Check this guy out on a little 250 Ninja: cbs2.com/video?cid=98 (if the link is wrong…look for the video dated 9/22/06)
Someone should show this to the Taiwan government and ask what their reasoning is by not allowing big bikes (or even 250s) on the freeways.
don’t ever quote me as saying a 250 is too slow… my hornet tops out at an indicated 170kph (tested)… that’s about 105mph… which is more than enough for legal speeds on the freeway…
Mordeth, I think you linked the wrong movie there. Your link is to a 12y/o trying to outrun the cops in a van.
Like I said in the original post…“if the link is wrong look for the video dated 9/22/06” , the link changes as the site adds more videos.
I dunno, but I think this film is reason enough to stop bikes from using the freeways in Taiwan. People do enough radical lane changing as it is without squishing bikes making other informal lanes.
HG
[quote=“Mordeth”]Like I said in the original post…“if the link is wrong look for the video dated 9/22/06” , the link changes as the site adds more videos.[/quote]Doh. English > me.
Mm. Are you sure that’s a good advertisement for bikers? That’s probably exactly the kind of behaviour the powers-that-be are worried about. :s 
managed to get out for a quick whiz sunday morning and ended up chatting with a guy about the laws regarding expressways etc.
he told me that next year they will be opening up some more expressways… some major #6? expressway too…
he also told me that in 2008 they are supposedly going to open up the freeways, but that they are currently in debate over how many cc’s to limit it to… apparently the choice is between 1000 and 1300cc… with a possible need to re-do your licence test to ride said bikes… they are considering following japan’s laws regarding licencing and road rules etc. (obviously not switching sides of the roads though - imagine the chaos that would cause)
[quote=“x08”]managed to get out for a quick whiz sunday morning and ended up chatting with a guy about the laws regarding expressways etc.
he told me that next year they will be opening up some more expressways… some major #6? expressway too…
he also told me that in 2008 they are supposedly going to open up the freeways, but that they are currently in debate over how many cc’s to limit it to… apparently the choice is between 1000 and 1300cc… with a possible need to re-do your licence test to ride said bikes… they are considering following Japan’s laws regarding licencing and road rules etc. (obviously not switching sides of the roads though - imagine the chaos that would cause)[/quote]
I keep ending up on various expressways when I can’t immediately work out the weird diversions that bikers are supposed to take and I’ve not had any trouble from police or drivers yet. I can keep up very easily on my 133cc bike - 110km/h 2-up is easy as pie and I have a good 30km/h or so spare for overtaking. x08’s white-plater looks uncomfortable doing UNDER freeway speeds 
On provincial highways like the 1/3 and if traffic is reasonably light I’ve started taking the center ‘car only’ lanes instead of the outside bike lanes. I feel kind of guilty about this because I’m normally pretty anal about following road laws just to prove a point but it’s a million times safer than joining the throngs of idiot scooter punks and potholes at the side. If I use those sections on a scooter I quickly get a lot of angry responses but on the RZX drivers are surprisingly courteous and must assume that I’m allowed to be there because I’m on a “big” bike
In the UK you’re allowed to take any bike on the motorways as long as it can keep up safely. I knew a few guys doing 2+ hour commutes every day on 125cc Harley-esque bikes without incident. The difference is that the UK has real-world testing using intercoms so panicky, ignorant or just plain bad riders get filtered out. I actually think the Taiwan big bike test looks pretty hard but for the wrong reasons.
My gf - who knows next to nothing about bikes - has been out on a few longish bike trips with me and without prompting commented on how much safer it would be if we could use the freeways. She feels a lot safer blasting down the expressways than doing 50km/h in Taichung city. I think it would be fun if someone with connections could get some high-level politician on the back of a bike and show them how scary inner city driving is vs. the safety of expressways 
Be careful Llary roads like the 1 and 3 (highways?) are a serious No No for bikes. If you were to get caught the fine is around 16,000nt or more. If you get caught on an expressway the fine is only 600nt…so big difference there.
Speaking of fines. How many camera’s are there between Hsinchu and Longtan that you know of taking your route?
Speaking of fines. How many camera’s are there between Hsinchu (Xinzhu) and Longtan that you know of taking your route?[/quote]
On the lowered 3 they are minimal and all placed near towns where I am slowing down anyway. They actually are rather intelligently placed…because they are usually at spots where you truly should be either going slow or slowing down. I’ve only once gotten a ticket on the three. And I do it every week at speeds up to triple the limit.
Along the coast there are more, but they are usually very easy to see and you have the yellow signs as warning.
Is there a confusion about freeways (absolutely not “free”) and highways (not always high) here?
I’m not talking about the freeways… I’m talking about the numbered national routes marked with blue triangles. Many of them have large sections split off between outside scooter lanes limited to 40/50km/h and inner car lanes marked at 60/70km/h. The 63 is a good example… the bike lanes are completely fucked so I just rode down the middle with the cars.
You always get confused when I talk about this
We may be able to do that legally if the notice I saw posted at one of the “superbike” shops here is true – the second phase of opening “expressways” to heavy motorcycles is being scheduled to start next July as follows:
July 1, 2007 ~ June 30, 2008: 1 year trial period where more selected expressways will be open to “heavy motorcycles” on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday periods.
July 1, 2008 ~ : Opening selected expressways to “heavy motorcycles” everyday AND elimination of two-step left turn requirement :bravo: .
The selected expressways are:
台北縣市『市民高架快速道路、洲美快速道路、環河快速道路』路權。
縱貫：南北向快速公路『台61線快速公路、台63線快速公路』路權。
北部：東西向快速公路『台62線快速公路、台66線快速公路』路權。
中部：東西向快速公路『台74線快速公路、台76線快速公路』路權。
南部：東西向快速公路『台84線快速公路、台88線快速公路』路權。
[quote=“peanut”]
The selected expressways are:
台北縣市『市民高架快速道路、洲美快速道路、環河快速道路』路權。
縱貫：南北向快速公路『台61線快速公路、台63線快速公路』路權。
北部：東西向快速公路『台62線快速公路、台66線快速公路』路權。
中部：東西向快速公路『台74線快速公路、台76線快速公路』路權。
南部：東西向快速公路『台84線快速公路、台88線快速公路』路權。[/quote]
Do any of the above listed roads run from North to South (or from South to North for that matter 
) ?
Because those are the ones that would interest me.
[quote=“Mordeth”][quote=“peanut”]
The selected expressways are:
台北縣市『市民高架快速道路、洲美快速道路、環河快速道路』路權。
縱貫：南北向快速公路『台61線快速公路、台63線快速公路』路權。
北部：東西向快速公路『台62線快速公路、台66線快速公路』路權。
中部：東西向快速公路『台74線快速公路、台76線快速公路』路權。
南部：東西向快速公路『台84線快速公路、台88線快速公路』路權。[/quote]
Do any of the above listed roads run from North to South (or from South to North for that matter ) ?
Because those are the ones that would interest me.[/quote]
61! The best kept secret on the island.
[quote=“peanut”]
We may be able to do that legally if the notice I saw posted at one of the “superbike” shops here is true – the second phase of opening “expressways” to heavy motorcycles is being scheduled to start next July as follows:
July 1, 2007 ~ June 30, 2008: 1 year trial period where more selected expressways will be open to “heavy motorcycles” on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday periods.
July 1, 2008 ~ : Opening selected expressways to “heavy motorcycles” everyday AND elimination of two-step left turn requirement :bravo:。[/quote]
that sounds like it’s official… it bears all the hallmarks of something passed by Taiwan’s “government” namely it’s utterly devoid of any logic or pragmatism whatsoever and will serve only to further compound the problems it is supposed to solve… :fume:
July 1 2008: so somehow on that date the traffic situation in Taiwan will magically shift into some new paradigm that will make turning left on a left turn light safe and okay, even though now it somehow isn’t?.. :loco:
on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday periods. : but according to the “govt” the reason it’s too dangerous to have big bikes on the freeways is becuase they are overcrowded… so they plan to allow it, but only on the days when traffic will be the most congested… as a bonus this arsebackward decision also negates any positive impact people chosing to commute to work on a motorycle Mon-Fri instead of a car would have on traffic congestion… :bravo: :loco:
I know they’re ignorant, I know they are oblivious to the concept of logic, but sometimes I still wonder how the people in “government” who come up with these decisions actually manage to feed themselves, remember to breathe, are able to vocalise their disfunctional mental processes and somehow have them passed into law… 
[quote=“plasmatron”][quote=“peanut”]
We may be able to do that legally if the notice I saw posted at one of the “superbike” shops here is true – the second phase of opening “expressways” to heavy motorcycles is being scheduled to start next July as follows:
July 1, 2007 ~ June 30, 2008: 1 year trial period where more selected expressways will be open to “heavy motorcycles” on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday periods.
July 1, 2008 ~ : Opening selected expressways to “heavy motorcycles” everyday AND elimination of two-step left turn requirement :bravo:。[/quote]
that sounds like it’s official… it bears all the hallmarks of something passed by Taiwan’s “government” namely it’s utterly devoid of any logic or pragmatism whatsoever and will serve only to further compound the problems it is supposed to solve… :fume:
July 1 2008: so somehow on that date the traffic situation in Taiwan will magically shift into some new paradigm that will make turning left on a left turn light safe and okay, even though now it somehow isn’t?.. :loco:
on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday periods. : but according to the “govt” the reason it’s too dangerous to have big bikes on the freeways is becuase they are overcrowded… so they plan to allow it, but only on the days when traffic will be the most congested… as a bonus this arsebackward decision also negates any positive impact people chosing to commute to work on a motorycle Mon-Fri instead of a car would have on traffic congestion… :bravo: :loco:
I know they’re ignorant, I know they are oblivious to the concept of logic, but sometimes I still wonder how the people in “government” who come up with these decisions actually manage to feed themselves, remember to breathe, are able to vocalise their disfunctional mental processes and somehow have them passed into law… [/quote]
Yeh, just like the whole thing with bicycles on the MRT. When I lived in Taipei county the only redeeming thing about the place was news that bicycles would be allowed on the MRT during a special pilot. Unfortunately it turned out that despite the special NT$3 billion fare this only applied to: 1) about two stops that nobody would ever want to visit, 2) between 3:58pm and 3:59pm on any Saturday following a full moon OR 3) any time on a Saturday when the MRT is so jam-packed you’d have trouble bringing shoes on the train, let alone a bike.
PS: Hearty agreement from this llama that the Saturday/Sunday/holiday thing is the most arse-clenchingly stupid condition I’ve heard in a long time.
considering that the majority of riders only ride on weekends and holidays… i don’t see this as a major issue… though admittedly, bigger bikes are slowly becoming more common on weekdays… but i don’t see too many people riding them to work yet because of the whole fear-of-theft thing…
i don’t really care about the whole issue too much, as the mountains are where the fun’s at anyway… though i admit it would be nice to get to taipei, kaohsiung or even kenting a little faster sometimes…
as for the two-step turns, i think that they are referring to big bikes not needing to do it, i believe scooters will still need to do it…
Misread the topic. Thought it’s about going 250 is too slow for the highway…
Too bad!