I always look at the driver to see what they are doing first then I watch the wheels ...if the spokes start to turn even a little I'm on the brakes and looking for an escape route if I need to.

 

Hoepfully you never find yourself having to lay a bike down and slide off but remember the bike can be replaced easily enough flesh and bone not so much so if there's no where to go kick the *** out bring her down and let her go, wear good gear and slide your body right for right side riders .....left for left side riders....towards the curb away from center of roadway.An expert riders class is a good progressive riding plan to undertake

 

This has been mentioned couple of times but will iterate once more. ... making eye contact with cage drivers gives a good idea what he/she is thinking. I also see the tires of the cars in neighboring lanes to see if they are swerving in their lanes (some drivers have very poor lane control) or about to change lanes without the turn signal.

Watching traffic pattern also helps. For example, your neighboring lane is jammed and your lane is moving, expect cars from jammed lane to suddenly jump in front of you to get in the moving lane.

 

Can bikes stop faster than cars? or Cars stop faster than bikes? i applied a the brakes full force one time just to check it out and it took full concentration in order to keep the bike under control and not skid. whats your opinion?

 

Bikes can stop faster than cars. They do not have as much weight to stop. If you took the MSF course you had to get up to like 30 and then stop real fast and a bike did so in a just a few feet. Thats my perspective anyways...

 

Cars can stop faster. It's not as much about the weight, but the contact patch on the ground. Motorcycle tires provide only 2 narrow contact patches for stopping power, while a car has 4 very wide/flat contact patches. (not to mention ABS)

 

Lol yeah I guess that makes sense...

 

I used to think the same way, and I think most people believe that bikes are faster for the same reason you said and I used to... but after some reading and some comments from folks on here and watching a couple shootouts with pros in cars v. bikes, I've been convinced otherwise.

Cars' strengths are in braking and cornering, as a result of the large and flat contact patches.

A bike's strength is in the acceleration, due to the high power to weight ratio.

Here
Here's a good vid on the issue. Hope the mods feel this is on-topic, as I think it exposes the need to be aware of traffic in front of you as cages have the ability to stop more quickly.

 

I have a honda chitvic with front disc and rear drums... My bike can stop WAY faster than my car.

If you can't stop faster than a car, you are doing something wrong.

 

No offense dude, but you have a civic with drum brakes.... most cars these days have full disc brakes and ABS....