First ride on The Expressways

[ThePole]

Hi evryone, just wondering on e FIRST DAY u collected ur first 2B bike, do u straight away ride on PIE/CTE/BKE/SLE etc. alone? Ani experience to share? Any preparation did u do? i most likely nid to do so, as cant find ani friends to go wit me, and have to go from Serangoon to Jurong, pretty nervous.

[ahsnow]

actually No my first ride on express way is at SSDC the pass already having a free expressway ride wan

 

do remember is tt not to be over confidence because i remember i nearly accident when high speed corner on express way

 

preparation i think just relax n be careful of car at express way

[contrarian]

Be careful of these:

1. cross winds - you may suddenly be hit with strong winds blasting at you from your side. these will push your bike inwards or outwards. be prepared and don't panic when you first experience this.

 

2. drain or grating covers - you may feel the bump or maybe a slight loss of traction. look out, ride upright and with a steady throttle when going over.

 

3. high speed cornering - if you're not prepared for the corner and have gone in too fast, you will feel the bike being pushed outwards to the next lane. that is very dangerous if someone is on the next lane. some expressway ramps may surprise you with the sloping bends if you're not prepared (like PIE exit to Bedok, PIE entrance from Thomson). use the speed limit on the road and the "reduce speed now" as guides to control your speed. do your braking before you enter the bend.

 

4. following too close to the vehicle in front - you don't have enough distance to react to hazards like ebrake and obstacles on the road

 

In the first few weeks of getting used to your bike, be alert, be cautious, be conservative.

[ThePole]

Hi ahsnow and contrarian, thx a million 4 ur advice!

[nhyone]

Ride on the third lane, lane change to 2nd for overtaking. I usually stick to the 3rd lane for short trips (

 

I find it hard to overtake on the first lane cos it takes forever to accelerate from 70+ to 90+ km/h on my 125cc bike. By then, a car would have caught up even if he was initially very far away. So, sticking to ~70 km/h on the second lane is fast enough for me.

 

And be sure of your expressway exit beforehand, so you can lane change earlier.

[LimHammett]

wat contrarian said is very useful. just remember:

 

1.stick to the speed limit which is usually 90km/hr.

 

2. always stay in the MIDDLE of the LEFT LANE! dun ride too near to the road shoulder as cars would pass u on the same lane and u will tend to freak out abit.

 

3. dun be nervous if u see a vehicle following closely behind u. as long as u stay in the left lane, which is meant for slower vehicles, ur in the right of way.

 

4. display ur p plate!

 

5. keep calm and have a cool head.

 

ENJOY THE RIDE ON THE EWAYS!!

[arzme]

this is just my 2 cents of thoughts:

 

For me, when i get my first 2B bike, i rode along normal road only. Cuz...

 

1. The speed tends to be slightly slower compare to the expressway so not much pressure but some normal route are congested thus can be also be pressurising. So plan your route. Try to get the bike betw 2:30pm - 3:30pm. Cuz its not peak hour yet. But that didn't mean no traffic.

 

2. If the bike tends to die off (which hard to happens but may happens) at least u are on normal road thus u can push the bike up the pedestrial path and call back-up. It quite scarry if the bike stall on the expressway, even on the shoulder the speed of the others vehicle scared u off.

 

3. Lastly if you are getting a new bike, you can start to 'get-to-know' the bike and play with all the gears, horns, flash, etc and also run-in the bike properly.

 

 

This just my 2 cent.... cheers!!

[arzme]

i still remember... my first bike is a Phantom 150 cc, kick start one... i feel very scare tht time whenever i stop at junction, scared tht the bike will stall when moving off... so wht i did is, open throttle high high then slowly release clutch... don't care, the engine is loud as long the bike don't stall... har har har... good old memories

[Brembo]

I remembered my 1st time on the expressway...its tormenting

 

back then i had no choice, cus i collected the bike at Ubi and I have

to ride all the way back home to jurong.

but on the other hand, i have 2 experienced frens who came with me

and 1 lead me, the other cover my backside.

[Technician III]

Hmm.. Actually I didn't go on expressway on the 1st day i got my bike.. I took a detour home.. But since u can't do a detour as ur hm is too far away from the shop, here r some of my suggestions..

 

1) When u get ur bike, ride a few rounds around the area.. Choose some rd where there is less likely to have heavy traffic.. During this period, u will get used to the bike.. Turning left and right, biting point and braking power r some of the features u shld take note..

 

2) This is important.. Plan ur route home.. Know which entrance to enter the expressway and which exit to leave the expressway.. If ur shop is far away from the entrance, u must plan which rd to take to reach the entrance..

 

3) On the expressway, try to stick to the left most lane whenever possible.. 70km/hr will be sufficient.. Leave a safe following distance from the vehicle in front of u.. Ride on the center of the lane.. But do take note when nearing a certain exit of the expressway, some left most lanes r meant for exiting only.. u must look at the arrow in the lane.. Hence, u may nd to lane change to continue ur journey..

 

4) Be sure to top up ur fuel and bring a map along with u.. Rain gear is advisable unless u r confident that it will not rain..

 

5) Like others say, choose a period where they r not many vehicles on the road..

 

6) If u really take the wrong route or u r lost, don't panic.. Find a place to stop, take out ur map and find the correct way out..

[contrarian]

For those small and light bikes, once you go beyond a certain speed (depends on the bike), you may feel it starts to lift off the ground and less tyre grip on the road. When I first did expressway riding on the SSDC CG125, everytime I went above 85 km/h or so, the bike would do this "lifting off".

 

When you're not yet familiar with the bike, the thing to do would be to slow down a little to a speed that you're comfortable with.

[ThePole]

Hi all

 

thx a million for ur replies. help me a lot, now i can sleep better.

 

[Blahhh]

I rode on the expressway the second day I got my bike (kips), from Yishun to Clementi for school. Accompanied with a handphone and a piece of paper with words, "Mandai road > bke > pie > clementi ave 6" scribbled on it, I braved, all alone on the expressway. Was trilling and scary.. remember hitting 110km/h for the first time and admiring those msian's on cubs riding between vehicles. Now all that nothing liao

 

Do plan your route and stay in the 2nd lane (3rd, if the expressway ur on has 4 lanes). This way, it's easier for u to look out for expressway signs, exit signs and easier for you to filter in and exit the expressway. My first time back home from Clementi, I overshot and didn't got to exit to BKE.. so took PIE all the way up to Jalan Kayu *___*

[Blahhh]

Oh yes.. get a street directory ASAP. I got a handbook sized one and left it in the kips storage space until I learnt the major roads.. best $12 I ever spent.

[ThePole]

Hi all, since i started tis thread, mayb i shd let u know wat happen on my 1st ride on expressway, PIE. Collected mi bike around noon, 1st wanted to go a few round to get use to the bike, but missed the turn and straightaway go PIE!

 

Surprise tat the trip not too bad . i follow strictly 2 the speed limit, 80 i go 75, 90 i go 85, keep to 3rd lane, but see even lorry whizz pass me. i was thinking, if i go 85 and they pass me, r dey speeding? Dun dare to play corner, so before turn i drop gear, go slow a bit (60-70), but going down the slope at gear 4 or 5 still very scary!

 

Actually, i almost made it home witout any problem, but after turning into CCK way, i saw my fuel is 'E'. Told e sales guy to give me more petrol, but look like not enuff. i quickly turn into M***l station, stopped in time, but my box too f*** ing heavy and i topple over. Now my baby got a scratch and dent.

 

Worse, i cant get her started. wen starting again, she topple again, cos the box difficult to balance. :cry:

After falling so many times, i got her tow to the mechanic to take a look. Luckily only spark plug got soaked and nothing else. i had to pay $25 for the tow.

 

That's my (mis)adventure on PIE. The moral of the story is newbie shd get e f**king box later, or school shd make evryone ride wit e f**king box.

[beyond23]

ThePole congrats for gettin ur bike..

 

rmb to hv a street directory by ur side..it helps alot..

oways insert cashcard b4 movin off..incase u accidentally

enter de erp zone..unless u familiar wif de road..

 

wah..u darin then mi..

wen i 1st time use highway..

60km/h i scare liao..

70km/h @ most..feel veri fast liao..

haha..nOw 100km/h complainin "nOt fast enuff"

 

well..i'm sure every1 been thru tiz..

tat 1st time riding experience frOm bikeshop to hOme..

is de sweetest & memorable one..

[beyond23]

Originally posted by nhyone@March 11, 2007 11:31 pm

I find it hard to overtake on the first lane cos it takes forever to accelerate from 70+ to 90+ km/h on my 125cc bike. By then, a car would have caught up even if he was initially very far away. So, sticking to ~70 km/h on the second lane is fast enough for me.

haha..mi 2..tot i'm de onli 1 who experience it..

aso riding 125cc bike nia..

 

6) If u really take the wrong route or u r lost, don't panic.. Find a place to stop, take out ur map and find the correct way out..

 

haha..wen i 1st time get lost..

i scare sia..tink tat scare is kal rOad fright bah..

nOw wen i get lost..i find a safe place/nearby petrol station to stOp..

take out st. directory & figured de way..

[LeXiong]

after office hour heavy traffic just know tat die die follow my friend cut here cut there never think of safty scare lose my way home but never think of what happened if accident kns stupid sia// keke

[mfibre]

Originally posted by ThePole@March 11, 2007 10:46 pm

Hi evryone, just wondering on e FIRST DAY u collected ur first 2B bike, do u straight away ride on PIE/CTE/BKE/SLE etc. alone? Ani experience to share? Any preparation did u do? i most likely nid to do so, as cant find ani friends to go wit me, and have to go from Serangoon to Jurong, pretty nervous.

Hey, when i first collect my bike, very excited wor. Realised i had to pillion my father.. And enter PIE ( changi airport). As the motor was new, i ride at very low speed (run in).

Lots of other motorist gimme the "new rider" look.... So, just be confident and u'll be fine.

[mfibre]

Originally posted by Ah`X|onG@April 04, 2007 06:17 am

after office hour heavy traffic just know tat die die follow my friend cut here cut there never think of safty scare lose my way home but never think of what happened if accident kns stupid sia// keke

Dont follow your friend if you treasure your safety. Not saying you cant cut here cut there but gain experience slowly progressively..

[mfibre]

Originally posted by ThePole@March 18, 2007 05:25 pm

Hi all, since i started tis thread, mayb i shd let u know wat happen on my 1st ride on expressway, PIE. Collected mi bike around noon, 1st wanted to go a few round to get use to the bike, but missed the turn and straightaway go PIE!

 

Surprise tat the trip not too bad . i follow strictly 2 the speed limit, 80 i go 75, 90 i go 85, keep to 3rd lane, but see even lorry whizz pass me. i was thinking, if i go 85 and they pass me, r dey speeding? Dun dare to play corner, so before turn i drop gear, go slow a bit (60-70), but going down the slope at gear 4 or 5 still very scary!

 

Actually, i almost made it home witout any problem, but after turning into CCK way, i saw my fuel is 'E'. Told e sales guy to give me more petrol, but look like not enuff. i quickly turn into M***l station, stopped in time, but my box too f*** ing heavy and i topple over. Now my baby got a scratch and dent.

 

Worse, i cant get her started. wen starting again, she topple again, cos the box difficult to balance. :cry:

After falling so many times, i got her tow to the mechanic to take a look. Luckily only spark plug got soaked and nothing else. i had to pay $25 for the tow.

 

That's my (mis)adventure on PIE. The moral of the story is newbie shd get e f**king box later, or school shd make evryone ride wit e f**king box.

Man...what box is that? dumbells inside? hahah. What motor you bought?

[pufferfis]

Originally posted by Brembo@March 12, 2007 02:25 pm

I remembered my 1st time on the expressway...its tormenting

 

back then i had no choice, cus i collected the bike at Ubi and I have

to ride all the way back home to jurong.

but on the other hand, i have 2 experienced frens who came with me

and 1 lead me, the other cover my backside.

hehhe..ur lucky brembo bro...i also collected my bike from ubi too...but on e way back goin up e slope from pie into bke..

 

..i guess i forgot to kick down e gear n at 5th gear go up e slope at 100..it lost power n i accident lor...got concussed n lucky didnt got run over.

 

i guess i must have been dazed a bit coz i only remember kickin my stucked gear lever n was surprised to see a cd bike come so fast...den an ambulance also come so fast....

 

n but good thing...at least i woke up e next day n my eyes saw this pretty sexy chinese malaysian young nurse....i tink i must be seriously concussed coz w my half my face gashed i try to chat her up...kekeke...jus my 2 cents

[mfibre]

Originally posted by pufferfis@April 07, 2007 02:27 am

hehhe..ur lucky brembo bro...i also collected my bike from ubi too...but on e way back goin up e slope from pie into bke..

 

..i guess i forgot to kick down e gear n at 5th gear go up e slope at 100..it lost power n i accident lor...got concussed n lucky didnt got run over.

 

i guess i must have been dazed a bit coz i only remember kickin my stucked gear lever n was surprised to see a cd bike come so fast...den an ambulance also come so fast....

 

n but good thing...at least i woke up e next day n my eyes saw this pretty sexy chinese malaysian young nurse....i tink i must be seriously concussed coz w my half my face gashed i try to chat her up...kekeke...jus my 2 cents

At 100KM/h @ 5th gear you lost power?

 

what kind of slope is that man ?

 

what bike?

[ab]

remember long long time ago got my first new phantom150 wack and wack so shiok...... until someone told me must run in new bike..har?.what is RUN IN??? hahaha.....

[Guest rookie517]

i rode on expressway on the 1st day i got my bike

 

tat was way back in 1992, i feel expressway is safer than normal road, perhap during those old days bah...