03-30-2015, 01:59 PM
(03-30-2015, 01:33 PM)ClassicVW_imp Wrote:(03-30-2015, 01:18 PM)JustPassinThru_imp Wrote:(03-30-2015, 01:04 PM)LiveToRide_imp Wrote: You should always keep it in gear when stopped at a light in case you have to get quickly out of the way.
Disagree. If in a hypothetical, someone is bearing down on you...you're not much better off charging blindly into an intersection against the light. And in fact you'd open YOURSELF to liability...instead of that tractor-trailer coming up on you, YOU YOURSELF are now the cause of the accident - by running the stoplight. Which is gonna affect insurance payout, who pays what - and will keep you from suing for damages from any other party.
And anyway, the injuries from a stopping vehicle striking your rear are probably going to be far less than being hit broadside by a vehicle which was NOT stopping and maybe didn't even have time to react.
Keeping the clutch in and a gear engaged, in a car, is hard on the clutch throwout bearing. I don't know the mechanical composition of a motorcycle wet clutch pack; but it's quite possible there's a similar source of wear that could eventually take the clutch out prematurely.
Disagree. If in a hypothetical, someone is bearing down on you...you're not much better off charging blindly into an intersection against the light. And in fact you'd open YOURSELF to liability...instead of that tractor-trailer coming up on you, YOU YOURSELF are now the cause of the accident - by running the stoplight. Which is gonna affect insurance payout, who pays what - and will keep you from suing for damages from any other party.
And anyway, the injuries from a stopping vehicle striking your rear are probably going to be far less than being hit broadside by a vehicle which was NOT stopping and maybe didn't even have time to react.
Keeping the clutch in and a gear engaged, in a car, is hard on the clutch throwout bearing. I don't know the mechanical composition of a motorcycle wet clutch pack; but it's quite possible there's a similar source of wear that could eventually take the clutch out prematurely.
I don't get it. Your logic is screwed up. You're saying take the hit and it won't be that bad? No one said you had to charge straight thru an intersection. You can angle your way out, you can go into a driveway, heck, jumping a curb and falling over at 5 MPH is a lot better than being struck by a vehicle from the rear. Even if you had to go straight, its not a 100% given that anybody will hit you, but that driver behind you staring at her cell phone WILL hit you.
How many people charge through intersections without stopping?
Not many.
Most fenderbenders are relatively minor. I've seen police videos of motorcycles hit at slow speeds at lights...the ones I've seen didn't even dump the bikes. Snapped the rider back on the bike and jerked him forward.
Now, you roll into an intersection against the light...you've LOST all possible claims for damage or any legal protection. You may not be hit - or you may. If you are, it's because you entered the intersection against the light. And the mythical driver who "made" you do it is nowhere to be found.
Good luck with that.
Traffic lights out here are just insane - a five-minute cycle is typical. WHY they set them up, I am sure, is political - and beyond the scope of our forum. But they do; and I'm not going to sit with the clutch engaged for FIVE MINUTES, THREE TIMES on one pass through town.
Heck, my oilhead BMW used to overheat in this traffic! So...except for my water-cooled Suzuki with a radiator fan...I shut things down when I know the light will be long.
I've been riding since 1985, excepting a few months in hospital from road-rash. And I've never felt the need to rush out of the way from traffic at lights. Never seen it happen to anyone else, either. It seems to be relatively rare...much more common is idiots not seeing the cycle and rolling their cars out right in front.