Riding in formation?

[hairyteeth]

Last week I had the family in Gatlingburg, TN area for the week. On Friday Aug 18 morning on hwy 321 we were in the cage headed towards Cosby and met 7 BMW riders all dressed alike on matching bikes. The leader was center his side of the road with the next 3 pairs of riders running side by side. All 7 bikes from front to back there wasn't 60 feet. They were probably close to the 45 mph speed limit, but it's a winding road next to the Smokey Mountain National Park, lot's of wildlife...ect. Not sure who they were trying to impress. HT

[Firefighter]

I rarely ride in a pack, but if I lead I ride to the shoulder side and if I follow I have learned the difficult way to keep plenty of stop distance and there usually is no time to watch the scenery.

See lots of Hardley riders do that down here, but it is wide open, flat, hiways.

[Jess from VA]

Riding side by side is risky business (except for short distances on straight roads, or maybe through town).  And check your state laws, because riding side by side is a moving violation in many jurisdictions.  Maybe it was 7 brothers who grew up riding together.   Or some drill team on vacation, who knows.  But it is not a good idea, especially in twisty fun roads where most guys like to use the whole lane (I do).  

Typically, when entering these roads, the group has been riding in a nice interval stagger formation, and the lead puts up one finger (not the middle one), indicating it's time to go one by one now.

Just a few years back, a group of Hog riders (club) who's trademark was riding really tight and fast had a big wipeout; some guy has a brain fart up front, and there's no time for the guys in back to react, and it was a big pileup.  I think their name was Brother Speed.... and I commented back then they needed to change their name to Brothers go back to MSF.

Further, in twisty riding, they not only put themselves at risk, but everyone coming the other way too.

Found it:  http://www.agingrebel.com/2275  

[Valkorado]

26 riders down in one fell swoop!  Some if the comments in the article Jess posted are priceless.  Rebel states, "The point of riding in a pack is to make a little vehicle, a bike, into a big vehicle people will see, hear, and process".   

Problem is, the cluster of little vehicles doesn't behave like a big vehicle.  Coordinating 28 split second reactions requires space and time.

And I agree on single file lane hogging thru the fun stuff! 

[Ramie]

And I agree on single file lane hogging thru the fun stuff! 

I participated in a ride a couple weekends ago and on the second leg of the ride the bike behind me kept insisting on riding up next to me.  I finally just dropped back and waved him around.  I like to enjoy every ride and I'm not going let some yahoo ruin it if I don't precisely hold my line in a curve, especially on a road I haven't ridden before.

[old2soon]

Here in the sho me anywho on P G R rides and ANY rides I'm ride captain on/of ride staggered and with good spacing-2 to 3 seconds-or do NOT ride with us. From my personal experience on long highway runs Most but by No means all the spacing grows a bit. I try to splain at the briefing the WHY of riding staggered. You come up side by side with me you have Eliminated one of my escape routes and I tend to git testy!  And I duz realize we were All newbies once but my question is-Where zackly duz ya place a Known newbie in a large ride formation? RIDE SAFE.

[John Schmidt]

To me it's quite simple. If you're riding along and suddenly have to swerve to miss something on the road and someone is riding just a few feet to your side, where are you going to go?!? Swerve to the left might put you in the oncoming lane so that's out. Swerving to the right will put you smack into the other rider. Going down I-95 from J&P Cycles, I was passed by four local county mounties on HD's, all riding side by side and 2 x 2. By coincidence they stopped at the same gas station where I stopped and we struck up a conversation. One of them jokingly asked me not to break the law while on the Valkyrie, when asked why he said simply "we'd never be able to catch you." Not sure about that but it was good for a laugh by all. I then asked what they would do if they were riding side by side and one had to swerve to miss an obstruction/debris. Who would get hit, especially if you were the inside rider....you're going to either go off the road or hit your partner. All four looked at each other like a deer in the headlights, but said nothing. I did notice when they pulled out they were talking to each other and as they disappeared were riding staggered. It was amusing, made me wonder if that question had ever come up before....judging by their initial reaction.  

[..]

Stoopid is as stoopid does.

[Willow]

It's so easy for us to point fingers in our lack of understanding.

Outlaws ride side by side.  Motorcycle policemen ride side by side.  I have done it on occasion, at speed, with another rider that I know and trust, two guys or a guy and a girl (I was the guy).

Honestly, there are elements that we don't see so well.  One of those would be inadequate skill to control the bike in adverse conditions.  Many more of us are guilty of that danger than any number who ride in close pairs.

Aside from the few stories mentioned, does anyone have real statistics on accidents occurring due to riding side by side and limited to those that were not the result of inadequate skills?

Isn't it interesting that this discussion bears remarkable similarity to a "car tire" discussion.   

[Hooter]

To each his own. Personally, I don't do poker runs or group rides anymore.  Bar stops are too frequent in these situations anymore and I don't know most involved or their ride skills.  IF I ride with someone,  which is rare, ride staggered not next to me. I don't want someone riding behind me either. 

This is why I just prefer to ride alone. Only concern is about me when I'm alone.  Got enough people not paying attention.  Group rides and poker runs may be fine for some but not for me. Again, to each his own.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

 My long lost friend before he went Harley batshit crazy and became in his mind too good ride with me. Side by side across The Dragon . Not many I'd do this with but all I will do it with are my local riding buds.

[BobB]

I participated in a ride a couple weekends ago and on the second leg of the ride the bike behind me kept insisting on riding up next to me.  I finally just dropped back and waved him around.  I like to enjoy every ride and I'm not going let some yahoo ruin it if I don't precisely hold my line in a curve, especially on a road I haven't ridden before.

In Minnesota, it is illegal to share a lane unless permission is granted by the other rider.  These days, I would not dream of riding other than staggered in a group, and single file, two seconds apart, through curves.  I do not like to ride long distances in tight groups.

That said, I was introduced to group riding in 1965 by the Milwaukee Motorcycle Club, which rode long distances at highway speeds handlebar to handlebar.  This is a H-D AMA club, not an outlaw or 1% club.
In those times we must have thought about safety a little differently.  Just glad I survived...

[Oss]

That is a great pic from days gone by. Ive given up on trying to find the pic of Joe and Detn8er side by side thru the dragon,  which was one of my all time favorite riding pics

Had wondered from time to time where Big Al got to as well
Seems he got butt hurt from something and just left  
Seems a lot of folks have had the same affliction over the years

Me, I will ride off someone's quarter but only if it has been agreed beforehand.  In a group ride in the twisties I like to be in back with the CB to make sure everyone is ok. Have been on a few rides where that came in handy.   Ive seen my share of dead riders here in the northeast who didnt realize how much room is needed to stop before going under a truck or whatnot  $hit can happen in an instant no matter how good you ride  Call me paranoid but so far I am still alive and riding and wont ride faster than I can see......

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

That is a great pic from days gone by. Ive given up on trying to find the pic of Joe and Detn8er side by side thru the dragon,  which was one of my all time favorite riding pics

Had wondered from time to time where Big Al got to as well
Seems he got butt hurt from something and just left  
Seems a lot of folks have had the same affliction over the years

Me, I will ride off someone's quarter but only if it has been agreed beforehand.  In a group ride in the twisties I like to be in back with the CB to make sure everyone is ok. Have been on a few rides where that came in handy.   Ive seen my share of dead riders here in the northeast who didnt realize how much room is needed to stop before going under a truck or whatnot  $hit can happen in an instant no matter how good you ride  Call me paranoid but so far I am still alive and riding and wont ride faster than I can see....

   Reason you don't see his goofy ass on the VRCC anymore the staff got over it... Problem solved.

[Chrisj CMA]

And I agree on single file lane hogging thru the fun stuff!  

I participated in a ride a couple weekends ago and on the second leg of the ride the bike behind me kept insisting on riding up next to me.  I finally just dropped back and waved him around.  I like to enjoy every ride and I'm not going let some yahoo ruin it if I don't precisely hold my line in a curve, especially on a road I haven't ridden before.

Ramie,. I have no idea if you are guilty of this or not.  But it's something for any and all that ride in group rides to consider.

If a rider fails to maintain speed and falls back out of position, the rider behind has a couple choices.  He can either slow up as well so the spacing is maintained or he can stay in position on speed and let the rider in front sort of back into his space.  This happens to me often the rider in front of me is not proficient at speed control and doesn't keep up.  I let them back down on me some instead of slowing with them and causing an acordian effect.

Sometimes the rider that is failing to maintain speed and position percieves that the fault is me speeding up and encroaching on his space.

On a group ride anticipating a speed up or a slow down and maintaining position is very important.  

I always say to a rider that is always catching up that if you are catching up you're not keeping up.  I think some like to repeatedly have to accelerate to catch up.  It's very irritating.

[Ramie]

And I agree on single file lane hogging thru the fun stuff!  

I participated in a ride a couple weekends ago and on the second leg of the ride the bike behind me kept insisting on riding up next to me.  I finally just dropped back and waved him around.  I like to enjoy every ride and I'm not going let some yahoo ruin it if I don't precisely hold my line in a curve, especially on a road I haven't ridden before.

Ramie,. I have no idea if you are guilty of this or not.  But it's something for any and all that ride in group rides to consider.

If a rider fails to maintain speed and falls back out of position, the rider behind has a couple choices.  He can either slow up as well so the spacing is maintained or he can stay in position on speed and let the rider in front sort of back into his space.  This happens to me often the rider in front of me is not proficient at speed control and doesn't keep up.  I let them back down on me some instead of slowing with them and causing an acordian effect.

Sometimes the rider that is failing to maintain speed and position percieves that the fault is me speeding up and encroaching on his space.

On a group ride anticipating a speed up or a slow down and maintaining position is very important.  

I always say to a rider that is always catching up that if you are catching up you're not keeping up.  I think some like to repeatedly have to accelerate to catch up.  It's very irritating.

I know exactly what your saying, even at 70mph and me being a correct distance from the bike in front of me, this guy continued to crowd me.  Didn't know him, didn't know if he was an inexperienced rider or just a jerk but it made me nervous enough to not let it continue.