motorway riding

Discussion on Advanced and Defensive Driving. IAM, RoSPA/RoADA, High Performance Course. All associated training. Motorcycle training.

Postby bloomdido » Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:25 pm


hi all
new to the forum/site so dont batter me too much ! anyway ive been riding since i was 15 but have only bothered to get my license now (40) and go on the road, ive been driving all this time as well but obv on a bike things are a little different, so my question was is there a better position to corner on a motorway as I find it slightly unnerving at time given the ridge in the middle of the lane (heavy traffic road spo you have a sort of bum print on each lane!). I prefer to be against the upside/opposing face of this rather than the downside, but.... im not sure if this has any bearing on grip etc.... any thoughts ? (sorry if its a stupid q but hey ho, im kinda new to the road on a bike)

thanks
t
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Postby christopherwk » Sun Sep 12, 2010 1:12 am


Stay in either tyre track - the wear in the road caused by the tyres a car makes, where the road surface is a lot smoother, and you don't have the oil, grease, stones, roughness etc by being in the middle of the lane.

Depending on circumstances, you'd usually stay in the right hand tyre track - imagine while riding on your bike, position where you would be sitting if you were driving a car. Ideally you should be able to be seen in two mirrors of the car in front of you - their rear view mirror, and the driver's side mirror.

Being in the right hand tyre track offers the advantage to being to see (and be seen), for possible overtakes, also when passing slower vehicles, such as lorries, you won't be affected as much by its' turbelence.

However, be aware of not being too far to one side of a tyre track, as there is a danger of a car undertaking/overtaking you on the same lane if it's wide enough. Keep an eye on your mirrors if this is likely to happen, if it is, then assert your position in your lane by moving over to the middle to prevent cars from doing so.
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Postby Horse » Sun Sep 12, 2010 11:47 am


Do you mean the 'HGV tramway' in lane 1? :)

I'm intrigued when you mention "a better position to corner on a motorway " - do you mean as in using 'cornering lines'? It's rare that there's likely to be any real benefit from a small lane movement solely to gain view ahead - if there is a potential benefit like that then I'd be inclined (pun intended) to use the full 3 x lanes width rather than just within one lane.

As mentioned, on M-ways (where bikes are IMHO 'out of their element') in-lane positioning is more to do with how you 'relate' to other vehicles, whether passing or being passed. But never - if you can help it - continuing in a constant position alongside.
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Postby bloomdido » Sun Sep 12, 2010 5:16 pm


cheers chris and horse (yes I did mean HGV tramway - just wasnt sure what to call it !), it was all the things that youve answered, position for me and for others to ensure I dont get flattened and avoiding dirt grease etc, so many thanks for that

ta
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Postby Horse » Mon Sep 13, 2010 12:29 pm


bloomdido wrote: avoiding dirt grease


Also on the approach to junctions (stop/give way/traffic lights) where you have the choice of 'greasy strip' in the centre between the wheel tracks, or the potentially rutted and polished wheel tracks themselves :)
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