Fantastic video mate. I'm looking to ditch my car and use my bike as I use it 99% of the time already. Can you do a video on gear? How do you handle different weather conditions etc.
Even though this is a year later I’m actually moving to Seattle and going to be a first time rider when I move there next month. I’m glad I came across this video
A lot of the tips you suggested, I've been slowly adding to riding in general. It's good to see that someone else recommends them. I will say last time I saw a guy jump a curb to get passed traffic, I was pretty annoyed lol. It was in the middle of rush hour in Fife, and I'd been sitting in traffic for hours by that point. Numerous head checking is 👍👍👍. I do the same thing. It's a good habit to have. My biggest concern with squeezing between cars is that I ride a Versys 650 which feels wider than most sports bikes.. plus I tippy toe it, so if I have to stop suddenly, there's a fear of losing balance and dropping it into someone's car. #shortriderlife If you have some suggestions for that, that'd be great lol.
The widest part on my R1M is the mirrors, so in some situations I reach out and shut them down before going forward. It's also very easy to see the entirety of my front end to ensure I'm not gonna hit something. The Versys not the chonkiest moto out there, so you can do the same thing, unless you rollin saddlebags, then you got the back-end to worry about as well. Another easier way to do it is to shoulder ride just on the edge of traffic when available, although I think there is a bit more risk in other ways (Like a cop seeing you) to that. In the end though, it depends a lot on how wide the lanes are and how packed together traffic get weather or not its a good play.
Also, that jump was pretty bad TBH. I actually thought I was closer to the gas station I was headed to than I actually was, and the traffic sped up before I expect it to.... I don’t try to make a habit of that lol OOPS
Brilliant video/commentary/advice. You articulate and affirm the techniques and attitude I use riding not just in the city, but everywhere I encounter other humans, from downtown Atlanta to the gravel and rural roads of north Jawja. Well done sir, you have a new fan. (Man you do talk fast! )
Great video dude. I've been mulling doing one for London riding for years. the trouble is everytime I do it I get distracted and ride like normal. Your video is the answer...a voice over, D'oh!
I've experimented with doing 'Vlog' style videos trying to give information and I just can't do it. It's too hard to be precise and also get the exact situations in the cam. This video was more challenging and took awhile because I wanted to comb through footage to find examples of everything I was talking about, unlike other videos I saw which largely focused on using B-roll
@@SquidTips I found that there is the constant distraction of, well, riding a bike :-) One thing it did highlight to me though is just how many decisions we make on the roads and how frequently. Bikes are so much quicker than everything else, everything is coming into play so much faster. My safety point is the line between processing all the information in a timely fashion over information coming in so fast I am unable to process it, before the information is no longer relevant. I call this riding within my limits.
Ever been to Rome? Motorcycles and scooters all over. Hundreds parked on the street in front of the office buildings. Why can’t we do that? I commute in Chicago. I have high vis gear and pray the psychos behind me safely pass. Great video.
Definitely have, it was a really eye opening experience. Culturally they seem to care a lot less about minor bumps and scrapes on their vehicles as well.
8:12 "minimize time in the danger zone" cars do this when I'm on a bicycle, they actually increase speed as they close-pass me, to "hurry up and pass" to increase safety by zipping past as the fastest possible fatal speed .... /wrist
Oh and in chicago if you go down a street with elevated trains. The side of the columns where cars park is basically a motorcycle lane since cars dont fit between the parked cars and the train track columns.
Do you think pumping the brake handle a few times gives any extra cue to the car behind? Also, how do you adjust your mirrors? I feel like mine are mostly useless, I either don't see the lane behind me or don't see the dead spots to the sides
Tapping the brakes will likely get peoples attention, but I think it's unnecessary for most. My motorcycle is loud as hell, so people are going ot hear me as I pass them easily, not to mention the motion directly in front of them.... but if it makes you feel safer I wouldn't try to stop you. I keep the stock mirrors because they are far more functional than any aftermarket, but mirror quality and functionality is unique to each bike. I lean waaaay forward to get the best possible vision out of mine when I'm lookin' to make that maneuver, and when in doubt, just wait for a better opportunity.
@@SquidTips I have an aftermarket relay that creates a flashing brake light whenever it's activated, rather than the usual constant light (also replaced it with a brighter LED). I've had people pull up next to me and comment positively on it's effectiveness.
BLIND SPOT MIRRORS! Been riding for 30 yrs(ish) and I got my first pair about 5 yrs ago. I can’t imagine riding without them now. WAY big difference and a huge advantage: you don’t have to move your head at all. You’re able to keep 100% of your focus ahead. Ok, more like 65-70% since you have to overt your vision briefly to check your mirror. Regardless it’s INFINITELY better than without. It takes a little getting used to but once you get them in the Goldie locks position for your bike and head position, it’s perfectly trustworthy. As for you video: I love it. Great info. I regularly do all the things you mentioned in here. They’re little techniques I’ve developed on my own over the years. It’s cool that others do those things too. That’s refreshing considering all the, pardon me, fucking morons out there on the road. I live in Atlanta so...well, it sucks out here. It’s like (I assume) being in a dogfight in a fighter jet. 🙄
Only issue I had was with using the segregated lanes for cyclists and some moves through pedestrian crossings etc. Practically, they are not hurting anyone, but technically they are against the traffic laws, and more importantly they are observed by other drivers and helps them form a (negative?) opinion of bikers. We get delivery scooters in London going on pavements, or the wrong way around "keep left" arrows (we drive on the other side...) and it always makes me cringe.
I totally get avoiding them when other bikes/peds are there, and I do try to avoid that for the most part (The sidewalk one I included in the video was NOT the norm, probobly one of the worst I've ever done TBH). A lot of times though those bicycle lanes are just sitting there with nobody in them, and if I'm stuck in traffic waiting to cross an intersection or something I just can't help myself.
@@SquidTips see, in the UK technically I can get off the bike and push it (like a push-bike), so long as you're not straddling it. I have done this to e.g. push it up a one way street or through a street with a "no motor traffic" sign, or on the pedestrian area/pavement/sidewalk. Cars can't do that.
I agree with Tom Hardy. I saw something once where a person quipped "He's so paranoid, he looks both ways crossing a One Way street". My thought was, "that's not *_paranoia_* that's just a sign you've experienced the fuck-witted drivers in Hamilton (New Zealand)"
6:52 - Where I went down about a decade ago... caused by someone attempting to take the exit from the left lane similar to the behavior seen 5 seconds later. Good thing the exit for 4th has a lane leading up to it, unlike Dearborne.
@@SquidTips yeah, add that to the bump you can all but feel through the camera just before that exit, and you're in a different situation quickly. Keep up the great videos.
I wouldn't risk honking at every car I saw here in _New Zealand_ let alone in a country where there's a chance the car driver is *armed* - some people have breathtaking anger management issues and honking is pretty much guaranteed to trigger them. Even honking at idiots that cut you off is not advisable.
Ayy, a WA rider. I wouldn't imagine ever riding up in Seattle. Hell, I wouldn't even bother DRIVING up there. I tend to catch a ride with a friend if I'm going up there. You should come down south sometime, we have some great roads to ride and drive on. ✌
I watched CC alot I always thought it was weird how he always honked at people. I never use the horn, except when I was learning and kept mistakenly hitting the horn instead of the indicator... but my neighbour called the cops on me because some dude on a black bike kept honking at her.
Haha traffic in Seattle and all the ups and downs , I'm from west Seattle and would never drive other than my jeep there. But man good luck and stay safe there , by the way im watching this video 7000 mile away during deployment. What are the odds , miss Seattle ❤
Do you have a car at all? It would be interesting to see a video on lifestyle changes you had to make once you switched to bikes, as what you need to invest in to make bikes your primary transport.
@@SquidTips yeah I would find this really interesting as most people who use bikes year round for transit are in warm dry climates. It would be nice to know how you adapt bring in Seattle with all the rain 😏
I saw that as well, there was also a PSA in... I think MN? Stating the same thing a few years back. But good luck convincing people you aren’t an asshole when you do it.
I follow Cruza and when I watched that video as a new rider who didn't even have a bike I said to myself that's just stupid! You know how many cars are in my city? Lol!!! Now that i have a bike and ride In the city I'm not sure if it's good or bad that I share your aggressiveness on the road... But I prefer it that way as opposed to being passive and ultimately dismissed by cars
@@kaleenalettich5899 I only had a motorcycle for several years, and it’s doable. Biggest things you have to figure out are things like grocery’s (I just made more frequent, or smaller trips), rain (I invested in better cold weather gear), and not being able to transport other people (My friends were cool with driving, and sometimes I’d pay them to help me do stuff or I’d narrow cars). If you can manage that then you are pretty set
Ohhh you were trying to be an asshole and hit me with a question you think destroys my whole world view, but really just demonstrates how little you understand about the subject. Got it.
I love riding in the city. I live in Bangkok and that's the best way to get around here because of the bad traffic jams we have here all the time - Check out here when I ride in the city ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-35e4gKi3wdg.html
Well i can confirm I was not there. I'm not much of a 'Group' rider since I'm a giant asshole while I ride and just 'cruisin' aint really my bag. Looked cool though to see all those duders
Do you just not stop for cops? I haven't been pulled over in my three years on two wheels here but I also save my dumbassery for places police are nearly unimaginable
In the last decade I’ve only formally been pulled over once and i would say it didn’t really work out for the cop: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YSNb6NPoCy0.html
This is fine for 300mile 8 lane straight road through nothingness america but you seriously gotta step your game up a whole fucking lot if you live in countries with shit tier asphalt, elevation changes and irregular/historical city centres. Thank god at least we have lane splitting
I was lane splitting once. Guy blocked me. I finally managed to fit. I believe the other car gave me space. Ao i kicked his car. Few meters down he caught up to me. I dont know how considering it was heavy traffic. He screamed and yelled Nd gestured... that he would bash my effin head in. I waved and split away.
New york doesn't care about yhe bus lane thing, as long as you're not infront of a bus and give them right of way they don't care bike lanes to on a motorcycle
I dunno if you were around when he emailed me and threatened some bullshit about some clip I used. I was super nice and tried to explain to him why what he was doing was against fair use, dumb, petty, and counter productive. When that dint' work I threatened to expose how he abuses the Amazon affiliate program and doesn't disclose that all the paid links he puts into his videos, and he straight cut ties with me out of fear of hitting him in the wallet. Dudes bitch made and knows it.
@@SquidTips nope, i was there for that. straight clowning him for the counter-steering video. I think there's one segment of the motorcycle community nobody talks about and its those Patreon giveaway ppl (u know them). I wanted to make a video on it, on how it feels sorta scummy but instead, I made a shit wheelie video. i was thinking of breaking down the business aspect of the whole giveaway process. anyways, your speed wobble video probably saved my ass a few dozen times so thanks
