Can you give me some tips on crossing railroad tracks on a scooter?

by Candy
(Temple, GA.)

There are no riding classes near where I live. I am in a little town and we have RR tracks. How do you get across RR tracks on a Yamaha 125 Vino scooter?


Answer: Candy, I'm not sure crossing RR tracks would be covered in the average motorcycle safety class, anyway. To be honest, I haven't done it. But I was terrified of even little bumps like speed bumps and manhole covers when I first started out.

Over time, though, I found that if you take it slow and grip your handlebars firmly, you're generally able to weather most bumps fairly easily. I would imagine it would be much the same with railroad tracks.

Other people may weigh in here, though...

Comments for Can you give me some tips on crossing railroad tracks on a scooter?

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Jun 29, 2020
 go over RR tracks perpendicular NEW
by: Anonymous

Advice given is good about holding handlebars, cuz, well, it can be a big bump and you don't want the rail to twitch the bars out of your hand which might allow the wheel to turn too sharply especially if you hit tracks at an angle.

Check that the tracks are not so high that the bottom of scooter would not clear. I dunno, like coming from a foot path or some where that a car could not pass either.

Cross the track perpendicular to the track, as much as you can. Like the letter t, the more straight on you can manage to hit them, the less danger.
Jul 21, 2011
 Safe RR track crossing
by: Artist Carter

This can be a problem. You weren't specific about where you need to cross. If you are crossing at a paved street crossing then the above advice is good, but if you are crossing on open raised track that stands 4 to 6 inches above the roadbed I would say "don't". Too risky.

It isn't even safe to walk your scooter across. Too easy to tip it over, injure yourself and not be able to right your scooter. Always cross at the street crossings and at a right angle to the tracks. Don't ride in the same direction as the track. It doesn't hurt to slow down.

Practice crossing when you know it is safe and you are not in a hurry to be someplace. You'll get on to it.
Jul 12, 2011
 RR Tracks
by: Dale B

Cross perpendicular (or as close to that as you can) to the tracks. Slow down before you get to the tracks and then accelerate cross the tracks. Not wide open acceleration but a reasonable acceleration.

Also, relax your grip on the bar. You want your elbows bent and your arms loose. If you tighten up your arms and grip so that your upper body is stiff you will put in unintended steering inputs. The scooter is reasonably stable and if you're going fast enough the suspension will recover from disturbances on its own as long as you don't over-control.

The key is to have the bump, RR track, etc hit the front tire square (not at an angle). It takes a while to get used to how this feels.

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