Motorbikes above the law?????????

Yeah... bike SHOULD be above the law... unfortunatley they are not :(

I can see why volvos hot a lot of bikes tho... The visibility is particularly poor in the S70 ... Being a biker I look out for them and know they could be in one of the many blind spots, but the woman with kids ain't gonna remember them all!

I was told (jokingly) on my CBT the bikers worst enemy after the tarmac overbanding is volvo drivers and drivers wearing hats.... and soo far I've found this to be true (even when I'm driving!)

ANPR systems aren't too good with 2 level plates either... don't make bikes above the law... just not caught by tax boxes.

But you can guarantee that if a bike is speeding next to a car at the same speed, the bike is the one thats gonna get pulled!

[GorgeousGeorge]

this seems to be getting off topic, but as regards the speeding issue, i'm sure i'd rather smack into something at 90 in my volvo than on a bike !!!

repeating the above, there are planks on the road, not all car drivers, not all bikers.

and i get branded a "bike killer" just because i drive a volvo, now that is unfair

later

scott

So if driving a Volvo makes me a biker killer does mean I'm suicidal? Or merely suffering from multiple personalities? :)

About the gaps and bikes filling them, I just wish that drivers would stop being petty and let bikes have the space to avoid jams. When pulling up to a traffic jam I always position myself so that there is *plenty* of space for a bike to go by. And when on a bike and someone does this to me I always thank the driver with a friendly wave (you can guess the wave I give to drivers who pull in my way....)

As far as the worst drivers go, I'd say most drivers of small cars and german car owners (beemers / mercs and worst of all VAG owners). Small cars always seem to be able to take up more room in a lane than 38 ton lorries (and I jest not here!)

Chat later

Stu

PS Nice to get a long discussion going again!

I have nothing against bikers and try to help them as much as I can when they try to edge their way through the endless traffic jams but bikers do take chances in away that scares me. However, as said before, it is not the type of vehicle that matters, it is the behaviour of the driver.

George

Resident near Leuven in Belgium

'87 745 GLE Turbo Diesel Intercooler
'88 745 Turbo Intercooler

[sheerwater]

Topic going on well here!!! Just to throw in another point. Why are motorcyclists allowed to modify their exhausts to produce maximum sound?
Worst are the 50cc wasps. I live near enough to a dual carriageway in a valley. Often at night you hear the battering sound of a big bike which must be over the speed limit for ages as it travels through the valley. I know kids put the big bore exhausts on cars but this is not nearly as common as the wasps on bikes!!!! Cheers Nigel

They aren't ... there is a maximum dB for bikes (87?) .... cars don't have this limit.

I'll definately agree with taht one. Some bikers do take some stupid chances (cutting thorugh the traffic as high speed being one of them!).

I think that thing that amazes me more than anything though is the amount of people that ride without the correct kit. I ride with full Dainese sports leathers (2-peice that zips together) a Dianese back protector (as used bu Chille in superbikes) a kidney belt, alpine stars boots, Dianese gloves (with Kevlar / carbon fibre protection) and of course a decent helmet. Cost about 1500gbp, but is very good stuff. Amazes me that I see people going past me when I'm doing 90(MPH) wearing t-shirt and shorts. Do these people not realise what happens when you hit the deck at that speed with nothing between your skin and the tarmac? (I've seen test results for Dianese kit in a magazine and it was very good - one of the reporters fell off when testing a bike at 120, sent the leathers for inspection and they came back with a clean bill of health!)

Stu

[sheerwater]

I realise that there is probably a limit generally but didn't realise that there was no limit for cars. Disregarding the confort level inside!!! I thought that the change may come under construction and use regulations. What does surprise me on another track is that police will chase a stolen car with everything that they have available including helicopters but in our area are reluctant to use the same for a stolen bike worth probably twice as much. We were walking back from the pub in a park one night when we found some kids with a stolen Ducatti. They legged it and closer inspection revealled that it was wrecked up front. I telephoned the law with the registration number only to be told ''what makes you think that it is stolen''.
After trying to describe matters the control said that if they had available officers they might attend. Notice the word ''might'' Then minutes later after pushing/ carrying the bike back to my house we were suddenly surrounded by armed officers. At the time we reported it the police had been chasing it with cars and a helicopter as it had been involved in 4 armed raids. We had wiped all fingerprints off destroying evidence because the control was not even aware that it had been stolen despite the helicopter being up. Cest la vie!!! Cheers

Cars & m/cycles both have noise limits under the law. one of the problems is that they aren't enforced, leading to more stringent legislation, which isn't enforced...........!
Car noise levels are measured at an angle of 45 degrees ffrom the direction of travel at 3/4 throttle.
M/cycles are measured at 5 degrees & full throttle!(discrimination there methinks).
I've been into bikes for near on 30 years & have allways hated LOUD exhausts, especially the "bee in a coke can" effect of small two strokes-apparently their noise is at around 3khz, where hearing is most acute!
Cheers
Mike S

Must admit it's not the volume, although very loud exhaust annoy me, it's more the sound. As you say the bee in a coke can just drives you mad (and with the Dutch love of scooters you get it all the time here!) But a Ducatti sounds simply marvelous.......... Same for cars, Cheery bombs annoy the hell out of me, but the sports twins for Triumphs sounds great (a very low burble, with a bit of a roar when you push it a bit).

Stu

Wonder why cars and bikes are measured differently?