Lane splitting article from Examiner.com

Lane-splitting in the Bay Area

While it is true that California is the only place in the United States where splitting lanes is actually legal doesn’t mean that it is supported by everyone in the state. There has been a great deal of controversy regarding its safety for motorcycle riders and car drivers as well as arguments about whether there are any real benefits to lane splitting. As you will see, legality and rules regarding lane splitting fall into a not so well defined grey area which leaves motorists at an disadvantage.

Actually, the preferred terminology for the sake of correctness is "lane sharing" (a term probably coined by motorcycle activists in order to make this activity sound a bit less intimidating, thanks Roger.) If you weren’t aware, lane sharing can be described as when motorcycles maneuver between cars (usually on the highway) in order to get ahead of traffic. I wish I could say that there were rules regarding lane sharing but it does seem that no such specific rules exist. Refer to this to see just how much of a grey area lane sharing can be. http://law.californiapersonalinjuryattorneys.us/index.php?m=06&y=07&entry=entry070609-151458

Nevertheless, lane sharing is a daily occurrence on the major highways through Oakland and the surrounding communities. For those riders that rely on air cooled systems for their motorcycle, sitting in traffic is not an option and constant movement is necessary for the well being of their vehicle. Also, there is an argument that allowing motorcycles to pass quickly through traffic will help to alleviate some of the traffic congestion. On the other hand, there is a level of frustration shown by car drivers who see motorcyclists getting where they need to be in a much more efficient and timely manner. This causes them to block lanes, open doors, throw objects and otherwise drive erratically. Stories also have been told of car drivers being "spooked" by quickly passing motorcycles which in turn causes them to overcompensate and cause accidents or near accidents. Interestingly enough, a high number of accidents are caused by cars that fail to check to see if the road is clear before changing lanes (without using blinkers as is the annoying custom in the Bay Area..) After the lane sharing motorcyclist has been run over, the common car drivers defense is, "well, he just came out of nowhere!"

Finally, where do we stand in the legal system? If a motorcyclist is pulled over for something done while lane sharing, what defense is available to the rider since the rule book hasnt really been written yet? Has the punishment been left to the whim of a police officer or are we finally going to get someone to propose some well defined guidelines

My new article at Examiner.com

Heres my new article on Examiner.  They limit me to so many words so I have an opportunity to expand here if i need to.

Oakland Roads Hazardous for Motorcyclists

So if you live in Oakland and ride a motorcycle it would be nearly impossible for you to not have noticed the horrible condition of our roads. As a matter of fact, if you haven’t noticed a problem with condition of our streets, it would be safe to assume that either you don’t ride or don’t care.

You don’t even need to be out riding to notice that there is an issue that needs to be addressed. Chances are that you can step out onto the street in front of your Oakland residence and spot an imperfection, whether it be a pothole, cracks, uneven road, unfinished or poorly executed construction, wavy road, improper drainage, etc. I can’t tell you how many times that I have noticed a "road improvement" being done and weeks or months later at its conclusion, the situation that prompted the construction to begin with may be fixed but usually with new problems left behind. I have even noticed in many locations potholes being filled in and in a matter of weeks the filling comes out and covers the road surface with brand new slippery gravel.

Now if you drive a car, these issues aren’t as much of a concern as they would be for a motorcycle or scooter rider. The worst you could expect would be a flat tire or damage to the undercarriage of your car. For a motorcyclist, the same issues could potentially cause a much more serious problem. A car and motorcycle riding over the same crack in the road could cause two very different outcomes. While the car wouldn’t even notice it, the crack might cause an abrupt change in direction for the motorcycle and potentially a crash.

So I guess the question is that if the road conditions cause a serious hazard for a certain population, wouldn’t we want to fix it? Seems like a cut and dry answer to me. However, the problem remains. Sure, Oakland has its share of more serious problems to deal with but is there reasons why it cant deal with some of the more basic issues? The only answers I can think of is that Oakland cant, Oakland wont or Oakland doesn’t care.

One possible solution is to get out there in force and start smoothing out those potholes ourselves and send the city of Oakland the bill for our services. Another more realistic resolution is to contact our elected officials and inquire about the situation. Here is a link to the officials in your district: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/ElectedOfficials/index.htm Don’t hesitate to send your complaints, that is what they are in office for.

Sorry for the delay...

Sorry for the delay with my suspension post.  I have been working on other articles for the Examiner.com since they hired me as a independent contactor.  I will be writing motorcycle related articles for the Bay Area.  I will continue here at the United Speed Project as soon as possible  I will soon post the links for their site and my articles.  I hope you take a look. 

Atten: Basic Suspension and Setting Sag

My next post will focus on the basic idea of suspension, how it works and why most people dont set sag or even know what it is.  If you already know, leave a comment.

The Morning Ride

I woke up at 6:30 a.m., rolled over and saw my riding suit that I had hung on the bedroom door the night before.  I then remembered the plan for this morning.  I rolled out of bed, stiff and shins hurting from the repeated kicks received from my girlfriend during the night.  She denies it of course. 

The cats hop off the bed and followed me to the kitchen, watching intently and making an occasional half meow, half whine sound.  This routine was expected and I know what they are thinking.  "Dad, why does making coffee trump feeding us?"  They care nothing for the role coffee plays in our society, they care nothing for my morning ride plans, they don't care about my concerns for early morning road conditions but all of sudden their food concerns are waylaid by the fat squirrel they spy in the backyard.  Now my actions in the kitchen are old news while the cats take up position at the window to see what the rodent is up to.  Cats...

Household concerns taken care of, I put on my one piece race suit and Alpinestars boots.  This was my first time riding in this suit.  Usually I would feel that a full race suit on the street is unacceptable behavior but the leather needs to break in somehow before I use it on the track.  The night before, I had affixed my GoPro camera to the top of my backup helmet and adjusted it to what I thought was the perfect angle.  I grabbed my old, worn in shorty Teknic gloves (which I refuse to replace because you can't buy them anymore) and headed out.

As I went down to my bike, I felt good about the fact that I had serviced it the morning before.  Chain clean and lubed, slack adjusted, tire pressure checked, brake dust eliminated, lubed levers and made a few APR changes to the power commander (there were a few flat spots in 2nd gear.)  A fired her up, probably woke up some irritated neighbors, stiffened the GPR stabilizer 2 clicks and I was off.

I cruised around the neighborhood for awhile and headed toward Skyline Blvd. in an attempt to warm up my Michelin's before getting down to business.  My plan was to hit some local twisties to get myself acclimated and then head down the highway to Castro Valley and gas up at the start of Redwood Rd.

Overall, the ride was good, fun as usual.  The roads had more gravel than is typical and were still damp in spots due to the early morning hour.  My rear tire slipped out more than once.  Traffic was minimal but was of the irritating kind.  Slow cars that wouldn't pull over, groups of bicyclists that hogged the road and the occasional loitering pedestrian who seem to think that the center of the road is an acceptable place to stroll.

Later at home I reviewed the video, the main purpose for this morning ride.  Turns out that the angle it was set at was slightly too low and the the camera itself was far too high on top of my helmet.  The result was content that showed the front of my bike from my hands forward and about 20 feet of road in front of the bike... for 53 minutes.  At that angle its hard to discern between sweeping turns and straight aways as well as not being able to tell at what lean angle I achieved or if there was any vertical movement.

Since watching this video causes almost instant motion sickness, I wont post it here.  I guess I'll have to go on another ride to try and get it right.  Geez... what a hard life I have.  

A Little Something Technical -TIRES- Part 2

So now that some of the basics are out of the way, lets discuss something a bit more interesting and relevant to riders who just want to get down to the point.  What are the best tires for my bike and why?  I will have to generalize here since there are obviously numerous tires to choose from and endless models and styles of bikes.  First, there are a few questions that you may want to ask yourself before taking the plunge and getting new tires.

1)  What type of bike are you riding?  If your bike is more suited to touring or commuting you may want to choose tires that will hold up to those long miles and heavy loads.  If it is suited to speed and handling you may want to consider something with dual compound construction. 

2)  Where do you most commonly ride?  Carving up the canyons and going straight down the highway both require the right kind of tires for ideal conditions.  Don't get me wrong, commuting 70 miles a day on sportbike tires can be done but you will wear through those tires quickly.  Conversely, hitting the twisties with touring tires is fine but don't expect to be able to execute perfect lean angles and do any knee dragging.

3)  What are others using?  Ask around, take a look, go to a forum, do what you need to do to see what tires are popular and what people are using.  Chances are that if you see the same brand of tire on the same style of bikes, there is a reason.  Also, popular magazines and websites often do tire reviews that are very helpful and informative.

In my personal opinion, stock tires are fine but you will need to upgrade in order to get the most out of your motorcycle.

   

A Little Something Technical -TIRES- part 1

So I guess its time to talk a little about something a bit more technical.  This is something that I'm sure we can never really come to any solid conclusion because so many people have so many different preferences. 

Tires Tires Tires.

So what do we know about tires?  What facts cannot be refuted?  So heres my list as I see it:

1)  Different tires are for different bikes just as different tread patterns are for different styles of riding.

2)  There are 3 different main styles of tires.  Biased ply tires, belted bias ply tires and radial tires.  For our purposes here, we can just say that radial tires are the best style available and you will find them on all modern sportbikes.

3)  All tires have markings.  Brand, direction arrow, colored dots to mark the heaviest spot on the tire (should be lined up with valve stem)  and a series of numbers and letters that give valuable information.  For example,  180/55ZR-17.  180 is tread width in millimeters. 55 is 55%, meaning that the height of the tire is 55% of the tread width.  In this case 55% of 180 mm.  ZR is a speed rating and 17 is the rim diameter.  There are also some tires with standard number indications in inches, instead of metric.

4)  You should always fill your tires with the psi recommended by your bikes manufacturer, not by what it says on the tire.  Check your tire pressure frequently.

5)  Find the wear indicators in the tread of your tires.  They are there for a reason, to keep you safe and keep you bike handling as it should.

6)  Finally, you can tell what type of rider a person is by checking out their rear tire.  A flattened center or profiled tire means that they do quite a bit of highway, straight line riding.  Unused tire edges might indicate an newer rider or possibly someone who doesn't hit the twisties too often.  Evenly rounded tires without chicken strips possibly shows an experienced, aggressive  rider who enjoys all types of riding.

The next post is part 2 : Brand review and tread preference.