This Lifesaver Malarkey

Well, we haven't had this one for a long time, so here goes.

There's only 2 sets of circumstances when I look over my shoulder
1. Joining a motorway or similar from a sliproad
2. Trying to see how far behind the people I'm riding with are.

I mean, really, with proper road positioning and use of mirrors, I
really can't see what extra info I'm going to get from looking behind
me. And, the time and effort required to do so (especially with
sports bike ergonomics) means that my attention is directed away from
the direction I'm travelling for *far* too long.

Can someone please tell me what I might see by looking over my
shoulder?

 

Your reflection in shop windows.

 

Is that how you managed to hit that fucking great truck?

 

When on your test you must do life savers to prove to the examiner that
you're not going to kill yourself. During training for your test
lifesavers are brainwashed into you. Most experienced riders just do
them automatically without even thinking about it.

--
Alan

http://www.ads-training.co.uk
"Kneesliders Sponsored by Cane"
GSX-R1000 , Triumph Thunderbird, ZXR750L2 Racer(gone), GS500,
GHPOTHUF#27
TGF, UKRMFBC#7, Two#24, BOTAFOF#11, YTC#9, GYASB#1. SbS#23.
DFWAG#2, DS#2, DIAABTCOD#20. remove "thisbit" in the reply
http://sportsbike.org (our own endurance team) http://Team-ukrm.com
"Nemo repente fuit turpissimus"

 

Naked chicks.

 

"I see dead people"

 

Nonono - you look sideways for that

 

One of the most useful mods I've done to my Tiger was fitting a pair of
those 'blind spot' mirrors to the main mirror stalks. If you don't mind
the looks, they make like a lot simpler, especially for lane hopping on
motorways. Haven't done a life saver for as long as I can remember, &
I'm still here... There's a pic of the mirror (& my patented adjustable
screen) here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/preston.kemp/Screen.jpg

 

And the sheep ... don't forget the sheep.

Anyway, which of us can not say, in all honesty, that they haven't had all
of their crashes on perfectly straight roads, eh?

Eh?


--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Kawasaki ZX-6R J1
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, TEAR#3 (and KotL), DS#5, Keeper of the TFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

AndrewR wrote

Not me guv.

 

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003 11:03:22 +0000, Champ wrote:

Someone that's snuck into the blind spot. But since (IMHO) decent raod
awareness makes it virtually impossible for that to happen, I should think
you will see exactly what you expect to see.

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Allfa 116 giulietta 3.0l (Really). Sprint 1.7
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

AOL, esp since I now have 5k revs to play with
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Allfa 116 giulietta 3.0l (Really). Sprint 1.7
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

*ding*. It should confirm there's nothing there. It's called a
lifesaver because you're checking for things that *could* kill you.

I can't see Champ's viewpoint here. What does it cost to look over
your shoulder? A second at most, and it *could* save your life, after
all, you're checking for the improbable. What could the potential cost
be for *not* looking?

 

<devils advocate mode>
Barry sheene had his 2nd big smash because he was looking over his shoulder
rather than at the motorbike lying directly in his path[1]
</dvm>

[1] At least according to Kenny Roberts book, he was.

 

Don't worry, we'll wait for you

 

I don't think there's anything to gain from comparing a newbies roadcraft
with professional bike racers.

 

I don't have the confidence to believe that I've been able to pay complete
attention to both my mirrors and the road ahead enough to know that
there's nothing that shouldn't be there.

Personally, I think if you don't have time to do a lifesaver check, you
ain't riding safely.

 

I dunno, the "friendly wave" to Roberts has come in useful to me a few
times.

 

Especially as they don't always seem to have mirrors.

 

The point I was trying to make is that if you spend too much time looking
over your shoulder, then you're not looking where you're going and may well
smack into something. Learners tend to make hugely exaggerated lifesavers
because they've been taught to make it obvious to examiners what they are
doing.