Vstrom + Oil Slick = Vstrom Down

I rode the state with the big sky a few years back. Nice.

I also ride the east coast which was dangerous on the interstates IMHO. Most traffic was doing 80-90mph and if you don't keep up you get turnover from behind. That was not nice. I left and went back west where it was less hectic :)

Cheers from Singapore
TS

Thank you

Thanks

What is not apparently understood by some posters is the fact, that Southeast Asian traffic is very, very different from what you might encounter back home in the States, for example.

I´m not saying TS didn´t make a mistake, he did, and I believe he fully admits it, too. Not noticing the oil slick was the error, that could very easily have been a fatal one, but luckily wasn´t.

But, and this is a very big BUT: you do end up overtaking those Asian truck drivers on a bike a lot, for the simple reason, that if you don´t pass them, you´ll be stuck behing them for the rest of the day. The very same thing happens on roads like that in Iran, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia (of the Asian countries, that I´ve visited on a bike). If the truck drivers think the ´normal´ lane is a bit bumpy, for example, then they´ll just move on to the ´passing´ lane, and stay there. Other road users will just have to find a way to go around them, simple as that.

US State troopers might have given him a ticket for that kind of pass, sure. In Asia, that is just something that happens every day, all the time. Don´t believe it, you´re free to go over there and see for yourself. Traffic is really quite bad all over Asia.

I found the initial responses to your video unbelievable. They must have been written by a bunch of very old men or women. To ride hard is the essence of the pastime--I've been riding that style (your style) for 48 years and am still in one piece--It's the best (only) way to stay sharp and alert. Your video did make an impression on me, though, (the dreaded oil slick). No matter what style one rides, a diesel spill, hydraulic oil or engine spill can put a motorcyclist down at any time. I try not to think of it too much because if I did, I'd start squaring corners and riding gingerly like the little old ladies who first responded to your video. If that ever became the case, I'd quit altogether and just drive my boring truck from point A to point B.

Remember you are telling this to a guy, who´s just finishing a round the world-trip on a motorcycle.

Looks like he got somewhere afterall... not nearly as far as the keyboard experts of course

It really didn't matter. That oil slick was bad.. Get on it at all under any circumstances and you're going down...

You got on it.. You went down.. Simple as that... It wouldn't have mattered if you were just going straight and nobody else was around..
That slick is impassible by a motorcycle at speed...You'd get better traction on black ice...

As for the driving, Meh, I've done worse.
Third world countries go by different rules...You should go to Jamaica Mon !

John

Good luck to anybody that rides like that. I saw one on the road this morning, weaving in and out of traffic going 40-50 mph faster than traffic. Justify it however you like...

Glad you had a soft-ish landing at the end! You look like you know how to handle a bike, and sometimes bad stuff happens. Such is life! I spent a good long while in Iraq and Afghanistan with a rifle in my hand and while that's pretty much the most unsafe thing you can do, I knew my limits, knew the potential safety concerns, and decided that there is quite a bit more to life than safety! Life goes on, sh!t happens, and if you're squared away with God, even if you die...it's all good

maybe it was just the anticipation of this being a crash video that led me to pre-cringe while watching...but the closing speed on the trucks made me a little uncomfy.

that said...it would have been a clean pass except for the crap in the roadway which was much different looking than the previous thousand feet before the point of the crash...it's was a freakin PUDDLE of oil. would it have been visible ahead of time? i donno.

easy to second guess the guy...but not really all that fair. he said he was bang-on the speed limit.

The nature of Thai traffic somehow necessitated that aggressive, impatient pass? What hogwash.

That said, I'm sure I've done the same pass, except without the oil slick. But I would never make the supremely lame argument that such a pass is some kind of "defensive riding." It's the opposite.

"defensive riding" is a good way to get killed.

Best the defense is a good offense.

You have got to be kidding.

I ride hard all the time, but not on public roadways... on dirt tracks and dirt parks. I am a licensed helicopter pilot. I fly hard too, but not over dense population and certainly not in the traffic pattern.

I'm 46. You can call me old... I call it experience. No get-offs on pavement in 30+ years and so far I haven't balled up a helicopter.... Plenty of dirt crashes though!!

In a way, yes. Though I disagree it was aggressive. Aggressive is forcing someone to give way to you, and that's not really do-able on a motorcycle vs. a truck.

But if you're clueless about how traffic works in that part of the world, then its useless trying to explain, and the same thing shows through the whole thread. No offence meant, though.

I have lived in many different countries including Asian one's. I wouldn't ride a bike there. Hell, I didn't even drive a car there. Your riding looks nuts, but that's from my prospective which is more than likely not relevant in your situation. It's your life and if riding like that is how you feel it's suppose to be done, then it's your business. As long as you're not endangering someone else's life, it's really nobodies business other than your own.

Good luck out there and keep the rubber side down.

There are two schools of thought here: those of us who have ridden in places like this, and those who haven't. Of those who haven't, we can divide into those who can imagine it, and those who cannot.

Having ridden a lot in India and Cambodia, and a bit less in Viet Nam and Thailand, I'm saying the only video in the OP's collection on Youtube that in my opinion is in any way dangerously out of synch or rather, something that can't be explained by "it's how everyone drives, it's gotta be done like that" is the few where dude's checking a gps/cell phone while riding. That's silly (his choice, but unnecessary IMHO). In all the rest, believe me, if you don't go with the flow, you'll get mowed down. Once you accept that, it's a WHOLE lotta fun, like swimming with a school of fish. Everyone is watching, everyone's alert. I'd rather commute in Phnom Penh any day of the week than downtown Denver, because in the US, the cages don't pay any attention to you at all.

Sorry dude all I can say is , been there done that.

Since I started this in 08 I have clocked up over 180,000km and covered over 30 countries.

In that time I have had a few spills, Copper Canyon Mexico, Atacama desert Bolivia to name a couple. Top heavy bike, difficult terrain and short legs are the main cause for these to happen

Except for my crash in Albania where I Tboned a Uturning car, this is the only other traffic related crash in the whole journey, so in actual fact I am a safe rider. You can see the Albanian one on my YouTube channel too if you wish.

I am happy with that score, many other riders have come off a lot worse and returned home damaged or in boxes

I am not on a death wish nor in a race, this just happens to be the way I ride over here and I will always ride fast because I like it. That does not mean that I speed, and maybe earlier calling this defensive riding was remiss, what I meant was aggressive defensive, that means putting myself in a position where I can see ahead.

The point was made above that I should not have been playing with my GPS while riding, and that is a good point. Normally I don't, that particular street in Siem Reap for some reason always caused a route error and as you can see, there are not too many safe places to pull over on the side of the road. The other one near Kampot I was just totally wrong, no worries there,I can admit my mistakes.

Anyway, the crank is back in Phuket, I flew to Singapore to pick up the gaskets and other needed parts so I should be back on the road(maybe) midweek

That gives you a chance to book a flight and come for a ride with me, I'll show you the ropes

Cheers from Phuket
TravellingStrom

Ride with the traffic or perish. If you can't keep up or at least get out of the way, you don't belong riding there.

That is correct. Seems hard to understand for some, that haven't ridden there.

I'm not an aggressive rider. But riding through India north -> south with my GF sitting on the back (also on a DL650 like the OP) I found myself using every last drop of power from that bike on the highways. And making many, many last minute passes on trucks and buses, with 1-3 trucks or buses coming across (they are often passing each other simultaneously, side by side, even when there are vehicles coming across, and blind bends, no problem - you really have to see it to believe it, it just doesn´t happen back home!!)

And why did I do this apparently stupid thing? Because it gave me some nice space to breathe, for a while.

The other option would have been to be stuck there behind the trucks and buses, AND at the same time be mixed into a huge swarm of scooters and smaller bikes, all waiting to make the pass. And often you could touch 2-3 of them with your hands, they ride that close, and may swerve to avoid potholes, etc. Not safer to stay there IMO. Was much safer to make room for myself, which the power of the bike made possible. (Speeding in India could easily get you killed, so don't confuse this with speeding, the speeds involved were often quite low simply because the roads are so congested, I was just using the better acceleration that I had compared to the 100-220cc bikes). After a while the smaller bikes also found an opening, and got back all around me, and the situation repeated itself, but that's Indian traffic for you.

Maybe some expert, whos never been there, can now tell me, too, what exactly I did wrong...

It looks like a few of us are on the same page at least.

Notice how we are all riders of bikes and have ridden on foreign shores :)