First time being pulled over without getting a ticket

When I usually get pulled over for a traffic violation, it's either going 5 or 10 mph over the speed limit. At the end of each encounter I've always received a ticket. Shoot, I even received a moving violation for forgetting to turn on my headlights driving during night!! That's how bad I am with tickets.

When I got pulled over today I had no doubt I was going to get a speeding ticket. I was even worried my bike was going to get towed away since I was riding like a complete jackass.

I got off late for work and had to race home because I was carpooling with a friend to go to LA since my car is on jack stands and needs to be repaired in the morning. I was going at least 20 or 30 mph over the speed limit, splitting between cars, and took a hard left turn at an busy intersection to beat the red light. I didn't know a cop was trying his hardest to keep up with me for 3 miles. I'm sure he had to stop traffic at the intersection so he could make the left turn since I did not see anyone behind me after I passed that intersection. He told me all of this while lecturing me and I am sure he was really REALLY frustrated because of his tone of voice which is understandable.

After all that hassle he went through, he let me go with a warning. I was shocked. I don't know about you guys, but being let go with a warning really has an effect with my mind. I usually go 5mph faster than traffic for safety reasons, but now I can't even make myself do that. I guess the only thing I can comparing the feeling to is when you disappoint your parents and instead of getting smacked or yelled at, they just give you a hard look of disappointment and walk away. Such a horrible feeling and you never want to disappoint them again. lol

Looks like I will be riding like a grandma now. Well only on public roads. When I put on the R wheels and get dirty different story.

I know the feeling.

A few years ago when I was going through my cruiser phase, I was doing 60 in a 45 on my Road Star Silverado (Road King wanabe). I came around a bend and a county cop with a radar gun stepped out of his hiding place and zapped me. He waved me over, I stopped, took off my helmet and got the normal "do you know how fast you were going?" I said that I did. It turned into a short lecture about being safe and keeping my speed down. Just a warning.

Then, the conversation quickly turned to bikes. There were two cops. Motorcycle cops. They were curious about the Yamaha and we chatted a bit. I told him that I also had Hayabusa at home, and then their faces really lit up. "How fast have you had it?", one of them asked. Hmmm. Was I going to tell him the truth? I figured that if I lied, they would know that I was BSing them, so I told them the truth, which was that one time I had it up to 160 without even realizing that I was going that fast. "Awesome!", was pretty much their response. We chatted a little longer and then they let me go.

By far, the most interesting encounter that I have had with the popo to date.

You mean you finally decided to grow up a bit? ;)

Been there, done that, and to be completely honest, I don't miss riding on the street at all right now, even though I may eventually buy another street-only bike sometime in the future.
But, for now, my motorcycle riding on the street is on my 2009 Honda CRF-450X with a license plate on the back, connecting one trail with the next on weekends. :)

I had my own epiphany this past October while driving in my PAID FOR 2004 Ford Ranger.
While driving past some young kid's driveway (actually, his parents' driveway - he just lives under their roof, as usual), this brainless kid pulls out and hits me as I drive past, knocking the rear end of my truck out sideways and rolling my truck over.
Truck is totalled, and I have to go buy another truck.
The kid claims that, ..."I've been telling my dad that he needs to cut down that big bush at the end of the driveway so I can see oncoming traffic as I pull out..."

So now, I've got a vehicle payment every month (again), and I also tend to drive like a grandma, often at or below the posted speed limit.
I'm not scared of riding or driving on the street at all, but this incident did change my veiw on it, and I simply feel like going slow.
Basically, I no longer have a desire to even try to use the street as any kind of a riding or driving playground for myself.