Close calls

[aff-man]

Ok A couple of weeks ago I had a really close call.
Coming home at night I turned into this street with a bit of a slight downhill right handed sorta sweeper. So I gave the 750 a small squirt and the front lifter about 5cm odd. Now usually this isn't a major problem. Unfortunatly the bike decided to let the rear go and step out about half a meter. Now that was fecking scarey and I thought it was all over... untill the rear gripped. flicking the bike over. The only reason I didn't highside was the front was sliding because it had just landed and not had enough time to grip. So with a massive tank slapper (and this is with a steering damper) I managed to keep it upright. I thought this was the luckiest save i've ever done....

Untill tonight.

Coming home i'm about 700m from my house. going into this corner put on the brakes and something must have been on the road cause the front locked dn tucked real fast.... The next bit is a bit of a blur but basically I was doing about 45 and put my foot down, the rear must have slid and gripped because I get somehow get popped out of the seat still hanging onto the bars trying to brake and keep it upright.....
So I end up in the middle of the corner standing next to my bike holding it upright .....Got a bit beat up in the process but fuck me if it wasn't the craziest thing ever...


I have other saves but those two have been the most recent and freakyest... What are your saves I know eddie has one...

[Wasp]

whoa, glad to hear you are ok Jono and didnt have to use the trailer (hows that going by the way?)

[scumdog]

Get a Harley and CROOOOZE, that way you won't have 'front end lifting, high-sides and tank-slappers" to contend with.

We HD owners have a higher standard than 'slappers'

Oh, and stay away from your home, it seems to be a common theme with your little 'oops'.

[Jantar]

Surely you know by now that 90% of accidents happen within 8km of home. A damn good reason to move.

[BarBender]

Coming out of turn 1 at Taupo circuit 3rd Feb this year on the 12.

Roll the throttle coming out...
Back end steps out big time and then grips. Probably doing 110k
Resulting tank slapper has me horizontal in the Superman position at arms length above the bike.
Hold on for dear life. Drop back down on the bike landing with my chest on the tank, legs out the back and the bike doing the wobbles.
Managed to get my feet back on the pegs and control the bike before into turn 2.

Exited off the track that lap and straight into the toilets to change my Jockeys.

[Chickadee]

I was out for a wee pootle tonight, brushing up on riding. Coming up to an intersection round the corner from home, just purring along (practising keeping speed down for test), saw that the light was probably going to amber, I could have gone but decided what the hell I'll slow down early and wait a sequence.

Glad I waited, two lots of cop cars lights flashing sped across the junction going 80k's at least. If I'd pulled on the throttle to get through, it would have been an OH SHIT moment for all concerned.

Thank goodness for a 6th sense

[aff-man]

Coming out of turn 1 at Taupo circuit 3rd Feb this year on the 12.

Roll the throttle coming out...
Back end steps out big time and then grips. Probably doing 110k
Resulting tank slapper has me horizontal in the Superman position at arms length above the bike.
Hold on for dear life. Drop back down on the bike landing with my chest on the tank, legs out the back and the bike doing the wobbles.
Managed to get my feet back on the pegs and control the bike before into turn 2.

Exited off the track that lap and straight into the toilets to change my Jockeys.

yeh I remember that... least you landed on the bike... I kinda landed to the side... If someone was watching it would probably have looked really amusing me kinda running kinda bouncing along next to the bike holding onto the handelbars for dear life hahahaha. Funnything was i was on the brake but do to my acrobatics kept accidentally reving it while heading along. Luckily managed to keep the clutch in otherwise the bike would have shot through a guys wall

[BarBender]

yeh I remember that... least you landed on the bike... I kinda landed to the side... If someone was watching it would probably have looked really amusing me kinda running kinda bouncing along next to the bike holding onto the handelbars for dear life hahahaha. Funnything was i was on the brake but do to my acrobatics kept accidentally reving it while heading along. Luckily managed to keep the clutch in otherwise the bike would have shot through a guys wall

A new stunt move Jono? - The Aff Man Highside to the Side!

[Babelfish]

Back on my old KR1S I was riding out in the country on known roads on a dark night. Turned into a road that has a big rise after a set of rail tracks, fully openned the throttle to get as much g force when I hit the base of the rise, fly over the tracks, hit the rise and get pressed down....get to the top of the rise to see a set of eyes floating across the road ahead of me as a cow was casually wandering across the road. Full anchors on, eyeballs half out of their sockets and back tyre bouncing and cow approaching fast...just before a rather meaty rendesvous the cow thought better of it and casually turned around and went back off the road. Way too close, was still doing around 100 by the time I went past the cow, and from that point there was a permenant seat volcano where my arse had sucked up the material due to twitch vacuum.

[bugjuice]

heading to my dads place on Huia Road, decided to take the long way round via Laignholm cos it's a nice twisty run/cruise and the weather was nice. Got down to Laingholm and was all the way back up the hill, coming to the crest which was also a nice left hander, has a junction straight on and to the right (so cross roads, but the road curves left), cranked it over as always to find when I got to the apex, a truck had turned from the straight-on exit, down the road in the direction I was goin, and had spilt fine stones in a nice line from side to side. I braced myself as the front went over and slid probably only a few inches but felt more, then the rear (all while fully cranked over) then the front gripped then the rear gripped, just catching me as I could feel the bike falling. Clean pants were fortunately at the end of the ride.

couple of times have turned into smaller roads, and hit metal that's gathered where cars haven't run, there's always fun.

but by far, the worst 'shitter' i've had so far was the other weekend.

Had to go drop something up in Marsden, near Whangerai (?), so managed to convince the gf to jump on the back (not been on since last summer and lost her confidence). So off we went, route was via 16 to Warkworth, then a bit of SH1 and some more back roads there. Well, so far some hot tar had made the bike twitch in a few corners, but nothing hard, and I wasn't going hard by any means. So cruising down 16, passing a few cars on the straights, doing somewhere between a smidge over a hundy.. Saw a fully loaded logging truck up ahead pulling to the left, about 6-700m ahead. No probs me thought, maintain speed and due course and pass the truck roughly just over the white line, giving us both plenty of room. Getting down to 4-500m and I see the cab swing round to the right. He was swinging out to pull into a small drive, and there was no sign of tail lights to show his intentions. To my calculations, I'm not gonna make passing on the right in time, so it's stop in time or hit it. My heart stops, and instinct takes over. Hard on the front and almost locking the back and ramming down thru the gears to reduce a 2up sprotbike from 100ish in less than a 100ms or so, and that goes quick. With the truck approaching fast, I consolidate myself with picking the biggest log to hit, to try to minimse limbs going astray. The bike and front is holding really well, and I've only got a fraction of brake left to pull, 'just-in-case' without locking up. The speed dies (my nuts are transfered to my butt from the gf leaning on me) and I can try starting to lean. With less than a foot to go, the truck has moved enough out of the way, to swing to the left and pass. I knock back up into second and cruise on, contemplating what just happened. I stopped in Kaukop (since I was feeling the rear was too soft) to pump up the rear and to just gather myself. I get off to find the gf in floods of tears. Man, I felt a little shit, but I talked her thru what happened and why, and she understood. It was (as far as I can tell) just one of those shit things, that possibly could have been avoided, but was just a tad tricky, since the tail lights were covered in mud and did look to be almost stationery on the side. I've always been cautious about passing trucks like that, I'm now going to be extra cautious!

[WRT]

Had a moment myself overtaking a truck on the Coromandle a few weeks back. I'd made my way past a queue that had formed behind it in some twisties, and was now sitting immediately in behind the truck itself. The road curved round a valley to the left up ahead and came onto an undulating straight. I could see across the valley that the straight was clear so I swung out to the right, waiting for the truck to finish rounding the corner (which took a second or two, no longer). Once the truck straighted up, I could see up past it and saw nothing coming onto the straight so I indicated out and moved relatively quickly to pass the truck.

I'd got past the first trailer, and as I started passing the second one, the top of a car appeared mid-straight as it climbed up out of a dip in the road. I shat myself, as the road was narrow and there was the queue behind the truck - too late to go back now. Wound the throttle to the stops (hadnt done so to begin with as it was a narrow bumpy road) and with probably less than a second to spare squeezed through the gap between the front of the truck and the oncoming car.

I still cant believe how that car just "appeared" there, but it was a good warning for me - the rest of my overtaking was a lot more cautious. It's still in my mind now when overtaking in either the car or bike, so hopefully I've learnt a permanent lesson from it. I came within inches of becoming a hood ornament, and the image of the gap between car and truck (which is what I was focused on, rather than the oncoming grill) is etched firmly in my memory.

[Drunken Monkey]

Reminds me of the time I was following my mate home, turning left form Mt Wellington Hwy onto Ellerslie-Penrose then suddenly the steering slapped on to full lock going around the corner, the rev's soared, the bike started to tip over, then *bump*, I felt the rear land on the ground (didn't even notice it lift!) and frikken thing started to take off! Somehow accelerating forwards stopped the sideways fall and straightened the bike out. What a brown pants stains moment though. Turned out I wasn't paying attention to the road and drive over a steel manhole with white paint on it as well (double trouble) and the road was just slick enough to cause all sorts of mayhem.

Glad you came out on top though.

[Macktheknife]

Goddamn! you guys are lucky, especially Kit and affman, well done guys.

[The Stranger:Me]

Chasing (sorry following) Spankme north of Kiaua at just a whisker over the speed limit and I catch up to him behind 2 cars. There is plenty of room for him to go around them, but for some reason he is just sitting behind them doing 70-80kph. I approach a tad faster than that and realise a little too late that I had misjugded our speed differential. On with the front brake - rolling stoppie - uh oh, I can't apply any more brake and I aint going to slow enough. No problem, the road is clear around these guys. Put the rear down, release the brakes, pull out to over take.
Damn, spankme had the same idea at the same time and pulls out into my path - Fark, this aint going to look good on KB, the stranger takes out god.
Me back on with the brakes. Luckily that 750 has some kick, and lucky he used it.
We get to the next stop and I apologise for nearly killing him, he took it well and was pretty relaxed, didn't even notice.

[Brett]

Ok A couple of weeks ago I had a really close call.
Coming home at night I turned into this street with a bit of a slight downhill right handed sorta sweeper. So I gave the 750 a small squirt and the front lifter about 5cm odd. Now usually this isn't a major problem. Unfortunatly the bike decided to let the rear go and step out about half a meter. Now that was fecking scarey and I thought it was all over... untill the rear gripped. flicking the bike over. The only reason I didn't highside was the front was sliding because it had just landed and not had enough time to grip. So with a massive tank slapper (and this is with a steering damper) I managed to keep it upright. I thought this was the luckiest save i've ever done....

Untill tonight.

Coming home i'm about 700m from my house. going into this corner put on the brakes and something must have been on the road cause the front locked dn tucked real fast.... The next bit is a bit of a blur but basically I was doing about 45 and put my foot down, the rear must have slid and gripped because I get somehow get popped out of the seat still hanging onto the bars trying to brake and keep it upright.....
So I end up in the middle of the corner standing next to my bike holding it upright .....Got a bit beat up in the process but fuck me if it wasn't the craziest thing ever...


I have other saves but those two have been the most recent and freakyest... What are your saves I know eddie has one...

Watch out Howick!