Well now on behalf of bikers...
Naw can't be bothered.
Only thing I will say is that those speed restricted mopeds have paid their road tax and have as much right to the road as you. They are under no obligation to ride in the gutter which is a very dangerous place for them to be.
Would you object similarly if it was some old buffer in a Rover doing that speed?
|
Mass generalisation!
There are bad motorcyclists and there are good motorcyclists, just as there are with drivers. Do all car drivers drive with bald tyres, no insurance at 95mph in a 50, 3 times over the limit while eating a sandwich and sending a text? No, though some do, which does not make all drivers bad drivers.
One of the problems that motorcyclists face is that many car drivers have the same attitude as the author of this thread, i.e. no regard for the rights of motorcyclists as fellow road users.
|
I considered starting a similar thread a few days ago but decided against it as i thought i'd be shot down in flames.
So i'll make one comment and ask one question.
Recently i've seen some pretty shocking antics from motorcyclists, in particular from riders of larger machines. Weaving in and out of slow moving traffic, reckless overtaking manouvres without any regard for their own safety and others around them.
question.. Why do around 75% of bikers appear to have a deathwish?
|
question.. Why do around 75% of bikers appear to have a deathwish?
Mass generalisation!
|
|
|
So i'll make one comment and ask one question. Recently i've seen some pretty shocking antics from motorcyclists, in particular from riders of larger machines. Weaving in and out of slow moving traffic
Filtering through traffic is one of the main reasons to use a motorbike. It's legal too.
Car drivers get to stay warm and dry, bike riders get to not sit outside for too long, isn't that fair?
From the first post, as for a car driver being quicker away from the lights, you've cheered me right up. Even my very non-sporting bike will get to 30mph or 60mph quicker than almost anything on 4 wheels. The day I'm next to a McLaren F1 (who's in a hurry) is the day I'll be slowest from the lights. With a sports bike, the McLaren would be slower of course.
|
From the first post, as for a car driver being quicker away from the lights, you've cheered me right up. Even my very non-sporting bike will get to 30mph or 60mph quicker than almost anything on 4 wheels. The day I'm next to a McLaren F1 (who's in a hurry) is the day I'll be slowest from the lights. With a sports bike, the McLaren would be slower of course.
I've lost count of the number of times I've been slowed at the lights by someone on a stupid little moped with a bee in a biscuit barrel for an engine, after they've already scritched down the side of my car to get in front of me. We're not just talking about proper bikes here.
In my experience, riders of large engined "proper" motorbikes are usually pretty well behaved, albeit in a hurry. I have more problems with these pansy little mopeds and their drivers who are anxious to have some feeling of making progess despite the fact that a wind-up toy car has more power.
|
"I've lost count of the number of times I've been slowed at the lights by someone on a stupid little moped with a bee in a biscuit barrel for an engine, after they've already scritched down the side of my car to get in front of me."
Perhaps some psychiatric help is needed.
If being delayed by a moment or two causes you such a problem then you have problems that need resolving.
A good driver would not become agitated over such a minor incident.
|
Perhaps some psychiatric help is needed. If being delayed by a moment or two causes you such a problem then you have problems that need resolving. A good driver would not become agitated over such a minor incident.
I don't recall mentioning being agitated about it. I was simply stating that these things happen, with the intention of pointing out that there are times when cars can out-accelerate motorbikes (or at least mopeds). People normally wait until they've met me before declaring me mentally unstable.
|
|
|
|
Recently i've seen some pretty shocking antics from motorcyclists, in particular from riders of larger machines. Weaving in and out of slow moving traffic, reckless overtaking manouvres without any regard for their own safety and others around them. question.. Why do around 75% of bikers appear to have a deathwish?
Have you ever sat in a queue, moving forward at speeds between 2 - 5 mph, over a distance of some number of miles?
Of course you have.
Easy, isn't it?
Now: Have you ever done it on a big, heavy motorbike?
No, I thought not!
It's incredibly difficult to slip a clutch constantly for minutes (hours?!) on end, maintain distance from the vehicle in front, without annoying the vehicle behind, and without suffering from low speed wobbles, unless you have forearms like Popeye.
That's why big bikes overtake slow moving traffic. It's because they don't have a death wish.
|
Well said, DrS, and a nice piece of education for the uninitiated car driver, who seem to be in the majority in this area.
Let me add one more thing: to those breast-beaters who would wax indignant about bikes in traffic, consider these:
1. How many cars do you see in front of/behind/around you with only the driver in them, many of them between you and making progress, but all of you crawling along, polluting the air and using up gas for four for just one person?
2. Be glad when you see me rumble past you I am not just another underutilised car between you and tonight's take-away curry, but rather a far better user of road space and natural resources than you.
|
Well said, DrS, and a nice piece of education for the uninitiated car driver, who seem to be in the majority in this area. Let me add one more thing: to those breast-beaters who would wax indignant about bikes in traffic, consider these: 1. How many cars do you see in front of/behind/around you with only the driver in them, many of them between you and making progress, but all of you crawling along, polluting the air and using up gas for four for just one person? 2. Be glad when you see me rumble past you I am not just another underutilised car between you and tonight's take-away curry, but rather a far better user of road space and natural resources than you.
Hang on Growler, didn't you used to have a Mustang? Pots, kettles and black spring to mind.
|
Sunny Sundays only mate.
Lol, Growler. What about in the rainy season? And haven't you got one of those pickup thingies? And hasn't Growlette a car?
The fact is, most motorcyclists are also car drivers, whereas most car drivers aren't motorcyclists. Not sure what that means but who cares anyway.
Have you still got the Mustang and did you sort out the electrics? I must say I've always fancied one or a Charger.
|
OK, explanation owed. We are down to 2 small Ford Lynxes plus the bike. I am semi-retired aand work from home, so never have to contend with the rush hour traffic.
If it's raining we take a cab. We both try to be aware of our limitations and never ride at night unless it's a local hop. riding in the rain we avoid, less because of the discomfort and more because the average "driver" here becomes even more dangerous than in the dry.
I do a lot of work with biker training, so have to set an example.
Still I have lost count of car drivers' attempts to push me out of the lane I rightfully own, or to close up needlessly a gap I could have got through. And yes, as someone said above, car drivers' dislike of bikers is often nothing but pure jealousy and spite. This guy wants to squeeze me out so he can get to stop at the next red light before I do, but by then I'll be at the head of the queue anyway and long gone. So what does he get out of that? Doubtless I've simply reinforced the projection of his frustration with his own traffic situation (psychologists please note....)on to me, as though I am somehow responsible.
I don't know how it is in UK but where I live also, bikers give freely of their time from to cooperating with the police on crowd control, to the Xmas Toy Run for the kids, to repairing the local orphanage for street kids. Our movement is well organised and we lobby gov't successfully when daft decisions are made which affect other road users as well as use, yes, car drivers too. But we don't see too many of them on such projects.
Despite all of this we expect, and get, scant attention from the authorities as regards our own needs.
So give us a break next time we sidle alongside you. The road is equally ours as it is yours. Don't like my lights? I'm more vulnerable than you and it's my primary job to keep me and my back-rider alive. We need every trick in the book to keep you car drivers awake and aware of us, so if I've annoyed you it's working. Deal with it.
|
|
|
|
