Where on the road do you position your two wheels?

Ron/Liz,
Since posting previous I've been looking for the "circus" that my son took me to in one of tennis centre domes in Melbourne. It could have been the Red Bull team (?). It was a demonstration/competition by/for Freestyle Motocross riders. Jumps sky high, all kinds of antics by the riders when in the air - letting go of handle bars, kicking legs out, pulling legs above the 'bars etc, awesome stuff. Was very impressive, but not for this 60+ year old. All done on what I think were 250 cc motocross bikes or similar - no doubt suitable modified for the task at hand.

The "backwards" riding came from the riders doing the "back flip" stunt. Like I say, not for me!

I saw a promo on TV for a Bike Show - think it was Sydney - where they showed a HARLEY doing a jump somersault - now that is riding! Just getting a Harley wound up to get enough speed up to make the jump is one thing but to keep it on one piece when it thumps down on the other side - now that is something!!              

Right on Ron/Liz ... agree totally ... BUT ...

I'd be really interested in seeing someone riding on the roads "upside down or backwards" . Makes for an interesting mental picture   

BTW have seen the upside down and backwards rider down at one of the tennis stadiums.  Scary stuff           for the likes of me to contemplate, and those riders have had their fare (fair?) share of injury and broken bones    while developing their skills.

Toneli

Read the Post - no one was suggesting you were trying to set a black and white rule but the experts perhaps were and that is what I was referring to.

No offence was intended however it needs to be said that for every "expert" that says Right Wheel Track you will find one that says Left Wheel Track. For every Left Wheel Track exponent you will find another that says center is best in other words confusion!!

At the end of the day our fate is in our hands and we must ride to suite our own skill and comfort level, the road, the traffic and the prevailing weather conditions.

I ride Right Wheel track generally but I know a lot of members are terrified at facing oncoming traffic in that position therefore Left Wheel Track is much more comfortable for them and good on them! Its not to any "expert" or anyone else to say that is right or wrong.

Its up to each rider to develop their own ride style and Ride where and how best suites them on the road whether it be left wheel track right wheel track or dead center (no pun intended) upside down or backwards   


If the "experts" want to stick their necks out and come out and say "you should do this or that" then that is their risk if it all goes pear shape for the rider but I would feel totally devastated if I was to endorse something and a valued member of our Branch was killed or injured through taking my advice only to find they were exceeding their own skill/comfort level by doing so.

Thanks Derek for posting the link to Neville Gray's article.  The first two paragraphs express exactly what I was trying to say, but so much better.

It should always be "ride to the conditions", and if the road is free of on-coming traffic then the right wheel tracks make huge sense, BUT with oncoming traffic, move away, especially for those wind-blasting behemoths of articulated and fixed chassis trucks against which, any argument would immediately be "lost".

While some may suggest that I was trying to put down a "black and white rule" for riding, nothing could be further from my intention. There are too many grey areas in life to go "black and white". Seems as though it's always "horses for courses".

Great subject guys. Having a few riding lessons from the experienced Derek and having ridden with a few that I admire, they all seem to do very similar. Most stay as wide on the corner for as long as safe and you can see the exit then come in, then as far as the straight goes do what feels safe for you. Group riding leads to another bucket of worms.

Interesting article Derek.  I tend to take different lines although I will usually ride staggered in a group with provisos.  I don't think it's so much the position that counts in general riding.  It is what consideration has priority, such as:

• Can the driver in front see me in either mirror (left or right)
  What is the road surface like
  What is the likelihood of somebody coming out from the side
  How is the traffic (if any) around me behaving
  

That's what I mean by considerations and certainly isn't exclusive.

Neville Grey wrote a good article on this subject. Look at it here.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I personally do not agree to having set rigid rules - I ride where best in terms of surface weather and traffic. Setting rigid rules can mislead less experienced riders.
I tend to favour the right wheel track but am quite happy to abandon that in favour of a better/safer option such as the centre of the lane when wet as this area has more aggregate and therefore more grip than the "polished" wheel tracks - left or right.

Its up to each Rider to Ride where they are comfortable and self preservation will dictate where and not blind obedience to some alleged expert who can't even agree with other alleged experts!!

When you look at where cars/trucks drop oil when they leak, it is usually middle of there wheel track which means the middle part of a single lane so common sense would say ride either side of middle with the high, or nearest the white line being cleanest,driest,smoothest part of the road, sounds about right! Regards Mick

Some time ago I was listening to a motoring journalist, on an after 10.00 pm radio show.

During the course of the broadcast a listener rang in querying his friend's (son's?) motorcycle instructor's advice concerning the positioning of the motorcycle on the road when riding. The advice was to ride as close to the middle white line as possible and when safe to do so. When I first heard it I wasn't too sure about it. As I recall, the motoring journalist disagreed with the instructor's advice, suggesting that the rider should be as far away from the middle white line as they could be.

A couple of months after hearing this I was riding long distance, and with no radio, mp3 player or similar device in my helmet, my mind got to thinking about the above incident. I noticed where I was riding, and considered where I usually position the car when I do long distance driving, eg, Melbourne to Perth & return.

In short, when in the car doing long distance, and traffic permitting I sit on the middle line of the road, reasoning that I have equal "escape" distance should some emergency arise.

When doing my recent long distance motorbike ride I noticed that I was doing similar on the bike except when other traffic is approaching from the opposite direction. And for trucks, I move to the extreme left edge of the road to avoid wind blast (for both car and bike).

I've also noticed that, the left wheel tracks in the bitumen are frequently the roughest part of the road surface while the right hand wheel tracks are often the smoothest parts of the road. Riding the smoothest section of the surface should pay dividends for tyre life, tyres not being cut up by the sharper blue metal aggregate between the wheel tracks, and perhaps a wee contribution to fuel economy (?).

Now having written the foregoing, I am wondering, and have been since hearing the radio program, what other riders think and do regarding the positioning of their bike on the road.

Any suggestions or contributions to the discussion will be appreciated.