By Talya Adams

 

Welcome back to my interview with Keison. In part two of our conversation Keison opens up about his success as a rider in LA, and takes us through his first time going down on his bike. Let’s dive in.

T: How have you found riding in LA?

K: LA is definitely a little bit different because when I started riding I was up in Monterrey. And it’s a lot more open. There’s a little bit of traffic in the city, but once you get out into the back roads it’s a lot of farms and stuff like that. Good open roads, canyons to ride. The first thing I noticed about Burbank and the surrounding areas is the amount of traffic. You definitely have to adjust your mindset. I really have to pay a closer attention to the people at my left and right because people like to turn into lanes at the last second. The adjustment to riding in LA specific is you definitely have to slow down, treat every car like it’s a threat to me.

T: Do you think defensive driving has been one of the key aspects of you staying safe on your motorcycle?

K: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve gone down before and no other cars were involved, it was just straight rider error. So, I feel like now that I’ve learned from that and realized staying in my limits is paramount.

T: Can you tell me a little bit about your first time going down?

K: My first accident I was going probably like 35mph into a corner. I didn’t realize how sharp it was. I locked up the brakes coming into it, and slowed it down enough. Probably like to 15mph or 20mph where when I hit the curb, I popped up and went over the handlebars. I hit the sidewalk and the bike kind of like slid down the pavement. There were no other cars involved. I was just going too fast at night. It could’ve been a lot worse.

T: And your bike wasn’t too badly damaged.

K: No, a new set of fairings. That wasn’t too bad. The rims weren’t bent, a little chewed up and scraped. I had a mechanic take them off and make sure they were straight. Just made sure everything was mechanically sound, because cosmetic stuff I could deal with. I replaced the rotors, the right side rear set was completely destroyed. So, I replaced that. Other than that, cosmetically imperfect, but mechanically I made sure all that stuff was good to go before I got back on the road.

I always find it helpful hearing about other rider’s mishaps. We do our best to make sure they don’t happen, but reality is they still happen. It gives me new things to be aware of while I ride. Make sure to check back for the next installment of my sit down with Keison.