Paranoia over edge traps on freeway

[cv_rider]

Most of the freeways around here have been modifyed and re-modified so many times that there are often weird remnants of the previous modifications. Such as where the old pavement is connected to the new pavement, or lanes have been re-routed. Or in some cases there are some tire tracks I guess created when someone drove on the road before the asphault was totally dry. They create little ridges and valleys on the freeway, and they often are just at a slight angle to the road. So I'm zooming over them at 75 mph sometimes with a lean if its on a turn or I'm changing lanes, and I sometimes wonder how likely it is that the front wheel would get "trapped" by this little edge. Edge traps can definitely drop bikes, and if that happened at speed, it would be Bad. But I've never really heard of anyone experiencing this on a freeway (I have heard of people experiencing it in city driving where the road is often in worse shape than a freeway would be). It's so pervasive, on the 880 anyway, that would be quite difficult to avoid it. Has anyone ever had a problem with this, or heard of anyone having a problem with it?

 

[wrightme43]

I havent had a problem with them. One good thing about KY is they are big on putting up uneven pavemen signs to warn us.

 

[spamthefood]

The thing I hate is that on every single bridge on the freeway the pavement dips right before and after it so you hit these huge bumps when you go over a bridge.

 

[damnpoor]

If I'm worried about a change in the road surface I move to the far side of the lane then cut over abruptly to maximize the angle I hit it at. I never just kinda meander or float over those cracks or rises/drops. There are some spots on 680 up around Walnut Creek where the carpool lane is a good 3-4 inches higher up than the rest of the road. I wouldn't dare try going over that. I wait until I see a flat spot or we get back to an area where the surface is all the same. A few times I rode down the strips where they ground off the old lane makings to see how the bike would react and those never did anything bad.

 

[BranNwebster]

When I first started riding I really worried about lines in the road and such but with the gyroscopic effect of the wheels I've realized that the bike really wants to stay in an upright position and go in a straight line.

 

[mstewar1]

They've been doing a lot of re-paving of 80 between the bay area and sac (where I'm having to spend a lot of time...). On more than one occasion they'd built up one lane to where it was easily 3 if not 4 inches higher than the next. I used the same technique as damnpoor when going from the lower to the higher lane. I sang the A-team theme song when going from high to low.

I've seen some pretty seriously jacked-up sections of highway around the bay area and have yet to have the bike get unsettled by any of it. Not that it doesn't sorta get my attention when I spot such things.

 

[grommit]

Here in the UK we have a highway leading out of my city called the Aston Expressway. Motorcyclists are not allowed to use the central lane, which is tidal, due to at least one motorcycle death. I believe they got caught in a in the drainage system which has metal covers on. They have modified them since but bikes are still not allowed.

 

[craig007]

I read about this in "The Proficient Motorcyclist". It was a good book but it totally freaked me out about edge traps. I think that awareness is the first line of defense. I do what others do, try to max the angle and at times, I just go slower and stay in a lane longer than I really want to, just to avoid uneven pavement.

 

[hardway]

I just put my weight on the pegs, pick my butt up off the seat a little, and roll right over. I know they tell you to slow down in the msf class, but I think faster is just fine.

 

[DefyInertia]

In addition to everything that has already been said, be loose and don't fight the bike too much. Bikes do a pretty go job of staying upright on their own. It's generally the rider that forces the bike to crash.

I simply try to stay off the highways as much as possible.

 

[cv_rider]

I read about this in "The Proficient Motorcyclist". It was a good book but it totally freaked me out about edge traps. I think that awareness is the first line of defense. I do what others do, try to max the angle and at times, I just go slower and stay in a lane longer than I really want to, just to avoid uneven pavement.

Yes, that book is what lead me to paranoia about edge traps (among about a million other things...)