[Maxxym]

So today, my buddy and I went riding. We went to this local park here, stopped to catch a smoke. Not so far from there (about 500 feet).... is a ice cream shop...I got a little thirsty and decided to just take a quick ride to the place and get something to drink ...so I hop on my bike, put my jacket on and decide to leave a helmet with my buddy (yeah dumb)..

so I take off... speed limit is 20mph...never really thought about it.. so here I go...

shift to second, and I see a cop going the other way. As soon as he passes me I see his ass turn around and get right on my ass..

so thinking and trying to be calm, I just ride up slowly to the ice cream shop.. pull in the parking lot and he is right behind me..

so I get off the bike, and come up to his car (he was too damn lazy to get out) and he says that he clocked me at 36 on 20mph zone! ..

so he proceeds with checking my license blah blah blah, telling me about why I don't have my helmet and I have NOVICE on my license (which requires me to wear a helmet for a year). I ALWAYS WEAR MY HELMET!!! just this damn time I pulled one of those: " aahh its only around the corner" deals..

so he starts writing me a ticekt...
at this moment my budy pulls in on his Harley. Cop seeing his bike, looks at him and just starts talking to my buddy about his bike WTF??

and then he has the balls to tell me that

exact quote:

" if you had a bike like this, I wouldn't give you a ticket"




so now, I have 2 points on my record, my insurance will skyrocket and I am pissed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he did give me a slack for a helmet.. he didn't write me up for it...

I told him that I always wear my gear! Shit I had my leather jacket and gloves on and it was pretty damn hot! I guess he saw it when my buddy pulled in with my helmet on the back of his bike..

well so here is my story... a freaking highlight of my day!

 

[Solidus]

" if you had a bike like this, I wouldn't give you a ticket"

I said in a post not so long ago that there is a nationwide conspiracy. Now maybe you guys will start believing.

 

[Tony]

I got a speeding ticket 2 weeks ago, 70 in a 55. We get no respect from the cops, I have been stopped three times on my R1 in the last year and have gotten three tickets. I have only had my R1 for a year, I only got stopped once on my old F3 and got let off, but that bike was understated looking as it was almost all black.

There are alot of idiots out there who have given sport bikes a bad reputation.

 

[jb.]

I ALWAYS WEAR MY HELMET!!! just this damn time I pulled one of those: " aahh its only around the corner" deals..

But you weren't wearing your helmet!

I worked with a guy a few years ago who rode one of those "its only around the corner" deals. He's not with us any more. He was a nice guy.

Never ride without all your gear.

Take the test....... put the side of your hand on the pavement and press firmly as you drag your hand. See how hard you have to press before the skin starts to tear. Now sit on your bike with the side stand down and fall onto your head without using your hands to protect you. Feel what that's like with the bike not moving. Now ride at 20 mph and fall off and hit your head. What did that feel like?

And you complain about a cop giving you a ticket! Sigh.

 

[Maxxym]

But you weren't wearing your helmet!

I worked with a guy a few years ago who rode one of those "its only around the corner" deals. He's not with us any more. He was a nice guy.

Never ride without all your gear.

Take the test....... put the side of your hand on the pavement and press firmly as you drag your hand. See how hard you have to press before the skin starts to tear. Now sit on your bike with the side stand down and fall onto your head without using your hands to protect you. Feel what that's like with the bike not moving. Now ride at 20 mph and fall off and hit your head. What did that feel like?

And you complain about a cop giving you a ticket! Sigh.

.jb I totally agree with you.... its my fault and my stupidity.. I admit that. this was the FIRST time I didn't wear a helmet while on my bike and the LAST time....

that ice cream place was so close that I should just walk there!...

 

[mxracer95]

Fight the ticket.
Fight EVERY ticket.

I received 3 tickets last year and I have 0 points and have never been to trafrfic school or ever paid a fine.

 

[frk_b]

How are you successfully fighting these tickets? I have a court date next week for speeding and could use advice. (80 in 65 zone)

 

[Guia_X]

Fight the ticket.
Fight EVERY ticket.

I received 3 tickets last year and I have 0 points and have never been to trafrfic school or ever paid a fine.

What kind of tickets did you fight? Speeding?

btw I was able to ride with Albert early on Sunday up at Lake Hughes area.

 

[R1RIDER]

you should go to court for that ticket and tell the judge what he told you. about the harley.

 

[wth]

Yep, try to fight the darn ticket.
I went to court last Thursday for mine, but I chicken out and asked the just for a 12 hrs traffice school.
I should have fought that stupid ticket

 

[KneeDragger77]

I feel your pain!

Yea, I've gotten 4 tickets in the last year. GOod thing is my insurance still has me listed under my old state license so none of them have reflected onto my record.

However, I did beat one of them in court. It was an "improper lane usage" ticket for splitting lanes. However, the prosecutor backed me up and told the judge that I was in the right. SO he dismissed my $150 ticket. Also, my friend got a speeding ticket dismissed because he was riding with 4 other people. Someone was clocked at 91 mph. But WHO was it? THe cop didnt know, and neither did the witness. SO they got off.

Good luck and do ride safe. Always wear your gear. I frequently ride with no shirt, gloves or helmet.... but thats just to move the bike from the yard to the garage

 

[mxracer95]

HOW TO FIGHT A TICKET AND WIN

I rode up through Lake Hughes a few weeks ago... actually, the weekend of the fires in Santa Clarita. We rode around the fires. Kinda fun to see all the water dropping planes.

Anyway, I had 2 speeding tickets and 1 U-turn ticket (the most rediculous ticket ever). 1 speeding ticket the officer didn't show up. 1 speeding ticket 1 of the two officers didn't show up. Both dismissed. The U-turn ticket I lost in court but won on appeal.

Playing the odds alone you have a good chance. My experiences are that officers only show up 1/3 to 1/2 of the time. So right off the bat you have at least a 50% chance of winning.

Before you go to trial, you want to do "discovery." Send an informal letter to the police department that cited you and request the <b>Officer's Logs</b> for that day, <b>front and back of his copy of the ticket</b> (the back is where they right all their notes), <b>maintenance and repair records for the radar device</b> AND <b>his vehicle</b> he was using, and his <b>log showing when he tuned the radar gun</b>. Send it certified so you have proof of your request. If they do not provide you with everyting the judge should dismiss your case. If you do get everything, you want to look for something he didn't do... radar not recently calibrated (in CA i believe they have to calibrate it after every 3 uses and always first of the day), history of problems with the radar , etc. Infractions the officer commited can dismiss your case as well (broken/burnt out tail light or headlight, etc).

Take pictures of the exact location where you radar's you, both from your perspective on the bike, and from his perspective. How far away from you was the radar? Are there street signs near where he radar'd you? Large, steel, flat street signs are MUCH more reflective than our curved plastic bikes. If you were far enough back the radar beam would be wide enough to bounce off street signs (or other cars) causing a false reading. There was one of those radar trailers that shows you how fast you are going as you drive by near one of my riding areas for a few weeks. Going past it about 5 times, it only "saw" me twice and only for a couple seconds. The other three times it completely missed me and caught a passing car or didn't see me at all, with no other vehicles around. Sportbikes are very hard to accurately radar.

Could he see you well before you got to him? In CA you must be visible for at least 3 seconds so the officer can make a visual estimate of your speed, then he must verify his estimate with radar. If he got you coming around a tight bend he didn't have time to visually estimate your speed.

Now if the officer shows up, you are prepared to fight and ask questions. Ask anything you can find that might discredit the ticket or the manner in which you were caught.

If you are found guilty, immediately go to the clerk's window and request the forms for appeal. Fill them out and get them back to the clerk within 30 days. Unless you were really bad, you should win on appeal simply because the attorney general will not bother doing all the paperwork required for a traffic ticket appeal, they have much more important things to do.

 

[mxracer95]

Ok, so the stupid Boldface didn't work.

You guys should all check out the National Motorists Association, it will help you a lot!

And while you're at it, join the AMA. They are the reason we don't have HP limits, seatbelts, or (in some states) helmet laws. Without the AMA there would be no R1 in the US.

 

[joemt]

Just a thought...

Now, a tad off subject, but not really. Do you think they could make bike farings out of the same material that they do for the Blackhawk plane or any other stealth plane? That would be pretty sweet if it worked. Drive around at any speed and not get clocked. But then again, just a shot in the dark. I bet it would be freakin' expensive though.

One more note, I had a ticket awhile back and I bought this booklet off the internet that told you how to get off. It was kind of helpful, but filled with some bullshit. If anybody wants a copy, I have it in a PDF file, just private message me your email or email me at [email protected]. Don't know if it will help, but anything is better than paying the man. :thumbup

BTW I got out of my ticket out of sympathy, it was a wreckless, not a speeding. They tell you in the booklet to get a lawyer if you get a wreckless. I didn't, and got lucky. Lots of :cryin helps. (j/k)

 

[romo53]

Tickets...get ur tickets

:fact ALWAYS......ALWAYS set your tickets for court. Even if you happen to lose, the judge will 9 times out of 10 give you more options than what is on the back of most tickets. And....don't waste your time or money on a lawyer for traffic court. Go to the local library and read up on the traffic code if you must. Court is not as bad as you think. And your odds are usually very good.

 

[Jin Ba Itai]

Los Angeles brothers. If you got a ticket at the Crest, make sure you ask for County Seat while he is writing the ticket.

Pasadena, Glendale and Monrovia judges are not too kind to motorcyclist. If the CHP didn't show, you win by default. But if the CHP show up, chances of you winning is slim. At Hill Street down town LA, chances of them not showing up is in your favor and the judges there are more neutral.

A few swear by this site but I have not try it yet. Hope I don't need to deal with it... http://www.ticketassassin.com