ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2012 and older => Topic started by: ZeroSinMA on September 09, 2012, 03:08:21 AM
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On a hot day, when the traffic is backed up 50 cars deep and only 10 cars are crawling through each light cycle, rather than roast in my helmut waiting in line while the car drivers sit in air conditioned comfort tapping on iPhone keypads and playing with the radio, sometimes I'll slowly ride between the stopped cars to the front of the line, in sport mode of course, then launch out ahead of the pack when the light turns green. I won't do it if I think the traffic may start moving mid-course, before I get to the front.
Now technically you're not supposed to do that, but as the bike is silent hardly anyone seems to mind. Heck I don't think most drivers even notice. If I were on an ICE bike I'd have to keep the throttle constant and tweak the clutch to keep the noise and attention level down low enough to pull it off. Even so, the sound will draw too much attention. Maybe that's why it never occurred to me to do it on an ICE bike.
I said hardly anyone because one time I did this and a lunatic in pickup truck chased after me, as if by pulling up next to him, not in front of him, I'd caused him some kind of insult. I pulled over, he pulled over. I hollered at him and he drove away. Other than that, no issues. I ride by police and they don't seem to care. I think it's one of those rules like jaywalking. You're not supposed to but the rule is largely for your own protection. If you break the rule and get hit by a car, the car driver is off the hook.
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It works in California. ;D If you want to get around during commute hours or when traffic is jammed up in urban areas, splitting lanes is an accepted practice and many drivers will move over to give you room to get by. Perhaps because they value their rear view mirrors. ;)
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I check around for cops. If I don't see cops, I do all kinds of crazy stuff....run red lights, U-turns, split lanes (how would he know who got there first?), speed....all perfectly safe stuff that cops might frown on. In Texas we have cameras, but they aren't for identification. They just detect motion to activate traffic lights...at least in my area. If you would get stopped you could just say you were trying to save gas..I mean kilowatts.
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It works in California. ;D If you want to get around during commute hours or when traffic is jammed up in urban areas, splitting lanes is an accepted practice and many drivers will move over to give you room to get by. Perhaps because they value their rear view mirrors. ;)
They don't get out of your way here in MA. Quite the opposite. I was passing on the right between the cars stuck in traffic and the curb. This guy turns right in front of me to block me from passing I had to stop fast to keep from hitting him. So I rode up the curb and went around him on the sidewalk, Flipped him the bird on the way by ;D
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I check around for cops. If I don't see cops, I do all kinds of crazy stuff....run red lights, U-turns, split lanes (how would he know who got there first?), speed....all perfectly safe stuff that cops might frown on. In Texas we have cameras, but they aren't for identification. They just detect motion to activate traffic lights...at least in my area. If you would get stopped you could just say you were trying to save gas..I mean kilowatts.
I run red lights if I'm at one of those magnetically activated signals that can't tell that I'm there. If there's a car behind me I'll pull up a car length past the stop line so that the car behind me can trigger the light change. But if there's no car behind me I'm not going to sit there for more than 2 light cycles waiting for one. After 2 cycles you start to feel like a friggin idiot. Did it in front of a police officer once and he did nothing.
Generally speaking I have to say police are forgiving of motorcycle riders. They know the odds are stacked against you and you need to take every advantage even if it means cutting a few corners, as long as you are not acting recklessly.
But the point of this thread is that there are things you can do on a bike that's silent that you cannot do on an ICE bike. For example, ride on a path marked "No motorized vehicles." Not one with lots of pedestrians, mind you, but a path that they don't want noisy ICE motocycles on. An electric? Who'd notice or care as long as you don't endager anyone? The grey areas of the rules that Zero opens up are fun to explore.
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I run red lights if I'm at one of those magnetically activated signals that can't tell that I'm there. If there's a car behind me I'll pull up a car length past the stop line so that the car behind me can trigger the light change. But if there's no car behind me I'm not going to sit there for more than 2 light cycles waiting for one. After 2 cycles you start to feel like a friggin idiot. Did it in front of a police officer once and he did nothing.
In Alabama this is legal if you've been sitting for 2 minutes. If I'm on a tight schedule I'll check for cops and then go when clear.
Generally speaking I have to say police are forgiving of motorcycle riders. They know the odds are stacked against you and you need to take every advantage even if it means cutting a few corners, as long as you are not acting recklessly.
Reminds me of the time I was doing 90 on the interstate.. gas bike, mirrors vibrating like crazy.. and barely keeping up with traffic. I pull in the clutch, mirrors stop vibrating .. and see a cop behind me. Figured I was busted.. then he went around me.
But the point of this thread is that there are things you can do on a bike that's silent that you cannot do on an ICE bike. For example, ride on a path marked "No motorized vehicles." Not one with lots of pedestrians, mind you, but a path that they don't want noisy ICE motocycles on. An electric? Who'd notice or care as long as you don't endager anyone? The grey areas of the rules that Zero opens up are fun to explore.
Yeah. I'm thinking about seeing if I can bring the bike in to work to charge.. we have segways and electric scooters inside .. why not a motorcycle ; )
I'll ride on sidewalks, pedestrian bridges, up narrow drainage ditches to cut between divided parking lots..
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The less the bike looks like a motorcycle, the more you can probably get by with. I know I ride my e-bikes the wrong way on streets on the shoulder, on sidewalks, cut across parking lots, run red lights, and nobody including cops care. It's just a bicycle. I bet a Brammo Empulse wouldn't get by with riding on the sidewalk. Kids ride bicycles. Hooligans ride motorcycles. At least that's the prevailing mindset of lots of people, including some cops.