Author Topic: What would you have done? (Read 2449 times)

sangyo soichiro · « **on:** May 30, 2009, 01:13:33 PM »

So I'm out today on the cafe, ditty-bopping along, and a Harley guy comes in behind me. He's a ways back as I'm coming to a stop light. I'm waiting at the stop light and I hear the Harley come up to what sounds like pretty damn close. I don't take my eyes off the light and the cross traffic because the light should turn green any moment.

A split second before the light turns I hear him say something. I couldn't quite make it out, but whatever it was wasn't said with an attitude - I even think I heard the word "please."

Anyway, the light turned and I was more concerned with traffic than with whatever it was he said, and whatever he said, he said it just as the light turned, so my mind was on traffic and I took off and he stayed at the light (not sure why he sat through a green light...).

I went slow, and later pulled over at a pub in case he was trying to ask me something about my bike (plus, I was thinking about getting a beer), but he eventually just rode by and we gave each other that 'howdy-doo' motorcycle nod and that was that.

As best as I can make out what he said, I think it was "Can you move up please?" I'm confused as hell why he would want me to move up, because I was right where I should have been - behind the white line. And you shouldn't pull up close to anyone and then ask them to move.

So what should I have done?

Inkscars · « **Reply #1 on:** May 30, 2009, 01:23:20 PM »

Snubbed him because he rides a harley, and offer him a 1 handed knifefight for rights to the white line at the next light.

It was just a misunderstanding, sometimes it's better to do what you did vs. turn around and possibly stir the pot.

Of course.....I prolly woulda been like "HUH" and turned around and flipped my bike over.

Ecosse · « **Reply #2 on:** May 30, 2009, 01:44:36 PM »

i've been in a similar, non-bike, situation. inks is right about misunderstanding. i figure if someone gets their panties in a twist because you didn't respond in some way, well tough nuts. it's just life; sometimes we're just on different wave lengths.

but the mutual nod sounds to me like he had no hard feelings. and sounds to me you're not a cold mofo if you've given this some consideration.

Inkscars · « **Reply #3 on:** May 30, 2009, 01:47:12 PM »

Plus one!

(although you did just burn some of your street cred.)

GoatBaSS · « **Reply #4 on:** May 30, 2009, 01:48:44 PM »

Two motorcycle engines running, traffic, concentration on the task @ hand and you want me to listen! Let it go. He could have said "I had me one of those" or anything else under the sun. You did right for the time. On a bike it is all about you.

fuzzybutt · « **Reply #5 on:** May 30, 2009, 02:09:29 PM »

now, i have a pretty nasty attitude lots of days. i'd have told hiim to stick it up his ass.

Do0ki3 PWNS · « **Reply #6 on:** May 30, 2009, 02:22:08 PM »

i think he may have wanted to pull up next to you?... lol

who knows, i would have done the same just kept my mind on the traffic light.

myhondas · « **Reply #7 on:** May 30, 2009, 02:27:45 PM »

Somebody throw some kitty treats @ fuzzy...

You should have done exactly what you said you did with one additional item.... You should have had one extra beer for him in case he was asking you something nice and two extra beers in case he said something in the negative.....

333 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 30, 2009, 03:13:10 PM »

Why would you need to pull up any? I assume you know enough to not be in the center of the lane where the grease slick is, and I also assume that your cafe isn't attached to a sidecar. And by the rest of the story, you weren't blocking a "right turn on red". I must conclude that you didn't hear what he said. He may have been commenting on the weather.

Or maybe he was waiting for the conveyor belt to start rolling.

mystic_1 · « **Reply #9 on:** May 30, 2009, 03:18:22 PM »

What I would have done would have been to not be so concerned about the green light. I'd have looked back and said "I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said" or something to that effect. After all, what he was saying may have been important in some way. Maybe not, but that's what I would have done.

mystic_1

sangyo soichiro · « **Reply #10 on:** May 30, 2009, 03:31:47 PM »

Yeah, I feel bad for just taking off like I did. I have no idea what he said and whether it was important. Now if I had heard the words 'conveyor,' or 'hammer,' I'd have went hell bent for leather and would never give it a second thought.

Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er · « **Reply #11 on:** May 30, 2009, 03:53:15 PM »

I probably would have pointed to my ear and shrugged my shoulders to try to indicate I couldn't hear him. Then go about my business.

bill440cars · « **Reply #12 on:** May 30, 2009, 04:10:22 PM »

Might have been wanting a "pull start"!

You said that he sat out the green light, right? Just posting a Guess.

Sure makes you wonder just what he said, seemed to be quite corgial, when he did pass. $:-\$

There's a saying that I used to use in Junior High School (and later on, at times)

Mind Over Matter, I don't mind AND he don't matter!

I'd have done what you did, if it matters.

Later on, Bill

tramp · « **Reply #13 on:** May 30, 2009, 06:15:42 PM »

my first thought was to say ingore him
but thats what harley guys do
so maybe you should of asked what he said
or just let it go

fuzzybutt · « **Reply #14 on:** May 30, 2009, 06:41:26 PM »

i would only say something like that if i knew for sure he was telling me to move. not if i wasnt sure what he was saying

OldSkool · « **Reply #15 on:** May 30, 2009, 07:18:51 PM »

I would have thrown a trident at him.

seaweb11 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 30, 2009, 08:55:05 PM »

My guess is that he knows that particular light and it won't click green until some more weight goes on the widget under the road to tell it there is a car waiting. There are a couple in Nanaimo that If I am 1st, I need to pull way forward and gesture a car to come closer to the line or the light never changes

I'll bet that's what happened

mystic_1 · « **Reply #17 on:** May 30, 2009, 09:04:57 PM »

Those sensors work via induction, not by weight. They create a magnetic field that is disturbed by the metal in a vehicle sitting above them. Motorcycles often don't contain enough ferrous material to trip the sensor. Other forum members have had luck strapping neodymium magnets to the bottom of their bikes.

OTOH, longer red lights gives you the chance to converse with the Harley rider that pulls up behind you

mystic_1

seaweb11 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 30, 2009, 09:07:56 PM »

weight, magnetics, same story

fuzzybutt · « **Reply #19 on:** May 30, 2009, 09:10:45 PM »

i have one glued to the bottom edge of my front fender, hope it works

Ecosse · « **Reply #20 on:** May 30, 2009, 09:11:06 PM »

several years ago a buddy of mine was followed home from the gym. all the time he didn't know who it was, but knew he clearly was being followed. finally he stopped and was ready for a brawl, but then the other car pulled up next to his, and my friend recognized it was a flamboyantly gay guy from the gym. he said he was following him because he "juuuust had to tell him he was gorgeous."

friend changed gyms the next day.

maybe you have an admirer?

rhos1355 · « **Reply #21 on:** May 31, 2009, 03:23:25 AM »

Soichiro, you sound like a nice bloke. But waaaaaayyyy too sensitive to what people might think.

andy750 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 31, 2009, 05:21:09 AM »

Quote from: rhos1355 on May 31, 2009, 03:23:25 AM

Soichiro, you sound like a nice bloke. But waaaaaayyyy too sensitive to what people might think.

+ 1, that was my impression....who gives a f$#k what he said or didnt say...wave and move on...

Caaveman82 · « **Reply #23 on:** May 31, 2009, 01:48:56 PM »

What he said was "I wish my bike was as cool as that, can we be friends please?"

The reason he stayed through the green light was because he was so shocked that you didn't respond. No hard feelings, no problem.

myhondas · « **Reply #24 on:** May 31, 2009, 07:35:20 PM »

Quote from: seaweb11 on May 30, 2009, 08:55:05 PM

My guess is that he knows that particular light and it won't click green until some more weight goes on the widget under the road to tell it there is a car waiting. There are a couple in Nanaimo that If I am 1st, I need to pull way forward and gesture a car to come closer to the line or the light never changes

I'll bet that's what happened

What is it that makes everyone think that there is a WEIGHT sensor buried in the road

Those little wires that they put in the road are insulated copper wire. What in the world makes a intelligent person believe that it is going to measure weight. Hello.....it is a variable capacitance loop that sees your metal bike, car, truck, etc. as added capacitance and makes a circuit.

Damfino · « **Reply #25 on:** May 31, 2009, 07:41:23 PM »

Quote from: myhondas on May 31, 2009, 07:35:20 PM

Quote from: seaweb11 on May 30, 2009, 08:55:05 PM
My guess is that he knows that particular light and it won't click green until some more weight goes on the widget under the road to tell it there is a car waiting. There are a couple in Nanaimo that If I am 1st, I need to pull way forward and gesture a car to come closer to the line or the light never changes

I'll bet that's what happened

What is it that makes everyone think that there is a WEIGHT sensor buried in the road Those little wires that they put in the road are insulated copper wire. What in the world makes a intelligent person believe that it is going to measure weight. Hello.....it is a variable capacitance loop that sees your metal bike, car, truck, etc. as added capacitance and makes a circuit.

I think it's because they put those wires in a rectangular pattern that makes it look like a scale platform to some people.

Joel · « **Reply #26 on:** May 31, 2009, 07:43:07 PM »

Not everyone knows or understands inductance but most, if not all, people understand weight and mass. It's just an assumption people make.

seaweb11 · « **Reply #27 on:** May 31, 2009, 09:44:30 PM »

Who #$%*ing cares..............
you guys are all getting way to pissy

Go watch a movie. Yell at your kids, get it all off your chest how dumb every one else is

did I spell everything OK, If not ....... again read the 1st line!

mystic_1 · « **Reply #28 on:** May 31, 2009, 10:42:25 PM »

At least I included a helpful tip, and a joke

cheers
mystic_1

Ecosse · « **Reply #29 on:** June 01, 2009, 01:23:21 AM »

Quote from: seaweb11 on May 31, 2009, 09:44:30 PM

Who #$%*ing cares..............
you guys are all getting way to pissy Go watch a movie. Yell at your kids, get it all off your chest how dumb every one else is

did I spell everything OK, If not ....... again read the 1st line!

sangyo soichiro · « **Reply #30 on:** June 01, 2009, 10:05:44 AM »

Thanks for all the responses. I never really knew about the inductance-type sensors in the road. Still not sure if it's a joke though. Seems like they would be hard to perform maintenance on if buried in the pavement, and I've only seen the laser-type sensors mounted on the poles near the intersections.

By the way, I hate those 'smart' traffic lights. Seems like no one knows where exactly to put the car so the detector senses them (which is right behind the white painted line), and I've seen stupid people, turning left, sit through several light changes (it didn't change for them - only for the cross traffic and the people going straight). It really sucks when you're one of the guys behind them. Plus, a lot of times the laser-sensor thingy doesn't sense my bike and I'm eventually forced to run a red light.

Anyway, this was one of those old-fashioned lights where that Harley guy tried to get a better look at my butt.

DammitDan · « **Reply #31 on:** June 01, 2009, 10:18:15 AM »

Nah the magnetic field sensors aren't a joke at all... We have them all over the place here in TN. They look similar to this:

Just gotta make sure you stop the bike over the top of one of those metal strips.

mystic_1 · « **Reply #32 on:** June 01, 2009, 05:30:13 PM »

They use a large saw to cut grooves several inches deep in the pavement, in the shape they want, then they run wire through the cracks to form a coil. The ends of the coil lead back to the control box for the traffic lights. Once the wire is laid they fill the cracks with sealant.

If the wire goes bad they rip out the sealant, replace the wires, then re-seal. Not bad at all really.

The biggest problems with them are that a lot of them aren't well tuned and won't pick up smaller (magnetically!) vehicles (ie bikes, corvettes, etc), and poor placement. Here in the Chicago suburbs it's common for lanes to have multiple sensors so that the signal controller can tell approximately how many cars are waiting at each side of the intersection, and adjust accordingly. In theory. YMMV.

I always try to come to a stop with the centerline of the bike directly over one of the sensor lines, preferrably close to the left front corner of the sensor rectangle.

mystic_1

Alan F. · « **Reply #33 on:** June 05, 2009, 06:33:37 AM »

Sharing the white line at a light is usually a good experience, but when the light is about to turn green (in my humble opinion) it's time to be looking for cars that will run the yellow...and that one idiot who'll run the red, as well as identify and make eye contact with any drivers who will be turning left....

That's not usually a good time for conversation, it was probably his first bike and he was all giddy to be able to share the road with another bike.

flybox1 · « **Reply #34 on:** June 05, 2009, 08:35:43 AM »

Quote from: mystic_1 on May 30, 2009, 09:04:57 PM

OTOH, longer red lights gives you the chance to converse with the Harley rider that pulls up behind you

mystic_1

...and fiddle with ur idle screw

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Author Topic: What would you have done? (Read 2449 times)

fuzzybutt

Do0ki3 PWNS

fuzzybutt

fuzzybutt

rhos1355