For Fucks Sake! Fourth fucking bin! Give me a break!

[discotex]

No, not really. Unless we include the "put foot down at traffic lights , oh shit it's slippery, oops" stuff. Or car park/off road oopsies when practising stuff like emergency breaking.

You might be right but I do think learner riders (in Auckland) are likely to have at least one very near miss in that first 10000km. Probably many more and probably a simple mistake like grabbing a handful of brake will send them down. That goes to your later point that it's hard to learn to ride a bike (from a car or not) as your survival reactions are not so good on a bike.

I don't think I'd agree it's 'highly likely' . The objective is NO crashes and there are plenty of riders who achieve that But I'd agree that one or two in a lifetime (assuming that you ride the whole of that lifetime), is probably in the "shit happens" realm .

Ok fair enough. Agree to disagree in lieu of any reliable stats (which they wouldn't be even if either of us had some to hand).

Yes, certainly bikes are less likely to crash than cars (of course, when they DO, the result is likely to be nastier). Because a bike is so much more manoeuverable. And the roads are proportionately so much wider.

Hmmm that's true. I think it's a zero-sum game though. For each positive bikes have there is a negative. The much higher number of crashes per km travelled would tend to suggest they're more likely to crash in the hands of the average rider. I suspect that is partially due to the risk taking nature of people who ride (as a generalisation of the average biker).

Obviously "almost everything right" was not quite "everything", cos the bastard still caught you.

Sure did. I'd wager they would have got 9/10 riders too.

But, I think it is very hard for people who have experience driving a car to learn to ride a bike without crashing. Because in a crisis they will instinctively do what works in a car which is often a BadIdea on a bike. Unlearning that conditioning is hard to do.

I think everyone has to un-learn those reactions. The standard human reaction is to target fixate, chop the throttle and jump on the brakes. It's just that in a car you have more leway and are less likely to crash when you hit that puddle of oil you're fixated on.

To be sure, one should never discount the POSSIBILITY of crashing. Just as one cannot discount the possibility of crashing when one gets on a plane, or the possibility of falling off when one climbs a ladder. But it should be a probability sufficiently remote that we consign it to the "too unlikely to worry about " bin . Nothing is totally safe. People have choked to death eating their dinner. But while I recognise the possibility it's sufficiently small that I'm not going to miss dinner on account of it.

Totally agree. Life is too short to miss out based on what are still pretty good odds.

[Usarka]

Well anyway call me what you want but i'm not a bad rider, but i must have pissed some biker god off in my past life.

Thats what gets me. I've been riding for over 10 years and i still dont think im a good rider.....

[Ixion]

You might be right but I do think learner riders (in Auckland) are likely to have at least one very near miss in that first 10000km. ,,,,

Oh, if we're talking near misses, to be sure. I get one of those most days. Three on Friday, the idiots are out in force . A miss is as good as a mile.

[MDR2]

Sorry Dushy, I apologise for getting that wrong. I made my comments on the info you had provided in the forum. As said however, I don't want to see any serious harm come to you and still believe you should contact Kittyhawk and have some sessions on the Mt Welly track.

I can too recommend the Mt welly track. Having never actually ridden a bike at speed before it was mind blowing to find out how hard you can push a bike. I also found out theres limits to how fast you can go into a corner and how much brake you can grab leaning into it. ( could see i wasn't going to make it and tried to stand it up but it all went pear shaped )

Still , not like I had to worry about going under a car.

You will learn heaps and heaps and heaps. Even heaps and heaps and heaps more if you have people watching you and helping you out with ride style... hahaha actually, I was told If i wanted to go any faster around the corners i'd have to lean off the bike to get it down. I certainly had the entry speed but lacked the balls to put it down to get around the corner... hense the bail and crash. Wonderful fun though.

[howdamnhard]

Diesel and water is slipperier than ice.Hang in there and keep on riding.We all bin,glad you were not hurt.Hope things improve for you in the new year.

FFS! Just got the fucking indicators and headlights fixed today. Was riding home slowly since it was raining. Turned into ladies mile road and halfway through the corner rode through a nice big puddle of diesel! And i'm talking puddle! Good bye traction hello lowside. Took four guys to pick my bike up without sliding and falling over in the diesel! There goes my helmet, big hole in jacket and nice big fucking sore lump on my leg. Fucking hell how bad luck can a guy get, for fucking sake the biker gods could give me a bit of fucking leniancy! You know i wear the god damn high vis vest i have all the gear and i fucking ride safe! Go ahead i'm awaiting the insults and your a fucking idiot replies. This ain't gonna stop me from riding though. Damage is well nothing really the bike was already munted. Indicators work and so do the headlights, front brake lever now looks like a flowery garden ornament nice and curled.As well just before in the store, turns out that the bulbs the previous owner put in were too high or something melted and fucked the headlight unit!!! so one light works and the unit needs to be replaced. Sigh....i feel so down. So down. Well anyway call me what you want but i'm not a bad rider, but i must have pissed some biker god off in my past life.

Very Sad

Kinda Depressed

Stilll love riding

Very Sore

Gear Smells like diesel

Drider

[caseye]

Don't sweat it! no one can predict where the next diesel drop is going to be.
But you've got the right attitude, don't let em get ya down go out and say Buggerit I'm going to ride and i don't care about the cage dwellers ceptin of course to avoid em like the plague! bad luck bro but hey chin up and keep riding you'll start enjoying rides again and be better prepared next time.

[Tink]

FFS! Just got the fucking indicators and headlights fixed today. Was riding home slowly since it was raining. Turned into ladies mile road and halfway through the corner rode through a nice big puddle of diesel! And i'm talking puddle! Good bye traction hello lowside. Took four guys to pick my bike up without sliding and falling over in the diesel! There goes my helmet, big hole in jacket and nice big fucking sore lump on my leg. Fucking hell how bad luck can a guy get, for fucking sake the biker gods could give me a bit of fucking leniancy! You know i wear the god damn high vis vest i have all the gear and i fucking ride safe! Go ahead i'm awaiting the insults and your a fucking idiot replies. This ain't gonna stop me from riding though. Damage is well nothing really the bike was already munted. Indicators work and so do the headlights, front brake lever now looks like a flowery garden ornament nice and curled.As well just before in the store, turns out that the bulbs the previous owner put in were too high or something melted and fucked the headlight unit!!! so one light works and the unit needs to be replaced. Sigh....i feel so down. So down. Well anyway call me what you want but i'm not a bad rider, but i must have pissed some biker god off in my past life.

Very Sad

Kinda Depressed

Stilll love riding

Very Sore

Gear Smells like diesel

Drider

BUGGER!!!!

[The Pastor]

BUGGER!!!!

its cos some people just arnt cut out for motorcycling, you know they are arseholes

[tate35]

Insults Noooo....!!!! Sorry to hear that. That sux to say the least. And a reminder that this could happen to any of us anytime!!!

[marty]

i think he's recovered in the 20 months since the crash happened....