Following Other Motorcycles

[bcv_west]

OP, when you start a post with 'I'd like to humbly request' and end it with /rant, it won't go well.

Humble request: "I feel uncomfortable when other motorcycles are following me - they feel too close, from what I know of safe following distances. Am I crazy? Any tips for managing the situation to feel safer in congested traffic?"

Not-so-humble request: "Other riders suck, you guys just don't understand the dangers, please manage your ride so I won't be skeered."

In spite of yourself, DataDan's last post offered excellent and extremely simple advice on how to manage your ride to feel more in control - increase your own following distance. Bonus: it will encourage Zippy the pinhead riding your rear tire to scoot around you and disappear.

Enjoy the

 

[hattusilis]

^^^^ Ouch.

Not so much ouch actually...I can see why I missed DataDan on account of the description of whatever input he had given though. None of it was information about following distances. It was just the standard "Bahhh! That's too much space" nonsense with nothing else. No technical information, not even a handwaving, back of the envelope calculation. I don't see what's so horrible about not being swayed by the fact that somebody with a higher post count than me disagrees either. Those people have been pretty unimpressive so far.

 

[mean dad]

Not so much ouch actually...I can see why I missed DataDan on account of the description of whatever input he had given though. None of it was information about following distances. It was just the standard "Bahhh! That's too much space" nonsense with nothing else. No technical information, not even a handwaving, back of the envelope calculation. I don't see what's so horrible about not being swayed by the fact that somebody with a higher post count than me disagrees either. Those people have been pretty unimpressive so far.

It's not that you're not being swayed, it's that you think everyone but you is completely wrong.
With all of what, maybe two years' experience?

Slow down and create more distance like Dan (The Man) said, and call it good. Relying on everyone else to make you feel safe is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Lunch Box]

Those people have been pretty unimpressive so far.

You seem like such a nice, open minded fellow, too. What a shame.

Seriously man, lighten up, stop taking yourself so seriously and be a bit more open to responses from seasoned riders.

 

[SuperMike]

 

[Honey Badger]

You're never going to have the opportunity to change the entire riding public - even if every single BARFer here was to adhere to your "request," you would still miss the vast majority of the riding public. If you requested this on every MC, moto, moto-related, Harley, etc forum you might get into a majority of riders, but far from all.

So, by that logic, there are better ways to approach your concern than trying to change everyone else - and that's putting yourself in control of the situation. The best thing you can do if you are nervous about the bike/car/whatever behind you (without any major changes to what you are doing) is to leave extra stopping distance in front of yourself - I do this regularly, because I want room for said solid object behind me to react and actually slow down in time, or more time for me to come up with a Plan C/D/E if needed.

Faster riders? Move over and wave them by if they're annoying you. If they're right up your pipe, perhaps they've been back there awhile before you noticed and they were not-so-politely asking you to GTFO of their way. Same unspoken rule applies to lane splitting.

Nothing wrong with not being very experienced - there is something wrong with putting yourself into situations you're not yet comfortable with/ready for, and expecting everyone else to change their behavior.

Take the control, manage your situation, and don't worry so much about what other people are doing. If they're being a dumbass, then eventually you may have the pleasure of helping them pick up their wrecked bike further down the road. If they're not, and perhaps are just more experienced and better at controlling their bike/reading traffic/etc then let them be and stay control of your own world.

 

[hattusilis]

It's not that you're not being swayed, it's that you think everyone but you is completely wrong.
With all of what, maybe two years' experience?

Slow down and create more distance like Dan (The Man) said, and call it good. Relying on everyone else to make you feel safe is a recipe for disaster.

I've known the slow down and create more distance when you have a tailgater trick since I was nine. It's pretty basic to driving anything, be it a car or a motorcycle. I actually make use of it pretty regularly if it's not safe to just yield...

Fuck yeah the idea that nobody will give you enough space is wrong. The idea that hugging a stranger's ass is all right because motorcycle is also wrong (oh look at my perfidious bastard of a self being all argumentative and stuff). We're not talking about a race track here. You don't need to prevent people from getting in front of you and, if I'm just the shittiest rider around plain and simple, then why are you going to deliberately do something when you know that it's going to make people at a lower skill level nervous? If someone's in obvious distress then...I don't know...Maybe be a decent human being and help them? And what makes you so damned special that you aren't overestimating your own abilities? That everybody-does-it-so-I-should-too line is also a really terrible reason to tailgate people since it's literally saying that you should ride/drive like a dick because other people do it too.

 

[planegray]

some things are counter-intuitive.

examples:
1) counter-steering
2) leaving a lot of space between cars, in heavy bay area traffic, makes you more safe

why;
1) search General to find out
2) If you leave too much space, then someone will jump in and THEN you'll be back to "too little space" .... in addition to the risk of rear ending the douchcanoe that just jumped in front of you while hoping that the Einstein behind you is awake and manages to avoid asspacking you !


When I'm commuting I'll often "ride wing" when I come across another moto rider. It's pretty easy to tell if they want you back there or not, and if I'm not wanted I'll get on by 'em and be on my merry way. If they don't seem to mind; I ride about 3 moto lengths back and to one side so they can see me in their rear view. If the moto in front of me decides to jam on their brakes and swerve into the next lane, I have enough room to not asspack them. I have noted that autos definitely see two motos riding together (like.. together, NOT 3 seconds apart) much better than just one.

I've known the slow down and create more distance when you have a tailgater trick since I was nine. It's pretty basic to driving anything, be it a car or a motorcycle. I actually make use of it pretty regularly if it's not safe to just yield........................................................................

Your reaction is just passive aggressive rude behavior. You want to know what considerate behavior is ? SLOWER TRAFFIC STAY TO THE RIGHT

 

[jh2586]

Man this thread reminds me of me when I first started barfing

Oh how much I've learned..

 

[mean dad]

I've known the slow down and create more distance when you have a tailgater trick since I was nine. It's pretty basic to driving anything, be it a car or a motorcycle. I actually make use of it pretty regularly if it's not safe to just yield...

Fuck yeah the idea that nobody will give you enough space is wrong. The idea that hugging a stranger's ass is all right because motorcycle is also wrong (oh look at my perfidious bastard of a self being all argumentative and stuff). We're not talking about a race track here. You don't need to prevent people from getting in front of you and, if I'm just the shittiest rider around plain and simple, then why are you going to deliberately do something when you know that it's going to make people at a lower skill level nervous? If someone's in obvious distress then...I don't know...Maybe be a decent human being and help them? And what makes you so damned special that you aren't overestimating your own abilities? That everybody-does-it-so-I-should-too line is also a really terrible reason to tailgate people since it's literally saying that you should ride/drive like a dick because other people do it too.

Get The Fuck Off The Road if you're riding "in obvious distress". That you even use that term to describe a driving/riding scenario is scary as fuck, dude.

Jesus Christ maybe you should ride with Spartan Warrior and learn how to be aggressive.

 

[hattusilis]

Have you really never seen anyone get injured? Or a car that had obviously pulled over after colliding with something? Did you ever think that maybe you should stop and see if they're okay?

People get strokes while driving. Sometimes they have a sneezing fit and lose control of their vehicle (happened to my dad). Sometimes it turns out that they have epilepsy and a seizure is triggered by the light that's coming in through fence posts or even fucking trees (happened to a friend's husband). Sometimes they have a tumor that they don't know about until it gives them a seizure while driving (happened to the husband of an old friend's of my mom). Sometimes the manufacturer cuts corners and the entire machine dies, like with the Cobalt...

some things are counter-intuitive.

examples:
1) counter-steering
2) leaving a lot of space between cars, in heavy bay area traffic, makes you more safe

why;
1) search General to find out
2) If you leave too much space, then someone will jump in and THEN you'll be back to "too little space" .... in addition to the risk of rear ending the douchcanoe that just jumped in front of you while hoping that the Einstein behind you is awake and manages to avoid asspacking you !


When I'm commuting I'll often "ride wing" when I come across another moto rider. It's pretty easy to tell if they want you back there or not, and if I'm not wanted I'll get on by 'em and be on my merry way. If they don't seem to mind; I ride about 3 moto lengths back and to one side so they can see me in their rear view. If the moto in front of me decides to jam on their brakes and swerve into the next lane, I have enough room to not asspack them. I have noted that autos definitely see two motos riding together (like.. together, NOT 3 seconds apart) much better than just one.

I'm not talking about the freeway, for the umpteenth time. Most of the time I'm on shitty, narrow, inredibly windy, hilly roads with poor visibility where most of the cars come up the wrong side because of the fact that they have less than four feet of clearance on their right side. Other than that a lot of the time swerving into another lane means swerving into opposing traffic, because it's the only other lane and the shoulder is just a mass of parked cars. I'm not talking about tearing ass down main roads with three lanes big, wide lanes in each direction. This isn't lanesplitting up and down 880. Most of the time I'm scraping my boots because of the crappy state of the pavement, the generally weird traction and the wild angles. Extra super fun when it rains and now you also have to worry about wiping your visor/goggles clean.

 

[planegray]

Have you really never seen anyone get injured? Or a car that had obviously pulled over after colliding with something? Did you ever think that maybe you should stop and see if they're okay?



I'm not talking about the freeway, for the umpteenth time. Most of the time I'm on shitty, narrow, inredibly windy, hilly roads with poor visibility where most of the cars come up the wrong side because of the fact that they have less than four feet of clearance on their right side. Other than that a lot of the time swerving into another lane means swerving into opposing traffic, because it's the only other lane and the shoulder is just a mass of parked cars. I'm not talking about tearing ass down main roads with three lanes big, wide lanes in each direction. This isn't lanesplitting up and down 880. Most of the time I'm scraping my boots because of the crappy state of the pavement, the generally weird traction and the wild angles. Extra super fun when it rains and now you also have to worry about wiping your visor/goggles clean.

oh.... well in that case just stay to the right and wave the faster traffic on by

 

[berth]

No offense, but the idea that needing two hand to control your bike in a situation necessarily means that you're going too fast for it is just silly. Needing two hands doesn't mean that you're scared for your life and gripping the handlebars so tight that you're tearing the flexors in your arm. There's a pretty large middle ground between brazen and petrified. I never do that little wave, but that's because I don't want to. I'm not your buddy just because we're both on motorcycles. I'm sure as hell less inclined to do it now, too.

And yeah, no shit I'm not a great rider. I don't know what gives you the impression that I'm speeding if I'm having issues with people crowding me up though. You know that there are roads that are lined with parked cars, by the way, right? If you don't pay attention you might get hit by one while it's pulling out. Or run into someone. Maybe a toddling someone.

Never said you were speeding, just that you're going faster than you are apparently comfortable riding. It just sounds like you're not a very confident rider, not yet at least.

Bikes on your tail are the least of your worries, to be honest. The worst case is simply some yahoo with an open pipe just making the surrounding area a complete racket. But if a bike is up behind you, recall, in case of emergency, that he can stop as fast as you can, and he has lots of room in the lane to go around you if worse comes to worst.

Cars, on the other hand, can't do that. They don't appreciate that you can stop twice as fast as they can, and by their nature, they have no place to go save plowing in to you.

This isn't to suggest that it's "proper" to be running up on anyone, but simply to acknowledge that the risks of a bike doing it are far lower than the risks of a car doing it.

Also, don't forget, one of the benefits of motorcycles is that they can achieve higher density on the roads than cars can. Witness any crowd of hooligan motards, or a Harley parade pack.

This place is seeming like a pretty typical internet forum, so I'm going to bug out

That's too bad. Because, frankly, this is simply one of the best online communities on the internet. Coincidently, it happens to be motorcycle focused. But there really isn't a more helpful and friendly group of folks anywhere else.

 

[hattusilis]

I'm more worried about scooters on my tail than anything else to be totally honest. The scooter kids around UC Berkeley are quite terrifying. And they roam in packs.

 

[flying_hun]

 

[Hooli]

The scooter kids around UC Berkeley are quite terrifying. And they roam in packs.

That ain't shit.

Try Oakland.

 

[bcv_west]

I'm more worried about scooters on my tail than anything else to be totally honest. The scooter kids around UC Berkeley are quite terrifying. And they roam in packs.

Are you riding motorcycles or just imagining how it would be to ride them? Scraping boots on pavement, riding in the rain with a pack of scooters chasing you...it's a better novel concept than the last one you had, but real riders are gonna roll their eyes a little.

 

[Lunch Box]

I'm more worried about scooters on my tail than anything else to be totally honest. The scooter kids around UC Berkeley are quite terrifying. And they roam in packs.

So we will add "scary scooter gangs" to the long list of things that freak you out. Got it.

 

[mean dad]

Have you really never seen anyone get injured? Or a car that had obviously pulled over after colliding with something? Did you ever think that maybe you should stop and see if they're okay?

People get strokes while driving. Sometimes they have a sneezing fit and lose control of their vehicle (happened to my dad). Sometimes it turns out that they have epilepsy and a seizure is triggered by the light that's coming in through fence posts or even fucking trees (happened to a friend's husband). Sometimes they have a tumor that they don't know about until it gives them a seizure while driving (happened to the husband of an old friend's of my mom). Sometimes the manufacturer cuts corners and the entire machine dies, like with the Cobalt...

What. The. Fuck. Does. This. Have. To. Do. With. Your. Request. :|

Holy fuck you're entertaining!

 

[jh2586]