Wear a Helmet
No matter how careful you are, things beyond your control can conspire to pitch you down the road. When that happens, the only thing that will make a major difference in your future is whether you chose to wear a good helmet. The choice between no helmet (or a novelty beanie helmet, which is almost the same thing) and a basic DOT helmet can be the difference between "living" as a vegetable or having a normal life. A full-face helmet can further improve your odds, and if you spend time shopping, you can find one that is actually more comfortable than riding bareheaded. Although a jacket, boots, gloves, etc. can reduce your injuries, those are not likely to attenuate injuries of the life-changing sort, though a back protector could conceivably prevent a spinal injury. I'd say gloves, which might prevent grinding off part of a finger, are the second most important apparel items, but all protective gear is worth the price because it makes riding more comfortable.
Practice, Practice, Practice
You can practice your skills every time you ride. Brake hard when you come to a stop without a car behind you. Practice weaving quickly between lane lines or around tar spots. Cruiser riders should be comfortable dragging their bikes so they can use the available lean angle when they need it. These exercises will make you better able to ride your bike to its limits in a crisis.
Ride Every Day
A new rider's skills should be exercised frequently. If you only ride on weekends, your abilities will atrophy between trips, and you will have to rebuild them the next time you head out. Riding to work or riding every evening or morning will make you a better rider in fewer miles than just riding occasionally.
Avoid Riding With Groups
Going somewhere with a group probably seems safer, but the dynamics of group riding make it much more risky than riding solo. You may also have to deal with riders who are less skilled than you are or have been drinking. Wait until you are completely comfortable on your bike before taking on this challenge.
Back to School
Plan on taking an Experienced RiderCourse within a year (preferably about six months) after you start riding, or right away if you are returning. Remember that there will probably be a waiting list, and you may want to do this even before you start riding. This course will help you expand your skills and give you a chance to have your riding habits critiqued before bad habits take hold.
Read Up
There are plenty of books to help you evaluate and expand your riding skills and strategies. I'd recommend The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence from Whitehorse Press (800/531-1133). There are also good books by Keith Code, David Hough, Nick Ienatsch and others (check one of the online bookstores), and most of the past versions of this column are available on our Web site (www.motorcyclecruiser.com) in the Street Survival section. These sources are great food for thought, practice and coaching. Be wary of what you read on the Internet, however. There is a lot of BS out there. Assertions that helmets interfere with vision or hearing or break necks are disproved by valid research, as is the popular claim that loud pipes save lives.
Approach New Situations Slowly
Some common motorcycling activities require adaptation and learning. In addition to riding with a group, these include carrying a passenger and traveling long distances on your motorcycle. Find a safe place to practice carrying a passenger before you venture into traffic. Take a few short trips on your bike before you head for the third state over, and allow time on your initial long rides for repacking, dealing with aches and making adjustments. Long trips are great for becoming intimate with your motorcycle, however, so don't avoid them.
Keep Your Bike in Good Shape
Tires are the most commonly ignored component, so make sure the pressures are per the manual. However, loose chains and improperly adjusted clutch, brake and control positions can also affect your motorcycle control. You might want to ask your dealer's service department about these things.
Don't Drink and Ride
This should go without saying, but I will anyway. Even one beer is too much. Sometimes the difference between a ride in the ambulance and merely elevating your respiratory rate is millimeters and microseconds of reaction time. Save it for after the ride-and well before the next one.
If you habitually do these things, your skills will improve quicker than most new riders, and you will develop habits that will serve you as long as you ride.