What I see as a motorcyclist eight years on - A tribute to Kiwi Biker

[scumdog]

Most South Island West Coast advisory signs say what they mean - if you know what I mean...

[caspernz]

My two cents on speed advisory signs is don't rely blindly on them. Great as a guide if they're there, but if they've been knocked over in the last storm...and you're not reading the corner...

[Gremlin]

My two cents on speed advisory signs is don't rely blindly on them. Great as a guide if they're there,...

Yep, there are plenty of corners where the advisory doesn't feel right. Take the speed as a guide, don't automatically double or add a certain amount. Read the road and environment and make your own decision.

[Oakie]

As promised the pic of the off-roading experience on Scenic Drive. It's not the best pic but shows the skid marks which lead up the bank. Reminder - somehow didn't drop the bike! The biker gods must've been looking out for me!

Ha ha. I have an almost identical photo from when I was just about your age ... although mine saw me finish up in the gravel on the wrong side of the road on a left-hander (so it's not really 'almost identical' at all is it!). It's a rite of passage I guess. We were lucky enough to walk away unscathed and it was a lesson I never forgot. (Ride within what you can see ahead on a road you've not travelled before and don't assume that because the last 10 curves were gentle, this next one will be too.)

[Gremlin]

We were lucky enough to walk away unscathed and it was a lesson I never forgot.

Yup, the learner that bought my first bike ran wide on a left hander and there was an SUV oncoming. Didn't get a second chance

[nzspokes]

I'm pretty sure the road code states the speed posted on a corner sign is a "safe recommended speed in good conditions". However - I use these as a guideline. Most vehicles and especially haydes55's Lotus with Pamela in the back can handle these corners at a higher speed than what is posted. 75's and 65's are a down shift and a dab at the brakes, but when a sign says 25 - I believe that shit and slow down.


As promised the pic of the off-roading experience on Scenic Drive. It's not the best pic but shows the skid marks which lead up the bank. Reminder - somehow didn't drop the bike! The biker gods must've been looking out for me!




A very lucky fella indeed!



STEVEN

Yep know that corner, decreasing radius jobby. Was up there today. Getting slippy up there now.

[Berries]

The speeds are advisory speeds... see this: http://www.drivingtests.co.nz/roadco...is-sign-mean9/

Funnily enough, when questioned a number of Chinese drivers come up with D as the answer for that one. And why not, it is not like a speed sign which is round with a red border.

Sometimes we provide too much information.

[Akzle]

you are perhaps pushing your luck exceeding the speed on the sign.

im not sure if you've been told before, but most of us dont rely on luck for our riding/driving...

[Moi]

... perhaps pushing your luck exceeding the speed on the sign...

Has nothing to do with luck... more to do with the pursing of lips from the front passenger seat...

As an aside, if an advisory sign states 45 then, if I have read and understood the information correctly about the process of deciding what is an appropriate and safe speed for that corner, most traffic is likely to round that curve somewhere between 40 and 50 km/h.

[Swoop]

Most South Island West Coast advisory signs say what they mean - if you know what I mean...

Was down there last week just before that massive front arrived.
Those lovely hills south of Harihari are to be taken "wisely"... IYKWIM.


It was also quite impressive to come around a corner and find a native falcon devouring a roadkill! Big buggers they are too!!!
Didn't budge an inch, but just watched me go through the corner and then went back to his meal.

[Berries]

You have never seen a lot of group riders doing a multi vehicle overtake on windy roads pass you then.

For fucks sake, change the record.

[kiwi cowboy]

They must feel though for most modern vehicles they can hold their roadworthy state for a year otherwise they would not have changed the inspections from being 6 monthly.

Just as an example but you could run over a sharp piece of something the day after the warrant and cut the inside if your car tire making it not only unwarrantable but also dangerous.
I hate that katman is right but any number of things can happen just after the warrant has been issued making then unroadworthy.

[Maha]

im not sure if you've been told before, but most of us dont rely on luck for our driving/walking...

You shouldn't misrepresent yourself so I made the correction for honesty sake Robert.

[OddDuck]

My $0.02 on corners... the sign is another piece of information, nothing more.

What's the road surface like? Camber? Sudden wind gusts as you round the corner? Chance of loose stock wandering onto the road, just around from where you are now? Is there a driveway just around the corner? Does the radius decrease or increase? Is there a roadworks patch just beyond your sight line with fresh chip laid down and still loose? Is it a shaded, damp part of the road, with moss starting to grow on it? Are there fallen leaves on the surface... and did it rain in the last couple of days? How wide is the road, what's coming the other way, and are you projecting into an oncoming truck's cab?

What's the rider's state like? Fresh and rested, or tired? Are you at the start of your ride, or trying to get home at the end of a long day? Do you know just how far over you can lean the bike, if you get caught out and need to lean more? Can you change lines mid-corner, use countersteer, recover if a tyre slips? Are you trying to keep up with other riders?

What's the state of the bike like? How old are the tyres, how likely is it to touch down if there's a bump mid-corner?

In the end there's simply too much to process consciously, so a set of habits and reflexes become necessary. Experience counts. Training really counts. Keep track of mistakes, try to notice them and learn from them, adapt your riding to the conditions you find yourself in. It's not as simple as an advisory sign.

But if it says 25 and it's a reverse camber, yeah, do 25.

[pritch]

The advisory signs are almost a worst case scenario. Mrs Brown, who didn't do much driving, in her average car, a considerable number of years ago, was recommended to do that speed.

I see people say that you can do double. I don't usually quite get to that, but if I was doing double I'd probably be too busy to look at the speedo.

For some reason the signs that state 20 or 25kph are different. They mean it. If you doubled the speed of the ones on SH43 you'd either be soaring through the air or danglng out of the scenery.