Meh, we were both basically raised at the racetrack; we are both immune to the irritation of loud, revving engines. That and she did not have babies at the time. No, instead of calling the cops, we found it much more satisfying to peer out her front window from behind the curtains and make fun of the dude behind his back for being such an enormous douchebag. Then we’d step outside, smile, wave, say hello and act like we were his BFFs.
I miss the putz smiley. Does it still work? :wally:
As I said earlier, I live in a very quiet neighborhood. Sometimes I think we are the youngest people here. Regardless, we are quiet, too. I’d have called them and I wouldn’t be the first ones. What an total dumbshit asshole he was.
I ride a 650 Burgman.
Very quiet, I mean really really quiet.
Lane splitting works due to size.
Stop and go traffic no problem due to liquid cooling and Auto transmission
Freeway speed no problem due to top speed of 138
I wear a helmet for bug stoppage, and to better hear my bluetooth phone and mp3 player and because I would not fall on my head on the concrete from a dead stop let alone while moving.
No gangs (clubs) I don’t like groups.
My bike doesn’t need to be manly, it needs to function perfectly.
So get rid of everything but the scooters,… well the really nice scooters.
What we are talking about…at least what I am talking about is when traffic is at a dead stop. Not heavy traffic, but a traffic jam. In that case, you are not changing lanes, you are not moving. It doesn’t inconvience you one bit.
There are a lot of reasons, and that’s probably one of them. A lot of people find it more enjoyable to ride without a helmet. Some people believe that it’s more dangerous to ride with one (there are a ton of nasty arguments about this on this board, I’m not interested in going into it again).
Everyone has a level of risk they are willing to assume in exchange for doing something they love. People ride motorcycles, climb mountains, start threads about Austrian Economics, skydive…some are safer than others.
OMG, I never thought of that! Here I’ve had this dream of Hog Ridin’ (grew up in MKE with the Davidson kids … should’ve seen our uptight colonial-looking church on the day of Mr. D’s funeral: close to a thousand hogs, and two thousand bandanas).
But if I couldn’t listen to How Stuff Works podcasts while travelling… :eek:
OK, I’m ordering the first velvet-throated Electric Harley.
Straw man. Nobody said anyone was forcing anyone to ride motorcycles. Or drive cars for that matter.
However, the poster asked why motorcycleists split lanes rather than wait in stalled traffic. I listed a few reasons. You said those reasons were excuses. They were not.
Other than loud pipes I don’t really have any complaints about motorcyclists. For the most part they can only seriously injure themselves(I know they can cause some serious wrecks, but come on).
You never see a motorcyclist texting while riding, or chomping down on snacks while doing 70 in the rain. It’s the danger that keeps them focused on the road and their surroundings. Not like the rest of us morons on the road in our living-room-on-wheels doing everything we can to distract ourselves from the miracle of traveling at high speeds with the push of a pedal.
I had a broken exhaust pipe several years ago. I had two fix it tickets by the time I had enough money to get it fixed, and it wasn’t anywhere near as loud.
So assume me and motorcyclists are equal under the law why was I subjected to a much higher legal scrutiny? They had resources to give me the tickets, why not those assholes?
Back when i rode a bike with loud pipes, I had cops mention it a couple of times. One said he thought it really was safer, and the other just didn’t want to bother…no tickets in any case.
A broken exhaust pipe on a car often means fumes leaking into the passenger compartment. So maybe that’s it. When I was a teen I drove a car with glasspacks that was louder than any motorcycle, and I never got a ticket on that either.
I’m thinking about buying a Maxi-scooter for commuting when my finances get better (Citycom 300i looks about right).
I have had a biker whip past me on the right at 70, splitting a lane, and, yeah, scary as hell.
I also had a member of the Bandidos in full-on gang colors act like he was going to try to pass me in an HOV lane-repeatedly- when I was coming back from a road trip
What I try to do with a motorcyclist, and what I’d like them to act like, is that they have an invisible car around them, and that this invisible car *itself *gets a two-second distance from me.
Because I will haul a respectable amount of ass if I’m in a hurry, but I try to maintain a two-second tailing distance fore and aft, plus at least one open lane or verge beside me to bail into if feces hit the fan.
Just because you will take more damage than me does not mean I want to pick your teeth out of my plastic fender, mmkay? give me some space, too.
Yes, motorcycles do tend to overheat. Mine (well, one of them) is liquid-cooled. It has a fan. But it does get too hot when ridden under 25 mph.
Heat exhaustion isn’t a problem up here, but back in L.A. it could get very, very hot. Especially when wearing protective gear. Jackets have vents, but the air needs to be moving.
Safety: Yes, it’s safer to ride between the lanes than it is to stop in traffic. I’ve been rear-ended three times in cars when stopped in traffic. I was almost rear-ended in slow-ish traffic on the R1. Fortunately I was able to get between lanes.
Why not wait like everyone else? Because you’re on a motorcycle. If it’s legal and you don’t want to park on the freeway, you’re free to ride a motorcycle. Why should motorcyclists be penalised for other people’s poor choices?
‘Lane-sharing’ is my preferred Orwellian term.
If it’s too confusing or too much trouble to be aware of the traffic around you, you shouldn’t be driving. Fortunately, most motorcyclists are aware that car drivers will try to kill them and ride accordingly.
Really, what’s the big deal? If you’re maintaining situational awareness (as you should be doing), you’re not going to be surprised. The motorcycle is going to be past you in a second or less. Why get bent out of shape over such a small amount of time? You know what makes me nervous? Motorcycles where lane-splitting isn’t permitted. Knowing how vulnerable one is on a bike, I don’t want them anywhere near me for any length of time. It’s safer for everyone involved if motorcycles are going a little faster than everyone else. I’d much rather have a motorcyclist ride past me between lanes than to have him in front of me or behind me.
Look there are many reasons that are put forward and not being rammed from behind is the main safety reason but the reason I do it is because I can turn a 1 hour commute into an entertaining 20 minute ride!
So why should I queue? Would you queue if you didn’t have to?
Oh loud pipes save lives but really loud pipes are annoying. There is a limit and some bikers who run unmuffled pipes are just doing to pose. I have loud pipes but still pretty close to legal limits.
I am a harley riding biker not a 1% bikie, there is a huge difference.
I also am an ATGATT type of guy but you wear what you want and don’t complain when I accept your corneas for transplant later in life.
Have you ever seen the bumper stickers that say Cycles Have Equal Rights? That’s exactly what they’re talking about…sort of. What that sticker means is that cars must treat bikes like they are as wide as another car. In MSF class they teach you how to position yourself so that cars don’t do stupid things. For example, when at a red light, a motorcycle needs to come to a stop in such a way that a car won’t try to go around them. My first day out on my bike, I was riding in the left part of the right lane, as I should be. I came to rest at a red light and had a big van squeeze between me and the curb to make a right turn. Very very close to my foot. Any closer and he would have knocked me over.
But, with that, you’re right, if bikers want respect, they need to give it as well. I’m a biker, I know first hand how often cars just plain don’t see you there. I’ve had people pull out in front of me, change lanes almost into me etc etc etc, but I’ve also seen plenty of bikers change lanes without a blinker or tailgate cars. Going back to MSF class, you have to remember, you are REALLY hard to see as a biker and it’s your responsibility to make yourself as obvious as possible.
It seems like some of the big tough bikers don’t seem to understand that it’s not going to take much to kill them. I don’t care how bad ass you are, I don’t care if you can go drink 20 beers and still kill a grizzly bear with your hands… a 103 pound 16 year old girl in mom’s minivan can end your life in the blink of an eye if she doesn’t know that you want to change into her lane.
Then we’d step outside, smile, wave, say hello and act like we were his BFFs.
Guess not.