I get catalogs from these guys in the mail. While browsing the catalog I came across this license plate frame kit that blacks out your plate at the flip of a switch. I'm assuming the glass is actually a LCD panel.
http://www.motosport.com/street/product/ECLIPSE-LICENSE-PLATE-KIT/?catalogId=112821 (http://www.motosport.com/street/product/ECLIPSE-LICENSE-PLATE-KIT/?catalogId=112821)
If it actually works, I can see it being useful for places that have a lot of speed cameras... :scratch_one-s_head: Australia :scratch_one-s_head:
As intriguing as this might be, the fine for HAVING it on your bike would be alarming. While this 'might' save you a "safety" (Gov't newspeak) camera fine, there are also marked and unmarked real police folks that would nail you to the wall. There are some other ways to minimize the readability that you could claim to not be aware of (plausibe deniability) being improper.
Most of the speed cameras are on the major highways that you only use to get from pt A to pt B anyway. If you are on twisty backroads you'll have to be very unlucky to get pinged.
Cheers,
Arnie
New South Wales (NSW-Australia) North coast on the Pacific Highway the scum have a number of Speed Cameras set up where there's an over taking lane. :ireful:
Graham,
I thought you were in league with those 'scum', just across the border :-)
No?
Cheers,
Arnie
Quote from: pdxfj on April 28, 2009, 02:40:12 PM
I get catalogs from these guys in the mail. While browsing the catalog I came across this license plate frame kit that blacks out your plate at the flip of a switch. I'm assuming the glass is actually a LCD panel.
http://www.motosport.com/street/product/ECLIPSE-LICENSE-PLATE-KIT/?catalogId=112821 (http://www.motosport.com/street/product/ECLIPSE-LICENSE-PLATE-KIT/?catalogId=112821)
If it actually works, I can see it being useful for places that have a lot of speed cameras... :scratch_one-s_head: Australia :scratch_one-s_head:
that has squid spelled all over it, as well as a pretty negative image for motorcyclists. but that's just my opinion.
someone that rides a bike thinks this is a bad idea???? blasphemy!
anyway to avoid speeding tickets and stick it to the man are essential parts of being a true biker regardless of the steed you ride!....LOL
OGmudbone
Quote from: Arnie on April 29, 2009, 09:00:45 AM
Graham,
I thought you were in league with those 'scum', just across the border :-)
No?
Cheers,
Arnie
No, not I!!! I don't have to catch'em, I just have to look after them for an undisclosed period of time!!!!! :i_am_so_happy:
Quote from: mst3kguy on April 29, 2009, 08:58:47 PM
that has squid spelled all over it, as well as a pretty negative image for motorcyclists. but that's just my opinion.
IMO, that is no more squidish than passing in no passing zones, or on corners, or speeding for that matter (which are all activities I have personally seen you do there Deano). Either the Law is the Law and you spend you life never breaking it, (and likely having no fun whatsoever) or, you make the explicit decision to break it and take on the risk of being caught and punished. I, and everyone I know, dabble, in one way or another in that later category.
Would it be OK to pay for a subscription for real time data that told you where all the speed cameras were? When an on-coming car flashes his headlights, indicating an upcoming speed trap, do you slow down, and possibly even let others behind you know?
I wrote this over on the yahoo list:
"It's easy to fall into an US and THEM mentality on this when the fact
of the matter is, as near as I can tell, it's a continuum. I'd be
willing to bet a fair amount of cash that most of us have moved a
fair distance away from the squid side of that continuum, and more
towards the 'responsible ride' side since we have all started
riding. What defines a squid, to me anyway, is someone who takes
unnecessary risks SIGNIFIICANTLY MORE THAN I DO. To some I'm sure
(think Gold Wing or Hardley types) most of us would be "squids".
We ALL take risks, the frequency with which we take them and the
severity of those risks define our 'squid factor' in the eyes of
others -this plus a bad 'tude, and a sharp R&D curve in these modern
day machines. The 'kids' we call squids today will be the same ones
that, at some point in the future will have either selected
themselves out of the species or will have calmed down and are
themselves calling new generations of the year 2020, 200LB 600HP
riding maniacs 'squids' at that time. I can see it now, "just
because the damn thing can do 300mph, does not mean you have to do
it..." "why does anyone need a Y2K bike??!!??" "In my day, we
respected our machines, and the power they had to kill us... these
kids today are going to kill themselves..."
Dan
wrong, dan. if i'm speeding, or passing on a double yellow, and a cop pulls me over, i don't speed off, or hide, or cover up my plate. i pull over. i'm not doing anything conniving. that's deliberate trickery. sorry, it's not the same, and don't lump me in that group, thanks.
Quote from: mst3kguy on May 02, 2009, 12:14:45 PM
wrong, dan. if i'm speeding, or passing on a double yellow, and a cop pulls me over, i don't speed off, or hide, or cover up my plate. i pull over. i'm not doing anything conniving. that's deliberate trickery. sorry, it's not the same, and don't lump me in that group, thanks.
I wonder how 'wrong' I really am? We'll use your word: "conniving" which is defined as +/- "To cooperate secretly in an illegal or wrongful action; collude."
The distinction you appear to be making is getting caught is the issue, not the law breaking itself. You speed, you cross double yellows (so do I) you are/ we are, in fact, breaking the law and it only seems to be a problem when there's a cop there to catch you -otherwise, it's all (mostly) good -no? So you're telling me you never slow down when you know you are approaching a known speed trap -you just can't tell me that with a straight face. This is, 'hiding' your speeding from that cop up ahead -no? That fits the definition of 'conniving' -seems to me.
Let me give you another what-if: you're 1 mile from a state line, you know that you just passed a cop with a radar gun and you were speeding, he has not pulled out/ or turned around yet, you are approaching that line. Do you stop and wait for him to pull out/ turn around, and give you your ticket? I doubt many would -I suspect you would keep going. That's 'speeding off' in the cops' mind anyway.
Tell me there are no cagers out there that see you ride at one point or another and think to themselves ("what a squid" -or some such) The only way to be on the 'righteous' side of this is to denounce, and vow to never again commit, the law breaking itself. -my only point Dean is that it's all relative, and we're all sinners and saints depending on that relativity.
I have no interest in hiding my plate, BTW.
Dan
Depending on how the speed cameras are triggered, there's no reason to hide your plate. Some of those setups (locally, we have several that are for catching people blowing red lights) which use the buried sensors that also trigger the lights to change on demand. If they don't sense the bike sitting there for 5 minutes slowly overheating, they won't sense it if I get right on the dotted line and blow through....
I'd suggest that more squidly activity is also doing wheelies, but more importantly riding "unsafely" while wearing little to no protective gear (wheelies, stoppies, speeding... anything but cornering hard).
Dean wears Hi-Vis.
It gives him immunity.
i have found myself trying to be more considerate of the cagers in the last few years.....mostly by riding on roads where they arent.
as far as breaking the law goes....i full and well realize that when i pass on a double yellow that i am breaking the law and if caught there will be a punishment involved
there have been times that i have escaped capture and times that i pulled right over... once i pulled over so quickly the policeman didnt even have to start his car (big parking lot)..... i guess it depends on the situation....i also try to ride with some sense so i can live to ride again another day.... most times this involves making good decisions about whom i go riding with.
Kookaloo! :hi:
Dean,
Back when I lived in Detroit, I had a couple of friends who were cops/LEO's. They explained to me that if/when stopped for a traffic infringement that they would just show their "freddy" (aka badge&ID) and almost always get "professional courtesy". In fact, if that was not sufficient that their superior would have to be contacted and give approval for an infringement notice to be issued. Is that still the case in the US? (or maybe this was only MI practice)
Cheers,
Arnie
Quote from: Arnie on May 03, 2009, 12:02:29 AM
Dean,
Back when I lived in Detroit, I had a couple of friends who were cops/LEO's. They explained to me that if/when stopped for a traffic infringement that they would just show their "freddy" (aka badge&ID) and almost always get "professional courtesy". In fact, if that was not sufficient that their superior would have to be contacted and give approval for an infringement notice to be issued. Is that still the case in the US? (or maybe this was only MI practice)
Cheers,
Arnie
hah, not that i'm aware of. in fact, it's been my "experience" ( : that most state troopers/highway patrol give out tickets to everyone, unless there's good reason for the speeding. the last thing i'm doing when i get pulled over is announcing to the cop that i'm law enforcement. you get the wrong cop, and you can imagine his/her reaction. ( :
i saw a video on onw of those tv shows where the guy anounced he was a cop and the hp officer drew his weapon and demanded the offenders fire arm for "safety"..lol usually the highway patrol and state police do not like the regular police too much in my experience.
OG
For those of you who don't know the Pacific Highway AKA "The Goat Track" is our national disgrace.
It has killed more people than The Plague.
The majority is still is a single lane "highway" with overtaking lanes every few miles.
The traffic, and there is lots, is everything from B-Doubles to Grey Nomads and dickheads on them fast motorbikes.
The slowest vehicle therefore regulates the traffic flow.
I have experienced being in a line of traffic some 200 cars long behind some Fuckwit (I apologise for the
profanity but it is the only way to describe these species)
Every time these Fuckwits approach the overtaking lane they speed up from their normal cruising speed of 70-80 kph to over 100- the speed limit-
This requires either speeding to overtake or passing illegally or getting pissed off. Really really pissed off.
So they put up speed cameras in the "interest of safety"- and if they are really lucky they can find the bottom of a hill to locate it.
I could go on but you get the idea.
as highway patrol officer said to us over coffee at a local coffee stop just north of Sydney a few weeks back,"its their job to take our licenses and its our job to loose them"
Its a game and all is fair on both sides, when you think about how often we get away with our speeding etc, we are winning :gamer: :good2: and its a game I must admit I willingly play.
a few guys I know have flip up number plates and that can work if you can out run a patrol car ( quite possible north of Sydney if your an idiot ).
:dance2:
Eating lunch with a friend and his wife out on one of our local backroad runs, sitting across from us a group of riders was loudly bitching about cops and how they were being harassed by "the Man".
Hutch looks over and ask them where they had been riding and how many of them had received a ticket. They began to spin the usual tales of woe along with tales of just how skilled and experienced they were. (most were not born yet when I graduated high school) a few went on to rant about the "asshole" locals and how they all needed to mind their own business not to mention the whole FTP thing. Hutch agreed that most cops were dicks, and proceeded to inform them about every police jurisdiction they had passed through, and the average number of complaints that come in every weekend along those same routes. He went on to tell them the number of accidents reported every year by bikes along the usual riding routes.
It took a surprisingly long time for the group to figure out that Hutch was indeed one of those dicks they wanted to F....
As we paid our bill, his wife walked over to the group and mentioned "do you really thing the cops don't know what is going on out here, and when you will be passing through?". All she got in answer was a bunch of blank stares.
Quote from: the fan on February 24, 2010, 07:54:08 PM
They began to spin the usual tales of woe along with tales of just how skilled and experienced they were. (most were not born yet when I graduated high school)
you old fart... :biggrin:
Quote from: the fan on February 24, 2010, 07:54:08 PM
As we paid our bill, his wife walked over to the group and mentioned "do you really thing the cops don't know what is going on out here, and when you will be passing through?".
quite right, we have coffee with the cops on a regular basis, with a coffee in their hand they are reasonable blokes, it's when they get back in their car they get their work faces on.
As I said its a game we all play, you take your chances and you win or you loose, actually if you took the cops out of the equation I really don't think riding our usual roads would be half as much fun.
People have to realise there is no harassment on the part of the cops, they are just doing their job and they believe in what they are doing, you cannot take it personally, if you get caught its just your day and you deal with it.
i read with interest. it amazes me sometimes. people forget the basics. i like to go fast yes, i get angry at cagers ( had a bloke who i was riding next to today, like right next to the drivers door, and he just pulled over on me till i had just enough room to brake and just miss his ute tray and beep my horn, scared me senseless but he just waved, " sorry"..... coulda killed him but i pointed to his mirrors , he gave ME the finger and drove off at speed with unsecured load in the back rattling round.)
the rules
your licence enables you to travel on paved surfaces so designed, but when you got your licence did you get your race licence at the same time?
people are idots ( me included) in/on anything.
dickheads abound
the cops do the job they do if we didnt have them well?.......
and if cops are so bad what system do you propse to replace them?
sorry for the rant but it gets on my tits when people complain and offer no alternative.
i think it just gets down to operating your motorcycle properly and you can have fun riding at the speed limit, not as much fun but still, is it about speed or the journey undertaken? also i find that ringing the neck of my effy is fun but detrimental to its health, its happy to cruise at 4 grand 110....
if you want to go fast go to a track, if you dont want to go to a track get a dirt bike.... trails enable you to go quickish and cost s less when you bin it
lead by example
yes im being hypocritical but im trying to get better.........
sorry for the rant once again
Funny you mention the idea of saying your a police officer. I live in Michigan and that practice is a full fledged normal thing. My old girlfriend's dad was the head of the detective's unit in our county and I never got a single speeding ticket while dating her. And she didn't either, so i would say thats true. In michigan its a little different on a bike. If you are on the highway the state patrol leave you alone. i drive 100 miles a day going 20+ miles over the speed limit and pass them. they just watch you go by knowing they have no intention of pursuing you. then you get to the county police, who until last summer would pursue at any speed. and the local cops would too. but last summer a kid lead a hi-speed chase and the cops got into huge trouble, because he ended up crashing. The problem is that Michigan passed a law protecting bikers. If you are traveling over 110MPH , the police are to let you go because if they pursue, chances are you will go faster and then you become more of a danger. so they just let you alone. its funky, but true. and then you have to remember there are always the new young cops that are green. lol i like the police but they need leave the machines faster then theirs alone.
Quote from: racerman_27410 on May 02, 2009, 08:40:30 PM
i have found myself trying to be more considerate of the cagers in the last few years.....mostly by riding on roads where they arent.
Could not agree more. Cagers don't really drive the fun roads in the boonies anyway.
Quote from: Ratchet_72 on February 25, 2010, 07:55:04 PM
Quote from: racerman_27410 on May 02, 2009, 08:40:30 PM
i have found myself trying to be more considerate of the cagers in the last few years.....mostly by riding on roads where they arent.
Could not agree more. Cagers don't really drive the fun roads in the boonies anyway.
the only way to win the game is not to play
I am constantly & pleasantly surprised at just how deserted American back roads are.
Foreigners always seem to get the impression that America, with it's enormous population, is wall to wall cars.
Sure, the Freakways and Interstates can be really congested but once off them, wow.
Needs more lanesplitting but.