im a 36 year old newbie can you help

[jans1971]

i passed my cbt this time last year . only cause i needed cheap ride, so i got a cbr 125 , and rode it for 10 months , i trained and took my test on it {33bhp test} cause it was much cheaper than the full test. mow i have a sv . so now im asking , did you learn how to filter trafik or teach yourselfs .
______ example, im sitting in a long stream of cars but there is loads of bike zooming passed on the out side . do i need to grow some balls or take it easy,

[GeeMac]

The key to filtering is confidence. Don't do it if you don't feel up to it, simple as that. Don't feel pressured into doing it just because you see others at it. And when you do get out there, do it AT YOUR PACE, not faster in order to keep up...

Filtering is an art form and you have to learn it...there's a whole new set of hazards out there waiting for you that you won't encounter if you sit in traffic :) I learned to filter on my little RS125 along the Old Kent in London (carnage!) by keeping an eye out for good, smooth riders and tagging along behind, keeping half an eye on them to see where they sat, how they did it etc etc, what I would see them looking for...and if I was slow and had a mean set of headlights behind me I'd nip in and wave it through.

Just remember that every single car you approach could potentially pull a u-turn...be extra careful when there's a right turn as well...watch tyres, driver head movement etc. Oh and when you pass slowly in traffic and see a driver on the mobile with the window down...rag the nuts off your exhaust...better if you just ride alongside for a bit too for added fun factor.

:)

[Beenz]

Just do what you feel confident doing, over time as your confidence grows you'll find yourself filtering more. Low speed confined riding takes a little getting to as you get rid of the wobbles. Just take it easy for a while and be careful. If you don't feel comfortable filtering you don't have to.

[pencil shavings]

yep, confidence is key. you will know when its right to quickly nip to the front of a few car que. dont do what I did and try and follow a courier through the trafic while i was still new to riding, that was scary and thankfully I figued out I needed to go slower without coming off!

Take it easy and like the others said, ride at your own pace!

[Sideshow#36]

I must admit I just decided to bite the bullet one day and go for it. Totally agree though, do it at your own pace. The first time I tried it I was doing about 10mph. Its still fast enough to pee off all the box drivers :laughat:
Although on my first time within about 2 minutes I had a blade up my **** so I just pulld in and let him whizz off past, then I carried on.
Go at your own pace but you have to be 100% on the ball. Looking way into the distance but also 2 feet away to see some berk in a transit cut you up without lookin. Great fun kicking his hubcap off after though.:smt110

[rictus01]

After over 30 years of London traffic, it's still one of the most taxing things to do, but also something so natural as well, I guess that sounds contradictory, but it all depends on the amount you push.

Some days I really don't feel like it, so it's not a case of not filtering at all, but merely taking a safer view, bigger gaps, more space, holding back a little, and on other occasions when it's feeling right upping the pace and testing your skills a bit more, either way there's always more to see and predict than you could shake a stick at.

Sometimes it's a totally flowing thing, whilst other times it's all stop start stuff, and can change between the two without any warning.

Rather than just confidence, I'd say knowing the abilities of both you and your machine, coupled with knowing the road layout and good observation skills are the key, of course not forgetting to vector in "idiot" factor, Oh and practice.

Cheers Mark.

[Pedro68]

My story :rolleyes: ...

Passed test almost a year ago (mainly cos I was one of those "peeved cage drivers" who saw bikes whizzing up the inside of me every morning on the M62). My boss (at the time) was a biker who lived about 4 miles closer to work, but she set off 40 minutes AFTER me, and still got to work 20+ minutes BEFORE me :? ... so I thought "stuff it ... if she can do it ..."

Anyway, within a few months, I'd passed my test and was out "carving up the traffic" down the M62 every morning ... and I was filtering quicker than most :D

But then one evening on my way home, filtering at about 30mph through traffic doing about walking pace, when some w@nker in an Audi convertible decides to change lanes ... the total time between indicator on and pulling out was probably about a second, so "he gave me no chance" ... or rather, what I have learned from this is that "I didn't give myself a chance" :oops:

Police saw it that way too ... filtering too fast. Their view on it was basically, "Filtering, whilst not specifically illegal, is a dangerous manouevre that should be carried out with EXTREME CAUTION". Whilst speaking to the copper I pressed him for some answers ... I said, "Look I'm new to riding (passed my test only 3 months ago), so I'd like to know exactly what speeds would have been considered 'safe' ...". His response was along the lines that "no speed is 'safe' for filtering, but if you do attempt to carry it out, then err on the side of caution ... I'd say, no more than 10 - 15mph".

Moral of the story ... if you are going to filter, then BE VERY CAREFUL ... because if you "come a cropper" you'll more than likely be held accountable. That means being charged with "driving with undue care and attention" at best! Thankfully due to my relative inexperience on a bike, the police didn't think it was anyone's best interests to prosecute ... so they "advised" me that I attend one of their "National Driver Improvement Schemes" (which are well worth it, but just wish I'd taken advanced training without being effectively "forced" to do it). I had to attend otherwise the police would have proceeded with a prosecution.

Having said all that ... if you are going to filter ... then do so carefully and you're observations better be DAMN GOOD.

When I first started filtering, I treated it more like a slalom ... with just a jink of the hips I was weaving the bike from 2nd to 3rd lane and back again, in and out of gaps between cars. Only trouble with this method is ... at any speed, if a car in either of those lanes decides to pull INTO THE GAP, then you have LITTLE OR NO ROOM FOR ESCAPE!

So now I try and filter in one lane or the other (keeping off the white lines and cats eyes), and I try and pass between 2 cars when they are level ... that way, neither of them SHOULD be going anywhere.

Some may argue this leaves you vulnerable to the "cage-bike-cage sandwich" but I honestly feel a bit safer doing this than flicking it in and out of gaps in moving traffic.

One of the worst times for filtering where you REALLY have to be on your guard is when traffic initially slows down (i.e. towards the back of the queue), because all vehicles on the road will be jockeying for position - that is, trying to get themselves either into the lane they NEED, or the lane that they think is going fastest. This means that at this point you will get a lot of "last second lane-changers", and they're the ones you REALLY need to watch out for ... however not at the expense of taking your eyes off everyone else ...

Finally ... if the gap LOOKS too small, or a driver appears prone to drifting across their lane, then don't even think about it. Hang back and wait for another chance - it will come. I learnt that one the hard way ... managed to meet 2 tw*ts on the same stretch of motorway at the same time, going at approximately the same speed ... neither wanted to let me thru ... I thought "bo**ocks to you both, I'm coming thru" ... fulll throttle ... halfway between Mr White Van Man and Celica Type R nob and they start to close the gap on me :smt013 I almost took the van's wing mirror off with my head, and the celica's wing mirror with my foot! I was quite rightly given a good "beep" from both drivers :oops: I could see they were both d*cks from their driving leading up to this (the celica driver slowed down to maintain a steady speed alongside the van, whilst the van sped up slightly to close any gap down the inside), and so I SHOULD HAVE HUNG BACK and not been drawn into their game ...
Lesson learnt ... don't f*ck with other road users when you're in such a vulnerable position because one day it will f*ck you up to the point no return.

Having said all that ... get out there and practice ... slowly n carefully ... oh and I find it sometimes helps to put ya mainbeam on, and to keep the revs higher than normal (also helps if you have a LOUD CAN!) ... cagers can call me all the names under the sun ... because if they do, it means at least they've seen me (or heard me) ... and that alone should reduce the chances of any accidents or even near misses ;-)

Pete

[hovis]

.
______ example, im sitting in a long stream of cars but there is loads of bike zooming passed on the out side . do i need to grow some balls or take it easy,

a bit of both;)

if you dont mind being stuck in traffic, stay where you are, but just try filtering a bit, maybe follow another bike (thats what i did)
& soon it will come as 2nd nature, just becareful, & take it easy as the car drivers may not see you

i like to put my main beam on, and with the SV keep blipping the throttle

[Bimble]

I passed my DAS 3 weeks ago. I had deemed my commute from Colchester to Docklands too far but I had no other choice this morning.

I was pretty wary about filtering down the lower streches of the A13 but once I got their it is surprising just how much room most of the drivers give you. I kept it below 35 but pulled in in good time to let those that are blessed with ESP shoot past at 60+. I actually enjoyed it... Will be interesting to see the difference with the journey home.

[Smudge]

your eyeballs should be swetting with consentration when filtering always be aware of juctions where cars will let people pull out, as above most people will see you and move over a bit ive been filtering for 18 years and only had one incident when i was 17 and going too fast down the A1 a car pulled in to stop me but it was too wet n too late i took his wing mirror off and my saddle bags

[-Ralph-]

As a few have touched on here, the biggest danger when filtering is speed. A few folk have said 10-15 mph, but what if the traffic is a 20mph crawl down the M6? The danger arises in the speed differential between you and the cars around you. If they are stationary and you are doing 30, don't moan if you go splat one day and it hurts. Same goes if the traffic's doing 30 and your weaving through at 60, go splat then and it's your loved ones that'll be hurting.

Obviously, even if there's only a 5 mph speed differential the higher your speed the higher the danger. At 35 mph you may only bounce off the car with a closing speed of 5mph, but once you hit the deck you still have 30mph's worth of sliding along on your **** or head playing dodge the moving truck tyre. For this reason choose a speed which you consider to be reasonable progress and don't filter above this speed, just rejoin the traffic queue and be happy with the progress you're making.

In stationary traffic you've got to be mega observant and treat everything, bicycles, pedestrians, dogs, everything as if it's taking part in a million quid competition to knock you off. Anything can happen in stationary traffic.

Never filter past a junction, left or right. Always stop to a crawl as you pass the front of a stationary bus. Watch taxi drivers like a hawk, they U-turn all the time in the course of thier jobs and they spend so much time on the road they think they are driving gods and can operate on an imaginary built in radar. A split second look in the mirror after they started the manoeuvre is plenty obseravtion for them. Watch any pedestrian that dares to approach the curb. Never filter past traffic waiting at a pedestrian crossing (3 point offence too) 'cos why are they waiting at the crossing? Watch a car thats just stopped in traffic, is a passenger going to decide it's quicker to walk, open the car door and leap out? Or will the driver decide he needs something from the boot and he's got precisely 7 seconds to get it before the traffic moves again?

Never hurry or get impatient. Stay calm. Never fight with another vehicle, you'll lose! If your late, forget about where your going or what time your supposed to be there and concentrate only on the present moment. You'll actually get there quicker that way.

Have Fun! :)

[Swiss]

http://www.essex.police.uk/bikesafe/events2006.htm

Have a look at doing a bike safe course. It's run by the police and consists of some theory and some practical sessions. When I took mine I was asked what I wanted to achieve from the day (I'd had 2 off's within 3 months) which for me was to learn observation techniques, however for you it sounds like making progress in traffic. The course is worth every penny IMHO, and there aren't many on here that would disagree.

Welcome to the ORG .

[kwak zzr]

Just do what you feel confident doing, over time as your confidence grows you'll find yourself filtering more. Low speed confined riding takes a little getting to as you get rid of the wobbles. Just take it easy for a while and be careful. If you don't feel comfortable filtering you don't have to.

what Beenz said ^^^^ do what you feel comfortable with and don't if it don't feel right.

[Pedro68]

A few folk have said 10-15 mph
Well the copper who told me that was referring to the road conditions and traffic speed for my particular case. To be fair, their attitude is "if you can't stop in time to prevent yourself from hitting ANY car that chooses to pull out, then you're going too fast" and I agree ... however I try to balance speed versus risk and then I try also to err on the side of caution.
Never filter past a junction, left or right ...

Have Fun! :)
All good advice, particularly about the junctions ... I never filter or overtake near junctions. Just too dangerous IMO.

Now this may not be quite so practical ... but having just got my bike back from "repairs", I noticed that the clock (time) hadn't been reset properly ... but I noticed that instead of looking at the clock and thinking "should make it into work (or home) by ..." or "I would like to make it into work (or home) by ...", I was actually concentrating more on enjoying my riding ... rather than trying to "beat the clock" ... if you really want a leisurely ride ... set your clock to some random time and see if it helps ;-)

Pete

[Mike2165]

I learnt to filter on my DAS test! My examiner told me thats why we have bikes, was a bit shocked, but passed so couldn't have been bad at it. I swap between the car and the bike, depending on the weather. The journey involves the A14, which is always bad. Yesterday, I filtered through a good 10 miles of stationery traffic, with a big smile on my face, even though I caught some showers. Do it when it feels right for you.

[Dan]

My first filter was on the way back from the test centre through Newcastle city centre traffic five minutes after passing my DAS test. Instructor took the radios off and said 'I'll see you back at base', and off we went. :o

Nerve wracking stuff, but now I love filtering, it gives me such a buzz. It is, however, as already stated, all about confidence. Do it only if you feel you want to, and can do so safely.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Well the copper who told me that was referring to the road conditions and traffic speed for my particular case. To be fair, their attitude is "if you can't stop in time to prevent yourself from hitting ANY car that chooses to pull out, then you're going too fast" and I agree ...

I don't agree, if someone wants to have you off while you're filtering they can just wait patiently for you to be along side them before side swiping you.

There are people on here who've won insurance claims against idiots like the person who knocked you off. It's a shame you didn't know this at the time.

[Pedro68]

FS ... yeah I've heard n read about such cases ... unfortunately in my case, what I neglected to mention :oops: was that I had given a statement to the police stating that I was doing "30 - 35mph" ... and the police said that was enough to get a successful prosecution IF they went down that route ... I'm big enough to admit I was in the wrong ... had I been going slower, then I WOULD have had plenty of chance to to stop and wouldn't have needed to try and take evasive action at 30+mph AND wouldn't have been thrown quite so far over the handlebars :oops:

Still ... as long as I can "live n learn" from it, I'm happy :)

The most galling thing about that incident was the to$$er in the Audi jumping out his car and saying to me (as I lay sprawled in the outside lane!) "I'm the guy YOU'VE just hit ...". I was too stunned to say, "Yeah, and I'm the biker you didn't f*cking see!"

Pete

[-Ralph-]

The most galling thing about that incident was the to$$er in the Audi jumping out his car and saying to me (as I lay sprawled in the outside lane!) "I'm the guy YOU'VE just hit ...". I was too stunned to say, "Yeah, and I'm the biker you didn't f*cking see!"

Pete

pity you were too stunned to get up and headbut him with your lid on....

[Pedro68]

Actually what stopped me getting up was (a) feeling the weight of my Oxford revolver lock that was in my rucksack on my back, and (b) the doctor who was "only doing her job" and insisting I lay perfectly still until the ambulance arrived :/ Nothing actually felt wrong with me ... apart from a rather persistent pain in the groin caused by my nether regions hitting the tank upon "take off" :( ouch!

[Nostrils]

I have only had the SV for a montth and have filtered a couple of times, once in-between cars and the other on the outside using some of the other carriageway. Both time I guess I was doing about 20mph, hazards on, eyeballs sticking out of the visor and adrenalin pumping. I ride for me and dont worry too much about other bikes doing it faster or with more poise with their weaving etc - But I wont hold them up either and will pull in if necessary. As most of my riding is at the weekend or on days off I rarely come across lines of traffic. Each time I assess the situation and decide one way of the other.

[yorkie_chris]

Like somebody else has said, keep the speed difference low, and I'll add that the faster traffic is moving, the less time you gain by filtering with increased risk.

In my (limited) experience, the cagers ARE trying to kill you, they will U turn, indicate at the last second, block your path at crossings and traffic islands, swerve randomly, or they may do everything they can to get out of your way and make life easy for you, I always try to stick my thumb up to anybody moving out of the way for me.
The worst one I've come across is where cars are queuing and somebody lets another out of a junction as they won't expect you down the middle, so be very very careful filtering past junctions.
Also fit a loud can, a few blips of the throttle is great for getting people to shuft without sounding aggressive like the horn would and 8000rpm will shuft even the most braindead lemming pedestrian out of the way

Chris

[kev]

There are also some motorbike training websites which give some tips on filtering; as far as speeds go, as a rough guide they recommend a 20/20 rule i.e don't filter traffic doing more than 20 mph with a max 20 mph speed differential.

Try www.motorcycle-training.f2s.com (http://www.motorcycle-training.f2s.com) , www.bikersadvice.com (http://www.bikersadvice.com) , or www.survivalskills.clara.net (http://www.survivalskills.clara.net)

Mind you, as I've found, it's one thing reading about it and another putting it into practice. I'm most likely to be the bloke in the queue as other bikers filter past!...

Kev.

[toonyank]

What ever you do, don't go into a gap narrower that the bike :rolleyes: just use your judjement and you'll be alreet.

[vicks977]

i totally agree with pedro 68...I filter regularly on the M2..so many peeved off cagers all jockeying for the same bit of space all with their thumbs up their **** and minds on something else... if you do do it, be sure you can see and plan far enough.....main beam on and high revs( i go down a gear to keep her in the meaty part of the torque curve) and a loud can ..even then remember that a third of all the carheads dont even know you're there ! DO NOT be drawn out into a duel stay calm and cool and these words of advice :do not take off (overtake) till you know where you will land!
safe riding

[Alpinestarhero]

Take it easy filtering. If you know roads where traffic builds up, then practis there. Take it slow at first - first gear, hand over clutch, foot over rear brake (leave the front alone) and look out for cars wanting to pull out (if they dont indicate, look for them moving over in their lane, wheels turning, looking around of the driver)

It takes confidence, and a little bit of blind faith. I was nervous at first, but I'm ok now/ Not as quick as alot of people are, but I still cut an hour off the time it takes me to get to kingsotn from north london compared to my mate who drives.

Keep your lights on aswell. If you start to feel overwhelmed or tired, just stop for a bit and sit with the cars, before moving on your way.

Matt

[Defender]

Does anyone ever filter down the left of traffic - between the car and the kerb?

[Alpinestarhero]

Does anyone ever filter down the left of traffic - between the car and the kerb?

very VERY VERY occasionaly, and never ever when traffic is moving. Only when stationary, and with alot of noise. Its offside, so theres very litte chance the driver will even think about glancing in that mirror to check for you

Matt

[Xan173]

I see you live in Colchester, which from memory leads me to think that you'd be looking to filter in mainly stationary traffic rather than slow moving.

So, have a think about one of your regular routes and decide where the safest potential filtering points are - ideally a long, level approach to a congested roundabout or set of lights with no left hand junctions or right hand turns and stationary traffic.

You might find it helps builds confidence to plan to only filter at these points if the opportunity arises. That way you don't give yourself the added pressure of trying to assess the risk at other points you've not considered until you've become more practiced.

Other than that, a few of common sense tips;

1. If you can pass wide on the right, pass wide. There's no need to keep close to the line of traffic you're passing.

2. Traffic lights; best time to filter on the approach is when the lights have just gone from Green to Amber. If they've been Red for a while, there's every chance they'll change before you get to the head of the queue leaving you having to find some space among moving traffic.

3. Most car drivers stop too close to the car in front to be able to suddenly pull out - take a look next time you're out, use this as a way of getting information.

4. If you filter through two lines of traffic to get to the front at a Red light, stop to position yourself in front of one of the cars. This will allow other riders access to the front of the line, and prevents cars trying to race you from the line when the lights change. This may mean crossing the stop line, which is technically an offence so use you discression.


5. Be very cautious near Junctions.

6. It's a good idea to stop filtering and re-join the line if you hear a siren. Drivers start to act very erratically in this situation, and the driver of the emergency vehicle if approaching from behind may need to take advantage of the line you were taking.

[Lozzo]

One thing you learn whilst filtering, the gaps are not your friend. Every car driver in the world owns that gap, and the second you think you're past it they'll all try to fill it at once.

Filtering is an art, treat it as such if you want to survive. The Police don't take kindly to bikes filtering at more than 10 - 15 mph faster than the traffic flow, be ultra-alert and plan your moves about 4 cars ahead if you can. If you can't then stay where you are.

If you want to learn how to do it in London, then don't try following a courier. They take all manner of risks and you'll never keep up safely.