Tricky Dicky

I usually don't tell my buddies what to do but i am sitting there in first with my clutch lever pulled in ready to haul a$$ if i hear/see tires squealing
It would be interesting to have the two scenarios tested. 1. the biker has the bike in gear and prepared to go, hears the screeching, looks to the rear, confirms the threat and tries to drive away. 2. the bike is in neutral and the biker is relaxed and upright, they hear the screeching, look to the rear, confirm the threat and jump off the bike to the road- side. Yes, the bike falls over before it is demolished. One has to wonder who has the better chance of survival.
 
If you have time to perceive the threat, react to threat, drop the bike and then run for cover then the chances are you have a few seconds before impending doom. Why not just slip the clutch and ride between cars? Remember, a good captain never abandons ship and if he does, women and children first.
 
If I ride with a friend and I have like most of us. I like large groups I just don't like riding in the same proximity as them. My friends are (were) good riders but sharing a lane with them was not ideal. When I rode with friends I would either be well out front or stay behind out of trouble. If you're not use to riding in tandem or in the same vicinity then you make mistakes. They forget you're near by and do dumb stuff like coming into your lane in a turn or they see something shinny and hit the brakes forgetting you're behind them. Some think they are Ponch and John (CHIPS) and want to ride beside you sharing the lane. Not good unless you do it every day and know your friends riding style and he knows yours from hours and hours of riding together. So in essence, I usually stay out front and on occasion way behind but never in the middle of the pack or lane share.
 
I usually ride in the back with two riders in front and when the light turns green they are really quick to put it in gear
I like being in the back i can control the cars behind me buy slowing down and controlling there speed of stopping.
I listen to tires squealing all the time just Friday traffic stopped sndn
 
Traffic stoped suddenly big truck with big tires sliding into me i released my brakes an hit the gas which gave him distance to stop with out hitting me.
 
we teach, that when you stop, your eyes are in the mirror, your in 1rst, clutch is in, and you better be ready move at an instant, we spend a good amount of time teaching emergency braking, and quick take offs, thats how i stop always, it has saved me few times especially this year, this year was nuts, but we also teach if you need to go to neutral at a stop, wait until you have two are three cars behind you, that gives you a good buffer if the person way at the back doesn't stop. Also on the M test, if you come to a stop and put it in neutral or the brake light goes off, your getting marked for it. I got to witness one of these in the spring this year, rider pulled up behind the car, but to close, and lined up in the middle of the car instead over to the side, vehicle came up from behind and when they finally decided that stopping might be a good idea it was way to late, he managed to move the bike and two cars right out into the intersection. I drove a recovery wrecker in northern Ontario for about 5-years, i got to witness some pretty serious carnage and devastation, that accident in the spring though, is something that i'll never get out of my head, kind of sucks, but good reminder
 
It’s because if the clutch cable isn’t adjusted exactly properly, or it gets worn and can stretch a tiny bit. And as hard as we may try to hold the lever in while we sit there. We all even a little, unconsciously let it out n in. Even if you can’t feel the plates engaging, they’re still making contact, and causing wear.