Scariest moment on a bike?

[yessum]

Scariest moment so far would be the death-twitch given by my bike as I ran over a patch of gravel mid-corner. Wasn't even going that fast officer!

[Motu]

Well,I've had a few,bit of a slow learner.

Early one sunday morning out for a blast on my Triton - for you young fullas a Triton is half Norton and half Triumph,this one a typical cafe racer...the grand daddy of sports bikes,mine built by the son of a famous NZer,but not known in motorcycle circles,the father that is, coming along Church st and turning left into the Grt Sth rd,2nd gear on the pegs and coming out right on the curb on the opposite side of the road.This was a pretty new road at the time,4 lanes of smooth tarmac swooping down then up the hill into the long right hand sweeper into the left and a big stop for the lights at Penrose rd....but I don't think I was interested in the lights,further on was the S over the railway bridge by the glass works.

So,I ring out 2nd,good for 80mph,hook 3rd and settle in for the run up to the sweeper,only 2 vehicles on the road up ahead,a truck and behind that a car going my way both in the outside lane.Now,do I just swoop over and take them on the left or stay on the other side of the road? No other cars on the road,but if I go left that bloody car may decide to take the truck on the left too - no,I'll stay out on the other side.

As I approach the truck starts to turn right into Sims rd!!!!! Holy fucking shit!!!!! this is bad,very bad,no way am I going to go around the front of the truck,the rear won't clear in time,can't lay it down and go under as the tandem wheels will be in my path,can't turn left as there is a car there....I'm dead,I've run out of luck,I suppose it won't hurt,but it's gunna be messy to clean up.

I'm on the brakes,hard,very hard - but it's only an 8inch single leading shoe,the rear a cut down lever for the rear sets - even a modern bike could of been in trouble here,but actualy the poor brakes were a help in what I did next....the car driver must of seen what was going on,for now the impossible gap was a littlle bigger - 3 meters is being generous - I pitched the bike left,still hard on the brakes,missing both car and truck by inches - out the otherside,off the brakes and on the rebound slam it on the right peg and snap on the throttle,kiss the left hand curb and I'm gone up the hill!

closest for me,phew,...did it slow me down? you bet! for 2 days.

[Deano]

Remarkably - mine is exactly the same instance.....

Scariest non-crash moment was on the left hand crester 45kph corner heading north just after the exit to the Kaitoke Go Kart Track. I love that corner for getting my knee down and scraping the peg.

Got ballsy one day and came in to the corner well to hot....knee down around the corner.....realising I wasn't going to be able to stay in my lane (funny thing about full lean - you can only turn at such a radius??) - with a van approaching the other way - fuck knows how I missed collecting the rear of the van but I did.

Lesson - when knee is done - you better get your speed right as you line around the corner can only get wider.

Wkid, thats a great lesson, although the Doctor would probably give it a handful, spin the rear around to tighten his line, pop the front up and wave to the van as he flew past.........praise allah.

I have had my share of near (and not so near) misses:

Writing off 250 two stoke into car - couldn't lean any further, hit brakes, car turned right into gas station as I tried to lane split at about 80 Km/h (if there was something coming the other way it would have worked goddamit!!)....BANG. Damn that nitrous is great stuff

Went off the road going to Castlepoint 3 weeks after buying a new bike - not used to the extra power I guess and got ahead of cycosis for once - adrenalin and all that took over - whoops. Not too bad though - after I bounced down the road I jumped up straight away and ran back to the bike cursing...more worried about the bike than anything.

Most recently, hit gravel at top of Haywards while overtaking a hog (and again in front of cycosis - there is something going on here ??), back end squirrelled each way but straightened up, doing about 130K/mh. Thankfully I didn't see the gravel before I hit it - don't you find not seeing the hazard makes things much easier...no panic or stiffeninig of arms on the bars ??

[Big Dog]

The worst one not already detailed on this site would have to be the day my dad thought he would buy me a motorcycle jacket (to repalce the hunting jacket I was wearing).

Not knowing anything about bikes but wanting his second youngest son to be warm dry and safe on his new bike (that snr does not understand, but tries anyway), my father set out in search of a warm dry showerproof jacket. Kinda thoughtful I thought when I opened it for my birthday. Proper trails jacket proclaims the swing tag, $109 to boot. Looks a bit too much like a parachute for my liking but I thought to myself it's the thought that counts, I'll at least try it.

A bit flappy but no problem up to 100kmph. Until I try to pass my first cattle truck going in the opposite direction down the Motunui straight outside Waitara.

Well f%$^ me! It fills like a sail, I am lifted in the air cluching on to the now over revving XS250 with all the strength in my arms and thighs concentrated on not getting sucked off the back.

Well f#$% me I never considered it might take the bike as well. We were carried back about two meters and slammed somewhat uncerremoniosly on the road, somehow upright but in slapper with the ute behind me in a fourwheel lock up.

Luckily for me in my blind 19 yo L plate ignorance my throttle snaps full open on an already unsettled beast, which now decides it is a good time to do the wheelie that had eluded me all weekend. I say thankfully because at least that resolved the slapper.

Well once every thing was back under conrol I took that jacket off and rode home in just a tee shirt. Rather than hurt Dad's feeling's I told him it was warmer to wear it under another jacket. I still have it, but never again was it worn on top of my clothes on the back of the bike. Now that I know better about safety gear I know it would have been no better in an off than nothing and probably worse. I don't think Dad ever new the truth, I think he just thought I was being a snob about the style.

Now that I know better I would go back and vent at the bike shop that sold that as a bike jacket.

[Big Dog]

Scariest moment so far would be the death-twitch given by my bike as I ran over a patch of gravel mid-corner. Wasn't even going that fast officer!

You think gravel is fun? just wait till you meet mr manholecoverontheapexofacornerinthewet.

[wkid_one]

You think gravel is fun? just wait till you meet mr manholecoverontheapexofacornerinthewet.

Or Mr checkerplateonyourlineonaroundaboutinthewet

[Wonko]

First weekend with my first bike, riding around Parnell and town, heading down the hill from Parnell in the wet. Applied front brake, locks up on arrow in the middle of the road, shit slam on the back brake, just as it also goes over the white arrow. Both locked up with the back stepping out, and heading fast towards the back of a ute at the lights. Saved by releaseing everything and then slaming them on again, this time not locking up.

Stopped round the courner and had a coke at the Shell and thought about taking the bus home. Thought that my flatmate would think I'm a wuss, so hopped back on her and road home slowly.

[Deano]

First weekend with my first bike, riding around Parnell and town, heading down the hill from Parnell in the wet. Applied front brake, locks up on arrow in the middle of the road, shit slam on the back brake, just as it also goes over the white arrow. Both locked up with the back stepping out, and heading fast towards the back of a ute at the lights. Saved by releaseing everything and then slaming them on again, this time not locking up.

Stopped round the courner and had a coke at the Shell and thought about taking the bus home. Thought that my flatmate would think I'm a wuss, so hopped back on her and road home slowly.

Was that a bottle or a line ?

Gota get straight back on allright !!

[moko]

Heading for home on my 6 month-old GS850 way back in 79,small sidestreet with a learner driver in a Mini waiting to join the road I was on.I saw him and slowed down but he`d seen me so no big deal,apparently he was holding it on the clutch,god knows what he was thinking but he shot out straight in front of me while still looking at me.I hit the front wing and got thrown over the front of the car into the corner of someones house.Helmet was trashed,I hit the house head first at great speed,but probably saved my life,and i was slumped in this guy`s doorway with my arm all twisted like it was never meant to be twisted.I was out cold but apparently the driver`s girlfriend owned the car and she got out ranting about "look what you`ve done to my car",as if i could hear her.Anyway home owner was a biker, a frigging enormous biker at that and when he opened the door to see what the kin hell was happening he let rip and she was in tears by the time the Police arrived.The Gs had been picked up by the time i came to and at least I had the satisfaction of seeing a wrecked Mini wing laying in the road,got torn clean off.Cop actually rode the bike to the police station for me while I went to hospital,bloody solid them things were.Turned out I had a broken arm,couple of stitches in my face too but could have been a lot worse.

[wkid_one]

Thought that my flatmate would think I'm a wuss, so hopped back on her and road home slowly.

You hopped on your flatmate and rode her home??? You sick man - this is about bikes

[Kickaha]

Being taken out by a van that crossed the centre line and looking back down the road and realising he had managed to get 2 out of the other 3 bikes that were travelling with me.

We got off light,3 totalled bikes(R75/7,R90S,XS750)one broken wrist and fractured kneecap,one concussion,and a lot of bruises.

[DEATH_INC.]

Hmmmm......which one?Prolly on my mates TL1000s doing 240kph (I passed my mate who was doing 230...)on the straights at hunua.Got into the biggest tankslapper you've ever seen....the whole bike was going from side to side (the back was trying to come around...)My mate who was following on my gixx said he could see daylight under both wheels.....
Or the time I was trying to catch a mate on the old north road on the ZX12,theres a long straight followed by a slight bend over a bit of a rise,only at 280kph the bend is actually a corner and the rise seems more like a hill.280k on the speedo,cranked over,front wheel in the air,rear spinning and still not turning fast enough......
Or the first time I landed the 12 from a 200+kph wheely on the m/way with the bars crooked....
I could go on for ages....

[cruzer]

I worked in Greenlane about 20 years ago and I would make my way down to Gillies Ave after work (10 PM ish) to get on the Motorway heading North. One evening whilst heading onto the Motorway around the sweeping left hander I found myself going over my handlebars and sliding almost on to the motorway with my bike riding me.
Three things contributed to this adventure;
1- I was probably going to fast but hey 20 years ago at 10PM there was not very much traffic around
2- Some Moronic Individual had dropped what seemed like a half cubic metre of scoria on the road and did a very limited job of cleaning it up.
3- The local constabulary had 2 police cars on the blind part of the corner half blocking the road trying to break up a fight or something and forcing me to a ride through the thickest part of the scoria.
I thought at the time "I'm lucky my brother is following me in his car as if it where someone else, I may have been used as a speed bump"Everybody seemed amused, except me. The cop's comment was "That was pretty good, you went over your handlebars"
Looking back, it probably was an amusing sight but at the time I only remember closing my eyes and thinking "This is going to hurt"

[cruzer]

I tell my brother's story (he is no longer a rider)
In 1980 my family immigrated to NZ. Around a month after we arrived, my brother and I each bought a motorcycle. I bought a Suzuki GT185 and my brother a Suzuki 125 enduro.
It was Saturday Morning and we were schedueled to go for our License Testing on Monday.
My brother was 16 years old and I was 15 and my parents had gone for a walk to the dairy We, being michevious youths seized the opportunity to get on our bikes and proceed to ride up and down our driveway, which was in the region of 25m in length.
As we where only riding back and forth in the driveway and mindfull of the timing issue involved in removing a helmet in case the parents came home and told us off we set off down the 25m bare headed.
It was all going very well and we were enjoying becoming freinds with our new macines when I was travelling back towards the house and my brother was going in the other direction I could no longer hear his engine.
My first thought (him being a cross between Evil Kenevil and the Devil) was that he has gone onto the road and stalled his machine. I proceeded to turn around to investigate his where-abouts. I got to the end of the driveway which had a drop on one side of about one and a half meters and for an unknown reason I looked down to the side of the driveway where it fell away.
There I saw my brother sort of sitting with his head hanging back and his machine wedged, almost as though it were parked between two trees.
I called his name and he pulled his head up and it dropped forward in front of him. Needless to say, there was an enormous amount of blood and I admit to being somewhat staggered by the manner in which he was presenting himself to me. It was at about that time that I noticed a neighbor running down his driveway from across the road and pushing me aside to render assistance to my Bleeding Brother. The ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital where he spent around 6 weeks in Intensive Care comatose before making a rather remarkable recovery.
It turns out, from his fragmented memory of the events that unfolded that fateful day, that a cat crossed his path as he neared the end of the driveway and he, being a novice rider, applied far to much Front Brake, firing him like a catapult, over the handlebars, head first, into a Brick Structure that curved around the end of the driveway that formed a wall/letterbox.
It seems that he hit the edge of that structure with his forehead causing the dammage in the photos (courtesy of Auckland Hospital)
I remember the doctor asking me to have a look around the accident sight the next day to see if I could find a number of teeth that no longer resided in his mouth as they could put them back provided it was done quickly.
His list of injuries included:
Jaw broken in 6 places
Cheeks broken
Nose Broken
Eye sockits broken
Skull Fracture and Brain Exposed
Optic nerve damage
Pituitary Gland Damage
Luckily, this occured when his body was still young enough to repair itself quickly and he continues to enjoy life woith his wife and two children today.
I know that this Thread is about the scariest moment on a bike and although I didn't acually see the event (only the aftermath) I can assure you that it was a scary moment for me and all who where involved.
By the way, I never found any of the teeth but I did find the cigarette he was smoking at the time sticking into the brickwork.

[merv]

Dude I didn't need these pics at lunch time.