02-25-2026, 10:41 AM
Ferret, I have a term for the style of driving you are describing. I call it "Area Denial Driving". Sort of a fear that if you don't take the spot you want, someone else will swoop in and grab it. I'm guilty of it myself when I'm in the car in traffic. I'm not rude or over-authoratative, but it's sort of the norm here.
As far as lane splitting, yes, it does seem daunting at first. When you watch YouTube videos of people doing it, the camera compression make it look even scarier. Here's a video of me on my Bonneville, leaving the museum and heading through Downtown L.A. traffic on the 10 and 5 freeways. Keep in mind, this is sped up quite a bit! I'm actually going between 15-25 mph in the tightest spots. Traffic opens up in Norwalk, where the freeway was widened over the course of several years, with the addition of a carpool lane. Traffic speed goes from slow to 90 at that point. It looks like I'm squeezing through a very narrow space, but it's much wider than it looks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg5aw9uw...IKAYcqIYzv
Once you start splitting, you become used to it, people make room for you, and for me, the singular mental focus makes me very content. Shoving an ST into that space seems like it would be a challenge. I have a simple assessment I do as I approach a space. If my mirrors will fit, the bike will fit. If I have any doubt, I just hang back, and eventually the two cars side-by-side will shift, one will pass the other leaving a safe gap. Some riders are pretty rude, revving their engines when a space is tight, as if to say "Move out of the way, this is MY space!"
Yesterday I realized something interesting. I was passing Irv Seaver, our local BMW dealership while running an errand. I dropped in (I usually buy my helmet cleaner spray there anyway) and figured if I'm going be living on a big BMW touring bike, I should sit on one and see how it feels. They only had new RTs on the floor, and man are they gorgeous. And huge. And heavy. I think I will need to work on my leg muscles to get it up off the side stand.
This dealer services all of the local RTP police bikes in the area, and they have narrower side cases than the regular RT, making the bikes narrower. Interesting... I assume that is because an RTP is designed to be ridden in traffic, and it would make sense that it would be narrower than a full-tilt touring rig.
As far as lane splitting, yes, it does seem daunting at first. When you watch YouTube videos of people doing it, the camera compression make it look even scarier. Here's a video of me on my Bonneville, leaving the museum and heading through Downtown L.A. traffic on the 10 and 5 freeways. Keep in mind, this is sped up quite a bit! I'm actually going between 15-25 mph in the tightest spots. Traffic opens up in Norwalk, where the freeway was widened over the course of several years, with the addition of a carpool lane. Traffic speed goes from slow to 90 at that point. It looks like I'm squeezing through a very narrow space, but it's much wider than it looks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg5aw9uw...IKAYcqIYzv
Once you start splitting, you become used to it, people make room for you, and for me, the singular mental focus makes me very content. Shoving an ST into that space seems like it would be a challenge. I have a simple assessment I do as I approach a space. If my mirrors will fit, the bike will fit. If I have any doubt, I just hang back, and eventually the two cars side-by-side will shift, one will pass the other leaving a safe gap. Some riders are pretty rude, revving their engines when a space is tight, as if to say "Move out of the way, this is MY space!"
Yesterday I realized something interesting. I was passing Irv Seaver, our local BMW dealership while running an errand. I dropped in (I usually buy my helmet cleaner spray there anyway) and figured if I'm going be living on a big BMW touring bike, I should sit on one and see how it feels. They only had new RTs on the floor, and man are they gorgeous. And huge. And heavy. I think I will need to work on my leg muscles to get it up off the side stand.
This dealer services all of the local RTP police bikes in the area, and they have narrower side cases than the regular RT, making the bikes narrower. Interesting... I assume that is because an RTP is designed to be ridden in traffic, and it would make sense that it would be narrower than a full-tilt touring rig.
You know what? I actually would like a pickle.