Riding in the middle of the road

[Ronin]

Many car drivers get particularly irate at motorcyclists splitting. It's very funny.

Oh yes. Most NZ motorcyclists are rogues. It's fun! You should try it. People will shake their fist at you but you just show them the chinese good luck sign and carry on.


Steve

Oh my god Fanny... You just get worse don't you.

[mikemike104]

I find it's fine in d'Auckland but I advise against it in The Tron - they get real shitty here...mind you, you only have to split about three cars to get to the front of the line anyway, so no big deal really...

I'm in Hamilton and commute to work and back daily, I'v only been riding since March and even I have noticed when I'm splitting it seems everyone hates me (and I try be nice and not get in peoples way too much).

Is it just a Hamilton thing?

[slofox]

I'm in Hamilton and commute to work and back daily, I'v only been riding since March and even I have noticed when I'm splitting it seems everyone hates me (and I try be nice and not get in peoples way too much).

Is it just a Hamilton thing?

Yeah - they're just a bunch of snotty bastards here...

[CookMySock]

The only issue is when bikes come the other way .. several years ago five or six of us were sitting on the white line at around 120 klicks between Hamilton and Auckland (old road style - one lane each way) when about five or six bikes came the other way doing the same thing ... saw them coming ... both groups faded back into the traffic ... no incidents ...

I was humming along up the white line on a straight bit of road, as ya do, and going the other way hidden nicely behind a large van was a cruiser quite close to the centreline, leaned harrrd over to the left.

It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but suffice to say, I am now fucking careful about what might be coming the other way that I can't see, and even more careful about entering the centre 'lane' without checking it very carefully beforehand.

Steve

[Latte]

how I see it

Filtering: moving to the front of a queue of traffic waiting at the lights : pretty safe, need to have your wits about you on the take off (red light runners, aggro car drivers).

Splittiing: going between "lanes" of traffic on the motorway (or similar multi-lane road) : need to be alert, watching for cars jumping between lanes, and people "squeezing" the gaps coz their jealous.

??????: travelling down a 2-way road on the centreline with traffic in both directions: no need to be alert, will just make you more aware you're about to die.



Seriously....... leaving yourself absolutely no escape route is O for orsum.

[Banditbandit]

how I see it



??????: travelling down a 2-way road on the centreline with traffic in both directions: no need to be alert, will just make you more aware you're about to die.



Seriously....... leaving yourself absolutely no escape route is O for orsum.

Hey ... I never expected to live to be this old ...

[avgas]

Don't lane split. If you have to lane split all that tells the world is that leathers grip your g-string too tight.

[Azi Dahaka]

I would not try it on a gn250. Unless it is in a 50k zone.

hey i use to do it on a gn250 on the wellington motorway it is eaiser because it is smaller than my vl800 bloody thing is to fat to split eaisly but still more than possible.

i like wellington drivers they are all pritty good at getting out of the way of bikers

[rastuscat]

I'm in Hamilton and commute to work and back daily, I'v only been riding since March and even I have noticed when I'm splitting it seems everyone hates me

Just my tupennies worth.

On rainy days car drivers have advantages over motorcyclists. They have heaters, windows and wipers. Do motorcyclists get dirty at car drivers? No, we just ride and think nothing of it. Its a car advantage that costs us nothing.

On the other hand, splitting is a bike advantage that seems to wind car drivers up. Like, they are sitting at the lights, and some legally filters to the front. You can see the car drivers nasty thoughts floating around their air conditioned safety cage. Have they been disadvantaged? No. It's just that the bike rider has gained an advantage from their choice of vehicle. Not to the car drivers detriment, but it's perceived as so.

Or maybe I'm just thinking too much. Maybe people in general have just fallen for the gubbermint credo that bikers are bad.

So there.

[Cayman911]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...nsense-answers

It'd probably pay to read that. its got a lot of good stuff in it. was sure helpful to me.

and to date only one person was worked up about me getting in front of him. was a lil punk in a civic thinking hes cool. and i told him to shove it.

[Azi Dahaka]

Just my tupennies worth.

On rainy days car drivers have advantages over motorcyclists. They have heaters, windows and wipers. Do motorcyclists get dirty at car drivers? No, we just ride and think nothing of it. Its a car advantage that costs us nothing.

On the other hand, splitting is a bike advantage that seems to wind car drivers up. Like, they are sitting at the lights, and some legally filters to the front. You can see the car drivers nasty thoughts floating around their air conditioned safety cage. Have they been disadvantaged? No. It's just that the bike rider has gained an advantage from their choice of vehicle. Not to the car drivers detriment, but it's perceived as so.

Or maybe I'm just thinking too much. Maybe people in general have just fallen for the gubbermint credo that bikers are bad.

So there.

on that note i always say if the nob in the car COULD get to the front of the lane he/she WOULD do it. the only reason he/she gets pissed off is thet he/she cannot. i have seen many time where there has been a gap just big enough for a car to go though they cannot get there fast enough.

[SMOKEU]

Be aware of those cats' eye thingies found on some roads; they can give you a bit of a fright when riding over them at high(ish) speeds.

[FJRider]

If you stick around you'll quickly learn that DB is the site fucking clown.

Just a pity his face isn't painted on ...

[cheshirecat]

I can understand your questioning this, we rode across Canada a while ago, ignorant of the illegality of splitting over there.
Cop pulled us up, but saw UK plates and backed off from ticketing.
Basically, do it, look at everything in front of you , and assume all the drivers are trying to kill you. Those that make way for you or leave extra room, give them some indication of your gratitude, but keep both hands on the bars and look out!
We used to split round the M25 in UK at past legal motorway speeds, it all depends on your interaction with the other road users.

M25 - that means your speed difference must have been oh er 70mph plus

Here - how come my reply has popped up in two threads?

[Brian d marge]

Hi all,
I'm a newbie biker (Suzuki GN250). When there is traffic I wait behind a car, just as if I were in a car. But almost always I see people pass all of the traffic by driving in between lanes, or in the middle of the road.

I am happy to do this too. But I wouldn't ever do it if it was considered rude (by any kind of driver). So I wanted to ask you guys: are these people rogues? Or is it considered kosher in NZ to do this? (oops, shoulda mentioned im from Canadia).

Cheers,.
Marco.

Couple of things Marco
if you are asking the question I can assume you haven't been on a bike for long , Wait a wee while before splitting , get you confidence and skills a little better

Secondly NEVER wait BEHIND a car just off to one side is better ( or at least have an escape route ) I like to see the driver in their side mirror

if nutter behind fogets to stop , OR indeed YOU foget to stop you wont go up the arse of the car in front ... you just go up the road a bit further and live to fight another day


Stephen