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I know some people don't like high viz but I rode to Bristol on Weds morning in thick fog.
The conditions were far from ideal, but I had a service booked first thing.
All I can say is that I am jolly glad I had a high viz jacket on.
I don't assume people can see me, but I am sure it helped.
I tend to wear Hi Vis this time of year, particularly when commuting, makes you stand out in the gloom.
There is such a bloke, seen him twice on the M4, telling cars to move out of the outside lane, and bollocking bikers on the move. I thought he was plod and held back until my exit, then i could see he was a walter. Second time i saw him, i flew past him and gave him the bird, he chased me until jnc17 with his orange light flashing, utter cock. There is an old thread on VD in spotted about him.[/quote]Quote:
Originally Posted by Mitch9128
Ooooh, that's a bit cheeky! Be funny to see him getting pulled by an unmarked car ;D
Not heard the expression Walter before, what's one of them?
White bikes definitely get you seen, I had a white Fazer with blue LED sidelights and a white topbox and lid and cars would be a lot more wary around me than when I was on the Falco, so it definitely works.
http://www.visordown.com/forum/forum...mp;V=5&SP=
Scrol back to page1 of that thread.
Walter Mitty, get a lot of people pretending to be forces, nicknamed Walters/walts.
I had it happen the other night.... First time it ever happened, wasn't nice! :( I swear she looked at me, then a car pulled from the main road into a side road, once that car had finished its turn, she pulls out onto the main road where i'm coming from her Right, she pulls out 4-5ft I slam my brakes on, (I used back and Front break ... Mark told me to use just front brake next time) but my bike was sideways and I am sure my arse was infront of my handle bars, she stopped after the 4-5 ft, i managed to basically throw myself and the bike round the front of the car.... I then continued on as I didnt know what else to do!
Went to see Mark thinking my brakes had something wrong with them, after he checked it and said nothing was wrong, on the way home I noticed my foot was slightly touching the brake the whole time i was riding! Must have been nerves!
Not nice experience for someone thats done under 150 miles! Least I was going slowly if something had of happened. I was at 28mph before braking!
Bloody hell Dan, so glad you're ok ! It's never nice for this to happen even less so when you're just getting your confidence or getting it back after an off!
I found on saturday riding for the first time since my spill (read boy racer incident) that I was uptight on the bike and very wary of everything and everyone around me and it took me ages to relax , in fact it wasn't until our return journey from Salisbury did I start getting back to my more relaxed style or riding.
Anyway , so happy that you came away unscathed and just putting this one down to experience, the only good thing that comes of it is the adrenaline hit that your body gives you later on ;)
The two best pieces of advice I had on that were:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan_Morgan
- courtesy of Michael Caine in Zulu - wait until you see the whites of their eyes - until they are totally fixed on you assume they are going to pull out and kill you so prepare for it - once you have decent eye contact your chances of being mowed down decrease
- courtesy of someone in some bike mag - adjust road position slightly so that the car driver can register something moving. They are expecting a car or something else bigger than a bike so their brain doesn't register. A bit like waving a torch to attract attention, if you move a few feet within the road it increases your chances of being spotted.
Nothing's perfect. It's all about putting the odds on your side.
This is why I took the baffle out of my exhaust (if you believe that you will believe anything! ;-) ) but it does help. When I have used my bike the 4 or 5 times since the start of Jan through town I dont have any problems with people pulling out as they hear me and then seem to look out for me.
Actually the closest thing I had to a near miss was a scooter pulling out on me, but been on L plates and near a college I put it down to a 16/17 year old with little to no experience.
No amount of exhaust noise from 20+ yards away will get through sealed car windows and the sound of child/ren in the back and radio / CD playing.
I can't say I have ever heard a bike before seeing it in nearly two decades of driving a car.
That said, an R6 with baffle out is very funny ;D
I take it that's aimed at me sleepy??Quote:
Originally Posted by Chappers
I will get the pit crew to remove it before the season starts! ;D
roxy