New rider do's and dont's

wazza300 said:
Ain't you legally supposed to stay within the white lines when filtering though?

I was fairly new and wild back then,you do develope a good sixth sense over time when anticipating potential pullouts

Lines of parked cars and sudden door openers are another try to leave room
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Nah, filtering is basically treated as overtaking, so long as it's not solid white lines you're fine. I filter past cars in solid white lines, but only if there's room to filter without going over the white line.
 
Rossi~ said:
Try not to get wound up by idiot drivers, it can make you vulnerable to react in a bad way. 2 wrongs don't make a right etc etc, just flip the bird or something.
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Or a sarcastic wave, or even better, blow them a kiss. They love that :D

Couple of weekends ago there was an accident and all the traffic was diverted down a side street, cue a queue of traffic waiting to turn held up by another queue of traffic, no-one moving anywhere. Car in front of me was a chelsea tractor, I filtered past as we'd been stationary for a good minute. Get a beep from his horn and a flailing of arms as if to say "what are you doing!!???11!!!" Gave them a "WTF is wrong with you" shrug of the shoulders and a little cheeky wave as I sailed past the 5 cars in front and onto a clear road :p:D Can only imagine the steam coming out of the guys ears :p
 
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Yh that's it,solid white lines you can aslong as you stay within them

Seen so many riders still overtake cars on solid white lines though really dangerous as in actually crossing white line into oncoming lane
 
Wucked said:
This isn't a case in point, its rank hypocrisy. Riding instructors, Police, Blood Bikes, Couriers, Ambulance Bikes, all professional riders, and they ALL filter. I see it daily. What these people say is nearly irrelevant if its not reflected in what they do.

Personally I find that as long as I only filter through stationary traffic, where there is room to do so, then the risk is minimal. I think the most I've done in the last 20 years of filtering is clip someone wing mirror. No, its not luck. Just sticking to some basic rules.
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Agreed.

I cycled through Liverpool, London and indeed around England and Wales for many years before owning a scooter / motorbike. I once got taken out by a taxi in London in the 80s while I was on my push-bike but other than that I've had zero accidents in 40+ years on two wheels. I filter with the best of them (mainly on my 125 scooter, but not like Royal Jordanian on Youtube who I think pushes it a little too much some times) in London. As long as you keep it sensible, your hazard awareness is reasonable and you don't let your mind drift off it's a very efficient and safe way of making good progress. I still have plenty of time to knuckle the windows of drivers on their phones too :)
 
Wucked said:
Riding instructors, Police, Blood Bikes, Couriers, Ambulance Bikes, all professional riders, and they ALL filter.
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As do I and, from the looks of things outside, I'll be filtering ALL the way home down the A33 tonight... :(

I'm not AT ALL saying it should never be done - Just the opposite. But the fact remains that it is FAR more dangerous than sitting stationary in traffic and you're FAR more likely to have an accident while filtering or overtaking, than to be rear-ended by another vehicle.

wazza300 said:
Anyone come off while filtering?
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Not me, but seen several riders go down when cars and passengers have either opened their doors or purposely pulled across to achieve such a thing. Had one subsequently get out the car and have a go at this poor downed rider, because he was adamant that bikes filtering were illegal - We re-educated him.

wazza300 said:
Ain't you legally supposed to stay within the white lines when filtering though?
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Nope.
If you're going down the right side of traffic in the oncoming lane, that is overtaking.
If you're going down between two lines of traffic, that is filtering. So when filtering, you are always going to be on/around the white lines of one lane or another.

As mentioned, both are treated as overtaking manoeuvres, unless you're going above the speed limit, in which case you're now undertaking the right-side traffic and thus actually breaking the law.
 
only think that's makes me think twice about certain filtering is picking up punctures

normal dual lane down the middle filtering I don't mind

also had the fag butt thrown out of the window near misses haha,and the water washer/wiper spray when your following behind,another annoyance
 
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Not sure if this was mentioned, mirrored visor in my opinion is better for the sunny days. But its also a ***** to clean, that's why I usually get some soap that I use to wash the dishes and under a tap of warm (NOT Hot) water I clean it using my fingers to not scratch it. Afterwards I use a microfibre to dry it off, the visor looks pretty much like new as its all shiny again. :D

I use the same technique with my clear visor, as I tried 3 different window cleaners and once I scratched my visor a little.
 
NoNameNoNumber said:
Changing up through the gears- clutch or not?
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If you know how to and feel the need to learn, I see no real harm.
Practice on a clear road until you get the hang and know when best to use (or not use) the technique.

I use it sometimes, either when it's best or when I'm having a lazy moment. tried the downshift as well, but didn't really find it all that useful.
 
Taboo? When I get it right is silky smooth but when I get it wrong it tries to buckaroo me off! I guess that's a good reason to use the clutch!
Plus the mechanical sympathy... Gotta be nicer on the drivetrains with a dab of left hand
 
Flack88 said:
Don't really see the point of clutchless shift unless you are ragging the nuts off of it racing.
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If you can do it well, it's as smooth as clutched but without requiring the modicum of extra attention on the left hand. Bit of a 'Twist Of The Wrist' thing.

It has its place, but not as commonly as people sometimes think and is not necessary to be a good rider.
 
Flack88 said:
Don't really see the point of clutchless shift unless you are ragging the nuts off of it racing.
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same,essential if your competing in world superbike and every millisecond counts then yes,on the road do you need it?

each to their own and all that:p

plus it leaves you with bad habits when you jump on one without a quickshifter imo
 
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