Riding tips, what have you learned?

[Mike Ramos]

Good evening Dan,

No offense taken. However, the person whom I passed on the right had no problem with it, so why is anyone else bothered by it?

I have video from the ECFR of me being passed ON TH RIGHT by the exceptional rider from Florida. It was a NON ISSUE that did not even merit discussion; he was not asked to ride some where else nor did any one stop to discuss the matter, nor was any one upset, all things that David R said he would do & was.

I was passed on the Cherohola so wildly by the excellent rider from back East [on his Honda 1000R] that he brought me beer when we returned to the KOA (which was really cool because my parents absolutely refuse to let me drink alcohol until I turn twenty one). However, I toasted him and the gentleman from Florida who followed him into a turn, fish tailing his FJ in the triple digit mph range. Just incredible riding...! And they were pretty close at times as well...!

It was some of the best riding (by members of this Forum) that I have witnessed to date. It was good, sound and competent riding AND quite close at time, spirited yes, stupid no...!

This is the wrong thread for this but I will post other riding moments & events that I have seen by members who have attended the Rallies that I have attended. Competent riders all.

Keep in good humor & ride safe,

Mike Ramos.

[Klavdy]

Head up, eyes up, lead with the chin and shoulders.
Dip the inside elbow and don't hang on too tight.

[Grey runner]

Learn to love lane splitting.  (Youtube clip)

I can't tell you just how much I disagree with this "example" of filtering.
It is an invitation to go to:  [ Jail / Hospital / Court / Mortuary ]

You do need to "command the road" by taking the lane and not putting yourself in position to get squeezed into the curb (or over the cliff) , but this is sheer lunacy IMO.

I do split lanes, but to put yourself on  the wrong side of the road WHILE there is other traffic coming at you is just stupid.  Most if not all road users expect that they have a right to use the lane to the centerline and have oncoming traffic stay on their own side.

Arnie

Hi All, Arnie I live not too far away from the where the video clip was done and believe me if you didn't lane split it would take all day to get somewhere, motorist over here are very good at moving over to allow you to do this sort of maneuverer. As has been said ride with authority and even more people will move over for you. Remember we aren't all Americans; some of us have nice fellow road users!

P.S. Kladvy has a very colourful turn of phrase!

[Klavdy]

[Dan Filetti]

Case in point.

[fj11.5]

didnt seem too bad, just dont blink and forget about the center islands, no give in those bastards 

[Klavdy]

Case in point.

[Dan Filetti]

Which case and which point?

A bit non sequitur, even for you Klavdy.

[1tinindian]

Case in point.

What a lard-ass!

[axiom-r]

 


Oh- on the riding tips thing....  I like what was said about riding at your own pace.  If you are scaring yourself you are most certainly doing it wrong.  In the days of yore I did a bit of street racing on the canyon roads near by.  Our group got pretty big there were 3 of us that would meet every Sunday and the total group might have been 8-12 on any given Sunday...  the only fallers were the new guys that didn't know the roads but tried to hang with us anyway- even after we told them not to because we would stop and wait.  Big lessons learned on those trips.  I recently applied them at the WCR and let the leaders on the ride get away when I just wasn't as comfortable pushing it.

The other thing that has served me well is the commitment not to use the motorcycle for quick trips to the store, regular commuting or any other use than recreational riding.  When your purpose of being on the bike is to RIDE IT - you tend to do it better because that is your focus. Versus being distracted with thoughts like: "shit I am late for work", "Man, should I just get two twelve packs or the 5th of Jim Beam?", "Wow! Look at those tits!" or any such similar.....

Keith Code said: "You have a $10 bill of attention. Where you spend your $10 while riding is what determines how well you ride".


PS - that fat ass in BDU's is not RA.  No way could he pass the PT and I see no markings on the uniform.  Likely a state militia or other group of weekend warriors....

PPS - Klavdy, See "Team America" the movie if you have not yet seen it. Fuck Yeah.

[fj11.5]

rather try my luck hitting the cement islands whitelining than running into fat arse, dont like bike racks 

[Klavdy]

Which case and which point?

A bit non sequitur, even for you Klavdy.

Course it follows, mate.
The "Fuck yeah" is a "Team America " reference, a nod to chauvinism.
It's a case in point that we have two similar yet different societies, both with their rednecks, yobbos and bogans,both with their unwritten, unstated yet totally known to the initiated cultural mores.
There's even cultural differences internally, as an example,California does not explicitly prohibit lane sharing,(by statute) nor do many other U.S states yet it is socially tolerated in only a few States.
It's unimaginable to most outsiders that murder or incarceration for the transgression of a minor road rule would be contemplated let alone condoned and indeed insisted on by many U.S citizens, yet that is what you  face in America.

[Dan Filetti]

We are sooo far off the original subject..., but I agree with most of what you say, we have our rednecks and those that think their nose belongs in others' business because 'they know better'.

If you think about it, the USA was founded by a bunch of religious rejects, those that were too wound up about it to co-exists in their own countries.  They were thrown out/ chased out of their birth countries precisely because of their intolerance and sanctimony, or at least the intolerance and sanctimony of those that believed differently than they did. 

The vestiges of these original puritans are alive and well today seems to me.  Many of those, know better than you/ what you need/ should do/ how you should behave, have their busy-body roots, I posit, in our founders, who just so happened to be intolerant rejects themselves. 

So, opening your car door on a guy that is lane splitting is nothing more than a personal crusade, a mini-inquisition if-you-will.  They're thinking "that the guy deserves it", I'm fairly sure...  "that'll learn them lane-splitting-sinners, he'll never do that again..."

Dan   

[Klavdy]

Yes, post has drifted.

Shoes or boots with laces: The laces can come undone and get stuck on pegs and other parts of the bike.
Buy a good quality tyre pressure gauge, use it often and use it as your reference gauge.

[SlowOldGuy]

Wow, I can't believe no one has mentioned these obvious lessons:

1) Always pass the rider on his right.  

It's okay, because:

2) We don't ride in a vacuum and he'll be expecting it.

Oh, and I almost forgot, 3) "keep the humor"

DavidR.