Motorcycle Etiquette

[Jim H]

what's the old saying, there are old motorcycle riders, there are bold motorcycle rider, there are no old, bold motorcycle riders .... I really enjoyed riding my bikes but for me those days are history .... saying right up front, an Elio ain't no Harley, for that matter it ain't no Honda .... its the closest that I believe that I can come at this point in my life .... needless to say, I'm looking forward to it

That makes two of us.

 

[Dusty921]

That makes two of us.

Three of us.

 

[Dusty921]

As I get older , my riding style has softened . Experience and even more experience has shown me that aggressive riding is not worth the risk . I've only laid down once while I was a young Harley rider . Not so bad on young me , but the bike was mangled . I think the opposite would happen if I dragged my knee into a blind turn with sand on the road .

Amen to that!
The Harley I have now dictates that I never, ever, put so much as a scratch
on it. Bought it as an investment and damage would kick that right where
it hurts. Can't be fixed, no parts available in the color scheme at all and most of the Anniversary badges are now collector pieces.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

what's the old saying, there are old motorcycle riders, there are bold motorcycle rider, there are no old, bold motorcycle riders .... I really enjoyed riding my bikes but for me those days are history .... saying right up front, an Elio ain't no Harley, for that matter it ain't no Honda .... its the closest that I believe that I can come at this point in my life .... needless to say, I'm looking forward to it

late to the dance, but I'm in @3.!
the safest ,well intended, track rider will never come to hit a car door that's opening,or someone making a left into you.
There are studies of depth perception in, when you focus at one distance your eyes can't send info to your brain fast enough, same with peripheral vision focus looking down the road, and not "see" stuff happening on the sides. Hey s**t happens. The best, well trained, experienced bikers get killed, same as any other recreational sport

 

[cortsdad2]

OK. Here's the set-up. I live on very curvy back-country roads. I was driving today, and like I always do around some of the curves, I drift into the other lane, crossing the double yellow line, making the curve not as severe. I only do this when I can clearly see a great distance in the oncoming lane. So today, I saw down the road two motorcycles followed by a car, coming down the road towards me. They were way down the road. Like I normally do, I drifted into the lane, then drifted back into my lane with PLENTY of space before we passed each other. The guy on the bike was FREAKING out screaming at me like I tried to run him off the road.
Was I in the wrong? I felt really bad that I upset him so much, but it didn't seem like that big a deal to me.
Thoughts?

You obviously don't ride a motorcycle. Car drivers can do some pretty scary things from the perspective of a motorcycle. Crossing a double yellow IS illegal.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

It's not just car drivers

 

[RUCRAYZE]

Amen to that!
The Harley I have now dictates that I never, ever, put so much as a scratch
on it. Bought it as an investment and damage would kick that right where
it hurts. Can't be fixed, no parts available in the color scheme at all and most of the Anniversary badges are now collector pieces.

Under those conditions, I'd only park it in my garage!

 

[Dusty921]

I would park it, but the yahoo factor takes over every time I walk near it!

 

[Mike W]

Well OK then. I'm seeing a pretty distinct pattern. I still say I did nothing dangerous as there was never anything close, but I will take these comments to heart.
Thanks all.

Having only ridden a 150 cc scooter most of my riding was in town but my wife and I still did our share of road rides too. Seeing a car drifting over a double yellow line would have definitely givine us pause but if a safety class had been taken all the steps for avoiding a potential problem would have been clicking along in my mind. I think that even though the crossing of the double yellow may have garnered a ticket if John Law had been following, the wild reaction of the biker seems a bit much.There is a school of thought promoted by professional bike racers that is coming to the fore in motorcycle riding that riding the swervies should be done in a safe and very technical manner rather than going for the complete, ultimate adrenaline rush of pushing it to the very limits. This school promotes the idea of the rush of nailing the curves and doing it right every time. Lots of bikers are killed by needlessly trying to find the limit and discovering too late that they've gone beyond it. I guess I try to drive the curves in my car as technically as I can, knowing that I nailed it and come out the other side jazzed that I did. Yeah, I suppose you were in the wrong, but not by much (it sounds like you are cautious too, not wanting to end up on the wrong side of the sod) and the biker over reacted. Maybe check some You Tubes to see how the pros suggest driving the swervies for us civilians and try it out to see how it feels. By the way, if there is no one there, I commit the same infraction from time to time, but I need to see beyond the upcoming swerves.

 

[Dusty921]

Wife's put on a few pounds since that pic!

Actually, it's easy! Somebody [you in this case] says something legitimate and on topic, my twisted brain gives me a funny/sick image that may, or may not have anything to do with the topic, open new Bing window, type what I was thinking, 'click' Bing Images, 'save' the first image that "fits the bill", post ridiculous reply....ta-daa! Of course my computer's filled with strange/disturbing photos that require purging every so often.

NSTG8R
I find myself going back and reading this every so often. I am amazed at
your uncanny ability to see the ridiculous in the sublime.
I do find strength however in knowing that there is a least one other, on this site, who thinks along these lines and is as basically troubled as I am.