Criteria of motorcycle
The engine must be our-stroke because it consumes less fuel and does not need 2T oil compared to two-stroke. Also we will not have petrol smell on our back because the exhaust gas is not smoky.

It has electronic fuel injection (EFI) for further fuel saving.

If we may want to use it to travel long distance (>200km), then its fuel tank capacity should be at least 10 liter.

It has cast wheels (one-piece wheel) instead of wire spoke wheels. Cast wheel is not easily crooked and is easier to clean. Cast wheel uses tubeless tire.

Optional
1) Broader tire for more stability. But note that broader tire consumes more fuel.
2) Twin headlight for brighter light in case we need to travel at night. But we should avoid traveling at night at all for safety reason.
3) LED backlight (brighter and more durable).
4) SOHC (single overhead camshaft). Again, it saves fuel although SOHC has less power than DOHC (double overhead camshaft). We do not use it for race anyway.
5) Liquid-cooled. Liquid cooling can dissipates more heat from the engine.
6) The meter panel has top gear indicating light so that we will easily know it is already top gear and do not tick the gear shift.
7) The tank cap is embedded type, in which the cap surface is at the same level with tank surface. If it is just normal cap latching onto the tank hole, it is possible to be knocked off by purpose or accident.
8) The keyhole is not at an awkward position that when we have a bunch of keys, it is cumbersome to switch off the ignition.
9) It is not dark in color so that it is more visible to other motorists.
10) Six speeds transmission.

Before riding
The helmet must have a visor. This is especially true when it is rainy season. If it is a full face helmet then it can protect our chin and also keep our chin dry in rain.

Must bring along a set of thick rain-suit (best if pants included). Keep a piece of cloth to wipe the seat in case it is wet after raining.

Do not put laptop / notebook computer in the basket or back box. Carry it on your body (human body can absorb shock). Let the notebook base face your back in the backpack, not the LCD. Do not carry it in the normal notebook traveling case. Some bad guys will know it is a notebook and grab it off you.

Keep a pair of small scissors and a piece of copper wire in the toolbox. This is to repair power circuit in case of failure.

It is better to wear long trousers and a jacket with high collar. Sometimes some insects may accidentally hit on you and give you a nasty bite/sting.

Wear leather gloves that can protect palms in case of falling down.

If there is a basket between you and the handlebars, do not put something tall in it, e.g. a bottle or else it may obstruct the movement of the handlebars.

Must use original convex side mirror. Cheap mirror will jeopardize our safety because it gives blurry reflection.

When the sky is heavily cloudy, do not go out, let alone when it is drizzling. Wait until the rain stops completely. When it is drizzling, other motorists cannot easily see us. If it rains two evenings before, then you can expect it will rain this evening so you should plan your journey earlier or later.

The mobile phone must be fully charged before starting a long journey.

If we want to take someone with us, ensure the back tire pressure is enough or else there will be a flat tire.

We do not have to deliberately wait for the engine to warm up because it wastes time and fuel. Just start moving with low RPM (it is easier to move with low RPM if the bike has clutch). By the way, to warm up the engine is to let engine oil cover the internal moving parts.

When wearing light-colored shirt, we must also wear a jacket because the exhaust gas from other vehicles may have tiny droplets of black oil that will stain our shirt.

During riding
Do not drive thru flood. Just because other people can do it, it does not mean you can do it. The engine will stop if water goes into the spark plug or exhaust pipe.

Always top up the tank just to be on the safe side (in case your favorite petrol station may not be open when your tank is empty).

Must have enough money in pocket at least to fix the bike.

Be alert about what you will do in case there is any accident. For example if a car makes you fall down on the road but you are still able to stand up, do not let the driver just drive away like that without at least paying you some compensation. You deserve that.

Be alert when someone approaches us when we stop at the traffic light. Also watch out when other motorcyclist speeds up and approach you. Do not let your valuable for example mobile phone be visible to public.

When riding over a speed bump, stand a little to protect our backbone.

Minimizing the probability of accident (do not learn safety by accident)
Try avoid traveling at night.

Before moving,
a) check tire air pressure by squeezing the tire with both hands in full strength. The tire should be solid hard. If the tire can be squeezed in, then the pressure is not enough. Also when we need a little more effort to push the bike, it means the air pressure is very low. Besides instability, traveling with insufficient pressure will heat up the tire. Also the air inlet nozzle may tilt, damaging the inner tube (if the tire is not tubeless). Not fuel economy too.
b) check the functionality of brake light, front brake and rear brake.
When we do these, it also prepares our mind for the ride.

Make sure the things you put in your pocket will not drop off easily. If you feel that you need a pouch to contain those things, do it. This is to have the peace of mind to focus on the road.

Depart early so that we have a peaceful and clear mind.

When we have planned to do one thing within a period of time, we should concentrate our mind on it until we finish doing it or the planned period is over, whichever comes first. This principle is even more important when riding a motorcycle. Focus on the road. Think about other things later. If you still want to think about other thing or you want to see anything eye-catching along the road, pull over at a safe spot.

Do not follow the vehicle in front closely. If there are a lot of cars ahead, ride slowly. It is useless to speed anyway in that situation.

Be ready all the time that the car in front may swerve suddenly.

When riding pass by a car parked on the road side, keep a distance from it because some drivers may open the car door without seeing whether there is upcoming vehicle.

If you are on the main road, be alert when you are approaching any junction. Any vehicle may come out from the junction suddenly or the vehicle in front of you may turn into the junction suddenly without signal.

Even though the traffic light is green, we should not speed but should look at the other roads for any speeding car. Some people beat the red light. Sometimes the light is faulty.

When cornering (e.g. at a junction), slow down. The road may have some sand or oil that make us slip.

Try not to let big vehicle such as a truck to get passed you at high speed at close side distance (for me around 2m). When you notice one speeding towards you from the back, try widen the side distance. Pull over if needed.

Try see further ahead to give enough response time.

When we stop at the traffic light on a road that has one lane for going straight and one lane for turning, we must not turn if we are on the lane that is for going straight and vice versa.

Before swerving to change lane, look at the side mirror to see if there is car behind. Just switching on the side signal is not enough. If there is a car approaching but we are going to miss the junction if we do not swerve, just choose to miss the junction. We can always find a place to U-turn later. You can't get home, unless you are safe.

Mindset: Saving a few minutes is useless if it makes us waste much more time in an accident. It is better to be safe than sorry. Safety doesn't slow the job down but mishaps do. Better be Mister Late than to be Late Mister.

Preventing motorcycle theft
Number of locks: There should be at least one extra lock (other than the default motorcycle key lock) even if the motorcycle is parked at home. If it is parked at high-risk area, then two extra locks should be used.

Type of extra locks: a collared padlock for two-legged stand and a two-foot grade 70 chain with another collared padlock for front wheel. If we have extra money, then look for the locks that have a VdS certificate. Whenever possible, secure to a fixed object (beware of the electricity leakage at the lamp post though). The fork lock and disc brake lock are not that good because they can be destroyed or will damage the motorcycle by moving the motorcycle (either by the thief or by ourselves when we forget about the lock). Lock on the back sprocket is also not advisable due to the same reason and the lock can become greasy to handle.

Others
Try to fix your own bike before sending it to the workshop. You can do it in most of the cases. Whenever there is any problem, fix it immediately. It is better to be safe that sorry.

During rainy season, it is better to depart early before it rains. Once it begins raining, it will take a long time to stop. Even it can stop soon, the road will be slippery.

If you use a chain lock to lock the motorbike, do not leave the chain on the basket. People make take it away. It is better to utilize the chain lock every time you are away from your motorbike. This will also ensure the lock mechanism will not get rusty and stuck.

If you find that you sometimes forget to switch off the turn signal, you may want to consider installing a beeper.