Reg's Youtube thread
Discussion
Thanks Reg,
The winter driving - very good. I got a bollicking from the Victoria Police a couple of years ago because I hadn't fitted chains to my Astra on a road leading to the ski fields - I queried, "Why? It's all new soft snow!". Still I had get out and obey!
Motorways - I'll have to post a video of motorway driving here - just so you can all laugh, or take pity on me.
Had a great trip to UK in October - about 2,800 mls. What a pleasure - even the poorest drivers are good!
Len - Sydney
The winter driving - very good. I got a bollicking from the Victoria Police a couple of years ago because I hadn't fitted chains to my Astra on a road leading to the ski fields - I queried, "Why? It's all new soft snow!". Still I had get out and obey!
Motorways - I'll have to post a video of motorway driving here - just so you can all laugh, or take pity on me.
Had a great trip to UK in October - about 2,800 mls. What a pleasure - even the poorest drivers are good!
Len - Sydney
I would just like to add another comment on the winter driving video if I may, but apologies if the point has already been made.
If doing an overtake on a single carriageway road in snowy conditions, apart from the vital aspect of performing the manoeuvre safely, we should take care over the timing of our return nearside as we complete the overtake. What we usually find is a pair of wheel tracks in each lane, which is fine, and ridges of snow/slush elsewhere, and it is these that can cause a problem if we are careless about returning nearside after the overtake.
Not only is there the risk of loss of control as we cross these ridges, but as we do so we throw up a large amount of heavy slush and this can be very startling as it hits the windscreen of the vehicle we've just overtaken, quite apart from the temporary loss of vision for that driver. I would suggest it's therefore considerate to delay our return nearside until we're far enough ahead of the overtaken vehicle for this problem to be avoided. What this means of course is that we need a lot more time and space than usual for overtaking before we return nearside.
Some years ago I did an overtake in these conditions, and only afterwards did I think about what I'd thrown at the other driver: he must have been cursing me!
I hope Reg doesn't mind me mentioning this, though he may already have dealt with the point.
If doing an overtake on a single carriageway road in snowy conditions, apart from the vital aspect of performing the manoeuvre safely, we should take care over the timing of our return nearside as we complete the overtake. What we usually find is a pair of wheel tracks in each lane, which is fine, and ridges of snow/slush elsewhere, and it is these that can cause a problem if we are careless about returning nearside after the overtake.
Not only is there the risk of loss of control as we cross these ridges, but as we do so we throw up a large amount of heavy slush and this can be very startling as it hits the windscreen of the vehicle we've just overtaken, quite apart from the temporary loss of vision for that driver. I would suggest it's therefore considerate to delay our return nearside until we're far enough ahead of the overtaken vehicle for this problem to be avoided. What this means of course is that we need a lot more time and space than usual for overtaking before we return nearside.
Some years ago I did an overtake in these conditions, and only afterwards did I think about what I'd thrown at the other driver: he must have been cursing me!
I hope Reg doesn't mind me mentioning this, though he may already have dealt with the point.
Reg Local said:
I threw a quick video together today on motorway driving. I know there's a lot more to it, but this one covers the basics...
https://youtu.be/kWQzlWZG-lI
I used to work with someone who said his mother made a complaint to the AA because she called them when she had a flat tyre on the M6 at Samlesbury heading home from Blackpool. She told the call centre operative she was on the M55 and of course it took the patrol man ages to find where she actually was and she took no responsibility for her own mistake of not knowing where she was when she called and gave her location. https://youtu.be/kWQzlWZG-lI
Re-watching these since upgrading to a car with over 100bhp/tonne (so it's not hugely powerful but it's far easier to gain speed with than my previous cars) and it's apparent how much my driving has degraded due to the relative ease of overtaking now available.
I suspect there might be a session needed when it's closer to summer!
I suspect there might be a session needed when it's closer to summer!
A little video about my (to date, very limited) motorcycling experience:
https://youtu.be/b2wHrcOwInY
https://youtu.be/b2wHrcOwInY
Brilliant Reg, and congrats on the pass! Lovely smooth riding, and far better than I managed in the first months.
Any wobbles or incidents yet that you'd be willing to admit to?
You found biking pretty much the same way I did, as a driver who wanted to become a better driver by broadening experience, but found biking to be a pleasure in its own right.
A couple of things I'd recommend
1) Watch and study the Twist Of The Wrist (1&2) DVDs. The presentation style is... interesting... but they do contain vital lessons about bike control and they do dispel some myths you'll keep hearing again and again as a rider. They're pretty much the defacto intro to bike handling and dynamics. Very relevant on track, but equally important to understand on the road even though you're (hopefully) not so near the limits, for obvious reasons.
2) Learn the SMIDSY avoidance manoeuvre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQBubilSXU You don't have to use it, but the study of the parallax effect making you invisible, and the technique of breaking up your silhouette against your background is worth knowing.
And finally, as I'm sure you know, when you think that driver has seen you, they haven't.
When you wait a bit longer until they have seen you, they still haven't.
When you've made eye contact and you're ABSOLUTELY sure they've seen you, they still haven't!
For reasons never adequately explained to me, car drivers really do have a complete visual/mental block where bikes are concerned. I'm sure that 99% of these "The bloody car didn't see me" tales of woe, you might, like I used to, immediately doubt the biker and think that most could probably be attributed to biker error, failure to anticipate the cars movements etc, and with your own experience of observation and anticipation and planning you'd have good cause to think it probably won't concern you too much when you're on the bike, and that the system works the same for car or bike. Well, when it happens to you, you simply won't believe the circumstances and how they could have failed to see you coming, broad daylight, yellow jacket, white helmet, headlight on... it's only a matter of time and it'll shock you. How the blithering hell did they not see me, you'll wonder. The driver who doesn't see bikes sadly doesn't discriminate between advanced and beginner bikers; they'll happily pull out into the path of either.
Stay safe, and I very much look forward to more bike content.
Any wobbles or incidents yet that you'd be willing to admit to?
You found biking pretty much the same way I did, as a driver who wanted to become a better driver by broadening experience, but found biking to be a pleasure in its own right.
A couple of things I'd recommend
1) Watch and study the Twist Of The Wrist (1&2) DVDs. The presentation style is... interesting... but they do contain vital lessons about bike control and they do dispel some myths you'll keep hearing again and again as a rider. They're pretty much the defacto intro to bike handling and dynamics. Very relevant on track, but equally important to understand on the road even though you're (hopefully) not so near the limits, for obvious reasons.
2) Learn the SMIDSY avoidance manoeuvre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQBubilSXU You don't have to use it, but the study of the parallax effect making you invisible, and the technique of breaking up your silhouette against your background is worth knowing.
And finally, as I'm sure you know, when you think that driver has seen you, they haven't.
When you wait a bit longer until they have seen you, they still haven't.
When you've made eye contact and you're ABSOLUTELY sure they've seen you, they still haven't!
For reasons never adequately explained to me, car drivers really do have a complete visual/mental block where bikes are concerned. I'm sure that 99% of these "The bloody car didn't see me" tales of woe, you might, like I used to, immediately doubt the biker and think that most could probably be attributed to biker error, failure to anticipate the cars movements etc, and with your own experience of observation and anticipation and planning you'd have good cause to think it probably won't concern you too much when you're on the bike, and that the system works the same for car or bike. Well, when it happens to you, you simply won't believe the circumstances and how they could have failed to see you coming, broad daylight, yellow jacket, white helmet, headlight on... it's only a matter of time and it'll shock you. How the blithering hell did they not see me, you'll wonder. The driver who doesn't see bikes sadly doesn't discriminate between advanced and beginner bikers; they'll happily pull out into the path of either.
Stay safe, and I very much look forward to more bike content.
TartanPaint said:
Any wobbles or incidents yet that you'd be willing to admit to?
I pulled into my work car park last week, put the side stand down, leant the bike over on to the stand and then discovered - just past the point of no return - that the stand had not clicked into place and had boinged back up.So the bike decided to have a bit of a lie down.
Without me, fortunately.
Happily, there was no-one around to witness my tomfoolery.
Unhappily, there was no-one around to help me pick the bloody thing back up.
Other than that, I had some difficulty at first in trusting the tyres, particularly in the wet and found myself going a little wide during tight turns. I have also reverted to being a cyclist a couple of times & pulled the clutch in, thinking it's the back brake, but I've pretty much weaned myself off those faults now.
Many thanks for the tips - all are gratefully received!
All normal stuff, don't worry. I dropped my bike the first time I parked on gravel. That doesn't work so well.
The running wide on corners thing can be partly hazard fixation, and partly your arms locking in fear and not allowing the bike to turn.
Looking where you want to go is very important, as is keeping your elbows low so you're pushing forward on the bars, not down into them.
(All covered in the TotW DVDs I mentioned above, which really are worth it. If anything is still unclear, give us a shout).
Next tip, which you hopefully won't need again, how to pick up a dropped motorcycle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84YfDGKA4Og
No helpers required, technique, not strength.
The running wide on corners thing can be partly hazard fixation, and partly your arms locking in fear and not allowing the bike to turn.
Looking where you want to go is very important, as is keeping your elbows low so you're pushing forward on the bars, not down into them.
(All covered in the TotW DVDs I mentioned above, which really are worth it. If anything is still unclear, give us a shout).
Next tip, which you hopefully won't need again, how to pick up a dropped motorcycle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84YfDGKA4Og
No helpers required, technique, not strength.
One of the biggest improvements in my riding came with a Bagster tank cover.
They have their obvious function but an additional benefit was the extra grip from your knees when wearing leathers.
It really allowed you to relax your arms and shoulders which in turn made for a much better ride.
Worse thing you can do is stiffen up, it just upsets the bike trying to steady itself.
Somewhat the same with harnesses or a CG lock. Allows you to use the wheel to lightly steer rather than as a grab handle.
They have their obvious function but an additional benefit was the extra grip from your knees when wearing leathers.
It really allowed you to relax your arms and shoulders which in turn made for a much better ride.
Worse thing you can do is stiffen up, it just upsets the bike trying to steady itself.
Somewhat the same with harnesses or a CG lock. Allows you to use the wheel to lightly steer rather than as a grab handle.
Reg - have you seen these ? https://www.airvest.co.uk/
we had a demo at our RoSPA meeting a few months ago, seemed (to a car driver) to be quite a neat solution.
we had a demo at our RoSPA meeting a few months ago, seemed (to a car driver) to be quite a neat solution.
I went on a trip to the Nurburgring with Daft Andy over the weekend. Nurburgring video to follow once I’ve edited the footage, but in the meantime, I made a video about high speed driving on the autobahn:
https://youtu.be/moJKWetL5O0
https://youtu.be/moJKWetL5O0
Another cracking vid, Reg.
You didn't mention (unless I missed it) your positional adjustments within your own lane, but they're worth paying attention to for anyone yet to watch the video.
You mention staying in lane 2 to emphasise to vehicles in front that you're moving quickly. I like that. I would definitely previously have been dipping back into lane 1 on theright (EDIT: left, because Germany) hand bends, with maximum view in mind, but I think you've convinced me that just balancing speed and limit point within your own lane makes that unnecessary really. And if it's unnecessary at those speeds, it's definitely unnecessary at UK speeds. Just sticking to lane 2 reduces unnecessary inputs.
I can't understate how much I appreciate the effort that goes into making these videos, Reg. Camera setup, editing, etc. It's one thing to read advanced driving books, but actually see real skills and experience in action is priceless as a learning tool.
You didn't mention (unless I missed it) your positional adjustments within your own lane, but they're worth paying attention to for anyone yet to watch the video.
You mention staying in lane 2 to emphasise to vehicles in front that you're moving quickly. I like that. I would definitely previously have been dipping back into lane 1 on the
I can't understate how much I appreciate the effort that goes into making these videos, Reg. Camera setup, editing, etc. It's one thing to read advanced driving books, but actually see real skills and experience in action is priceless as a learning tool.
Edited by TartanPaint on Friday 15th June 09:13
Very interesting video which brought a number of thoughts to mind:
i. In my entire life I've never had the opportunity for sustained high speed driving like that!
ii. Very, very seldom do I see UK motorways as empty as that autobahn. Even if there were to be no speed limit, how often could you realistically sustain much more than 100mph in the UK?
iii. How quickly you become accustomed to the sensation of 140+ and yet how important to maintain concentration.
iv. How quickly the fuel gauge goes down at those speeds.
v. Given the lack of observation and lane discipline in the UK, what a disaster it would be if motorway speed limits were removed overnight!
That last observation is particularly depressing as it reflects the current standard of driving but on the other hand, I think the blanket 70 limit is itself responsible for a steady decline in standards: accelerate to somewhere between 70-80, set the cruise, turn up the radio, stay in one lane (typically lane 2 or 3) and slip into a kind of mental torpor. Having a few cars come past at 155mph might act as an effective wake up call for some drivers!
i. In my entire life I've never had the opportunity for sustained high speed driving like that!
ii. Very, very seldom do I see UK motorways as empty as that autobahn. Even if there were to be no speed limit, how often could you realistically sustain much more than 100mph in the UK?
iii. How quickly you become accustomed to the sensation of 140+ and yet how important to maintain concentration.
iv. How quickly the fuel gauge goes down at those speeds.
v. Given the lack of observation and lane discipline in the UK, what a disaster it would be if motorway speed limits were removed overnight!
That last observation is particularly depressing as it reflects the current standard of driving but on the other hand, I think the blanket 70 limit is itself responsible for a steady decline in standards: accelerate to somewhere between 70-80, set the cruise, turn up the radio, stay in one lane (typically lane 2 or 3) and slip into a kind of mental torpor. Having a few cars come past at 155mph might act as an effective wake up call for some drivers!
gdaybruce said:
That last observation is particularly depressing as it reflects the current standard of driving but on the other hand, I think the blanket 70 limit is itself responsible for a steady decline in standards: accelerate to somewhere between 70-80, set the cruise, turn up the radio, stay in one lane (typically lane 2 or 3) and slip into a kind of mental torpor. Having a few cars come past at 155mph might act as an effective wake up call for some drivers!
I remember one time I was sitting at a steady 85-90 and passing everything on the M25 - so I was in the far right lane (it wasn't one of the camera zones, mind) and I got lazy/complacent. I still feel like I didn't spot the Police Volvo T5 hammering up behind me in time, but I got out of its way without it having to slow down much at all, and it buggered off into the distance, and I realised I had been sitting in that lane unnecessarily.I wasn't worried that they'd "got" me, they clearly had something incredibly important to go to and the speed differential was huge. They caught up to me far quicker than I'd been closing the gap on lorries (from a few lanes away).
Reg Local said:
I went on a trip to the Nurburgring with Daft Andy over the weekend. Nurburgring video to follow once I’ve edited the footage, but in the meantime, I made a video about high speed driving on the autobahn:
https://youtu.be/moJKWetL5O0
Really good informative video! What I found disconcerting on the autobahn to/from the 'ring was how light the steering went over 150mph and the the car, a Z4M Roadster, went a bit floaty.https://youtu.be/moJKWetL5O0
Hi Reg
Just came across your videos over the weekend, enjoyed your blast down the autobahn. Ended up having a look at your 'how to drive single track roads' after that, and much to my surprise you are on my local road. So now I've watched a few (half looking to see folk I might know). I drive the local school bus and do a couple of service runs as well (all in various transit mini-buses) so I cover about 1000 to 1500 miles a week on these roads. Fantastic driving roads.
I enjoyed your 'overtaking' films too. I've had an M135i for a couple of months now. It really is a joy to drive and it does make overtaking a breeze. Mines a 5 door auto in black.
Hope to see you road sometime.
Best wishes
Neil
Just came across your videos over the weekend, enjoyed your blast down the autobahn. Ended up having a look at your 'how to drive single track roads' after that, and much to my surprise you are on my local road. So now I've watched a few (half looking to see folk I might know). I drive the local school bus and do a couple of service runs as well (all in various transit mini-buses) so I cover about 1000 to 1500 miles a week on these roads. Fantastic driving roads.
I enjoyed your 'overtaking' films too. I've had an M135i for a couple of months now. It really is a joy to drive and it does make overtaking a breeze. Mines a 5 door auto in black.
Hope to see you road sometime.
Best wishes
Neil
Stonecarver said:
Hi Reg
Just came across your videos over the weekend, enjoyed your blast down the autobahn. Ended up having a look at your 'how to drive single track roads' after that, and much to my surprise you are on my local road. So now I've watched a few (half looking to see folk I might know). I drive the local school bus and do a couple of service runs as well (all in various transit mini-buses) so I cover about 1000 to 1500 miles a week on these roads. Fantastic driving roads.
I enjoyed your 'overtaking' films too. I've had an M135i for a couple of months now. It really is a joy to drive and it does make overtaking a breeze. Mines a 5 door auto in black.
Hope to see you road sometime.
Best wishes
Neil
Just came across your videos over the weekend, enjoyed your blast down the autobahn. Ended up having a look at your 'how to drive single track roads' after that, and much to my surprise you are on my local road. So now I've watched a few (half looking to see folk I might know). I drive the local school bus and do a couple of service runs as well (all in various transit mini-buses) so I cover about 1000 to 1500 miles a week on these roads. Fantastic driving roads.
I enjoyed your 'overtaking' films too. I've had an M135i for a couple of months now. It really is a joy to drive and it does make overtaking a breeze. Mines a 5 door auto in black.
Hope to see you road sometime.
Best wishes
Neil
Hi Neil!I'll be up there again for the first two weeks in August - drop me a PM if you'd like to meet up.
Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff