I almost took out a Can-Am Spyder today in my cager....

[davidji]

My take is that it should be based on overall vehicle width. I'd ague that anything over 36" wide is probably unsafe to split with.

Not unreasonable, but 36" excludes a lot of bikes people regularly split with, including R1200RT cop bikes and most adventure bikes. In the latter case at least width is in the bars and you can wiggle them to get through tight spots.

But they're still fat bikes to be fitting through traffic.

It would be more reasonable (for me) to take my widest bike and say much wider is too much

 

[afmotorsports]

I'm 39-40" wide on a R1250GS with hard luggage (especially when I have my Pelican 1700 strapped across the top to carry a shotgun) and have no problem splitting lanes. Pretty rare that two cars get so close to each other that I can't get through, in fact I see more and more drivers in the HOV lane who will pull far left just to make more room. That's pretty cool and I always wave or give them a thumbs up.

That said, splitting lanes in a Canned Ham Spyder is batshit crazy... seen the movie, know how it ends... smh

 

[cheez]

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=400

(a) A “motorcycle” is a motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground.

(b) A motor vehicle that has four wheels in contact with the ground, two of which are a functional part of a sidecar, is a motorcycle if the vehicle otherwise comes within the definition of subdivision (a).

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

I'm 39-40" wide on a R1250GS with hard luggage (especially when I have my Pelican 1700 strapped across the top to carry a shotgun) and have no problem splitting lanes. Pretty rare that two cars get so close to each other that I can't get through, in fact drivers in the HOV lane who will pull far left just to make more room for me. That's pretty cool and I always wave or give them a thumbs up.

That said, splitting lanes in a Canned Ham Spyder is batshit crazy... seen the movie, know how it ends... smh

That's cuz they know you're a badass!

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

Getting the chair high enough to clear the cars on the right would be one issue - in my case the bigger issue would be the wife yelling at me for trying it!

 

[DataDan]

With cases, my 1995 R1100RS was 39 inches wide, IIRC. I was never totally comfortable splitting on that thing--my commute at the time was the 680 corridor at around the time lanes were narrowed for HOV construction.

An RT of that generation, equally wide, was involved in a fatal lane-splitting crash in 2009, apparently due to misjudgment of gap vs. motorcycle width while passing a truck. The crash was witnessed by a driver immediately behind, who posted an account here on BARF: RIP Light blue BMW tourer down on 880s near San Leandro.

 

[ViperThreat]

Not unreasonable, but 36" excludes a lot of bikes people regularly split with, including R1200RT cop bikes and most adventure bikes. In the latter case at least width is in the bars and you can wiggle them to get through tight spots.

But they're still fat bikes to be fitting through traffic.

It would be more reasonable (for me) to take my widest bike and say much wider is too much

I get that, but I'd also argue that not all streets are the same width - come check out the 5 freeway through Los Angeles and you'll find that even supersports sometimes have a hard time fitting through. I end up folding in the mirrors on my FZ1 pretty regularly to squeeze through the narrow lanes on the 101.

 

[ratpick]

If you’re splitting on a Can Am Spyder you are not the sharpest tool in the shed by a huge margin! Common freakin’ sense. If you’re taken out splitting on a three wheeler it is your fault. A motorcycle has two wheels,don’t care what the law sez, common freakin’ sense! Geez! Does this actually have to be said!

 

[budman]

Seems to me 44” wide is good. Same as the building code for minimum corridor clearance. Not like we need more definition though. I like the law just as it is. Thank you very much.

If you’re splitting on a Can Am Spyder you are not the sharpest tool in the shed by a huge margin! Common freakin’ sense. If you’re taken out splitting on a three wheeler it is your fault. A motorcycle has two wheels,don’t care what the law sez, common freakin’ sense! Geez! Does this actually have to be said!

Yeah it does. Humans.

 

[Tom G]

I'm 39-40" wide on a R1250GS with hard luggage (especially when I have my Pelican 1700 strapped across the top to carry a shotgun) and have no problem splitting lanes. Pretty rare that two cars get so close to each other that I can't get through, in fact I see more and more drivers in the HOV lane who will pull far left just to make more room. That's pretty cool and I always wave or give them a thumbs up.

That said, splitting lanes in a Canned Ham Spyder is batshit crazy... seen the movie, know how it ends... smh

Luggage is 41" wide but I found many cages give way when they see our monsters approaching.

 

[Tom G]

Seems to me 44” wide is good. Same as the building code for minimum corridor clearance. Not like we need more definition though. I like the law just as it is. Thank you very much.



Yeah it does. Humans.

With my luggage I avoid splitting like the plague. But even the handlebar is almost as wide. If traffic is almost stopped and there is ample space I split but generally try to pick a time when traffic is lighter.

 

[Holeshot]

The Can Am Spyder was by far the scariest and most dangerous non 4-wheel vehicle I've ever ridden. No thanks...never again.

 

[afmotorsports]

With my luggage I avoid splitting like the plague. But even the handlebar is almost as wide. If traffic is almost stopped and there is ample space I split but generally try to pick a time when traffic is lighter.

Not me! I like to make a statement when I enter the HOV lane, on the back wheel, like 'F yo Tesla, beesh!' (seriously, the 1250GS wheelies like a banshee!) I will say that on highways like 85 it's pretty easy to split lanes because the lanes are wide but on some roads I won't split lanes either. Saratoga Ave is a perfect example, where the dimwits added a bike lane and narrowed the lanes so bad that even city bus drivers have trouble staying in one lane, so there's just no room to squeeze through. On the GS, the hard luggage is just as wide as the bars, so it doesn't matter if they're on or not; if the bars fit through, so will the luggage.

Honestly, I think the decision to split lanes or not is more about the rider than the road or even the bike. Some riders won't even be comfortable splitting lanes on a scooter, so they shouldn't do it at all. There are some obvious ones, like don't split lanes on a Canned Ham (duh!) but for the rest, it's a combination of bike, rider, road, traffic, weather conditions, etc. Oh, and don't ever split lanes with a bus or a box truck unless they move way over (like some of the tech buses on 85) or if they're stopped, otherwise they'll kill you real quick!

 

[Climber]

My Goldwing is 34 inches wide, I don't split on it nearly as much as I did with my CBR.

 

[Lowerside]

I normally don't care if someone wants to split on a trike. As long as you fit, then whatever man.

There was one guy on a Can-Am that I would see on my morning commute that would insist on splitting on 101 when there was no room for them. They'd honk and rev bomb until the lane 1 car moved all the way to the shoulder and the rider would give the what-the-heck hand gesture when they finally passed. Fuck that guy.

 

[flipstyledsm22]

I normally don't care if someone wants to split on a trike. As long as you fit, then whatever man.

There was one guy on a Can-Am that I would see on my morning commute that would insist on splitting on 101 when there was no room for them. They'd honk and rev bomb until the lane 1 car moved all the way to the shoulder and the rider would give the what-the-heck hand gesture when they finally passed. Fuck that guy.

Was this a white Can-Am and the rider wore a silver jacket with a white helmet? If so, we had the same encounter.

 

[gixxerjeff]

I think all the wheels need to be in one lane to make it legal. Or lane sharing...

Off topic, I'm sorry, but this reminds me of a recent thread about the bandit that somehow got taken out by a car that stopped in front of him then turned in to him.
Where did that thread go? It just disappeared.

As to this thread, just expect anything. I am reminded of the Harley trike that splits on Hwy 37 from Lakeville to 121. He just grabs a big handful of throttle until the cars move for him. I suppose I could the same thing with my truck and get the same results.

 

[Enchanter]

Off topic, I'm sorry, but this reminds me of a recent thread about the bandit that somehow got taken out by a car that stopped in front of him then turned in to him.
Where did that thread go? It just disappeared.

Give me more information to search for and I'll take a look.
Did you post in the thread?
Who else posted in the thread?
Thread title?
Any other key words?

 

[Lowerside]

Was this a white Can-Am and the rider wore a silver jacket with a white helmet? If so, we had the same encounter.

I vaguely remember a white helmet, but it's been so long since i've seen him that I don't remember.

 

[Moike]

so if you were on a side car rig and flying the chair could you lanesplit?

Yes...