It was suggested to me that if you are a police biker travelling at high speeds (three figures) then every tiny advantage achieved by off-siding can be justified.
For the average rider, even experienced advanced riders, the advantage to be gained is so small that the disadvantages in terms of possible danger from other road users outweighs any potential benefit.
Consequently I changed from a rider who off-sided quite often (when I considered it safe to do so, was perhaps even a little blasé) to a rider who thinks twice about any advantage I'm likely to gain and now generally I stay on my side of the road - although undoubtedly there are times when it can be useful, given clear sight lines and the ability to lessen bends
I think generally that's pretty much spot on. There is most certainly a strong correlation between your speed and how much of the road you're using / need to use. (Think about your 30 limits - are you going to position or relax a bit, and for the most part pretty much sit in the middle of the road?) (For the most part ... that doesn't mean
don't position in a limit ... you may well need to ..)
I think there's also a big a difference between straight lining stuff / ironing out those kinks in the road, and approaching a left hand bend from way out on the off side.
It's that bend approach that gets my toes curling. Absolutely fine in my book on those open bends where the view is good, but on those classic limit point bends where you really can't see any more than those two joined verges, if you're approaching that from way out on the offside, you're going to give someone a hell of a fright if they suddenly come into view.
When I did a lot of my initial Police training I remember the benchmark was "If their first view of you is you, already coming back in, (so by that, we mean it's
instantly obvious to Mrs Miggins that your course / direction of travel is back to your side of the road then that's ok, but it's not ok if you're out there, and not already on your way back in".
Well .... I've toned down that a lot as I've grown in experience. For me, their first view of me and I want to be pretty much on the correct side. That doesn't mean to say I won't be out there, but almost like judging your limit points and when to start scrubbing off speed, I sort of judge my position too and when to bring it in .. (ie ... give it up now .... if something comes into view it's not fair on them ... ).
So this sort of thing;
Of course I'd pinch a bit of that, but i'd probably only iron out those few feet of the offside, and ultimately I'm heading for a point just inside the hazard lines, where they finish that little straight run and start to bear left. That's my goal, my keith Code 'turn in point' for want of a better word, and I've identified that point, the second it's come into view. (Which takes us right back to the OP's initial question, and that your brain won't be picking up on those far off 'I want to be there' bits of the road, if you're living in a twenty yard bubble of life savers and shoulder checks).
Another example of that 'identify where I want to be' moment' ;
Would I chop this out? yes. Would I be clipping the offside verge? No! Where am I heading? Just inside my white line in that off side position for the left hander. (about a mm below the 'horizon' of the tarmac in the photo). Is that different to barrelling down a straight bit of road and into a left hander on the wrong side of the road? Meh ... yes, to me it is. The above scenario to me is perfectly acceptable.
One more point on off siding and in particular straight lining prior to a bend ..
These;
Tempting to straight line right? (so we're not talking brush the offside hedge, we're just talking straight line, maybe pinch a few inches of the offside). Eight out of ten times you'll get away with it, but it's uncanny how often another vehicle can completely hide in that dead section that you can't see. Don't be tempted to be greedy here, run it deep and get that view ... !
Another similar example;
Take the finger post out of the equation and imaging there are no junctions there. Again, the temptation here is to come off your nearside line early for that left hander. Wait ..! Run it deep ... You can bet your bottom dollar theres something in there ...