Group Riding Ideas

DavidFL

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https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/showthread.php/33174-A-Lesson-learnt

Davidfl wrote: Definitely an interesting thread - thank you Franz. :thumbup:

Some of my thoughts on the main GT Rider website
https://www.gt-rider.com/touring-informa ... fety-tips2

SOME BRIEF COMMENTS
I don't doubt that we all know how to ride, but riding in a group is not the same & requires extra consideration.
• You don't have to prove anything.
• It is very important when riding as a group to look after each other & make sure everyone gets there safely.
• Some of us ride better than others & some worse than others.
• We all have a limit & on public roads there’s no need to ride on the limit. Keep that for the race track. On public roads there is little room for error & the consequences can be extremely serious for not just you the rider, but also other innocent people – riders / pedestrians / vehicles.
• Someone stuffs up & the whole group is held up sorting out the problem, not just the rider who goes down.

RIDING AS A GROUP (something I wrote a long time ago.)
Riding in a group is an art, which you learn with experience. The important element is to ride responsibly, with consideration for the other riders, both in front of and behind you.

1. Ride at a steady pace one that is comfortable for all.

2. Stay in sight of one another, but don't ride too close together. There should be at least 4-6 bike lengths between each bike at low speed and at least 10 bike lengths at speed.

3. The leader must know where he is going. Don't get in front and lead if you don't know where you are going, or where you should stop. The lead rider has a greater responsibility to the other riders and should ride accordingly.

4. Ride staggered not directly behind each other. The lead bike should be positioned close to the left of the centre line, the second bike on the left closer to the road edge, the third bike back close to the centre and the fourth bike near the edge and so on. In sudden stops this helps riders avoid running into each other concertina style.

5. Riding behind someone, ride so that you can see the face of the rider in front of you in one of his mirrors. He should be able to see you at all times and not have to worry about where you are, cutting you off, or whether you might run into him from behind.

6. Keep your position in the group. At junctions or stop lights, stop in pairs (if possible) and leave in the same order you arrived. Don't jockey for position to get away first and create silly accident situations.

7. Ride with a mate (in pairs or threes) be responsible to each other should any of you have trouble and need help.

8. Turning off the road wait for the rider behind you to catch up and see what is going on. He in turn should wait for the next rider.
• One rider (the leader?) Should wait for the other riders to arrive before turning off the road.
• Stopping for fuel / food / drink, park one bike alongside the road for the other riders to see. This bike should be beside and at right angles (if possible) to the road. It is easier to see a bike parked this way than when it is parallel with the road.

9. Making turns stop before the turn, not around the corner after you have made the turn. This avoids other riders going past the turn and then someone having to chase after them to bring them back.

10. Overtaking other vehicles, do it in order. The rider in front has the right of way.
Don't overtake other riders the same time as you are overtaking a car, this is dangerous if the other rider is not looking for you to overtake both him and the car.
Look ahead to make sure the way is clear and there is a room for you to pull-back-in. Always allow oncoming vehicles enough space, don't force them off their line of travel.
Don't overtake down the left hand side or going into a bend.
Always allow sufficient space and time to overtake and pull-back-in, plus enough distance for any oncoming vehicle which you might not yet see, to complete the overtaking pass safely with room to spare.

11. Bike service check your bike’s - chain, oil & tyres - both in the morning before departure and at the end of the day’s ride. Don’t do it during the day and hold all the other riders up.

12. Departures arrive on time at the departure point, with a full tank of fuel, ready to go. If you are late and the group is ready to leave or has even gone, it is your problem (not the group’s), and up to you to know the route and catch up.

13. Fuel stops base these around the bike with the shortest fuel range.

14. Long distance rides recommend stop, fuel up and take a drink every 150 - 170 kms. This should be after approx. 1 1/2 hrs riding, and is helpful in the heat or if you need to ride more than 500 kms a day.

A COUPLE OF NASTY ACCIDENTS
Years ago I was leading a motorcycle tour in Nan & the 3rd rider in the group cut a corner & had a head on collision with a young Hmong guy on a motorbike. The Hmong guy wearing, shorts, T-shirt, flip flops, & no helmet heading home from the fields was killed instantly. The tour customer wearing full body armour suffered a broken collar bone, and concussion. He was lucky as he missed the first bike with 2 young Hmong guys on. I had to call the police, hospital, then go with the injured rider, police & dead Hmong guy to the hospital. At the hospital I had to sit on the injured rider to hold him down while they stitched up his head! After coming out of surgery there were 13 Hmong guys waiting to negotiate with me over the death of their dead brother. Not a very pleasant experience I can tell you, especially when I found out his 20 year old wife was 7 ½ months pregnant with her first child. Within 24 hrs “we” had negotiated a settlement with the police, & next of kin. 130,000 baht cash was paid after an ATM whip around between riders & everyone was “happy.”
I was not responsible & became friends with the Hmong on R1148, but no more motorbike tours with big groups for me.

It is a terrible feeling having to ride back for a missing / lost rider. :wtf:
I’ve pulled a Jap rider out from going over the edge on R1234, the Kiu Sataa – Doi Mae Salong road. He suffered a broken back. Within 24 hrs we had him in Ram hospital in Chiang Mai & operated on. 6 weeks later he was walking & back in Japan. He was the best rider in the group, but the last one at the time & we think was trying to catch up, not knowing we had stopped up the road to wait. He misjudged a corner & over the edge he went. I had to get the police, an ambulance, 2 nurse + 6 Akha guys with machetes to find him; then follow up at hospitals in Mae Chan – Chiang Rai – Chiang Mai, all in 24 hrs.
Standing at the spot where the rider went over the edge, you would never know that a rider & motorbike had crashed through there - no marks whatsoever! So stay in sight of one another.
Check out these photos...
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Moral of the story: in a group ride extra safely, especially when you don't know everyone & have not all ridden together before. You never know what is around the next corner & you could literally have a mess to sort out.
You can’t ride faster than the slowest rider. Keep the rider behind you in your sight; & if you lose sight of him, slow down & wait to make sure he is still coming & ok.
You want everyone to get home safely with a smile on their face. :D

I hope this a help for any future group rides GT Riders / SSRs plan. Enjoy you rides but take care & be responsible to the group as a whole!
Mark Rossi wrote: I find some of the points on here in conflict to my own thoughts, David's post about safety points riding in a group mentioned 2 points i strongly disagree with, especialy for a group that doesnt know each others habits.
One of these points:
Moral of the story: in a group ride extra safely, especially when you don't know everyone & have not all ridden together before. You never know what is around the next corner & you could literally have a mess to sort out.
You can’t ride faster than the slowest rider.
and the other point was:
6. Keep your position in the group.
No offense meant David but I personaly disagree
Even riding the straights at the same speed 2 opposing ability's will have different braking points and lines this often causes collisions, especially as the more skilled rider may laspe concentration from boredom. And the slower riders will feel pressured to go fast enough so the faster dont become annoyed.
If your group has a speed difference I suggest regrouping more regularly is a better alternative . I find on tarmac even with riders with quiet a big difference in their speeds, there is only a very short wait over a 30min stint of riding.
The other point i disagree with is this one, Deliberately NOT inviting known lunatics on rides is my personal policy... Ben Kemp
and as Ben mentioned it is personal policy and my policy is different and it is probably because i grew up in a racing faternity. Our motorcycle community tried to develope riders and teach them a safer more skilled way to ride. There are always going to be ego's, and there are always going to be the guys trying to make a name or impress, That doesnt make them lost causes, In my opinion and it is better to take these riders under your wing and help them, making motorcycling safer for all of us, we also have always had a uphill battle with public perception of motorcyclist and some times for good reason, instead of putting our heads in the sand, make a attempt to use your motorcycling maturity and you may find that so called lunatic only needed some guidance.
On my trip back to Australia in April i got to experience the fruits of our labour when i rode with 5 riders who we started training twice a week with, when they where 14 years old, To see them now at 22 years old and how they have matured is amazing and inspiring, and now they are giving back as we did to the younger up and comers. This was brought on by a motorcycling community effort to improving riding skill and safety.
As this thread has altered to a motorcycling safety advice I have given my 2 cents, and encourage a positive debate that may save lives,
these are my personal thoughts and open for scrutiny, i wont take offense.

I
brian66 wrote: I agree with Marks Rossi's views on riding in groups but it depends on the “Group”
If you have 20 odd Harley Davison mounted riders then this rule may make sense. As they are basically riding for the pose value and not to use their bikes for more than transport from A to B.
I am talking of riding in open country areas. Not the fringe of the city or on heavily trafficked main high ways.
Applying that rule to a small group, say 4 to 8 bikes which are all sports bikes, riding as fast as the slowest rider can and more times than not, will have the opposite safety affect.
If I were with a group that was not varying their pace to suit the roads, I am sure I would be so bored that I would take off alone to have my fun and then stop alongside the road to let them catch up. Then do it over again.
I would probably lose interest in riding with a group like this and ultimately I would look to ride with a group that rides and thinks like I do so likeminded riders eventually ride together which makes the whole riding experience safer.
I believe as a group it is far safer to vary your speed considerably as long as you ride off set and have a decent gap between bikes and also for the fastest rider to lead. This will eliminate any chance that fasters riders will not run up the back of a slower riders should they misjudge their braking points or lines.
In my experience, sports bike riders usually do not maintain a constant pace.
The speed is varied if a tempting section of road is encountered. If we use the ride to the slowest rider theory and the slowest rider is doodling along it may provoke the riders behind to become bored. Especially if that slow rider is slow through corners. The worst place to pass on a two way road!
And that could mean the whole group pulling out and passing the slowest guy so they can enjoy the corner. That pass could be ok for the first bike but being the last bike in the group the view ahead could be restricted. It’s an unnecessary risk.
My experience has also shown that there usually is no constant leader when you have fast and experienced riders together. One person will suddenly accelerate off and one or two may give chase. Maybe even all may up the pace.
However, usually there will be a couple of riders who will be of equal ability and be so close that they may take part in their own little race. But the remainder will be strung out and there will be a decent gap between them. Sometime hundreds or meters, so relative safety is maintained.
This burst or speed will end at some point and the leading guys drop back to a much slower speed to allow the others to catch up. This Yo Yo affect is what I have experienced in many, many rides.
I always wonder what a lunatic rider is. How do you define a lunatic?
I would categorise that as a person that does obscene speeds through heavy traffic along the center line or on the wrong side or the road. That is just plain stupid. His time is limited and riding this way I am sure he would spend most of his time alone or waiting for people to catch up. Because a sensible person in not going to copy him.
I would be ok with this type of rider as long as he is a long way in front of me and not just behind me.
Others would say it is a person who rides around in jeans and no shirt. Just look at You Tube and you can see all sorts on lunatics like this. Look at the motor cycle X games riders. They could be regarded as lunatics. Other would say it’s a person who does wheelies or stoppies.
Other than the person speeding through traffic, I personally don’t class any of them as lunatics and I would ride with every one of them. I just wouldn’t take the risks they take if they are faster than me.

Interesting comments from Rossi & Brian66 on my Group Riding ideas..
Both of you are quite entitled to disagree & totally if you like, but my perspective was / is from leading tour groups & trying to keep control of your riders, riding for the first time in a foreign country & especially when the riders have never met or ridden together before.
If you get groups of mates arriving as a group who already know each other, you could cut them quite a bit of slack (at your own peril.)
I would also expect you could think & ride somewhat differently if you consider yourself a local, riding with mates on your "home track." But for me riding in a "foreign country"...

1. Keep your position. Yes I agree that different riders have different braking points & lines to often cause collisions. I’m probably a more sedate rider, but seldom use my brakes going into a corner. When riding with or leading a group I prefer to roll off the throttle a little beforehand & then power into the corner, not go in under brakes, because as you say Mark “different braking points and lines this often causes collisions.” One needs to keep the egos under control & not encourage riders to push or test each other out all the time. Boring it maybe for some, but if you want to ride harder & go into corners under brakes to push yourself, then I generally consider this racing & don’t recommend it with riders who don’t know each other, don’t know the roads, or have not ridden together before. If you’re a local & know the roads & know your fellow riders, ok, have a bit of fun. But for me don’t do this with tour groups. Set a steady smooth pace that they can all adjust too & so feel comfortable with. Once in Laos with a tour group I had to intervene between 2 riders who were about to exchange blows, over their riding, both criticizing the other for overtaking dangerously – “testing each other out.” Absolutely not necessary.

2. Splitting your group into slow & faster riders is not a bad idea, but again someone responsible has to lead both groups & maintain a sensible pace.

3. You can’t ride faster than the slowest rider. I could have worded this better. What I feel is that if you are responsible to the group, ride too fast & get ahead of the slowest rider, somewhere further up the road you (& the group) need to stop & wait for him / them to catch up, or stop to check to see if he is ok. So that eventually you really don’t arrive at your destination until the slowest rider is in = you can’t ride faster than the slowest rider. You have to look after each other & you all want to get home with a smile on your face, not stressed out with a grim look because a rider has gone down. Someone goes down & generally the whole group has to stop =you can’t ride faster than the slowest rider. At various times different riders will ride at different speeds, but at the end of the day you should all be arriving at your hotel as a group & so you will be no faster than the slowest rider; if you’re taking care of each other (as a tour group.)

4. Riding with “lunatics” deserves no comment.

Note that my Group Riding Guidelines was written long before mobile phones (a dinosaur theory?) , & so communicating with the last / lost rider, should he answer the phone while riding, is a lot easier nowadays. But once you've had to ride back looking for a "slow / lost" rider & picked up the pieces you will understand a bit more, you can't ride faster than the slowest rider in a tour group. Everyone has to look after each other & make sure you all reach your destination.
:think:
 
Oct 12, 2005
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DavidFL wrote:

When riding with or leading a group I prefer to roll off the throttle a little beforehand & then power into the corner, not go in under brakes, because as you say Mark “different braking points and lines this often causes collisions.” One needs to keep the egos under control & not encourage riders to push or test each other out all the time. Boring it maybe for some, but if you want to ride harder & go into corners under brakes to push yourself, then I generally consider this racing
Hmmm dunno Khun David, seems a bit naive to think you could ride about the roads safely in Thailand or any other country without using your brakes whether on a tour or by oneself :shock: :shock: !!!! The Mae Hong Son loop itself seems treacherous to be done without brakes in my eyes, but then again what do i know I've only been residing in Thailand a fifth of the time you've been here.

An interesting insight to be heard from two people that have run tours in the Land of Smiles, great thread.
 
Mar 15, 2003
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www.daveearly.com
BignTall wrote: DavidFL wrote:

When riding with or leading a group I prefer to roll off the throttle a little beforehand & then power into the corner, not go in under brakes, because as you say Mark “different braking points and lines this often causes collisions.” One needs to keep the egos under control & not encourage riders to push or test each other out all the time. Boring it maybe for some, but if you want to ride harder & go into corners under brakes to push yourself, then I generally consider this racing
Hmmm dunno Khun David, seems a bit naive to think you could ride about the roads safely in Thailand or any other country without using your brakes whether on a tour or by oneself :shock: :shock: !!!! The Mae Hong Son loop itself seems treacherous to be done without brakes in my eyes, but then again what do i know I've only been residing in Thailand a fifth of the time you've been here.

An interesting insight to be heard from two people that have run tours in the Land of Smiles, great thread.
I must say, that a number of times after riding behind Davidfl, we have stopped and I told him to check his brake light because it did not appear to be working. I sometimes thought he had it adjusted to where it activated at the last second, but not so. Of course he must use some brake in tighter turns, he can answer for himself, but he uses it less than most people I know. Personal preference I guess. I use mine.
 

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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SilverhawkUSA wrote:
I must say, that a number of times after riding behind Davidfl, we have stopped and I told him to check his brake light because it did not appear to be working. I sometimes thought he had it adjusted to where it activated at the last second, but not so. Of course he must use some brake in tighter turns, he can answer for himself, but he uses it less than most people I know. Personal preference I guess. I use mine.
That Quietly Spoken English Gentleman (and Hidden Lout) johngooding is the same, hardly touches his brakes and twice as fast as me...

Daewoo
 
Sep 4, 2007
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Mark Rossi wrote:
Not braking for corners is bizarre to say the least, plus there is no stop light to inform the rider behind you are slowing.
All the roads I choose to ride in Thailand need braking, if you don't brake regularly you are probably riding flat main highways and using your motorcycle as a commuter, which is fine but i don"t find many enthusiasts looking for these ride logistics.
Braking doesn't suggest your racing, does it?
Quiet a difference in opinions, and a real insight into 2 very different ideas, hope we can debate without taking opinions personally David?
As Darryl was kind enough to point out, I am also of the light use of brake persuasion. However to say I do not slow down for corners is not true, I would rather ease off the throttle, drop down a gear or two, of course that is braking, but engine braking, I want to be in the right gear to accelerate out of the corner. One of my most enjoyable runs down Doi Inthanon, I just found the right gear for each corner and hardly touched the brakes all the way down, felt very much like a great downhill ski run. I enjoy smooth riding and to me that means finding the right speed for the road that lets me maintain an even speed, where corners are even left and rights of similar degree of curve then it just flows, all the speed control done with throttle and gears, and smooth riding is much more likely to be easy to follow, even with no brake light coming on, than rapid acceleration and braking. Just listing what I enjoy and I am happy to accept that others enjoy more acceleration and braking and I certainly would not take it personally if people differ.
It may also depend on what bike you ride, my large capacity engine bikes have a lot of engine braking. Some Bikes like the Yamaha R1, have slipper clutch and you must use the brakes to slow down. I guess lighter smaller capacity bikes are the same, more use of the brakes, as less engine braking.
 

rmbike

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Coming from a mx background, i'm quite used to reading a slowing bike without a brake light

Still on road in groups, even if i dont need to brake i will to show my intent to slow.
 
Sep 4, 2007
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On bendy roads, all bikes must slow down hopefully before, not in the corner, surely one is not supposed to be just following the bike in front on this type of road. One must be looking past the bike to the road ahead and make ones own decision about corner entry speed, line and turning point etc, if different from the guy in front, one just has to back off and leave more room to allow the different riding styles. For each member of the group to ride like robots following each other precisely is not going to work, there is no one way to tackle each road and people will all have a different approach, especially on different bikes.
To suggest that people will only be aware of the need to slow down when they see a brake light is amazing to me. Everyone must learn to read the road and make their own judgement when and how much to brake. If alone then this must happen. In a group it should still happen, but the extra dimension of considering the rider in front and behind comes in. This does not include to me the responsibility to brake just because I want the guy behind to brake. Of course if there is a dog or an obstruction then one will brake anyway, and will often hold up a hand or make a signal to suggest slowing or obstruction such as pothole.
 
Feb 23, 2003
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A thought provoking thread, with some valid points being raised by all parties. There seems to be an effort to come to a consensus, but that is not going to happen for the following reason. When you start talking about different bikes, different tires, different roads, and different riders, it becomes very difficult to come up with a one size fits all riding style. I have in fact ridden with most of the riders that have posted here. They all simply ride with radically different styles. David is fast and smooth, and in fact rarely uses his brakes. It is a style suited to a large and heavy bike like the AT. Mark and Luke on motards will come into turns at what appears to me to be a mind boggling entry speed, tap the brake briefly to set up the proper corner speed, then blow through. It took about one turn for me to realize I had no business even attempting to follow them through due to radically different bikes, and skill level.
I remember riding with David Lek one time. We were group riding, so he did not leave us in the dust although he certainly could have. I was amazed to see that his brake light virtually never went on. We were riding at a fairly normal pace for the rest of us. But for David Lek, with his skill level, on his Ducati, the corners that I was paying attention to, he was in essence sleep riding his was through. Again, different bikes and different riders.
For street riding, when I am slowing down for something, I will in fact gently tap the front brake a few times to signal to the bike/car behind me that I am in fact slowing down. But with fast group riding it does not really make sense. It comes back to my " ride your own ride" theory. You should not be following someone mindlessly, tapping your brakes when you see his brake lights come on. Keep a reasonable following distance, and set each turn up yourself. My only exception is if I am following someone on the exact same bike, with more or less the same skill level. Then I can get lazy, and just match his corner speeds and lines, with the logic that if his bike makes it through the turn without crashing, then mine should too...... :)
 
Mar 15, 2003
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Reading all these recent posts on cornering, group riding , etc,; I have one question. Is there going to be a written exam before we can participate in the next group ride?? I may need to study.
:happy2:
 
Dec 27, 2007
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SilverhawkUSA wrote: Reading all these recent posts on cornering, group riding , etc,; I have one question. Is there going to be a written exam before we can participate in the next group ride?? I may need to study.
:happy2:
I hope it's multiple choice! :lol-sign:
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:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
Feb 23, 2003
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Wow ! There goes the right wrist, and looks like some major neck pain is about to occur........
 
Oct 3, 2012
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Every group ride I have been on in Thailand, the farangs all ride in a staggered formation at a reasonable speed and the Thai's shoot off ahead one by one and maybe we see them later on.