Beware of State Installed Parallel Tar Snakes

STraymond · Nov 28, 2015

TOS said:
Good to hear that your OK Raymond. How did the Bike fair it?

A local 4 lane hwy here, has cracks between the lanes in places (no tar patch yet) large enough for my Wee tire to fit into. Have to be careful where and how I change lanes. I think this could be even more dangerous for motorcyles, than dry snakes anyway.

CJH in July, had a large portion on east end resurfaced. Much better than it was in 2012 at 92-94*.

The bike slid on its left side so need to replace mirror, mirror cover, turn signal lens, and engine guard cover. The left saddlebag top portion - which has a Lin-X truckbed liner coating, fared nicely, but the gray unpainted portion got scratched up enough to replace.

Last time I was on CJH was also 2012. Thanks for the good news about the resurfacing - I will probably ride it after RockStoc next year.

Ray

TPadden · Nov 28, 2015

I'd take tar snakes over cracks and pot holes any day ......

TOS · Nov 28, 2015

TPadden said:
I'd take tar snakes over cracks and pot holes any day ......

on that. I don't like any road hazards, but I do ride a motorcycle, so.... I just keep telling myself, (according to new info) I ride 23% safer than automobile drivers that don't ride.

TOS · Nov 28, 2015

STraymond said:
The bike slid on its left side so need to replace mirror, mirror cover, turn signal lens, and engine guard cover. The left saddlebag top portion - which has a Lin-X truckbed liner coating, fared nicely, but the gray unpainted portion got scratched up enough to replace. Ray

Maybe you can find used parts for repair and help save some $. New parts wouldn't paint match anyway. When I replaced the R. signal on the 2008 GW this year, paint didn't match...not obvious, but I could see it and GW stayed inside except when riding.

Sounds like maybe you should do the entire bike with Line-X. ;-)

Skunkape · Nov 28, 2015

That thing is the Anaconda of tar snakes. It looks like another whole lane. I can see where it would be a problem. You could ride on it completely. Most of the ones I see are no wider than the bike's tires.

TPadden · Nov 28, 2015

Skunkape said:
That thing is the Anaconda of tar snakes. ....I can see where it would be a problem. ......

Does anyone really need to be warned to beware of ANYTHING with snake in it's name????? :crackup

STraymond · Nov 28, 2015

TPadden said:
Does anyone really need to be warned to beware of ANYTHING with snake in it's name????? :crackup

A very good point.

STraymond · Nov 28, 2015

TOS said:
Maybe you can find used parts for repair and help save some $. New parts wouldn't paint match anyway. When I replaced the R. signal on the 2008 GW this year, paint didn't match...not obvious, but I could see it and GW stayed inside except when riding.

Sounds like maybe you should do the entire bike with Line-X. ;-)

Regarding the painted tupperware, yes, the sun fading of the older pieces does cause a difference. State Farm came thru - after my $250 deductible.

Regarding the Lin-X, the dealer told me that he had done a whole bike. It was a Harley - Surprise, surprise!

STraymond · Dec 2, 2015

Oh - I failed to mention that an Ohio state trooper gave me an award for failure to control my vehicle. I went to trial on this today and the trooper failed to show up. I was told that the prosecuter's office forgot to notify the trooper about the trial. Over my objection the judge granted a continuance to the state. Stay tuned...

Ray

v8-7 · Dec 2, 2015

That sux and I don't think it's legal in States I have lived in ..

Did you waive your right to a speedy trial ?

STraymond · Dec 2, 2015

v8-7 said:
That sux and I don't think it's legal in States I have lived in ..

Did you waive your right to a speedy trial ?

I did waive it because the judge indicated that I could then have a choice in setting the date for the second attempt at the trial.

Highrider · Dec 3, 2015

Those same tar snakes are popular in Iowa as well, they almost cut a 2 week trip down to 1 day for me.

STraymond · Dec 4, 2015

mcthorogood said:
It sure would help if you had an expert witness.

Coming back from LobsterSTOC, I had to cross extra wide tar-snakes (10-12") between lanes on a wet highway. I crossed them at small angles of incidence and at lower speeds, each time the resulting wobble was a butt-clenching experience. I can see how crossing parallel snakes could be unrecoverable, if the wobble resulting from the first snake is not sufficiently damped then entering the second snake with a small wobble would result in a total loss of control.

Mike

That is some excellent analysis! Are you available as an expert witness??

STraymond · Dec 4, 2015

Highrider said:
Those same tar snakes are popular in Iowa as well, they almost cut a 2 week trip down to 1 day for me.

Dave -

Did the Iowa snakes cause you to go down??

jonz · Dec 4, 2015

mcthorogood said:
It sure would help if you had an expert witness.

I googled Caltrans and crack sealing, and got a lot of matches.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS606US606&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=caltrans crack seal specs

I remember reading somewhere in some Caltrans related stuff specifications on how wide and thick the sealant could be. I glanced through a couple of the links above but couldn't find it. Maybe someone else with stronger google fu and more motivation can find it. If your state or the fed's have similar recommendations, and your tar snakes didn't comply, that would certainly help.

Lastly, I wouldn't agree to a continuance if the officer isn't there. Usually in traffic matters, if you don't agree to a continuance then the case is dismissed because the report is heresay without the officer present, and as such can't be used.

edit: Here's another link. http://www.usroads.com/journals/rmj/9707/rm970702.htm Maybe contact the AMA

STraymond · Dec 4, 2015

jonz said:
I googled Caltrans and crack sealing, and got a lot of matches.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS606US606&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=caltrans crack seal specs

I remember reading somewhere in some Caltrans related stuff specifications on how wide and thick the sealant could be. I glanced through a couple of the links above but couldn't find it. Maybe someone else with stronger google fu and more motivation can find it. If your state or the fed's have similar recommendations, and your tar snakes didn't comply, that would certainly help.

Lastly, I wouldn't agree to a continuance if the officer isn't there. Usually in traffic matters, if you don't agree to a continuance then the case is dismissed because the report is heresay without the officer present, and as such can't be used.

edit: Here's another link. http://www.usroads.com/journals/rmj/9707/rm970702.htm Maybe contact the AMA

Jeff -

Thanks for the links - They will come in handy. As to the continuance, I did object
to the continuance when the officer was not there, but the judge overruled me.

Ray

MaxPete · Dec 4, 2015

STraymond said:
Oh - I failed to mention that an Ohio state trooper gave me an award for failure to control my vehicle. I went to trial on this today and the trooper failed to show up. I was told that the prosecuter's office forgot to notify the trooper about the trial. Over my objection the judge granted a continuance to the state. Stay tuned...

Ray

With police officers like that...who needs politicians?

I was going to say something else that rhymed with work - but it seemed unpleasant so I resisted....

Highrider · Dec 7, 2015

STraymond said:
Dave -

Did the Iowa snakes cause you to go down??

No I did not go down, thankfully I was able to recover with some back and forth sliding, fully loaded with camping gear going about 70 MPH at the time in a hard rain.
A true learning experience !

TPadden · Dec 8, 2015

MaxPete said:
With police officers like that...who needs politicians?.......

If a tar snake makes you crash, I would legally describe it as "unsafe speed for conditions". We've become a society where hitting a tree somehow isn't our fault ......

STraymond · Dec 8, 2015

TPadden said:
If a tar snake makes you crash, I would legally describe it as "unsafe speed for conditions". We've become a society where hitting a tree somehow isn't our fault ......

I would agree with Tom if we are speaking of your normal, run of the mill tar snakes - that experienced riders just ride through. But the combination of long parallel wet snakes with a 12 - 18 inch strip of regular pavement between them can set up a slide, grab, slide motion when crossing. When the front and rear wheels are going thru this at different times when changing lanes, the bike can go into a severe wobble.

Beware of State Installed Parallel Tar Snakes

STraymond

TPadden

Tom Padden

TOS

TOS

Skunkape

TPadden

Tom Padden

STraymond

STraymond

STraymond

v8-7

STraymond

Highrider

Part time mechanic

STraymond

STraymond

jonz

STraymond

MaxPete

Highrider

Part time mechanic

TPadden

Tom Padden

STraymond