Road Presence
 

The above quote from another thread is a perfect candidate for a poster to be exhibited on every biker's bedroom wall.

The sentiments expressed are perfectly in tune with my own. Prior to getting the XT660R, in the 1990s I had a Divvi 900 which served me for thousands of miles both in the UK and Europe. I was able, when necessary, to intimidate buses, coaches, container lorries and their like by using the 'road presence' skills acquired from police training and honed on the road.

The same road presence was there with my Fazer 1000 but not when I rode other sports bikes GSXR 750, 1100, Blades, Dukes etc. I know that it is the 'Mike the Bike' seated position and straight back that makes the difference. This position is the one naturally adopted by the XT660 rider which explains why for an experienced, skilful and confident rider the rest of the traffic on the road is there to be dominated.

One caution - bicycle riders are extremely vulnerable and should NOT be intimidated.

Two caution - pedestrians are often so insulated in their own world that they do stupid things (this product may contain nuts).

What do you think?

I think the importance of road presents is not emphasised enough on the CBT. It is one important lesson that all these scooter riders could do with in my opinion, that and road position. I've lost count of the number of scoots I've seen blasting down the gutter when I'm getting ready for a left!!!

I had to use a 125 the other week (stop snickering at the back) and if it wasn't for road position and dominating my lane I would be under a cab right now!

I would have to agree with you as well. The bolt upright postion the XT gives is a great view point to steer yourself through traffic. You are up above the car lines. The only time this is compormised is when you meet a bus or tall panel van, but blast past to obtain your view again. Other bikes can be quicker but the XT and other bikes of this ilk really are a great way to travel be it road or gravel.

Seeing as the original quote was aimed at me i must say i do have to agree.
Road presence is extremely important and i try to let as many other roadusers as i can know i am there and what i intend to do. Only this morning some blind fool in a van tried to drive straight into the side of me when i had to stop on a roundabout.
Not having ridden on the road for very long i still have a great deal to learn and that is what most of it is down to-experience. I agree about the scooters though even up here, they tend to ride in the gutter allowing cars to dominate/intimidate them.But yes the XT is ideal for the riding positon it gives you allows to see so much of what is going on around you.

It wasn't a telling off Meach my friend :D I do like you (you've got a red bike, R-E-S-P-E-C-K) but not in that way hehe, I was just explaining or trying to, why it is that I ride like that, which most people see it as rinding like a **** :117:

Riding behind cars can be very dangerous as they are like moving brick walls and obscure your view. I take the attitude of what car drivers call being a hooligan by overtaking everything I can. Cars hurt when they hit you so I try and stay as far away from them as I can.

As for street presence, well that's why I bought an XTX. It's tall so I can see over the cages (most). It's got plenty of grunt to overtake. Very manouverable and the most important thing, it's loud and scares the crap out of car drivers. Nice! I'm a great believer in loud pipes save lives.

As for your riding Fran, I like ya style. It also helps when you know London better than the cab drivers. Quick thinking and committed riding is good. You have to stay one step ahead of the car drivers all the time and predict what they are going to do next and always plan where your escape route is if a car suddenly does something stupid (a very common thing). When I went to Soho with you I could see your confidense very clearly and you definately made your presense known even if it was after you had overtaken someone. Sometimes it's better not to be seen as car drivers often freak out if they see a bike behind them.

My motto is avoid cars, they will hurt you.

Glad i am not the only one who thinks this way. I have only been riding my XT for a week now and have found a blip of the throttle an effective way of notifying a car driver of your presence on more than one occasion!

I would never condone relying on this entirely but the riding position makes you bigger and therefore easier to see - Stuey sitting bolt upright on his XT has a damn sight better chance of being seen by a car pulling out from a side road than the other bloke crouched down on his sports bike.

My teacher at the drivers school taught me this, to always try to keep the weirdos behind me where they can't touch me. I also sometimes drive standing up in traffic to really show the cars that they are just minor obstacles in my way. Problem with Swedish car drivers is that they will do anything to stop you, if you try to filter in a traffic jam they will try to block or ram you if you don't take them by surprise etc. Good thing that cars are so slow. =)

I can relate to this thread 100% having just come back to bikes after a 22 year lay off driving various nice warm and comfy cars. I was following a freelander the other day and I was suprised to see that the position of my head was actually above that of the disco driver in front.

It does help that I am 6' 2" but adopting an assertive road position does increase other road users view of me. I'm trying to apply the skills I have learnt from all the different courses I have done (including IAM Advanced) to riding the bike and to be honest the vast majority of it transfers over very nicely.

The only problem I have had was with a white van stuck in traffic who was determined to sit on the white line, but he wasn't an issue for long. Low down toque is a big plus.

It's the only way to ride, dominate the lane, over take when safe, on the same trip to work and back in the car i can be certain to get cut up a couple of times at least, on the bike never and never in the rusty old van either.
Ride safe all