I am the ALR ride coordinator and VFW ride captain. I help with guys/gals starting to learn.
1 of my insists is keep a large distance behind a big truck. When you pass slingshot them.

My wife and I were coming back from Birmingham on I 59. i was somewhat over the speed limit when I saw a state trooper pull up close behind me. I slowed and was behind a big truck and noticed the inner front tire on the trailer was flat. I dropped back and the trooper got him.

Those tires can really hurt you even in a cage

In God we Trust

dd

 

Ive had the same thing happen to me in the cage. Since then Ive told myself that Im going to get in front of him fast reguardless of how fast I have to go to get there. If that is not possible then I am waaaay behind till I can.

 

I won't follow a semi, and when I pass I go around WFO. Too many things can fall off them. I also have a story about being in my cage behind a semi when something fell off and I was too close to miss it. Whatever I ran over broke a front shock and cut the brake line. I don't want to think about what that would have done to a leg.

Luckily, on a bike you can often smell a truck tire problem before it actually comes apart.

 

A buddy and I were riding our bikes west on hwy 84 through Columbia river gorge going about 70mph when an suv in front of us lost 2 kyaks off the top of their roof. We zigged and zagged through the debris and managed to avoid hitting anything. Without stopping we counted our blessings and continued on. Less than 10 miles down the hwy an 18 wheeler had a blow out just ahead of us and one lane over. The explosion was deafening, Again we zigged and zagged through the debris and avoided hitting a single piece of rubber. To this day I feel someone was watching over us both knowing this could have turned out so different. Again we counted our blessings and continued on home.

 

quote=dirtdobber "When you pass slingshot them."

EXACTLY!!!!!! You also get through the air bubble they are pushing quicker too.

 

I came damn near close to taking the nose of my 2004 RX-8 off. I was cruising east on I-64 in the center lane when all of a sudden the guy in front of me swerved left real quick like and there in the center of the lane was 2/3 of a semi tire standing up in the road just rocking back and forth and I barely had enough time to swerve myself. This thing was sticking up a good 18" off the road and would have done some real bad damage to my car.

 

Keep them things away from me please. boy, sometimes they just seem to be all over the place.

 

Crossing Kansas on a west trip this summer. Mustang in front of me and a semi in front of him. The semi blew a tire and rubber everywhere. Ripped the inner fender out of the Mustang and my buddy and I managed to thread our bikes through the mess. Like riding through a mine field at 80 mph. Never touched any of it. Just good luck. Truck never stopped.
Never follow to close and use your HP to blow by them fast.

 

For me I make every effort to avoid Simi's or any truck for that matter if at all possible.I've been hit by flying debris even when I've been in front of them! One thing that I've learned if you got to hit this stuff and you can't avoid it, hit it straight on.Lot less problems with control of the bike,least that is what works for me.

Now, couple treads here complained about retreads. Take a look at some of the spent treads on the road, do they have any tread wire hanging out of them? If you do they ain't retreads!
You don't see many trucks with retread rubber any more. The big problem is finding good casings to retread in the first place!

 

Yep, them dam retreads are to blame. I know their not suppose to run them on the steering axles of a big rig, don't know about the driving wheels, most are on the trailer. Dam things need to be outlawed. Can't imagine the damage one would do if it hit a bike. I to get the heck on around them and not lollygag around the back of the trailer. Think about one coming off, almost everytime I go to pass one.

joe