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I can't hear to shift when I'm riding in a group.
That's the only time I think about louder pipes.

Also, the exhaust on my bike smells like flowers & baby bunnies compared with what I ride behind.
Sometimes I have to drop back to breath.
 
US Highway 93 is a major N-S artery running 1359 miles from southern Arizona to Canada, nearly all of it two lane. Somewhere around Sun Valley, Idaho it gets more interesting and from Salmon, Idaho to Darby it is downright curvy, even kinky in places. It is the main road through my neighborhood we call The Bitterroot. Yesterday I was enjoying my favorite stretch from Darby to the Idaho border. On the return trip one of the idiot-catching dashed lines encouraged some half-wit to pass on a long, sweeping curve. I entered from the other direction doing a polite, badge-friendly bit over the posted 70 MPH when I see the two abreast barrier coming my way at 140 MPH or better closing speed.

Quickly I slow as much as I can while I move to the road shoulder and watch dimbulb whoosh by. This is not the only time the dashed lines on that road have invited idiots to face me. It is one of the hazards we have to be prepared for around here. It was the first time on a bike. The others were in a car, pickup and Suburban. It is not about oncoming drivers not seeing a motorcycle, they are passing when they cannot see ANY oncoming traffic.

The Government told them it was okay to pass, so they do. THAT is exactly how much I trust government edicts. I overtake when forward visibility allows me to see past where I will complete the pass. Solid, dashed, no lines they all have the same rules. I am in charge of my safety, not some diplomad bureaucrap in The Swamp.

Further south they put up signs indicating things like 25, 30, 40 or so MPH for specific corners on great pavement of the two uphill lanes. I find them to be less than half the actual safe speed. By the way, the section from Sula, MT to Salmon, ID is SWEET.
 
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You make some good points there but appear to miss the bigger picture .

Nice to hear you have good local roads, sad there are idiots who make it unsafe .
 
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I don't know what is going on in the mind of someone that decides to pass the vehicle in front of them, but they don't bother to look and see if anything is coming from the other direction. I've had it happen to me while riding in Tennessee and while driving my truck pulling a 5th wheel travel trailer in Missouri.

First time I got all the way over to the edge of the road and the on-coming car swerved back just before we met. Second time there was a nice wide shoulder to get on. They passed us in our lane. Then I remembered the Ford pickup that was following me, he had got over too. Both times it was on straight, two lane highways, bright sunny days.

I don't know if those people are suicidal or it they just think they're more important than anyone else on the road and everyone else needs to get out of their way? Or they just had a brainfart?

At another time I was following a truck towing a very large boat on a two lane road, with no shoulder or very small shoulder. At the crest of a hill he met a pickup going the other way. The guy in the pickup ran off the road and in to the ditch. He was in the ditch when he passed me. I checked my mirror real quick and he got the front end of the pickup on the road but the rear was still in the ditch. He was going sideways.

We turned around to see if he was okay. He had got back on the road but then parked as far off the road as he could. To say he was mad would be an understatement. What he was really P.O.'ed about was his dog was in the bed of the truck but had jumped out/was threw out and didn't want to get back in the truck!
 
I think a lot of dangers that riders face can be handled by proper rider training, consistently and repetitively so that you are riding at your best possible. Having great confidence in your own fundamental skills like emergency braking, quick steering, visual tracking (not target fixating) etc, are what will make you a more confident and safe rider. For me confidence comes from knowing the skills and knowing what to do in certain situations. Like, visually how do you manage getting through traffic the best, or what do you do if you start running wide in a corner for example?

Anyway, I'm a riding coach with the California Superbike School so I'm super motivated to talk about and assist in rider skills training and education. Feel free to ask any questions! I worked a lot of their dates this year and got to ride a few new tracks!
 
Time rolls on, so the potential danger can change.
Years ago I told my dad I was walking down town. He wondered if I was concerned about the muggings. I told him, at my age, I still do the muggings.
We slowly ease away from things, like playing rugby, which I did in my mid teens.
But I still ride. Cross country races were the hardest, and that was many years ago. Just street riding these days, and the tanks are getting heavy.
I am prepared. My Suzuki is 412 pounds, my XS400 375, and I have a sidecar for the XS Eleven. UK
 
We slowly ease away from things, like playing rugby, which I did in my mid teens.
Depending on what country you were in at that time, did you do the Haka too?
 
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Auckland New Zealand is where I played. The haka is a Maori tradition, but it has more recently appeared in the All Blacks pre game.
The number of Maori used to be around 2 or 3 in the AB team. Waka Nathan and Mack Herewini come to mind. The traditional haka was Kamate kamate. The words are on line.
Kamate got boring after a while, so more recently new and improved hakas have been used. The current team has several Maori and Islanders. Some of the South Pacific Islands are part of NZ. Rarotonga ( Cook Islands ) for instance.

More recently Kings College did a haka with most of the students performing. Looked like about two hundred to me. Their opposition did the same. My college was Lynfield. We played rugby, never did the haka. We had two Maori players. Our worst defeat was against Saint Peters Maori Boys College. Near where the Suzuki rider and oil guy lives.
The Maori have also had their own team since about 1895. From a population of a few hundred thousand, they can beat most any team, anywhere.
I am a blizzard of information about the NZ South Africa games, that led to the Olympic boycott many years ago.

Is it cultural appropriation for Maori or any other race, to learn and practice mainstream white customs and politics. Not to mention religion.
All of the All Black team do the haka. Usually red by one of the Maori players. Tonga also has a haka. UK
 
I'm not on board with " cultural appropriation ", I don't know what haka is / means .

If you like a thing, do it as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else .
 
More recently Kings College did a haka with most of the students performing. Looked like about two hundred to me.
I would like to have seen. Should be quite intimidating.
 
I'm not on board with " cultural appropriation ", I don't know what haka is / means .

If you like a thing, do it as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else .
Nate.
Youtube: New Zealand plays Australia 2022, full game, Eden Park, Auckland NZ. A bunch of options come up. Just the haka, game highlights and so on.
A quick count will show there are more than two Maori or Islanders. Guys like Savea run like Herschel Walker, and they tackle as well. Political comment left on the sidelines..
I noticed that there was video of the Kings College haka as well.

Hurt goes both ways in rugby. When it started to be more predominately me, was the time to quit. Prior to that, it was the other way round. UK
 
I still have no idea what haka means, you kinda skipped that .

Rugby always struck me as more violent than American football .
 
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Haka is a sort of challenge welcoming of the opponent ... Kinda like a pre game in your face intimidation ... Well performed , it is a thing of beauty ..., Not un-respectful , but a show of determination ..., Hope I explained that well enough ...., I'm an American , not into rugby , or soccer ......,
 
Haka is a sort of challenge welcoming of the opponent ... Kinda like a pre game in your face intimidation ... Well performed , it is a thing of beauty ..., Not un-respectful , but a show of determination ..., Hope I explained that well enough ...., I'm an American , not into rugby , or soccer ......,
That pretty much sums it up.
 
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