Ducati Monster Forum

So I attended the first meeting of the Thoroughbred DOC of Kentucky the other night up at the Commonwealth dealership in Louisville.  It was a great time, I met a lot of cool folks, and I saw a lot of great Ducs.

The ride home is what I'm concerned about.  I was headed south-bound on I-65 riding in the fast lane, already doing 10 mph over the speed limit just to meet the flow of traffic, when a group of bikes (not guys from the meeting, and all large cruisers) came up from behind me.  I was riding in the center of the lane when the first biker passed me on the right (mere inches from me).  Before he passed, I was about to move over to the right so they could pass on the left, and I was even considering changing lanes to give them the whole lane to pass.

I was just beginning to initiate the lean to the right when he passed and it scared the shit out of me.  I've only done a few group rides and I still consider myself to be a novice rider, but I was under the impression that you were supposed to pass to the left.  Needless to say I was quite anxious until the rest of the group passed as it wasn't a straight portion of the highway and I was negotiating turns on a tight line so that the other bikes would have plenty of room.  Granted these weren't twisties but at speeds in excess of 70 mph I found it to be both rude and dangerous.

Am I in the wrong or is my frustration justified?

You have every right!  That's simply reckless and stupid on his part especially not knowing your riding style

Did the guy tap you on the shoulder as he went by??

Was he wearing a CHP uniform?!

that would piss me off.  i hate when bikers not in my group pass me in "MY" lane. I find it rude and disrespectful... unless its a really hot chick riding a SBK

In a thong!

I would only pass in another biker's lane if they moved over and waved me to pass.  I'd pass on the right if I were splitting and they were in the left-most lane, otherwise I only pass on the left.

You should never let a cruiser pass you, especially Harleys

I bet you won't say that to yellow wolf!

I'd be pissed as well. I don't even pull up to another biker I don't know at a stoplight, let alone at speed in their lane on the highway. 

Hey Adamm, do you live in louisville? i live in jeffersonville, on the other side of the river.

You met a pack of morons who buzzed you...

clearly too cool to realize how farking stupid they are

unfortunately bikes are powerful moron-magnets...

you get the good with a disproportionate quantity of the bad

they come with the territory

Adam, it's too bad that happened to you.

Being new to riding I can imagine your fear and anger.

I have a rule for myself, I don't let any bike pass me unless I want them to.

That's mainly in the twisties.

On the Super Slab I'm more concerned w, the  [leo] so I generally don't run much over the speed limit .

In the hills they better be a better rider than I to get past me.

I'm glad you're ok and just watch out for groups , they tend to act less rational.

Dolph      :)

As rough, curvy and typically congested as that stretch of 65 is, you need to ride with your head on a swivel.  One of the biggest things to learn when riding in traffic is to control your environment as much as is possible.  Monitor closure rates of those approaching from the back.  If they are coming up quick, either change that rate (accelerate) or get out of the way. 

Unfortunately, what they did is dumb.  But here is the bad news - they won't be the last to do dumb things.  Next time it may be a runaway Camry or a distracted soccer mom on a cell phone.  They won't fit into your lane quite as well as some idiot on a motorcycle will.   Always monitor your rear view mirrors and leave yourself an out.  I'm not being paranoid, they are out to kill you...

At least they are finally doing road work to fix the 6 inch height differences in lanes out by the airport... one less thing to catch you off guard going through there.

+1 Unless waved by it's never ok to pass me in my lane and I'll give a good ass reaming to anyone who does. THe reason for this is as such. I am in control of that little bit of black top and I will use all of it from one painted line to the other. We are not at a groomed track and adjustments sometimes need to be made for road debris etc.

We had a rider hurt a couple summers ago by a kid who passed on the inside and couldn't hold his line. He forced our rider off the road and he needed serious medical attention and totalled his bike. The kid wasn't one of our riders, he never stopped.

If you are going to pass me on the road, you better give me the same full berth you'd give a car or I'll let you kow about it. I will show you the same consideration, save the heroics for the track where medical staff is on hand and they have sand pits etc.

You could always take up a cruiser habit of riding with a long leather lash hooked to your brake handle, I think it's the motorcycle equivalent of an ax handle in the gun rack of a truck. Shows how bad ass you are. Use it to whip riders who get to close.

you should have kicked them over. 

That's crap riding. As stated before, I think passing another bike in the same lane is fine as long as the other bike waves you by. Otherwise, you are asking for a crash. We were on a small group ride and actually had a few jackasses from another group do this same kind of thing, basically passing us through the inside of the group. It was again on the interstate but absolutely unnecessary.

i do have to say this.... were you cruising in the left lane? if so, this could have been avoided by staying in the right lane unless passing.

I'd never pass in the same lane, I'd switch lanes and act as I would in a car.  Knowing the mindset of some bikers, not the classy DMF riders of course, but many might consider that a 'challenge' of sorts to see who's got the horsepower.  I was riding to San Diego going at my own pace, came upon an R1 going a little slower, but I passed him, yet moments later he comes barreling through splitting lanes like he was running from the plague.  People do weird shit out on the freeways.

Always on the left and only after the rider signals it's okay for you to pass.

Carry a small but sturdy metal pipe with you from now on. It's nothing a pipe in the front tire won't cure   [thumbsup]

God, that's really wrong of me but people with lack of common sense really bother me. It's really sad to see, first hand, the decline of our species.

Sorry, the small rant is done. Thanks   [thumbsup]

lot of tough guys here advocating violence.  I assume they are joking as the actual outcome there is getting seriously injured, arrested, and civilly sued...


And I assume all of you never pass a car close by or squeeze through spots you couldn't in a car?  Riiiiight.      If I'm doing 90 and someone is sitting in the left lane doing 70 I'm passing on the right, not waiting for him to bother to look in his mirror and wave me by.  Blocking the  left lane is easliy as inconsiderate and selfish as passing on the right.

 

[quote author=Scottish link=topic=37262.msg657356#msg657356 date=1271511152

You could always take up a cruiser habit of riding with a long leather lash hooked to your brake handle, I think it's the motorcycle equivalent of an ax handle in the gun rack of a truck. Shows how bad ass you are. Use it to whip riders who get to close.
[/quote]

I've been on a ride when two of these guys with the same whip used it on two cars trying to both split and shove the group of the road.  needless to say their windshields and side panels were toast. 

You mean like this?

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_470OmruTNUI/SMUOVuAM4QI/AAAAAAAAC70/RDxJb3vp3-I/LaneSplitting+011.jpg)

I wasn't cruising in the left lane, I was trying to pass some of the congestion on the right.  The road was less congested a half a mile ahead and I was trying to get around the cagers.  The group of riders didn't even give me the chance to pass the cars so I could give them the lane, they went flying past as I was passing the cars on the right.

I'm sure everyone is kidding about the violence part, at least I am. And I stated so. Passing a car is a totally different story, and I've never seen anyone in a car wave a motorcycle rider to pass. The closest I've seen is a move to the far side of the lane if they're splitting.
The OP wasn't just about passing on the right, which is fine by me. It was about passing in the same lane without being waved. It's inconsiderate and unsafe. If you were driving your car you wouldn't try to pass another car in the same lane, and not just because you wouldn't fit.

they wave riders by in parts of Texas.

What part is that cuz it sure wasn't anywhere near Austin and the THC.

well then not only were they jerks, they were idiots. you were doing the right thing. was their closure rate that fast or did they speed up when they saw you?

I'm confused, which lane were you in? Were you going with the flow of traffic in the left lane or were you passing in the right lane?

If you were in the center of the left lane going with the flow of traffic, as stated in the first quote, I would absolutely pass you on the right, just like I would split lanes between cars. I would give you about 15 seconds before I passed, regardless of whether you signaled me by or not. I would also wave to you right after I passed.

If you were in the right lane passing cars, as stated in the second quote, I wouldn't attempt to pass you.

Any vehicle that catches up you is going to try and pass you too.

I realy didn't mean to make it sound like you were being a jerk or doing something wrong...just surprised by the outrage for something I think happens pretty commonly and isn't too big of a deal.   If I get buzzed and there were open lanes available I'll be pissed...for about thirty seconds... but if my lane was the most free and had the most room...meh.

You are entitled to full use of your lane. Period. End-of-line. Full stop.

The rider who passed you was a jerk - a dangerous jerk, the worst kind.

When I was a newbie to the Duc world, a rider on a chopper passed me on my left as I was slowing to make a left turn.  >:(  

Of course, I was piss*d but also astonished by the stupidity even a fellow rider displayed.  I had been riding on the road for a few years but it was then that I realized, you can't be surprised by anything!  Just expect crazy things WILL happen out there and keep your wits about you the best you can.  

Remember not to let anyone p*ss you off or send you into a roadrage with their careless actions.  Then you become a stupid rider too!  

That's also very different than an interstate.

quite a few accidents around here this spring with cars passing bikes turning left on rural roads and bikes doing the same thing to cars.   One of the guys in the neighborhood passed a car on a two-lane road just as it was turning left onto a side street.   I think the 20 people on the bar deck on the corner watching it happen was likely the worst thing. (he's fine...bike gone).