Do you get challenged in your bike?

There's stretches along Hwy 1 where at different times vehicles are well over the speed limit and you can be 80 mph with considerable traffic flow. But the speed can vary above and [worse] substantially lower across lanes. Letting some of these guys rip past can provide opportunity to go a little faster though and see how the bike runs. Since returning to riding a motorcycle on the highway after fifteen odd years [except for very limited occasions with my dual sport] all cars are capable of fast and I'm old. With so much speed available in most cars and motorcycles now racing along even a wide open highway with good visibility is just a question of how much you're willing to put yourself or others at risk. Not worth it for me when I see them coming I let them through.
 
I just remembered, riding on my '01 ST1100 with a few friends and a few of their friends. One guy was on a 600cc sport-bike (not Honda) with an extended swing-arm.

For fun, we got ready and took off from a stop-light at the green. He kept up with me . . . until he shifted to second. I never saw him again. (For the moment, I mean)

I think I heard him shift into third before I shifted into second, but I'm not sure. I am pretty sure that my front wheel came up slightly when I took off.
 
I won't ride with bikers who speed as if that's what biking was all about. That isn't what it is about for me. Never has been. I avoid the roads and the days where I likely to encounter such behaviour.
Do I speed ? No, not normally. There are some occasional situations that require a squirt of throttle just to keep safe, and if circumstance unfold - I am always in a gear where I can accelerate hard if I need to. Most frequently when a car driver tries to close the gap that I was aiming for to complete an overtake, or someone is getting too close and personal with my top box.

Usually if I see someone coming up fast behind and I am their next targer to overtake, I just slow down and let them go. I won't play. I had one occasion a car kept hanging back and then coming up behind fast. On the third occasion, I slowed right down and waved him past. He dropped right back again. About a mile further up the road there was a police speed camera van in a layby. I saw in my mirror that the car pulled in behind the van and the driver got out. I reckon that he was aprt of the team and had been trying to goad me into a race to catch me speeding. I always wish I'd had my cameras on the bike then. I don't report much, but I would have reported that.
 
I got schooled decades ago, courtesy of the county for a speeding incident. I haven't had a traffic citation since. I tend to ride alone or arrive 10 minutes behind the pack.

I'm OK with that, I get to see more of the countryside even if people think I suck as a rider.
 
'Speed' seems to have become a relative interpretation given the sheer number of.....I'll just say irresponsible drivers. I usually ride/drive at a speed I feel would minimize any contact given the immediate traffic situation.
In my part of Texas we occasionally experience what's referred to as 'Redneck Rodeos'. These are usually started by two competing pickups who are joined many others who then jockey for position at speed, even using the highway shoulders to pass one another.
My wife and I were on a trip and were re-entering I35 after a fuel stop. Got passed on the entrance ramp by a pickup at rather high speed. When he entered the freeway, he was joined by another truck and they began jockeying for position at way over the speed limit. Then I saw the growing crowd build in my rearview mirrors....as a pickup driver was passed by the contest, he joined in. Unfortunate side is this mass was building mostly behind us and rapidly approaching, spilling over onto both shoulders and weaving through traffic in some very unsafe manners. With no safe way to exit at that point, I opened up the 1100 and caught up with the trucks that had inspired the rodeo and hit the next exit a few seconds before the speeding frenzy could pass us during their contest to challenge the first two. A glance at my speedometer right after I got off the throttle to catch the stop sign showed we were slowing through 95mph. I have no idea what I was doing while trying to maintain my distance ahead of the crowd.
Back onto I35 in just a few seconds and the rodeo was just a multicolored cloud on the horizon.
I always try to ride in a manner that won't bend the bike, and therefore us, and that doesn't always mean that obeying the signage is the appropriate thing to do.
 
I must live a sheltered life, only one challenge in 50+ years of driving / riding.

I was in my 2000 Sienna van with my 2 teenage daughters. 4 door Honda Civic pulls up beside us and its full of ne'er-do-well teenage boys out looking for trouble and mischief. They start revving their engine and looking at us, the road is clear, the light changes and I floored it and cleaned their clock. The Sienna's not a fast vehicle, but it can still leave a Civic in the dust. Next light they stop a car length back so they would not be beside us in humiliation. My daughters loved it.
 
On my way to the 2017 Moonshine Lunch Run, in "convoy" with @Uncle Phil (twist throttle as hard as I dare and try to hold on) and some others.

Leaving the ferry from Kentucky to Cave-in-Rock IL, UP and most of the rest got ahead of a semi tractor dump truck and began to disappear into the distance. I needed to get by in order to keep them in sight so I wound my ST1300 up. Trucker didn't take kindly to that but couldn't keep pace past 95 mph. Fortunately it was an open, straight two-lane state highway with a long sight line, but it was still scary as hell to get into triple digits, however briefly.

I never came close to that speed again, though it was all too easy to creep up to nearly 90 on stretches of interstate where the rest of the traffic was tooling along at 80+.
 
Where you tend to get 'challenged' in this part of the country is in the twisty bits when you come upon some 'locals'.
We call them a 'dude with a tude' who thinks it's their road and how dare you pass them. ;)
Most of the time I just let them go on but every now and then ... :biggrin:
 
I COULD NOT, WOULD NOT, SPEED ON A BOAT.
I WILL NOT, WILL NOT, SPEED LIKE A GOAT.
I WILL NOT SPEED IN THE RAIN.
NO SPEEDING IN THE DARK! NOT IN A TREE!
NO SPEEDING IN A CAR! YOU SPEED NOT ME!
I DO NOT SPEED IN A BOX.
I DO NOT SPEED WITH A FOX.
I WILL NOT SPEED IN A HOUSE.
I DO NOT SPEED WITH A MOUSE.
I DO NOT SPEED HERE OR THERE.
I DO NOT SPEED ANYWHERE!
I DO NOT LIKE TO SPEED AND EAT HAM!
I WILL NOT SPEED LIKE T. PADDEN DID IN SIAM!
 
Uncle Phil said:
We call them a 'dude with a tude' who thinks it's their road and how dare you pass them. ;)
Click to expand...
Often enough simple collision of cultures is a sufficient trigger...

That ole' ST1100 is an ROF's bike... ergo can't be fast right?...
So while I'm riding along civilized (like +10kph) down in the valley to avoid a ticket, those weekend-warriors must pass that old man's rig... out of principle... there is now way around the urge... and if it's done when I'm slowing down while passing through a village... they have to execute...

Then we turn off, into a twisty mountain road/pass... now guess who's blocking my path there?

Doesn't matter if has knobby tires with the obligatory ammo-cases on the sides, or colorful Power Rangers leather outfits... that totally underestimated ST just loves them... ohmnomnomnom... :cool:

Some are stubborn, hectically checking mirrors, shaking their head in disbelieve... yep, still here... :roflmao:

Then again you meet an equally skilled, like-minded rider, who acknowledges, we ride in unison, he signs me to pass, follows my tail for a while, we swap positions again, me in pursuit, then we wave, thumbs up, go our ways... no harm done, no egos damaged, we both had our fun...
 
ibike2havefun said:
On my way to the 2017 Moonshine Lunch Run, in "convoy" with @Uncle Phil (twist throttle as hard as I dare and try to hold on) and some others.

Leaving the ferry from Kentucky to Cave-in-Rock IL, UP and most of the rest got ahead of a semi tractor dump truck and began to disappear into the distance. I needed to get by in order to keep them in sight so I wound my ST1300 up. Trucker didn't take kindly to that but couldn't keep pace past 95 mph. Fortunately it was an open, straight two-lane state highway with a long sight line, but it was still scary as hell to get into triple digits, however briefly.

I never came close to that speed again, though it was all too easy to creep up to nearly 90 on stretches of interstate where the rest of the traffic was tooling along at 80+.
Click to expand...
That's my neck of the woods...I live probably at the halfway point between Cave and Moonshine, maybe a touch closer to Cave. At any rate, I'd bet lunch that I know the name on the side of the truck you were dealing with (my neighbor). He has a sizable fleet that does a lot of business with the quarry down there, the drivers are known for being overloaded and pushing the trucks very hard. That has recently changed as 2 different drivers have been involved in wrecks that caused fatalities since 2021, and the company now monitors trucks via GPS. He will pay half of their fines if they are overweight, but not for speeding or anything else.
 
I could ride fast, but I choose not to. I'm a +- 5 mph of the speed limit rider. Although on the freeway I will do +7 here in Ohio. I ride in the middle lane if there are 3 lanes. I let the fast guys have the left and let the on and off-ers at the ramps have the right lane. If there are only 2 lanes I ride the right lane moving to the left lane to pass or let someone onto the freeway then back into the right. After spending 17 years in the motorcycle business, I was in over-the-road sales covering 3 states in the Highway Safety Business for 24 1/2 years before retiring. About 40,000 highway miles a year. Seen more idiots on the roads doing dangerous stuff than I care to think about, and that was pre-covid! Almost all of it had to do with excessive speed. It's only gotten worse since then. They are writing record numbers of speeding tickets with speeds exceeding 100 mph these days in almost every state. If someone wants past me, I'll gladly scoot over and wave them by. If you are one of those excessive speeder motorcyclists, I hate to say it, but you are part of the problem. I have a nephew that can't go the speed limit. Says it puts him to sleep. Has to always be riding like a mad man. Passing on double yellows, in blind curves, refuses to follow someone he can pass, legally or not. I won't ride with him. I will attend his funeral someday I'm pretty sure. He sure presses his luck. He rides with a small group of like-minded individuals and every weekend one of them is wadding up a bike. It's only a matter of time for him. When I talk to him about it he says he "refuses" to crash lol. We'll see ......

I obey the laws as best I can, wear Hi viz gear and a white helmet and put extra hi viz reflective tape on my bike and back of my helmet. Just trying to stay alive, you know?
 
the Ferret said:
I could ride fast, but I choose not to. I'm a +- 5 mph of the speed limit rider. Although on the freeway I will do +7 here in Ohio. I ride in the middle lane if there are 3 lanes. I let the fast guys have the left and let the on and off-ers at the ramps have the right lane. If there are only 2 lanes I ride the right lane moving to the left lane to pass or let someone onto the freeway then back into the right. After spending 17 years in the motorcycle business, I was in over-the-road sales covering 3 states in the Highway Safety Business for 24 1/2 years before retiring. About 40,000 highway miles a year. Seen more idiots on the roads doing dangerous stuff than I care to think about, and that was pre-covid! Almost all of it had to do with excessive speed. It's only gotten worse since then. They are writing record numbers of speeding tickets with speeds exceeding 100 mph these days in almost every state. If someone wants past me, I'll gladly scoot over and wave them by. If you are one of those excessive speeder motorcyclists, I hate to say it, but you are part of the problem. I have a nephew that can't go the speed limit. Says it puts him to sleep. Has to always be riding like a mad man. Passing on double yellows, in blind curves, refuses to follow someone he can pass, legally or not. I won't ride with him. I will attend his funeral someday I'm pretty sure. He sure presses his luck. He rides with a small group of like-minded individuals and every weekend one of them is wadding up a bike. It's only a matter of time for him. When I talk to him about it he says he "refuses" to crash lol. We'll see ......

I obey the laws as best I can, wear Hi viz gear and a white helmet and put extra hi viz reflective tape on my bike and back of my helmet. Just trying to stay alive, you know?
Click to expand...
The middle lanes make me least comfortable, the Sunday drivers oblivious to everyone else will just veer into the centre lane from the right because there is truck in the right one but they are safe drivers so no need to shoulder check. You get the speed demons from the left lane that feel entitled to the centre lane even if you are there. I like the left or right lane best, on a bike mostly the left and get out of the way of faster moving traffic.
 
W0QNX said:
I COULD NOT, WOULD NOT, SPEED ON A BOAT.
I WILL NOT, WILL NOT, SPEED LIKE A GOAT.
I WILL NOT SPEED IN THE RAIN.
NO SPEEDING IN THE DARK! NOT IN A TREE!
NO SPEEDING IN A CAR! YOU SPEED NOT ME!
I DO NOT SPEED IN A BOX.
I DO NOT SPEED WITH A FOX.
I WILL NOT SPEED IN A HOUSE.
I DO NOT SPEED WITH A MOUSE.
I DO NOT SPEED HERE OR THERE.
I DO NOT SPEED ANYWHERE!
I DO NOT LIKE TO SPEED AND EAT HAM!
I WILL NOT SPEED LIKE T. PADDEN DID IN SIAM!
Click to expand...
I think Raymond is on speed! :biggrin: Russ.
 
My experience is invariably that everyone crowds into the left and center lanes, and the one slower driver who is in the correct lane for their speed has a mile of empty lane in front of them that I can't get to to drive in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom