Harley cleaned out by BANANA SKIN

[Beemer]

And you thought cigarette butts were dangerous - from the Dominion Post this morning:

Harley ride goes bananas
KAY BLUNDELL - The Dominion Post | Saturday, 17 February 2007

A banana skin took out a prized Harley-Davidson motorbike near McKays Crossing and caused delays of up to an hour for peak-hour traffic.

Police were called when a motorcyclist, travelling south on a dark red Harley-Davidson, went into a skid and crashed about a kilometre south of the crossing, about 8 o'clock yesterday morning.

A banana skin someone had thrown out a car window turned out to be the culprit.

The motorcyclist, 41, from Waikanae, was taken to Wellington Hospital with minor injuries.

The southbound lane was closed for about half an hour while emergency services attended the accident, and the motorcycle, which had damaged handlebars, was removed from the scene.

Constable John Battersby, who had never come across an accident caused by a banana skin before, said there were half-hour delays in the northbound and southbound lanes while the accident was cleared, and further half-hour delays as built-up traffic dispersed.

Senior Sergeant Alasdair MacMillan said the accident was a classic case of slipping on a banana skin.

"The innocent act of discarding a banana skin out the window, because people think they are biodegradable so it does not matter, is a perfect example of literally slipping on a banana skin and the danger of throwing rubbish out of car windows."

[alexthekidd]

Haha rather amusing lol

[Nasty]

Poor bastard ... I hope s/he is ok ... its a giggle .. but this happens all the time .. and people don't think about throwing sh*t out the window ... I heard of the flying ciggie butt that almsot cause a guys suit to catch fire :(

[Waylander]

Here is a question. Why didn't the guy avoid it? Yea it may have been dumped out right in front of him from the car ahead but shouldn't have been too hard to go around it. Even for a harley.

I've had to dodge a large one of those igloo shaped dog houses that few out of the back of a truck right in front of me, even a bed matress that was in the road I didn't see until the small cargo truck infront of me moved to avoid it aswell. Small things like bannana peels, dead animals, and what not he shouldn't have even need to move the bike a whole lot to avoid.

[j_redley]

He may have missed it .... Stupid bastards that throw anything out the window though... they just don't realise how annoying it is on the bike.

[iwilde]

Poor rider, end of the day a biker had an off which could have caused serious injury or death to himself or a car potentialy coming the other way. i'm sorry, but i can't find that amusing.

[Hitcher]

I am intrigued by the reporter's description of the bike in question, a "dark red Harley-Davidson". One wonders if such fulsome words would have been used had it been a "lesser" machine, such as one made in Japan. I suspect in that case it would have been referred to as just "a motorcycle".

[Oakie]

How ironic. Just yesterday i was following a car up the road from which a youg'un in the back seat was slowly discarding a banana skin. I wondered what the potential would be for a slip if a rider hit it with the front wheel while cranked over a bit. Now i know.

[Virago]

Haha rather amusing lol

Why????:gob:

[alexthekidd]

just my sick sense of humor finds something amusing about a big bad harly rider getting taken out by a banana peel

[jtzzr]

Hope the dude is all good , whether you ride a Harley or a Jappa , the road rash is still the same, but I will be looking at banana splits in a different light.:banana: :banana:

[Bytor]

Why didn't the guy avoid it?

Maybe he'd got ape hangers...

[scumdog]

about a big bad harly rider

You surmised the above information how???

I didn't pick it up in the press release.

[Virago]

just my sick sense of humor finds something amusing about a big bad harly rider getting taken out by a banana peel

You must be reading something between the lines that I haven't. Assuming that a Harley rider is "big and bad" is like assuming that all 250 Bandit riders are snotty little dickheads.

[u4ea]

aww what a bugger for this rider!!

[desmo dave]

You surmised the above information how???

I didn't pick it up in the press release.

i think maybe theres abit of insecurity there mr scumdog

[Black Bandit]

You must be reading something between the lines that I haven't. Assuming that a Harley rider is "big and bad" is like assuming that all 250 Bandit riders are snotty little dickheads.

:gob: Are we really???:gob:

I know why they hit the banana peel ... TARGET FIXATION :pinch:

[Bonez]

What brand was the banana?

[Bonez]

Obviously said banana skin would have been finger pint tested and the perpetrator of this horrendous crime apprehened and linched.

[Bonez]

It just goes to show one should aways keep ones eyes peeled when out on their scoot.


Edit- Oops Freudian slip.

[alexthekidd]

ok just to clear things up, i wasn't laughing at the poor rider, crash not good, more the fact that it was a bannana peel that caused this accident, not trying to belittle the crash but as the article said the guy was basically fine. rather ridiculous really that people do throw things out there windows. i think maybe the igloo would have been easier to see though, banana peel would be rather small and the rider trying to concentrate on the road and killer drivers in wellington could have easily missed it.

i'm assuming as to the brand that it was the All Island Banana Growers Japan, rather annoyed at Harleys muscling in on there territory

[scumdog]

i think maybe theres abit of insecurity there mr scumdog


Hmm, Im not sure how bring to attention of somebody their assertion of something not readily apparent to myself is equated with 'insecurity'...

[McJim]

I take exception to the word 'innocent' in the Sergeant's statement.

There's nothing innocent about throwing rubbish onto the road or leaving diesel and or oil on the road - amounts to the same thing.

I must also condemn these stereotypical sweeping statements - it's almost as bad as police assuming every islander in a late model performance car has stolen it! :rofl:

[James Deuce]

I've nearly lost it on a banana skin too and it it nothing to do with target fixation. I just thought it was a "moment", stopped to check the bike (it wasn't mine) and noticed the squashed peel. It was on a dodgy little road with blind corners so I was looking ahead for traffic.

[Bonez]

I've nearly lost it on a banana skin too They're everywhere Jim.

We are a banana republic after all.:dodge:

[Riff Raff]

Here is a question. Why didn't the guy avoid it? Yea it may have been dumped out right in front of him from the car ahead but shouldn't have been too hard to go around it. Even for a harley.
How long does it take for a banana peel lying in the sun to turn black and blend in with the tarseal? Oh yeah and it'll get slimier too!

Since you're so good at spotting these things, why don't we try to recreate the scene with you and your bike and see whether you can avoid it?

[roogazza]

Banana skin !! oh come on ! "Get off the grass " !!!!!!! Gaz.

[Waylander]

How long does it take for a banana peel lying in the sun to turn black and blend in with the tarseal? Oh yeah and it'll get slimier too!

Since you're so good at spotting these things, why don't we try to recreate the scene with you and your bike and see whether you can avoid it?
Defensive are we? Wasn't you or Jimmy on the harley was it?

[Lou Girardin]

Who really thinks a nana peel would make you lose it?
Perhaps if you're cornering at the limit of adhesion, it might.
This smells of Mr Harley rider feeling a wheel slip slightly and then panicked.

[Guitana]

Yes that's right according to the Dominion Post on Saturday a Harley Davidson was taken down by a Banana skin south of McKays crossing.
The Biker was O.K some bruising etc and traffic was stopped for up to an hour on State Highway 1 while the accident was cleared.Apparently the banana skin was discarded from a vehicle and the Harley skidded on the skin under cornering!!!
As if biking was'nt dangerous enough we now have to watch out for discarded fruits!!!!

[Guitana]

Sorry if this is a repost I noticed Beemers already got a thread running on this subject!!

[dawnrazor]

went into a skid and crashed about a kilometre south of the crossing

Thats a long way to skid

[The Pastor]

I better leave like a bananna and harley?

[davereid]

You would have to be really cranked over for a banana peel to cause a crash ! You would only lose traction for a tiny tiny instant, and unless right at the limit you would be able to recover. More to the story than meets the eye methinks.

[Beemer]

Yep, you'll get smacked on the hand! Perhaps the mods can do a merge?
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=940877#post940877

[Squeak the Rat]

Somebody slipping on a banana skin is not really funny in itself unless you like laughing at peoples misfortune. This is one of the oldest cliché slaptsick gags, yet no one has actually seen some one slip on a banana skin. So the humour is more (imho) that some one did what we’ve been laughing and groaning about for 100 years but have never seen before.

If it was rider error as suggested above, and the rider was blaming the banana skin then this makes it even funnier!
:killingme

[vifferman]

Haha rather amusing lol
I didn't think so.
I lowsided my VFR750 when the front tyre skidded on a squashed softdrink can as I tipped into a low-speed corner. It broke the front brake lever, holed my near-new jacket, and re-wrecked my rotator cuff. No laughing was done.

I friend of mine in Florida high-sided his VFR800 when braking hard for a corner. Apparently, he was unlucky enough to hit a Cadillac hubcap that was lying on the road just as he hit the picks. He was unconscious for several minutes, and wrote off his helmet and several body panels on his bike. He was very lucky to escape injury. No laughing was done.

[XP@]

wonder if he is going to respray deep red or will he have a change of colour to something like yellow...

[sunhuntin]

hope the guy is ok, and not much damage to the bike.

from my years on a push bike, im generally pretty good at spotting stuff on the road, usually when i see the event happen. i once watched someone drop a ciggy butt out, and as i went past, i could see the smoke coming off it. i wouldnt have seen it had i not watched it be put there.
coming home one night, medium darkness, i nearly lost everything when i nearly hit a street sign lying in the middle of the road. until i was nearly on top of it, i thought it was a large bit of cardboard or similar. i recognised what it was with just enough time to flick around it.

i wouldnt like to try my chances taking on a bit of fruit. they say he was cornering...chances are, the peel was in a part of the corner where he couldnt see till too late. ive whipped around a semi blind corner once, to find the footpath right next to it covered in large bits of metal [looked like engines] i know they would have been shifted off the road. that would have been nasty as well.

the whole idea of a harley being taken out by a banana skin is funny, but the actual event isnt.

[jrandom]

It's the jandals, man. They're disguising themselves as banana peels.

Sneaky little motherfuckers, jandals. Never trust a jandal, or next thing you know, WHAM, it's pretending to be a banana peel.

And THEN it's all over.

[sels1]

You would have to be really cranked over for a banana peel to cause a crash ! You would only lose traction for a tiny tiny instant, and unless right at the limit you would be able to recover. More to the story than meets the eye methinks.

I tend to agree. The road south of McKays Xing only has a couple of corners, both under speed restrictions due to roadworks, not requiring much lean angle to get around them. Perhaps there were other factors we are not hearing about - the media not wanting all the facts to spoil a good story. Glad to hear the rider is ok.

[Guitana]

I hope that bananas got some serious insurance cos that's gonna cost him!!!!!

[Guitana]

I tend to agree. The road south of McKays Xing only has a couple of corners, both under speed restrictions due to roadworks, not requiring much lean angle to get around them. Perhaps there were other factors we are not hearing about - the media not wanting all the facts to spoil a good story. Glad to hear the rider is ok.

Ever tried to corner hard on a Harley????
Maybe some trial runs need to be conducted!!
I will petition the land transport safety people to have an anti banana campaign to target the lethal effects of stray bananas on new zealands roads!!

[mstriumph]

..............we now have to watch out for discarded fruits!!!!

.... tassels aside, it's not NICE of you to talk about Harley riders that way ..... :dodge:

[Guitana]

.... tassels aside, it's not NICE of you to talk about Harley riders that way ..... :dodge:

I was talking about the banana not the rider!!!!

[scumdog]

To those who think the rider could have swerved..

If he was all set to overtake the car and the banana peel was in his path he would have had zilch time to see it or even think of swerving, so often despite our best intentions we briefly end up closer behind a car than we would normally be (as when about to overtake etc), we focus on the clear road way ahead instead of the little spot about 20 feet on front, we spend just that little bit longer looking in the mirror etc etc - but maybe that's just me and I ain't perfect!
(Well not as perfect as those that can easily avoid all obstacles on the road on front of them)

[Beemer]

To those who think the rider could have swerved..

If he was all set to overtake the car and the banana peel was in his path he would have had zilch time to see it or even think of swerving...

From McKay's Crossing to Pukerua Bay there is NO passing at all, so he couldn't have used that as an excuse!

[Lil_Byte]

I hope that bananas got some serious insurance cos that's gonna cost him!!!!!

May be Helen will front up for the damage rather than an insurance company. She is more responsible than anyone for turning this country into a banana republic :dodge:

[Bonez]

It's actually a cunning ploy. Bananas everwere are having a revolt against ape hangers.

What did the Assie customs girl say to Arny when she found he had prohobited items?

"Ya lost ya visa baby!"

[sunhuntin]

From McKay's Crossing to Pukerua Bay there is NO passing at all, so he couldn't have used that as an excuse!

and no-one on a bike has ever overtaken where they arent meant to?

[Beemer]

and no-one on a bike has ever overtaken where they arent meant to?

There are double yellow lines, it's very narrow due to ongoing roadworks and there have been heaps of fatal accidents there. If a biker DID overtake there, he would have to be an idiot.

[sunhuntin]

There are double yellow lines, it's very narrow due to ongoing roadworks and there have been heaps of fatal accidents there. If a biker DID overtake there, he would have to be an idiot.

well aware of that fact. ive ridden that road myself. and as a recent thread pointed out, most dont take notice of double yellows.
myself, i very rarely overtake anyway, never mind on double yellows.

when i got hit by the car a few years back, i was going slightly over the limit. i nearly got charged. but i know for a fact, had that car NOT pulled out, i would have arrived safely. had i been going slower, i likely would have hit her door, or the back door, resulting in injury at the least, and possible death.
in this case, if the rider was in fact over taking [which we still dont know for sure] chances are, despite the illegal manouvre, he would have come out the other end in one bit, had it not been for the banana.
i think that recent thread showed that overtaking on double yellows is ok, provided you stay within your lane and dont actually cross them.

[Paul in NZ]

I think the problem is he got his fruits and vegetables all mixed up... he should have been going 'potato potato'... easy mistake

[Smorg]

I got hit in the helmet by a ciggy butt late one night on the motorway.....it scared the shit out of me after my head exploded in a shower of glowing red hot ember's, almost binned it then.

[sunhuntin]

yep...i had that too. hit the arm of my sunglasses, just a little left of my left eye. came out of an oncoming car doing around 100k. any furthur right, id likely not have that eye. its already useless, so any ciggy butt would make it worse.
also had a white butterfly smear itself across the same glasses, hitting the bit that sits on the bridge of ya nose. talk about messy!

[Bonez]

and no-one on a bike has ever overtaken where they arent meant to?So it was a traffic enforcement nana...............

[Virago]

You would have to be really cranked over for a banana peel to cause a crash ! You would only lose traction for a tiny tiny instant, and unless right at the limit you would be able to recover. More to the story than meets the eye methinks.

Not true. Ever stood on a banana skin that's slippery side down? Try it. The skin will travel with your foot as you slip.

'Tis likely that it would travel with a tyre in a similar manner, far enough to cause a spill.

[Guitana]

It's actually a cunning ploy. Bananas everwere are having a revolt against ape hangers.

What did the Assie customs girl say to Arny when she found he had prohobited items?

"Ya lost ya visa baby!"

Actually BONEZ that was SLY STALLONE or RAMBO as he is commonly known by us colonials!!!!!:yes: :yes: :yes:

[Guitana]

Fuck the bananas I had to ride through a hundred WATER MELONS this avo!!!
A truck had dropped a load of watermelons at the intersection of grenada north and the Motorway but I trooped on through even squishing a few more as I went!!
Would've been a cunt following the truck when it happened though,two of those crates full of them,there was a bunch of Maori boys busy picking up the whole ones,I would've stopped for a munch but was in a hurry!!!

[fozz rock]

Nuts
plus 10 characters

[_intense_]

gutted.

for the peel.

[_intense_]

seriously.

[_intense_]

nah, just joking ya, gutted to be downs like that, to be downed at all. hope rider & mount be well soon.

[Squeak the Rat]

Banana schmanana. I had to quickly dodge a christmas tree just after christmas. Some nob end in a 4x4 was taking it to the dump and it fell off his trailer in front of me.

[Guitana]

Banana schmanana. I had to quickly dodge a christmas tree just after christmas. Some nob end in a 4x4 was taking it to the dump and it fell off his trailer in front of me.

Did you wish him a MERRY SYPHILIS AND A HAPPY GONARRHEA!!!
Well did ya Squeak did ya????

[Bonez]

Actually BONEZ that was SLY STALLONE or RAMBO as he is commonly known by us colonials!!!!!:yes: :yes: :yes:They both mumble, carry arsenal and run around a lot shooting folk.

[Hitcher]

They both mumble, carry arsenal and run around a lot shooting folk.

That's not Rambo. It's Thierry Henry.

[SEAGULL]

For the record, so everyone knows the true storey, The morning was wet, the road was greasy from the road works, I was also breaking for the traffic ahead and of course the dreaded Banana skin. Don't forget guys your tyre only has about 20mm of rubber on the road at any one time, so ending up on a full rotten skin, in the wet you have no shit show of a chance

[SEAGULL]

This message goes out to everyone who has read the newspaper article and have sent in your support and concerns. Unfortunately I had to pay the first $1,000 excess on MY insurance as I could not provide evidence of who deposited the banana skin on the road. I would like to take this opportunity to thank evryone from the witnesses, fire brigade, Wellington Free Ambulance EMS and the Police for helping me that day in February. Pete at Wellington Motor cycles told me the other day this article was on this site. I've been a Kiwi Biker member for a few years now and had'nt even given it a thought it would be here. Anyway guys & girls, thanks for all your comments and support, I'm back on the road again being more careful to watch for rubbish on the road. Yes I was lucky, could have broken my kneck as I landed quite heavy on my right shoulder. Wrecked my leathers though, just goes to show you, the idiots riding in shorts would come out worst. I had more than just damaged handle bars, about $8,000 worth. Bars, exhaust system, indicators, airfilter cover, saddle bags, petrol tank, brake master cylinder, front & rear fenders. I have a new petrol tank in its raw steel state from America, I am hoping to paint it myself once the warmer weather gets here as I have the paint gear, spray gun, compressor but not the facilities. Thanks again - SEAGULL

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