Where to ride on the road?

[pritch]

If you are in the right wheel track of the right most lane on the motorway you will almost certainly have cages changing lanes onto you.

This might go some way to explain why I don't like riding on the motorways much. I'd have been in the right wheeltrack to give me more time to react...

I was thinking this morning of another time I use a "different" part of the road.
Near where I live there is a tight right/left S bend. Weather and traffic permitting I take a line through there that straightens it as far as possible.

There are several service stations in the kilometres preceding this corner and newly filled vans and trucks dump diesel on the left side of the road as the vehicle swings into the turn. In wet weather I take a much tighter line through there than normal to avoid the left lane, and all the diesel....

[Ocean1]

This might go some way to explain why I don't like riding on the motorways much. I'd have been in the right wheeltrack to give me more time to react...

Me too, except on the Hutt motorway, (for example). I find I tend to drift left a bit, away from the cheesecutters, can't help it, they give me the shits.

[vifferman]

I favour riding on the road's surface.
Although I have been known to occasionally ride next to the road, but I wouldn't recommend it: once the bike fell over. Also, riding in less-commonly used bits of the road, like between lanes, or in the gutter, is a good way to siphon up bits of crap (old screws, nails, glass, etc) with your tyres.

[discotex]

This might go some way to explain why I don't like riding on the motorways much. I'd have been in the right wheeltrack to give me more time to react...

Yeah it's a bit of a compromise like all road positioning. You're a lot closer to you if they do change lanes onto you when you're in the left track so as with all positioning you have to tune it. I move over a bit to give more buffer if I'm next to a vehicle with a massive blindspot and stuff like that.

I was thinking this morning of another time I use a "different" part of the road.
Near where I live there is a tight right/left S bend. Weather and traffic permitting I take a line through there that straightens it as far as possible.

There are several service stations in the kilometres preceding this corner and newly filled vans and trucks dump diesel on the left side of the road as the vehicle swings into the turn. In wet weather I take a much tighter line through there than normal to avoid the left lane, and all the diesel....

I don't know what is it lately but I've really noticed diesel drips all over the place. Scary as in the wet eh!

[GaZBur]

....I don't know what is it lately but I've really noticed diesel drips all over the place. Scary as in the wet eh!

Too right! The diesel problem has been incresing since cheap jap import diesels came in years ago.
I compromise and try stay on the transition area between centre and right. The road surfaces is less worn there (especially on chip roads) and gives best traction but is not close enough to the centre to get the oil. It also gives you the most options to avoid somebody doing something dumb. You are in the mirror of the car in front. Look closer at most road surfaces and you can often see 5 distinct strips of surface with transitions in between. I am often not keen on the middle of the right lane on worn roads as the tractions there is usually poor compared to the rest of the road - see all those shiny black sections - they are a death sign!!!
Road position on corners depends on viz. But I like to start wide and come in tighter. This is late apexing and gives you the best for viz around the corner and most options if you stuff up your speed or somebody cuts the corner towards you.
This is my experience only from many years riding - perhaps I could benefit from a road course as have never done one. Never to late to learn new tricks - especially if they are likely to keep you alive.

[Kittyhawk]

I drive all over the road and footpath as Im a graduated cage driver...

So watch ya back

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

I use the whol lane, in the straights (by myself, I will be roughly in th eright cage tyre track) in a group staggered, but still using picking my apex for the corners which may mean I don't keep the staggered fomation in a corner. But that also can change depending road conditions (I try to do a late apex cut so I get the best view round the corner to choose the best line) ....