Topic: Was a good day ...untill

[ledbetter]

Well it was have to say the day started out fine ,not a whole lot to do at work, was nice out side.
Came home,wife had a friend over and thay where talking female thing's,so dicided it was the a good reson to go for a ride.
    The ride was plesent,did about 40 miles on some nice back roads along the river,well about a few mile's from the house after haveing had to return to more croawded roads a truck in front of me slamaned on the brakes to make his turn,no singnal,no warning,cant go left on comeing traffic,cant go right a ditch,I went side ways and went down on the bikes left side.
      The fairing has some scratches which is the minor damage,after I picked my self up of the ground and started to pick up the bike,well that was allso the moment I realised it was hemerging oil like a super tanker on the rocks.
  Wanted to cry right there,I was fine exepte for a skined elbow and a brusied hip,which is in the shape of my cell phone,cell phone survived.
  So now what ,am i going to have to pull apart the engine to remove asphalt and meteal.

Lee

[kghost]

Well, that sucks. Glad you were not hurt too bad.

Did you grind a hole in the left alt. cover? Just wondering where the oil is comming from.

If its the alt. cover that ain't too bad. Just take it off clean'r out and put a new cover on.

[Uncle Ernie]

Are there any lessons here to teach us?

[78_SaltLick]

Man that sucks, i dumped my bike today too, but it wasnt moving

Lessons? Not sure. One time a lady driving this big buick in front of me slammed on her brakes and turned sideways in the road for a cat. She blocked both lanes with her car it was so dam long. Either side of her car were big ditches. I layed the bike down right into her car, bent the forks up, cracked my helmet in half. She drove off and left me there, she thought i was dead or something. What can you do when someone slams on thier brakes? If he hadnt laid his bike down, it could have been much worse.....

[Raul CB750K1]

I disagree. Rubber brakes much better than steel. In case of impending crash, you gotta keep your bike straight, hard on the brakes without locking any wheel. Chances are if you have to crash you will at a sensible lower speed, thus the damage will be less -for you and your bike- and if you happen to crash try to jump out of the bike in the very last moment to avoid crashing against the car, say your prayers and experience what birds feel. Taking the bike down when you are about to crash is a bad idea. Other thing is if you panic and lock a wheel, but taking the bike down on purpose is not recommended at all.

Raul

[chrometank]

sorry to hear bout that mate ,remember every one out there  is a total moron and will do something to knock you off .Its just a matter of when.You are right raul ,I t-boned a car that turned right in front of me, I slamed the brakes on and slowed the bike enough to hit the door and just break the forks.and i went over the car and landed without a scratch.

[Bob Wessner]

Are there any lessons here to teach us?

I would think the lesson maybe following too closely?

[Uncle Ernie]

Righty-oh Bob- he was following too close to stop in time. People do that at on-ramps too. The guy in front starts, sees a car and stops again- and you plow into his butt.

The other lesson Raul mentioned. The famous Hurt Report said that most motorcycle accidents the rider could have done something to stop, slow down, swerve, etc, but most of the time the rider panics and stiff arms the bars- in essence watching and waiting to hit. First, hit the front brakes, then the rear brake a little to add stopping power and to keep the rear-end from moving around. This is a big reason why good tires are important. Traction means much more than sticking in corners.

Experienced riders (isn't that another thread somewhere?) practice figure 8s and panic stops in parking lots. To quote a famous detective, "'Mans got to know his limits". So do women.

[eldar]

I guess i always use both brakes at once. You might as well use all your stopping power right away. It can also help to maintain control.

[ledbetter]

Yeah ground a big hole in the alt cover ,but should have a replacement  here by thursday or friday, hopefule it will be a quick fix's and be rideing agine by next weekend if all gose right

Lee

[ledbetter]

Got the alt cover replaced and all is right with the world agine

[Brookesy]

I had a close one last week.
I traffic in a town nearby - Toowoomba - famous for D!@kheads trying to kill each other in tintops.
I mangaged to brake hard enough to stop in time - the back wheel was chirping and the front near lockup.
(I was on my Shadow)

The way i see it - it's a case of brake first - then look for somewhere to go while that's happening.
If the S#!t hits the fan - and by then you've slowed down enough - put it in the dirt - less damage.

Looking for a way round wastes too much time - brake first and re-assess on the way.

Of course, leaving more room is good - but it just invites previously mentioned D!@kheads to change lanes in front and remove the extra space
Then you've got another problem - the guy who "didn't see you"

Brookesy

[Brookesy]

Oh, sorry, how rude of me....

Good to see you got her fixed - Ride on...

[kghost]

If you have to look for a way out you are behind.

One should constantly be scanning ahead AND behind. Plan ahead at least 10-15 seconds and leave yourself an out( have an excape plan). Be aware of what is around you at all times.

Try to position your bike in traffic so that you are not obscured behind any other vehicle. Or beside.

Avoid the blind spots. People are trying to kill you wether they know it or not.

[ledbetter]

Yeah there are ton's of folks around here that drive with there head up there butt's and dont look out for the the cycle rider's,seems to be a common thing every where in the world.
O and for those that know Burwell ,he was by here today and wanted me to say hi to all those who know him.

Happy trails to all.

Lee

[Brookesy]

It thought "riding paranoia" was a normal part of life.
be alert and don't let them get you.

Oh, by the way, it's not just bikes people don't see.

Yesterday, i was driving my Ute - it's big, white, tall - very hard to miss.
Approaching an intersection, a driver of the female persuasion runs through a give way sign and turns in front of me
I hit the brakes, horn,head lights, window, finger...

Absolutely no reaction - she just kept driving.
She didn't even notice me with all that going on

What hope do we have on a bike against that?

[ledbetter]

I spend most of my time in the car for my job and it seems like everyday i see people doing everything but pay attion to the road,thay are talking on there cell phones or eating or it is a mom in a suv with 10 screaming kid's,would love for the state to make the driver's test a lot harder,seems like any moron(myself included) who can open a box's of craker jacks can get one.

Lee

[bob204bc]

Back in January I was sideswiped by a friend while we were riding to eat lunch. The accident was mutual fault, speed, I nailed the brakes too hard to make an unexpected turn (road change - not a curve) and he was following too close to react in time. We were both on fairly new Beemers.

 Neither of us went down and we were able to ride the bikes to the shop (with a few bungies to hold parts on and rags to keep oil in). Bottom line - over $12,000  in damages to the two bikes.

State Farm was very kind to us.

[Brookesy]

Naughty Boys!

Having fun is always expensive ... one way or another