The green whale is dead...

[sedge]

Adding to the surprising amount of sob stories over the last few weeks...

My bike is now green shrapnel and bent metal bits, the front wheel got twisted and pushed right back into the headers etc. The frame has been shunted back a bit coz nothing really lines up anymore, triple clamps etc are toast, all plastic, clocks etc got shredded, damn.

"I didn't see you", followed closely by "you were going so fast"...

I don't understand, if you didn't see me how do you know I was going fast ?

"Ummm"

Exactly, but nice try cock.

Right... Luckily, I was following a mufti policecar slowly towards home (If you ever want to be following a policecar that would have to be the time eh?), anyway, the policecar pulls off to the left in to Plimmerton.

Cock looks right through me at the 40 ton truck behind and thinks he can make the gap through from Plimmeton intersection to turn towards Wgtn, damn. He floors it and turns towards me, at this stage I'm sure I can hear the sound of cack preparing to hit pants, there's someone waiting to turn in to Plimmerton and nowhere to go. Damn. I decide to put the bike down ( actually it was more panic and bail like a baby), I bounce off the car and scrape down the road a bit, the bike goes under the front. After doing the starfish and wiggling all my bits I realise that nothing important is missing.

It must have looked pretty cool coz I slid a fair way down the road.

So... The bikeshop guy (TwinCam Motorcycles in Pram, cheers Randall !) came out with the spatula, he said the frame looked bent, along with everything else, joy.

I'm pretty sore at the moment spent last night going ow and not sleeping much, bruised down BOTH sides damnit. My son seems to have a special ability to seek out weak points and poke them with sharp stuff, I yelp and HE starts crying, babies are so weird, doesn't stop him poking though.

Ah well... I pick up my new bike on Monday, riding down from AKL, should be fun, except now I have to run around finding a new helmet for my fat head as mine is shagged (the helmet is shagged, my head is always fat).

The lessons I've learned...

1. Always follow a policeman where ever you go.

2. Don't try and save your head, you'll only make it worse for the other bits, your head will touch down anyway, that's what the helmet is for.

3. The armour in your gear is in the right places. Mine curiously missed out on hip armour... guess where I hurt the most ?

4. Don't worry about what colour your bike or gear is, you are invisible.

Cheers all,

Sedge.

[Jinx3d]

[Jinxed crosess hands over heart.]

A classic ZXR 750 bites the dust. Did it have the vacuum cleaner pipes going into the air box? Even worse. A beauty. Post an obituary so we can remember it as it was.

[a moments silence]

ANyway - whats the new bike huh? huh? huh?

ps - glad to hear you are okay dude.

[What?]

Oooh, bugger.
Sympathies from one so very recently sympathised with.

[RiderInBlack]

Fu*k Mate. Sounds Wellies is a full of "thick is pig shit" Cagers (must be all the Pollies living down there ). Glad you didn't get hurt worse. Did the copper have a word with the "canned" dickhead

[Jackrat]

Kind'a odd that they can't see ya' one second an then the next they know what speed you were doing.
Oh well ya' still alive mate.Best of luck in the future.

[dangerous]

Crap aye! I never like reading these sorta posts, but yours was bloody funny apart from the reason that you posted of course. Hay the good thing is you are ok and have a new bike on the way already 'sweet'
and be good to that weird baby *still grinning*

[Busted]

Man that suxs ... f'ken cage drivers aye?

At least youve still got a sense of humour ... and a weird baby to aid recovery. Plus a new bike already ... its not all bad ... but yeah what is it?

[Bob]

As someone who has lost a couple of bikes to the "Wasn't looking" brigade, you have my sympathy.

I lost one to a taxi driver going the "pretty way" round a roundabout. First thing the guy said to me, after asking if I was OK? "Well, that was a 50/50, wasn't it?" If I'd not been thinking (and your brain is scrambled after an 'off') and agreed in any way, that would have been my claim against him gone!

As you said, if he "didn't see you", then how does he know "you were going so fast"?

On clothes and stuff - I think it was research done in NZ that showed the best clothes to wear are patches of colour. And bright ones at that.

Our 'Highway Code' (guidelines for riding/driving) used to say you SHOULD wear a white helmet, reflective strips, bright clothes etc. Fortunately, it was changed to COULD wear. Just as well - the former gave any solicitor worth his salt perfect defence for his almost completely blind client "M'Lud, the greasy beast on the motorcycle was wearing black. This goes against what the Highway Code says, so he is obviously liable for my client hitting him, even though there was nothing else on the road."

But no matter what you wear and how bright your bike is, your best defence is paranoia! And this from a man who rides a bright yellow bike!

I ride on the basis everyone and anyone is an idiot, quite possibly unable to see past their steering wheel and may be a card-carrying certified psychopath on a day out from the asylum.

Just as well - I've had someone pull out on me a couple of months ago - sunnt day, yellow bike gleaming in the sun etc. Only my awareness kept me upright.

But wearing brightly coloured stuff and riding a brightly coloured bike should help if the claim goes to court.

[Zed]

My bike is now green shrapnel and bent metal bits, the front wheel got twisted and pushed right back into the headers etc. The frame has been shunted back a bit coz nothing really lines up anymore, triple clamps etc are toast, all plastic, clocks etc got shredded, damn.

You have my sympathies man.

I agree with you that we are invisible out there...expect the unexpected. You sure you're up to riding again so soon?

All the best & a speedy recovery.


Zed

[Bob]

You have my sympathies man.

I agree with you that we are invisible out there...expect the unexpected. You sure you're up to riding again so soon?

All the best & a speedy recovery.


Zed

From my own perspective, I found the best thing was to get back in the saddle as soon as possible. They do the same thing with horse riders and pilots - with those two groups, the fear is if they don't get going asap, then the doubts in the back of the mind can stop them from ever riding/flying again.

Everyone is different though.

[wari]

BrilliANT post sedge ..

[Firefight]

Glad your okay mate, and good to see your gettin right back in to it, whats your new bike ? good to see he was in the right place at the right time.

F/F

[Ms Piggy]

Mate!! I am sorry for ya! What a scary situation!! I guess at least you're still around for your little boy to poke & prod.

[riffer]

Hey sedge - all may not be lost.

At my father in law's place is a near minter ZXR750 1989 model with the big end bearings gone.

Everything's there.

I will check on a price but I'm pretty sure its for sale at $1500.

Would you be interested?

Simon

[pete376403]

I hate riding or driving anywhere around the kapiti area. The place is full of golden agers waiting for god, but they won't give up driving.
The bad driving spreads to the younger people too (if you can't beat 'em, etc)

(the following, although a joke, is true)

Two elderly women were out driving in a large car-both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself "I must be losing it, I could have sworn we just went through a red light."

After a few more minutes they came to another intersection and the light was red again and again they went right though. This time the woman in the passenger seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous and decided to pay very close attention to the road and the next intersection to see what was going on.

At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red and they went right through and she turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred! Did you know we just ran through three red lights in a row! You could have killed us!"

Mildred turned to her and said, "Oh, am I driving?"