For me I'll do anything, and I used to..

It's not about what I'm comfortable with or have the skill to do, it's about the other people on the road who aren't expecting what I'm going to do and shut the door (or open a door).

People around here, Lethbridge especially, aren't even checking their mirrors, never mind are able to tell what you want to do.

That's not just for bikes either. I have it a lot with oversize loads where I need two lanes to avoid hitting signs, parked cars, construction workers, ect.. And even with flashing strobes and wide load signs front and back, and no less than 7 signal lights per side people still just don't have the foresight to accommodate something out of the usual.

In some areas I have to get my lane (or all of them) miles in advance because I know I won't be let in otherwise. Sometimes even when I'm clearly not wanting anyone beside me (i.e. A bridge is coming and there is no room for anyone else) people will still try squeeze in the 1/4 lane I'm leaving. Usually they end up smashing the brakes or in the ditch.

Point is, in my area at least, I've learned not to rely on other people being courteous, paying attention. If I can't count on people noticing strobe lights and signs then I don't expect them to notice a motorcycle slowing filtering through.

Even where it's legal, it pisses a lot of people off (for no reason) and I wouldn't be half surprised to have q door flung open in my way on purpose.

It is legal here in Alberta by the way, but ask a driver and they won't know that.

There is a lot of good sense spoken at the start of that video regarding defensive riding. I used to say "everything is a potential enemy", and "you have to do the thinking for all the idiots" on or near the road that you might encounter. I am hesitant to jump forwards in support of lane splitting right off the bat, though. Sure I have done it. In England it was permissible under some conditions, though not totally encouraged by riding schools. There, I paid no heed and went right ahead with no adverse effects.

Here in South America, however, the whole thing takes on another, somewhat sinister, form. Bikes were regularly used by thieves for assaults, and a favorite was slipping up between traffic to a car of someone who had just left a bank, or who was otherwise known to be carrying valuables, the pillion guy busting the window, and making off with said money or valuable. I have witnessed a couple such incidents myself in Quito. It is one among two factors that had made car drivers here wary, and aggressive, towards motorcycles that do this. You could expect to be seriously "funneled", lane splitting here.

The police cracked down on the hit and run theft trend, creating a "one person per bike" law. Also, if you ride a bike here now, you will be pulled over and asked for documents by the police every time you go out. No offense necessary. Bad if you want to take your lass for a tranquil, scenic ride, but it did reduce the incidence of motorcycle borne crime, and is very, very slowly causing a recovery of some respect for motorcyclists from other motorists.

Unfortunately, bike crime still seems rife in other parts of the continent. I seriously doubt that this video in Sao Paolo is staged for effect. That is how it is...

Ah yeah, I've seen that video before. I remember something like a bank robbery done on a scooter with a machete-wielding pillion too, but I think that was in the UK. Amazing that it was so widespread they outlawed riding two up completely. Around here the only people giving us a bad rep are the Harley guys which can range from biker gangs cooking meth and getting in bar shootouts to the mild annoyance of their loud, sputtering pipes and the idiots on the sports bikes wearing a t-shirt and camouflage shorts doing wheelies and standing on their handlebars while lane splitting at 90 mph. Luckily they're pretty few and far between.

EDIT: Ah, found it. It was a gem store.. Link

Thought it might be time for another post on our cycle club thread. As we move in to 2016 I was reflecting a bit that this coming new year marks 70 years of the passing of someone who was ultimately very important to the motorcycle industry, albeit indirectly, and who is sadly not recognized for his immense contribution.

I know both Tracer and I have a bit of a liking of two-strokes, possibly some more of you worship them, too. In truth, the earliest versions of the engine, as developed by Clerk around the same time Otto was developing the four-stroke, were very mediocre, inefficient contraptions, little short of a twin cylinder engine, with one cylinder compressing but not combusting the mixture, and the other one receiving this charge to ignite and do the power stroke.

The revolution that brought about the transformation of the two-stroke into the arm ripping power house that was used in all competitions in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's was one thing: the primary crankcase compression system with transfer. That was invented by a man who's month of death in 1946 isn't even known.

He died in the area where I lived in England in the '90's, and even there the lore about him was sparse, including in the motorcycling community. Even now, confident that the internet might have put this error of attribution right, I still found very little about him. Here's his story in resume.

LINK TO: Joseph Day

A very Happy New Year to all of the F-99th, and especially my motorcycle friends on the site! May we continue to defeat the foe on-line in all the events to come, and burn up the roads on our two wheelers when we're not doing that. LOL!

All the best!

EDIT: Out of sheer curiosity, browsing around just now, I found this outline, in which Joseph Day's date of demise seems to be determined. At least there's that much, and it seems to be all there is about him...

LINK TO: Joseph Day outline

Another fascinating read, courtesy of Cygon.

Happy new year and many miles of safe motorcycling to you gentlemen!

My Nephew and I rocking Pala raceway

vimeo.com/34845711

dang watching that makes me wanna get back out on my dirtbike and back out on the track.. ill stick to the amateur class though. never did master the whoops or triples. not big enough cojones at the time

Too cool!

Never did any of that myself, except for some riding accross a farmer's field on a Yamaha YB50, which doesn't qualify. Several fun spills when the front wheel bogged into soft earth, though, lol!

Two of my school friends were into it, though, at the same time I was doing my track racing stint. They both had RM125s. I used to marshall or time keep for those events, as they did for mine. Always fascinated me; I used to wonder how important "the line" was in motocross, as getting the right speed to straddle the jumps properly seemed to be much more important. Different art, respects!

Great vid!

Hah! Looking through some old e-mails for an attachment document, I found the last picture of my beaten up old last bike.



Pretty nuts, I know, lol!

Last night in Panama I found a TV channel that was pretty awesome. It was showing the whole Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix only from the forward facing cockpit cameras of the cars, without any excited commentary or other BS. I zoned in on it and it was causing me to re-live those magical moments when I used to race motorcycles, years ago. It was therapeutic, really. They should show all of them like that!

Out this afternoon, paying bills, walked past one of the few specialized motorcycle shops that sells proper Japanese instead of Korean or whatever knock offs. Something caught my eye and I had to have a look and a sit, much to the distress of missus...

www.yamaha-motor.eu/uk/products/motorcyc...ew=featurestechspecs

Perfect for me, at this stage, and it felt wonderful. Been out of the saddle far too long for someone who pointedly and meticulously shunned cars for over twenty years. Just need to renew my expired license and project is on for the end of 2017!

Beautiful! My Valentino Rossi fanboyhood obviously very much approves of a Yamaha, but that's a great looking bike notwithstanding. It's no Russian Motorcycle Band bike, as Firedawg generously linked for us, but you can worry about the drum kit and guitar amp sidecar additions later. If indeed the Tomcat does come out by the end of 2017, this Yamaha will be perfect for completing the experience. After all, if any of us are to achieve true F-14 authenticity, there's simply no replacement for racing down a perimeter road on a motorcycle alongside a convenient fighter aircraft taking off while throwing out an occasional fist pump.

Please let us know when you do make your move on returning to active motorcyclist status. And with pictures.

And Firedawg that video was very near the top of all the most awe-inspiring motorcycle related things I've ever seen.

I applaud your bike return and raise you a www.youtube.com/channel/UCv5DBirtU8jhUWMh2H2V2mw
I will have more vids coming

Yeah, I'd be going back to my own beginnings in a way, too. First bike was a black Yamaha.

It would have to be a Super Tucano or a Cheetah, here, LOL!

Sure thing!

Frollo; Oooooh! That bike.

FIREDAWG; LOL!