Filtering

[jrandom]

Just saw a smashed up CBR250 on NW motorway just before Newton ... Hope that wasn't you Feint..

Yes, I saw it too, and Dr Bob started a thread about it.

I guess we'll know in the fullness of time and all that.

The rider seemed fine.

[vifferman]

.... and of course, there's days like today, when I'm late, grumpy, can't be farked sitting in traffic, so the cars are just bloody obstacles to negotiate, moving or not. So I just go for it.

Here's summat we haven't mentioned about filtering - size of gaps. It's good to have a bike where the mirrors are like cat's whiskers - about the same width as the bike, or slightly wider, and ahead of the handlebar ends, and preferably NOT the same height as most car mirrors. Failing that last point - loose enough to pivot easily when you whack car mirrors, or VERY strong so that they demolish car mirrors.
The VTR was an excellent lane-splitter: it was slim, the mirrors were great feelers, and it was loud enough that revving it beside cars that were in the way was intimidating. The VFR750 was OK - no indicators sticking out to whack things (unlike the VF500, which was slim, but had sticky-outy indicators that used to hit car bumpers), but the farking mirrors were the same height as car mirrors, and used to regularly collide with them, so I broke two.

I've followed a few guys on bikes who obviously (a) had no idea how wide their bikes were, and (b) were shit at low-speed manoeuvres (or rode through gaps too slowly, so that they wobbled too much). Coming up to a gap, I can usually tell if it's wide enough, although I got stuck once or twice on the VTR, and once my zorsts save me from getting my leg squished. Twice my Knox CE knee armour has saved my knees. Once my VFR's pillion peg customised the front bumper of a car who pulled out of an intersection, blocking my path, so I had to slalom alongside it, then around the front, where the intimate contact occurred. Three times I've had to revert to riding on the footpath when there were no gaps in the traffic, and once I had to ride in the gravel/grass at the side of the motorway for the same reason. Once I slightly carroooomed off the side of a car that was turning left, when I was filtering on the left of it. Thank goodness for ridiculously over-engineered s/steel cans....

[jrandom]

.... and of course, there's days like today, when I'm late, grumpy, can't be farked sitting in traffic, so the cars are just bloody obstacles to negotiate, moving or not. So I just go for it.

And to think that you could have been winging your way through the fresh breezes, dappled tree-shade, cicada chirps and gentle waft of cow shit along SH22, coffee and muffins at the Ngaruawahia servo dangling enticingly before you as the rasp of the V4 hurled you around the traffic-free sweepers...

[FEINT]

You wouldn't be the guy who asked me where SLT1 was the other day would you?

that wasn't me. What is SLT1 ?

Just saw a smashed up CBR250 on NW motorway just before Newton ... Hope that wasn't you Feint

It wasn't me, I travel down from from the North Shore. Hope that guy is alright.

[vifferman]

And to think that you could have been winging your way through the fresh breezes, dappled tree-shade, cicada chirps and gentle waft of cow shit along SH22, coffee and muffins at the Ngaruawahia servo dangling enticingly before you as the rasp of the V4 hurled you around the traffic-free sweepers...

Fuck up.

I could still do that. I cleaned and polished the bike special like, so it'd be a shame to waste it....

[jrandom]

I could still do that. I cleaned and polished the bike special like, so it'd be a shame to waste it....

Hang up your bloody desk phone or answer your mobile, then.

[Jeremy]

that wasn't me. What is SLT1 ?

Stats lecture theater 1. Another guy who owned a CBR250RR asked me where it was after having to walk past the door with "SLT1" in big letters accross the top .

[FEINT]

Stats lecture theater 1. Another guy who owned a CBR250RR asked me where it was after having to walk past the door with "SLT1" in big letters accross the top .

that wasn't me, i am at AUT and we don't have Stats lecture Theatres......

[Darryboy]

Hey man,

Yeah just be extra careful especially if you haven't got your gear yet as I think you were saying you didn't have any when we met at Bugjuice's last week.

I didn't start lanesplitting moving traffic until I'd been riding for about a month, but that's just me. I'd guess alot of people would be more comfortable doing it with less bike time.

[RevHed]

I have been filtering home from work (CBD to Ellerslie) on the Southern for 2 years now, without any problems. I only do it if the cars are moving < 20km/hr, because otherwise it really doesn't make a lot of difference.

Given the Southern's propensity to grid-lock at 5pm, it usually save me 45 mins by filtering this short distance.

Talking to a couple of biker-cops at Pukekohe one day, they said that filtering was legal if you were on the RIGHT hand side of a car, but still within that lane. Technically, this is overtaking in your lane. Being on the LEFT side of the car is lane-splitting, which is technically illegal.

Nevertheless, friendly cops will ignore you if you're not filtering dangerously. I have filtered right past cops on the Southern a few times now, without any trouble.

As said earlier, always go for the biggest gap, which inveriably is the far right lane, on the left hand side of a car (technically illegal, but hey, what can you do)! This is because cars tend to drive toward the right of their lane.

[vifferman]

I didn't start lanesplitting moving traffic until I'd been riding for about a month, but that's just me. I'd guess alot of people would be more comfortable doing it with less bike time.

Given the amount of stuff to learn when starting off on a bike, and the skills required to filter safely, I think any newbie would be stupid to do it, especially in D'Auckland. I'd been riding for 25 years when I moved here, and nearly got squished by a bus on my first ride to work here, and that wasn't filtering so much as seeing a gap and going for it.

[madboy]

Ditto what everyone says - to filter you must be well aware that you are taking a far greater risk than riding within your lane. But I'm a hypocrite and filter every day, with a speed differential between 10km/h and 30km/h, but sometimes completely suicidal (in my defence, there was a multi-aerialed Maxima with funny coloured lights on the dash attempting the same thing but with less success behind me).

Personally I drop back into the lane near areas where cars are prone to sudden lane changes, like near offramps, lights, expected queues... met my first Isuzu left front guard there Also be aware of the road surface on the part of the road you're positioned on. In drying conditions the car tyres, i.e. left and right of lane, dry the road, but areas like between lanes are usually slower to dry. Cats eyes/white lines?? Not fun if you've gotta be taking evasive action. And you WILL sooner or later.

[flyin]

Yeah cats eyes and white lines are fun!! i practice smoothly slaloming between the groups of catseyes on th motorway wen theres no other traffic.
it makes a big diff when your filtering and you can sit just to either side of the center line and duck between the lumps, i wouldn't like to try taking evasive action while on a white line/catseye

-it also hurts ones arse riding along those bobble thingsy and the dude on his bike behind ya can see u dont know how to control/position ur bike!

[bkr]

Just watch the 'Ghostrider' video to learn how to filter... this guy is amazing to watch (scary really) but remember he's dead now, so that says it all...

[NC]

Just watch the 'Ghostrider' video to learn how to filter... this guy is amazing to watch (scary really) but remember he's dead now, so that says it all...

Is he dead? When, what etc