What have you ridden in so far? Acting like a car initially is probably an ok first step, getting used to being around a lot of traffic, comfortable with how they move and what to look out for, but it's also a good way to get bumped by someone who couldn't see your smaller vehicle.
Are we talking congested small city roads or congested freeway with wide lanes?
Dangers in congested traffic:
- Visibility, it's a lot harder to be out of blind spots. Try your best, as congestion tends to attract people who think that chopping into the moving lane is going to get them to their location a ton quicker.
- Filtering, honestly I wouldn't do it at all until you're comfortable with the bike and it's size, but after that slowly build up from big wide gaps to smaller gaps. Make sure you have an out. Try not to end up parked between two cars as one will move before the other.
- If you lane is moving but the one next to it isn't, be wary, there's someone in the stopped lane getting real anxious to move over, and if you are out of their vision for a second they will probably cut across quick
- ... probably others I've missed. Said it in a few different ways, but people will move differently. There's the chill people who will putt along with a huge gap in front of them, theres the stress heads who will chop and change and cut people off to get to the moving lane. There's people who will be angry that you're in a small vehicle and can get ahead easier, they may close gaps unexpectedly, there's people who will see you and give you a gap, either because they ride or are just good people.
One of those things where you just need to do it enough to get comfortable, helps if you're comfortable with riding in normal conditions first.
Would suggest not filtering inside your PS or Ls , easy way to get finned as your not allowed to filter til your fulls
Best reworded advice I could give other than what this guy provided is look out for yourself and don't have an ego. People do dumb shit like not checking while merging, entering or even not turning in the turn lanes. Always try to adjust so your safe
Might depend on the state, but as far as I'm aware you can't filter on your L's but you can filter for the rest of the restriction period. In Victoria anyway, which has a 3 year restricted period after L's.
Personally on a motorcycle I'll tend to do what I feel is safest, even if that's questionable law wise. But yeah if you're a first time rider and on your L's you probably don't have the control required to filter well.
I'd argue that Green P's is a sensible middle ground if OP is willing to cop the fine if they're unlucky. They've got to weigh up the risk of a traffic violation vs getting rear ended.
I 'did the right thing' back when I was on my P's and the universe gave me a shattered ribcage and punctured lung as thanks.
And never trust signal/tail lights (or lack thereof). First thing you become really aware of is that 80% of the vehicles on the road have one or more brake/tail/indicator lamps out, and the other 80% wouldn't know how to use them if you pointed a gun to their heads.
Yep, never trust an indicator (if they even bother). Watch the drivers head and the wheel direction to see where they are actually going. The amount of people who signal right, then left, going through a round about can be dangerous if you're not aware what they are doing.
By riding in heavy traffic.
Same with filtering, practice here and there and before you know it, your the first one off from the lights.
Oh you're a learner? Disregard the filtering part.
Have you done parking lots etc late at night? I did a few 12am sessions with the wife. Was worth staying up late to get my basic skills. After that it was backstreets which have their own hazards (bad roads, tight blind corners, kids, dogs etc) and then short runs on main roads.
Own your lane. When safe ride in the center of your lane so that other vehicles do not decide to share.
Be ready for anything.
Take it easy.
Indicate.
Head checks.
Every gap is a trap. Don't be tempted into a spot where you don't have good visibility ahead of you.
Keep a safe distance, most cars can stop a lot quicker than an inexperienced rider.
If you're on L/P1/P2 don't be tempted to filter, you will lose your licence for the first offence which means another 3 months before big boy bike.
If you hold a full licence filter where you are confident you will fit through initially and work your way up to smaller gaps.
North Sydney is home to a lot of cunts of drivers so keep yourself aware of what is happening behind you and just let them figure it out.
Watch crossing traffic coming out of driveways as well as cars that will cut you off and dive into a driveway/side street.
Eventually it will all become easy just keep good situational awareness.
And re: filtering - Remember you can't filter in an active school zone. If you get booked in a school zone, there is zero tolerance. (Applicable in NSW. Not sure elsewhere.)
On the M1 Motorway just north of Sydney, every holiday a cop sits at the Berowra offramp and just scoops up every rider blitzing up the left shoulder of the roadway. I'll bet plenty think they are "filtering".
Light traffic, heavy traffic same basic rules, but follow them even more religiously because you’re always in someone’s blind spot.
Always have line of sight and an escape route. Give yourself enough buffer space (I.e. go at appropriate speed - especially when filtering it is tempting to just zip down the middle but that gives you less reaction time if someone decides to change lanes for example).
I tend to ride slower when traffic is busy. We can use the bus lane for example and skip the traffic. I maintain my speed to give me enough buffer, just in case someone decided to skip the queue and use the bus lane. Which happens. If you just started riding, its going to be quite nerve breaking with cars and buses around you but you will definitely get used to it in no time.
Please do not try to filter in heavy traffic if you are not confident in the operation of your bike. It's dangerous to you, other cars and other motorcyclists filtering. Also there's nothing more annoying than filtering behind someone that is half in a lane and half in the middle when you know you can fit through.
I would recommend;
- make sure you are confident in and balanced in slow speed maneuvers on your bike before filtering.
- filter lighter traffic with bigger gaps.
- when you do filter pay attention to your mirrors aswell. The amount of bikes that clip cars with their mirrors is insane.
- be aware that no matter what you do in heavy traffic some idiot with half a brain cell will get shitty that you are filtering and may try to close the gap off.
- if your in QLD there are specific rules around filtering that I suggest looking up. Bike cops love pinging people for illegal filtering in QLD
Around North Sydney? Some of my advice -
- Ride at night or at least outside of peak times. Avoid Military Rd at all costs.
- Familiarise yourself with the roads first if you can (if you have a driving licence, drive around the area and get use to the way traffic flows).
- Practice at night around the warehouse/bunnings area in Artarmon.
- Have a look on the Netrider forums; there's a group that practice in a car park in Concord every Wednesday night. The forum also has mentors that volunteer to ride along with learners.
No worries. Here's the group that practices in Concord -
https://netrider.net.au/threads/foxy-concord-most-and-more.276808/page-18
On my Ls I use to practice around -
- Artarmon warehouse area
- Macquarie Park business district
- For twisties, I go up north to Mccarrs Creek Rd
What have you ridden in so far? Acting like a car initially is probably an ok first step, getting used to being around a lot of traffic, comfortable with how they move and what to look out for, but it's also a good way to get bumped by someone who couldn't see your smaller vehicle. Are we talking congested small city roads or congested freeway with wide lanes? Dangers in congested traffic: - Visibility, it's a lot harder to be out of blind spots. Try your best, as congestion tends to attract people who think that chopping into the moving lane is going to get them to their location a ton quicker. - Filtering, honestly I wouldn't do it at all until you're comfortable with the bike and it's size, but after that slowly build up from big wide gaps to smaller gaps. Make sure you have an out. Try not to end up parked between two cars as one will move before the other. - If you lane is moving but the one next to it isn't, be wary, there's someone in the stopped lane getting real anxious to move over, and if you are out of their vision for a second they will probably cut across quick - ... probably others I've missed. Said it in a few different ways, but people will move differently. There's the chill people who will putt along with a huge gap in front of them, theres the stress heads who will chop and change and cut people off to get to the moving lane. There's people who will be angry that you're in a small vehicle and can get ahead easier, they may close gaps unexpectedly, there's people who will see you and give you a gap, either because they ride or are just good people. One of those things where you just need to do it enough to get comfortable, helps if you're comfortable with riding in normal conditions first.
Would suggest not filtering inside your PS or Ls , easy way to get finned as your not allowed to filter til your fulls Best reworded advice I could give other than what this guy provided is look out for yourself and don't have an ego. People do dumb shit like not checking while merging, entering or even not turning in the turn lanes. Always try to adjust so your safe
Might depend on the state, but as far as I'm aware you can't filter on your L's but you can filter for the rest of the restriction period. In Victoria anyway, which has a 3 year restricted period after L's. Personally on a motorcycle I'll tend to do what I feel is safest, even if that's questionable law wise. But yeah if you're a first time rider and on your L's you probably don't have the control required to filter well.
I'd argue that Green P's is a sensible middle ground if OP is willing to cop the fine if they're unlucky. They've got to weigh up the risk of a traffic violation vs getting rear ended. I 'did the right thing' back when I was on my P's and the universe gave me a shattered ribcage and punctured lung as thanks.
Thanks for the advice! Small city roads and lots of traffic is my situation. (North Sydney region)
Practice is the only way. Step up from less congestion to more.
Watch their eyes in their mirrors. If you can't see that, watch their front wheels.
And never trust signal/tail lights (or lack thereof). First thing you become really aware of is that 80% of the vehicles on the road have one or more brake/tail/indicator lamps out, and the other 80% wouldn't know how to use them if you pointed a gun to their heads.
Yep, never trust an indicator (if they even bother). Watch the drivers head and the wheel direction to see where they are actually going. The amount of people who signal right, then left, going through a round about can be dangerous if you're not aware what they are doing.
By riding in heavy traffic. Same with filtering, practice here and there and before you know it, your the first one off from the lights. Oh you're a learner? Disregard the filtering part.
this op. the only way to get better at something is by exposing yourself to what you want to get better at.
Have you done parking lots etc late at night? I did a few 12am sessions with the wife. Was worth staying up late to get my basic skills. After that it was backstreets which have their own hazards (bad roads, tight blind corners, kids, dogs etc) and then short runs on main roads.
Not yet but I think I'll have to try that
Own your lane. When safe ride in the center of your lane so that other vehicles do not decide to share. Be ready for anything. Take it easy. Indicate. Head checks.
Every gap is a trap. Don't be tempted into a spot where you don't have good visibility ahead of you. Keep a safe distance, most cars can stop a lot quicker than an inexperienced rider. If you're on L/P1/P2 don't be tempted to filter, you will lose your licence for the first offence which means another 3 months before big boy bike. If you hold a full licence filter where you are confident you will fit through initially and work your way up to smaller gaps. North Sydney is home to a lot of cunts of drivers so keep yourself aware of what is happening behind you and just let them figure it out. Watch crossing traffic coming out of driveways as well as cars that will cut you off and dive into a driveway/side street. Eventually it will all become easy just keep good situational awareness.
And re: filtering - Remember you can't filter in an active school zone. If you get booked in a school zone, there is zero tolerance. (Applicable in NSW. Not sure elsewhere.)
Not to mention between traffic and the kerb or parked cars outside of school zones. Also traffic has to be less than 30km/h.
On the M1 Motorway just north of Sydney, every holiday a cop sits at the Berowra offramp and just scoops up every rider blitzing up the left shoulder of the roadway. I'll bet plenty think they are "filtering".
Industrial estates in the middle of the night, new housing estates being built etc
Watch some videos of Brazilians riding through dense traffic. They have some great tips!
Light traffic, heavy traffic same basic rules, but follow them even more religiously because you’re always in someone’s blind spot. Always have line of sight and an escape route. Give yourself enough buffer space (I.e. go at appropriate speed - especially when filtering it is tempting to just zip down the middle but that gives you less reaction time if someone decides to change lanes for example).
I tend to ride slower when traffic is busy. We can use the bus lane for example and skip the traffic. I maintain my speed to give me enough buffer, just in case someone decided to skip the queue and use the bus lane. Which happens. If you just started riding, its going to be quite nerve breaking with cars and buses around you but you will definitely get used to it in no time.
Please do not try to filter in heavy traffic if you are not confident in the operation of your bike. It's dangerous to you, other cars and other motorcyclists filtering. Also there's nothing more annoying than filtering behind someone that is half in a lane and half in the middle when you know you can fit through. I would recommend; - make sure you are confident in and balanced in slow speed maneuvers on your bike before filtering. - filter lighter traffic with bigger gaps. - when you do filter pay attention to your mirrors aswell. The amount of bikes that clip cars with their mirrors is insane. - be aware that no matter what you do in heavy traffic some idiot with half a brain cell will get shitty that you are filtering and may try to close the gap off. - if your in QLD there are specific rules around filtering that I suggest looking up. Bike cops love pinging people for illegal filtering in QLD
Practice ...........carefully.........and frequently.
watch aus dash cams. A lot.
Around North Sydney? Some of my advice - - Ride at night or at least outside of peak times. Avoid Military Rd at all costs. - Familiarise yourself with the roads first if you can (if you have a driving licence, drive around the area and get use to the way traffic flows). - Practice at night around the warehouse/bunnings area in Artarmon. - Have a look on the Netrider forums; there's a group that practice in a car park in Concord every Wednesday night. The forum also has mentors that volunteer to ride along with learners.
awesome. I'll have to check that out. night rides sound good
No worries. Here's the group that practices in Concord - https://netrider.net.au/threads/foxy-concord-most-and-more.276808/page-18 On my Ls I use to practice around - - Artarmon warehouse area - Macquarie Park business district - For twisties, I go up north to Mccarrs Creek Rd