How many riders have never been down

[The Pastor]

I crashed but I didnt fall off, does that going as being down?

[Ixion]

I agree with Mr Motu (as usual - it's a conspiracy).

If you think "Oh , yah , guess I'm gonna crash before long". You will.

Doesn't mean you stick your head in the sand either (like quite a few on this site ). Actually I think that the "crashing is inevitable" is a sort of denial. People don't want to take responsibility for their own safety, so they retreat into a "it's inevitable, we're doomed anyway, nothing can be done about it" response.

I analyse riding and the road to a high degree. Always thinking (well, not always, sometimes I get slack - that'll be the day I crash), "what should I do here if.... "; "one day a USV may come barreling through there , so I'll ... " , "hm . wonder if there might be something bad round that corner" .

And before a ride, or a section of a ride, I spend 90 seconds or so , psyching myself up, getting my head into the groove that NO MATTER what happens I CAN HANDLE IT. THE BASTARDS ARE *NOT* GOING TO GET ME.

If you think they are - they will. If you do the preparation, and TELL YOURSELF that you can handle whatever fate throws at you - you'll be ready for it when it comes.

It doesn't guarantee you won't crash - sometimes the Biker Gods are just in a REAL shitty mood. But it certainly cuts back the odds.

Complacency and doomsaying are the enemies.

[Badcat]

i've been riding 24 years.
down 3 times.
all were painful - and totally avoidable.
biggest problem is the older i get - the longer it takes to recover.
i dress to crash (always full face, boots, armoured jacket, gloves and draggins a minimum), yeah, it's negative - and it's saved my arse.

[The_Dover]

and it's saved my arse.

I'd love to say my leathers saved my arse but I've got a nice purple patch that says otherwise!!

[Motu]

There's an old saying - ''You make your own luck''

[The_Dover]

If that's the case can I borrow some other bastards recipe?

Mine is shite.

[Finn]

I'd love to say my leathers saved my arse but I've got a nice purple patch that says otherwise!!

But that was the spanking I gave you on Sunday bitch.

[onearmedbandit]

Been off on the road 3 times.

1/ Came around a mild corner at about 130km/h, wet road and a herd of cows in the corner. Too fast for the conditions. Never seen cows move so fast, might've had something to do with the GSXR on its side sliding towards them! Age 20yrs

2/ Too fast into a hairpin left hander, footpeg on another GSXR750 dug into the road and low sided me. I stopped in 2 metres, the bike slid uphill for about 23 metres until it got stopped by the cliff face. One very sore ankle. Age about 20yrs.

3/ Too fast (Notice a pattern? I was too young to notice anything other than girls and bikes) into a decreasing radius downhill corner. Back of the bike left the ground and as I dropped it into the corner the rear came around on me. Highsided at about 80ish off the bike, landed on the armco and ripped 5 of the main nerves out of my spine. That one gave me two things. One being a lesson that the road is not a racetrack, too many things to hit. The second thing it gave me was my cool user name. Oh yeah, I had reached the wise old age of 22 when this one happened in 1997.

Did I slow down? Did I buy a Harley? No, I bought a GSXR1000 and moddified it to ride onearmed. Haven't had an accident since. Still ride just as fast, if not a bit faster, but I pick my time and places better.

Reading this might make you think I'm a nutter. No, I'm a motorcyclist. One who is constantly learning and adjusting.

[The_Dover]

But that was the spanking I gave you on Sunday bitch.

You gotta pay for the MV somehow I guess..........

[NC]

This one time, at band camp....

[oldrider]

Old at 65 rubbish --- I am 73 have had bikes for 49 years and ride amost every day in summer and when it is fine in winter (my only consession to age). Purchased my eleventh bike last year. Use an Aermacchi 350 bike for open road and an Suzuki SJ125 scooter in town.

Grow old disgracefully

Great to see you on here Doug, you are the same age as my oldest brother and he's seven years older than me.
I am now just one of the young fellas, thanks to you.
So that I am not thread stealing, my last affair with the hard stuff below was a couple of months ago, "in a flat green grass paddock" with my son and grandson.
That was my third bike bending body bruising off in 52yrs of riding and it fu**ing well hurt and my right leg is still hurting ! Damn it. John.

[mini_me]

Morphine is nasty shit too, really screws with your mind.

'morphine' and 'nasty' should never EVER be used in the same sentence!

[Edbear]

Gonna be a bit hard to find anyone who hasn't had an "off"! Mine are pretty tame compared to most on here. Two offs, both below 5 mp/h. Fell off going up my then girlfriend's slippery clay driveway in the wet on the T500 back in '76. Handlebar in the ribs left a bruise. Grabbed the front brake as was taking off from lights in Auck cause a car came around too fast, didn't think he'd stop. Still had both feet down so only dropped the bike breaking the indicator lens. So nothing in the last 31 years... Great to see some "senior" riders on here!

[Skyryder]

Never been down. Well not while's I was moving. Droped the Drake with the wife on the back. Thought I show her the 'joys' of biking.

Hit the side of a concrete bridge as a teenager. I supose that could be a 'down,' like a downside

Skyryder

[Ham]

I dont go down, you just end up with hair in ya teeth.

You need to buy your Mrs a razor!

-I got rear ended on my CB250 by another CB250... write off

-Some silly mole pulled out in front of me and I wrote off my mint as '87 250 Hurricane (cool bike back then)

-Low sided my AX100 back in the day, doing about 40k

-Countless bails on dirtbikes

If you don't crash your not going hard enough