Staying right

[Roy Epperson]

Since I joined the FJRforum a little over a year and 19,000 miles ago, I periodically see Toecutter and others stress "stay right" From the Hwy 36 ride report

Anyway, in my book, it sure beats violating that double-yellow midline. Do that at the wrong moment, and you could be ended.

Two personal experiences highlight the importance of staying right:

1. Yesterday on Hwy 36 about 3/4 of the way from Red Bluff and the Mt Lassen turn off, I "met" an 18 wheel cattle truck coming a round (a downhill for him) taking his half of the road out of the middle of a 110 degree turn at a high rate of speed (I don't know if he made the next turn which was even tighter. There was NO time to move to the right. I know several people I some times ride with who would have either been in the middle of his radiator or dumped the bike and ended up under the trailer .....
2. A year ago about the same time of the year, a RV with trailer in tow on PCH South of Big Sur, decided it was more important to watch the coast line than his lane and completely blocked my lane in a tight left turn for him. Fortunately, he was "stopped" and I was slow and right - love the FJR's brakes!

Fortunately, I grew up driving the backroads of Northern California which instilled "stay right" even it a car. A hard lesson was a learned from a high school presentation by the CHP of pictures of cars which met logging trucks mid corner and "decided" to park under the front end of the truck.....

Yesterday's event reminded me once again!!!

The normal tendency is for the driver/vehicle be closest to the inside of their turn unless they're a sleep or enter the turn too fast and then they will be on the outside or beyond. On mountain / narrow roads, the apex of my turning lane is the center of my lane, not the road, and my lane "all the time" is the center of my lane (not road) to the outside edge.

Be careful out there, they're out to get you!

 

[fhaze]

Right Advice!

 

[Toecutter]

Good job, Roy! :clapping: Isn't dancing with the devil and cheating death a rush?!?!

And, as long as just one more person might hear, heed and be saved, I'll keep preachin'. It's not the quickest way to get down the road, but that's what track days are for. As long as I feel safer, I'll keep my bike in the right half of my lane....

From a recent PM by a prominent (and unnamed for her anonimity) forum member who has been around long enough to have known by now:

Is that Motoport gear you're wearing in the pics?

:blink:
[SIZE=8pt]A Public Service Message from the Toe Patrol, un-financially sponsored by Motoport. See appropriate link in sig for "stay right" discussion.[/SIZE]

 

[Tyler]

From a recent PM by a prominent (and unnamed for her anonimity) forum member who has been around long enough to have known by now:

Is that Motoport gear you're wearing in the pics?

:blink:

Honey, I don't sit around all day and stalk your posts...

I too have been mentored by several who instilled the "ride right" attitude which I have had many instances where I was VERY glad I adopted that attitude. This is just one example of the things encountered on those backroad twisties we all love so dearly:

 

[Jeff Q]

Great advice but watch gravel, dont go too far right...

 

[wheatonFJR]

Thanks for the pointer and reminder. I appreciate the thought behind this post and the warning for others.

Just one question, do you guys have gravel in CA? In SE Ohio, almost all blind, tight right handers can have lots of gravel in the right quarter to half of the lane...but clear in the inside half of the lane. If I'm leaned over on that stuff, I could low side into the oncoming lane. What to do?

 

[Bungie]

If I'm leaned over on that stuff, I could low side into the oncoming lane. What to do?

Slow down?

.

.

.

.

naaah..

 

[Roy Epperson]

Just one question, do you guys have gravel in CA? In SE Ohio, almost all blind, tight right handers can have lots of gravel in the right quarter to half of the lane...but clear in the inside half of the lane. If I'm leaned over on that stuff, I could low side into the oncoming lane. What to do?

Gravel what's that

Yes, we have gravel, dirt, rocks, leafs, and branches that seem to love to be on the roads too. One of the canyon highways I was on yesterday most of both left and right turns had gravel and in several cases had 2" to 4" rocks. Generally the "car tracks" are clear, use the right track not the leftone and slow down. A month ago we were riding in on the Sierra's with gravel, rock slides and ice patches. We were riding for the conditions, not with our "hair on fire".

It might be just me and my style 1) if I have not been on the road before, I'm taking it easy of I can't see all the way through a turn so I can correct for stuff, and 2) if I wanta ride "hair on fire", I'll pre-ride the section first to see what condition the lanes are in. These are roads, not race tracks, things get on the road, other vehicles don't pay attention, and animals have a mind of there own and we can get injured or killed.

Just my two cents....

 

[Draggon Rider]

Yep Good Advice. I met a delivery truck on a Topanga Canyon Rd curve who decides he owned the middle.

Scared the bejessus out of me... and yeah I was in the middle of my lane, but still a scary sight.

 

[wheatonFJR]

If I'm leaned over on that stuff, I could low side into the oncoming lane. What to do?

Slow down?

.

.

.

.

naaah..

I'm already slow.

 

[rushes]

Thanks for the pointer and reminder. I appreciate the thought behind this post and the warning for others.
Just one question, do you guys have gravel in CA? In SE Ohio, almost all blind, tight right handers can have lots of gravel in the right quarter to half of the lane...but clear in the inside half of the lane. If I'm leaned over on that stuff, I could low side into the oncoming lane. What to do?

I like to pre-ride good spots.

Sometimes, I'll ride the same 1 to 3 mile section several times if it's clean. I've thought about bringing a broom along on a ride, but have not done it yet...

 

[Tyler]

Just one question, do you guys have gravel in CA?

Yup... on the right, the left, in the middle as well as dirt, rocks, road kill, etc... personally, I'd rather take my chances dealing with some dirt/gravel than an oncoming semi or pickup truck on my side of the road.

 

[Toecutter]

... personally, I'd rather take my chances dealing with some dirt/gravel than an oncoming semi or pickup truck on my side of the road.

Works for me...gravel, deer, even parked cars...Anything but an oncoming vehicle, even if only a squid on his Gixer.

.

Which brings up another "safety" idea I had, but it can wait until Friday.

One thing I rarely see is oncoming gravel. It usually just lays there, and when you slow enough to avoid it, it can't do anything, unlike a cattle truck. You could stop and it could still get you. If you're going too fast to avoid gravel and other surprise objects, guess what that makes you?

a. Squidly

b. Insane

c. An eventual pavement sampler

d. All of the above

None of our roads out here in the Cee to the Ayy are just like race tracks. I rode "The pace" for a good bit of 36 Monday, but about 10 miles shy of Mad River, I kicked it up a notch, to the point where I was braking into the turns and launching out of them pretty hard. Even then, the gravel wasn't that big a hazard. One thing very apparent with the FJR, is it can get to speeds of "overcooking into the next turn" very rapidly. Ain't no sunshine when that happens....

 

[Tyler]

... personally, I'd rather take my chances dealing with some dirt/gravel than an oncoming semi or pickup truck on my side of the road.

Works for me...

What?!?!? GASP!!!! We AGREE?!?!?!

[SIZE=8pt]P.S. Motoport gear sucks. :lol: [/SIZE]

 

[Toecutter]

What?!?!? GASP!!!! We AGREE?!?!?!

That men are better drivers/riders? Okay!

[SIZE=8pt]P.S. Motoport gear sucks...[/SIZE]

...lots of cooling air when you need it most....

We agree a bunch!

 

[Patriot]

yep, thanx Toe, it's in my head and I preach it at every opportunity

I hope my concern and pointers to my riding buddies also makes me a better rider

My best friend of that day, Nick, was leading with his GL1800 wing towing his Leezure Lite pop up along the Ocee River which has some very tight 15mph S turns against the rock wall. Frequent 18 wheelers use this road. We're coming home, tired from 3 days of high activity, and in hindsite, we all agree we should have taken the longer interstate roads home.

Nick comes to a tight S to the right and I speak CB to him that there's two trucks coming the other way and did he see them. He enters the curve and the first truck comes around 1/3 of the way across the yellow line into Nick's lane. Nick is right per my chants the whole trip and has to still kick righter to the white line near the rock wall. I first worry the wing's plastic is gonna kiss a rock where the wall meets the road, but Nick gasps as he exits the turn(s) from outter my view, and I go through (tail gunner), the second truck comes around and only with perfect aim and coordination, uses all the lane plus a little more between the tractor's wheels and the trailer's wheels in back.

Nick says he's not sure, but if the rear trailer's wheels of "his" truck didn't touch or kiss his Leezure Lite trailer, it missed by milimeters.

We stopped later at a fuel station and Nick spent alot of time in the men's room bringing his overnight bag in with him.

Another rider, Dave's habit was to ride left into a blind right hander with the excuse of he wanted to see better through the turn. I kept responding that, sure, you can see better, see the RV cream you and we have to hose you off the road. He would smile and not respond. I didn't see anything unusual, but I was in the lead at the time and, well Nick says on the CB at tail that a cage just missed Dave. The cage driver was looking at the river instead of the road coming around a bend and Dave was shaken, riding very slowly for awhile, and riding stuck in the middle of the right 1/3 of the road...and I noticed he still did so still as he confidence came back and his speed returned. Stayed right after that and nothing more was said.

I'm only want my PGR escorts to ride staggered when on a four or more lane highway or interstate, not ever on a two lane state hwy.

Thanx Toe. :yahoo:

let's ride safe, stay right, and be careful out there,

Mike in Nawlins'

Geez.

 

[Tyler]

What?!?!? GASP!!!! We AGREE?!?!?!

That men are better drivers/riders? Okay!

Don't push your luck, punk. :glare:

 

[user 6393]

Just one question, do you guys have gravel in CA?

Yup... on the right, the left, in the middle as well as dirt, rocks, road kill, etc... personally, I'd rather take my chances dealing with some dirt/gravel than an oncoming semi or pickup truck on my side of the road.

gee, and I thought we had the monopoly on gravel, dirt, rocks, dead forest rats etc ??? Damn...

 

[FJRONAMISSION]

On this Hwy 36 run... we passed at least 2 dead forest rats.... covered with a bazillion flies..... it was like someone had two big handfuls of

blueberries and chucked them at my windscreen going by at 80 mph....... the goo just ran up the shield and dripped on to my helmet....... YUM....

just sayin........

B