Highway riding

Darkstar8311

Darkstar8311

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Good day to all the lovely people.

I have recently acquired my own motorcycle, the sense of freedom is amazing.

Something that I have been thinking about,

If you travel on a highway or major road, as a "lone ranger" and you see a group of riders, Patch or no patch, (I am not in any clubs) may you join the group or not? And if so, what is good etiquette or code of practice, to join a group?
 
epah said:
Dont you have places to be, why are you looking to ride in groups with randon strangers on the road who are probably going the oppossite direction
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Give me one good reason to join a group going in the opposite direction, did you even think before answering?
 
But if you wanna ride in a pack, why not just join a club?
 
Darkstar8311 said:
If you travel on a highway or major road, as a "lone ranger" and you see a group of riders, Patch or no patch, (I am not in any clubs) may you join the group or not? And if so, what is good etiquette or code of practice, to join a group?
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Most motorcyclists are pretty friendly and happy to pick up strays.

Just don't crowd them, and try to ride staggered - ie. don't be directly behind the wheel of the nearest bike. Try not to merge in and split the group, that's kind of a dick move. Mostly groups of riders will be going slower than other riders, occasionally way faster - if you need to pass them or they're coming to pass you, don't do so in the same lane if at all possible. If they're spread all over the road and you can't practically follow this advice then they're not riding with consideration for other road users, and you don't want to be near them anyway.

The best approach is to pull up beside them at a robot and choon hoezit my brah. If they're cool, go for it.
 
Don't get in their way or interfere and you'll be A-OK. I've ever had a group slow down to a reasonable speed for me. Overall, they're a friendly bunch trying to have some fun - just don't get on their wrong side.
 
Forgot to mention, if one of them drops back behind you, they're on comms and the rider behind is keeping an eye on you to let the group know if you're about to do something p0es dom. Try not to get in their way.
 
Leitmotif said:
Most motorcyclists are pretty friendly and happy to pick up strays.

Just don't crowd them, and try to ride staggered - ie. don't be directly behind the wheel of the nearest bike. Try not to merge in and split the group, that's kind of a dick move. Mostly groups of riders will be going slower than other riders, occasionally way faster - if you need to pass them or they're coming to pass you, don't do so in the same lane if at all possible. If they're spread all over the road and you can't practically follow this advice then they're not riding with consideration for other road users, and you don't want to be near them anyway.

The best approach is to pull up beside them at a robot and choon hoezit my brah. If they're cool, go for it.
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If stopping at a robot is a "wee" bit of an issue as you are travelling about 150 km/h on the highway, are there any hand gestures to ask?

I have noticed that the majority of local bikers are friendly and almost always politely greet other riders.

By the way, what are some general "unspoken" rules between riders that are very useful to know when you start riding, as I'm still quite a new rider myself?
 
Darkstar8311 said:
If stopping at a robot is a "wee" bit of an issue as you are travelling about 150 km/h on the highway, are there any hand gestures to ask?

I have noticed that the majority of local bikers are friendly and almost always politely greet other riders.

By the way, what are some general "unspoken" rules between riders that are very useful to know when you start riding, as I'm still quite a new rider myself?
Click to expand...
Just common sense stuff. If they're waving you past, or someone drops back and flashes their lights, they want you to go past and carry on. Don't crowd up on riders, especially riders you don't know - have enough space to maneuver and brake. Don't buzz other bikes - if you're passing, go to another lane, motorcycles are unpredictable. Be extremely careful if you decide to follow a rider who's screaming down the freeway in a full tuck - it can be fun, but they often can't see you in their mirrors and tend to assume they're the fastest thing around. Riders used to give a sideways nod to greet each other when passing in opposite directions, but that seems to be hit or miss nowadays.

Most of all, though, if you're going to get into an argument with a car, don't involve other riders. If you feel the need to harvest someone's mirror, consider that they may take it out on the guys around you. Yes, Oom Muis-tril in the Hilux may be driving like a ****, but bear in mind that in his tiny testosterone-addled chimp brain he didn't just get confronted by you for his poor behaviour - his ego was assaulted by "a biker", and he's going to try to recover by asserting his dominance on "those biker guys" over there.

You're a new rider on an MT-09, though? The first-gen in that image had a notoriously snatchy throttle - beware of whiskey.
 
Darkstar8311 said:
Good day to all the lovely people.

I have recently acquired my own motorcycle, the sense of freedom is amazing.

Something that I have been thinking about,

If you travel on a highway or major road, as a "lone ranger" and you see a group of riders, Patch or no patch, (I am not in any clubs) may you join the group or not? And if so, what is good etiquette or code of practice, to join a group?
Click to expand...

Um

Yeah no.

Mind your own business
 
RedViking said:
Remember to ref as loud as possible when you get to an intersection or stop street.
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Always do, there is just something about the sound.
Leitmotif said:
Just common sense stuff. If they're waving you past, or someone drops back and flashes their lights, they want you to go past and carry on. Don't crowd up on riders, especially riders you don't know - have enough space to maneuver and brake. Don't buzz other bikes - if you're passing, go to another lane, motorcycles are unpredictable. Be extremely careful if you decide to follow a rider who's screaming down the freeway in a full tuck - it can be fun, but they often can't see you in their mirrors and tend to assume they're the fastest thing around. Riders used to give a sideways nod to greet each other when passing in opposite directions, but that seems to be hit or miss nowadays.

Most of all, though, if you're going to get into an argument with a car, don't involve other riders. If you feel the need to harvest someone's mirror, consider that they may take it out on the guys around you. Yes, Oom Muis-tril in the Hilux may be driving like a ****, but bear in mind that in his tiny testosterone-addled chimp brain he didn't just get confronted by you for his poor behaviour - his ego was assaulted by "a biker", and he's going to try to recover by asserting his dominance on "those biker guys" over there.

You're a new rider on an MT-09, though? The first-gen in that image had a notoriously snatchy throttle - beware of whiskey.
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Yes 2014 MT-09. That I can confirm, the throttle is hella sensitive. 1st day on the bike I probably stalled 20+ times, 3 weeks later and it still happens on the odd occasion.

I haven't really gone long distance yet, so I am trying to get a sense of the do's and don'ts of long distance riding for April when I plan to ride to Klerksdorp from the East rand.

Thank you to everyone who has responded in a helpful manner.

Many safe miles and keep the revs high!
 
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