Pasta Burner Posted June 12, 2021 Share #1 Posted June 12, 2021 So I exercised my right to lane filter for the first time today. I’ve gotta say it’s a very odd feeling the first few time. Luckily I did’t encounter any aggressive cages. Honestly I’m so used to not being able to filter I often forget it’s legal and encouraged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freebird Posted June 13, 2021 Share #2 Posted June 13, 2021 Where were you? I think there are very few states where it is legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorcycle Mike Posted June 13, 2021 Share #3 Posted June 13, 2021 Legal or not, I would never do that. To many aggressive, distracted and just plain stupid drivers out there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasta Burner Posted June 13, 2021 Author Share #4 Posted June 13, 2021 @Freebird Utah. It’s actually been legal for two years but the first year I wasn’t riding due to knee surgery and last year I completely forgot about it. I only remembered because the other day when in my cage I saw a rider do it. It appeared though that someone got mad at him for doing it because I saw some hand gestures. @Motorcycle Mike that’s the exact reason to do it and why it’s encouraged. A large purpose is to protect the rider from being rear ended by distracted and stupid drivers. The biggest problem I see with it is lack of education and awareness. Like I said even as a rider I went a whole season because I forgot. The local news did a clip on it a month or so ago but it only focused in that it’s legal and to expect it. They NEVER mentioned WHY! So cagers think a bike is just cutting in line and they get aggressive. It’s a well known fact telling someone what to do and WHY is tenfold more effective than just barking an order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepy2 Posted June 13, 2021 Share #5 Posted June 13, 2021 I would think it wouldn't be advisable with the Venture because most cagers don't give much room between each other to go between. It's not allowed here (Ontario Canada) and have never seen anytime that I could have gone between anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted June 13, 2021 Share #6 Posted June 13, 2021 Yeah, bikes with saddlebags are wider than you think. I would be afraid to do it on my Venture but the Kawasaki, I would do it if the cars are stopped. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VentureFar Posted June 13, 2021 Share #7 Posted June 13, 2021 I am originally from California and lane split on the freeway on my venture anytime the traffics was slowing down to around 45 or less. Especially stop and go traffic. Because cagers in California grew up with motorcycles splitting lanes is is not only accepted practice but many times assisted by giving more room. My wife and I would go to Santa Barbara on 101 and since it was always stop and go during the summer, the cages would literally move to their left and right and open a huge lane for the strings of motorcycles going by. It was only the occasional inattentive driver that would hug the inside of their lane or a Dick 20 something in a convertible BMW with 4 of his male friends blocking on purpose. I live in Oregon now. When the bill was close to passage I posted a thread on Nextdoor. Believe me, you don’t want to lane filter in Oregon. They openly threatened to open doors, block lanes etc. the common EGO response was “ they should have to wait in line like the rest of us”. FYI I never clipped a mirror in all the years of splitting. Although I found myself not breathing as I slide between the cages, I felt safer than getting rear ended. VentureFar… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasta Burner Posted June 13, 2021 Author Share #8 Posted June 13, 2021 (edited) @sleepy2 My apologies I should have clarified that I did this on my sport bike. The venture will be a progressive step in this practice. I actually last week almost knocked my sport over not realizing / paying attention to how wide the venture is in the back; just pulling her into the stable. My local PD put a Facebook post about it when it came about and @VentureFar there are a lot of posts being negative and aggressive toward bikes that Filter. I say instead of being uninformed or “jealous” go get a bike and join us Edited June 13, 2021 by Pasta Burner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpencerPJ Posted June 13, 2021 Share #9 Posted June 13, 2021 Had to Google what it was, but that is a great idea, and written for us, the nuts on motorcycles. I'd exercise caution, but do it if allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circa1968 Posted June 14, 2021 Share #10 Posted June 14, 2021 I've lived in CA since '89 and when I first moved here, I thought motorcyclists were nuts for splitting lanes. Then I started riding and found the perspective from inside the car is dramatically different than on a motorcycle. There is much more room than you realize. That said, there are speeds and circumstances where it is not safe. When I had my 1st venture in the early 2000's, I had no problem splitting lanes, even with my wife on the back. But, this was with traffic at a near stop or a crawl and I was not going much faster myself. I have not done any lane splitting since getting back into riding last year. I no longer commute and not sure I would trust today's drivers who care more about their phones than anything else, didn't have that issue back in the day. Somewhere back in my faded memory cells it seems that a cop told me that lane splitting wasn't technically legal, but the law allows two vehicles in one lane if they safely fit, or something like that, so if you were not being safe (i.e. weaving in & out of lanes @ high speed) could still be ticketed. The only close call I can remember was going to work one morning and someone opened their door to dump out their cold coffee one car ahead of me. I'm pretty sure he did not look before doing so. As a side note, I was nearly hit by a distracted driver today on my bicycle! She missed my rear wheel by about a foot. I was going through a 4-way stop, she was rolling up seemingly ready to stop, looked to her right, didn't see any cars and blasted through the stop sign - right at me! I tried to speed up & yelled to get her attention to which she got the OH SH** look and swerved around me. All my prior years of motorcycle riding taught me to be defensive and anticipate such an event. A murphy's law approach that if a driver can do something stupid, they will - expect and plan for it. Glad I didn't take my eyes off of her because she never saw me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncledj Posted June 14, 2021 Share #11 Posted June 14, 2021 Agreed....And I've learned the hard way that making eye contact with a driver doesn't mean it's actually registered in their brain that you're there. Looked a fella eye to eye and had him pull out in front of me. He had a stop sign and I was on a thoroughfare....slowed down when I saw him there...made eye contact...figured I was good...then he pulls out. Lesson learned.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebum Posted June 14, 2021 Share #12 Posted June 14, 2021 Not sure but I was under the understanding one of the reasons for lane splitting in California was to accommodate air cooled bikes which could overheat if trapped in stop and go traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circa1968 Posted June 14, 2021 Share #13 Posted June 14, 2021 That could well be the origin of it and would make sense. It was going on long before I arrived. Here's a good article on it. https://www.kqed.org/news/11680481/10-things-you-need-to-know-to-understand-lane-splitting-in-california Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasta Burner Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share #14 Posted June 14, 2021 That’s a pretty good article. Utah definition of lane filtering differs from lane splitting. It can only be done between stopped cars at a traffic device. https://dld.utah.gov/lane-filtering/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VentureFar Posted June 14, 2021 Share #15 Posted June 14, 2021 Last time I checked, in South Dakota their law says that motorcycles can ride side by side but not pass. Can you imagine if you had to ride single file around Sturgis the line would stretch to Chicago. VentureFar.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted June 18, 2021 Share #16 Posted June 18, 2021 It's excepted.. neither legal or illegal.. here in California where I've been riding two wheels for 65 years, and I've yet to split a lane.. It's amazing how narrow that space is between vehicles except when you're in one.. Then it's... I gotta try that until the next time you're on 2 and the eye of a needle is wider... Kinda the same thing on the size of the bike when it's upright or laying on it's side.... LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted June 18, 2021 Share #17 Posted June 18, 2021 (edited) Well...I just can't see myself doing it. To many idiots out there and getting worse every year! To the air cooled idea....yes I get that. In 1969, I was riding outside of Parsippany, NJ, when traffic stopped due to construction. It was a hot June summer day. I was riding my Yamaha YDS6C. Air cooled 250 street scrambler. Daytona racer derivative for the street. I shut the motor off and sat in traffic. Finally decided to go to a gas station, take off riding gear and get a coke. I pushed the bike on the shoulder to the station, about 150 feet. Parked her and took off helmet and jacket.. Cop pulls up and gives me a ticket for driving on the right side shoulder. Really??? Thankfully a lady friend's mom was a judge there. One phone call and mom was laughing. She told me don't worry about it and wished me a safe journey. I was heading to Mississippi from New Hampshire to help a buddy build a house for his wife's parents. Motor off. Aluminum engine. Pushing bike. Ticket. Ok.... D Edited June 18, 2021 by videoarizona Add pic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpate4home Posted June 18, 2021 Share #18 Posted June 18, 2021 And to this day there's still an outstanding Bench Warrant for VideoAZ 😄 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSky Posted June 18, 2021 Share #19 Posted June 18, 2021 6 hours ago, videoarizona said: Well...I just can't see myself doing it. To many idiots out there and getting worse every year! To the air cooled idea....yes I get that. In 1969, I was riding outside of Parsippany, NJ, when traffic stopped due to construction. It was a hot June summer day. I was riding my Yamaha YDS6C. Air cooled 250 street scrambler. Daytona racer derivative for the street. I shut the motor off and sat in traffic. Finally decided to go to a gas station, take off riding gear and get a coke. I pushed the bike on the shoulder to the station, about 150 feet. Parked her and took off helmet and jacket.. Cop pulls up and gives me a ticket for driving on the right side shoulder. Really??? Thankfully a lady friend's mom was a judge there. One phone call and mom was laughing. She told me don't worry about it and wished me a safe journey. I was heading to Mississippi from New Hampshire to help a buddy build a house for his wife's parents. Motor off. Aluminum engine. Pushing bike. Ticket. Ok.... D Kinda like Puc and Tippy getting a ticket for impersonating a cop because Tippy was wearing a white helmet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasta Burner Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share #20 Posted June 19, 2021 4 hours ago, BlueSky said: Kinda like Puc and Tippy getting a ticket for impersonating a cop because Tippy was wearing a white helmet. Oh I gotta hear about that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasta Burner Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share #21 Posted June 19, 2021 Filtered again on the way home yesterday and it was pleasantly comfortable, and only at one light. I did find myself using A&P eyes rather than looking straight as I made my way to the front. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoTorKev Posted June 19, 2021 Share #22 Posted June 19, 2021 It is actually legal here in California, it is called lane sharing. Most riders do not follow the actual law while doing it though. Technically it is only legal when the prevailing flow of traffic is 25 mph or less, and riders are not supposed to go more than 5mph faster than the prevailing flow. When I first moved here I didn’t know what the heck was going on with all the motorcycles, so I looked it up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoarizona Posted June 19, 2021 Share #23 Posted June 19, 2021 On 6/18/2021 at 9:39 AM, bpate4home said: And to this day there's still an outstanding Bench Warrant for VideoAZ 😄 Ruh roh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saddlebum Posted June 20, 2021 Share #24 Posted June 20, 2021 On 6/18/2021 at 12:39 PM, bpate4home said: And to this day there's still an outstanding Bench Warrant for VideoAZ 😄 Is there a reward. I am not currantly working and could use the bounty money. Nothing personal @videoarizona 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now