Foot Position on Pegs

[The Spin Doctor]

I did ask about the questionable value of putting raised rumble type strips on the entrance to roundabouts when that could only impair braking efficiency and he wasn't able to justify it.

'Perceptual countermeasure'.

Like the ridged lines on the left edge of dual carriageways and motorways, the vibration is designed to wake you up if you've lost focus or you can't see the edge of the road or roundabout in fog, spray or heavy rain. And approaching roundabouts they get closer together the closer you get to the junction, to instil a sense of urgency and a sense of getting close to the hazard.

AFAIK, they start early enough and far enough apart that a driver can still brake from speed.

My beef is with their use on curved roundabout approaches which force a bike to lean over as you cross them. Even more useless are the strips that many local authorities persist in using on the approach to a rural 30 limit. They too are often found on curves, sometimes quite sharp ones.

[Hot_Air]

While I contributed criticism of the IAM, it’s a broad church. I know some superb riders in the IAM, but some are overly by the book. Similarly, I know some great track riders and others who are crap, daft or have odd riding ideas.

Not all of us fit in a box. I happen to have done track days, IAM and dirt biking — they all improved my riding skills and enjoyment.

The IAM issue is the variability of its ‘observers’. Many are highly knowledgeable, but some have disappointingly low knowhow. And it’s the less skilled types whom I’ve found the most dogmatic (a reason why professional advanced instructors are better). But the fundamental IAM syllabus (e.g., the Limit Point) is worthwhile.

[mangocrazy]

I did ask about the questionable value of putting raised rumble type strips on the entrance to roundabouts when that could only impair braking efficiency and he wasn't able to justify it.

'Perceptual countermeasure'.

Like the ridged lines on the left edge of dual carriageways and motorways, the vibration is designed to wake you up if you've lost focus or you can't see the edge of the road or roundabout in fog, spray or heavy rain. And approaching roundabouts they get closer together the closer you get to the junction, to instil a sense of urgency and a sense of getting close to the hazard.

AFAIK, they start early enough and far enough apart that a driver can still brake from speed.

My beef is with their use on curved roundabout approaches which force a bike to lean over as you cross them. Even more useless are the strips that many local authorities persist in using on the approach to a rural 30 limit. They too are often found on curves, sometimes quite sharp ones.

Yeah, I understand what they're supposed to do, but doubt that they are particularly effective (I have no evidence to support this assertion other than watching other road users). In a car they're annoying, on a bike they can upset the suspension and on curved approaches (especially in the wet) they are more hazard than help.

[Horse]

raised rumble type strips on the entrance to roundabouts

'Perceptual countermeasure'.

Yeah, I understand what they're supposed to do, but doubt that they are particularly effective (I have no evidence to support this assertion other than watching other road users).

IIRC 'nudge theory'.

But I don't know how proven/effective it is, especially now they've been used for so many years.

FWIW my first bike crashes was into a roundabout, going too fast and 'forgetting/ignoring' the big direction sign on the approach.

[Noggin]

Some of this IAM doctrine is hard to shift. If you're "told" at an early stage to do or not do something, it tends to get imprinted and becomes hard to dispose of. 2 examples:
"Don't ride over manhole covers. It shows poor obs". (Swerve round them all instead).

OMG! Before I'd even tried riding a bike I'd heard so so many people saying you shouldn't ride over drain covers - probably mainly wet, but I only ever heard 'drain cover'!!

So, first day after the CBT (where I wheelied a cruiser style 125 away from a T junction turning right!!), my instructor went across a (very) mini roundabout and over a drain cover. Me? I got the fear and avoided the drain cover, but ended up going between the two roads off the roundabout, up onto the pavement and then rode along the pavement until there was a break in the parked cars that allowed me to go back onto the road!! LOL

HTF I ever got a licence is beyond me!! Although, once I was on a 500 that wasn't cruiser style, everything was much easier! And I did learn not to be scared of drain covers

[Horse]

In the late 79s / early 80s, Southern Television (covering the current Meridian area) did a couple of series of a programme called Talking Bikes.

One featured the Dunlop tyre testers, the same guys seen in Wobble and Weave (youtube if you've never seen it).

They were brain out mad feckers.

One section of curved test track has a radial ridge, abou 1.5-2 inches high across the track.

Voice-over:
"And this is to test how ... "
Honda Cb750F1, with mainstand sparking as its leant over, comes hurtling around.
"Tyres regain grip."
BANG
Bikes takes off when it hit the ridge, crashes back to ground, continued on, sparks from mainstand.

IIRC the i2i Academy get people to ride over sand mid-corner.

At 30mph you're doing 14 metres a second, so if your bike slips on a cover, you're further down the road before you can react.

Head and eyes up, looking where you want to go, keeping the power on, steady.

[The Spin Doctor]

At 30mph you're doing 14 metres a second, so if your bike slips on a cover, you're further down the road before you can react.

Oddly enough, that's why hitting a standard metal access cover at slow speed on tight corners is far worse than riding over one at 30-odd.

I nearly highsided the GSX-R turning left into a side road. I was 'Tail End Charlie' on a group ride my buddy Nick had planned and was leading, and I had a woman in front of me who was very, VERY slow...

...so I would be the first to admit that my attention level really wasn't where it should have been. The group turned left and caught me in too high a gear for the corner. The Gixxer had also been Dynojetted and 'tuned' which meant that though it would run at 1000 rpm, it wasn't really happy there and needed quite a big handful of throttle to go anywhere. I should have been in 2nd for the turn and was actually in 4th when I tipped into the junction to drive through it...

...unfortunately, there was a big metal plate about 1m long across a trench in the road

...and equally unfortunately, we'd had a 30 second shower a few minutes earlier - the warm road surface hadn't even got wet but the cold metal was damp

...as soon as the rear tyre touched metal, it spun up and went sideways. I came out the seat and landed on the tank

...all out about 5 mph!

There were a couple of other big ones to avoid down Kingsway when I was a courier - they were vents for the old tram tunnel which runs under the road there.

[Horse]

At 30mph you're doing 14 metres a second, so if your bike slips on a cover, you're further down the road before you can react.

...unfortunately, there was a big metal plate about 1m long across a trench in the road

...and equally unfortunately, we'd had a 30 second shower a few minutes earlier - the warm road surface hadn't even got wet but the cold metal was damp

...as soon as the rear tyre touched metal, it spun up and went sideways. I came out the seat and landed on the tank

...all out about 5 mph!

Turning out onto a main road, I managed - by careful planning and execution - to try and accelerate with the rear wheel on a cover of some sort.

Sat there, feet up, rear wheel spinning, gradually moving until it got some grip