Biker down. Yep I just got bowled...

**yungatart** · 9th November 2010, 06:52

Glad you went and got checked out Phreak!
Such a bummer about your bike though.

I'm sure that over the coming days/weeks you will analyse this incident with a view to thinking of what else you could have done, that would have given you a different outcome. (I know I did after my bin).

Do you ever practice emergency braking?

**Luckylegs** · 9th November 2010, 07:09

Originally Posted by Phreak

In all honesty, I couldn't exactly tell you. I'm pretty sure I had gone through the pedestrian crossing when I saw the car pulling out of Eliott Ave, but couldn't be 100% sure. It all happened so quick. Sorry.

meh, dont be sorry, thanks for answering the question, I was generally interested as its an often used term but I often wondered what people perception of it is. Its fair to say, I have my opinion, and it may or may not be popular but either way I aint going to bother posting it as a. I wasnt there and b. It doesnt really matter.

What is important, is that you mend, your bike gets restored/replaced and you get back on the road

**shrub** · 9th November 2010, 07:22

The car driver didn't look before he turned and drove erratically, it seems pretty clear to me but katman's fear of motorcycling knows no limits and as far as he's concerned all crashes involving a motorcycle are the rider's fault. (I wonder if he's a friend of Nic Smith?).

But yeah, you could have avoided it if you had;

1. Stopped the moment you saw the car and waited for them to vacate the road before proceeding.
2. Been a mind reader or flagged the car down and asked what they wanted to do
3. Had a man with a red flag walking in front of you and travelled no faster than 4 mph

So I guess Katman is right - ultimately it's your fault for riding one of those horrid, dangerous motorbicycles. If you insist on being a motorcyclist I suggest you buy some clunky old classic that you can keep in the shed while you drive a nice, safe Volvo.

**Katman** · 9th November 2010, 07:33

Originally Posted by Luckylegs

and b. It doesnt really matter.

What does matter though is that we stop coming up with bullshit excuses in order to dump our own blame onto someone else. It's that sort of mentality that has contributed to the adverse reaction that a large slice of society has towards motorcyclists.

**Katman** · 9th November 2010, 07:36

Originally Posted by shrub

The car driver didn't look before he turned and drove erratically, it seems pretty clear to me but katman's fear of motorcycling knows no limits and as far as he's concerned all crashes involving a motorcycle are the rider's fault. (I wonder if he's a friend of Nic Smith?).

But yeah, you could have avoided it if you had;

1. Stopped the moment you saw the car and waited for them to vacate the road before proceeding.
2. Been a mind reader or flagged the car down and asked what they wanted to do
3. Had a man with a red flag walking in front of you and travelled no faster than 4 mph

So I guess Katman is right - ultimately it's your fault for riding one of those horrid, dangerous motorbicycles. If you insist on being a motorcyclist I suggest you buy some clunky old classic that you can keep in the shed while you drive a nice, safe Volvo.

Go to google street view and place yourself at the pedestrian crossing on Manuka Road facing Elliott Ave and see how much room there is. The kindergarten driveway is about a further 15 metres beyond Elliott Ave. If you couldn't safely brake in that distance you shouldn't be on a bike.

It seems fairly obvious to me there was no "evasive action" but rather a "fuck you cager, I'll show you" manoeuvre.

**shrub** · 9th November 2010, 07:51

Originally Posted by Katman

Go to google street view and place yourself at the pedestrian crossing on Manuka Road facing Eliot Street and see how much room there is. The kindergarten driveway is about a further 15 metres beyond Eliot Street. If you couldn't safely brake in that distance you shouldn't be on a bike.

It seems fairly obvious to me there was no "evasive action" but rather a "fuck you cager, I'll show you" manoeuvre.

15 metres huh?

OK, 50 kmh is around 15m per second, so he had one second to react and stop. I'd like to see you do that, even on a modern sports bike. Like I said, avoidable if he had a man walking in front of him with a red flag, but in the real world (where the rest of us ride those nasty, dangerous bikes) pretty fricking hard.

**shrub** · 9th November 2010, 07:52

Originally Posted by Katman

What does matter though is that we stop coming up with bullshit excuses in order to dump our own blame onto someone else. It's that sort of mentality that has contributed to the adverse reaction that a large slice of society has towards motorcyclists.

I give in. All motorcycle crashes are the sole fault of the rider, best we ban the things. Happy now?

**Katman** · 9th November 2010, 07:54

Originally Posted by shrub

15 metres huh?

OK, 50 kmh is around 15m per second, so he had one second to react and stop. I'd like to see you do that, even on a modern sports bike. Like I said, avoidable if he had a man walking in front of him with a red flag, but in the real world (where the rest of us ride those nasty, dangerous bikes) pretty fricking hard.

Are you being deliberately stupid?

Add the 15 metres to the distance back to the pedestrian crossing which was about where Phreak first saw the car making their turn onto Manuka Road.

**shrub** · 9th November 2010, 07:58

Originally Posted by Katman

Are you being deliberately stupid?

Add the 15 metres to the distance back to the pedestrian crossing which was about where Phreak first saw the car making their turn onto Manuka Road.

I can't be arsed poring over google maps and don't know the area (comes of living in another city) - so how much distance did he have to stop in if not 15m?

**Phreak** · 9th November 2010, 08:01

So, I have now decided to completely strip the bike down, after giving it a thorough look over yesterday to see how bad the damage it. Mostly it's just broken fairings, front and left side (yep, all of the left side), a broken gear lever, bent H-frame, broken left side air tunnel, indicator, and mirror. I have decided to pull everything off, taking pictures as I go, to make sure there wasn't any further damage hidden underneath. So far, the frame seems to be fine, the swingarm has a scrape but isn't bent as far as I can tell, so I'm going to have it professionally checked. Then, I want to get the frame powdercoated black, and start putting it all back together. I have found a good supplier for a new set of Repsol fairings here in Auckland. I am now on the hunt for a set of aftermarket rearsets, as well as a few little other bits and pieces. It'll be a while before the bike is back on the road, but I want to make sure everything is 100% before it is.

Oh, and to answer your question Janet, yes I have practiced emergency braking prior to the incident. I should have hit the brakes as soon as I saw the car pulling out in front of me. Might have avoided the bin, but guess I'll never know. Thanks.

**Eyegasm** · 9th November 2010, 08:02

Originally Posted by shrub

15 metres huh?

OK, 50 kmh is around 15m per second, so he had one second to react and stop. I'd like to see you do that, even on a modern sports bike. Like I said, avoidable if he had a man walking in front of him with a red flag, but in the real world (where the rest of us ride those nasty, dangerous bikes) pretty fricking hard.

But Katman is the Motorcycle God! He would have spoken the secret mantra and floated over the incident without harm.

**Luckylegs** · 9th November 2010, 08:03

Originally Posted by shrub

I can't be arsed poring over google maps and don't know the area (comes of living in another city) - so how much distance did he have to stop in if not 15m?

Fair enough, but dont post if your gonna make sh*t up !

**Edbear** · 9th November 2010, 08:05

Originally Posted by JudaBaker

I'm still confused as to where it says the driver turned right at a no right-turn sign, which is what Rych was complaining about (thus the reply which brought on yours).

I honestly can't see it.. Your English must be far superior to mine.

To the OP:

It's pretty scary how vulnerable you can be on a bike when the people movers come straight at you eh. Be careful out there.

That's obviously a misunderstanding between us. I wasn't referring to Rych's post and had wondered if the right turn across Phreak's path was illegal or not. It appeared from yours and Katman's post that it was the left turn that caused the problem when in fact it was the right turn across his path. He'd avoided the sudden pulling out in front of him by veering around the car as there was no oncoming traffic and in the instant he had to decide, seemed the safer option than attempting a panic stop.

My main beef with Katman is his steadfast refusal to acknowledge he wasn't there, does not know how close Phreak was and judges Phreak as at fault. He doesn't know Phreak or how careful, (or not), a rider he is, yet is happy to adversely judge others in absentia, automatically assuming the rider was at fault for not being able to avoid the accident. His attitude is juvenile, judgmental and arrogant. He obviously places himself as superior to others, even those as experienced as Terbang, and seems incapable of compassion or empathy, or even of recognising he wasn't there to make any kind of objective assessment based on eyewitness view.