Over taking a motorbike

[Tje]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 04 July 2014 at 18:26

[J4CKO]

Overtake a motorbike ? really, were you in a Veyron with Afterburners, NOS and Vtec ?

Being sensible I would just say, give him plenty of room, pretty simple.

[jjones]

just treat it like it is a car, hardly rocket science is it.

[Raize]

Overtake on a corner while he is doing 2mph due to how crap bikes are on corners.

[Troubleatmill]

Tje said:

Just a bit curious as to how people position their car before overtaking a motorbike.

On my commute home from work I often end up behind a guy riding his bike at 40-50 on a NSL road.

I tend to like to go at the NSL whenever possible, and he gets overtaken by a few other cars as well not just me.

Some other cars tend to get into the contact position, which I feel is rather close and intimidating for the guy on the bike. I tend to hang back a bit. Then go tearing past him when the road is clear enough. He likes to sit in the middle of the lane or just slightly on the right side of it.

Thanks Tj

Bikers tend to be very alert of all road hazards.
You will quickly get eye contact with them, behave predictably - and they will understand your intention to overtake.

[Mastodon2]

Raize said:

Overtake on a corner while he is doing 2mph due to how crap bikes are on corners.

Yes, if possible try to do it on a longer, sweeping corner so you can really bring your downforce into effect, if you catch him right you should be able to active the KERS and DRS and really nail him.

In truth, he is probably on a 125cc, so just pass him with plenty of space like you would any other vehicle. I swear some people overthink this stuff.

[Raize]

Mastodon2 said:

Raize said:

Overtake on a corner while he is doing 2mph due to how crap bikes are on corners.

Yes, if possible try to do it on a longer, sweeping corner so you can really bring your downforce into effect, if you catch him right you should be able to active the KERS and DRS and really nail him.

In truth, he is probably on a 125cc, so just pass him with plenty of space like you would any other vehicle. I swear some people overthink this stuff.

125cc bikes are easily identified by their L-plates and sluggish speed. Overtaking a real bike generally requires an overtake mid-corner (well sighted corner obviously) as otherwise they will leave 99% of cars standing.

[Mastodon2]

Raize said:

125cc bikes are easily identified by their L-plates and sluggish speed. Overtaking a real bike generally requires an overtake mid-corner (well sighted corner obviously) as otherwise they will leave 99% of cars standing.

Not all 125s are on L plates.

[OttoJ9221]

Just overtake a bike as you would any other vehicle.

I have no problem being overtaken on my bike when I'm out be it drivers or bikers. Usually because I'm going somewhere in no particular hurry, no point holding people up it's not worth the aggro (tailgaters really get on my nerves, especially when it is clear and safe to overtake). Chances are I will probably pass them again filtering at the next set of lights/junction anyway.

We have to be aware of other road users out of necessity, bikers rarely take umbrage to being overtaken unless you do something stupid.

[nickfrog]

I have a lot of respect for bikers but what annoys me a little is when they use both lanes of a roundabout on the assumption that no one would overtake them despite them actually not having much cornering speed and a car with good lateral g being able to overtake if they had only used one lane. I appreciate that they would have disappeared in the distance after the roundabout but still... it's a bit too easy being conservative where the most skills are involved...like in the braking/traction zones too.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

nickfrog said:

I have a lot of respect for bikers but what annoys me a little is when they use both lanes of a roundabout on the assumption that no one would overtake them despite them actually not having much cornering speed and a car with good lateral g being able to overtake if they had only used one lane. I appreciate that they would have disappeared in the distance after the roundabout but still... it's a bit too easy being conservative where the most skills are involved...like in the braking/traction zones too.

I understand this, and in fact appreciate the other moans and complaints that car drivers sometimes level at bikes.

I'm an ex-biker of 25 years, gave up road riding when I started racing, and then when I finished racing about 7 or 8 years ago, didn't return to road bikes. So fairly well qualified to spot anyone on a bike being 'a bit of a nob.'

However, thinking back, for instance let's say - back from today to the beginning of the year. That's 7 months of using the roads in my car, covering around 10,000 miles.

Out of all that time and mileage, I cannot remember a single instance when anyone on a bike irritated, annoyed, or interfered with my journey or progress. In fact I can't even remember 'engaging' with a bike so to speak? The only times I can remember bikes is when they have overtaken me - either on single carriageways or on motorways. I've not even batted an eyelid, so they must all have gone past with the minimum of fuss, and zero inconvenience to me.

Anyway, this might look like I am digressing - but the reason I have done is to illustrate how few occasions there are, when a car driver might have to 'deal' with a bike, in some capacity.

So, because it is such a rare occasion, it matters to you and your journey to such an infintessimal amount - that it is surely best to avoid having to engage with the bike in the first place? As the danger to a biker is so much more magnified, then why risk placing your car near his bike in any kind of manoeveure?

For example, to answer the OP's question - if I came up behind a slow bike, then I would not really want to razz past, unless I was on a dual carriageway. Why bother? I could either turn off and take an alternative route which there almost always is (often with better views of the countryside ) slow down a bit, turn up the tunes and let the bike disappear into the distance - or just sit at the same pace, a decent distance behind, and enjoy the ride.

[HertsBiker]

nickfrog said:

I have a lot of respect for bikers but what annoys me a little is when they use both lanes of a roundabout on the assumption that no one would overtake them despite them actually not having much cornering speed and a car with good lateral g being able to overtake if they had only used one lane. I appreciate that they would have disappeared in the distance after the roundabout but still... it's a bit too easy being conservative where the most skills are involved...like in the braking/traction zones too.

So you're road racing then? naughty them for lane hogging, naughty you for using a roundabout like this. If you are going faster than a fast bike, you're going too fast?

[A500leroy]

Everyone's who's overtaken me on my 90 has done a splendid job up to now! Just sit behind them till there's an obvious straight bit of road you can safely overtake on, the motorbike will almost certainly know you there in his mirrors and will be expecting it and may even slow a little to let you past, by sitting in the middle or slightly to the right of his lane ,he's in the correct position of the road for a mcycle so he doesn't get caught out by any engine leaks or other fluids a car may putting down.

[coppice]

Almost without exception every bike I have caught in my Seven has acted as though I wasn't there. Total lack of co-operation in letting me by- unlike the reverse when I always make it as as easy as I can for a bike to overtake . The last time it happened was on Bealach Na Ba with 8 bikes dawdling along in convoy and absolutely refusing to use the passing places to enable me to proceed at more than walking pace.Full beam and rh indicator worked after a couple of miles. Same trip and a 30 yard convoy of Harleys tw0 abreast and about 6 feet behind the guys in front. Don't get me started ....

[Darkslider]

coppice said:

Almost without exception every bike I have caught in my Seven has acted as though I wasn't there. Total lack of co-operation in letting me by- unlike the reverse when I always make it as as easy as I can for a bike to overtake . The last time it happened was on Bealach Na Ba with 8 bikes dawdling along in convoy and absolutely refusing to use the passing places to enable me to proceed at more than walking pace.Full beam and rh indicator worked after a couple of miles. Same trip and a 30 yard convoy of Harleys tw0 abreast and about 6 feet behind the guys in front. Don't get me started ....

You must've been unlucky then, it doesn't happen very often but if something obviously quick and interesting catches me up while I'm on a hoon on the bike and manages to stay with me through a few bends, I've waved them through before now and then tagged on to the back. Only happened to me a few times in 7 years of riding though, most notable examples include a Nissan GTR and a Leon Cupra R, both of which were 100% comitted so were obviously quicker at cornering than I was. Neither left me behind once I'd waved them through though so I can't have been holding them up that much.

But when you're in the zone and properly going for it on a bike your rearward vision can suffer a bit, through a series of bends when you're shifting from hanging off one side to the other you're not always in a position to see in the mirrors, so it's quite easy to not check behind you as much as you should. Not an excuse though I know.

[nickfrog]

HertsBiker said:

nickfrog said:

I have a lot of respect for bikers but what annoys me a little is when they use both lanes of a roundabout on the assumption that no one would overtake them despite them actually not having much cornering speed and a car with good lateral g being able to overtake if they had only used one lane. I appreciate that they would have disappeared in the distance after the roundabout but still... it's a bit too easy being conservative where the most skills are involved...like in the braking/traction zones too.

So you're road racing then? naughty them for lane hogging, naughty you for using a roundabout like this. If you are going faster than a fast bike, you're going too fast?

Eh ? No racing. I am just sticking to my lane, probably the outside one if I have caught up with them through a twisty bit.

The fact of having a fast bike doesn't make the rider a fast one. Irrelevant as last time I checked bikes had slightly lower apex speeds and longer braking distances than well sorted cars, even if you don't equalise the level of risk. My message to bikers is simple : please only use one lane, even if you need both to maximise grip ; if you're blocking a car by (illegally) doing so, you probably need to acquire more skill, or have better tyres or more humility. Cars behind you may (occasionally but probably more often than you think) have more lateral grip even if they stick to one lane. You'll soon catch up in the straight bits where little skill is required. Oh that's in the dry btw. Needless to say it's far worse in the wet. This doesn't happen very often but often enough for me to notice, hence my post. It's not a massive deal, just annoying.

[GC8]

coppice said:

Almost without exception every bike I have caught in my Seven has acted as though I wasn't there. Total lack of co-operation in letting me by- unlike the reverse when I always make it as as easy as I can for a bike to overtake . The last time it happened was on Bealach Na Ba with 8 bikes dawdling along in convoy and absolutely refusing to use the passing places to enable me to proceed at more than walking pace.Full beam and rh indicator worked after a couple of miles. Same trip and a 30 yard convoy of Harleys tw0 abreast and about 6 feet behind the guys in front. Don't get me started ....

I suspect that they dont expect to be caught up. They should still look of course, but you can see how it comes about.