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How many speeding tickets have you got on your bike?

  • 0

    Votes: 21 56.8%
  • 1

    Votes: 8 21.6%
  • 2

    Votes: 4 10.8%
  • 3

    Votes: 1 2.7%
  • 4

    Votes: 1 2.7%
  • 5 or more

    Votes: 2 5.4%

How many speeding tickets have you got on your bike?

2K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  hapster 
#1 ·
Just curious as to how many people have got speeding tickets on their bike. I'm worried about getting a street bike for this reason. I currently have a perfect driving record with no accidents and no speeding tickets.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Of the 2, NEITHER "stuck"... :twofinger

1. Cop never showed up for hearing
2. Cop couldn't unequivocally prove it was me, won at the Judge appeal level, a FANTASTIC win!

This is over 3 years, and 30,000 miles.

It should also be noted that I'm a serious Squid. Almost always triple digits on the highways, and almost never the speed limit on any other roads, with tons of technically illegal passing, frequently running stop signs, and red lights in certain situations.

:squid:


Edit: I read this, and thought, wow, that does sound a lot worse than it actually is... I want to add the caveat that there's a right time and place to do these sorts of things. For example, running a red light. Obviously, you don't do it at some busy intersection, I'm talking more like out in the country somewhere, where no one is around, and you can easily see anyone that might be approaching. Or Stop signs that should really be treated as "Yield" signs more than anything. Likewise applied to triple digit speeds on the highway, you don't cut off cars making them hit their brakes, nor do you even come close to them. I think every one of us has punched it when they come upon a clear stretch of highway with little or no traffic on it at one time or another. While I'll be the first one to admit that I ride hard sometimes, again, I want to emphasize that just like stunting, there's a time and place for everything. :D

And, oh yeah, knock on wood... :twofinger
 
#3 · (Edited)
How about five in 59 yrs of riding & none when driving a cage those 59 yrs?

Mind you one in '77 was for Dangerous Driving & that, in Cdn, is a Criminal Offence so mug shots, finger printing & such. Oh & lost the case so highest fine they could through a first time offender, that with a lawyer took up two days in court, & 6 month suspension of my DL.

Been lucky though was nailed three time in '03 & (tap wood) I will not receive any this year or the future------what a dreamer I will admit.
 
#4 ·
Mystery Squid said:

It should also be noted that I'm a serious Squid. Almost always triple digits on the highways, and almost never the speed limit on any other roads, with tons of technically illegal passing, frequently running stop signs, and red lights in certain situations.

:squid:
First off congrats on winning your two tickets. but secondly.....why are you braging about being a squid? IMHO you are just making a bad name for the biker world. Not to sound like an ass.....


Oh yeah....I got one ticket, I was going down a hill and wasn't paying attention to my speed or the signs.....it went from 45 to 35.....I was clocked at 50 in a 35....oh well I paid my ticket and got over it.
 
#5 ·
Stillon2Wheels said:
First off congrats on winning your two tickets. but secondly.....why are you braging about being a squid? IMHO you are just making a bad name for the biker world. Not to sound like an ass.....

I hear ya...

It just goes to show, that contrary to popular belief, and for those that believe everything they're told, you CAN speed responsibly AND "beat-the-man-at-his-own-game". There's a right place and time to do this sort of thing, just like stunting. Biker's already have a bad name, the non-biker crowd already assumes everyone on a sportbike is a stupid Squid with a death wish anyway. That's the way it's been, and will be, and I have no desire to change my riding style in a futile attempt to make a point to the contrary.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I could be wrong but isn't it safer to speed and go by people rather than sit in one place on the highway?

Also do you find police to be easy on bikers because of the dangers of obeying typical speed laws? Also what exactly is a squid; someone driving crazy?

I want a bike so bad but I've never been on the street and I live in the bay area CA and the traffic is really bad not to mention all the bad drivers. I currently do trail riding on a 250 2 stroke (I love the feel of accelerating when you hit their power band and they jump, best part of a 2 stroke bike is that snap and the sound and the smell). I figure the trail riding will get my skill level up.

The main reason I haven't got a ticket in a car is that I'm constantly checking my rear view mirror. My first car was a modified illegal bug so I constantly had to watch for police and had to be able to quiet down my exhaust when going by them. But I figure that you can't drive like this with a motorcycle because you have to look all around you and can't waste your attention looking for police is this true?

I also have a desire to take some street bike classes that will allow me to go from novice racing to intermediate to advanced. Are things like this offered? The closest track to me is sears point but it sounds like I wouldn't be allowed to take the class that they offer because I've never been on a street bike.
 
#8 · (Edited)
joshp said:
I could be wrong but isn't it safer to speed and go by people rather than sit in one place on the highway?
Totally depends on the situation. Yes, there are times where that will be safer, but also times when it won't be the best idea. I don't think it's even fair to shoot out hypothetical examples, as there are too many for each scenario.


Also do you find police to be easy on bikers because of the dangers of obeying typical speed laws?
Hell no. Typically, if anything, Cops are WORSE on bikers, unless they themselves ride. As for the "dangers of obeying typical speed laws", well, I can tell you're a younger guy, so please don't use that as an excuse to speed. I won't say you should obey the speed limit all the time because I sure as heck don't (and no one here consitently does either, that's reality), but it is there for a reason, and some of it for safety. You can't have every a-hole blasting through your neighborhood at 10X's the limit just because he thinks he can speed responsibly. As far as cops are concerned, there is NO danger in obeying typical "speed laws".



Also what exactly is a squid; someone driving crazy?
Yes. The standardized, and generally accepted, representation of one, is someone wearing a wife-beater tank top, shorts, flip-flops with no helmet, and a bad ass pair of Oakley's. Who, mind you, have 1 inch wide chicken strips on their rear tire (chicken strip= an indicator of how far over you've leaned your bike, typically, the less "chicken strips", the better rider you are).


But I figure that you can't drive like this with a motorcycle because you have to look all around you and can't waste your attention looking for police is this true?
Yes and no. The more experienced you become, the better you will be able to manage your attention. In the begining, you shouldn't typically waste your attention looking for police, but rather focus on not only your riding, but aware of what's going on ALL around you.

I also have a desire to take some street bike classes that will allow me to go from novice racing to intermediate to advanced. Are things like this offered? The closest track to me is sears point but it sounds like I wouldn't be allowed to take the class that they offer because I've never been on a street bike.
PLEASE DO! :thumb: Start with the beginner MSF course, there is NO SUCH THING as being too experiened to take it. Your dirtbike experience will certainly help you, but you will almost ALWAYS pick up something worthwhile in the course, AND they provide the bike! You CAN'T go wrong. Furthermore, they aren't generally offered at tracks. Rather somewhere within a reasonable driving distance from you, within some parking lot or other open paved area with some space.

Then there's the "advanced" MSF course, where they get into a litte more detail, and you use your own bike.

Then there are all sorts of "racing" schools/classes out there, I'm sure someone will pipe in, if they don't, Google "Penguin Motorcycle Racing", and something should come up.


BTW, in your neck of the woods:

http://www.motorcycleschool.com/brc.html
 
#9 ·
You know, whoever answers 'zero' tickets in this thread is bound to get a ticket real soon. It's that Murphy's law always working against you.
 
#10 ·
In my area if you're doing the speed limit of 65 mph, more than likely some idiot in a car is going to be riding your rear real close. Unlike the typical driver in CA I have a respect for bikers and if they're in front of me I give them a nice gap in case anything happens to them I can avoid them. If I see them in my rear view splitting the lanes I'll move all the way over in my lane to allow them as much room as possible. But you have plenty of people that will see them splitting lanes and try to stop them by closing the gap between the lanes.

I guess I'm somewhat young at 22. It may be a little while before I get a bike (want to get out of school first so I can handle a bike payment, then again I could just sell my car and buy a bike) but my first bike will be a 600CC and more than likely a suzuki; from the reviews I've read they have a smooth power band throughout the rpm range.
 
#11 ·
Mr.TrevorClever said:
You know, whoever answers 'zero' tickets in this thread is bound to get a ticket real soon. It's that Murphy's law always working against you.
Knock on wood. Or they can simply type a post that says they haven't got a ticket yet and that will cancel out an murphy's law from answering 0 on the poll.
 
#12 ·
joshp said:
...The main reason I haven't got a ticket in a car is that I'm constantly checking my rear view mirror...
Let me just say, on behalf of all motorcyclists who may be in your area, that it would be preferable if you watched the traffic AHEAD of you, rather than just be looking out for cops.

It's the things in front of you that you'll hit. Better to get nabbed by a cop you didn't see than kill a biker 'cause you were too busy, constantly checking your rear view.
 
#13 ·
I've been pulled over 4 times on my bike and have gotten 3 tickets.. two of which were speeding tickets. Well I guess I should have really answered just 1 because reckless isn't really speed, but it's speed related.
 
#14 ·
cookeetree said:
Let me just say, on behalf of all motorcyclists who may be in your area, that it would be preferable if you watched the traffic AHEAD of you, rather than just be looking out for cops.

It's the things in front of you that you'll hit. Better to get nabbed by a cop you didn't see than kill a biker 'cause you were too busy, constantly checking your rear view.
I flip between the two. Think of it as a high speed image; I see what's behind me in a split second and what's happening up ahead in a split second. I'm an extremely alert driver. I think you must have missed the section where I explained I leave motorcyclist extra room and at the same time while checking my rear view it gives me the oppertunity to see if any bikers are coming up from behind. Believe me I'm one of the least likely drivers to hit a biker. I pay too much attention to my surroundings.
 
#16 ·
I've evaded many tickets and have yet to actually receive one.

A couple weeks ago my buddy and I were cruising this route. It's a very winding, very fast back road blast we frequently perform. I wasn't sure what our speed was, but I know for sure it was well into the triple digits. I was approaching the back end up this car at warp speed so I began to apply the anchors. My buddy wasn't far back. This is all happening as the black and white is rounding the blind right hander ahead of us. He put the blurry blues on immediatley. I look at my friend and ponder if we should do it. We didn't. We pull over farily quickly. The officer doesn't show for a good 40 seconds. "You know how fast you guys were going" the officer asked. My friend looks at me with his face cringed. "No, what did you clock us at" my friend says. Officer says "sixty". Wheeww. My friend and I look at each other with the biggest grins. "What's the speed limit" I asked. He replied"fourty-five". 15 mph over. Who cares?

Well, we give him our license and registration. Turns out he knows my buddies father. Who is also a cop. He tells us we owe my buddies father a favor. Have a nice day officer.
 
#17 ·
1 ticket last fall for 80 in a 65. The cop was pissed because he was in a rest stop outside of lewiston when I went by at what he estimated to be 130, but he never clocked me. So, he went through the toll booth before me and clocked me around the next corner. I wasnt doing 80 at the time, but if it had gone to court, the whole 130 mph thing would have come up, so whatever.. fk it.. I payed it. I was stupid, he was doing his job. Good show. If you are going to do stupid things, you have to expect concequences.
 
#19 ·
ZX6R1033 said:
1 ticket last fall for 80 in a 65. The cop was pissed because he was in a rest stop outside of lewiston when I went by at what he estimated to be 130, but he never clocked me. So, he went through the toll booth before me and clocked me around the next corner. I wasnt doing 80 at the time, but if it had gone to court, the whole 130 mph thing would have come up, so whatever.. fk it.. I payed it. I was stupid, he was doing his job. Good show. If you are going to do stupid things, you have to expect concequences.
I know you already paid, but just for future reference I don't think that the cop could have mentioned anything about going '130' before, especially since he didn't clock you. Well I guess he could mention it, but since the ticket he wrote was for 80, it doesn't matter what speed you may or may not have been going earlier.
 
#21 ·
PLEASE DO! Start with the beginner MSF course, there is NO SUCH THING as being too experiened to take it. Your dirtbike experience will certainly help you, but you will almost ALWAYS pick up something worthwhile in the course, AND they provide the bike! You CAN'T go wrong. Furthermore, they aren't generally offered at tracks. Rather somewhere within a reasonable driving distance from you, within some parking lot or other open paved area with some space.
Thanks for all the info; especially the above.
 
#23 ·
That is the tough part being costs of speeding tickets for it will be different in different States & same in the different Provinces of Cdn.

What REALLY stings, here in B.C., is if you have had a CLEAN record for some 4-6 yrs then you get a 10% cut on the cost of the DL. Still get a few tickets & you have lost that, the fine itself & the amount you have to pay, as well for the points they ding you with each year including interest & stating they did send you a letter, about the amount still required on the points!!!!
 
#25 ·
joshp said:
For further clarification of the question, how much did the ticket cost each of you?
Welp, I can only guesstimate, as I beat both :twofinger , however, here in MA you get your insurance jacked up for like 3 years too. In total, my speeding might have been around 1-1.5K, likewise with the "illegal passing"...

Quite honestly, if my insurance didn't go up, I'd be happy to pay THE STATE directly several hundred bucks per offense and be done with it. Of course, we can't have that because then getting tickets really means nothing if you can pay (as long as, of course, you don't get too many within a particular length of time) your way through, thus favoring the "wealthy".

Now that MA realized their courts were getting flooded because it suddenly became painfully obvious that everyone should fight their tickets due to the extreme insurance increases, they've implemented all sorts of strategies to try and discourage people from going to court. My favorite one is this:

"Sir, you were doing 80 in a 55, but I'm going to give you a break by writing you up for 65 in a 55..." ALL cops in MA will say this. They're essentially trying to make you feel "guilty" for taking a cop to court, as the kind officer was nice enough to give you a break. :finger:

A REAL break is a WARNING.

The other one is charging people for choosing to appeal the Magistrate's ruling if you lose. Basically, if you want to see a judge, you've got to pay $20 up front.
:finger: :finger: THEY figured they might as well make some money off those that didn't accept the "break" from the kind officer... :finger: :finger: :finger:

So to all those "honest" (or more appropriately NAIVE) schmucks who think, "You must take responsibility for your actions and pay the fine", think of THIS, and how THE STATE has NO PROBLEM engaging in unethical tactics to make you pay.
 
#26 ·
That's a lot of hate.

Here's a fact:

If the officer writes you for less than the actual speed you were going, that's a break.

It's not as much of a break as a warning, but it's a break all the same.

Maybe that officer's being pressured to have more traffic citations (directly or indirectly) and instead of pulling over some guy doing 6 over on his way to the bank, he pulled you over for doing 25 mph over. Which, in my state, is primie facia evidence of reckless driving and is an arrestable misdemeanor.

But instead of arresting you, or hammering you with a full speed ticket, he writes you for 10 over. Less money out of your pocket from the fine (court cost is the same) and less points on your license. Also not nearly as bad when your insurance gets a copy.

But if you would rather get the full lick, full points, and full disclosure to your insurance agency, make sure to tell the next officer who pulls you over to stuff his 'break' and write you for the full amount.
 
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