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So far I'm at a 100% wave rate for ladies walking one miniature horse and a pomeranian down the sidewalk of the main road in my town. That was one person, but it makes up for all the batwing-fairing harley riders that don't wave back. You know what I love though? Riding in 40/50 degree weather. It's so refreshing.
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# ? Jun 10, 2024 14:46 |
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Wulframn posted:It's about 50/50 here. Further, the motorcycles are about 50/50 cruisers/sport bikes. Seems most of the guys riding sport bikes at my school don't do the helmet thing. I guess if you only use the bike to get the four blocks from your apartment to campus in an area where you can do at most 25 mph you can rationalize not needing one.
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Covert Ops Wizard posted:Seems most of the guys riding sport bikes at my school don't do the helmet thing. I guess if you only use the bike to get the four blocks from your apartment to campus in an area where you can do at most 25 mph you can rationalize not needing one. That rationalization is such bullshit. If you crash your bike going 20 miles per hour and hit your head on pavement without a helmet, you're hosed. If you're going 70 miles per hour and you hit your head while you're wearing a helmet, you're probably still hosed, but it seems like it'd make more sense to wear more gear at city speeds. You're more likely to get hosed up navigating intersections and turning and god I hate those people.
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You don't have to be moving at all. If you are six feet tall, and someone sneaks up and kicks your legs out from under you, and you fall backwards and smack your head on the pavement without breaking your fall with your arms or whatever...your head is going more than fast enough to crack your skull wide open and kill you. Incidentally, now that I ride a motorcycle I feel kind of naked riding my bicycle with a helmet that only covers the top of my head. ![]() Things that happened today that I enjoyed: - realizing that whoops, that highway right next to the windy beach is constantly covered with a thin film of sand even if it doesn't look like it, leading to locking up the rear tire and accidentally leaving a 20-foot skid mark right in front of a cop (who either didn't notice or didn't care) - following a van with the license plate TTTTTTT - giving a honk and huge double thumbs-up to a guy in a 2-piece Dainese leather suit and an expensive-looking full-face helmet, riding...a little Honda scooter - discovering that the shopping cart return carrel thingy makes a very nice private motorcycle parking spot: ![]()
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Strife posted:You know what I love though? Riding in 40/50 degree weather. It's so refreshing. As the weather gets colder, being out on the bike feels more like an adventure. The fewer motorcyclists you pass during that weather also tend to give you a more enthusiastic "fellow fool in the cold" reaction as well.
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When I was heading south from Edmonton a couple of weeks ago at higher than the posted limit, passed a loaded up BMW when it was about 9C drizzling rain, and they had Australian plates so were obviously in the middle of a big tour. Slowed down, Gave them a big thumbs up and and got a retro in return. You don't do that poo poo in cars. slidebite fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Sep 15, 2012 |
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Strife posted:If you're going 70 miles per hour and you hit your head while you're wearing a helmet, you're probably still hosed, but it seems like it'd make more sense to wear more gear at city speeds. Tell that to guys out on the track who ride their face along the asphalt at 100mph and live to tell the tale. If you're out riding and get in an accident it's probably going to suck a lot and you're probably going to be in a lot of pain for a while; but if you were wearing all the proper safety gear and a full helmet you'll more than likely be fine in the long run. I'm defending this because of the number of fuckers who tell me "Helmets don't matter at real world speeds," or "Helmets cause broken necks". Sure they cause broken necks, if you're wearing a helmet two sizes too large so it can roll around your head and increase twist rate. Sagebrush posted:You don't have to be moving at all. If you are six feet tall, and someone sneaks up and kicks your legs out from under you, and you fall backwards and smack your head on the pavement without breaking your fall with your arms or whatever...your head is going more than fast enough to crack your skull wide open and kill you. True this - a lot of people don't realize just how fragile your head is. Your skull can withstand a smack from a baseball bat, but your brain is so delicate that, while your head may not be split open, you probably won't wake up after that smack. Incidentally, I can personally attest to the fact that your skull is strong enough to withstand full velocity hits; when I was a kid my sister was playing with a golf club and I came up behind her. I got smacked in full swing right on the side of my skull. Not even a bruise - but boy did I have a concussion. Also, from a medical point of view, some people are interested to find out that "cracking your skull open", a skull fracture, is rarely fatal. Back on topic: I can't wait for the cooler weather to start really hitting here. I love the cold and I can't wait to cruise around town in "winter" (Florida, so sub 80 temps) weather.
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Sagebrush posted:- discovering that the shopping cart return carrel thingy makes a very nice private motorcycle parking spot: Unless that slot goes unused, parking there is pretty dickish.
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Nah, that one was empty and there was another cart return thing closer to the grocery store that people were actually using.
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Flying shopping carts... the unexpected menace
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Sagebrush posted:Nah, that one was empty and there was another cart return thing closer to the grocery store that people were actually using. Fair enough, I used to work at a supermarket so I'm a bit more sensitive to parking lot tomfoolery ![]()
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Sagebrush posted:Nah, that one was empty and there was another cart return thing closer to the grocery store that people were actually using. What about the car *right next to you* who now has to push his/her cart to the further cart area. Don't park there. Not only are you being a dick, just think about someone having a bad day and just shoving their cart into that area with your bike in it anyway because "that rear end in a top hat parked his bike in the loving clearly marked cart corral" aventari fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Sep 17, 2012 |
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It was a strip mall with like 30 different stores, the grocery store was on the diagonally opposite corner of the parking lot, and I was in the Comcast outlet for like 10 minutes. Jesus.
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Sagebrush posted:Jesus. I usually just park up on the curb right at the front by the store entrance. That way I am both getting the best most lazy spot possible, also not occupying a cart return.
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Now you know what it's like talking to you, Sagebrush. I love riding again after coming back from a short vacation.
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Sagebrush posted:It was a strip mall with like 30 different stores, the grocery store was on the diagonally opposite corner of the parking lot, and I was in the Comcast outlet for like 10 minutes. Jesus. clutchpuck posted:I usually just park up on the curb right at the front by the store entrance. That way I am both getting the best most lazy spot possible, also not occupying a cart return. If the store layout allows, I'll often park right next to a bike rack, which is generally about 10' from the front door.
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Obviously you just need to print a suitably sized magnetic sticker and put it on the sign when you park there. Like so:![]()
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slidebite posted:Nah, it's a dick move. It's like taking a cripple spot because you'll "only be a sec" Agreed. Also, bad form to nose into a parking spot like that. Have fun if there's a slight grade there.
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Backov posted:slight grade As a new rider I only made that mistake once. Struggling your new bike out of a spot backwards while people (girls) watch is a Top 5 Thing I Don't Like
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The easy way out of that is to hop off and push it around. A hand on the grab rail and one on the grip gives you good leverage.
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My bike so well balanced on it's center stand that I will often spin it around 180 in a parking spot if the situation calls for it. (Though backing in is my preferred method.)
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I don't have five, but this past weekend I took my '76 RD400 on 140 mile round trip on the interstate. That's the most miles it's seen in probably eight years. Going 90 on a 36 year old bike with clip-ons and high speed tucking past semis is loving great. Also taking a giant personal project on a 100+ mile ride without breaking down is a pretty nice confidence booster. Now please excuse me as I find some wood to knock on.
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Collateral Damage posted:Obviously you just need to print a suitably sized magnetic sticker and put it on the sign when you park there. Like so: This is a hilarious and amazing idea and I'm pretty sure it would completely throw security guards off. I'm all for it.
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clutchpuck posted:The easy way out of that is to hop off and push it around. A hand on the grab rail and one on the grip gives you good leverage. This is what I do most of the time, otherwise I'll do the ole' swivel it around on the sidestand trick.
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Xovaan posted:This is a hilarious and amazing idea and I'm pretty sure it would completely throw security guards off. I'm all for it. There's a parking area in one of Atlanta's major suburbs that is signed as "Scooters Only. <250 CCs". It's been my dream for a while now to add an extra 0 to that sign.
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Going to a state park, discovering interminable lines of soccer-mom vans clogging up the roads, and using the expedient abilities of my Ninja to swiftly pass them (albeit a bit illegally) and slice through the emptier stretches of twisties in the park. While watching the tachometer needle blur furiously up and down, and enjoying the sonorous wail of the bike as it penetrates through my profoundly-deaf eardrums.![]()
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First day of fall when it's cool enough in the morning to pull out the heated gear. So warm and toasty all over on the way in this morning. Was only 50 but it felt great. Crappy part is breaking in new heated gloves and the general loss of feel going to cold weather gloves.
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the walkin dude posted:Going to a state park, discovering interminable lines of soccer-mom vans clogging up the roads, and using the expedient abilities of my Ninja to swiftly pass them (albeit a bit illegally) and slice through the emptier stretches of twisties in the park. I _just_ did this at Yosemite, and it was incredible. The roads full of SUVs and minivans riding their brakes and crawling around each corner were great because it makes it even easier to pass them ![]()
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the walkin dude posted:Going to a state park, discovering interminable lines of soccer-mom vans clogging up the roads, and using the expedient abilities of my Ninja to swiftly pass them (albeit a bit illegally) and slice through the emptier stretches of twisties in the park. While watching the tachometer needle blur furiously up and down, and enjoying the sonorous wail of the bike as it penetrates through my profoundly-deaf eardrums. Green bikes are the best kind.
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I think I'm forever a customer for Kawasaki just based on the color.aventari posted:I _just_ did this at Yosemite, and it was incredible. The roads full of SUVs and minivans riding their brakes and crawling around each corner were great because it makes it even easier to pass them Any pics of your bike at Yosemite? the walkin dude fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Sep 20, 2012 |
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clutchpuck posted:Green bikes are the best kind. I will one day own a green bike. I am still too new to enjoy all of the benefits of riding a motorcycle - like passing and filtering... ah, illicitly.
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Backov posted:Also, bad form to nose into a parking spot like that. Have fun if there's a slight grade there. Oh god, I did this yesterday on my Goldwing. The kind without a reverse gear. And there was an incline in this case. An '82 Aspencade weighs 700 lbs. gently caress me. (Actually it was just slightly annoying.)
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I live in PA, so it's illegal, but I was late to work the other day so I split past the extremely long line at a light and scooted up to the very front about 30 seconds before the light turned green. Two cars behind me, a guy in a panel truck gave me a long honk and the finger when I turned around. Sorry guy I inconvenienced in no way whatsoever. I gave him a cheery wave before I zoomed off.
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I'll get that too if I split to the front of a light. Granted, it's not legal here either, but what's the point in taking up space in line if we're able to zoom off before anyone else? I think it's just that people want you to wait since they have to ![]()
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AncientTV posted:I'll get that too if I split to the front of a light. Granted, it's not legal here either, but what's the point in taking up space in line if we're able to zoom off before anyone else? I think it's just that people want you to wait since they have to Not legal here either but when it's 100+ degrees and I just want to get home I do this without thinking about it. A few honks, some middle fingers and an occasional shout but that's the worst so far.
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I've had people try to race me off the line to prevent me from getting ahead of their luxury sedan. I don't think they realize how fast motorcycles are.
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I have that often. Need one gently caress of a car to beat most bikes, even if the bike isn't even aware he's in a race at first.
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Let the
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LOL. I generally let most win as they're the same assholes who get right on your rear end after you blow them out of the water.
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# ? Jun 10, 2024 14:46 |
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AncientTV posted:I'll get that too if I split to the front of a light. Granted, it's not legal here either, but what's the point in taking up space in line if we're able to zoom off before anyone else? I think it's just that people want you to wait since they have to This is my logic. If we're in line then we're taking up as much space as a car in that line and contributing to congestion. Bikes can accelerate a whole poo poo-ton faster than cars can so we should be allowed to go to the front of the line. I like to park on the sidewalk at most of the shops I frequent, like Wal-mart and Target. I have permission from the store managers at the locations to do so. However, one of my favorite things about motorcycling is some of the incredulous remarks made in reference to this practice. ( ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Those are incidents I had happen. I'm a polite guy raised with a strong sense of Southern hospitality, but we have a lot of northerners here and they can be quite abrasive (no offense ya'll) so I try to do my best to explain to them, briefly, that motorcycles have permission with our local wal-mart to park on the sidewalk, etc. Unfortunately most of them are just pissed that we get special treatment so they just have to call and complain somewhere. I'd have loved to have had the transcript from the tow-truck call. ![]()
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