Motorways/Freeways/Highways ... bloody boring

As a few of you well know I am V new to the world of biking...

I only got my beautiful FZ6 last week and have little, well virtually nil experience at twisties... slow speed handling .... long journeys etc etc ...

I have now completed just 2 journeys that included aprox 30 miles of motorway, or Freeway/Highway as most of you on here may know them as..

My question is this : I thought the experience was not only very boring but often quite scary due to cross winds and large trucks buffeting me all over the place !! .. Will my experience of motorways get any better ??? or is that it ? lol ... I even added on aprox 20 mins to my journey today just to avoid more motorway mayhem !! I'm hoping its a bedding in period that will get better but you'll probably know better !!!

Give me lots of twisty roads anyday !!!!!!

There are some things I do help with the boredom.
I play the what if game. As in what if this truck zigs left and there is a refridgerator in my lane all of the sudden? What if a piece of sheetmetal comes whizzing at me? That helps.
I also play the work on one thing game. I mean work on throttle control today, work on eye placement next, work on lane placement, so on and so on.
I also sing songs. Chop Chop Chop I got a chopper, I am too cool to wave at you, Chop Chop Chop I got a chopper, I am to cool for school is a favorite.
Also Crazy frog music, and other weird things play in my head.

The trucks you will learn how to time your passes so that you are more in control. I wait at the rear cornor in view of the mirror untill the whole lane to pass is clear, then tuck tight to the tank, and jet by. Hardly feel anything.

One thing that I do, is to always move a little bit faster than traffic. I am risking a ticket to make sure most passes are made at a point of my choice and not the other way around. I feel like I am safer in control, than letting fruit loop cagers decide where and when to pass me.

Yes, it is a bit intimidating riding on the motorways/freeways for the first time. But you will get use to it, and you will become more confident as you get more miles or klicks under your belt. Besides, there are some benefits cruising the motorways, you don't have to worry about any intersections and left turning vehicles. Just like Wrightme43 indicated, he likes to travel a bit faster than the flow of traffic, I do the same thing. I also tend to favor the fast lane (extreme left side) here in the states so that I only have to worry about vehicles coming from one side. Also, try to avoid traveling in peoples blind spot by always passing or perhaps, having them pass you. I think I have more people make bad lane changes on me on the freeways than on the surface streets, but so far, I have been able to spot and predict their move so I was able to adjust. And I always use my horn, I don't let somebody get away with making a bad lane change on me without them knowing they messed up. I need to get a louder horn.

VEGASRIDER

wrightme43 said:

The trucks you will learn how to time your passes so that you are more in control. I wait at the rear cornor in view of the mirror untill the whole lane to pass is clear, then tuck tight to the tank, and jet by. Hardly feel anything.

One thing that I do, is to always move a little bit faster than traffic. I am risking a ticket to make sure most passes are made at a point of my choice and not the other way around.
.

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Wise words mate... even with my inexperience I also found that tucking in to the tank and winding on the throttle a little more helped cut through the disturbed air.. My only concern Is the winds yesterday were relatively calm !! does it get worse with more severe conditions ?

And Thank you for all your advice ... much appreciated

You Too Vegas ... cheers mate

VEGASRIDER said:

I need to get a louder horn.

VEGASRIDER

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A very good idea. I changed mine long ago. The stock one is a piece of ****. I can fart louder!

In strong cross winds it can feel weird. The thing to remember is the bike does not need you. Light touch, on the bars, let the bike do what it has to do. Your a part of it, not on top of it.
Yoda? LOL nah
its just the way it is.

Always leave yourself a way out if something should happen. Just like wrightme43 said. Play the what if game. It has helped me over the years. Also try to leave your self the biggest gap between you and the car in front of you. When big trucks come by i have found that they have "less wind" when you are out in the open. Plus it is good to stay back at least 5 to 6 car lengths because road debris can sneak up on you very fast. Ever hit a piece of tread from a blown out tire? Those are the worst, well, that and road kill you dont see in time.




Take it slow and you will get used to it in no time. Just remember two words SAFETY-CUSHION. Have fun!!

All of the above is sound advice especially chosing the speed you want to dictate to make your moves. Havent played the move game so can't comment. The UK lanes are about 3 - 4 foot narrower than the states so moving out of blind spots is more difficult. Never assume that the driver that has just looked at you has seen you. Its a fine balance of defensive and offensive driving. Have to say I can't imagine what the wind blast from a Kenworth or a Mack is like in comparrison with our littler rigs. It does scare the granny out of you, but as wrightme43 states "light touch" is the key. If it does get windy drop back give yourself some thinking space and room. Your break in period will be over soon enough ,and this should become less of a problem as its you doing the passing.
ps you are right motorway travel can be boring I use it for revison for work stuff, or use it to practice counter stearing when I pass some one.

I may have posted this before, I can't remember.

I was on the I-5 southbound in San Diego once many years ago, riding behind an 18 wheeler.

One of the rear tires blew out and fragmented. I had no exit to the left or right as the traffic was pretty heavy.

I hugged the tank (no fairing or windscreen on this bike) and held on as tight as I could.

Big pieces of shredded tire were hitting me in the helmet and hitting the bike.

I was lucky not to go down, but boy was I scared!

This post probably belongs in the "Brown Pants" thread.

the wind out here is really strong!!! I have found (insert legal disclaimer here) that if I am running closer to the 100MPH mark (ok ok the 120MPH mark) in the wind the bike walks less, a lot less, basically the theory goes like this your wheels have a gyroscopic force the faster you go the greater the force, the greater the force the more stability. oh... now I see why the red bikes are more stable!!! hahaha

so on a windy day use the FORCE. this is an example the other day I was riding home from work "crusing" along at my normal pace and felt fine as I slowed to pull off the expressway the wind was so strong it push the bike all over the place and that was doing 65MPH.
:Sport:

sportrider_fz6 said:

so on a windy day use the FORCE. :Sport:

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Didn't realise Luke Skywalker had an FZ6 :thumbup: