Actually, a few. Not many granted but a few. But at the risk of sounding like I am throwing my toys out of the pram (which I hasten to add I am not), I am not going to debate or respond any further as clearly I am wasting my breath on people like you. Apart from which I am now on holiday and will not be anywhere near a computer for the next 2 weeks
Lane hogging and tailgating- long over due IMO. I have the luxury of using the busy motorways around London most days, Fooking joke how often there's jack in the inside lane yet traffic everywhere. Simple, if your not overtaking you should be in the furthest lane to the left. That's nothing new as far as I remember?
funny that ... i was going to say exactly the same ... people will always have differences of opinion, that is the way of the world.
Well, I'd like to add my two penneth to this argument......WHAT A LOAD OF TOSH!! How can you possibly be in full control of your bike/vehicle when breaking as opposed to using your gears? How come the powers that be taught slowing down using gears from years gone by were so wrong? And now suddenly they're right?!!!!! I've owned countless bikes and covered hundreds of thousands of miles and would always use my gears over brakes in all non emergency braking. How many gearboxes have I had to replace?...... NONE!! That's how many. A few of my mates call me "Mr Smooth" which I believe makes me a safer rider. If you slow down using your brakes you have to guess which gear you need to change to, to match your speed. If you happen to slow down from a high speed to say 20mph you are not in complete control of your bike/vehicle, you only have one option. You can't speed up again because you're in the wrong gear! Using my gears gives me both options immediately therefore being in "complete" control and not 50% control.
Don't want to burst your bubble dude but I am one of your mates and the " Mr Smooth" is more to do with your "Smoking jacket " Cravat,and silk slippers ,sorry man ,ps riding isn't to shabby either.
Yes totally agree I can't get my head around it what do you do in winter hit the brakes and slid until you stop of drive in the correct gear even if it mean losing that extra two seconds to change down .Talking of old school I used to double d clutch so know all about changing gears .My wife has a really bad habit whilst driving and I find it most irritating and this is piling into a roundabout and then halfway around she starts pissing about trying to suss which gear to select ,I sit there stoney faced seething Basil Fawlty style its all been said before and she can't seem to absorb the basic mechanics of approach in the correct gear then you are able to proceed if nothing is coming .
The Silver fox seems to be good at most things and slithering up to anything between 17 and 70 is his game .
Blimey, my thread has gone of topic, I feel guilty But here's my opinion on the new subject anyway, might as well!... Bikes have sequential boxes and tend to have lots of engine braking anyway, so it's easier to slow down via the box than not. The brakes for braking thing applies to cars, where you can select any gear from neutral. I was taught to drive by my dad, and then relearned under a proper instructor who taught me that brakes are for braking. Fact is: you don't need to use engine braking on modern cars in normal day to day situations, and to do so is considered an unnecessary distraction and is less fuel efficient. That's current thinking, and I agree with it having messed around with both over the years and witnessed a police instructor demo-ing the technique. But each to their own. That's not to say it isn't useful to know how to engine brake, for extreme situations such as brake failure, and perhaps snow (although my snow driving instruction in Sweden taught me to be in the correct gear for the speed, which isn't quite the same thing as using the engine to brake). As motorcyclists it is probably second nature to engine brake whether you are taught it or not, because you do it all the time by default, but although you have a useful skill, I believe it's a bad habit in a car. I'm fairly certain that those who are sceptical of the brakes for braking thing would reconsider after a training course with a good instructor - Jackie Stewart teaches it incidentally, and it's been the professional best practice for more than 20 years.
