AlekCanuk Posted March 29, 2011 Posted March 29, 2011 Hi folks, it amazes me how difficult it is some days to get past the stigma of a bad day for new riders. Today I got to listen to half a dozen stories of people getting injuried on a bike and that i should be wary or better yet not even try it. Ha, whats the point of living if your not going to chase your dreams and try to live to the fullest. my grandpa "borrowed" his first bike from a german officer during the war, road that thing till the end some 40ty years and im sure that there are many here that have gone years without incident and would never trade it up there time on the road to be closed in a moving box. i'd love to hear a few great bedtime stories regards, AlekCanuk
KirriePete Posted March 30, 2011 Posted March 30, 2011 i'd love to hear a few great bedtime stories Wot? You mean like these: 1. Guy I used to see wandering round town when I first started on 2 wheels had a face full of battle scars - story was that he was riding into town from a run out when an old geezer stepped out in front of him. Old geezer's foot went through the front wheel, ripped his leg off & killed him, biker went over the bars and 50 feet (yards, miles, distances change with every telling) down the road on his face ...... open face lid, years of reconstructive surgery, hence the scars. b. Mate of mine, we'll call him Dennis, knocked off by a car turning right as he was overtaking. T-shirt, jeans, trainers, no gloves. Plastic surgery, months in hospital etc ... iii. Another friend of mine found dead in a field after his bike went off the road - dead straight stretch of road, no junctions, no gravel, no skid marks, no mechanical failure on the bike - why did he crash? Never found out. x. Group of us on a ride out to the coast (Gt Yarmouth? Clacton? One of those 2), came across an accident involving biker and a bus. Biker was under the bus and obviously dead, my mate Kev couldn't hack the sight of blood at the best of times so wandered away from the scene. He called out "Guys, it's not gonna be pretty, his helmet's come off!" closely followed by "Oh fuck, his fuckin' head's still in the fucker!" - you'd be amazed at the amount of puke one 5'6" 17 year old can produce! Not put you off yet? Me either, been riding for 34 years (legally, one or two more 'under the counter') and still intact - last 'incident' was exactly 30 years ago (March 1981) and that was just a broken wrist and knackered ligaments/tendons in my knees. Welcome to the asylum!
Moderator drewpy Posted March 30, 2011 Moderator Posted March 30, 2011 OT and I were regaling our near misses on a ride out, in a local caff. I went for a pee, and the lady sat next to us walked over to OT and told him to ride safe out there. Must have put her off any thoughts of biking forever as obviously she was ear wigging. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Got another story in today, the school lectrician told me a friend went to the local Indian that up.yours probably uses and after the meal, they had something stuck between their teeth. they went to the dentist as it was hurting and it turned out to be a micro chip from a cat!
AlekCanuk Posted March 30, 2011 Author Posted March 30, 2011 Wow that sucks Kirrie, glad you didn't have an incident for such a long time. I was talking with a another fella at work today and he pretty much had the same thing to say.. so he switched to riding motorcross only. I think im going to get the loudest pipes put on my bike so everyone knows im coming down the road. lol
up.yours Posted March 31, 2011 Posted March 31, 2011 i got my first hybrid,honda cross suzuki, when i was 13, since then i went legal,rode a mtx125 passed test ,got rd250 ,went insane on it,calmed down with a jawa,then added a chariot to it. invested in a first wife n kids. invested in a gobblin robblin,sold the chariot ,stayed safe with an xs500. while all this is happeing ,all manner of lunatics are constanty trying to either kill me or just harm me. but it never happend..... until,,,,? oh yes ,,i got myself another jawa 350, no side car ,just the bike, by now we had a car,the x used that ,i liked the freedom ,living on the edge,pushing my luck. but oh no,,it wasn't my riding or my stupidity, it was the good guy's who got me,oh yes the good guy's.. on my way to work early one morning,in daylight on a dry road with my large round dipped beam light on,going through little lever. it happend, i saw the plod , he was stopped in a side street,so i checked my speed 35mph and grinned to myself , then i saw smoke coming from his van wheels and thought to myself,,,,what a twat. my thoughts came too true as his van lurched in front of me, my front tyre hit the drivers door,and unhinged me from my nice comefy seat, he got out the van through the passenger door came round to me and asked how fast was you going,,,what a twat.. i managed to pick myself up, after twice swinging my hemet at him ,and missing ,,he said i think i can get us out of this, i said what do you mean ,,,us,,,what a twat,, anyway my injuries,,,torn tendon left foot ,,,bike trashed,,, claim against the police,full price of bike, injuries, clothing ,and 65p for the sandwiches i squashed.. overall i did quit well. anyhow all that was over twenty odd years ago,iv'e been a lucky lad since,,ride em like you slole em,, is my motto,ride safe now.......
Paulwhite Posted April 1, 2011 Posted April 1, 2011 iv had loads of near misses but iv been quite lucky..... iv seen some ppl that havent been though. was out one day and seen a fresh accident... a power ranger on his green ninja had somehow gone into the back of a builders pickup truck thing was this pickup truck had an open back as there was a load of studding poking out of it, the bikes front end was in bits under the pickup and this bloke was on the curb with a 4 foot bit of studding going through his helmet! luckily the studding went through his mouth from the visor and out the bottom of his jaw. unlucky bloke. iv heard a story of someone having an accident, getting up, dusting themselves off finding that there ok, then dropping dead when they take there helmet off cause half there skull is still inside. ooo ever seen the world of gore? thats quite good. it shows allot of accidents in china and japan (where helmets are not required) a wire mesh fence turns into cheese wire for your head from 30mph!
Racc Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 Strange but my dad used to ride with someone who ended up dead in a field, again no skid marks, no fault with the bike no one else involved, the only thing my dad said that it was near Dunham bridge which has a toll charge and wondered if he was trying to get his change out ? Other than people guessing what happened no one found out why
AlekCanuk Posted April 7, 2011 Author Posted April 7, 2011 wow, i've been talking with random people and there are a few that didn't have anything happen to them in some 10-20 years of riding so it can happen. I was thinking there has to be some that didn't, if everyone got hurt then the insurance would be stellar. only 3 more days till the bike show.. exciting
LiamDTR Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 I've seen a few messes from being brought up on bike rallies etc. One of the "best" was a lad (on a DT LC) Went through a rear windscreen, in between 2 rear passengers, front passenger AND driver didn't hurt either of them and all he had was a few bruises, cuts, smashed up bike and dented pride. The lad was actually very appreciative that we all stopped and the first thing he asked is if he could nab a cig off of my old dear And you may say loud pipes jokingly but when I had my bandit I had a VERY loud custom straight through system that made small children cry... but people always knew there was something coming.... especially me maa who'd put the kettle on as I entered town
Rutele Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 Stories like these give me goosbumps...I probably shouldn't be reading them at 2am!! My boyfriend has feint scars on each knuckle, hips, feet, knees and arms....was hard to convince him to let me get a bike. His friend survived a (very) high speed crash....until they removed his helmet..... Weirdest thing happened last week - an old couple approached me as I was getting ready to jump on my bike and started telling me about god and "you're too pretty to ride bikes" and about their friend on a bike, etc....I have to say it scared me a little, I thought that it's a sign that something bad is about to happen.
AlekCanuk Posted April 13, 2011 Author Posted April 13, 2011 Thanks Rutele those are my thoughts exactly.. everytime i go to get on my buddy's bike (mine still isn't running right) I have a head full of horror stories.
Rutele Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 Thanks Rutele those are my thoughts exactly.. everytime i go to get on my buddy's bike (mine still isn't running right) I have a head full of horror stories. Gotta stay confident and always alert though. Must not let these thoughts cloud your thinking ...I pretend that all drivers are idiots and I always expect the worst case scenario...therefore I'm usually prepared to react.
Paulwhite Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 yeah the best mentality to have is that EVERYONE else on the road is a complete nutta! at least then you can prepare for the situation. but its all down to experience and knowing the roads. its like you wouldnt do 60mph past a blind junction at 4:45pm on a friday! or any other day for that matter. just remember a bike is the most venerable thing on the road next to cats (and people aim to run them over! ) so ride safe.
KirriePete Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 Let us not forget that it's not just bikes ..... school friend of Mrs KP had been driving for about 6 months when he went off the road on a country lane, thrown out of the car (no seat belt, tut tut!), landed face down in a ditch unconscious and drowned in 6 inches of water. So go out there and ride with your eyes open and your brain in gear, treat the rest of the world as the homicidal maniacs that we know they are, convince yourself that every blind bend and hidden junction has a tractor full of sharp pointy agricultural stuff waiting to lunge at you without warning, and that every road surface has just been treated to a fresh coating of cowshit and diesel ..... hang on, I've just described my 7 mile commute in this morning!
Ttaskmaster Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 My friend Wayne was an Advanced Riding instructor. He'd been on every course and gotten every accreditation you possibly could. He trained advanced riders, Police, Ambulance, you name it. Out one day on a wide Essex road, with a student following behind. Just as he's about to pass an oncoming truck, it understeers and swings right the way across his own lane and right across Wayne's lane too. Instant head-on, instant death. NO-ONE on this Earth could have avoided that. I've had several close ones, mostly stationary drivers not thinking before moving off and trying to beat an oncoming bike. I've hit the curb during a U-turn, hit diesel and I've hit the front brake while fully banked over. ALL of my crashes were my own fault in some way and, while none were anything more than minor, it was always down to me. Then again, I was on a clapped out 125 Drag and I was new to the road. Claire's had a car go from Lane 3 on a mostly empty motorway, pulling right across through Lanes 2 and 1 to get onto teh exit ramp at the last possible second (ie through the hatched area right before you hit grass). The car pulled in front of Claire in Lane 1, missing her front wheel by about four inches, at 70 MPH. Once on the exit ramnp, the driver looked over and gave that stupid wave/smile thing that such fuckwitts do. So stupid and infuriatingly dangerous that, if it had been an option, Claire would have followed off, ridden the driver down, dragged her out of her car (yes, it was a woman driver) and beaten the shit out of her... Normal for me, VERY uncharacteristic of Claire!! I have a friend on a Suzuki GSXR1300-ish sort of thing, who's gone through the back windscreen of a car... at 90+mph on a motorway. He's called Rhino, partly because he's built like one, but also because he came away from several incidents like this without a scratch! I've also seen what his bum looks like at 120mph... bastard mooned me!!
Rutele Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 I've had several close ones, mostly stationary drivers not thinking before moving off and trying to beat an oncoming bike. This happens very often to me! Why do drivers think they're quicker than a bike? Once a car pulled out like 2-3metres in front of me from stationary (traffic) position. Closest call I've had to date...Just about held my bike out on the road. One other time it would have been my fault as 2 cars in front of me slowed down, first one was turning left, so I decided to go on the outside and the second car decided to do the same! I was inches from the car but managed to swerve into the oncoming lane....But I'm learning from my mistakes
LiamDTR Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 To be 100% honest, the only way you're never going to have an accident is either never ride a bike, or become a Jedi! I've had one scrape before and that was an NSR 125 (first 2 smoke I had ridden) binned it after sparing a ginger cats life going around a corner... had a nasty cut on the back of my left leg and a nice metal footpeg scrape going up the back of my right calf muscle, was no major damage to the bike, All I did was look around me to check no one had seen the shame, hopped back on and went home after getting it to fire up. I honestly expect something to happen each time I go out but you just nut up, wear the right gear and keep your wits about you. Everyone on the road is out to get me, and especially people with L plates at the moment. Went into town with the Mrs this morning and a lad on a CBR 125 didn't use any indicators, life saver, or any mirror checks before hitting a roundabout for the first left in the middle of rush hour... loads of them around here that do exactly the same!! Safety first!
Ttaskmaster Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 Weirdest thing happened last week - an old couple approached me as I was getting ready to jump on my bike and started telling me about god and "you're too pretty to ride bikes" and about their friend on a bike, etc....I have to say it scared me a little, I thought that it's a sign that something bad is about to happen. I'd have politely told them to sling their hook, with all due respect. Looks are (or at least should be) irrelevant unless you're a model (in which case the rest of the world is irrelevant). Biking is perfectly safe, even in this modern age of busy roads and distracted cagers. It's the rider who makes it safe or unsafe. For everyone who tells me about their friend who was injured/killed on their bike, I can find two tales of people who were injured/disabled/killed driving their car/van/truck and quite a few who got the same while walking along the road! This happens very often to me! Why do drivers think they're quicker than a bike? Smaller = slower = who cares if you hit it, as you'll be fine. They just don't think. One other time it would have been my fault as 2 cars in front of me slowed down, first one was turning left, so I decided to go on the outside and the second car decided to do the same! I was inches from the car but managed to swerve into the oncoming lane....But I'm learning from my mistakes GOOD!!! Be very, very honest with yourself, know FULL WELL when you're at fault for even teh minor stuff and let that be the driver (pun intended) that improves your everyday riding! To be honest, in the majority of bike crashes there will have been something the rider could have done to avoid it. The problem starts when the excuses come along and no-one likes to admit that they fucked up... But it happens. So you have to be honest about these things. There are usually contributary factors, but ultimately you're the one controlling the bike. Ride safe, ride well, ride long! And kick the wing mirrors off any fucker that messes with you!!
Rutele Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 Ride safe, ride well, ride long! And kick the wing mirrors off any fucker that messes with you!! Well said! haha
Moderator drewpy Posted April 13, 2011 Moderator Posted April 13, 2011 was on the outside lane of the motorway today (in the car) and this Pug in front saw a coach blow its turbo nearside lane and stood on the frikking brakes!. Luckily I had the wits( and the distance) to react. mind you seconds later (when we would have been clear of the stricken coach)there was a cloud of smoke and a jet of fire out of the exhaust, looked good that did. I imagine the turbo was using the engine oil as fuel, till that runs out....
Recommended Posts