A few questions about riding with strangers...

[Kaiser Soze]

I just thought I'd start this thread to talk about a few different things that came up on the recent 1600km roundtrip I put my new GSX-R750 through. (Medicine Hat, AB to Sicamous, BC)

I guess the first would be am I nuts, or do the others here with sportbikes like me go for rides like this? My hands and butt were a bit sore after the 800km trip back all in one shot. Well, minus the 25 minutes I spent hiding under a bridge to get out of a hail storm, that is.

I was just wondering about some etiquette things about riding with and passing fellow riders.

In one instance I came upon a group of about 20 bikes (all cruisers) clipping along, and I thought I could pass them all in one shot, but ended up having to merge in about 4 from the leader, then I was stuck there for about 20 minutes as the other lane was really busy. They were riding staggered, so I just kind of took my place in the formation, and noticed after a bit that the guy behind me switched to the other side of the lane to accomodate me... didn't notice anything that said they didn't approve, so I guess it was ok. Just the first time it's happened to me, so I wasn't sure if it was cool to hang there or not. I was kind of thinking "jeez, if these were Hell's Angels or something, I wonder if they'd boot me out of here".

I also had a guy in a Goldwing pass me while I was going a little slower (my cop spider sense was tingling), then I ended up pacing him and we rode together for a good half hour. I don't think he minded, but he was really givin' her.

I also rode for a while with this dude on a yellow chopper of some kind, I think a Harley. I passed him at just under the speed of light, then noticed he was in my mirrors a few miles later. When another passing spot opened up I was gone again, I hit 200km/hr when the traffic disappeared, then eased back to my 140 cruising speed when the dude showed up again. He looked like he was hanging on for dear life, like he was saying "you're not passing ME on that japanese bike you sonofabich!". Hats off to the guy, in fact I was hoping he'd stop in Golden so I could buy him a beer, but we lost each other on the steep slopes down into town. Actually, some morons in a car stopped DEAD on the road to point to these mountain goats, and I had to pass then on the left over a double yellow in a blind corner to avoid pasting their rear bumper. I swear if the guy had a smoke in the left hand that was pointing out, I would have taken it out with my mirror. bastrd.

So any special considerations when passing huge groups of riders? Try and do 'em all in one shot? I have a feeling a group of Angels might not like me joining them on my gixxer.

Oh, and I just googled the Blue Knights of Alberta, which were the group I rode with. They're a group of law enforcement officers that ride together. Hope they didn't take down the plate number of the dude on the black GSX-R when he decided it was time to leave the pack.

[kabob983]

Hehe, sounds like you had a good time! Yeah, RR bikes just aren't meant to be touring bikes, so the soreness is expected I suppose. If you do ride that far though I'd suggest investing in a throttle rocker to save your wrist. A guy from our club here in Birmingham, AL is going to ride on his CBR to the Laguna Seca GP race, I think he's nuts! He's got a touring bike, but he feels it's more appropriate to be there on one of his sport bikes I guess.

I'm not sure what the ettiquite is for passing large groups, I don't know if there is any written rule. It sounds like you handled it alright, but I'm sure some packs are more forgiving than others.

So, where's the next long trip going to be to?

[Andrew]

I don't have any experience to help with your questions, but it sounds like you had an interesting trip. I bet if you sent an email to the Blue Knights thanking them for being accomodating, they would appreciate it.

Generally in my limited experience it hasn't matter what kind of bike the other person rode, everybody has been open and helpful both on the road and off.

[KingRobb]

I find it is the same as with all things...some guys will let you ride in their group...others will try to avoid you or close up so you cant wedge in...

most in my experience open up. you can ride with anyone you can keep up with they say.

personally anyone who does 500 km trips on a rr can ride with me any where i am going. i know weenies who wont do it on road bikes....so hats off to ya.

[Z (fka Sweet Tooth)]

Sounds like you had a good time. The most important thing to remember is that they are strangers and you don't know thier riding skill level, just maintain your distance a bit. The second thing is body language if they don't block you out, and most won't, you should be fine. It's really on a case by case basis, some people like to ride alone and some like the company. In most cases they'll see that you're just trying to pass and will accomodate you.

[VermilionX]

cool.

you have a great sportbike!

probably the best all around sportbike right now.

glad to hear you're having so much fun w/ it.

[Mustang]

It sounds like that not only did you have a great ride, but met some decent bikers on the road, which is always nice to hear.

From how you described it, soulnd like you handled yourself perfectly as did the group of riders.

I agree with Andrew...an email to the Blue Knights would be a cool touch

[pinger05]

My experience with large groups is to just stay behind them or to pull off for a break. Another rider and I were coming down Rose Canyon in Sesbe National Forest on our Wings and we hit a roadblock of crusier riders. I dont remember if they were all one brand but I do remember that none of them had the "stereotypical" brand name leather jacket.

We tried to pass for 45 minutes (just about the whole time down the mountain) and were foiled at every attempt. Finally we found a rangers station and stoped for soviners and sodas.

[BigChickenStrips]

so the gixxer 750 couldnt accelerate fast enough to pass the whole group?!

i have trouble passing on my 250 sometimes but its slow, i would'a though they would jsut see a blur fly by.

[Kaiser Soze]

I never really gave any thought to a throttle rocker before, but I think I will now - thanks for the suggestion. Actually at one point (in the rain) my arms and hands were soaked right through and sore from a 2 1/2 hour stretch between stops, and my hand was so sore that when I changed positions I had this sharp pain that *made* me pull my hand off the throttle for a split second. It kind of scared me and made me pretty conscious of holding it as lightly as possible. That rocker seems like a good idea to look into before my next long trip.

As for passing at once, yeah I probably could have, but for some reason I always passed other riders more gently than the cages. I didn't want to take out this big group of riders, then cut in front of them at more than twice their speed, only to have a few of the big boys in the group walk up at the gas station 15 minutes down the road. "So you think you're pretty "procreating" hot "poo poo" on that bike, eh boy?"

I did take out some large groups of vehicles on the trip, but with this gang of riders I would have had to gun it up to 200 or something, and then there's the fear that one will decide to pass and not see the blur in the mirrors before pulling out.

And yeah, I might shoot the Knights an e-mail. Someone there would probably like that.

Oh, and the weirdest thing was that I did 1650 km, including a bit of ripping around in Sicamous, and I only used 93.1L of fuel - that's 49.5mpg. With the speeds I was maintaining plus the passing, I never would have imagined getting such good mileage.