Can someone, anyone explain to me why Harley/fake Harley riders feel compelled to ride side by side or so close together that if something bad happens, it happens to all of them. I just don't get it. Why the big packs too? Is it to maximize the "loud pipes save lives" effect? Are they just lonely? I've started to notice this trend among the unfortunate scooter population as well. Everyone who has a valid licence knows better, yet they seem to keep doing it. The middle of nowhere, no other traffic around, and here come a couple of v-twin enthusiasts side by side, like "Ponch" and the other guy. Maybe it's so we'll mistake them for actual 1%ers, rather than the dentists, accountants etc. that they actually are. Anyway, anybody have an explanation?
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Please Explain To Me!
- Thread starter FJgeezer
- Start date
yeah I had 4 guys from a Harley gang all block me off while I was at a red light.. was just sitting there at the front off of a sudden 4 guys and there "gang" vests and Harleys drove up beside me and literally blocked me cornering me in.. until the green light then we all just drove off...
Lack of imagination. I'll possibly get flamed for this, but since I don't usually preach about gear, maybe not.
To me, there are several choices that riders make that reflect their tolerance for risk - some of that is based on their confidence level, some is based on their previous experience, and some I believe, is based on a lack of imagination.
People imagine that certain things won't happen to them. They don't wear as much gear because they can't imagine crashing. Their experience has been good so far, so the longer they go without crashing, the safer they feel.
What are some of the risks?
Stunting (meaning what the riders themselves would consider stunting)
Speeding Excessively (significantly above the prevailing rate of traffic)
Inadequate or no gear
Riding side by side
lane splitting/filtering
Some are illegal, some aren't. They vary greatly in level of risk, and some include additional risks. What I find interesting is that because everyone looks at these differently, there are people that may think nothing of 3 or 4 of those, but think riders that do the others are morons. As I said, if people are well aware of the risks and make the choices (the gear choice, stunting and speeding are common) then it's up to them. If it's because they lack the imagination or understanding of the risk, that's different.
When it comes to riding side-by-side, I think it's a combination of over-confidence and lack of imagination. After all, the COPS do it, so we can to.
I spoke with Sgt. Lise Grenier (Provincial Motorcycle Coordinator, OPP; President - Ontario Association of Police Motorcycle Instructors; Ride Master - OPP Golden Helmets Motorcycle Precision Riding Team) about this about a year and half ago. It was perfect, because it was in the context of discussing single vehicle collision statistics from the OPP. Outside the GTA (remember, this is from OPP statistics, not MTO, insurance, or including any other police service) the most single single vehicle collisions involving motorcycles involve male riders, over 45 years old, in good weather on Sunday (and the occasional Monday) afternoon. I'm guessing the occasional Monday is because of long weekends. These guys aren't on sportbikes either - but cruisers.
So once it sinks in that it's the guys that maybe "got back into" riding, or only ever get out for a couple hours on Sunday afternoons, you naturally start talking about time spent riding - real experience in the saddle vs. number of years holding a licence. So some riders think, yeah we're pretty good, we ride everywhere together. And they maybe go on trips (lot of miles on the interstate to Florida in a short time).
Police riders are taught to ride side by side. They are all taught the same way. After their training, they spend a lot of time riding together too. It can be 8 to 10 hours a day, close to 200 days a year. And during that time, constant training and practice.
So when I hear riders compare themselves to motor officers - I'm either jealous that they have so much opportunity to ride, or I recognize that they don't really understand, and the belief that they (and their buddy) can easily handle anything while riding side-by-sidee is just a lack of imagination.
I had a guy on a Harley get weird with me like this in stop and go traffic on the 401. Suddenly, we had "2 motorcycle lanes" going within the single right lane I was riding block position in. As traffic would slow, he would get next to me, then occasionally speed up/drop back. My space felt violated 
.
Since we're on this and I'm usually a solo rider, whats the stranger etiquette? I don't really like the idea of worrying about a guy driving up my *** in my own lane when I switch lane position. Is this a thing?
.Since we're on this and I'm usually a solo rider, whats the stranger etiquette? I don't really like the idea of worrying about a guy driving up my *** in my own lane when I switch lane position. Is this a thing?
I had a guy on a Harley get weird with me like this in stop and go traffic on the 401. Suddenly, we had "2 motorcycle lanes" going within the single right lane I was riding block position in. As traffic would slow, he would get next to me, then occasionally speed up/drop back. My space felt violated
Since we're on this and I'm usually a solo rider, whats the stranger etiquette? I don't really like the idea of worrying about a guy driving up my *** in my own lane when I switch lane position. Is this a thing?
I don't know what the etiquette is - but I don't ride up beside other riders, and I don't like it when they do it to me. I usually don't even like it when they get into the staggered formation behind me, because I'm not confident that if I change lane positions they'll understand it - especially given the recent debates about lane positions on here.
sure it wasn't to share a cheese burger?
bunmanchi
Banned
i dont share cheesebugers, or any other food.
WHY do they do this??
I understand doing that for parade and display purposes (generally at low speed and in a more-or-less controlled environment), but under those situations, the risks of the unknown are much more controlled than when rolling down a random road at whatever speed.
On my bike, I do not want anyone else in my own lane. EVER. If another rider starts pulling into that area, I motion them back. If they persist, then that rider is persona non grata. I want the space beside me in my lane in case I have to change lane position for reasons of visibility to other drivers, to avoid slipperiness in any of its many forms, to select the correct line through a corner, etc.
On my way home from grand bend on the highway Sunday, two full dress harleys coming towards me side by side in the same lane. single lane both ways. The guy on the inside's foot/highway peg whatever was at least 12-18" over the center line. Man was he bad ass or what.
Those $20 beanie helmets are great for oncoming mirrors to the face.
Two words: Easy Rider.
SeaBreez
Well-known member
"Lemme splain".... when I join a group ride of cruisers and/or sport bikes, we mostly ride in staggered formation. Riding side by side is frowned upon because of the chance of a spill. (although it is kinda cool when heading in or out of Port Dover on Friday the 13th - of course that is at a manageable slow speed). The odd time the leader and sweeper will travel side by side to discuss some aspect of the ride - then regroup in staggered formation. The general rule of thumb is to ride closely to avoid cars from dividing the group. Nevertheless we do yield to cars when they want to cut in. 2 tons of metal always gets the right of way. In staggered formation we also keep a safe distance from the bike ahead and behind in case we need to take evasive measures. On the twisties or sweepers we signal to single file for safety and to have the full lane to take the curve.
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