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longtime moto commuters... what's your secret?

This thread is the shit right now.

I commute, but nothing like some of you long haulers that go through daily meat grinders do. Not yet anyways.
 
notfromcali said:
+1


If I'm riding in an area with a lot of intersections and a lot of places where people can pull out in front of me or turn right into my path, I will actually go the speed limit or a bit slower. The only time I'll go a bit over the limit in areas like this is if I have a car in front of me leading the way.


I haven't had a close call on the bike in a few months. The last one was in an area like that where I was trying to make the intersection before the light turned. As luck would have it, a car coming the other way with the intention of turning left had the same idea. I almost hit the back quarterpanel of his car. I was probably going about 45 in a 40. Had to hit the breaks very hard and swerve to miss him. If I'd have been going the speed limit or just under it, the incident would have been nothing more than me casually coasting up to a red light.

Lesson reinforced.
Click to expand...

In city traffic, always try to use a car going the same way as you to run interference at intersections. If there are two lanes available, follow them from the other lane, maybe one car length back from them.
If there's only one lane, follow them a bit closer, and watch through their windshield to see what's up there that they might react to. If you spot something that they'd hit their brakes for, you saw it at the same time they did, and can hit your brakes without waiting to see their brake lights.
 
This thread is awesom!
don't ride like an asshole
ride like i am invisible
Situational awareness
decent bike control
A blend of hypervigilance and zen-like calm.
Be aware, but be cool.
Don't Panic!
*bubbles* are safe
Patience
Click to expand...

Zen and the art of lane sharing + bubbles are my mode of commuting.
 
CHUM said:
i am also a fan of *bubbles*.....great big roomy *bubbles*....ya know.....when there's a gap next to ya, in front of ya...and waaaay behind ya.....i seek out these *bubbles* like a monkey on fire in search of water......

*bubbles* are safe......*bubbles* increase reaction time.....*bubbles* are my escape route......hooray for *bubbles*.....:)
Click to expand...

I tend to have a mental picture of traffic as a really large model of the fluid dynamics of soundwaves affecting gas molecules in a pipeline: densely packed traffic is a high pressure zone, the *bubbles* are low pressure nodes - kind of like sound waves. Whoa, BASS!!

Oh, yeah + eleventy bazillion on the "Hyper vigilance with zen like calm" thing, too.

--S
 
Hmm.. I ride to the beat of a drum.. I ride at a constant steady pace.. namely my pace...

I hold the throttle steady and work the clutch and the brakes...

Just like driving a tank or a lawn mower or any large tracked vehicle where the throttle stays constant.. does that make sense?

OH.. and I use my arms, wave them around.. if I want to change lanes.. I use hand signals.. left, right, slow.. what the fuck?? all of thoes signals. I'm pretty vocal with the body language.. I have to be.. how else will they know? Turn signals are useless in this "close corners combat traffic"

and.. lastly.. I ride sober..
 
i +1000 agree with everything above, lots of very insightful comments.

Esp. the recurring advice: Look ahead, anticipate stupid moves by EVERYONE, cagers, pedestrians, bicycles, and other moto's.

another thing i'd add is: Choose your route wisely.

I take different TIME and routes for the car then for the bike.

e.g. on the bike i like to go during carpool lane hours, with the car i try to avoid those hours.

I also dont like the 280NB -> 85EB interchange on a bike, during carpool hours.

instead, i use a different route, which will put me on 85 all the way.
more stop-lights for me to get there, but safer. (and i dont care about the stop-lights so much on the bike when i can split to the front)

my summary would be:

RIDE SMART.

Plan ahead, look ahead.

Turn your "weekness" (no crumple zone) into a strength (power/weight).

remember - you can always get away from trouble or avoid trouble.
much easier than getting out of trouble when it's too late.
 
Besides the many exellent posts so far, I'd like to add "lights & clothing" . I have been commuting from santa cruz to the south bay for 30+ years, and I have learned to use my Aerostich "Hi-viz" yellow suit for every ride, no matter how hot it is. In addition, I always add retroreflective decals on my helmet. As for lights, i always use a headlight modulator and brake light modulator. Additionally, now I use a HID unit instead of the stock low beam bulb (the slightly blue light, besides allowing me to see better, seems to make me more noticable to cages when I come up from behind). Finally, I add fog/driving lights and additional brake & running lights. (in anticipation of possible upcoming remarks, (1) I know that some people do not believe in modulators, but I have had numerous instances where cage drivers have remarked to me about them, so I know that I'm being seen by at least some cages. (2) my bike in no way looks like a Goldwing; all the lights are very discreet & basically invisible when the bike is turned off.
 
oh ya, I forgot to add, whenever I'm splitting lanes, I get behind a Harley rider whenever I can, even if they're going slower than I am (but I always go slow when lane splitting, so this hardly ever happens). If you haven't guessed, it's their "loud pipes save lives" saying in action. I doubt that they're saving their own life, but I do know that they're helping to save mine. They startle the caagers so much that in almost all instances, they look in their mirror & give me more room. I love Harleys!
 
CHUM said:
i am also a fan of *bubbles*.....great big roomy *bubbles*....ya know.....when there's a gap next to ya, in front of ya...and waaaay behind ya.....i seek out these *bubbles* like a monkey on fire in search of water......

*bubbles* are safe......*bubbles* increase reaction time.....*bubbles* are my escape route......hooray for *bubbles*.....:)
Click to expand...

+1000
the farther you are away from other vehicles the more time you have to plan.
 
metrorollah said:
3 ways - front. left and right
2 words - peripheral vision
1 motto - "this is MY lane."
Click to expand...


DataDan said:
Maneuvering out of a jam works sometimes; not being there when it happens works every time.
Click to expand...

CHUM said:
i am also a fan of *bubbles*.....great big roomy *bubbles*....ya know.....when there's a gap next to ya, in front of ya...and waaaay behind ya.....i seek out these *bubbles* like a monkey on fire in search of water......

*bubbles* are safe......*bubbles* increase reaction time.....*bubbles* are my escape route......hooray for *bubbles*.....:)
Click to expand...

littlebeast said:
Besides all the things that have been mentioned, I also had a long time commuter (very safe and savvy) walk me through traffic flow dynamics. It's not a single determining factor in a rider's reaction to any given situation (no one thing usually is), but it's more data to process as you are riding (e.g. the compression cycles and merge patterns). Find someone who can walk you through this.
Click to expand...


:thumbup :thumbup

I don't commute nearly as often as most, actually pretty rarely, but these are the styles I try to incorporate when I do commute, and pretty much any time I ride.

Be observant, so you are aware of what's going on and don't get caught in a bad situation in the first place. As often as possible, ride with a safety margin (bubble). If traffic congestes to where you don't have a *bubble* get back into one as soon as you can, safely.

Littlebeast mentioned the traffic flow dynamics. I also agree that learning to 'read' the traffic patterns on a commute can help alot, you just have make sure it doesn't cause you to become complacent. But by learning where congestions form, and where merges happen, and where cages have a tendency to dart out into a faster lane it will help you to have a more keen sense of situational awareness. Avoiding the general area by a few lanes prior to and past these spots will also help to avoid some problems you might encounter.
 
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Man, some excellent stuff here and no BS thus far.

Space, vision, anticipation, defensiveness most of the time but the throttle can be your best friend within reason. Wear good gear for the season; being way too hot or way too cold will lead to a drop in concentration.

Don't "gap race."

And knowing when your skills aren't up to snuff and taking the cage.

Really, hard to disagree with anything thus far.

Kudos to all.
 
I like DataDan's wording, with a dash of Caponerd's using cars to run interference, and, I have to believe, that the close spots have been so easy, because of all my Dirt background, getting through trees, and boulders, etc.
 
mojo.jpg"
 
Fantastic thread!

Always, always listen to the "little voice" that's telling you something is wrong, or going to be wrong very soon, and react accordingly.

You know what I mean; that feeling you get when you're just cruising along that the pickup truck next to you is going to merge into you without looking....
and then it does.

Listen to that voice.
 
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