Ever crashed?

[alanmcorcoran]

As Hough says, "Plan your escape route..."

[dannylightning]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

That's more of a drop than a crash with bloodshed. 4 drops for me in 5 years and once I wasn't even on the bike.

Dirt bikes are different. You know you will crash, flop over, spin out or just plain have a blonde moment with a resulting get off. Lots of fun if speeds are not death defying and you have protective gear. It's the most fun you can have with your cloths on.

if you are on it when it falls over i still think it is a crash ...

[ncff07]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

As Hough says, "Plan your escape route..."

i did. probably within the span of half a second i checked the other lanes and covered everything and thought to myself OH SHIT!

[DrSpeed]

i had a kz440 downtown tucson has trolley tracks i was puttering along after a concert and this dick decides to cut me off then brake check me so i slam hard lock up the fronts and the rea washes out as iwas saving it the front tire caught a connector track and whomp over teh bars i go onto the sidewalk and there goes my bike now the kz 440 aint that light and lifting it up was a pain but thank god for icon titanium gloves a good leather jacket and a full face helmet needless to say that helmet was retired but it sists in my garagare as a reminder as to why i always wear one

[music man]

Originally Posted by DrSpeed

i had a kz440 downtown tucson has trolley tracks i was puttering along after a concert and this dick decides to cut me off then brake check me so i slam hard lock up the fronts and the rea washes out as iwas saving it the front tire caught a connector track and whomp over teh bars i go onto the sidewalk and there goes my bike now the kz 440 aint that light and lifting it up was a pain but thank god for icon titanium gloves a good leather jacket and a full face helmet needless to say that helmet was retired but it sists in my garagare as a reminder as to why i always wear one

:??:

[Viirin]

Did the guy even stop?

[bonehead]

Originally Posted by Viirin

Did the guy even stop?

No punctuation taught in that english class?

[ArizonaKev]

Wow dhgeyer, I'm really sorry to hear about your wife. My prayers go out to her, and you.

I have dumped it twice in the years I have been riding. Both times were 20 years ago, and neither one of them involved any other vehicle than my bike. On one occasion, I had someone riding on the back and stopped suddenly on an uneven, dirt portion of a road under construction, and the bike slid out from under us. Fortunately, we were only going like 10 miles an hour, so we both pretty much just stepped off and were totally fine.

The other time, I was doing about 40 mph hour down a 6 lane road in Phoenix, took my eyes off the road for a minute, accidentally veered right a little too much, and went straight into the curb. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I know the bike slid across the sidewalk spitting sparks for over 100 ft. and I got some nice road rash on the right side (probably cracked a few ribs too, but never went to the hospital) of my chest and my right knee. It was only by the grace of God I wasn't killed or more severly injured, as I was wearing no protective gear at all. I pretty much quit riding after that until just this last year.

Now, I don't get on my bike without a jacket (mesh riding jacket with armor in sleeves, shoulders, etc), full face helmet, boots and gloves. I don't wear actual riding pants, but I never wear shorts either. I also am much more careful on less-than-optimal surfaces - i.e. gravel, dirt, uneven roads, wet pavement, etc. I am much more careful about braking, try to make sure that I never get in any situations where I have to panic brake (of course some cannot be avoided, but if they can at all, I try my best to) and risk the rear tire breaking loose. I always try to "look for an out", and always assume that each driver will do the worst thing at the worst time, and try to be ready mentally if they should do that.

Of course, all this being said, there will always be those situtations like Sarris, dhgeyer, and others have faced in which there is nothing we as riders can really do. Well, almost : at the very least, we can wear all the protective gear we can, as dh mentioned he and his wife did. It sounds like, in their case, it saved their lives. And I know that for me, I never, EVER want to feel the pain of having my flesh grated off by the asphalt again.

Again, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your wife dh, and to all who have either been killed or injured while riding. Please ride safe all, and take it from me - if I can find it in me to wear full gear when it is 115 degrees in the Phoenix summer, don't you think you might be able to too? It might just save your hide - and your life.


AZ Kev

[burkbuilds]

I've been very fortunate. So far, all my spills were in my teenage years on a dirt bike and nothing worse than some lost hide and pride in those. Driving in Atlanta traffic on a

daily basis can be intimidating at times and this week I saw two news stories of bikers getting run over by cars in the area. One couple was stopped at a traffic light and got

rear ended by a car whose driver was talking on a cell phone. The passenger was knocked onto the hood and the driver got a concusion and both were pretty bruised and

beat up but nothing more. The bike was knocked over 50 feet into the intersection, and the driver that hit them drove away and witnesses only got a partial tag, they are

still looking for her.

The second involved a car on I-285 which ran over a biker, who became lodged under the car, the driver kept going over 100 yards before stopping and when the cops

arrived he got so combative that they eventually tazered him.

Crazy drivers out there, watch out.

[cayuse]

Put her into the ditch yesterday. Not proud of it, but sharing here to promote wearing good protective gear.

Going downhill in some twisties I got a little too aggressive, didn't pick my line very well and rode off into the gravel shoulder. I think I fixated on it, couldn't steer away from it, but managed to slow down somewhat. The instant the front tire touched gravel the bike went down and right and I just kept going on my own, doing a faceplant onto the gravel/grass shoulder. I don't remember leaving the bike, or even hitting the ground. I just remember hearing the gravel grinding away at my visor and thinking 'I'm so glad I'm wearing a full face helmet'. Next thing I know I'm on my back in the bottom of a damp grassy (thank God) ditch. I was VERY fortunate and got out of there with only a couple of bruises and scrapes. Leather gloves saved my hands, mesh jacket saved my left arm and chest and the helmet saved my face.

ATGATT, brothers.