Has anyone else noticed when you're in your car people tailgate and act a fool but when on your motorcycle people give you a wide birth. Is it the stigma or bad rap bikers get about being undisciplined and just plain mean? I find that people always give you the right of way (if they see you that is) and give me distance. I come to a stop sign and people wave me through to go first. Some probably own motorcycles and the others are just a little weary of you. I use it to my advantage with a nice wave and off I go to instill fear into the motoring public.
But You're also correct Doc. In my experience it's important to be semi aggressive. Never be complacent and always take control because when you force yourself to be busy and aggressive you are constantly scanning and as Paul said, keep your head on a swivel. I'm not saying be a jerk or even rude but just a 'take control attitude'. It keeps you on your toes and alert. After a days riding and I dismount the Rocket i'm a little tense but for me that's a good thing.
Yep Yep! Learned that in my early 4-wheel days... a little extra speed and being poor as hell made sure I was being VERY VERY VERY attentive to my driving and surroundings...
-MIG
In my humble experience... only absurdly loud pipes make a difference on the freeway or high speed roads. Residential and low-speed shopping districts are a different story... So there's truly no one sounds fits all... Just my experience..
-MIG
I always thought the double flash was universal, go ahead, I yield my right of way to you, but....
My friend's dad double flashed his lights at a car waiting to pull out, " just to make sure he saw him". He's still in a wheelchair, 25 years later. My friend does still ride, though, with his dad's blessing. When he told us that story I was dumbfounded, I thought everyone knew that.
Wow... Folks here in Miami double flash me often... to let me pull out (admittedly in good light they wave their hand as well)... and in all my years the only time a double flash didn't mean "You go" was a single head-on-only flash to say "Turn off your brights..."
-MIG
Has anyone else noticed when you're in your car people tailgate and act a fool but when on your motorcycle people give you a wide birth. Is it the stigma or bad rap bikers get about being undisciplined and just plain mean? I find that people always give you the right of way (if they see you that is) and give me distance. I come to a stop sign and people wave me through to go first. Some probably own motorcycles and the others are just a little weary of you. I use it to my advantage with a nice wave and off I go to instill fear into the motoring public.
Yes, I experience this most of the time... though size matters. We used to have a Honda Shadow 750 I'd take out now and then and I got much less respect and distance than I do on my R3T. ...and I get even MORE respect and distance given, even when stopped while getting fuel... when I'm in full leather from head to toe...
-MIG
I try to always use the smidsy weave when I see a vehicle coming from the other direction with their left turn signal on, or any vehicle stopped at an intersection crossing when I have the right of way..
Thanks, just used this on a car that looked like it was going to turn left in front of me. Not sure if it made a difference, but they car didn’t turn and I felt like I was using Jedi mind tricks on the driver