im a 36 year old newbie can you help

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,

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.

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.

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!

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
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.

[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.

My story ...

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

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"

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 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 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

Originally Posted by jans1971

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______ 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

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.

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