I think there should be big signs that say "Lane splitting with Motorcycles is Illegal" in places like VA and MD where it is--many motorcyclists seem to think it's legal everywhere, as far as I know it is only legal in CA. Can anyone confirm this? I think lane splitting is a bad idea because there are a-holes that don't do it safely. I had a motorcyclist split the lane between me and another car--both of us were doing about 60mph! No warning "rev bomb" nothing I never heard or saw him until he went between us. If either one of us had wandered within our lane that would have been one dead motorcyclist!
@@johnstake You make as much sense as my neighbor's dogs... and why are you driving if you wander while driving? what are you twelve? Shouldn't drive if you cannot pay your full attention to your surroundings and other drivers.
@@johnstake Its illegal for sure in VA. But the streets here are so small. It would be to dangerous for them to try and ride between cars. Even the highway lanes are tight.
@SqUiNtS LoCo what's the other state? And can you provide a link to proof of that? To johnstake: also you obviously are not a rider yourself so I'd suggest you familiarize yourself with a basic rider course so you have ground to stand on
Good points Rob. The rev bombing from the stunter dudes under overpasses is freaking annoying. I still use my horn on my rt to get someone’s attention. Only because when I rev the rt, it’s about as loud as a pissed off sewing machine. I noticed you give a courtesy wave when a cager acknowledges your presence while lane splitting.I do the same. I see a lot of riders here in San Diego lane splitting way to fast and generally being inconsiderate douches. Good advice on covering your rear brake while in the hectic zone. I have at least a finger, most of the time two fingers covering the brake and clutch and foot over the rear brake. Like you, I came from a non abs/ linked brake world where that muscle memory never leaves. Good point on improving your skill set every time you throw a leg over your seat. Get complacent and sooner or later you may pay the piper.
A few years ago after having some lady drift over into my lane, I switched from my puny stock horn to an air horn on my ride it has helped a little in getting drivers attention. So it was six years ago and a day since you had your "Oh Crap" moment, funny how times flies. Sound wise with the visor up I could hear you better. FYI glad to see a new post from ya.
I couldn't agree more, this was like a recap for me from yesterday's training at Anaheim PD's motor event (Choppers & Coppers) for the public; especially the braking and collision avoidance training. I'm grateful for motor officers like yourself who without hesitation give out riding safety tips to civilians. I had loud pipes in the past, I did use it from a distance from the vehicle in front of me; but it's totally useless when you're trying to evade danger. Thanks again for posting, this was a fun video.
I respect your channel, man ... I really do. I rode (moto-x) long ago, and appreciate your perspective. I do understand the law and at every opportunity will move to give you guys room (the pace you are demonstrating in this video specifically). The challenge I have, is that often here in Southern CA traffic is moving well above the posted speed limit (65mph posted, flow 80mph), and change lanes after looking rear-view and side-view seeing a clear path to change, and a motorcyclist blasts by me before I know it and rev-bombs me. The issue is that (correct me if I am mistaken, I also heard this from snowcat) the law is "lane splitting is allowed up to the speed limit". Second issue is that often, speaking for me only, heavy traffic and road curves, it is easy to pick up two headlights on cars and gage distance and closure rates, however with a bike with one headlight it is tough to pick up distance and closure rates. I appreciate your comments. (The 1200R is freakin' awesome - wish I had one)
Boy so much truth in this post. Can't tell ya how many times I thought to myself man I'm stupid why am I revving instead of braking. But we're all guilty of it and need to understand that as you said there's a time and a place for it.
I 100% agree with you sir! It's a bad habit. And It does nothing if they can't see you. I'm not in the loud pipes save lives boat. Being heard doesn't save you. Being seen might save you but they aren't going to see us regardless!
Been riding since '62,, Always watching traffic, or cross roads, constantly looking for some place to go, just in case, n' I do it without thinking about it. Even do it in my 4 wheeler! Keeps you alive!
Great to hear from a professional what the theory is behind "Rev-bombs". More than once I have heard this while going to a freeway, knowing that somewhere near me there was a potential accident being avoided. You telling us about this practice helps us to understand bike riders better and makes us more aware of how to react to it. You don't need to worry about sounding like a "know it all" Bob, you are a pro and your counsel rings true. Miss your more regular posting but understand that it takes a lot of your time to produce them.
I started riding motorcycles late in life (57 y.o.) as an unrequited love. The motorcycle safety course that I took reinforced everything that you said in this video. I especially identified with your comment about ABS. I dropped my learner bike in the safety course, and bought my first BMW RT because it had ABS, which probably saved me once. I was in the HOV lane at 50 mph while the other lanes were stop and go. Suddenly a panel truck pulled into the HOV lane in front of me, with no shoulder available due to construction. I grabbed every braking possibility that I had without thinking about my experience locking up my training motorcycle. It all happened in a split second (initial thoughts were how much is going to hurt, then how quickly I was stopping with a truck just several feet in front of me). The driver stopped part way into my lane when he saw me, rather than pull back into his lane. I was able to pull around him (had I been in my truck, I would have hit him) and drive on, only to shake my head instead of what I wanted to do. ABS should be a factor in any buying decision. I have subscribed and love your videos and comments.
I was originally trained by the Henson Police in London England. One thing we were taught while riding is the following statement Concentration is the full application of mind and body over matter anything not relevant to that matter is irrelevant. It teaches you to be aware at all times so you get the full picture and not wander off into non essential matters.
Hey Rob, really enjoyed the training video. You can never go over the basics too many times. We can easily get into a bad habit and have it bite you in the seat when you have that "oh crud" moment. I'm not a rev bomber, but on my 17 BMW RT, there's not much sound to bomb them with. Glad to see you back on the 'Tube'. Ride Safe --Steve
I don’t think rev-bombs are meant to be a substitute for the horn. They are one step down from giving someone the finger. Basically saying f-you without the jesture.
Yeah that's my opinion on it, when i need to react, I just focus on accident prevention. I only rev bomb after the incident so people know they've made a mistake
I think people started using exhaust when they realized that.... motorcycle horns.... SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!! Seriously, they are worse than a VW Bug horn.. no one is going to pay attention to a motorcycle horn, if they can even hear it.. They are so anemic. You want motorcycles to use their horns, put a diesel truck horn or train horn on them.. then they will get used... Well until the guy removes it for weight reduction. The other great example of muscle memory is the 'kata' you do in martial arts. Repetitive movements that allow your brain to react quickly without you having to think much about them, like learning to block a sudden punch instead of just flinching and getting knocked the f(*k out... Yes I just did a Friday reference and no I am not ashamed of it... BTW nice to see you again Rob. Funny you mentioned someone spinning out in front of you, last time I went to Rocklin I had my first experience with that and my brain didn't work at all.. My first reaction was "oh great some asshole is stunting in the middle of 65" then I noticed it was a late model Beetle and realized, "oh he's spinning out... how does that happen?.... tire?" and watched him end up facing oncoming traffic on the right shoulder. If my brain had been able to process it, I would've stopped and helped the dude, but as it was my brain just didn't know what to make of it.
Hey Rob .... GOOD seeing you out on DARGNESS !!!! As a 41 yr rider myself, I agree with you point on this video .... Although me ridin a GoldWing (with such a quiet exhaust) I doubt MY REVES are gonna attract much, (if ANY) attention .... LOLOL I sometime MISS being able to pump that throttle for an "attention" rev .... my old KZ 1000 was the bike for that :) :) :) Anyways .... Be SAFE out there and in the AIR, bro !!! Rick S. from Massachusetts
I ride as if I'm the only one responsible for my safety. As such, I do not (or try not to) waste precious time honking or angrily looking at some idiot. Just react to avoid and stay safe - not to school the offending driver. You are not going to teach anyone to drive safely - you can only control your actions.
I have linked ABS as well, never occurred to me to still practice hard breaking I was going to let the computer worry about it. Thanks for the sound advice
Enjoy the videos thanks. The linked brake system (at least on my ST1300) only applies partial pressure to the non-actuated brake. In other words pressing the rear brake only gives partial pressure to the front. So you'd be potentially seriously underbraking if you only use one brake. You're on point with your recommendation to practice combination braking, with most pressure to the front.
NHBob1959 I have an rtp. When applying the rear brake, up until it will start to slip, it will be rear only. Then, it will activate the front. Depending upon the rear pressure (wet/dry), the front will match with the ‘85/15’ ratio. With abs, I’ve never experienced a perceivable lock up, even for a fractional second. I’m sure it does as the abs marker revolution is at least 60 x a second. In the last couple years, I’ve only had one close call where I was splitting and was cut off. I was in a hurry so my speed differential was much higher than normal. Even then, the bike stopped at about 60% the distance I thought I had. From memory on a different model, I should have bumped the rear of the car a little (maybe 3-5 mph) so no damage but still a collision. I actually had 4-5 feet to spare. Excellent braking. It was dry of course or the situation would have been different or not have happened at all due to more care in wet weather.
Good point, you will refer to what you trained. one 0f my near misses I will always remember was back in the day when I rode the KZ1000 I was passing on the left with just my emergency lights on and a vehicle was going to turn left into me and all I remember was locking up my front brake then going to the rear brake and letting off the front and I popped the bike back up back up and passed the car. all muscle memory, I don't remember doing what I did. Thank god for motor school and quarterly training, You hit it. you always refer back to your training,
Muscle memory is super important! As an example, I perform surgeries on a daily basis. When I broke my hand it messed up my muscle memory and, at first, it was hard to do what I do naturally. I had to think about it, which took time!
Used to ride in a Model T that had a train whistle on the exhaust cutout, that would be dandy on a bike. I preferred to ninja lane split, read the folks and slide on by. Though always ran a headlight modulator. Thoughts on rev bombing, modern cars are so quiet they really can't hear much even without the radio on. My Honda ST1100 has ABS, LBS and TC , even if you brake badly, it does an amazing job.
Food for thought, this company www.skenelights.com gave a great class this year at the 2018 BMW Rally. They discussed the science behind having a triangle of lights on the front of your bike. I have a set of "Darla's" from www.clearwaterlights.com/collections/darla/products/darla-r1200gsaw a great company that supports the veteran community. If you or your friends are a vet mentioned it and they will take care of you when purchasing. A long post to say, since the purchase of the Darla's I have noticed a significant decrease in people in cars cutting me off or drifting towards me. I commute year round in DC Metro Area. We don't split lanes here (would be nice, especially in the summer months) but we do travel at "hi-way" speeds. I also agree about muscle memory, Rev'ing can be a deterrent if the conditions are right. I usually reserve a rev for grocery / shopping mall parking lots as hitting the horn can be a little too much and use it as a custody "hey". Cheers.
Replace your wimpy motor horn with a car horn. in the open, they really blast loud. Providing it can bolt up to your bike. The relays are already in place and all that should be needed is connect the wires. All systems are 12v since mid 60s. Do your homework and find a compatible bolt pattern, or find a company that fits that market. Theyre out there, and they will lift a car driver out of his seat in a New York Hurry!! Bump their head on the headliner!
Rob, good to see you back bro. I respect bikes to the fullest and always move over if it's safe. Please correct me if I'm wrong but you guys can't split lanes anything over 30 MPH.
In Texas there is no law against it, but there is nothing saying it is legal either. So cops that I have talked about it say if traffic is backed up to slow or stopped they don't mind it. But if you're doing 30 mph faster then traffic you are probably getting pulled over.
Not against the law in the U.K., but I have a self imposed speed limit of 15-20Mph faster than the slow traffic, and only bother if the traffic is under 10MPh. As a result I am only doing it up to a road speed of 30. At that speed if I get knocked off it hurts. Lane splitting in traffic going 50, at 70, get hit and could be game over.
IIRC, CHP guidelines are no more than 15 over traffic speed, and not over 35. Unfortunately, last week I passed a kid lying between #1 and #2, way too much blood, he had passed me at at least 60 in traffic a few minutes before.
The rev bomb. My harley and that 5k rev. Then the oh wow situation. BREAKS! The revs are still falling but not falling fast enough. Letting the clutch out with the high torque. And you are riding in 1st or 2nd. The timing is dangerous to me. But it's that. Oh I need to slow down trigger. Take my time. Thanks Rob.
At 18:10 Get Off Your Phone Lady LOL....Rob You Make Some Good Points and i am a New Rider..i Went Thru The Harley Rider Academy(2.5 Days Long) Before Getting My Lic....Helped a Lot and i Still Work on The Basics Every Chance i Get,i Plan on Taking The Harley Advanced Course Next Year 2020...Happy New Years !
Although it’s legal, lane splitting is the real killer. All it takes is one idiot to change lanes without checking their mirror first. I’ve seen it happen at least 20 times as a truck driver, and my best friend was killed like that. Be aware and stay safe out there.
Good food for thought. I ride a touring Harley so I need a lot of room to split. For me, when I perceive imminent death, my reaction is to brake, or otherwise avoid the collision. I will blip the throttle to announce my presence after the collision has been avoided, especially when I see the phone in their hand. Usually a blip is enough for a Harley. I can't stand hearing these sport bike bouncing off the rev limiter.
Reaching for the horn in an emergency is dangerous. Reaching down with my thumb leaves my hand in a position which makes it difficult to properly grasp the clutch if I need to come to a sudden stop. Try putting your thumb on the horn and pulling the clutch at the same time. Very awkward. Revbombing can also shorten reaction time if you have to reach for the brake, but I usually revbomb anyhow.
1st & 2nd Video too short... too few uploads... 3rd I agree with what you are saying and it reminding me to practice my muscle memory better, driving now in Philippines and it's a hole new and different traffic here then back home, but filtering/lane splitting is what everyone does here on A different level
I react first and hopefully take care of whatever the situation is. That second, reaching for the horn button or twisting the throttle might just be a mistake. But every situation is different. 👊😎
I have to agree with you, but on the other hand as food for thought, what if the horn on the motorcycle that some is riding does not work????? Since I ride a 2014 Can-Am Spyder Limited ST, I cannot revbomb people, but the horn on my Can-Am is as loud as a car horn. She is a fun thing to ride on. And I am hoping that someday my husband and I can get back out to California and meet up with you, SubD and a couple of the other motovloggers. I am still sad we missed out on going to SCMM this year. I have had my Spyder for 6 months already and I love it. The color is called Cognac. If you go into Google Images and type in 2014 Can-Am Spyder, you will see the color. It is an orangey/goldish color. And yes I get people turning their heads when I am riding and going down the road on her. Anyways be safe. The last part of the video made me bust up laughing. That was awesome!!!!!!
I'm sorry, but why is what to do when the horn isn't working even a question? If it doesn't work or is just too quiet, it can be replaced with something louder. If a rider is on the road when it fails, they ride even more like there's a target on them (which should be done anyway, regardless) until they get home, and then they either don't ride or they ride paranoid until the problem is resolved. It's that simple. There are plenty of loud aftermarket motorcycle horns (not much more than a hundred bucks) that are multitudes cheaper than a loud exhaust (better part of a thousand even at the cheap end), generally easier to swap out by oneself if one is willing, and therefore require much less downtime; this is something a lot of LPSL riders seem to conveniently not acknowledge. I know of one guy in Australia who went the extra-cheap route and just wired in an old car horn to make sure he had adequate volume-it worked fine. There are options that don't require a person to delay a life-saving maneuver so they can first waste precious seconds trying to "own their space" after it's too late.
@@thetimekeeper955 no offense to you, but this is not your channel and I know it is not mine. The question I asked was geared toward the one made this video, not for you to jump all over my ass. If your going to be that much of a troll, go to someone else's channel bother other people. I know the person that did this video and I don't think he would appreciate you being all over someone who made a comment. You took the question I asked way too literal and sent it way off into outer space. Don't ever question or troll my comments ever again. Also you need to just move on and mine your own business. I am also not about to get kicked off of here because you are trolling and trying to prove that your right and that other people are wrong. I know there are other options out there if a rider has a broken horn, you nit!!!!! I am not stupid. Not only do I ride, but so does my husband. Quit nit picking at people's comments. Go find something else to do and leave me and the others alone on here.
@@chiefs1992 Wow, very rude and abusive given that asking a question in a public forum is an implicit invitation for public response. If you know the person who made this video, why are you embarrassing him with your presumption that any response that isn't his--on a public forum where he invites respectful disagreement--is automatically intended to be trolling.
I've never rev-bombed. One reason is I'm not watching my rev's in an emergency and don't know if the revs will be too high and hurt my HD engine. But my L/thumb is next to the horn which I'd rather use than the rev's. Also remember that when you say lane splitting is legal it's kind of incorrect. There is no law that say legal or illegal. We can do it and thats all, not legal not illegal. But yes I understand we say it's legal. Thanks for the info, good video from one retired brother (38 yrs active) to another.
As now a former rider I can tell you that I never lane split. While it's illegal in WA, I also always maintained that I couldn't have afforded all the car mirrors I would have taken out ;) Agreed w/ all u said, but u neglected an important angle. Now that I'm back in CA I not only see the splitting, but I see it being done at a speed much greater than the traffic beside them. One can't expect to be seen if they don't give the cages a chance to see them. I only rev bombed when going at slow speeds. Anything faster than 10 mph I preferred to focus on the threat first and later let Adam Henry know what I think of their driving.
Agree, the time it takes to do the rev bomb is time you should have been using to avoid an accident. I don't use my horn most of the time for the same reason, it takes time away from emergency action. Something else, I use engine breaking and you can't do that while rev bombing.
While i don't lane split much, I do find that i do use my aftermarket air horn often as the idiots are everywhere. You practice EVO and you survive, build the skills, use them daily and they will save your butt. (When you make something idiot proof, God makes a better idiot!) Thanks BOB keep the shiny side up.
The only problem I see with rev bombing, is that it's more or less the same as trying to tell someone to get off their phone, it's a distraction. You're more likely to startle someone with a sudden blast from your bike's exhaust, then again, the same could be said about horn usage, but then again, horns don't cause the same kind of reverberation in the air as exhausts do.
Lots of bikes have terrible horns. Useless even. Mine have been. Same as my Japanese cars. I never ever use a horn to stop an impending impact. If I had a useful horn maybe. On a moto, the rev bomb is quicker and louder than the horn for most instances. That said I have done it perhaps 3 times in 14+ years of riding. I prefer to just fix the situation. But sometimes there is no dynamic fix. I do recall one very clear instance last summer coming over CA17 from Santa Cruz to San Jose splitting when traffic was backed up for the whole section, doing maybe 15-20mph. The lanes are quite narrow and the whole thing is curvy and grades up and down. I was between 2 vehicles and the car in the number 2 lane drifted all the way to the center line. I moved over but couldn't accelerate out because there was nowhere in front to go (next set of vehicles too close together, so no room there either which is why I was caught between these two). The car in the #1 was as far over as it could go before hitting the concrete divider. I was about to get pinched with no options because car #2 kept coming over the line, so I pulled clutch and ripped the throttle to maybe 8 or 9K. That woke some folks up and all was good. In that moment it was way quicker than the horn, way louder than the horn, and I had no way to ride out of the situation so no need to be in or out of gear. So yes it has its place and others will argue to put better horn on the bike. That might work on some bikes. Not really any room on mine and I prefer to be in control rather than dicking around looking for a horn button. Either way, the first reaction ought to be to ride out of the situation. When that isn't possible make noise. However that is done is fine by me but I choose some exhaust note. Be judicious in use of noise which it seems most people are not and I have no issue. BARF recently had a thread on this. Most of those guys think horns are the way to go and should be modified if necessary.
If I remember correctly, using a horn can, in some circumstances, be considered aggressive driving/road rage. So if a rev bomb is being used in the context of a horn under the same circumstances, then that, too, constitutes aggressive driving/road rage. And given the non-standard sound compared to a horn and the common link to speed, it's automatically more noticeable, which makes it more likely to draw attention from law enforcement and get a rider pulled over. Then the rider gets angry for being "picked on" when they were actually the victim. Is "correcting" someone with a rev bomb really worth it, given that? Thanks to decades of reputation, things motorcyclists do simply have more negative connotations and harsher responses from others than car drivers, and that needs to be remembered (the fairness of this is irrelevant, it's fact, so no point in whining about it). I can't help thinking how stupid it is when riders lament how they don't get respect because they're smaller vehicles, then behave in ways that immediately cause others to disrespect them. Revving a bike, like revving a car, is largely going to be considered improper handling by the vast majority of road users and will increase the likelihood of being pulled over and ticketed for "speeding" or the like; since a horn is harder to link to excessive speed, it's difficult to justify an assumption of such compared to "the engine was very loud and the RPM clearly high." And no, the description _doesn't_ prove speed, but since automatic transmissions mean a lot of people don't know how clutches work anymore, that's the not-unreasonable connection they make given what they _do_ know. A complete stranger who isn't an authority figure (e.g., a cop or mechanic) isn't going to change their minds. Ultimately, it's better in a number of ways to simply swap out the stock horn for a louder aftermarket one. They do make plenty of them. Everyone is trying to do things on the cheap and I'm all for that, but realistically, a louder horn is cheaper than a louder exhaust, hands down (unless you just straight rip out the emissions stuff, and if you do, good luck getting through a state inspection). Riding without a horn also isn't going to get you ticketed for being unroadworthy the way riding without a complete exhaust will, so you can still be out on the road if there's a hiccup during the switch.
I didn't know rev-bombing was a thing, for years I thought squids were just fumbling with their controls. Believe me you're not making anyone reconsider their own actions by suddenly making a ton of noise right beside them. Last weekend I saw a biker react to an oncoming pickup turning left by cranking the throttle instead of slowing down and again I had no clue this was supposed to be some sort of defensive driving technique. Neither did the woman driving the truck who was terrified the guy was dead after plowing into her vehicle. The biker went right into the side of this F150 and slid across under the truck. His bike took the back tire clean off the rim on the opposite side and then the rim ran over his leg as he slid through, severing his femur and crushing his knee. He'd be dead if we didn't run over to keep him from going into shock before paramedics arrived. Use your damn horn if you want to make noise, so you can cover your brake and clutch. People know what a horn means. More than that the control's located so you can do your emergency braking at the same time.
I just wanted to add, I use rev bombs as a horn mainly because of the awkward placement of mine on my controls. If I want to hit the horn I don't have immediate access to my clutch because of how I have to shift my hand and I don't like that. I'd rather just rev bomb somebody in the rare instance I've had to get their attention and have full control rather than lose that ability to hit the button for the horn.
SuperGankBros same situation hear. If I had giant paws maybe it would make more sense but I don't. My old SV was not too bad but the reach for my Tuono is ridiculous because the TC buttons are in the way.
Send a copy of this vlog to the R&D department. Of every motorcycle manufacturer you can think of. They should get their heads together and come up with a solution.
"When you have the luxury of time and space and distance to react"....just possible the car had safe right away to maneuver into the next lane. Just because lane splitting is legal, doesn't mean that a biker can assume right of way all the time. Remember, right or wrong, it's gonna hurt a lot more on the bike.
I never made a connection between rev bombing and muscle memory, but you make a good point. I rev bombed all the time on my Shadow with Harley pipes, but my PC800 is quiet and sounds like a sewing machine so I don’t bother. 😄
Make sense but to most bikes is louder than there horns. But rev or horn what ever you choose is not gonna help if you run out of space. best is always to expect the unexpected. every pedestrian or car must treated to react. no sleeping
I found that I don't hear most bikes tell after they pass tho most the time they're going too fast. But mainly my ride is noisy so many bad roads in California.
I rev bomb mostly when riding past a someone setting at a side street about to enter my lane. Only if I don’t see them look at me or if I see there wheel moving. The horn is almost nonexistent and I can’t be honking at ever car at intersection or at every distracted driver.
I hate rev bombs and I’ve never done them intentionally. If you do them next to a car you’re not going to make any friends. People don’t like to be startled and have their eardrums broken for some unknown reason. I also don’t like them because they hurt my ears and aren’t good for the bike. On the other hand, I disagree with most riders about being seen too. I don’t want to be seen. I don’t want them to see me coming, and if they notice me at all I want to be three or four car lengths past them before they do. Not more than a quarter of a second next to any car and not more than a second next to a semi. That’s just the way I like to ride, lane splitting or not.
The way to get even is to shut off, coast, prime cylinder with fuel and turn on again.....BOOM! Used to do that to the motors in my division. Scared the crap out of u
If I get a txt while driving, I try to find a safe place to pull over (like the parking lot of a local business or church) before even thinking about touching the phone.
Officer Rob PLEASE answer my question. Is there a speed motorcycles are supposed to use when splitting traffic? I don't see how cars traveling 5 to 10 mph can possibly adjust for bikes going 70 plus between them. Your speed in this video is reasonable. Many area visitors to southern California are just trying to read the road signs and not used to the congested traffic. Even with windows down and radio off its not easy.
Exhaust as a warning is assine. Unless the danger is from the rear. But like the Harley guys say... well I can't remember what the hell they say but there is no statistics to support the claim that loud exhaust saves any lives.
Rev bombs can be annoying, that being said - there is a time and a place. Question, which way are the pipes pointed? Back - right. You can't hear my big Red Wing's stock pipes unless I'm ahead of you (not you Rob, the public in general), my BMW R1200RTP work motor - makes a lot of RUDE noises if I hit the right switch. -End of Rant- BGH!
I can honestly state I have never ever rev-bombed. Never had the need nor the urge to. That muscle-memory is as limp as... you fill in the dots. ;-) I have used the horn in such situations, but still can count that on one hand over the course of about 38 years. IMHO things like Rev-bombs take away my brainpower/time to react in time (and elegantly/safely) upon such described situations. And when do you rev-bomb, the driving-force of your motorcycle engine itself will interrupted so an immediate imbalance into your motorcycle. Let alone a (small?) dip in speed/momentum (some bikes more then others, of course) whilst you just need that a split second later to resolve a problem in traffic. Something you do want to avoid, hence the reason during training & courses they learn you how to feather the clutch. (and the rear break, and the front break) Next to the fact that you could get a ticket in some countries in the world because rev-bombing can be perceived as creating excessive noise. Using the horn too much can also get you a ticket in some countries too, btw. Having said all that, I can understand for some need for rev-bombing, but perhaps you also need to consider the fact you may have not anticipated enough for that situation where you felt the urge to rev-bomb? As for ABS, being a BMW rider myself, it is truly last resort. I you hit the ABS something occurred that you possibly could have been avoided. ABS is truly at the end of the rope, after that, there is nothing. But ABS is not always 100% effective. E.g. when you hit ABS in very short successive order, you will find that some ABS systems will fail intermittently and do lockup your wheel(s). It is highly recommended to keep your bike in top shape, as yourself.And also your brakes. And thus also your ABS system. No compromises in that arena. And, when possible, learn how to operate ABS, test it in a safe area and safe speeds. Learn that into your muscle memory for sure. Like Officer Rob stated, very importantly learn how to brake under all circumstances and situations, as if you do not have ABS fitted. Including braking and swerving, reading the road, reading traffic. Safety is recognising your own limitations and keeping in mind the room/space for the mistakes from other road-users.
Been riding a bike since 1967 with no lane splitting in my state and NEVER been rear ended , close on a few occasions but comes with the territory riding a motorbike. You thinking you Might get rear ended is just speculation on your part .Don't get me wrong I wish we had it 51 years ago but don't use that as an excuse you can get hit lane splitting just as easy with a vehicle changing lanes.
The only time I Rev-Bomb is when I go for the clutch/brakes so quick I fail to roll the throttle off first. Like a car driver hitting the clutch, brake AND accelerator at the same time in an emergency stop.
I remember a news article about a radio DJ new to California telling his listeners to cut off lane splitters. I live in GA, but it annoyed me that 1. He didn't know the law he was complaining about, and 2. he would advocate people to do something so dangerous regardless of legality.
![BIKER SMASH MIRROR | ANGRY PEOPLE VS. BIKERS | ROAD RAGE | [Ep. #65]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YR7DpnePWQ0/mqdefault.jpg)
I think their should be big signs on the freeway that says "Lane splitting with Motorcycles is Legal "..most people don't know that..
I think there should be big signs that say "Lane splitting with Motorcycles is Illegal" in places like VA and MD where it is--many motorcyclists seem to think it's legal everywhere, as far as I know it is only legal in CA. Can anyone confirm this? I think lane splitting is a bad idea because there are a-holes that don't do it safely. I had a motorcyclist split the lane between me and another car--both of us were doing about 60mph! No warning "rev bomb" nothing I never heard or saw him until he went between us. If either one of us had wandered within our lane that would have been one dead motorcyclist!
@@johnstake You make as much sense as my neighbor's dogs... and why are you driving if you wander while driving? what are you twelve? Shouldn't drive if you cannot pay your full attention to your surroundings and other drivers.
@@johnstake Its illegal for sure in VA. But the streets here are so small. It would be to dangerous for them to try and ride between cars. Even the highway lanes are tight.
@@johnstake yes, CA is the only state where it's legal
@SqUiNtS LoCo what's the other state? And can you provide a link to proof of that?
To johnstake: also you obviously are not a rider yourself so I'd suggest you familiarize yourself with a basic rider course so you have ground to stand on
Good points Rob. The rev bombing from the stunter dudes under overpasses is freaking annoying. I still use my horn on my rt to get someone’s attention. Only because when I rev the rt, it’s about as loud as a pissed off sewing machine. I noticed you give a courtesy wave when a cager acknowledges your presence while lane splitting.I do the same. I see a lot of riders here in San Diego lane splitting way to fast and generally being inconsiderate douches. Good
advice on covering your rear brake while in the hectic zone. I have at least a finger, most of the time two fingers covering the brake and clutch and foot over the rear brake. Like you, I came from a non abs/ linked brake world where that muscle memory never leaves. Good point on improving your skill set every time you throw a leg over your seat. Get complacent and sooner or later you may pay the piper.
I've rev-bombed next to couple of people not paying attention who cut me off and immediately felt bad for my engine.
lol
Love your channel man! Addicted to these motocop vlogs!
A few years ago after having some lady drift over into my lane, I switched from my puny stock horn to an air horn on my ride it has helped a little in getting drivers attention. So it was six years ago and a day since you had your "Oh Crap" moment, funny how times flies. Sound wise with the visor up I could hear you better. FYI glad to see a new post from ya.
lol "get off your phone lady" lol
I couldn't agree more, this was like a recap for me from yesterday's training at Anaheim PD's motor event (Choppers & Coppers) for the public; especially the braking and collision avoidance training. I'm grateful for motor officers like yourself who without hesitation give out riding safety tips to civilians. I had loud pipes in the past, I did use it from a distance from the vehicle in front of me; but it's totally useless when you're trying to evade danger. Thanks again for posting, this was a fun video.
I respect your channel, man ... I really do. I rode (moto-x) long ago, and appreciate your perspective. I do understand the law and at every opportunity will move to give you guys room (the pace you are demonstrating in this video specifically). The challenge I have, is that often here in Southern CA traffic is moving well above the posted speed limit (65mph posted, flow 80mph), and change lanes after looking rear-view and side-view seeing a clear path to change, and a motorcyclist blasts by me before I know it and rev-bombs me. The issue is that (correct me if I am mistaken, I also heard this from snowcat) the law is "lane splitting is allowed up to the speed limit". Second issue is that often, speaking for me only, heavy traffic and road curves, it is easy to pick up two headlights on cars and gage distance and closure rates, however with a bike with one headlight it is tough to pick up distance and closure rates.
I appreciate your comments. (The 1200R is freakin' awesome - wish I had one)
Boy so much truth in this post. Can't tell ya how many times I thought to myself man I'm stupid why am I revving instead of braking. But we're all guilty of it and need to understand that as you said there's a time and a place for it.
OFFICER ROB! Glad to see ya back!
I 100% agree with you sir! It's a bad habit. And It does nothing if they can't see you. I'm not in the loud pipes save lives boat. Being heard doesn't save you. Being seen might save you but they aren't going to see us regardless!
Broken down and explained clearly like a champ! This definately put it into a nice perspective for me. Thank you Officer Rob. :)
Riding tips from a professional rider. That's what I'm talking about baby, Outstanding vid, one of your best.
Been riding since '62,, Always watching traffic, or cross roads, constantly looking for some place to go, just in case, n' I do it without thinking about it. Even do it in my 4 wheeler! Keeps you alive!
Great to hear from a professional what the theory is behind "Rev-bombs". More than once I have heard this while going to a freeway, knowing that somewhere near me there was a potential accident being avoided. You telling us about this practice helps us to understand bike riders better and makes us more aware of how to react to it. You don't need to worry about sounding like a "know it all" Bob, you are a pro and your counsel rings true. Miss your more regular posting but understand that it takes a lot of your time to produce them.
I started riding motorcycles late in life (57 y.o.) as an unrequited love. The motorcycle safety course that I took reinforced everything that you said in this video. I especially identified with your comment about ABS. I dropped my learner bike in the safety course, and bought my first BMW RT because it had ABS, which probably saved me once. I was in the HOV lane at 50 mph while the other lanes were stop and go. Suddenly a panel truck pulled into the HOV lane in front of me, with no shoulder available due to construction. I grabbed every braking possibility that I had without thinking about my experience locking up my training motorcycle. It all happened in a split second (initial thoughts were how much is going to hurt, then how quickly I was stopping with a truck just several feet in front of me). The driver stopped part way into my lane when he saw me, rather than pull back into his lane. I was able to pull around him (had I been in my truck, I would have hit him) and drive on, only to shake my head instead of what I wanted to do. ABS should be a factor in any buying decision. I have subscribed and love your videos and comments.
I was originally trained by the Henson Police in London England. One thing we were taught while riding is the following statement
Concentration is the full application of mind and body over matter anything not relevant to that matter is irrelevant.
It teaches you to be aware at all times so you get the full picture and not wander off into non essential matters.
Hey Rob, really enjoyed the training video. You can never go over the basics too many times. We can easily get into a bad habit and have it bite you in the seat when you have that "oh crud" moment. I'm not a rev bomber, but on my 17 BMW RT, there's not much sound to bomb them with. Glad to see you back on the 'Tube'. Ride Safe --Steve
I hear ya .... No thunder in the exhaust of my GoldWing either ....LOL :)
I don’t think rev-bombs are meant to be a substitute for the horn. They are one step down from giving someone the finger. Basically saying f-you without the jesture.
Yeah that's my opinion on it, when i need to react, I just focus on accident prevention. I only rev bomb after the incident so people know they've made a mistake
I think people started using exhaust when they realized that.... motorcycle horns.... SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!! Seriously, they are worse than a VW Bug horn.. no one is going to pay attention to a motorcycle horn, if they can even hear it.. They are so anemic. You want motorcycles to use their horns, put a diesel truck horn or train horn on them.. then they will get used... Well until the guy removes it for weight reduction. The other great example of muscle memory is the 'kata' you do in martial arts. Repetitive movements that allow your brain to react quickly without you having to think much about them, like learning to block a sudden punch instead of just flinching and getting knocked the f(*k out... Yes I just did a Friday reference and no I am not ashamed of it... BTW nice to see you again Rob.
Funny you mentioned someone spinning out in front of you, last time I went to Rocklin I had my first experience with that and my brain didn't work at all.. My first reaction was "oh great some asshole is stunting in the middle of 65" then I noticed it was a late model Beetle and realized, "oh he's spinning out... how does that happen?.... tire?" and watched him end up facing oncoming traffic on the right shoulder. If my brain had been able to process it, I would've stopped and helped the dude, but as it was my brain just didn't know what to make of it.
Hey Rob .... GOOD seeing you out on DARGNESS !!!!
As a 41 yr rider myself, I agree with you point on this video .... Although me ridin a GoldWing (with such a quiet exhaust) I doubt MY REVES are gonna attract much, (if ANY) attention .... LOLOL
I sometime MISS being able to pump that throttle for an "attention" rev .... my old KZ 1000 was the bike for that :) :) :)
Anyways .... Be SAFE out there and in the AIR, bro !!!
Rick S. from Massachusetts
"Hold on, I'll call it in" *beep* and into an ad
I ride as if I'm the only one responsible for my safety. As such, I do not (or try not to) waste precious time honking or angrily looking at some idiot. Just react to avoid and stay safe - not to school the offending driver. You are not going to teach anyone to drive safely - you can only control your actions.
I have linked ABS as well, never occurred to me to still practice hard breaking I was going to let the computer worry about it. Thanks for the sound advice
Enjoy the videos thanks. The linked brake system (at least on my ST1300) only applies partial pressure to the non-actuated brake. In other words pressing the rear brake only gives partial pressure to the front. So you'd be potentially seriously underbraking if you only use one brake. You're on point with your recommendation to practice combination braking, with most pressure to the front.
NHBob1959 I have an rtp. When applying the rear brake, up until it will start to slip, it will be rear only. Then, it will activate the front. Depending upon the rear pressure (wet/dry), the front will match with the ‘85/15’ ratio. With abs, I’ve never experienced a perceivable lock up, even for a fractional second. I’m sure it does as the abs marker revolution is at least 60 x a second.
In the last couple years, I’ve only had one close call where I was splitting and was cut off. I was in a hurry so my speed differential was much higher than normal.
Even then, the bike stopped at about 60% the distance I thought I had. From memory on a different model, I should have bumped the rear of the car a little (maybe 3-5 mph) so no damage but still a collision. I actually had 4-5 feet to spare. Excellent braking.
It was dry of course or the situation would have been different or not have happened at all due to more care in wet weather.
Good point, you will refer to what you trained. one 0f my near misses I will always remember was back in the day when I rode the KZ1000 I was passing on the left with just my emergency lights on and a vehicle was going to turn left into me and all I remember was locking up my front brake then going to the rear brake and letting off the front and I popped the bike back up back up and passed the car. all muscle memory, I don't remember doing what I did. Thank god for motor school and quarterly training, You hit it. you always refer back to your training,
Wow, it had been a while since I have seen a new video from your channel, glad to see a new one pop up👍hopefully more are coming.
Hello Officer Rob love looking at your old Volgs , take care !
Muscle memory is super important! As an example, I perform surgeries on a daily basis. When I broke my hand it messed up my muscle memory and, at first, it was hard to do what I do naturally. I had to think about it, which took time!
Very interesting, I can imagine that muscle memory would be vitally important for surgeons, no pun intended
The rev bomb at the lady on her phone was being a good human to the rest of us!
Used to ride in a Model T that had a train whistle on the exhaust cutout, that would be dandy on a bike. I preferred to ninja lane split, read the folks and slide on by. Though always ran a headlight modulator. Thoughts on rev bombing, modern cars are so quiet they really can't hear much even without the radio on. My Honda ST1100 has ABS, LBS and TC , even if you brake badly, it does an amazing job.
Food for thought, this company www.skenelights.com gave a great class this year at the 2018 BMW Rally. They discussed the science behind having a triangle of lights on the front of your bike. I have a set of "Darla's" from www.clearwaterlights.com/collections/darla/products/darla-r1200gsaw a great company that supports the veteran community. If you or your friends are a vet mentioned it and they will take care of you when purchasing. A long post to say, since the purchase of the Darla's I have noticed a significant decrease in people in cars cutting me off or drifting towards me. I commute year round in DC Metro Area. We don't split lanes here (would be nice, especially in the summer months) but we do travel at "hi-way" speeds. I also agree about muscle memory, Rev'ing can be a deterrent if the conditions are right. I usually reserve a rev for grocery / shopping mall parking lots as hitting the horn can be a little too much and use it as a custody "hey". Cheers.
Replace your wimpy motor horn with a car horn. in the open, they really blast loud. Providing it can bolt up to your bike. The relays are already in place and all that should be needed is connect the wires. All systems are 12v since mid 60s. Do your homework and find a compatible bolt pattern, or find a company that fits that market. Theyre out there, and they will lift a car driver out of his seat in a New York Hurry!! Bump their head on the headliner!
Hey Rob, don’t feel bad... I’m a motorcyclist myself and I do the same something. Lol. 🙈👍🏻👍🏻
Rob, good to see you back bro. I respect bikes to the fullest and always move over if it's safe. Please correct me if I'm wrong but you guys can't split lanes anything over 30 MPH.
Theres not a limit on it
In Texas there is no law against it, but there is nothing saying it is legal either. So cops that I have talked about it say if traffic is backed up to slow or stopped they don't mind it. But if you're doing 30 mph faster then traffic you are probably getting pulled over.
Not against the law in the U.K., but I have a self imposed speed limit of 15-20Mph faster than the slow traffic, and only bother if the traffic is under 10MPh.
As a result I am only doing it up to a road speed of 30. At that speed if I get knocked off it hurts.
Lane splitting in traffic going 50, at 70, get hit and could be game over.
IIRC, CHP guidelines are no more than 15 over traffic speed, and not over 35. Unfortunately, last week I passed a kid lying between #1 and #2, way too much blood, he had passed me at at least 60 in traffic a few minutes before.
The rev bomb. My harley and that 5k rev. Then the oh wow situation. BREAKS! The revs are still falling but not falling fast enough. Letting the clutch out with the high torque. And you are riding in 1st or 2nd. The timing is dangerous to me. But it's that. Oh I need to slow down trigger. Take my time. Thanks Rob.
I agree with CooYa Bill ...... Gonna take a reality check often, just to survive on 2 wheels !!
At 18:10 Get Off Your Phone Lady LOL....Rob You Make Some Good Points and i am a New Rider..i Went Thru The Harley Rider Academy(2.5 Days Long) Before Getting My Lic....Helped a Lot and i Still Work on The Basics Every Chance i Get,i Plan on Taking The Harley Advanced Course Next Year 2020...Happy New Years !
MSF taught me that when you rev, you give up engine control.
I know you're having the time of your life up in the helicopter, But we sure miss your vlogs on the motorcycle. Keep them coming and ride safe.
Although it’s legal, lane splitting is the real killer. All it takes is one idiot to change lanes without checking their mirror first. I’ve seen it happen at least 20 times as a truck driver, and my best friend was killed like that. Be aware and stay safe out there.
Good food for thought. I ride a touring Harley so I need a lot of room to split. For me, when I perceive imminent death, my reaction is to brake, or otherwise avoid the collision. I will blip the throttle to announce my presence after the collision has been avoided, especially when I see the phone in their hand. Usually a blip is enough for a Harley. I can't stand hearing these sport bike bouncing off the rev limiter.
I usually start the rear break as I'm rev it to be cautious. I totally agree about muscle memory.
Reaching for the horn in an emergency is dangerous. Reaching down with my thumb leaves my hand in a position which makes it difficult to properly grasp the clutch if I need to come to a sudden stop. Try putting your thumb on the horn and pulling the clutch at the same time. Very awkward. Revbombing can also shorten reaction time if you have to reach for the brake, but I usually revbomb anyhow.
1st & 2nd Video too short... too few uploads... 3rd I agree with what you are saying and it reminding me to practice my muscle memory better, driving now in Philippines and it's a hole new and different traffic here then back home, but filtering/lane splitting is what everyone does here on A different level
I react first and hopefully take care of whatever the situation is. That second, reaching for the horn button or twisting the throttle might just be a mistake. But every situation is different. 👊😎
I have to agree with you, but on the other hand as food for thought, what if the horn on the motorcycle that some is riding does not work????? Since I ride a 2014 Can-Am Spyder Limited ST, I cannot revbomb people, but the horn on my Can-Am is as loud as a car horn. She is a fun thing to ride on. And I am hoping that someday my husband and I can get back out to California and meet up with you, SubD and a couple of the other motovloggers. I am still sad we missed out on going to SCMM this year. I have had my Spyder for 6 months already and I love it. The color is called Cognac. If you go into Google Images and type in 2014 Can-Am Spyder, you will see the color. It is an orangey/goldish color. And yes I get people turning their heads when I am riding and going down the road on her. Anyways be safe. The last part of the video made me bust up laughing. That was awesome!!!!!!
I'm sorry, but why is what to do when the horn isn't working even a question? If it doesn't work or is just too quiet, it can be replaced with something louder. If a rider is on the road when it fails, they ride even more like there's a target on them (which should be done anyway, regardless) until they get home, and then they either don't ride or they ride paranoid until the problem is resolved. It's that simple.
There are plenty of loud aftermarket motorcycle horns (not much more than a hundred bucks) that are multitudes cheaper than a loud exhaust (better part of a thousand even at the cheap end), generally easier to swap out by oneself if one is willing, and therefore require much less downtime; this is something a lot of LPSL riders seem to conveniently not acknowledge. I know of one guy in Australia who went the extra-cheap route and just wired in an old car horn to make sure he had adequate volume-it worked fine. There are options that don't require a person to delay a life-saving maneuver so they can first waste precious seconds trying to "own their space" after it's too late.
@@thetimekeeper955 no offense to you, but this is not your channel and I know it is not mine. The question I asked was geared toward the one made this video, not for you to jump all over my ass. If your going to be that much of a troll, go to someone else's channel bother other people. I know the person that did this video and I don't think he would appreciate you being all over someone who made a comment. You took the question I asked way too literal and sent it way off into outer space. Don't ever question or troll my comments ever again. Also you need to just move on and mine your own business. I am also not about to get kicked off of here because you are trolling and trying to prove that your right and that other people are wrong. I know there are other options out there if a rider has a broken horn, you nit!!!!! I am not stupid. Not only do I ride, but so does my husband. Quit nit picking at people's comments. Go find something else to do and leave me and the others alone on here.
@@chiefs1992 Wow, very rude and abusive given that asking a question in a public forum is an implicit invitation for public response. If you know the person who made this video, why are you embarrassing him with your presumption that any response that isn't his--on a public forum where he invites respectful disagreement--is automatically intended to be trolling.
I've never rev-bombed. One reason is I'm not watching my rev's in an emergency and don't know if the revs will be too high and hurt my HD engine. But my L/thumb is next to the horn which I'd rather use than the rev's. Also remember that when you say lane splitting is legal it's kind of incorrect. There is no law that say legal or illegal. We can do it and thats all, not legal not illegal. But yes I understand we say it's legal. Thanks for the info, good video from one retired brother (38 yrs active) to another.
As now a former rider I can tell you that I never lane split. While it's illegal in WA, I also always maintained that I couldn't have afforded all the car mirrors I would have taken out ;)
Agreed w/ all u said, but u neglected an important angle. Now that I'm back in CA I not only see the splitting, but I see it being done at a speed much greater than the traffic beside them. One can't expect to be seen if they don't give the cages a chance to see them.
I only rev bombed when going at slow speeds. Anything faster than 10 mph I preferred to focus on the threat first and later let Adam Henry know what I think of their driving.
Love your new cloves
Love your vids brotha. You got an honest sincere way of being real. I feel like your my biker uncle haha 🙏💪 bless up sir
Agree, the time it takes to do the rev bomb is time you should have been using to avoid an accident. I don't use my horn most of the time for the same reason, it takes time away from emergency action. Something else, I use engine breaking and you can't do that while rev bombing.
While i don't lane split much, I do find that i do use my aftermarket air horn often as the idiots are everywhere.
You practice EVO and you survive, build the skills, use them daily and they will save your butt.
(When you make something idiot proof, God makes a better idiot!) Thanks BOB keep the shiny side up.
The only problem I see with rev bombing, is that it's more or less the same as trying to tell someone to get off their phone, it's a distraction. You're more likely to startle someone with a sudden blast from your bike's exhaust, then again, the same could be said about horn usage, but then again, horns don't cause the same kind of reverberation in the air as exhausts do.
Lots of bikes have terrible horns. Useless even. Mine have been. Same as my Japanese cars. I never ever use a horn to stop an impending impact. If I had a useful horn maybe. On a moto, the rev bomb is quicker and louder than the horn for most instances. That said I have done it perhaps 3 times in 14+ years of riding. I prefer to just fix the situation. But sometimes there is no dynamic fix.
I do recall one very clear instance last summer coming over CA17 from Santa Cruz to San Jose splitting when traffic was backed up for the whole section, doing maybe 15-20mph. The lanes are quite narrow and the whole thing is curvy and grades up and down. I was between 2 vehicles and the car in the number 2 lane drifted all the way to the center line. I moved over but couldn't accelerate out because there was nowhere in front to go (next set of vehicles too close together, so no room there either which is why I was caught between these two). The car in the #1 was as far over as it could go before hitting the concrete divider. I was about to get pinched with no options because car #2 kept coming over the line, so I pulled clutch and ripped the throttle to maybe 8 or 9K. That woke some folks up and all was good. In that moment it was way quicker than the horn, way louder than the horn, and I had no way to ride out of the situation so no need to be in or out of gear.
So yes it has its place and others will argue to put better horn on the bike. That might work on some bikes. Not really any room on mine and I prefer to be in control rather than dicking around looking for a horn button. Either way, the first reaction ought to be to ride out of the situation. When that isn't possible make noise. However that is done is fine by me but I choose some exhaust note. Be judicious in use of noise which it seems most people are not and I have no issue.
BARF recently had a thread on this. Most of those guys think horns are the way to go and should be modified if necessary.
If I remember correctly, using a horn can, in some circumstances, be considered aggressive driving/road rage. So if a rev bomb is being used in the context of a horn under the same circumstances, then that, too, constitutes aggressive driving/road rage. And given the non-standard sound compared to a horn and the common link to speed, it's automatically more noticeable, which makes it more likely to draw attention from law enforcement and get a rider pulled over. Then the rider gets angry for being "picked on" when they were actually the victim. Is "correcting" someone with a rev bomb really worth it, given that?
Thanks to decades of reputation, things motorcyclists do simply have more negative connotations and harsher responses from others than car drivers, and that needs to be remembered (the fairness of this is irrelevant, it's fact, so no point in whining about it). I can't help thinking how stupid it is when riders lament how they don't get respect because they're smaller vehicles, then behave in ways that immediately cause others to disrespect them. Revving a bike, like revving a car, is largely going to be considered improper handling by the vast majority of road users and will increase the likelihood of being pulled over and ticketed for "speeding" or the like; since a horn is harder to link to excessive speed, it's difficult to justify an assumption of such compared to "the engine was very loud and the RPM clearly high." And no, the description _doesn't_ prove speed, but since automatic transmissions mean a lot of people don't know how clutches work anymore, that's the not-unreasonable connection they make given what they _do_ know. A complete stranger who isn't an authority figure (e.g., a cop or mechanic) isn't going to change their minds.
Ultimately, it's better in a number of ways to simply swap out the stock horn for a louder aftermarket one. They do make plenty of them. Everyone is trying to do things on the cheap and I'm all for that, but realistically, a louder horn is cheaper than a louder exhaust, hands down (unless you just straight rip out the emissions stuff, and if you do, good luck getting through a state inspection). Riding without a horn also isn't going to get you ticketed for being unroadworthy the way riding without a complete exhaust will, so you can still be out on the road if there's a hiccup during the switch.
Love your videos
Good stuff brother!!!
I didn't know rev-bombing was a thing, for years I thought squids were just fumbling with their controls. Believe me you're not making anyone reconsider their own actions by suddenly making a ton of noise right beside them.
Last weekend I saw a biker react to an oncoming pickup turning left by cranking the throttle instead of slowing down and again I had no clue this was supposed to be some sort of defensive driving technique. Neither did the woman driving the truck who was terrified the guy was dead after plowing into her vehicle.
The biker went right into the side of this F150 and slid across under the truck. His bike took the back tire clean off the rim on the opposite side and then the rim ran over his leg as he slid through, severing his femur and crushing his knee. He'd be dead if we didn't run over to keep him from going into shock before paramedics arrived.
Use your damn horn if you want to make noise, so you can cover your brake and clutch. People know what a horn means. More than that the control's located so you can do your emergency braking at the same time.
I just wanted to add, I use rev bombs as a horn mainly because of the awkward placement of mine on my controls. If I want to hit the horn I don't have immediate access to my clutch because of how I have to shift my hand and I don't like that. I'd rather just rev bomb somebody in the rare instance I've had to get their attention and have full control rather than lose that ability to hit the button for the horn.
SuperGankBros same situation hear. If I had giant paws maybe it would make more sense but I don't. My old SV was not too bad but the reach for my Tuono is ridiculous because the TC buttons are in the way.
Send a copy of this vlog to the R&D department. Of every motorcycle manufacturer you can think of. They should get their heads together and come up with a solution.
Click bait a little yes. Good info yes. Totally worth it. Thank you!
So im waatching the rest of the video. Aaannndddd your making alot of good points.
Wish I could land split in central New York State! Totally agree w the use of the revs. Good to punctuate with but first reaction must be the brakes
"When you have the luxury of time and space and distance to react"....just possible the car had safe right away to maneuver into the next lane. Just because lane splitting is legal, doesn't mean that a biker can assume right of way all the time. Remember, right or wrong, it's gonna hurt a lot more on the bike.
I never made a connection between rev bombing and muscle memory, but you make a good point. I rev bombed all the time on my Shadow with Harley pipes, but my PC800 is quiet and sounds like a sewing machine so I don’t bother. 😄
Make sense but to most bikes is louder than there horns. But rev or horn what ever you choose is not gonna help if you run out of space. best is always to expect the unexpected. every pedestrian or car must treated to react. no sleeping
I found that I don't hear most bikes tell after they pass tho most the time they're going too fast. But mainly my ride is noisy so many bad roads in California.
Good video Rob, and excellent topic.
I rev bomb mostly when riding past a someone setting at a side street about to enter my lane. Only if I don’t see them look at me or if I see there wheel moving. The horn is almost nonexistent and I can’t be honking at ever car at intersection or at every distracted driver.
theres a reason why theres a limiter to limit you from over rev it is just fine to hit the limiter just not for too long, more than 5 mins as long.
I hate rev bombs and I’ve never done them intentionally. If you do them next to a car you’re not going to make any friends. People don’t like to be startled and have their eardrums broken for some unknown reason. I also don’t like them because they hurt my ears and aren’t good for the bike.
On the other hand, I disagree with most riders about being seen too. I don’t want to be seen. I don’t want them to see me coming, and if they notice me at all I want to be three or four car lengths past them before they do. Not more than a quarter of a second next to any car and not more than a second next to a semi. That’s just the way I like to ride, lane splitting or not.
kawasaki concours
Thanks for sharing
Really lean so much
Have a great day
Would love to see a clip of you pulling someone over. Not that I want you to pull someone over but would like to see a POV of you in your element
The way to get even is to shut off, coast, prime cylinder with fuel and turn on again.....BOOM! Used to do that to the motors in my division. Scared the crap out of u
If I get a txt while driving, I try to find a safe place to pull over (like the parking lot of a local business or church) before even thinking about touching the phone.
Interesting conversation my friend.
Officer Rob PLEASE answer my question. Is there a speed motorcycles are supposed to use when splitting traffic? I don't see how cars traveling 5 to 10 mph can possibly adjust for bikes going 70 plus between them. Your speed in this video is reasonable. Many area visitors to southern California are just trying to read the road signs and not used to the congested traffic. Even with windows down and radio off its not easy.
Technically any speed up to the speed limit is legal however, you do have a responsibility to be safe and reasonable.
Exhaust as a warning is assine. Unless the danger is from the rear. But like the Harley guys say... well I can't remember what the hell they say but there is no statistics to support the claim that loud exhaust saves any lives.
"lady get off the phone", her lucky day. you didn't take action.
Rev bombs can be annoying, that being said - there is a time and a place. Question, which way are the pipes pointed? Back - right. You can't hear my big Red Wing's stock pipes unless I'm ahead of you (not you Rob, the public in general), my BMW R1200RTP work motor - makes a lot of RUDE noises if I hit the right switch. -End of Rant- BGH!
Officer Rob Not click bait because your subject of discussion was the title of the video.
Its another way to be noticed and make people look up. Kinda like a siren if you would. Right?
I can honestly state I have never ever rev-bombed. Never had the need nor the urge to.
That muscle-memory is as limp as... you fill in the dots. ;-)
I have used the horn in such situations, but still can count that on one hand over the course of about 38 years.
IMHO things like Rev-bombs take away my brainpower/time to react in time (and elegantly/safely) upon such described situations.
And when do you rev-bomb, the driving-force of your motorcycle engine itself will interrupted so an immediate imbalance into your motorcycle.
Let alone a (small?) dip in speed/momentum (some bikes more then others, of course) whilst you just need that a split second later to resolve a problem in traffic.
Something you do want to avoid, hence the reason during training & courses they learn you how to feather the clutch. (and the rear break, and the front break)
Next to the fact that you could get a ticket in some countries in the world because rev-bombing can be perceived as creating excessive noise.
Using the horn too much can also get you a ticket in some countries too, btw.
Having said all that, I can understand for some need for rev-bombing, but perhaps you also need to consider the fact you may have not anticipated enough for that situation where you felt the urge to rev-bomb?
As for ABS, being a BMW rider myself, it is truly last resort. I you hit the ABS something occurred that you possibly could have been avoided.
ABS is truly at the end of the rope, after that, there is nothing.
But ABS is not always 100% effective.
E.g. when you hit ABS in very short successive order, you will find that some ABS systems will fail intermittently and do lockup your wheel(s).
It is highly recommended to keep your bike in top shape, as yourself.And also your brakes. And thus also your ABS system. No compromises in that arena.
And, when possible, learn how to operate ABS, test it in a safe area and safe speeds. Learn that into your muscle memory for sure.
Like Officer Rob stated, very importantly learn how to brake under all circumstances and situations, as if you do not have ABS fitted.
Including braking and swerving, reading the road, reading traffic.
Safety is recognising your own limitations and keeping in mind the room/space for the mistakes from other road-users.
Gave up the big windscreen?
Ten Thumbs UP! Have a GREAT day!
Visor up or down, sounds nearly the same.
Been riding a bike since 1967 with no lane splitting in my state and NEVER been rear ended , close on a few occasions but comes with the territory riding a motorbike. You thinking you Might get rear ended is just speculation on your part .Don't get me wrong I wish we had it 51 years ago but don't use that as an excuse you can get hit lane splitting just as easy with a vehicle changing lanes.
Remember I said we aren’t talking about opinions, Carl? I lane split when appropriate. If people don’t like it, too bad.
I kinda wonder what drivers think as hes waving his hands all over the place
Cool vid
Officer Rob don’t you rev your engine when practicing on a city bike for more control of the bike?
You didn’t watch the whole video, did you?
What happened in October?
Rob,
Why didn't you pull that woman over who was on her phone?????
Agreed.
And keep the visor up its better
Yep, so its easier for the bugs and stones to hit you in the face
The bugs are so nummy though.
Being loud is apart of safety
The only time I Rev-Bomb is when I go for the clutch/brakes so quick I fail to roll the throttle off first.
Like a car driver hitting the clutch, brake AND accelerator at the same time in an emergency stop.
Has anyone got mad at you for lane splitting
Rarely. Californians mostly known it’s allowed.
I remember a news article about a radio DJ new to California telling his listeners to cut off lane splitters. I live in GA, but it annoyed me that 1. He didn't know the law he was complaining about, and 2. he would advocate people to do something so dangerous regardless of legality.
I hate Rev-Bombs...I install a Stebel Nautilus Compact Air Horn on any bike i get.....
good words to live by
let dumb work its way out of the system riding a bike is so dangerous with all the distractions
Just use the horn, my bike has one.