Lane sharing...

[30-30]

 Hi folks,

This month I have begun working day shifts, and have to ride across the 210 from Glendora, to Hollywood. 9 to 5, right in the middle of rush hour each way.

I am really seeing how carzy people can be when they get that sense of injustice that someone is getting away with something they can't.

Does anyone have any tips to make my odds of survival better?

Oh, and if you see a tall guy in a silver helmet riding a green Ninja 250, that would be me.

[Tony]

Sorry, I'm too new to lane splitting to offer any advice.

Gold! I want to welcome you to the Mild Ones.

Welcome fellow Ninja 250 rider.

[30-30]

Hi there!

Thanks. I hope to attend some gatherings soon, now that I dwell in the daylight.

You will find that the Ninja 250 is a superb lane splitter. Provided you have better tires than the stock ones on.

It's lightweight, narrow, and makes good use of it's power at the typical speeds you can travel on the stripe.

Just fold in your rearview stalks, and away you go!

[JC]

I personally don't like lane splitting, I have only done it a number of occassions (ie three times).   But that's just me.  Without getting into the grey area legal issues, I have read that the best way is to ensure your safety is to make sure that you're moving slowly, no more than 10 mph faster than traffic, and not to do it period if traffic is moving at a speed of 15mph or more, as thats when gaps occur that make drivers suddenly change lanes.

I don't blame you though, the traffic out that way is horrendous!!

[30-30]

 Yeah, I never really did it before, because I always traveled on off times. Pretty much avoided the "freeway" during rush hour.

[zerog]

From my limited experience lane splitting on the 210, here's a few of my suggestions:

• Watch your relative speed with the cars, I usually only go about 5 - 10mph faster than the cars.  
  
• Only split over the double yellow to the right of the car pool lane.  You have the most space there and least amount of people changing lanes (but don't expect people to actually obey the no lane change over double yellow, it's just fewer).
  
• Don't split during the entrance/exist parts of the car pool lane (dotted white line).
  
• Try not to split when the lanes on your 2 sides are going at different speeds (speed difference > 5 mph).
  
• If there's a hole in one of the lanes (especially the one moving faster), watch for cars trying to move into that spot.
  
• Only lane split at the speeds you are comfortable with.  A lot of people split at a much faster speed than me.  When I see them coming up behind me, I'll wait for an opening in the car pool lane and go into the lane to let them pass.
  
• DO NOT hang right around next to a car at the same speed as that car.  
  

[30-30]

Thanks for the info!

Do you ever fold your mirrors, or just leave them out?

The 250's mirrors make it seem so wide.

[AP]

I never fold in my mirrors.  If its too narrow for the bike to fit with the mirrors I wait until it opens up more to make my move. It usually happens with people that close the gap or with trucks with huge mirrors.  Last week, coming home after the ride and also a visit with my sister in newport, I got stuck on the 5 around knotts area where the 5 is narrow and always turns into a parking lot.  There people were actually not letting me split and trying to stop me from going around them. Be careful out there.

[aprilmaybe]

Hi!!

I'm not much help with splitting because I'm generally not on the freeway when its that busy but you have already gotten some good advise.

I'll keep an eye out for you, where are you going in Hollywood?

[Gixer]

I have 15 years of riding under my belt and I can offer this about lane sharing:

1. Never split on the opening of the carpool lane (already mentioned, but worth mentioning again)

2. Always ride in the next lower gear at high RPM, this will keep you in the 'powerband' of the engine, and allow you to get the hell outta the way should you need to. EG if you should be in 3rd gear at 2500 rpm, kick it down to 2nd at 6500rpm, you still got at least 3k rpm to get to redline, as well as it will make additional noise which will draw attention to you and make the cars more apt to notice you are there (I don't care what anyone says, loud pipes DO save lives)

3. NEVER fold your mirrors, never impare your ability to know what is going on around you. An alert, informed biker is one that makes it home in 1 piece. Think of those mirrors as 'extra safety' keep in mind that some bike's rear turn signals extend BEYOND the handlebar's reach, you may clear the front, but you are going to catch the back if this is the case. Don't risk it, you ain't Evil Kenivel, and you don't have any point to prove.

4. DO NOT split lanes at high speed, although it doesn't matter at what speed you split you will STILL get creamed should you get hit, at speeds below 35-40mph the odds are lower.

5. MOST IMPORTANT, splitting lanes requires a certain mindset and ATTENTION. You have to develop a DAMN good sense of what cars are doing and GOING to do based on they way they drive, how they are positioned in the lane, etc. YOU MUST be able to anticipate with 85-90% accuracy what a driver is going to do BEFORE he does it. You MUST ride like people are TRYING to hit you. I don't say this to scare you, I say this from experience. Like I said, I have 15 years under my belt,  tens of thousands of miles on my side, and I have NEVER been in a wreck (knocking frantically on wood). I have had people look me right in the eye and then turn into my lane. You cannot ASSUME anything when you ride. If it doesn't seem right, or you don't feel ready, DON'T DO IT. Its not worth your legs or your life just to do it cuz 'everyone else does it'.

This last point, I cannot stress enough. You CANNOT rely on luck when you ride or you will become a statistic. May I suggest this: when you are out riding, watch the cars around you, play this game in your head, try to guess where cars are going to change lanes, slow down, etc. When you get to 80% accuracy, THEN attempt lane-splitting and not before.

I would be more than happy to go out riding with you to help accellerate your learning of driving behavior, anything to help keep a fellow motorcyclist safe. Please don't split lanes until you are ready.

Be safe,

-Allan

[aprilmaybe]

Stolen from Socal Sportbikes because I think its good advise and not just for lane splitting....

Survival skills #1 -- don't get pissed. Brake, steer, and accelerate as appropriate, and ride on. Doing battle with cars accomplishes nothing.

[JC]

Great info guys.  Definetely some good knowledge to have under your belt.

[30-30]

Gixer, thanks very much for your thoughts!

And I appreciate all you other guys imput. That is good advice about the mirrors, but I felt that my attention was so focused ahead of me, that the mirrors were just big paddles looking for a car mirror to bump.

I will rethink that practice.

[flstc2003]

Gixer~ that is a very concise bit of lane spliting advice.I would add that these are good tips for all street riding.

Bob

[EZcruze]

Some very good advice.  I would take all of the suggestions heard here to heart.

If I may add:

1) Try to always anticipate an escape route.  If you do not see one BEFORE you make a move think twice about it.
2) Be prepared to stop at a moments notice.  This is where your motorcycle speed in relation to the traffic flow is important
3) Be PATIENT.  There is no hurry, especially on a bike.  You can make up the extra few seconds or minutes that you lay off the throttle, and sit behind a slow moving car.
4) Make up your own rules and stick with them.  In other words, if you decide that you are only going to split lanes when traffic is moving less then say 5, 10, 45, (whatever you are comfortable with)  mph stick with your rule.  If you look down and you are splitting lanes at say 55 - 60, and your threshhold is 30, ease off the throttle.  Obey your own rules!!!! cause odd's are you made them in a clear headed moment.  It's easy to get caught up in the thrill of the moment and lose your perspective.

I ride a 1800 VTX. I always split lanes and my bike is not nearly as maneuverable as your 250.  I would be afraid of myself on a bike that size.