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so i took the freeway today.
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 7:48 am
by VermilionX
it's annoying to ride around the parts where the road isn't smooth... the bike was shaking all the time.
traffic was bad on and before i change to the 101 from 405 but before that, traffic was light so i was able to pick some speed.
anyway, i tried going 90mph on the carpool lane. it was so clear in front of me, Aya (name of my bike) was telling me she can go way faster than this. but i said "NO! you can't. bad SBK, bad. don't tempt me."
tried some lane splitting too when i got stuck in full stop traffic on the freeway but not so much since im not that comfortable yet so even if i see a small hint that i might not be able to squeeze through, i didn't lane split.
at 90mph i was already tuck in fully but my helmet still gets some drag... i really want the double bubble windshield.
also, class was cancelled.

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 1:21 pm
by Jamers!
well, im glad you had a good ride. just be careful. those are some of the freeways i hate the most. Be safe and have fun man.
JWF
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 1:41 pm
by flynrider
I've gotta agree with you about freeway smoothness. Whenever I ride (or drive the cage) to L.A., I'm appalled at how rough the ride is. On your stiff sportbike suspension it's probably extra annoying. Most of the freeways here in Phoenix are less than 10 yrs. old and are still smooth as glass.
90 mph in the carpool lane is a recipe for disaster. Your squidliness is showing.
Slow traffic will always be entering from your left. That traffic, even if they see you in a mirror, will not expect you to be closing the distance at that speed (assuming they see you at all) and will cut you off. While the carpool lane itself may look temporarily clear, expect any vehicle in the lane to your left to make a sudden lane change towards you.
The only time it's remotely safe to go that fast in the carpool lane is when it, and the lane to the left are both empty. Even then I wouldn't recommend it to someone with your limited experience. This is the definition of squid.
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 1:45 pm
by VermilionX
flynrider wrote:I've gotta agree with you about freeway smoothness. Whenever I ride (or drive the cage) to L.A., I'm appalled at how rough the ride is. On your stiff sportbike suspension it's probably extra annoying. Most of the freeways here in Phoenix are less than 10 yrs. old and are still smooth as glass.
90 mph in the carpool lane is a recipe for disaster. Your squidliness is showing.
Slow traffic will always be entering from your left. That traffic, even if they see you in a mirror, will not expect you to be closing the distance at that speed (assuming they see you at all) and will cut you off. While the carpool lane itself may look temporarily clear, expect any vehicle in the lane to your left to make a sudden lane change towards you.
The only time it's remotely safe to go that fast in the carpool lane is when it, and the lane to the left are both empty. Even then I wouldn't recommend it to someone with your limited experience. This is the definition of squid.
dood! i didn't go 90mph all the way. im not that stupid. i only tried it for moment and yes, the lane beside me was clear as well.
and im concious of the flow of traffic, i try to stay around the same area of speed that they move. could be a little below or a little above.
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:10 pm
by CNF2002
Congrats on the freeway ride, V! Bumpy huh? LA freeways must be terrible.
Most of the freeways here in Phoenix are less than 10 yrs. old and are still smooth as glass
Oh pulease...I am originally from Phx, was back there a couple years ago and they completely redid most of inner I-10 with that new freeway surface with rubber in it or something...my goodness it was like driving on pillows.
Freeway fun
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:11 pm
by mcmahonm
Freeways are not my favorite place, but sometime you just gotta use them, I seem to be overly cautious when on large mutilane hiways. Around here in Toronto the401 is 6 lanes wide in places and it is just choas trying to keep up with the cagers flying around. It may take me longer but man the scerery is better in the backroads
stay safe.
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:15 pm
by Dragonhawk
CNF2002 wrote:Congrats on the freeway ride, V! Bumpy huh? LA freeways must be terrible.
All the LA streets and freeways are VERY nice.
Anyone who thinks roads in California are bad have never been to Ohio.
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:28 pm
by ZooTech
I happen to have an exclusive video of Vermi's first trip on the freeway right
here.
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:28 pm
by cruisinflatout
One thing I've noticed about TMW is that the members are quick to jump down your throat when they hear about anything remotely unsafe - so don't fret it.
Most of the time they mean well, other times they just jump the gun.
Cheers;
Kevin
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:35 pm
by flynrider
[quote="VermilionX"]
dood! i didn't go 90mph all the way. im not that stupid. i only tried it for moment and yes, the lane beside me was clear as well.
quote]
OK, fine. 90 mph on an LA freeway aboard a gixxer with 2 months riding experience under your belt is a fine idea. I won't mention squidliness again. Let me just leave you with some recent quotes from a gixxer riding noob on this forum :
"im not gonna drive reckless but of course other people can get me in an accident. im really worried about other people and not so much about myself since im well aware of my capabilities and won't try anything stupid. "
"i don't intend to take freeways until at least after 1 year of riding and if i feel comfortable enough at high speed riding. "
"riding on freeways really sounds fun, especially on weekend mornings... but it'll be a long time before i attempt it."
"im very careful w/ my bike, i ride ony w/in my skill level and i respect its power a lot. but of course, i know other people can still cause you to crash."
Can you guess who it was? Best of luck to you!