a few facts about motorbikes you might not realize

peasant

Now that spring/summer is at the door and (more) bikers come out of hiding, here are a few bits of info that the average car driver may not realise:

- a motorbike is not as manueverable as you think. At slow speeds they may be able to weazle through traffic ...at high speeds ..no chance. If things get tight, you in your car have a far better chance of a quick evasive maneuvre than they have.

- a motorbike takes up more road space than you think. Especially in corners. As the motorbike has to lean into the corner, it suddenly gets as wide as a car ...please consider this.

- a motorbike can brake a lot faster than you think. At least on a dry road their stopping distance is considerably shorter than yours ...so keep your distance.

- a motorbike, once commited to a corner, cannot change direction. Once a biker has chosen his line for a bend, that's that ... no chance of a quick correction. If they brake mid corner, they fall ...if they try to steer quickly mid corner, they fall ...that's it. If you happen to meet an oncoming biker in a corner who has miscalculated his approach and finds himself slightly on your side of the road (either with his bike or worse, with his head) ...do not expect him to get out of your way ...he can't (not quickly, anyway). It's up to you to give way.


/end educational broadcast

tommmy1979

I nearly killed a motorcyclist one morning on my way to work...well that's an exageration but i got a bad fright and so did he..

I was in the slow lane, needed to pass the car in front.. i looked in my wing mirror and saw a single car approaching from behind so i needed to wait for him to pass, waited for him to pass and made my manouvre, i did not check my blindspot...

Unfortunately there was a biker following very close behind thatg car and i moved over on top of him.. very close to being a nasty accident.

The biker expressed his displeasure and headed off..

I think he was partly to blame though, shouldn't have been tailgating..

I think we both learned something that morning :rolleyes:

MagicMarker

tommmy1979 wrote: »

I think we both learned something that morning :rolleyes:

Yeah, always check your blind spot, you were 100% at fault.

tommmy1979

MagicMarker wrote: »

Yeah, always check your blind spot, you were 100% at fault.

I do always check my blindspot... i was very inexperienced at the time.

Am i going to get stoned for being honest now ???

Thought i should contribute my experience..

Damien360

a simple fact about cars a motorbike rider might realise . We can see a lot less of the road than you can and have a blind spot .

MagicMarker

Damien360 wrote: »

a simple fact about cars a motorbike rider might realise . We can see a lot less of the road than you can and have a blind spot .

How do bikers see more of the road than car users? Or are you driving a tank? Bikers also have blind spots.

I see the point you're trying to make though.

unkel

tommmy1979 wrote: »

Am i going to get stoned for being honest now ???

No you are not and thanks for sharing. Technically you were at fault, but the biker was incredibly stupid riding like that.

Motor bike deaths and bad injuries statistics in this country are apalling and they are extremely high compared to car deaths and bad injuries per kilometre traveled. Whenever someone mentions this here, the knee-jerk reaction is typically that motorists are more often than not at fault in a crash between a motorist and a biker. Perhaps so. But bikers are not without blame themselves. Nearly on a daily basis do I see incredible risk taking / suicidal behaviour from a biker.

Bikers and motorists, please drive / ride safely.

Damien360

hop on your bicycle in traffic and see how much more of the road you can see . No pillars in your way . What i am trying to get at is do not expect the car driver to do the wise thing every time . A bike is far more maneoverable than a car and they can appear and disappear from a blindspot in an instant .

niceirishfella

Motorcyclist = Organ Donor

That's my opinion I'm afraid.

peasant

niceirishfella wrote: »

Motorcyclist = Organ Donor

That's my opinion I'm afraid.

not exactly the spirit in which this thread was started :mad:

cantdecide

Great thread, Peasant.

Some of us are demons on 2 wheels as well as 4.

Defo problems on both sides of the camp re safety.

Training for bikers is becoming far more popular and it makes a massive difference to riding style and puts virtually all the onus on the biker to control the situation from observation to most advantageous road positions for visibility/ safety. There are still hardcore old timers who think that because they've never had an accident that they're invincible.

Readers of this forum generally won't need an awful amount of honing to tune into bike safety but be sure and give a clip round the ear to the people in your lives who do everything but drive safely and think it's cool to know nothing when it comes to safe driving.

Wishbone Ash

Damien360 wrote: »

hop on your bicycle in traffic and see how much more of the road you can see . No pillars in your way

Have you ever worn a motorcycle helmet? In my experience, I have much better visibility in a car than on a bike.

niceirishfella

peasant wrote: »

not exactly the spirit in which this thread was started :mad:

That may be so, but I've given my opinion. And that is informed opinion from a former bike rider in my teens to a car driver now who fear the antics of wally's on bikes who don't value their lives or those of other road users. I'm not being steroetypical - let me assure you, but we've all seen ejits on the road on bikes that shock us all:o

peasant

niceirishfella wrote: »

we've all seen ejits on the road on bikes that shock us all:o

and in cars

DubTony

peasant wrote: »

Now that spring/summer is at the door and (more) bikers come out of hiding, here are a few bits of info that the average car driver may not realise:

- a motorbike can brake a lot faster than you think. At least on a dry road their stopping distance is considerably shorter than yours ...so keep your distance.

Are you sure about this one peasant?

It's going back a bit, (a good bit) Car magazine did a comparison between a Porsche 911 and a Kawasaki 1300 and the bike beat the car on every performance issue but one. Braking. The bikes stopping distance from (I think) 60 mph was over twice that of the car.


edit: OK, I just googled and came up with this I guess when the article I read was written it was right but it seems things may have improved for bikers.

tw0nk

Just wanna use this as an opportunity to pleade with bikers to stop using their full lights on the M50 when behind my car, I fully agree with them having their lights on so as to make it easier for me to see them in my rear view mirror and wing mirrors and I dont mind them driving between 2 lanes of traffic but the amount of them that have their full lights on drives me cracked.

There are 2 guys in work with me that bike everyday, when talking to them about this one said he thought they were supposed to have them on full until the other guy (who had been biking for 20+ years) informed him otherwise.

tossy

Another plea to all those bikers who seem to think that solid white lines don't apply to 2 wheeled vehicles,and as a result overtake where ever the see fit,even approaching junctions - cop on lads.

niceirishfella

peasant wrote: »

and in cars

and in trucks,vans and in tractors.

L1011

tw0nk wrote: »

Just wanna use this as an opportunity to pleade with bikers to stop using their full lights on the M50 when behind my car, I fully agree with them having their lights on so as to make it easier for me to see them in my rear view mirror and wing mirrors and I dont mind them driving between 2 lanes of traffic but the amount of them that have their full lights on drives me cracked.

There are 2 guys in work with me that bike everyday, when talking to them about this one said he thought they were supposed to have them on full until the other guy (who had been biking for 20+ years) informed him otherwise.

I've never seen a biker with their full beams on on the motorway in daytime? Actually, do bikes even have the idea of full/dip? Been a long time since I was on one...

Anyway, its recommended for EVERYONE to have their dips on permanently:
http://www.rsa.ie/NEWS/News/Daytime_running_lights.html

ImaBM-man

Again training is the key, the other day witnessed 2 motorcyclists going up the road, both parallell to each other(1 on the inside,1 on the outside) in traffic. All that was needed was 1 motorist to swerve and down goes one of the bikers....crazy:(

niceirishfella

ImaBM-man wrote: »

Again training is the key, the other day witnessed 2 motorcyclists going up the road, both parallell to each other(1 on the inside,1 on the outside) in traffic. All that was needed was 1 motorist to swerve and down goes one of the bikers....crazy:(

I disagree - Training is not the key.
Mindset/mentality is the key.

Overblood

peasant wrote: »

If you happen to meet an oncoming biker in a corner who has miscalculated his approach and finds himself slightly on your side of the road (either with his bike or worse, with his head) ...do not expect him to get out of your way ...he can't (not quickly, anyway). It's up to you to give way.

Me bolix! It's up to the bloody motorcyclist to learn how to drive properly!

unkel

Overblood wrote: »

Me bolix! It's up to the bloody motorcyclist to learn how to drive properly!

Your wha? :rolleyes:

It is up to all of us, drivers or bikers or both, to do everything we can to avoid any accident. That includes allowing / compensating for other peoples' mistakes.

peasant

Overblood wrote: »

Me bolix! It's up to the bloody motorcyclist to learn how to drive properly!

which isn't that simple, read here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countersteering

Much of the art of motorcycle cornering is learning how to effectively "push" the grips into corners and how to maintain proper lean angles through the turn. When the need for a quick swerve to one side suddenly arises in an emergency, it is essential to know, through prior practice, that the handlebars must be deliberately pressed away on that side instead of being pulled. Many accidents result when otherwise experienced riders who have never carefully developed this skill encounter an unexpected obstacle.

Dartz

DubTony wrote: »

Are you sure about this one peasant?

It's going back a bit, (a good bit) Car magazine did a comparison between a Porsche 911 and a Kawasaki 1300

If that's the Kawasaki 1300 I'm thinking off, it's no wonder the 911 outbraked it. 6 cylinders and 300-odd KG, with piss-basic disc brakes and skiny tyres. Something with Irish Rail on the side would outbrake it.

Car brakes started getting good in the early eighties, motorcycle brakes were a good deal behind.

ABS does exist in motorcycles. It's been fitted to BMW's since the mid 80's. But it's still much harder for a rider to get the most out of a bikes braking ability, since front and rear braking is controlled seperately. (Except on some premium machines)

Any idiot can use the full braking force of a car. With ABS, it's just a case of stomping until it stops. More or less.

thethedev

-Bikes are easily concealed, so if your at a T a junction on a tree lined road take even longer to look.
-Just becasue they pull up next to you at traffic lights doesnt mean they want a race
-Yes, they can park there.
-You do not get twenty points for hitting young fellas on mopeds. Doing fly-bys on someone who probably just got on the road for the first time will result in you killing them.

DaMonk

I agree with the donercycle comment. You get hit at speed on a bike and your destroyed. A car has protection.

if you talk to anyone who owns a bike, the vast majority seem to have come off it at some stage.

Blazer

DaMonk wrote: »

I agree with the donercycle comment. You get hit at speed on a bike and your destroyed. A car has protection.

if you talk to anyone who owns a bike, the vast majority seem to have come off it at some stage.

agreed..2 of my brothers owned motorbikes and have had several crashed on them..nothing too serious thank god.
One of them got sense when he started a family and switched to driving a car.
The other guy stubbornly holds onto his bike even though he's had over 10 crashs in a 10 year period on it. It's only a matter of time.
We've all tried to have conversations with him to no avail. He can't even drive a car for christ's sake and refuses to take lessons and this guy has a kid.

I can see the attraction alright.
I used to drive them when I was younger (mate's bikes) and I was alway's fighting the urge to go faster..
I know in my heart and soul that if I had a bike now I'd be doing 200mph on a dc and end up as blender soup. Hence why I don't get one.

Richie15

tommmy1979 wrote: »

I think he was partly to blame though, shouldn't have been tailgating..

I think we both learned something that morning :rolleyes:

If he was in a different lane, he wasn't tailgating you.

tommmy1979

Richie15 wrote: »

If he was in a different lane, he wasn't tailgating you.

WOW!!! are you in mensa???

cantdecide

niceirishfella wrote: »

That may be so, but I've given my opinion. And that is informed opinion from a former bike rider in my teens to a car driver now who fear the antics of wally's on bikes who don't value their lives or those of other road users. I'm not being steroetypical - let me assure you, but we've all seen ejits on the road on bikes that shock us all:o

Fair enough. It's your opinion and you're entitled to it. It's my opinion that your attitude is as valid and objective as that of a racists, though:)

I've driven cars since my teens and only started on bikes last year and I have never thought less of my fellow man whether on 2 wheels or four as you seem to. I always gave bikes a wide berth.

You don't have to fear bikers. They're in far more danger than you. You're not being ironic. You're not being sensational. You are speaking stereotypically by it's very definition...

niceirishfella

cantdecide wrote: »

Fair enough. It's your opinion and you're entitled to it. It's my opinion that your attitude is as valid and objective as that of a racists, though:)

I've driven cars since my teens and only started on bikes last year and I have never thought less of my fellow man whether on 2 wheels or four as you seem to. I always gave bikes a wide berth.

You don't have to fear bikers. They're in far more danger than you. You're not being ironic. You're not being sensational. You are speaking stereotypically by it's very definition...

a typical challenge to be expected here, so what if you don't agree with me as I've never asked you to agree with me. :P Like who cares about your opinion, no more than anyone cares about mine.

ART6

MagicMarker wrote: »

Yeah, always check your blind spot, you were 100% at fault.

If it was a blind spot, how could he see anything in it?:)

Richie15

tommmy1979 wrote: »

WOW!!! are you in mensa???

I'm not the one who forgot to check my blind spot, mate. :P

Incidentally, I was asked to join mensa a couple years ago.

peasant

There are days when I just feel tired, oh so incredibly tired ...