[Closed] When did motorbike riders turn into white van man?

crikey - Member

First sunny day for a few months,

That's it basically- brings out the power rangers who have a lot of excess testosterone to burn off, and even the wellmeaning fairweather riders have forgotten how to ride.

If you ever want to see real disastrous riding, go to the Scottish Bike Show, it's usually held in early april and so for thousands of riders it's the first ride of the year. Absolute carnage, more harleys and GSXRs in ditches than for the rest of the year combined

They were out in force today. Overtaking on blind corners, overtaking on straights with oncoming traffic. I even saw a poor old dear coming towards us forced into the ditch by one overtaker. Proper bunch of organ donors today.

Look on the bright side, if one of em hits you, there's a ready supply of internal organs ready for you off the ones who crashed earlier..

Hmmm...
An annoying irritation on an otherwise decent day, and it seems that the roads near me are becoming more popular for riders to 'session' at well over the National speed limit now that the usual haunts are well watched like the Cat and Fiddle and the roads around Matlock.

It's the excessive speeding in 30 mph areas that I don't like. Complete disrespect for human beings. 😐

My Friday (in summer) commute use to be like that; new/clean Superbikes/Supersports and riders in one-piece leathers.

They'd try to 1/4 mile every set of lights - but hidden under the road filth, a top-box and a rider dressed like a courier was a zx9r.

Always surprised them 🙂

some have absolutely no idea of road rules or laws,all because theyre dresed in leather and a silly little plastic full face helmet and the sooner theyre banned or restricted to a max speed of 70 mph the better for all families who must worry their family or freinds are not going to come home.

and to think some may actually drive cars on weekdays make them ebven more dangerous to fellow law abiding road users.

Same here on the way I'll to skip ton on the a59,expecting me to pull over when they see an oncoming car on a blind bend,I don't really feel intimidated as I drive a Van but other people seem intimidated by them hurtling toward them at deadly speeds.

Saw the opposite today guy knocked of his Motorbike by a dick-head in a BMW coming back from the Forest Of Dean today guy was ok.A reg Honda 750cc.Bet that was his first ride of the year great.Bike a mess be a write of i expect and was a tidy bike wont get much back on insurance.

For balance I find most motorbike riders are well ahead of the game when it comes to being cycle aware and giving space.

Project, that was really clever! 🙂

Jeeze. I see the Daily Mail is alive and well on STW today.

Agree with Cinnamon Girl, though it's predominantly cars round my neck of the woods.

I was thrashing my new gsxr750 k7 track bike, no lights etc, full on track fairings today,in a pair of shorts!

Here you go, Project (in case there's no whoosh): some have absolutely no idea of road rules or laws,all because theyre dresed in [s]leather[/s] Lycra and a silly little plastic [s] full face[/s] helmet and the sooner theyre banned or restricted to[s] a max speed of 70 mph[/s] cycle lanes the better for all families who must worry their family or freinds are not going to come home.

Tolerance is a wonderful thing. Plenty bikers I know are also cyclists and vice versa. Can't we try to get along and consider that we share many of the same risks on the road (from those drivers who repeatedly fail to see us both)?

I think Project was away ahead of you IATR. As, if I read his post correctly, that was exactly the double-entendre he was making.

As you say- whoossshhh!!!

I pretty much thought so too, but I thought it was worth making the point for the Daily Mail / Express readers on the thread, who might be preoccupied sharpening their sticks... 😉

I see- good point, might have been a bit too subtle.

Winter hill is bad for this sort of thing, partly caused by the photographers taking (attempts at) knee down pics and flogging them on a website

Last year IIRC a motorcyclist killed a cyclist there

Jeez...no generalists here then. All bikers are tosses apparently! I've been biking 12 yrs. Been all over europe and Scotland, do about 6000 miles a year as a weekend warrior. And yes I do have one of those multi coloured 1000cc sports bikes that some of you seem to dislike. I also know many similar bikers, many of which are also cyclists, be it MTBers, roadies, commuters, grass laners. Very very few bikers are knob-ends....in fact it's probably a lesser proportion than those in cars.

Bikers tend to be very road aware, they need to be to be safe. Also what might look like a dangerous overtake to a non-biker may be because you are looking at it from a car drivers pov where you would need a lot more space. A bike can overtake much quick era nod with less space although many road users do get upset with bikers because they do not understand that. I have actually been deliberately knocked off my bike by a car driver as I was the last in a group to overtake.

It's never right to be speeding through a 30mph zone but don't tar all riders with the same brush. And BTW the one piece leathers are the safest thing you can wear as when you're skidding done the road they don't ride up exposing your skin.

When did motorbike riders turn into white van man?

I'm visible for at least a mile, then got buzzed/punishment passed

following similar this was my conclusion

Most bikers don't use go pros due to police attention.

Sadly a motorised cyclist was killed near llandegla over the weekend and some more in mid wales, either down to lack of skill, poor driving by a motorist, or just an accident, even a multitude of other reasons.

Either way two wheels on a road dont have the protection of air bags,seat belts and an ill be ok in a crash attitude.

So sad for their families and freinds, we just all need to take care when using the roads,and policing needs to be rigourously enforced .

people are cocks and suffer from a feeling of entitlement regardless on mode of transport. Sad but true. An idiot is an idiot whether a dog walker, mountain biker, motor cylist, pedestrian or driver.

I've been out and about today in my van (but it's not white), I'm also a biker and, whilst most of the cyclists I've seen have been out enjoying the sudden respite from the tedious monsoon, the only big group of 'club' cyclists I've seen (I only say this as quite a few seemed to have similar jerseys on, and no they weren't team Sky) demonstrated the worst road manners I've seen in a while. Three abreast at times, one particularly suicidal tosser seemed intent on keeping as close as possible to the white line - one day he'll have a nasty mishap with something coming the other way. They actually pissed me off and I'm a cyclist myself. Why don't these tossers learn to ride in a group in a manner that doesn't spoil things for everyone else. When I first joined a club it was a matter of pride that everyone rode two abreast in file, you'd get a telling off from the old'uns if you didn't!
What more can I say, with ****s around like this, the rest of us can't expect to be treated with any respect from the average motorist.

What I have a problem with is motorbikes roaring through villages at silly speeds particularly when it's a sunny day and families are out walking or cycling, walking the dog, walking the granny etc.

It's really quite frightening for people when they're subjected to bad ass exhausts, engine being revved etc. Everyone should keep to the speed limit in residential areas and, yes, I most certainly do.

If you swapped motorcycle for mountain bike and bicycle for rambler in the OPs post...

For the record I'm a motorcyclist and have only ever been hit by cars. I've never hit anyone else only the tarmac.

On a pushbike I've only ever been hit by cars. I did once smack heavily into a pedestrian walking the wrong way backwards across the road but she tried really hard to get knocked over...

All bikers are tosses apparently!

not really, just some 😉

you know the ones that think it's safe to be on the wrong side of the road on a blind corner

BTW, this includes car drivers

As someone who used to make a living as a motorbike courier, didn't posses a car license until my mid 30's and wracked up tens of thousands of miles a year in all weathers, I reckon I 'm perfectly entitled to say that about 90% of the people out on the first sunny Sunday of the year are complete and utter *ing *s!!!

They're the equivalent of the 8 grands worth of spotless carbon Santa Cruz on the roof bars of an Audi at Llandegla. In June. Basically.. They're beneath contempt.

Some people are cocks irrespective of their mode of transport / motorised leisure.

Sometimes you are unfortunate enough to encounter those people.

Good rant.

Had a group of them come the other way at me just outside of Seaton Sands today. All of them managed to stay on the right side of the road, except one who cut the corner with me on it.

Muppet.

Lot of hate there Binners.

binners - Member
As someone who used to make a living as a motorbike courier, didn't posses a car license until my mid 30's and wracked up tens of thousands of miles a year in all weathers, I reckon I 'm perfectly entitled to say that about 90% of the people out on the first sunny Sunday of the year are complete and utter *ing *s!!!

They're the equivalent of the 8 grands worth of spotless carbon Santa Cruz on the roof bars of an Audi at Llandegla. In June. Basically.. They're beneath contempt.

It's not my fault i can afford all the gear... I don't know why we're hated for owning something expensive and looking after it ?

Most people would percieve my riding as dangerous and reckless i imagine, but in my own perception i'm 100% safe..
It's not my fault i can afford all the gear... I don't know why we're hated for owning something expensive and looking after it ?

Do you ride within the law?

I'd expect on the track their opinion of me is far higher than the consensus of my road riding. On the track i'm thought of as safe, reliable and consistent. On the road there's the speed differential to consider, the public would see a bike being pinned through the gearbox and going up to 90mpg very quickly.... Therefore equating it to being dangerous, whereas IMO i'm only getting to the speed quicker than your average BMW, not necessarily going quicker than him.

I've now swapped my road sportsbikes for one of these below, whilst i still ride at law breaking speeds, i don't get there as quick now... i'm also often found on B roads instead of A roads, where the speeds are dictated by the road, so speeds are lower anyway.

As for breaking the law... Hell, i overtook a Police range rover on the M4 this morning when doing 75mph... he didn't mind... I know very few people who drive inside the legal speeds.

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It's not my fault i can afford all the gear... I don't know why we're hated for owning something expensive and looking after it ?

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I don't think anyones having a pop at your ability to afford shiny things. Or your ability to polish it. I think most people on here would be on pretty thin ice on that score.

The thread is about Mr mid-life crisis who thinks because they now own a power-ranger suit and a 2 wheeled missile, they're now Valentino Rossi

The thread is about Mr mid-life crisis who thinks because they now own a power-ranger suit and a 2 wheeled missile, they're now Valentino Rossi

Surely that's down to opinion ? Just because you think we're riding badly doesn't mean we actually ARE ? Just because you think we're reckless doesn't mean we actually are ?

OK, so some of the crashes won't have helped my cause yesterday, but who's to say it wasn't the car drivers at fault as much as anything ? or the low level sunlight, etc ?

Owning a fast bike and a 1 piece leathers doesn't automatically make people incompetent.

I think it was idiots day out in general yesterday, the first bit of sun seems to do that

My new helmet

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Surely that's down to opinion ? Just because you think we're riding badly doesn't mean we actually ARE ? Just because you think we're reckless doesn't mean we actually are ?

As someone who commutes year round on a motorbike, the answer is yes: you are riding badly. I hate this time of year, suddenly Madrid fills up with fair weather bikers who haven't been on two wheels for the past 6 months, and it shows. They can't filter, they're all over the road, no awareness of other bikers, etc. Give it a month or two and it settles down, but the first few weeks are a nightmare.

Owning a fast bike and a 1 piece leathers doesn't automatically make people incompetent.

I'm sorry, but while not automatic, in a lot of cases it really, really does make them not only incompetent, but bloody dangerous! As evidenced by plenty of people posting on this thread, who'd witnessed the usual first-sunny-sunday bell-endery on display yesterday

to me its like when you watch some urban hipster on his fixie, up and down on the pavement, scattering pedestrians, jumping red lights. Everyone looks at them and says 'bloody cyclists!'. Rightly or wrongly, everyone gets tarred with the same brush

I have to ask - do you polish your helmet as much as your bikes? 😀

I have to ask - do you polish your helmet as much as your bikes

Doesn't really need it, i rarely use it !

I've driven fairly often on the A65 through autumn/winter, and the vast, vast majority of bikers I've experienced at that time of year (even on bone dry roads) are patient, safe, riders, who overtake skilfully, even in small gaps.

If things stay true to form for the next six months, there will be a flood of idiots who've been off the road for months, and whose idea of fun is to ride as recklessly as possible from Leeds to Kirkby Lonsdale and back again. The worst ones are those who travel in bunches and can't bear to be separated, even if it means nearly causing a head-on to get through with their mates.

Drivers may not always appreciate that bikers have a better view of the road ahead around corners, and a lot more power on tap to finish an overtake, but riding incompetence is pretty obvious if you have to brake hard to avoid a massive collision.

Let's just hope we don't have an upsurge in casualties over the next couple of weeks.