L plate tailgater..?

[Grahameeboy]

L plates seem to attract trouble, best place for them is in your boot (if your bike has one) or in your jacket pocket. If you get pulled over just say it fell off and you will re fit it when you get home.

Tail gaiters SUCK!!! The last guy to tail gate me was so damn close I couldn't see his lights in my mirrors. Stopped the bike at the St Johns Rd roundabout with him right behind me, dissmounted and casually walked over to his window (which the young boyracer was winding up very quickly and locking his door), politely told him to FUCK OFF!! and kicked his mirror off. Got back on my bike and rode off.

The end.

Guess you couldn't go faster then........in a car the best trick is to apply the handbrake cause the brake lights don't come on....does the trick....on a bike well.....I just accelerate away.....need some grunt Mr Fish Hook.....

Once when I was younger...okay much younger I stopped cause of this geezer guy tailgating me.....went around the back of my car, opened the boot and took everything out and asked him what he wanted....the look on his face...LOL

[imdying]

You're lucky his foot didn't 'slip off the clutch'... another squashed fireblade :/

/edit: And the put the car in first and drop the clutch works a treat... 'look ma, no tail lights!'

[vifferman]

I reckon that because the L plate is big and yeller, the morons get target-fixated on it. It sort of draws the eye, and sends them into a sort of catatonic state.
I believe L-plates are really bad, myself. When teaching my older two boys to drive, I had some very nasty experiences with people tailgating, passing too close, and generally behaving ina an obnoxious and dangerous manner. And one time (No, not at Band Camp - this was another time), I left the L-plates on while I drove. Despit being well over the speedlimit, I had people desperately trying to overtake me, and behaving very strangely indeed. I was driving exactly the same as normal; the only difference was the L in the back window.

[Hawkeye]

No, this is because people don't like following trucks. Because you can't see round/over/through them as you can a car.

I must agree with that sentiment. Having driven a cage for over 30 years, I like to see what is going on in front of me. With a truck in front, you can see nothing. Ok, so I drop back a bit so I can see a little further. Then it's open season for the gap.
What annoys me more is when you get a truck using the 0.01 second rule, even when you are in a cage. You look in your mirrors and all you can see is grill. Thankfully I haven't experienced that on the bike yet. Years of driving have taught me to pre-empt situations before they happen. I analyse where I want to be long before I reach the point, and assess if I need to open up a gap long before I get there.
Lets face it. Everyone else on the road is a total nutter and I'm the only sane one out there. Using that philosophy, I've managed to survive.

[ZeroIndex]

L plates seem to attract trouble, best place for them is in your boot (if your bike has one) or in your jacket pocket. If you get pulled over just say it fell off and you will re fit it when you get home.

Tail gaiters SUCK!!! The last guy to tail gate me was so damn close I couldn't see his lights in my mirrors. Stopped the bike at the St Johns Rd roundabout with him right behind me, dissmounted and casually walked over to his window (which the young boyracer was winding up very quickly and locking his door), politely told him to FUCK OFF!! and kicked his mirror off. Got back on my bike and rode off.

The end.

How did you get away with kicking his mirror and not getting your bike run over?

[Fishy]

Because he was a little bitch and was nearly in tears.

[Fishy]

Guess you couldn't go faster then........in a car the best trick is to apply the handbrake cause the brake lights don't come on....does the trick....on a bike well.....I just accelerate away.....need some grunt Mr Fish Hook.....

The guy was trying to egg me on to have a race I think?, he was so close I swear his front bumper must have been only cm away from my rear tyre. Couldn't be bothered racin him so I taught him a valuable lesson. DONT TAIL GATE!

[oldrider]

How close is too close for you guys? Just driving behind or dangerously hard up your date?
Reading the comments on here, I guess some of you would be calling me for driving behind you.
I just love bikes and really like watching them on the road, especially when I am in a "boring" car!
I don't "tailgait" as I understand the meaning of it because it is usually quite hard to stay close to a bike or bikes on the road.
If a rider showed any discomfort at being followed I would just drop further back and give them plenty of room but close enough to keep watching the bike, with their safety in mind.
As an aside how many of you put undue pressure onto cages that don't move over and let you through by riding in their blind spot?
I have heard cage drivers moaning about that quite often but I find other traffic are good at letting us through in the main.
You are probably talking about City traffic or where there is heavy traffic congestion, that must be a bit disconcerting, especially for a learner. Cheers John.

[Grahameeboy]

The guy was trying to egg me on to have a race I think?, he was so close I swear his front bumper must have been only cm away from my rear tyre. Couldn't be bothered racin him so I taught him a valuable lesson. DONT TAIL GATE!

I didn't mean race him silly.........on a Honda!!

[Pixie]

If I catch up with someone doing 80, I think they would be better off letting me past on a passing lane so I can fuck off into the distance and not bother them. .

Of course not.
Then you would 'win'