Just some motorist wisdom

Discussion in 'Member Casual Chat' started by FatBack, Nov 16, 2022.

  1. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    A public service announcement from fatback....

    If you are on country back roads and there's a motorcyclist in front of you going slow.... Most especially from dawn to dusk and through dark....

    They're not going slow because they want to inconvenience you they are most likely going slow..... Because at 30 miles an hour you're already traveling 40 feet per second.

    So if there's any amount of woods coming up to the road from either side . . . And you are riding on a motorcycle... You try not to go too fast because you can't always swerve or hit the brakes so quickly when a really stupid animal like a deer jumps right out in front of you.

    So if you're encounter a motorcyclist going fairly slow on back road please be patient or go around. They're not doing it just to make you angry.

    If you hit a deer in your car that's a minor inconvenience.


    If you hit a deer on a motorcycle you are suddenly going for a slide... Not the ride.

    So please watch out for motorcyclist and share the road. After all the biker could be in your family!
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2022
  2. LiveUninhibited

    LiveUninhibited Well-Known Member

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    Yeah motorcycles are dangerous, but it's not as infuriating to share the road with them as bicycles. I can't share the road with something that can't go half the speed limit without major inconvenience. Need more bike trails to keep them off the road.
     
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  3. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    I hit a possum going 40 mph the other morning. It came out from behind the brush pile and was walking the white paint on the far side of the left lane and I thought good he's going to stay there.... At the last second it cuts to the right and runs directly in front of me.

    Sorry possum I didn't have time to break or swerve and unless you're a big dog or a deer or I have plenty of time I'm not going to break or swerve. That's a good way to get in a wreck.

    So I just held a straight line and went on over him. Felt like a speed bump.
     
  4. Grau

    Grau Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Since I moved to a rural area, one of the main reasons I carry a .45 acp is to euthanize any animal I may hit with my car.
     
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  5. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    I felt bad because I kept going but there was nothing I could do to euthanize it. I mean I did have a pocket knife but that would be rather messy
     
  6. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    Another thing about deer.... You may see them in one area every day or evening at the same time but don't ever assume that they won't pop up and unexpected places because they can and will.

    This reminds me I do need to do one thing on my bike more often and that's practice emergency braking. My bike does not have abs so I certainly can't depend on that to not lock up my wheels.
     
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  7. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

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    Glad you're ok. I think in your case, taking the straight line was the smartest choice.

    I used to ride, but I lost interest. My daughter loves to ride, but she's lost two friends in accidents. Every time she rides, I tell her to "Stay alert because everyone out on the road is trying to kill you."

    One time when she was riding with friends, a car drifted into their lane because the driver was looking at the phone. The car hit and killed the girl riding in front of my daughter. I'd rather hit a possum, but that can be pretty dicey. Hope you had leathers on.
     
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  8. submarinepainter

    submarinepainter Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    my wife and I roll down the windows and call them stupid I live in Maine, and they ride down the roads and they haven't been plowed yet
     
  9. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    I probably would sell my bike if I had to move to a big city. This small town has enough traffic if I get off of the back roads.

    You have to ride like you're invisible. I don't wear a leather but thick pants boots a long sleeve jacket gloves and a helmet.

    Sorry to hear about those events. You can be the best rider in the world but that doesn't change how others drive.

    I wonder how it would have felt on a cruiser type bike or a sport bike?

    I have a dual sport which is just a street legal dirt bike so it has plenty of suspension to soak up bumps like that. Almost 9 in of travel front and rear with 6 in or better of ground clearance
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2022
  10. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

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    Are they still called enduros? I used to have one back in the 70s. I had street bikes too, but I had a problem controlling the throttles on those so I went to motocross. Spent a lot of time racing on courses between New York and Florida. Can't remember the name of the track in Florida--maybe Gainsville or something? Anyway, I loved riding those things. Not sure I could behave myself if I got on one today.
     
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  11. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

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    Isn't that what snow-mobiles are for? But, hey--kids gotta do crazy stuff. Part of the dna.
     
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  12. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    The newfangled term is dual sport. Same thing essentially... Typically a 4-stroke, just a street legal dirt bike. I guess you can make any dirt bike street legal with the addition of lights in the horn and mirrors but I don't think a two-stroke would do as well as a four-stroke.

    Mine's only at 230 so it's nothing too crazy fast. But it does have six gears as opposed to the usual five which is interesting.

    I went on the highway wants to see what the top speed was. Kawasaki claims 77 and I'm 215 maybe 220 and I was able to get it up to 70 and it would go no faster until I got into a tucked position and I was able to get $75 out of it.

    But I usually go no faster than 50 on the highway and maybe 40 on back roads.

    It's not a bike I would make interstate trips on or very long highway trips but it works great for around town with all of our horrendous potholes and fairly numerous dirt roads out in the county.

    My next bike one day maybe a Royal Enfield Himalayan 400. I was actually considering that bike before this one but this one actually fits in my minivan while the Royal Enfield was 100 lb heavier and about 2 in too long to fit.

    The Royal Enfield is more of an adventure bike which is basically an Enduro that has more cargo capability and passenger capacity.

    You can get a brand new one for $5,300 MSRP.
    Of course by the time you leave the dealership and all the taxes and fees and whatnot that would be about $7,000. Which is just a hair under what I paid for my brand new Kawasaki KLX 230.
     
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  13. SiNNiK

    SiNNiK Well-Known Member

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    Or they have a flat. I was out riding my 1900 on the highway doing triple digits, took an exit and slowing for a red light I heard the whirring from my back tire. It had just went flat, it could have been bad, but wasn't.

    Rode the remaining mile home slow as hell, a car had crawled up my ass until they noticed the flat, I guess, and backed off a bit.
     
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  14. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    I love when cars decide to ride right up your ass when you're doing the speed limit especially when there's a left lane or a passing Lane.

    I can understand why some bikers might carry a pocket full of ball bearings and one might slip out of the pocket over their shoulder....... You never want to tailgate because tires have a way of kicking stuff up off the road....
     
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  15. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    So, if you come over to this side, you can run over iguanas all day and have hundreds of thousands left for the next day.
     
  16. FatBack

    FatBack Well-Known Member

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    I barely feel a bump unless it was the biggest one :)

    I have seen one here in 10 years and I suspect it was a escaped or turned loose pet.

    But 35 mi or so away in Charlotte county closer to the Gulf Coast they are well established from there and all points South that I have seen.

    I have a thread and member casual chat about invasive lizards. I photographed ( however poorly with my phone ) a Peter's Rock agama in punta Gorda
     
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  17. SiNNiK

    SiNNiK Well-Known Member

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    Just ordered a car tire to put on the bike, going to the darkside. Can't wait.
     
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