Stopping to 'have a go'

[Conquiztador]

Straight pipes solves that problem!

[megageoff76]

I once made a hand gesture at some scum bag on an old Triumph, after he almost ran me off the road in the burbs trying to prove how tough he was.

Once he saw this in his mirrors, he slowed right down and then signalled for us both to pull over and park up for a fist fight!

[vifferman]

Possibly, the reason for the same looks of consternation you got was that, it was akin to you being told of in Chinese. They may have not have had a clue what you were saying.

You're probably right. But why not say, "No speak Engrish!" or shake their heads or give the universal "I dunno what the fuck you're on about" gesture?
Saving face?
"Oh..yeah... my tyres fucked but even though I can afford a nice car, I can't afford the time to find out what I need to do to drive one and take care of it. I'll just pretend everything's OK and hope that everything works out OK."
Rrriiiiiiiiiight....

[duckonin]

I once made a hand gesture at some scum bag on an old Triumph, after he almost ran me off the road in the burbs trying to prove how tough he was.

Once he saw this in his mirrors, he slowed right down and then signalled for us both to pull over and park up for a fist fight!

AND!!!!

[Maha]

Just pat yourself on the back for avoiding the situation and get back to concentrating on your ride.

Exactly, no need to 'bash the mirrors' on this occassion eh Steve?.....

[Tubbsy]

Actually, this brings another question to the fore. All this mirror bashing and coin scratching, don't you get fined for that, or had up on charges? I mean, we DO have a licence plate on the back of the bike which identifies us.

[duckonin]

Actually, this brings another question to the fore. All this mirror bashing and coin scratching, don't you get fined for that, or had up on charges? I mean, we DO have a licence plate on the back of the bike which identifies us.

If you were on a stolen bike it would be all good..

[megageoff76]

AND!!!!

This guy looked fuckin hard as nails, so needless to say I got the hell out of there.

I did think for a moment that he looked like the type who would then follow me home and then go to work on me with a pair of pliers and a blow torch.

[CookMySock]

imagine the time it would take them to coin "YOU SILLY COW, YOU CUT ME OFF AND ALMOST CAUSED ME TO CRASH" along the car door. - I mean you would HAVE to do that

Nope. Too much "discussing" involved. Deep coin mark only. Ride off.

Wouldn't it be quicker/safer to pull up alongside her and holler "Ya blind queer bitch, use yer eyes when you drive and ya might not have me yellin' at you for cutting me off back there" and then ride off.

You are discussing again. No discussing! Discussing = talk on cereal box!

I think the trick here is to actually crash into them (or at least near them). It worked very well to get the attention of the two cars, cyclist and pedestrian I've done it to, and the driver of the one car that cut me off and caused me to crash my (newly repaired) VFR750 certainly seemed very shaken up by it. Perhaps me screaming "YOU STUPID FUCKIN' BITCH!!" at her made my irritation fairly evident....

Yup. Aim for drivers' door. They will never do that again.

Straight pipes solves that problem!

and of course this is the best solution.. add to it a scary-bright headlight.. to let every bastard know you are there - there's no way they will pull out in front of some asshole biker coming at them like a freight train, unless they want to die today.

edit:

This guy looked fuckin hard as nails, so needless to say I got the hell out of there. I did think for a moment that he looked like the type who would then follow me home and then go to work on me with a pair of pliers and a blow torch.

Hehe, so you took care not to pull out in front of him? Hmmmm?

Steve

[Tubbsy]

This guy looked fuckin hard as nails

Looks can be deceiving....although in saying that....he DID stop to have a punch up. Bet if he followed you'd have done some trick riding you didn't know you could do.

[short-circuit]

Actually, this brings another question to the fore. All this mirror bashing and coin scratching, don't you get fined for that, or had up on charges? I mean, we DO have a licence plate on the back of the bike which identifies us.

Coin scratching is more a cowardly tactic used long after the Mr Whippy truck goes night night.

Totally implausable with full gear on anyways (he's fulla shite)

[Badjelly]

I have occasionally stopped to remonstrate with motorists who have cut me off. More often on my bicycle than my motorbike. The usual sequence of events: they say "I'm sorry, I didn't see you" and I say "Oh well, that's all right then, please be more careful next time."

I agree with the poster who said that you tend to be more touchy on these things while on a 2-wheel vehicle. These days I tend to give a cheery wave and drive on.

[Oscar]

Actually, this brings another question to the fore. All this mirror bashing and coin scratching, don't you get fined for that, or had up on charges? I mean, we DO have a licence plate on the back of the bike which identifies us.

Don't listen to the Interweb Warriors.

The fact is that everyone makes mistakes, and from some car drivers point of view a Motorcycle is a fast moving, small and alien object. The Hurt Study in the US showed that car drivers who fail to give way to motorcycles and cyclists are much less likely to have had personal experience with those forms of transport than the average 'Merican. The conclusion drawn was that these people simply didn't recognize two wheelers as other road users.

If it happens again - try to make eye contact with the other person (at the next lights or in their mirrors), and raise one or both hands with the palms up, giving the universal "..what the fuck?" gesture. This gets your point across and reinforces to the driver that he's dealing with real person and valid road user and maybe the next time they'll look twice...

[Oscar]

Nope. Too much "discussing" involved. Deep coin mark only. Ride off.

You are discussing again. No discussing! Discussing = talk on cereal box!

Yup. Aim for drivers' door. They will never do that again.

and of course this is the best solution.. add to it a scary-bright headlight.. to let every bastard know you are there - there's no way they will pull out in front of some asshole biker coming at them like a freight train, unless they want to die today.

edit:Hehe, so you took care not to pull out in front of him? Hmmmm?

Steve

I'm picking that if you ever did coin a car, it would be a very deep gouge indeed, as you undoubtedly have an extremely overdeveloped right wrist.

[Ecclesnz]

This guy looked fuckin hard as nails, so needless to say I got the hell out of there.

I did think for a moment that he looked like the type who would then follow me home and then go to work on me with a pair of pliers and a blow torch.

I would have the but the blowie was out of fuel you lucky bugger :P