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[ric]

...and don't ride in the center of the lane or the Mothers in their Range Rovers will have enough room to drive two wheels up onto the pavement and undertake you at speed - Yes that did actually happen to me.

[jefrs]

It's all very well saying you should be in the primary road position but if a car decides to force its way past, you're going to lose the argument.

[Dennis C]

Of course they will, but you will have left yourself a safe area to move into and not trapped between the car and the verge, think about it or even better go and take some advanced training and see how you can improve you safety in hundreds of other ways

[jefrs]

Rule 1, "always assume other road users are deliberately trying to kill you" (anticipate idiots).



Did the advanced training thing, older and wiser: still learning.

[Caboose]

Hi All
Hear Hear! to Dennis C & Jefs.

I agree entirely, Advanced Riding techniques are required in today's traffic, not only on Motorways., but on all roads.

It all hinges on Observation, (by YOU!)
I retired from being a Qualified IAM Observer when I sold my modern Honda, but unfortunately my 1958 Meteor Minor is just not suitable for the function!

However I still apply all I learned to my RE riding, and to my everyday driving on 4 wheels too

Take a test ride with your local Advanced Group, after it you will be amazed how much you still have to learn, no matter what your age, miles covered or experience.
Also you will actually find that as well as learning, Advanced riding is FUN! and much much more effective than a loud exhaust!
Contrary to popular and mis-informed opinion , one of the principals of Advanced motorcycling is making progress! (of course that is if you want to)

Remember it's all about YOUR survival!

REgards Dick.

[Dennis C]

So true Dick, I enjoyed it so much that I went the whole route and ended up as chief observer for a couple of years and I still have Triumph Sprint so I can keep it up.

[PeteF]

I'm obviously preaching to the converted here but "due progress" is important aspect of riding (and driving) that is often sadly lacking on today's roads. Unless there is a good reason not to, your speed should be the speed limit (or just under it)
Going too slow causes accidents just as much as going too fast.
And don't get me started about drivers who stop at a roundabout when they could easily and safely filter in!
I never feel more exposed than when I'm obliged to use a stretch of A road on my trails Cub. Its just too slow, and I'm relieved when I can turn off to a more suitable road.

[1950s Bulleteer]

Sorry to come back to this a bit late... Dennis C: To give a bit more detail I was maintaining a correct safety position behind the vehicle in front and when I was overtaken in the same lane it was on the LEFT that I was overtaken. I was in the centre lane and in a stream of traffic moving at around 15MPH faster than the vehicles in the inside lane. I think the undertaker went a bit into the inside lane to be able to do his manoeuvre... jefrs: It is certainly true that most modern cars are fairly well soundproofed, but not everyone drives a modern car, some people like to drive with windows open and there are a lot of open top cars, they could all get irritated if stuck behind a loud bike at constant speed.

[jefrs]

Sorry to hear of contretemps with a clot undertaking in same lane. I had a similar thing on a big gyratory rdb a few months ago with a BMW (of course) trying to out-accelerate a bike, I got out of the way smartish.

I've done the sports car thing. In an open top you can't hear a thing above the wind. I had a pair of ex-race TR7s at one time, the noise inside was like the loud end of four Bullets all at once. The blue one was a missile that would easily keep up with superbikes on welsh roads. 0-100mph was impressive but 0-60 wouldn't beat a bike off the lights.

Another car was an AMG. That was fantastically fast although I never found out if the limiter cut in at 155mph. It made a scoobie look like a kid's toy but it wouldn't beat a bike off the lights.

Current SUV is a turbo-diesel with a stage 1 on it so it pulls like a petrol, with about 580Nm. It goes like hot snot but the main thing is the consumption is way better than standard. Driving a powerful vehicle is fun but it comes with responsibility - to all other road users.

Half the times the idiots are just showing off. Me, I always ensure the safety of bikes.



I like to drive with the window open. At M-way speed that can make a lot of noise despite the wind deflectors fitted. Yon can't hear much of what's in front, more from the side.

I think what I'm trying to say is maybe a high pitch yowl might be annoying for miles and miles. An RE with even a loud pie is not that unpleasant and not really all that loud. You can always drop back a bit further, I for one always give a bike far more distance than a car.

At M-way speed a Bullet might be pulling some 4500rpm, it's pretty loud up there. But it's only when you're accelerating that the 'free-flow' pipes get really loud, dropping back to cruise they quieten down.

[1950s Bulleteer]

Thanks for your detailed response jefrs, I knew wind noise can drown out everything when on a bike, but wasn't aware it was such a problem in cars as well.
Reading what you said makes me realise that he didn't even have an excuse to overtake me, just being a jerk.
I do drive a car occasionally, an S-Type Jag which is quite quiet most of the time, next time I go on the motorway I'll be paying much more attention to what I can't hear but should be observing.