Umm, technical question? If I were to venture on the Autobahn 8 near
Kaiserslautern and run it all the way down to near Salzburg, would I be
in significant physical danger? Wikipedia makes it sound like a death
sentence road. Having ridden in major US cities and very heavy traffic
on some pretty poor road conditions, I think I have the experience
level to handle it. Speed doesn't neutralize me with fear, but idiotic
drivers do. I can ride 130kph quite handily. (It's our normal travel
speed on our interstates in Michigan)

I'd prefer to do this and get to the Pension quickly to spend my time
in the touring area. Opinion?
--
sleazy
Veni, vidi, velcri
I came, I saw, I stuck around

On May 15, 8:19*pm, sleazy <n...@nil.net> wrote:
> Umm, technical question? *If I were to venture on the Autobahn 8 near
> Kaiserslautern and run it all the way down to near Salzburg, would I be
> in significant physical danger? *Wikipedia makes it sound like a death
> sentence road. *Having ridden in major US cities and very heavy traffic
> on some pretty poor road conditions, I think I have the experience
> level to handle it. *Speed doesn't neutralize me with fear, but idiotic
> drivers do. *I can ride 130kph quite handily. *(It's our normal travel
> speed on our interstates in Michigan)
>
> I'd prefer to do this and get to the Pension quickly to spend my time
> in the touring area. *Opinion?

German drivers, are, in my experience, good. They drive fast, always
pull over after overtaking and don't hang around in the outside lane
when they aren't overtaking.

Keep it above 200kph and you'll be fine.

--
Speedgazebo

sleazy ((E-Mail Removed)) wrote:
>
> Umm, technical question? If I were to venture on the Autobahn 8 near
> Kaiserslautern and run it all the way down to near Salzburg, would I be
> in significant physical danger? Wikipedia makes it sound like a death
> sentence road.

You big nancy. It sounds quite interesting, for a motorway.


> Having ridden in major US cities and very heavy traffic
> on some pretty poor road conditions, I think I have the experience
> level to handle it. Speed doesn't neutralize me with fear, but idiotic
> drivers do. I can ride 130kph quite handily.

130kph? Are you planning to be the slowest thing out there?


> I'd prefer to do this and get to the Pension quickly to spend my time
> in the touring area. Opinion?

It has to be cheaper than making progress on German roads that aren't
autobahns.

--
ogden

gsxr1000 - the gentleman's sports-tourer
ktm duke - the practical cross-town commuter

On 05/15/2011 09:19 PM, sleazy wrote:
> Umm, technical question? If I were to venture on the Autobahn 8 near
> Kaiserslautern and run it all the way down to near Salzburg, would I be
> in significant physical danger? Wikipedia makes it sound like a death
> sentence road. Having ridden in major US cities and very heavy traffic
> on some pretty poor road conditions, I think I have the experience level
> to handle it. Speed doesn't neutralize me with fear, but idiotic
> drivers do. I can ride 130kph quite handily. (It's our normal travel
> speed on our interstates in Michigan)
>
> I'd prefer to do this and get to the Pension quickly to spend my time in
> the touring area. Opinion?

Tossies guide to Autobahn riding.

1) When changing lanes look. The look again. Then make damn sure a
Ferrari isn't bearing down on you at 200 mph in the fast lane.

2) Indicate and nail the ****er, you need to get up to speed fast or
you'll have a Bloody Minded Wanker breathing down your neck.

3) Relax, you're still alive, now you can sit tight until you get bored
enough to return to a more sedentry pace and the Mercedes lane.

4) Watch for speed limits. Very little of the autobahn network is
actually unlimited, all junctions, rough tarmac, narrow lanes, road
works, small yellow furry creatures all cause a limit to be imposed.
Typically 120-140 kph, they often have cameras, I've set a good few off
in my time.


It ain't that bad, but traffic speed differential can be very high, so
be decisive and if the road is empty in front of you move back. Apart
from that, it's like any other freeway.

On 2011-05-15 15:34:03 -0400, ogden <(E-Mail Removed)> said:

> sleazy ((E-Mail Removed)) wrote:
>>
>> Umm, technical question? If I were to venture on the Autobahn 8 near
>> Kaiserslautern and run it all the way down to near Salzburg, would I be
>> in significant physical danger? Wikipedia makes it sound like a death
>> sentence road.
>
> You big nancy. It sounds quite interesting, for a motorway.

<grin> I work and ride in the inner city of Detroit and have taken a
bike into NY city. I can be aggressive, calm or whatever the situation
requires. Faster is better.

The description on wiki makes it sound like the road is more cratered
than the moon with drug addled motorists weaving across and using both
lanes simultaneously. I generally don't believe all that I read on the
interwebs, hence the "silly" questions.


>> Having ridden in major US cities and very heavy traffic
>> on some pretty poor road conditions, I think I have the experience
>> level to handle it. Speed doesn't neutralize me with fear, but idiotic
>> drivers do. I can ride 130kph quite handily.
>
> 130kph? Are you planning to be the slowest thing out there?

I said 130kph handily. 100+ mph is fun, but I generally run what the
majority of the traffic is doing. On our twisty bits, my general rule
is double the limit plus 10.

>> I'd prefer to do this and get to the Pension quickly to spend my time
>> in the touring area. Opinion?
>
> It has to be cheaper than making progress on German roads that aren't
> autobahns.

You earned a beer or two for this response. Come get it in K-slautern.

--
sleazy
Veni, vidi, velcri
I came, I saw, I stuck around

sleazy ((E-Mail Removed)) wrote:
>
> On 2011-05-15 15:34:03 -0400, ogden <(E-Mail Removed)> said:
>
> > sleazy ((E-Mail Removed)) wrote:
> >>
> >> Having ridden in major US cities and very heavy traffic
> >> on some pretty poor road conditions, I think I have the experience
> >> level to handle it. Speed doesn't neutralize me with fear, but idiotic
> >> drivers do. I can ride 130kph quite handily.
> >
> > 130kph? Are you planning to be the slowest thing out there?
>
> I said 130kph handily. 100+ mph is fun, but I generally run what the
> majority of the traffic is doing.

The majority of the traffic will be doing 100+ mph if it's clear enough.

I hopped across the border last year in the car on the way back (kinda)
from collecting a crate of beer from Higgins. I tagged onto the line of
cars in front, and we were cruising at 120mph. Even then, something [1]
still came up behind me like I was barely moving.


> On our twisty bits, my general rule
> is double the limit plus 10.

On our (UK) twisty bits, double the limit plus ten is between 110 and
130mph, depending. Of course, our limits are merely advisory.


> >> I'd prefer to do this and get to the Pension quickly to spend my
time
> >> in the touring area. Opinion?
> >
> > It has to be cheaper than making progress on German roads that aren't
> > autobahns.
>
> You earned a beer or two for this response. Come get it in K-slautern.

I won't be passing by that way til August. And September. You're coming
over too early.

[1] A Porsche that'd I'd seen going round Spa half an hour or so
beforehand.

--
ogden

gsxr1000 - the gentleman's sports-tourer
ktm duke - the practical cross-town commuter

sleazy <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> The description on wiki makes it sound like the road is more cratered
> than the moon with drug addled motorists weaving across and using both
> lanes simultaneously. I generally don't believe all that I read on the
> interwebs, hence the "silly" questions.

It depends on the road. I rode the A5 from .. erm, I don't recall the
exact towns, but it was on my way from Stuttgart to Freiburg. I'm informed
that the A5 was the first of the Autobahnen to be built by Hitler, hence
its horrendous condition.

> I said 130kph handily. 100+ mph is fun, but I generally run what the
> majority of the traffic is doing. On our twisty bits, my general rule
> is double the limit plus 10.

From memory, I'm not even sure that something as 'slow' as 100 mph would be
possible. A lot of the Autobahnen are two-lane, so if you stay on the
inside lane, you'll be stuck in the long line of oldies, 'just-passed-test'
youngies and foreigners who've covered their seats in crap through fear.
If you try to drive/ride at 100 mph on the outside lane, you'll be moving
over every thirty seconds as yet another black Mercedes S-Class, Audi A5 or
Volvo V70 comes steaming up your rear at 140 mph+, flashing his lights for
you to get out of the way (a practice which is apparently illegal).

--
des
'If we ever get anything like a kind of just society, things like my
standard of living may very well not exist. In that sense, there will
be, I think, material deprivation in some manner for a large part of
the population. And I think there ought to be'
(Noam Chomsky (1928 - ))
<http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/>

In message <4dd027eb$0$29515$(E-Mail Removed) .com>,
sleazy <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>Umm, technical question? If I were to venture on the Autobahn 8 near
>Kaiserslautern and run it all the way down to near Salzburg, would I be
>in significant physical danger?

There are some nice bits on the way. You could head down to the bodensee
and across

> Wikipedia makes it sound like a death sentence road.

*******s, its just motorway like any other motorway

> Having ridden in major US cities and very heavy traffic on some pretty
>poor road conditions, I think I have the experience level to handle it.
>Speed doesn't neutralize me with fear, but idiotic drivers do. I can
>ride 130kph quite handily.

130km/h is middle land speed, you have to be prepared to be going
200km/h + in the outside lane

Germans tend to be disciplined drivers, just watch out for the fat old
businessmen in their fast cars who think that you are in their way when
you have nowhere to go

> (It's our normal travel speed on our interstates in Michigan)
>
>I'd prefer to do this and get to the Pension quickly to spend my time
>in the touring area. Opinion?


Heidelburg, Ulm, Nuernberg, the Rhein etc, usw,

plenty to see on the way down


--
geoff

On May 15, 8:27*pm, "Speedgazebo MOTP #1" <nicka...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On May 15, 8:19*pm, sleazy <n...@nil.net> wrote:
>
> > Umm, technical question? *If I were to venture on the Autobahn 8 near
> > Kaiserslautern and run it all the way down to near Salzburg, would I be
> > in significant physical danger? *
>
> German drivers, are, in my experience, good. They drive fast, always
> pull over after overtaking and don't hang around in the outside lane
> when they aren't overtaking.
>
> Keep it above 200kph and you'll be fine.
>
My experience of the autobahns was much like you described - back in
1988 that was. The experience in 2008 and 2009 was quite different.
Loads and loads of speed restrictions (as per Tosspot's post), loads
and loads of road works with really low limits (I also heard filtering
is illegal in Germany but only after I got back - no idea if it's true
or not). I was most amazed by the lack of discipline of the drivers.
We were all trying to see how fast our bikes would go. My mate got up
to 170+mph on his 'busa when someone pulled out in front of him with
no notice and with buggerall reason from what I could see. I was
genuinely surprised at the difference between my 1st and 2nd visits.

On 2011-05-15 15:45:51 -0400, Tosspot <(E-Mail Removed)> said:

> On 05/15/2011 09:19 PM, sleazy wrote:
>> Umm, technical question? If I were to venture on the Autobahn 8 near
>> Kaiserslautern and run it all the way down to near Salzburg, would I be
>> in significant physical danger? Wikipedia makes it sound like a death
>> sentence road. Having ridden in major US cities and very heavy traffic
>> on some pretty poor road conditions, I think I have the experience level
>> to handle it. Speed doesn't neutralize me with fear, but idiotic
>> drivers do. I can ride 130kph quite handily. (It's our normal travel
>> speed on our interstates in Michigan)
>>
>> I'd prefer to do this and get to the Pension quickly to spend my time in
>> the touring area. Opinion?
>
> Tossies guide to Autobahn riding.
>
> 1) When changing lanes look. The look again. Then make damn sure a
> Ferrari isn't bearing down on you at 200 mph in the fast lane.
>
> 2) Indicate and nail the ****er, you need to get up to speed fast or
> you'll have a Bloody Minded Wanker breathing down your neck.
>
> 3) Relax, you're still alive, now you can sit tight until you get bored
> enough to return to a more sedentry pace and the Mercedes lane.
>
> 4) Watch for speed limits. Very little of the autobahn network is
> actually unlimited, all junctions, rough tarmac, narrow lanes, road
> works, small yellow furry creatures all cause a limit to be imposed.
> Typically 120-140 kph, they often have cameras, I've set a good few off
> in my time.
>
>
> It ain't that bad, but traffic speed differential can be very high, so
> be decisive and if the road is empty in front of you move back. Apart
> from that, it's like any other freeway.

Sounds like my normal riding style. I prefer to ride in the open
pockets and have good visibility of the road conditions fore and idiots
aft. When I pass, it's quite decisive. Sounds like I'll be just fine
if I ride as usual.
--
sleazy
Veni, vidi, velcri
I came, I saw, I stuck around