Motorbike rider in Hampshire
16 May 2002, 08:32 PM
#31
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As far as we can all tell, all bikers are aggressive drivers, purely because it's more visible to see their reactions and their resulting manoevers...even though I've had some perty damn aggressive manoevers thrown at me from car drivers who think that they own the road too.
I am definatley not anti-bike as it's been my only form of transport for the last 14 years, but as I also work in a bike shop I can see the other view point about the way we behave on the road..I admit I am one of those mirror bashing buggas, but only if it really deserves it, and I've only kicked one door, only because it was that or be shoved into a wall.
As for us all having the attitude that we are the fastest thing out there ...spend a Saturday in a bike shop just listening to the stories of how fast everyone is and how well they all ride...then check out the edges of the tyres to see just how many are actually speaking the truth...
I'd say about 1%...there are an awful lot of to$$ers out there
I also see lots of bent bikes, mostly caused by hero's who think they know what they're doing only to find out they push their luck too far. Not many bikes come in that have been hit by cars, unless the rider wasn't paying attention to what's going on around them. we all know that you gotta have your wits about you if you're pushing it, car or bike.
so, who was right and who was wrong?
both really IMHO. One for not looking where he was going and the other for pushing beyond his own limits. To overtake the bike he had to be in the outside lane, and to enter the slip road he had to be in the inside lane, so he must've cut the bike up. then the biker got upset and rode beyond his limits to catch up and scared himself.
No need to kick the door though.
If we all looked out for others all the time instead of being absorbed in our own little worlds, there would be far less accidents.
I am definatley not anti-bike as it's been my only form of transport for the last 14 years, but as I also work in a bike shop I can see the other view point about the way we behave on the road..I admit I am one of those mirror bashing buggas, but only if it really deserves it, and I've only kicked one door, only because it was that or be shoved into a wall.
As for us all having the attitude that we are the fastest thing out there ...spend a Saturday in a bike shop just listening to the stories of how fast everyone is and how well they all ride...then check out the edges of the tyres to see just how many are actually speaking the truth...
I'd say about 1%...there are an awful lot of to$$ers out there
I also see lots of bent bikes, mostly caused by hero's who think they know what they're doing only to find out they push their luck too far. Not many bikes come in that have been hit by cars, unless the rider wasn't paying attention to what's going on around them. we all know that you gotta have your wits about you if you're pushing it, car or bike.
so, who was right and who was wrong?
both really IMHO. One for not looking where he was going and the other for pushing beyond his own limits. To overtake the bike he had to be in the outside lane, and to enter the slip road he had to be in the inside lane, so he must've cut the bike up. then the biker got upset and rode beyond his limits to catch up and scared himself.
No need to kick the door though.
If we all looked out for others all the time instead of being absorbed in our own little worlds, there would be far less accidents.
16 May 2002, 08:43 PM
#32
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unfortunately that silly season is coming where I gotta look forward to going into work after the weekend to find out who fell off or got killed on the weekend
...
think about it... not the best thing about working on bikes
...think about it... not the best thing about working on bikes
16 May 2002, 10:06 PM
#33
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Bros2 - I did direct access, bought myself a GSXR600, got my Dainese 1-piece suit, learnt how to get my knee down and have never fallen off my bike - I've had a license for 6-7 years!
Had I been 17 rather than 21 or however old i was when i passed my test then I consider myself to have been a far greater menace because I had no road sense at that age. Four years driving cars taught me a lot about road craft and when I finally got on a bike I already had a headstart on those that first get on two wheels at 17.
Please don't stereotype direct access people! Don't those 24 onwards have a right to ride bikes?
DP.
Had I been 17 rather than 21 or however old i was when i passed my test then I consider myself to have been a far greater menace because I had no road sense at that age. Four years driving cars taught me a lot about road craft and when I finally got on a bike I already had a headstart on those that first get on two wheels at 17.
Please don't stereotype direct access people! Don't those 24 onwards have a right to ride bikes?
DP.
16 May 2002, 10:56 PM
#34
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had a guy did D/A a couple weeks ago, got himself a nice new sensible GSX600F (baboons 
****)...got it back this week...crashed!
it's not what you ride, it's how you ride it
just be safe guys. I seen too many peeps hurt and killed and it not nice.
not saying don't have fun though
****)...got it back this week...crashed!it's not what you ride, it's how you ride it
just be safe guys. I seen too many peeps hurt and killed and it not nice.
not saying don't have fun though
16 May 2002, 10:59 PM
#35
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Now the nice weather's here and the bikes are out,I once again note how bikers must be following a different set of rules to everyone else.I'll be driving along doing 30 in a 30 behind a line of cars.My car is easily quick enough to overtake the line of cars and get back in front again but I don't because of all the obvious things like someone pulling out,kids running across the road etc.Some bikers however will just overtake,blatently going nearly double the limit.It's the same coming up to roundabouts/junctions.Just because their some bike's are physically small enough to get through the gap,some bikers attempt to do so and then get upset when you don't see them in your blind spot and you nearly collide.My point is just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to.You may think I'm generalising,but how many bikes do you actually see queueing/waiting in traffic?
17 May 2002, 08:07 AM
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drumsterphil
Fair enough, I'm stereotyping. But I'd say you're the exception in being crash-free for seven years.
It's true to say that most riders will crash in their first year on the road, and my point is that many riders now start having long since passed their car test. They may have quite a good car, and are used to having a good level of safety, as well as knowing their ability to push the car.
They then transfer to a bike, which has NO safety aids, and is an entirely different thing to ride than a car is to drive. Such riders often assume that their car-driving skills will transfer immediately to bike-riding skills, which sadly ain't the case. And, as I said before, these people often have sufficient disposable income to buy something really very fast, and hence can get themselves into huge trouble.
I was on a Sunday morning blast organised by the local bike shop a few years ago. It started raining, but we carried on. At one point I was leading the group at admittedly a very high speed. I knew the roads, it was 6.00am on a Sunday morning, and all seemed OK. One of the guys in the group had just passed his test three months earlier and had bought a ZX-7R, thought he was God's gift.
Unfortunately he tried to keep up and failed to stay on - braked too hard (a greasy bit of road under trees with some leaves etc on the surface) and went down. He was OK, the bike was donald ducked. Purely down to (lack of) experience, but made worse by the fact that he thought he SHOULD be able to keep up, and that this biking lark was easy.
I felt very guilty about this - if I hadn't been going that fast, neither would he have been - as a result I now tend to ride on my own when I'm going for a high-speed blast.
Bros
Fair enough, I'm stereotyping. But I'd say you're the exception in being crash-free for seven years.
It's true to say that most riders will crash in their first year on the road, and my point is that many riders now start having long since passed their car test. They may have quite a good car, and are used to having a good level of safety, as well as knowing their ability to push the car.
They then transfer to a bike, which has NO safety aids, and is an entirely different thing to ride than a car is to drive. Such riders often assume that their car-driving skills will transfer immediately to bike-riding skills, which sadly ain't the case. And, as I said before, these people often have sufficient disposable income to buy something really very fast, and hence can get themselves into huge trouble.
I was on a Sunday morning blast organised by the local bike shop a few years ago. It started raining, but we carried on. At one point I was leading the group at admittedly a very high speed. I knew the roads, it was 6.00am on a Sunday morning, and all seemed OK. One of the guys in the group had just passed his test three months earlier and had bought a ZX-7R, thought he was God's gift.
Unfortunately he tried to keep up and failed to stay on - braked too hard (a greasy bit of road under trees with some leaves etc on the surface) and went down. He was OK, the bike was donald ducked. Purely down to (lack of) experience, but made worse by the fact that he thought he SHOULD be able to keep up, and that this biking lark was easy.
I felt very guilty about this - if I hadn't been going that fast, neither would he have been - as a result I now tend to ride on my own when I'm going for a high-speed blast.
Bros
17 May 2002, 08:53 AM
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My brother's a biker and has been since he proudly got his first moped at 16 (A Garelli 50! - passed down through all of us, that little Garelli did.) He's had his fair share of accidents, fortunately none of them too serious but what really gets on my nerves is all the banging on about fitting cars with every safety advice under the sun but allowing bikers to go out on the road with no more protection than a helmet.
The amount of idiots I see in jeans and a light jacket with trainers on!
Fortunately my brother always wears his leathers, boots, kevlar jacket and everything else but a friend's brother once left his leathers at his girlfriend's. Went back the next day to collect them, got T-boned by a car and now has trouble walking as a result.
The amount of idiots I see in jeans and a light jacket with trainers on!
Fortunately my brother always wears his leathers, boots, kevlar jacket and everything else but a friend's brother once left his leathers at his girlfriend's. Went back the next day to collect them, got T-boned by a car and now has trouble walking as a result.
17 May 2002, 10:04 AM
#39
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some of my mates were riding a couple of years ago and one of them went through a fence at the road side and ripped his head of.
i'd only use a fast bike on a track. its like taking a powerboat to your local fishing lake!
Tiggs
i'd only use a fast bike on a track. its like taking a powerboat to your local fishing lake!
Tiggs
17 May 2002, 11:16 AM
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Everyone knows someone who’s had a serious car crash or bike crash, only on a bike it doesn’t take much to make it serious.
For example, last year my local bike shop had a demo day on some new Hondas, with escorted rides by members of staff. A couple on a new hornet braked a bit hard at very slow speed and resulted in wrong footing the (most experienced) escort who literally just toppled over. Before he could pick himself up a petrol tanker, that was watching what was happening whilst trying to stop, ran over his head killing him instantly…. Doesn’t take much on a bike to make it serious.
I always wear full leathers and armour but at the end of the day you still ain’t got a tin box around you. Unfortunately some bikers, or car drivers don’t realise this or how vulnerable bikers really are. I’m not exactly sure but at this time of year a lot of riders you’ll see will be wearing denim. If you fall off at 40mph with denim on it will last approximately 2 seconds on tarmac before exposing skin. Skin isn’t as abrasion resistant as denim (unless it’s cow skin!).
Incidentally, as I passed my test on a direct access course nearly a year ago and now own a new CBR600, does this mean I’m due to crash soon??!!
For example, last year my local bike shop had a demo day on some new Hondas, with escorted rides by members of staff. A couple on a new hornet braked a bit hard at very slow speed and resulted in wrong footing the (most experienced) escort who literally just toppled over. Before he could pick himself up a petrol tanker, that was watching what was happening whilst trying to stop, ran over his head killing him instantly…. Doesn’t take much on a bike to make it serious.
I always wear full leathers and armour but at the end of the day you still ain’t got a tin box around you. Unfortunately some bikers, or car drivers don’t realise this or how vulnerable bikers really are. I’m not exactly sure but at this time of year a lot of riders you’ll see will be wearing denim. If you fall off at 40mph with denim on it will last approximately 2 seconds on tarmac before exposing skin. Skin isn’t as abrasion resistant as denim (unless it’s cow skin!).
Incidentally, as I passed my test on a direct access course nearly a year ago and now own a new CBR600, does this mean I’m due to crash soon??!!
17 May 2002, 11:21 AM
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Steve - probably..... but look on the bright side - I rode bikes for 10 years and managed to fall of loads of times and write three off, so its noting to do with Direct Access. If you are careful about when you might bin it you should be OK
p.s. - Whats wrong with roundabout surfing
p.s. - Whats wrong with roundabout surfing
17 May 2002, 11:48 AM
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I did Direct Access and have managed to remain crash free for 5 years. As for "nearly every rider will crash in their first year", that is utter bow locks. I didn't crash in my first year, nor my 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th. But it could still happen, remember there are 2 types of rider, those who have crashed and those who are going to crash.
I'm not the fastest rider out there (go on, look at my tyres, I have ***** strips 2mm wide on the back, terrible ) but I ride within my limits (which incidentally are well within the bikes limits). I ride with guys who have over 10 years road bike experience, one of the guys I ride with is an ex-racer, so why try and kid myself I can keep up? Funny though, sometimes we ride with new riders who are determined to keep up with or beat the ex-racer.
This morning I had to tap on someone's mirror. I was coming around a busy roundabout (a motorway junction), pretty cranked over, but not stupid fast, headlights on, brightly coloured helmet and leathers (complete with shiny knee sliders
), indicating correctly, and not 1, but 2 cars pulled out on me, forcing me to pick the bike up and brake hard. One went round the roundabout, but one joined the motorway the same as me, so he got a tap on the mirror and the Nescafe hand signal. Guess what? Both of them were looking directly at me as they pulled out, *******, probably confused by the headlights
Does this make me a mad biker? Who cares, I'm alive and that guy will perhaps be a little more observant/thoughtful in future.
I'm not the fastest rider out there (go on, look at my tyres, I have ***** strips 2mm wide on the back, terrible
) but I ride within my limits (which incidentally are well within the bikes limits). I ride with guys who have over 10 years road bike experience, one of the guys I ride with is an ex-racer, so why try and kid myself I can keep up? Funny though, sometimes we ride with new riders who are determined to keep up with or beat the ex-racer.This morning I had to tap on someone's mirror. I was coming around a busy roundabout (a motorway junction), pretty cranked over, but not stupid fast, headlights on, brightly coloured helmet and leathers (complete with shiny knee sliders
), indicating correctly, and not 1, but 2 cars pulled out on me, forcing me to pick the bike up and brake hard. One went round the roundabout, but one joined the motorway the same as me, so he got a tap on the mirror and the Nescafe hand signal. Guess what? Both of them were looking directly at me as they pulled out, *******, probably confused by the headlights Does this make me a mad biker? Who cares, I'm alive and that guy will perhaps be a little more observant/thoughtful in future.
17 May 2002, 11:57 AM
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Rev - It is amazing how often people pull out while they eyeball you. My last write off was caused by a (dare I say dumb blond 
maybe not) young lady who watched me drive towards her for 5 or 6 seconds, then pulled out when I was about 5 feet away and she had maintained eye contact for a couple of seconds. I decided this was completely inappropriate, so I rammed her with the bike. Taught her a lesson.... I decided at that stage that with the imminent arrivel of my first child, and the realisation that no matter how hard you try some nutcase can wipe you out at the flutter of an eyelash that it was time to hang up the dayglo leathers and get a tin box with airbags
maybe not) young lady who watched me drive towards her for 5 or 6 seconds, then pulled out when I was about 5 feet away and she had maintained eye contact for a couple of seconds. I decided this was completely inappropriate, so I rammed her with the bike. Taught her a lesson.... I decided at that stage that with the imminent arrivel of my first child, and the realisation that no matter how hard you try some nutcase can wipe you out at the flutter of an eyelash that it was time to hang up the dayglo leathers and get a tin box with airbags
18 May 2002, 07:36 PM
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I've just got back into biking after a 6 year gap, my previous bike was a Suzuki 750 Katana which in todays standard is pig slow.
I bought myself a Kawasaki ER-5 last month due to the fact that I have zero no claims bonus and needed a cheap & cheerfull bike to learn the ropes again.
I was contemplating getting a Yamaha R1 as they had a special low cost insurance scheme running, I took one out for a test drive and was scared ****less. 0-60 in under 3 secs, 175mph top speed it was just too over the top to use on the roads.
My bike is perfect for what I need, cutting through traffic.
Who goes above 40mph in central London?
I bought myself a Kawasaki ER-5 last month due to the fact that I have zero no claims bonus and needed a cheap & cheerfull bike to learn the ropes again.
I was contemplating getting a Yamaha R1 as they had a special low cost insurance scheme running, I took one out for a test drive and was scared ****less. 0-60 in under 3 secs, 175mph top speed it was just too over the top to use on the roads.
My bike is perfect for what I need, cutting through traffic.
Who goes above 40mph in central London?
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