Anyone else paranoid of tar snakes?

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Castor Troy

Castor Troy

Joined
Jan 10, 2013
Messages
373
Location
Tampa Bay area
Today, I realized that i am super paranoid of tar strips and thick traffic lines (crossing lanes and .... like that). I catch myself standing the bike up mid corner just to avoid a tar strip. Is my fear healthy or do i need to lighten up?:(
 
I don't like them either but I have to live with them especially on the mountain roads after the winter season. I will do my best to avoid them though since they make the bike feel unstable.
 
Me too. One of my favorite routes is about 20 miles long. The last 10 miles is all tar snaked and I was sliding all over the place this AM. My sphincter is still puckered.:eek:
 
I watch out for tar snakes in curves during the Texas summers. More than once, my bike squirmed a little when cornering over them.
 
I usually am, but for some reason this bike just sails right over them even in the rain.

That being said every biker hates them I think. I've been told it's the cheaper way of repairing a road.
 
Castor Troy said:
Today, I realized that i am super paranoid of tar strips and thick traffic lines (crossing lanes and .... like that). I catch myself standing the bike up mid corner just to avoid a tar strip. Is my fear healthy or do i need to lighten up?:(
Click to expand...

IMO the fear is somewhat justified, and caution and or avoidance is required.
If it goes wrong, one way or another it's going to hurt;)

Cheers
 
daverogers2001 said:
Never even thought about them in my 30 years on 2 wheels and not about to start either
Click to expand...

If you are only riding in the cool UK weather then that makes sense but I can assure you they are no joke over here when it's 90 degrees. I was riding on my friend's street in the heat the other day which is covered in tar snakes 6 inches apart in all directions and in terms of traction it felt almost identical to when I accidentally found myself on a rough dirt / gravel track. Very disconcerting when upright, ass puckering when leaned over.
 
I didnt know what Tar Snakes was until this thread so I googled it and found a good tip on how to ride through them. I never gave them much thought as I do RR tracks. I had a buddy riding a bike whose back end slipped out from under him while crossing a RR track. Sometimes at crossings they use metal plates next to the tracks and the rear tire has nothing to grip as in his case. Ever since then I've been a little more cautious than normal. Also those frickin huge white painted turn arrow coming off the freeways in california scare the crap out of me. Some idiot city engineer decided to put the arrows in the turn versus before the turn how stupid is that!

Learn techniques for confronting tar snakes on a motorcycle.

freeway.jpg
 
Last edited:
Tar snakes don't bother me one bit.

Now oil and Antifreeze, both of which I have ridden through on more than one occasion, that's when the buttcheeks pucker...
 
Notec said:
Tar snakes don't bother me one bit.

Now oil and Antifreeze, both of which I have ridden through on more than one occasion, that's when the buttcheeks pucker...
Click to expand...

I noticed that in that write up the snakes ran perpendicular to the road..that's no big deal..Here they run parallel or tangentially and that's a whole different ball game.... Also here there are actually steps in the road surface that these cover..hit those when leaned over mid corner and tell me they dont bother you...;)
 
Stw said:
I noticed that in that write up the snakes ran perpendicular to the road..that's no big deal..Here they run parallel or tangentially and that's a whole different ball game.... Also here there are actually steps in the road surface that these cover..hit those when leaned over mid corner and tell me they dont bother you...;)
Click to expand...
There is no certain pattern to the ones in CT. They are random (parallel, perpendicular, tree shaped, etc. I also ride dirt so again no big deal.

It's when you have almost zero friction between the road surface and tires when I get concerned.
 
You should try riding in Christchurch, the earthquake absolutely stuffed our roads, should have stuck to my Motard!!!! LOL. Seriously we spend more time manoeuvring around holes, bumps and cracks (and thats just the wife!!!) it seems like we have forgotten about the dreaded tar snakes!!!! Ours here don't get that bad (we still have them and yes they are a PITA, usually on the best line) as the temperatures don't get as hot as other parts of the world, however pea gravel left for black ice and no signage on the open road causes some grief for the unwary!!!!
 
In my experience, you should be fine. If your at full lean and racing around your gonna need to watch out for them, but you should also only ride like this at the track...So, it shouldn't be an issue
 

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