hws 400, 401 collectors resurfacing, careful. | GTAMotorcycle.com

hws 400, 401 collectors resurfacing, careful.

GentlemanRacer

GentlemanRacer

Well-known member
Just a note to anyone taking the 400 north past major mack, rutherford or King, the left 2 lanes have their surface stripped and can cause a serious wobble or traction problems. As far as I could see, it's not signed either.

Collectors from the Allen to the 400 are the same.

If I had known about it, I would have taken the 427 or DVP north. Very close to taking a spill on that cheese grater unsurfaced pavement. If anyone wants to make a sticky google map that we can update with these things, some skin might be saved.

If you do hit the stuff as a newer rider, put your weight in your pegs and get your weight off the bars and see if you can pull over to a lane that still has surface.
 
just relax and you'll be fine. bike tends to wonder a little but its no biggie.
 
never understood the big deal with this, like paul said, the bike feels like it wants to wander a little but it is never a huge concern for me, just pay attention as you always should.
 
Highway 27 NB of Rathburn is also stripped pavement. Lots of potholes closer to Eglinton so need to be careful there.
 
It's like that section on the qew heading into niagara that they're repaving. I hate riding on the stripped surface stuff personally. That said just relax and don't try doing it at warp 9 and you'll be fine.
 
Hehe, I remember my first time hitting this stuff, new to a bike, scared the #$%# out of me, now it's just fun. Takes away the long highway bore.
 
Roomie said:
It's like that section on the qew heading into niagara that they're repaving. I hate riding on the stripped surface stuff personally. That said just relax and don't try doing it at warp 9 and you'll be fine.
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I ride or drive over that section every day. i think its just a fact that if you have to drive on the highway with any regularity during the summer eventually some section will be torn up. Relax and ride through it. once you tense up and start choking the bars, you will get yourself into trouble

The Niagara section runs from Victoria Ave to Seventh Street, all lanes for about 7kms niagara bound
 
Install a steering damper and problem solved.
Until then, just keep your elbows bent and arms relaxed, keep your eyes looking far ahead and downshift if possible to slow the bike down before getting on the grated pavement.
 
I hate this stuff as well -- 9 times out of 10 it also comes with loose gravel, meaning be ready to be pummelled and/or get paint chipped.
 
I'm dating myself a bit (early '80's) but I still can remember the first time that I came across this new technology of stripping the pavement before resurfacing. Back then there was enough warning that even a newbie like me knew that something was coming up. Have to say that I'm very disappointed with the way our province handles this ****... how hard/expensive is it to place a notice a few klicks prior??! Very easy to say just relax the muscles/bars and let the machine move around a bit... but what if you're hauling ***?!! Seriously. I was coming home from Niagra at a pretty good clip a few weeks back and hit some of this... not the kind of excitement I was looking for. Too many bad drivers, bad road maintenance, bad conditions in the past few years. People ***** about cops but, honestly, they are becoming the least of my concerns. Might be track bound only very shortly!
 
How about metal grate bridges, like the ribbed surface on the bridge that crosses the QEW causeway in Hamilton? Luckily it's pretty short, but I'd hate to cross that in the rain!
 
CanuckDuc said:
...Very easy to say just relax the muscles/bars and let the machine move around a bit... but what if you're hauling ***?!! Seriously. I was coming home from Niagra at a pretty good clip a few weeks back ...
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Drive/ride how you drive/ride that's up to you.

Maybe I am being presumptuous, but if I take it that hauling asss means that the speed limit was a distant memory.... I don't think they are going to post signs to take into account anyone moving at a speed in significant excess of the posted limit. just sayin...
 
suzuki2000 said:
Drive/ride how you drive/ride that's up to you.

Maybe I am being presumptuous, but if I take it that hauling asss means that the speed limit was a distant memory.... I don't think they are going to post signs to take into account anyone moving at a speed in significant excess of the posted limit. just sayin...
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They could try brother, they could try!
 
acernec said:
I hate grated on/off ramps even worse. 407 has a number of them.
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Call me crazy but I think some of those ramps are grated intentionally. Does this help or reduce traction? I'm really confused.
 
As others have said just relax and let the bike steer itself with your job being to gently guide the bike.

Do be careful on some roads that have been stripped at the end of the stripped section. Sometimes they aren't gently blended in with the non-stripped section and you have a three or four inch bump. sometimes with sharp edges. This is rare on 400 series highways but pretty common on county roads.

..Tom
 
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