorcycle accid e nts
. Rid e whe re you're cle arly visib le to
othe r motor ists, and ob se r ve the ir b e havior care fully.
• Be e sp e cially cautious at inte rse ctions, as the se are the
most like ly p lace s for an accid e nt.
• To p reve nt loss of control, ke e p your hand s on the
hand le b ars and your fe e t on the footre sts.
• Be aware that a hig hway b ar is not d e sig ne d to p rote ct the
r id e r from injur y in a collision.
• Ob ey the sp e e d limit and ad just your sp e e d and r id ing
te chniq ue b ase d on road , we athe r and traffic cond itions.
As you trave l faste r, the influe nce of all othe r cond itions
incre ase s, which can affe ct the motorcycle 's stab ility and
incre ase the p ossib ility of losing control.
• Do not move or op e rate the motorcycle with the ste e r ing
locke d (if e q uip p e d ), as the seve re ly re str icte d ste e r ing
could re sult in loss of control.