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What to do? Assholes while lane splitting

Move to another lane or wait for another opportunity to pass. Simple. Assholes everywhere. If I let those small things wear on me,I'd be fuc*ed riding through the city. I figure passing one car isn't worth the trouble if there are no other options to get around.
 
crazybob said:
I think you can qualify as a fag even without the harley
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Think what you must, but loud pipes saves lives. It's about safety, not being obnoxious(for me). When my wife or daughter is on the back, I want to be damn sure every cage withing 50 feet of me knows exactly where I am. I could give two shits if they think I'm an asshole for demanding that they pay attention to me.

Anyhow, my pipe is only ridiculously loud over 8000+ rpm. When splitting a lower speeds its a perfect rumble. I've never had a close call splitting lanes on my 750. I used to have them all the time on my wife's 250, because no one can hear it.

I have a racefit slashcut.
 
ST Guy said:
'Be nice to have a permanently mounted video camera hidden on the bike and turned on in an instant with the flick of a thumb.
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I want cameras on my bike for this sort of reason too.
 
Happy Hornet said:
IMHO I like to be one car behind at stop lights-I've seen way too many red light runners to be first out the gate.
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OTOH, if you are first in line you can actually look in all directions, for red light runners and asshats of every other variety.
 
Almost 40 years of lane splitting and it's never been much of an issue for me. Everybody in a car is an asshat and they are all out to get you. If a guy pinches me off, it's almost expected, no big deal.

Thanx, Russ
 
quile22 said:
Think what you must, but loud pipes saves lives. (oh boy here we go again) It's about safety, not being obnoxious(for me). When my wife or daughter is on the back, I want to be damn sure every cage withing 50 feet of me knows exactly where I am. I could give two shits if they think I'm an asshole for demanding that they pay attention to me.

Anyhow, my pipe is only ridiculously loud over 8000+ rpm. When splitting a lower speeds its a perfect rumble. I've never had a close call splitting lanes on my 750. I used to have them all the time on my wife's 250, because no one can hear it.
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Let me guess, you never examined the component that's in front of and above the exhaust (and behind the handlebars) when you had all of these close calls? If you've got to lean on the 'entitled to be loud' crutch to split 'safely,' you're doing it wrong. Especially on a 250 - every other bike feels like a boat compared to 'em, and I rock mine over the bay bridge everyday with my wife on the back, problem-free. I'd rather be ninja-quiet and remember that people will manage to be oblivious to you no matter what than give an early warning to an anti-moto cager so they can move over to block me.
 
crazybob said:
Let me guess, you never examined the component that's in front of and above the exhaust (and behind the handlebars) when you had all of these close calls? If you've got to lean on the 'entitled to be loud' crutch to split 'safely,' you're doing it wrong. Especially on a 250 - every other bike feels like a boat compared to 'em, and I rock mine over the bay bridge everyday with my wife on the back, problem-free. I'd rather be ninja-quiet and remember that people will manage to be oblivious to you no matter what than give an early warning to an anti-moto cager so they can move over to block me.
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You've got a point there... Often I see people move over faster when I have my high beams on rather than revving the engine to make noise.
 
crazybob said:
Let me guess, you never examined the component that's in front of and above the exhaust (and behind the handlebars) when you had all of these close calls? If you've got to lean on the 'entitled to be loud' crutch to split 'safely,' you're doing it wrong. Especially on a 250 - every other bike feels like a boat compared to 'em, and I rock mine over the bay bridge everyday with my wife on the back, problem-free. I'd rather be ninja-quiet and remember that people will manage to be oblivious to you no matter what than give an early warning to an anti-moto cager so they can move over to block me.
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I never said I used it as a crutch for poor riding skills. I am VERY aware of whats going on around me and I watch people's body language and eyes, not the cars themselves. That's why every close call(not many) has only been a close call, because I am the one paying attention, but I'm pretty sure if had been on my 750 it never would have happened.

It's for the times I'm doing everything right and someone still decides to try and move over on me because they "didn't look". You know, the people who start to move over THEN signal(maybe) and look(maybe). I've never had someone move over on me on purpose. I've actually very surprised how much respect bikers get in the north bay. Like I said, it's not obnoxiously loud at low rpm. Just loud enough to know I'm there.

I have to admit though that I find it extremely comical when people move over 5 feet all of a sudden when I already had plenty of room to split...again because they were probably day dreaming and not paying attention, and then hear my bike.
 
I can understand that, it's just the 'loud pipes save lives' mantra (especially for louder-than-legal bikes) that really bugs me. People can only move into gaps, so as you know you've got to be extra mindful when riding through said gaps.
 
I usually loop around him, illigally, on the other side. If he's on the right hogging the center just pass on the right then cut back into the center first chance you get....Moonbeam
 
I have come to ignore these things. Most of the time it's unintentional, but the few times that it's just some asshole... you just patiently wait until an opportunity arises and go around them some other way. Conflict averted, you get past them and they still get to sit in traffic and be miserable.

Two things about people cutting you off while lane splitting/sharing:
1) Get used to it.
2) Be prepared for it with every car you split past.

It may never happen to you again, but you should treat every car you pass like it's about to. Always keep an eye on the front wheel of surrounding vehicles and watch the sideview mirrors. Those are where you'll see the first indications of someone intending to change lanes... or just drifting towards the middle.

I'm pretty vigilant about this and I was hit just last week on the freeway. Leaned up against the door as she pushed me & the bike into the next lane. I held the throttle open and broke the rear wheel loose so I wouldn't tip. By then she realized I was there and swerved back into her lane and I pulled in the clutch so I didn't go flying into cars in front of me. Almost had to change the Depends after that one. Kept splitting anyway. :toothless
 
This actually occurred to me today, for the first time too on my commute home. I was splitting between #1 and #2 lanes on 880S near Montague, and I notice several cars ahead a red ford 500 or similar in the #2 lane edging over the dotted line in my path.

As I get closer I realize that the driver wasn't attempting to lane change, nor was he unintentionally drifting, but that he had actually moved both of his left side tires over the dotted line to intentionally block me. It was to the point where the car to the left of him in the #1 lane had actually moved over to the shoulder to avoid a collision with the psycho cager.

Fortunately I was able to slowly make my way around the guy, the whole time which he's wailing on his horn at me. I couldn't help but laugh at the idiocy he was displaying to all the surrounding cagers too. And while it did cross my mind to give him a little "adjustment", by the time I got home I felt pretty content with the fact that to everyone that witnessed the minor event saw him as the aggravator, NOT the motorcyclist. :ride
 
I rarely lane split because I'm usually not on the road during high-traffic hours. Even so, I've still had a bunch of people intentionally pull into my way. But for every one that tries to block me, I'll have ten intentionally move aside for me. I even had one guy in a truck with those extended mirrors pull his mirror in for me once he saw me coming. Big :thumbup to that guy.

I just hop into the lane next to them, then pass them in that lane and continue splitting on ahead. Rarely I'll go into the lane to the right and pass them that way. It all depends on what traffic is doing.
 
i break mirrors off.
 
Probabaly the best thing you can do is get used to it. Its part of riding and its not going to change.
 
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