Y'know, I try. I REALLY try to give SB riders the benefit of the doubt. But...

[MisterEd]

In the spirit of THIS THREAD, I need to present the - well, not exactly the opposite viewpoint, but maybe a sideways counterpoint at least.

This morning, I'm driving to work.  I took the damp and drippy day here as the perfect excuse to bring the Jeep to work so I could start cleaning out my office (most of you have heard that I'm leaving my current career in about three weeks) so that I don't have to deal with it later.

It's a little before 7:00 am and I'm sitting in traffic in SE Portland, waiting at a traffic light and heading for the Hawthorne Bridge when I see him - a rider on a bright yellow SV1000S.  He's fully geared, appropriate for the weather and seems to be behaving himself in traffic... until he gets up to the area of the street where I am.  As traffic starts to move again, he takes the opportunity of about an 8 foot gap in front of me that started to open up, combined with about a 2 foot gap between my right front fender and the left rear fender of the car ahead of me in the right lane and proceeds, with no warning, signal or other indication that he was panning to move, to blast by me, jump in to that little teeny space in front of me and slam on his brakes so as not to hit the car ahead of him that he nearly rear ended.  I lay on the horn and as he's doing the exact same thing again with the next car, this time to the right, I get the high-holy-on-figered-salute lofted my way.

OK, so his bike (and mine and yours for that matter) can accelerate and stop quicker than a car.  We know that.  We also know that what he did probably wasn't dangerous in his mind and that he had space and time and such to make it through traffic in this manner.  BUT, on a morning with wet streets - and, the first time we've had significant rain in a while - and at that time of day and with that traffic, his decision wasn't the best choice and gave yet another black eye to the motorcycling community.  I, for instance, wasnt' the only driver that laid on the horn as this hotdog was pulling his little tricks.

As an avid rider and a motorcycle safety instructor, it's been my experience that surprising car drivers is not a good idea.  This morning, the only reason my Jeep didn't end up asspacking this guy was that we were only going about 10 MPH by the time he made his move and I was very quick on the brakes and I wasn't distracted with my cell-phone or kids or whatever else normally distracts the cagers these days.  I'm not sure that another driver, perhaps a distracted driver, on the wet streets this morning, would have been so fortunate.

The most ironic thing, of course, is that with all of his antics of weaving from lane to lane, he was only one traffic light ahead of me in downtown and he pulled in to parking garage about 10 blocks in to town.  For a moment, I thought about following him in to the garage to give him a piece of my mind, but then I thought better of it and continued on my way.

As servicerifle mentioned in the other thread:

Sprint_ST's Rule #4 of Motorcycling:  All motorcyclists are assholes.

[servicerifle]

And here I am again, just to say:

Squids, while annoying in the city, have never, NOT ONCE, held me up in the twisties, where MY preferred motorcycle areas are.  They just don't go.  On the other hand, I have shouted "You're ruining it!" in my helmet when getting stuck behind two tons of HD ass jewelry on a wonderfully curvy road.  I'll take the squid endangering himself (and not really affecting my safe and reasonably expeditious commute) on a wet city street any day to someone harshing my ride in my favorite locale.

Don't forget, when quoting Rule #4, you're referring to yourself as well.  I freely admit it.  I would love for all the shitty MC riders to confine themselves to boring and simple roads, leaving the good ones all to me...and maybe a few of my friends.

Isn't that what we all (STNers, squids, HDers, and all the rest) want?

[Snowbird]

(most of you have heard that I'm leaving my current career in about three weeks)

Nope, hadn't heard. Different line of work, or different job in the same field?

[MisterEd]

Nope, hadn't heard. Different line of work, or different job in the same field?

See THIS THREAD
Posted on: August 20, 2007, 11:52:01

Don't forget, when quoting Rule #4, you're referring to yourself as well.  I freely admit it.  

I do freely admit it, actually.  I just find it ironic that "we" make these kinds of sweeping gnerealizations about "HD riders" when we all KNOW that many SB riders can be just as stupid, just as intolerant of anyone else on "their" road, etc.

[UFO]

Squids, while annoying in the city, have never, NOT ONCE, held me up in the twisties

They exist outside the urban scene and inustrial parks?  I don't think so.

[county]

Quit whining.

He scared you is all.  What with doing something you hadn't expected.  And, he didn't almost rear end anything.  He stopped quickly.

[dm_gsxr]

I have to say that I'll do something close to that when I'm riding. If there's a gap a bit longer than the bike but probably the same length as a car _and_ I can accelerate after changing, I'll hit the signal and smoothly shift into the lane and o.

My main rule is "do no harm", as in the move I make shouldn't make a reasonable person have to touch the brakes. Of course I can't speak for the latte drinking, call phone listening folks who aren't paying attention to their driving anyway.

Carl

[Ant]

 And, he didn't almost rear end anything.  He stopped quickly.

I wonder if he had ABS?  

[Ant]

Oh, and I subscribe to Rule #4 as well... All motorcyclists, no matter what they ride, are arseholes until proven otherwise. I've seen enough motorcyclists of all genus do stupid shit to understand why we have such a big PR problem

[Gruss]

I wonder if he had ABS?  

Sounds like he stopped pretty fast, so probably not.  

[phoenix]

Well Mister Ed, I just have to say that after working in Portland for 2 years (damn near downtown too), all I can say is that ALL PORTLAND DRIVERS ARE ASSHOLES.

I HATED my commute. Every fucking day. Hated it. Yes, I think that guy lives either in Tigard or Beaverton, because I regularly saw a guy matching that description.

I have more stories, but my daughter just yelled "DINNER, DAD!!!!"

[Albie]

ALL PORTLAND DRIVERS ARE ASSHOLES.

Yup, my experience as well.

[olderigetfasteriam]

I rarely see squids whre I ride. Then again I usually avoid riding behind supermarkets and in the "industrial" part of town (at night especially).

[MisterEd]

Quit whining.

He scared you is all.  What with doing something you hadn't expected.  And, he didn't almost rear end anything.  He stopped quickly.

No, he was being an asshole.  And giving all of us a bad name.  Sorry, just the way I see it.  I woulda though the same thing if I'd been on my bike today - buit if I'd been on my bike, I doubt he would have done it ... or at least he'd have had more space and would have only been guilty of lane sharing with me unexpectedly for a moment (which I ALSO hate, dammit.)

Whining?  Jeez  

[MDHCO]

No snivelers!  

[Dave_S]

Too bad the guy on the SV didn't pull his trick on the cager that cut me off the other day.  The guy had a cup of coffee and cigarette in his left hand, with his wrist draped over the steering wheel, and a cell phone in his right hand held up to his left ear.  I was sorta impressed at the fact that the guy could even drive like that, and let him know he was #1...  

[rauchman]

While I was a contributor with the mentioned post, I'm not a fan of idiots on sport bikes either.  I live in a high population density area and on a few occassions, I'll be in my car and some shithead on a SB sneaks into a miniscule gap between my vehicle and the one in front of me.  In one particular situation, I ride his rear tire with about a foot of space between us.  There is a traffic cop up the road and the fucker tells the cop that if I don't stop he's going to come after me.  I give the cop my version of the story and we both ride away.  In my fury of rage at this asshole I think to myself, if it weren't for going to jail, I would have no problem putting the motherfucker in question in the hospital by clipping his bike.

[dm_gsxr]

While I was a contributor with the mentioned post, I'm not a fan of idiots on sport bikes either.  I live in a high population density area and on a few occassions, I'll be in my car and some shithead on a SB sneaks into a miniscule gap between my vehicle and the one in front of me.  In one particular situation, I ride his rear tire with about a foot of space between us.  There is a traffic cop up the road and the fucker tells the cop that if I don't stop he's going to come after me.  I give the cop my version of the story and we both ride away.  In my fury of rage at this asshole I think to myself, if it weren't for going to jail, I would have no problem putting the motherfucker in question in the hospital by clipping his bike.

Well, it's a good thing you're more afraid of going to jail than killing someone

Carl

[Snowbird]

I wonder if he had ABS?

Sounds like he stopped pretty fast, so probably not.  

On the contrary, he must've had ABS since, after all, it was raining and he didn't crash into anyone or fall down while braking.  

[Clive]

On the contrary, he must've had ABS since, after all, it was raining and he didn't crash into anyone or fall down while braking.  

A. I thought there was a restraining order prohibiting you from typing "those letters"?  

B.  If he stopped that short, he sure as shit wasn't on an FJR.