Riding a motorcycle represents freedom and convenience, but some tasks are not so convenient on a bike. One such task which presents some challenges for motorcycle riders is ordering and collecting food through a drive-through fast-food service. Can you use a drive-through on a motorcycle?
You can use a drive-through on a motorcycle if you have a safe place to stow your order. Have your payment ready, and make sure any drinks you order are in sealed bottles rather than in takeaway cups. Drinks in takeaway cups cannot be collected via motorcycle.
Motorcycles require both hands and feet to operate and need to be balanced while in motion. Since the clutch and throttle are both operated by your hands and storage facilities on a motorcycle are limited, how can you safely use a drive-through on a motorcycle? We will show you how to make it easier to sail through the drive-through on your bike with some tips!
Are Motorcycles Allowed To Go Through A Drive-Through?
Many different fast-food chains offer drive-through service, and each of the chains has its own rules.
Most drive-through services allow mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles to go through the drive-through, although some may not allow it if their sensors do not cater to motorcycles.
It would mostly be smaller franchises that do not have the budget for decent sensor equipment that would not allow motorcycles to enter their drive-through service. Larger concerns such as Mcdonald’s allow mopeds and motorcycles to pass through their drive-through service lanes.
Can All Motorcycles Go Through A Drive-Through?
All motorcycles can go through drive-through service lanes, but some motorcycles will have an advantage over others.
Most drive-through places have a sensor embedded in the roadway that detects when large metal objects pass over the sensor, disturbing the magnetic field. The larger the motorcycle is, the easier it will trip the sensor, alerting the server to your presence to take your order.
Smaller motorcycles may not have the mass to successfully trigger these sensors, but we have some tips for you that will increase the chances of the sensor picking up your bike.
The sensor is usually located at the beginning of the ramp for the drive-through. Follow these guidelines to make sure your bike trips the sensor on the ramp.
- Drive slowly. Driving slowly rather than roaring up the ramp gives the sensor time to pick the bike up, rather than thinking it was a temporary glitch in the system when your bike passed over so quickly.
- Drive up the middle of the ramp entrance. If you drive too close to the edge of the road, the sensors may not pick your bike up, or you may not ride over the sensor wires. The sensors are most sensitive toward the middle of the road.
If your bike did not trigger the sensor, there is usually a button on the intercom to attract the server’s attention to take your order. Not all intercoms will have this button, so you may have to park your bike and go inside to place your order if you find yourself in this predicament.
Don’t Order Drive-Through Meals With Soda
We have all been through the drive-through and ordered a meal that comes with sodas, and they get passed through the window in those takeaway cups that feel like they are going to disintegrate if you hold them too tightly.
These cups of soda pose a challenge for car drivers, so you can only imagine the problems they would give you on a bike.
Order food where you can order a soda separately and specify that it must be in a sealed bottle and not a takeaway cup. Trying to navigate riding with a takeaway cup is an impossible balancing act to accomplish on a bike!
Have Your Payment Close At Hand
If you are going to pay with cash or a credit card, prepare ahead and place the cash or your card in a front pocket of your jacket that you can access easily, even with your gloves on.
Don’t leave your payment in your wallet buried in some deep recess of your jacket so that you need to take your gloves off and fumble through your jacket, pockets, and finally your wallet before you get to your payment method.
Odds are your will either drop a glove, your wallet, or both and have to get off your bike to pick it up, enduring the hostile stares of the motorists behind you in the queue!
How To Transport Your Drive-Through Order On Your Motorcycle
Ordering your food at the drive-through window is one thing, but transporting it home is another challenge altogether!
The main consideration is to transport your food in a way that does not compromise your safety on the road. We have some ideas to help you transport your food safely on your bike, ensuring your safety is not compromised, and your order does not end up on the tarmac.
- Invest in a tank bag. A tank bag is useful to transport many items, but especially for drive-through orders. Roll up to the window with your tank bag unzipped. Place the order in the bag, zip it up, and you are on your way!
- Put a backpack on your chest. Wear a backpack in reverse, with the bag at your chest. This position makes it easy to unzip the bag, stow your order in the bag, zip it up, and exit the drive-through.
- Take a passenger to carry the order. Take someone riding pillion on the back who can hold the bags between rider and passenger. This is generally safely achieved by the passenger holding the bags with one hand and holding onto the bike with the other.
If you have transport compartments on your bike, such as panniers or a storage box mounted on the back, then you should stow your order in one of these compartments for storage. Balance your order on your tank while you exit the drive-through and then pull over to stow the order in one of the storage boxes.
Conclusion
Motorcyclists are generally an ingenious bunch who can find many inventive ways of overcoming the restrictions that two wheels present over the 4 wheels of a car.
Fortunately, most drive-through fast-food centers allow motorcycles through, so your responsibility as a biker is to make the transition through the drive-through process as seamless as possible. Don’t be the biker who delays the queue and gives all other bikers a bad rep!
After successfully negotiating the drive-through, your next task is to transport the order without the package taking your concentration off the road or getting in the way of your balance or the bike controls!