MEM
Well-known member
[SIZE=14pt]NWS[/SIZE] 
My commute home last night
- Thread starter James Burleigh
- Start date
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madmike2
Shtirrenuppenmeister
Uhm...er....are YOU going to try that little experiment and report your results (including date requests)?[SIZE=14pt]NWS[/SIZE]
I know, if it were me, I'd have to report the percentage of people running and screaming in horror while covering their eyes. :blink:
And one would want to be very very careful to NOT fall down.
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SacramentoMike
Not Safe For Work
I like that. Guess I'll just borrow it, 'k?
Just one more thing. I'm with JB on "why" split/share/filter. And it's the same reason the rest of you/us prefer twisty, hilly, dangerous mountain roads on a motorcycle over nice safe, straight level roads in a Volvo. We really are in this because it's fun, in large part, aren't we?
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James Burleigh
Well-known member
Silver Penguin
Silver Penguin
Somewhere in this thread, Streetmasters Pro Walt Fulton's name was mentioned. I took the liberty of sending a link to the OP for his opinion. Here is what Walt had to say:
Thanks for sending the link to the video. I suppose you want a comment about the posters' ride through the traffic. Officially, I think sharing a lane in heavy traffic is not only necessary, it is safer than being stuck between two unconscious cagers. That said, I have my own rules I follow when I share a lane. Here are some of them:
1) It's best to slide up between cars that are stopped.
2) I limit my lane sharing to a maximum of 35 to 45 mph, depending on conditions.
3) I am very selective when sharing a lane; I look at the condition of the vehicles, what the driver is doing and what is happening way in front of me.
4) I limit the speed differential to approximately 5-10 mph.
5) Whenever possible I avoid the peak traffic hours.
6) Frankly, I don't get a rush out of speeding between lines of traffic; I find it extremely tiring and at the end of a long commute like the one pictured in the video I'm worn out due to concentration.
This list is by no means complete. It's too late to add any more of my rules. For your information, my ZZR is 42" wide with bags - *" wider than my R1100RS. Perhaps you can now see why I must be very selective.
By the way, in reviewing the video it appears as though there was contact between the bike and one of the many cars being passed.
After thanking him, I wrote back, asking his permission to post the above. This is part of the reply.
From message #2
You are welcome to use what I have written. Do keep in mind that there are a lot more considerations, but I think you get the point. When you make a commitment to share a lane you accept a huge responsibility for you and other road users. And you give up any advantage of the concept of the space cushion. The only issue about tucking back into traffic is that you now have to get out if you want to share a lane. The issue here is being able to see and determine if you are going to be harpooned by the fool that throws caution to the wind and treats sharing a lane like a narrow race track. I agree with your choice of time for the commute.
Thanks for sending the link to the video. I suppose you want a comment about the posters' ride through the traffic. Officially, I think sharing a lane in heavy traffic is not only necessary, it is safer than being stuck between two unconscious cagers. That said, I have my own rules I follow when I share a lane. Here are some of them:
1) It's best to slide up between cars that are stopped.
2) I limit my lane sharing to a maximum of 35 to 45 mph, depending on conditions.
3) I am very selective when sharing a lane; I look at the condition of the vehicles, what the driver is doing and what is happening way in front of me.
4) I limit the speed differential to approximately 5-10 mph.
5) Whenever possible I avoid the peak traffic hours.
6) Frankly, I don't get a rush out of speeding between lines of traffic; I find it extremely tiring and at the end of a long commute like the one pictured in the video I'm worn out due to concentration.
This list is by no means complete. It's too late to add any more of my rules. For your information, my ZZR is 42" wide with bags - *" wider than my R1100RS. Perhaps you can now see why I must be very selective.
By the way, in reviewing the video it appears as though there was contact between the bike and one of the many cars being passed.
After thanking him, I wrote back, asking his permission to post the above. This is part of the reply.
From message #2
You are welcome to use what I have written. Do keep in mind that there are a lot more considerations, but I think you get the point. When you make a commitment to share a lane you accept a huge responsibility for you and other road users. And you give up any advantage of the concept of the space cushion. The only issue about tucking back into traffic is that you now have to get out if you want to share a lane. The issue here is being able to see and determine if you are going to be harpooned by the fool that throws caution to the wind and treats sharing a lane like a narrow race track. I agree with your choice of time for the commute.
Wee Willy
It's bad, you know
Oh man...I'm pullin' the covers up over my head.When "colleagues" at work express concern for my safety on the bike, my reply is usually something along the line of "How about you f-ckin' sh-theads learn how to drive and watch where you're going, and it won't be such a problem...?"[1] :huh: because it's none of their damned business. Just Friday after lunch, I had a coworker pull into the handicapped spot, then back into the empty space behind without so much as a glance around. Fortunately I had the airhorns and the quick twist of the wrist. He jumped out and apologized, so I said "That's OK, you're a car driver, I don't expect much"
When car drivers start being concerned about their "image" and stop the driving with an iPhone in one hand and burger in the other, then I'll start worrying about my "image" as a motorcyclist. Especially those ******** in large trucks, BMWs, and Volvos... talk about a "bad image" there! If I was on a jury and it came out the suspected murder drove any of those, it'd be an instant "GUILTY! FRY HIM!" from me.
What I love is on Curry Ford, there will be 4 miles of empty road, with just me and 2 cars on it, and those ****-gobblers will be side-by-side the entire way. Hell, I've even had the situation happen with 2 schoolbuses, where the ******** pulled over to take up both lanes just as I got there, nearly taking out the front wheel of the SV. So yeah, I lanesplit. It's not illegal if you don't get caught.
[1] Actually recently, I've been doing a pre-emptive "Oh my god, I hope you make it home safe in your car!" and when they do the shocked/puzzled reply, I talk about how many people get killed in cars monthly, and how my dad and high-school girlfriend[2] got killed in cars. Just 'cuz, you know, I'm good with people like that.
[2] Neither of which is true, but I'm tired of the "my adopted brother's wife's step-father-in-law's 2nd cousin's ex-girlfriend got killed on a bike" crap.
W2
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