Sorry, but I disagree with your disagreement, especially in urban areas. If you're in the left lane, the cars changing lanes (especially around on/off ramps) are usually safely off to your right, out of the way. Just about every day I see somebody in a middle lane suddenly dive across 2 lanes to make an off-ramp. In my experience in St Louis (4-5 lanes rolling at 70mph), cars are much more unpredictable in the right lanes than in the left lanes. Now if you're talking about 2 lanes out in the middle of nowhere, it doesn't really matter, just ride where you're comfortable.

And regarding trucks--maybe their tires don't blow out, but stuff flies off of them all the time. Don't run behind them, and go WFO when you pass them.

 

Highway riding is probably safest for the number of miles covered, but use common sense. When possible, you should position yourself so there is a "bubble" around you allowing some sort of escape in an emergency(even if its the shoulder). If you ride the right lane, stay in the left tire track, as that establishes your position. If you are in the right lane and approaching an exit, be very conscious of drivers who may cut over at the last second to take that exit. Be very aware of aggressive drivers; constantly check your mirrors and blind spots. Things can change quickly on the highway, so if things were clear behind you five seconds earlier, understand somebody may be speeding along and have caught up to you unexpectedly. So never assume when changing lanes. Last, you are safer moving through the traffic to reach more open areas, so do not hesitate to pass vehicles safely on their left.

 

You must have a 08 or older bike to dread the rain grooves. I hated the rain grooves enough that I sold my 02 and bought an 09 to fix that problem. However, I am not suggesting you get a new bike, there are better tires out there that will help the problem.

Beary

 

Just back from a round trip to FL... interstates are the way to go if you want to get there and back when you only have 10 days of vacation.

I don't like riding them at night because of the things that you find laying in the road that you may not see fast enough. Had a wooden bench about 6 ft long layin across the highway in my lane on my way home which would have been real hard to see at night.

The construction zones kinda suck because of uneven paving, rumble strips, cones tossed out in the lane, people not paying attention to their speed or just not giving a crap and whatever else.

Rain .. well ya just have to slow it down.. caught a lot of it on the ride home.

Like others have said, following distance should be great enough to give you time to react and see whats going on in front of you and trucks I give them all the room they need!

 

An important reminder for anyone new to riding the slab: when passing semis, don't use their chrome hubcaps as mirrors!

 

There's actually a question on the Motorcycle endorsement that states which part of the lane you are supposed to be in to be seen in easier.. Which I got wrong, because it varies in every situation.

I will not swerve for anything smaller than a large dog, and even then I'd rather run something over and dent the bike while in control than be at full ABS, shock compression then hit it.

I rode past a moderate sized tumbling piece of paper in the road this week and saw cars, and SUVs swerving in their lane to avoid it. People are crazy.

 

I don't own bikes to ride freeways. If you catch me on one, it's out of necessity to get to the next scenic two laner. Maybe it' the same everywhere, but the freeways here in Las Vegas are covered with crap blowing out of/off of vehicles. The road surface is covered with debries. Several times a year, I see a patrol officer stopping the freeway traffic and risking his/her life to remove large objects from the road. I'll watch crap falling off vehicles in other lanes. It' not uncomon to see 6-8 vehilces with multiple flat tires grouped together after running over a box of nails or some other crap. Is this common elsewhere?

 

Another problem that is common to a lot of states.. crap blowin out of peoples trucks, boats on trailers and cars... people just don't think when their flyin down the freeway with a mattress on the roof of their car, held on with twine.... pickup trucks with nothing holding the contents of the bed down etc....

 

I do most of the US on interstates with my annual tours. When it comes down to it, interstate roads are safer by far than local roads.

High winds are no different on any road. Proper following distance is the same on any road.

Debris on the road surface is no difference.

The only difference is you get where your going faster. I got from my home in Illinois to Sturgis for 853 miles in 12 hours. Never broke the speed limit which ranged from 65 to 75 with the majority of the distance at 75 mph.

Local roads have some more interesting sights sometimes but try I-15 through the mountains in Montana once.

 

Thanks again for all the advice; definitely has me rethinking "superslabs".

The grooves I was talking about - I don't think they're rain grooves. It's almost like a truck dropped a hook on the road and it just goes back and forth... digs a little channel for a few hundred yards like a lazy S... Only seen a couple of them, but they grabbed my tires and moved me a little.