Accidents & Offs - What happened to you?

[Hondo]

Another experience thread that will help us all learn-

[happycommuter]

How to lowside an SV650 in six easy steps:

• Have a new rear tire with maybe 100 miles on it,
• adjust the clutch,
• in a slight drizzle,
• and proceed in a hurry
• to pass on the shoulder
• inside a merge loop

Bonus points for failing to properly evaluate damage, resulting in your boot almost hitting the pavemant at highway speed when stepping on a missing brake pedal afterwards.

Anyhow, I was ATGATT and unscratched, bike had minor damage that was creatively repaired at no expense.   But seriously, do not try this at home or on the road.

[DesignFlaw06]

Well the 85 NH 650 took a spill with me on after my first year. I was actually on my way home to put it up for the winter, and I went the scenic route home. About 2 miles from work, I was riding down a nice winding road. Even with my first season close to the end, inexperience had me going too fast for my ability. I also made the mistake of grabbing the front brake as soon as I started to slip. That brought me down into the sand, and I high sided over the bike. Luckily I landed in the soft grass, instead of flying into a tree. Handle bars were bent beyond drivable standards, and I was too shaken up to get back on anyway. But I got her fixed up and rode it once more before I put it away.


Second incident was with the same bike, but a different driver. I sold my 85 to my brother once I bought my 02. He had the bike a grand total of 2 weeks, and sitting at a stoplight, he got hit by Jesus Christ. It was a church van that slammed into the back of him. Luckily the grab bar on the back kept the bumper from hitting him directly, but the bike became a total loss. Key there is to never assume you're safe, even at a stoplight. Always be looking around you and behind you with the mirrors.

Tim

[Al on 2 Wheels]

My spill was on a quiet country lane in the UK - called Mere Lane (should have guessed it Mere means mud). It was getting dark. Had been raining (as it always does in UK) and there was this mud over most of the road. Thought I was handling it quite well but before I knew it I was down on the road sliding along - fortunately I had slowed to 20mph (maybe that was the problem - should you speed up on a slippery road?). The 83 650 NH ended up with its wheels up the grassy bank and spun round to face the opposite direction. Engine racing. Turned it off with the key. With difficulty I hauled it away from the bank, managed to get it upright and then dropped it the other way. Second time round I hauled it upright and kept it there on its side stand.
Damage report Scottie?
Bars bent but not too much, L. rear indicator smashed, brake pedal pushed onto the casings, could wheel it but now it wouldn't start. Some farm hands came and tried to push start me. No joy!. Pushed it down to a road where my wife could find me. She came out with a torch (dark by now) but no joy. Time to call out the AA. It would be a 1-2 hour wait. It started to get cold and then more rain. .
Why wouldn't this machine start.  I just couldn't understand why not, when it had been racing in the ditch. I hadn't used the kill-switch to stop the engine... hey wait a minute ... the kill switch?!. I had nudged it to the off position during my epic attempts to right it.
Yes you guessed it. Started straight away as soon as the kill switch was turned on again. I limped home after cancelling the AA. 
Moral of this story - always check the kill switch after a tumble. It doesn't tell you that it's off.
Hope that's a helpful tip to any other recently re-born bikers like I was then.
PS got a friendly mechanic with a 2 ton press to bend my bars back to shape. They are tough to bend but seem to bend all too easily on a spill.

[xxxbotchlaxxx]

My only real dump so far was a parking lot u turn that dented my tank, broke a signal and scuffed up the pretty stuff.

[Al on 2 Wheels]

XXXbotchlaxxx's post reminds me of another spill I had years ago when I used to ride a Honda CB250 twin from London UK to Edinburgh, Scotland (400miles) loaded with suitcases and panniers. It was a frosty day. Pulled up at a service station on the motorway and saw another biker carrying out repairs on his bike. Turned sharply to draw up next to him and the next thing I knew was that my poor bike was floored by black ice. "That's what I just did!" was the this bikers retort. I think there is a moral to this story somewhere. Anyway no serious damage done but I had to unload all the cases to get the bike upright.

[xxxbotchlaxxx]

lol the downfall of touring I guess lol

[Pathos]

First learning to ride and I forgot to put my feet down after a stop.  I realised what I had done, slammed me feet down on the pavement and fought to keep the bike up as it tipped.  It went down on the side very gently thanks to me muscling to keep it up.  Whoops!

[beardking]

I refuse to list any positive or negative motorcycle handling applications in my past or future for fear of jinxing myself.   

[xxxbotchlaxxx]

the best are the humiliating but painless set the bike down incidences, where you know you lost your balance but you are either stopped or slow as walking pedestrian.

[Racinjasan]

Time travel back to June 08, 2005........
105degrees F that afternoon.

Well, myself and a P/U truck tried to occupy the same space (he ran across 2 lanes froma posted no left turn stop sign to get to me) after work and I lost.
Thank GOD for Gear.
When I went to brake, the front tire ran over a degraded manhole cover, which totally screwed up the balance. I was launched off of the bike and the truck stopped so I proceeded to inspect the undercarriage.

I am convinced that, had I not been wearing any I would have been in the Hospital for a while. Only a few bumps & bruises on me. 

[happycommuter]

the best are the humiliating but painless set the bike down incidences, where you know you lost your balance but you are either stopped or slow as walking pedestrian.

Yeah, I've learned to recognize the tipping point and accept that the bike will fall and the best I can do is get out of the way.  I've also improved my technique of lifting (actually rolling) fallen bikes to an extent that vainglorious struggles to remain upright are not so dire.

Anyway, if you drop something while sitting on the bike, do not try to pick it up off the ground without dismounting.

[xxxbotchlaxxx]

Anyway, if you drop something while sitting on the bike, do not try to pick it up off the ground without dismounting.

that is deffinantly a bad situation lol.  I saw a guy dangling his feet like crazy in bumper to bumper traffic yesterday, it looked like he was asking for his harley to crush his ankles!

[coffee_brake]

When you have finished riding for the day and have imbibed a few brews at home....LEAVE THE BIKE IN THE BACK YARD AND DON'T BOTHER PUSHING IT TO THE GARAGE. YOU CAN WIPE OFF THE DEW LATER. Lots better than wiping dirt off the entire right side....Thank goodness I didn't try to ride it into the garage for the night.

[Puppysnake]

My only dump was a tip-over in a parking lot. Back in my college days, just arrived for my first class that morning. I had this routine that I always followed out of habit; in fact I didn't realize it was habit until I didn't do it that day and it resulted in disaster. When I parked the bike, my routine was to shut off the ignition, flip down the side stand, lean the bike over on the stand, then remove gloves, helmet, etc.

For some reason, I didn't do that this day. I pulled into the parking spot, shut off the ignition, but instead of flipping down the side stand and leaning it over, I instead just sat there and did the gloves and helmet first. I put the helmet and gloves on the tank, then leaned the bike over. But it kept going! It was then that I suddenly realized I never flipped down the side stand!  (It was also at that moment that I suddenly realized in a flash that I had developed a routine when I park and I didn't do it). The bike was going over too far, I had my feet firmly planted on the ground as I was straddled over it, holding the grips with all my might, trying to save it. As luck would have it, the pavement was torn up not two feet away from my spot as some parts of the parking lot were being repaired. There was some sand on the pavement under my left foot. SWOOSH went my foot, and the bike went crashing down onto the pavement, my helmet rolling across the parking lot, and it was all I could do to awkardly hop, skip, and jump to keep from ending up on the ground myself. I looked at my bike laying there, and it was then that I realized that class had let out a minute earlier and hundreds of students were pouring out of the buildings, going to their cars or their next class. My graceful little ballet was witnessed by an estimated two hundred people. One of them was kind enough to help me pick the bike up. Minimal damage, just a few scratches, but my ego sure took a hit.

Moral of the story: Never deviate from your routine; and if you do, pay attention to what you're doing. 

[Pathos]

Puppysnake, I've almost done that before at a gas station. 

[Bumblebee]

I refuse to list any positive or negative motorcycle handling applications in my past or future for fear of jinxing myself.   

Yea. Be really careful of what you put down for the Universe to see. On another board they had a poll going. I put "never down." I guess the Universe decided there was too much arrogance in that simple answer because about a week later I was picking myself up out of the gravel.


As for lessons learned: If a cager isn't trying to murder you accidentally, they will do it intentionally.

[JmE]

Stupidity:

 - About two decades ago, around 3AM, dry road, hot summer, clear but humid night along a river (a lil' twisty) not far from my apartment.
 - Me... no helmet, no gloves, no shirt (no socks & went commando as well... beside the point); Dingo boots, unbuttoned denim jacket with MC/personal logo on back, jeans, chain wallet, backwards ball cap to keep my long hair from blowing into my face, and sunglasses (YEP... friggin' sunglasses at 3AM, smart boy!) {But at least I was sober as a judge, not one drop to drink, no toke of anything, and nothing else 'cept near complete stupidity.}
 - Her... blue hair in an LTD or Lincoln or something going very slowly, perhaps 20+ MPH below the posted limit) in the left lane.
 - I decided to pass her easy and smooth (not bat out of hellish) on the right but she stomped the gas pedal.
 - I slipped back behind her, never was close to tailgating at any point, but she slowed the heck back down to her original crawl.
 - I decided to pass her, this time using a bike's strength of rapid acceleration. I kicked it down, rolled it open, and began climbing through the gears. She floored it!
 - I suddenly realized we were about where the right lane became a parking lane after dark on these twisties... looked up, and there was one said parked cage.
 - Not a moment to even downshift or maybe did one gear... not sure. Time seemed slowed as I looked over at her, she saw me about to crash while continuing on her merry way.
 - I placed my toes on the pegs, went limp, and mowed the mirrors down with my shoulders as my precious crumpled beneath me.
 - My body (right shoulder) glanced off the back of the parked car and rolled over and continued rolling along the passenger side (I think I took off the dude's passenger mirror, don't remember if he had one before).
 - Everything stopped when I opened my eyes and was flat backed on the very front part of the car's hood looking up at the night sky, feet on the ground, hat in my open hands, and the sunglasses had fallen into the hat.
 - From the time my shoulder hit the back of the car to opening my eyes it was all a blur.
 - The bike had accordion-ed and was screaming like a wounded pig until she mercifully croaked in a cloud of thick smoke.
 - The loud impact awakened the parked car's owner from a sound sleep in his house far up on the hill. He helped me get the bike dragged into his street level shed (unused horse stalls from the old days) before any LE appeared. After making sure I was okay and offering a ride, he told me to just call him or stop by when I was feeling better. I walked home and contacted him the next day to make arrangements for the damages; of course I was even dumb enough not to have insurance. He was one heck of a nice person.

Me... I walked away with what was equivalent to bad rug burn on both upper legs; blood seeping though the jeans. I lost my best pony.


I should have/probably would have died or been horribly injured but was not; thank G_d! I was a moron, plain and simple.


Even though I am a hypocrite (but will likely do much of the gear most of the time as I collect it), IMHO the take home message here should be ATGATT and of course use your brain.

[xxxbotchlaxxx]

I rode without my bike jacket today, just a hoodie! 

[JmE]

I rode without my bike jacket today, just a hoodie! 

And when I see that post I resist the mighty urge to hammer out a few humorous replies. Temptation sucks! 

[gammer]

Never dropped or had an accident on any of my street bikes over the years *knocks on wood*.

Like I mentioned in another post, I used to race motocross for many years and got to know the limits of a bike. That combined with a defensive and cautious frame of mind when riding has helped avoid allot of close ones.

Still, with all that in mind, I can't help the bad car drivers yappin on their cell phones or doing whatever to not pay attention.

[rotorhead]

Hard Braking

[rotorhead]

Smacking camper shell that came off truck in front of me.

[rotorhead]

Sliding some more in grass towards cables

[rotorhead]

Tire really flat one one side. Contusion on knee which got me next week off. Driver of borrowed truck had a suspended license. Awesome save that would have made Evil Knieval proud.