First time on highway

[unfazedfazer]

Hey everyone! I'm new to the forums, my name's Matt, I'm from Monson, Ma. I've been reading for a while and I really like this board. I have a 2006 yamaha fz6. It's my first bike and I'm currently on my second season of riding. Last year I kept to parking lots, then graduated to short rides, then moved up to some decent rides on country roads. This year the plan is to commute a lot more. The only problem is, I work in Westfield, Ma so I really have to take the highway to get there. I'm planning to ride in tomorrow because my jeep broke and this is the first day this week where my wife's schedule doesn't coincide with mine. Aaaaaanyway, I'm not really nervous about the ride there, it'll be around 5am so traffic won't be bad. The ride home is what is a little disconcerting. Is highway traffic just something you get used to? It's just a bit nerve wracking with the way some people drive around here. My plan is to just stay in the right lane and take it easy. But I'm sure I'll have a few tailgaters or people cutting me off. I know it's just something I need to just do, get used to it, and get the jitters out of my system, I know what to do in these situations but I'm still a little nervous to be honest. Any suggestions or tips to help deal with the stress of a friday 5:30pm highway commute?

[Sport-Touring]

[ConPilot1]

Hi Matt from Monson Massachussetts.    

Well it certainly sounds like you've taken it slow and approached it with caution.

Did you take the MSF course yet?? If not, take it. You'll learn a lot of valuable lessons in a crash course and will definitely boost your confidence level.

As far as highway riding, just do it. Drive just like you would a car, only you're on 2 wheels. Try to keep with the traffic flow, if it's too fast a pace for you to feel comfortable,
just back it down to the speed limit or a bit over. If you're running a bit slower than the traffic flow, space will naturally open up for you between your bike and the car in front of you,
and any impending cut-off's will just have a bit more room to do so. Keep your eyes open and look around you at all times, glance in your mirrors and over your shoulder.
Don't fixate on any one thing, do it with kind of a sweep-scan visual assessment of what is going on all around you constantly.

Make sure you leave plenty of following distance between yourself and the next car/truck in case general traffic panic-stops and all you see brake lights lighting up sequentially down the line.
Plenty of space between yourself and the next car also allows you a better chance to eyeball any debris or serious potholes or cracks in the upcoming roadway. 2 or three seconds at 60 MPH is a long way, remember that.

Do not panic if any aggressive driver gets on your tail, just ignore them and press on. They'll be in a hurry and pass you as soon as they are able. If they are really ignorant and persistant, I give them the "back off" hand motion or I'll slow down enough to piss them off to the point where they will pass me by immediately. Stay to the right, DO NOT ride in the passing lanes unless you
are passing slower traffic.

Watch carefully around exits. That's where you'll experience your cut-offs mainly so be alert there and you may want to pick a center-lane if you've got a 4 or 5 laner around a big city.

Try to avoid riding next to a vehicle, especially in known classic blind spots. Your front wheel and the rear quarter-panel of a car is a highly dangerous situation. If you find yourself pacing side-by side with a vehicle, make sure you're in the driver's field of view and shoot a look that says "Hey, I'm here".  When changing lanes, don't rely on your mirrors! A mirror glance first, then look over your shoulder and to the side.

Keep your eye on merging traffic, that's when you'll have to shuffle over into the passing lane or slow down to allow merging traffic to fit in.

Make sure you use your turn signals before any move, and again, visual acknowledgment with drivers I think is important. I'm a Hi-Viz guy, and I think it helps immensely in high-traffic situations.

Ride defensively, and within your comfort level. If your comfort level is 40 MPH, you should reconsider high-traffic freeways for now.

Good luck, my .02 + ride safe. Welcome to STN.  

[retro]

Try to avoid riding next to a vehicle, especially in known classic blind spots. Your front wheel and the rear quarter-panel of a car is a highly dangerous situation. If you find yourself pacing side-by side with a vehicle, make sure you're in the driver's field of view and shoot a look that says "Hey, I'm here".  When changing lanes, don't rely on your mirrors! A mirror glance first, then look over your shoulder and to the side.

This x1000. Watch out for the lane changers that move half into your lane and THEN look over their shoulder...

But aside from all the warnings, the ride in and back home is the best part of my day. Have fun.  

[unfazedfazer]

Wow, all great advice, thanks immensely!   Even in my car, I'm a very cautious driver and have gotten very good at anticipating what people are about to do. This is multiplied on my bike. I see people (squids) flying down the highway with zero gear and literally inches from the car in front's bumper. Just makes me shake my head, I don't even do this in a jeep and here is someone on two wheels with zero protection, basically pushing the car in front along. Anyway, thanks a lot for the advice, I will definitely avoid those blind spots! And thanks for the welcome!

[unfazedfazer]

 So I made it safe and sound, wasn't as bad as I thought! I kept it at around 75-80 which was comfortable for me. The hardest thing to get used to is the buffeting but I've been reading that it's a common issue, there are some small mods that can be done but generally, it seems like something you just get used to. I do have one question, when turning my head to check the lane next to me, it sort of feels like it gets grabbed by the wind and it's actually hard to turn my head back straight. Should I try crouching down nearer to the windshield a windshield while I do the check? It's more than likely due to my hjc helmet

[retro]

 So I made it safe and sound, wasn't as bad as I thought! I kept it at around 75-80 which was comfortable for me. The hardest thing to get used to is the buffeting but I've been reading that it's a common issue, there are some small mods that can be done but generally, it seems like something you just get used to. I do have one question, when turning my head to check the lane next to me, it sort of feels like it gets grabbed by the wind and it's actually hard to turn my head back straight. Should I try crouching down nearer to the windshield a windshield while I do the check? It's more than likely due to my hjc helmet

My guess is your turning your head too far and you're looking too long. Peripheral vision is your friend. It's also something you can train and develop and it WILL save your butt when someone decides a rolling stop out of a side street is good enough as they text on their smart phone.

Hold a finger in front of your face, both eyes open. Arm extended, swing the raised finger horizontally til it's at the edge of your vision. That your periphery. Start using that edge to notice things as you walk, drive and ride. Identify to yourself what you just saw. It's kind of training your brain to use the edges of your field of vision.

Practice moving your eyes instead of your head. When looking to the side try not to turn your head until your eyes are at the edge of your FOV.  Hope that helps some.

[unfazedfazer]

Yes thank you that makes a lot of sense. I just assumed I should turn my head to check further, as in, when I'm driving the cage, I look through my backseat window, just a quick back and forth glance to make sure nobody is coming up fast to pass me on the right. I can see next to me without turning my head at all on the bike so just a slight turn of the head should ve plenty. Thanks for the tip I will definitely be heeding this advice!

[napper]

 So I made it safe and sound, wasn't as bad as I thought! I kept it at around 75-80 which was comfortable for me. The hardest thing to get used to is the buffeting but I've been reading that it's a common issue, there are some small mods that can be done but generally, it seems like something you just get used to. I do have one question, when turning my head to check the lane next to me, it sort of feels like it gets grabbed by the wind and it's actually hard to turn my head back straight. Should I try crouching down nearer to the windshield a windshield while I do the check? It's more than likely due to my hjc helmet

I think you're right that it's your helmet's aerodynamics (or lack of) that you're feeling when you do your shoulder checks.  Some helmets are better designed to make this easier than others.  The HJC's I've had weren't very good.  While feeling like someone is grabbing you by the ears and swinging your head around can be disconcerting, its something you get used to (more or less).

Be careful about abbreviating your shoulder checks.  But they do need to be quick - the situation in front of you can change damn fast when you're at speed.

Good luck.  Once you get more comfortable, you'll actually start enjoying your commute.

[APEowner]

You might want to re-adjust your mirrors as well.  When I ride the slab I bump the mirrors out a little more.  I have to move my head to see behind me but I can see more of the adjacent lanes that way.  I still do a quick head check before changing lanes though.  You might also try looking under your arm rather than over your shoulder.  That works better with some bike/helmet/rider combinations.

[unfazedfazer]

Thanks everyone for the advice, it's all really helpful! I did enjoy the ride in this morning, and it does help to hear that everything I experienced was normal and will get easier the more I do it! I will adjust my mirrors and keep the shoulder checks quick enough to see what the mirrors can't show me and obviously make sure to know what's happening up front. I think the periferals come into play here, turn your head enough to see your 4 o'clock but not enough so you wouldn't see break lights in front. Can't thank you people enough for taking the time to help me out! It is much appreciated!

[unfazedfazer]

Just thought I'd post up another thanks to everyone who helped me out, I don't know what I was all worked up about! It was fine, I just stayed alert and paid attention to what everyone around me was doing and kept with the flow of traffic. I would have gone slightly faster than traffic flow as I was actually quite comfortable at speed but I wasn't about to start filtering traffic already lol. Lots of left lane campers out today. But everyone was moving along at about 75 so I wasn't complaining. All in all, very successful and not nearly as stressful as I thought it would be. Again, thanks everyone who gave advice, I took it all into account and it all contributed to a great experience!    

[bluepoof]

Hooray!  

[unfazedfazer]

Lol, it was exciting for me! Hey, congratulations! 8 weeks to go, you must be very excited! My wife is pregnant as well, she has 13 weeks to go, it's a lot more exciting than a motorcycle ride, I have to say haha.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Again, thanks everyone who gave advice, I took it all into account and it all contributed to a great experience!    

I would have given you great advice if I'd shown up earlier  

The only residual comment I can make is to "own your lane". Nothing drives me nuttier than seeing a motorcycle hovering along the white fog line, leaving the other 9/10ths of the lane open to whomever wants it  


Glad to hear that your experience was a good one. I commute every day (mostly interstate) on my KLR and am always on the lookout for crazy drivers. It is amazing how much fun the "daily challenge" can be. Today's specialty was an 8' 4x4 across most of my lane  

[Stephan]

Question for Mrs. DD: If you have an BMW1150GS why do you opt for your KLR to drive on the highway? Wouldn't the bigger bike be better at highway speeds?

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Question for Mrs. DD: If you have an BMW1150GS why do you opt for your KLR to drive on the highway? Wouldn't the bigger bike be better at highway speeds?

Answer to Stephan:
My highway commute is about 10 miles (each way). I chose the KLR because 1) it's much easier on my clutch hand if there's stop-and-go traffic 2) it is better on gas 3) tires are half as much and 4) it is way cheaper to maintain (ie, wear and tear; when something goes *boom!*, the KLR will be cheaper to repair/replace)

Oh, and final note: the KLR is easier to maneuver around the parking lot, etc.  Essentially, the BMW only comes out for serious distance riding.  Poor, neglected beast  

[UHOH]

Hey, by late spring you'll have freeway commuting down, so May, June go to Lime Rock Park for a car race some Saturday.  
Then go up to the Connecticut Lakes area later in summer.  Next year it'll be Tenn., W. Va.  Colorado & Utah to follow.  
FZ6 is good bike, BTW.

[garry]

Situational awareness will save your bacon in traffic. You'll know you're doing it right when most of the boneheaded, stupid, dangerous crap people do in their cars is not catching you by surprise. Good luck out there.