My turn! Had a bit of a major about 30 years ago when i rode through a fence at around 60mph. Broke some things pretty bad including myself. Could i avoid it? A bit slower may have helped yea.
2nd one was about 4 years ago. Hit some hidden loose gravel going pretty quick into a left hander and lost it big time. Bit of surface damage on bike and broke some ribs. Could i have avoided it? Na not this time. At what ever speed, i was going to bin it anyway.
Not much to see here i'm afraid. Still trying to figure out why our acc has gone up....
3 low speed drops/offs in first 3 months of learning. No more so far after 3 years riding ,touch wood (touches his head).
Prophetic words. I made two notable mistakes this week. The first involved believing the car I was following into a roundabout was actually turning right even though he was indicating right. I was planning to slingshot through the space he left to get past a car in the left lane before the lanes merged back into one. Unfortunately he was one of those dicks who insists on indicating right when going straight through a roundabout and I finished up nearly occupying the space that he was supposed to leave vacant ... but didn't. The second mistake involved not seeing a small dark car that was coming out of shadow early in the morning. In both cases though I survived because of previous experiences ... the first due to unconsciously leaving just a little leeway ... just in case. The second because I always have a second life-saver look as I turn.
On the other side of the coin though on Friday while riding home from work I approached a tight blind curve and noticed a car had pulled out from the curb to do a U turn and was sitting halfway across his lane. Recognising what would happen should a car come the other way (ie, swerving into my lane) I moved a couple of metres to the left and sure enough, a car came around the curve, saw the other car and swerved into my lane .. where I no longer was.
The point I make is that you may make mistakes and fall off when you're young but these are all part of the learning process. The small off you have today may just teach you the lesson you need to survive a similar incident 20 years later.
Grow older but never grow up
Got my first bike about 32 years ago - dirt bike, fell off heaps on the soft stuff, broke a few ribs now and then, tore all the ligaments in my angle when the kick starter kicked back once, and bust my knee up (my leg bent the wrong way).
Got my license 29 years ago; fell off when I pegged down on a back road with a crate of Wiakato bottles on the tank, beer and glass everywhere, skin and rawness everywhere.
Got my scarf caught in the chain and dragged off the back of the bike and down the road - big list of injuries from that one
Car in front indicates to turn right, I move to the left, he turns left - no injuries but bike was stuffed
Riding around Aussy I hit a massive pot hole up in the north of Western Australia, went over the handle bars - dislocated my shoulder
Came around a corner leaning right over - tractor and trailer pulls out of farm gate in front of me, quick trip into a deep drain full of blackberry, tore my jacket and trousers to peices, cuts and thorns everywhere, bike ok, farmer suffered a broken nose after helping me get the bike out the drain, I got fined $75 for hitting him
Then about 20 years incident free (about 8 of those without a bike)
Stuffed shock - going a bit quick and the back wheel walked out on some corrugations in a 35 corner, lay the bike down. No damage to me, bike needed a few little repairs, and some oil.
and for the first time ever, i was stopped on the side of the road and cleaning my visor while sitting on my bike, gust of wind, foot slips, bike falls over, I end up in a fence down a drain - hurt my back!!! sheesh
But hey - I'm a bit reckless
Lifes Just one big ride - buckle up or hang on
Two '''offs" in 35 years (not counting off road gutsers),both due to "environmental conditions" i.e. no cars involved.
Did you ask what the "non motorcyclist" did for fun/recreation? My bet is it would have been tiddly winks or canasta every friday with the girls/boys.
I would have asked him/her how many near misses they had had in their car/SUV/truck with motorcycles.
These people are products of the "motorcycles are the devils tool" brigade and should either be ignored or converted in my view! (down off the soapbox now)
You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me
I must be a mad prick (or a crap rider), 30 years and I have lost count of the number of times the bike has slid out from under me in corners. Two majors involving cars - some fucker changed lanes into me on the Auckland motorway one morning (bruised ego and a $50 repair job + 1/2 hours work) and had a car u-turn in front of me at about 80mph (130km/h) back in the nineties. That put me in hospital for a week -broken leg and hand - and of work for a couplke of months. Touch wood haven't had one for at least a decade - must be slowing down.
30 years riding and only five offs on the road and one off on the track.
3 low siders, 1 high sider, 1 rear ended by another bike, 1.....mechanical failure! In all but the rear ender and the mechanical failure they were all due to my own stupidity/lack of ability.
However, if I were to count all the close calls caused by other motorists then I'd need a few more fingers and toes than I currently have!
The falling off shouldn't put you off riding - the reason for the broken hand etc. was a lack of attention on an unfamiliar bike, otherwise I've never been hurt more than a few grazes.
Besides this side of riding is worth it, I still commute daily and have convinced my wife to learn - better to think about the perfect corner.
ps. most off's have bee due to inattention or riding outside my (and the bikes) limits
I also know lots of people who have been hurt far worse in cars.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Bookmarks