Just had a near death experience on a bike

Well, you're point is valid, and the advice is really good. (but 250gp bikes have like 3x the power to weight ratio of production, so that comparison was quite a bit off)

 

I have no doubt whatsoever there is quite a gap (say, 2X) between road and (non-street legal) track - but 3x P/W ratio - even in GP? Yowza.

 

Isn't it wonderful? It would be so much better if people saw things this way before they have a close encounter with death (NDE etc.). Respect for all things is something that is definitely NOT innate in most people. If it was, there would be no wars and no hatred amongst each other.

Sport bikes are insane.. I broke my collar (clavicle) bone riding one because of some retard in a car who pulled into my lane without looking.

As Turboflat04 said, I too have a lot of respect for people who race bikes as in MOto GP and World Superbikes. A friend of mine who has an R1 hits 190+ MPH weekly on the highway--highly dangerous but what can you do??

 

Glad you're okay.
I cringe watching guys ride out there nowadays. Let's be honest everybody goes down. The part that makes me cringe are guys learning how to ride a motorcycle on the street and usually big hp bikes at that. I've got 2 bikes right now (04 HD Screamin Eagle Electra Glide, 03 HD Softail Nostalgia). I sold my sport bike last summer - 2004 ZX-10 (Ninja). When my friends tell me they're getting a bike I try to talk them out of it. At the risk of sounding like a cocky ass - The ONLY way anyone should be on a street bike is if they've learned to ride and have tons of experience first on a dirtbike. I started riding when I was 9 years old (honda 50). Got my first real dirtbike was I was 13. By the time I bought my first streetbike (1984 V65 Magna) at 17 I had 4 years of experience with the operation of gas, clutch, brake, etc. Fell off numerous times but in the dirt, with no concrete walls or speeding cars around me. Since getting my first bike I've gone through a second V65, (1985), 86 GSXR 750 (THE ORIGINAL (seed) SPORT BIKE), 1986 Ninja 1000R (remember the all black one w/ red pin stripe) 1987 FZR1000, 1989 Harley Davidson Sportster, 1990 Harley Softail Custom, 1993 Nostalgia (bought new 16 years ago and still have) 2004 Ninja ZX-10, & the 2004 HD Screamin Eagle I have now. Enough with the bragging bs and sounding like an old man giving advice no one wants to hear. My point is - When friends ask me if I'll teach them how to ride I say "sure". But the only way I'll help is if you buy a crappy $1000 dirtbike and lets find a safe place to run it before you get on the road and kill yourself. There's no substitute for experience. Things like how to approach sand, how to approach a toll booth where you know there's going to be oil in the lane from thousands of hot car & truckengines stopping in the exact same place, etc. etc. You can tell somebody how to do it but unless their body feels the sensation's and can react with muscle memory there's no way the best teacher in the world can teach them how to react. Bottom line - When you get into an out of control situation because we all like to see how far we can push it, it's best to learn OFF-ROAD. After working the bike becomes as second nature as driving a stick shift car where you don't have to think about your actions and in an emergency you can fully concentrate on WHAT to do instead of HOW to do it then you shouldn't be on a street bike. And after you learn how to ride make sure you practice first for hours upon hours in a large parking lot slamming the brakes harder and harder, accelerating, turning etc. before you get on the road. And take motorcycle lessons. We don't want to see you hurt out there. peace~


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Sport bikes are not dangerous.

they are no more dangerous than other other type of bike, its how you ride them that can make the difference.

The most dangerous part of a motorcycle is the nut holding the handlebars (YOU).


Glad to hear you were ok from your crash.

Just a quick question... when you way you saw the "roll sand" (which I can only imagine means some sand on the roadway)... did you stare at it, or note it and then look through the corner?

There is a thing in motorcycling called "target fixation"

if you see something "scary" in the roadway, and stare at it, you are just about SURE to hit it.

If you see it, note it, adjust your line to go around it, then look through the corner, odds are you will miss it.


Unless there was sand COMPLETELY covering the roadway in the corner, there was no need to crash.

Its a hard lesson to learn, particularly the way you did. But once you've learned it, you are much less apt to repeat it.

 

^^^^^^^^ Good point. Target fixation sucks, I have reached the point where I don't worry about it anymore, but I know people who struggle with it mightily and it holds them back a ton.

 

if you look where you want to go, you will go where you look.

 

if you look for a place to crash, you will most likely crash right at the place you are looking at.

 

A friend of mine (who is an experienced rider) had just finished the break-in period for the new engine on his turbo'd Gixxer (Suzuki GSXR).

In broad daylight a careless driver pulled out in front of him when he was going 30mph. My friends bike is florescent green and he rides with his high beam on during the day and they guy didn't see him. The bike hit the front door, his head (helmet) hit the rear door and he flipped up over the car landed on the road sliding. We was able to push himself up onto his feet and run out of it..

The only damage he had was a little bit of road rash on his foot since his shoe fell off in mid air.

He was on the internet looking at new bikes the next day.. I don't know how you guys do it.. that kind of crap would scare the hell out of me.

He is back to riding some 3 years later and now has a Hyabusa with a super charger that he tracks. and a ZX12 for daily use.

 

Anyone know what % of wrecks are cause by other drivers or by their own driving errors.

 

Im not sure what the legal system is like over there... But we usually put people like that in jail.

 

Where I'm from, that'd get a Farmer killed.

Most places in US, though, that would land the creating-a-hazard-to-life-and-limb-and-property Farmer in Civil Court.

In either case, "he bought the farm" would be redefined.

_____

More importantly - how's the ol' body feeling now, ParhamK?

 

Hi all,

I have been riding, racing, and repairing motorbikes for over 45 years, and have over 500,000 miles in the saddle; the secret is training, common sense, and a love of two wheels. Drive like you are invisible, and never trust the integrity of the riding surface unless you have experience or training in that situation (helps, but not every time). As a riding instructor I have met quite a few people who are just not motorcyclist material, and I do not hesitate to pass the info along; a good reason to find proper training. Just like anything else (except possibly mattress testing), the potential for injury is present any time you are in motion or near something else in motion be it car, bike, airplane, football or office chair.

Speaking of which, the worst injury I have ever had was playing Football; 2nd worst was on a Bicycle, and third was a high speed get-off at Daytona in the 1983 Heavyweight Superbike competition. We were racing in the rain, and the bike in front of me broke a rod and spewed coolant & oil all over the chicane on the back stretch; it was invisible because of the water on the track. 6 of us went down, and the mighty XS1100 bounced off my right knee. I got back up and finished the qualifier, but couldn't get my leathers back on for the final because of the swelling. Bothered me worst that I couldn't ride because I did qualify. Humph :-(

The best street riders have experienced some off-road riding; they are familiar with limited or non-existent traction (hard to steer in the air!), and can evaluate and negotiate hazards effectively, And again, a good instructor/class can impress much wisdom too. Bikes are not entirely unlike airplanes, some barnstormer pilots tought themselves to fly; my dad (not recommended as an example of how to begin) traded an Indian Scout motorcycle for a Ryan PT back in the 1940's and after a quick exchange of operating instructions took to the air and flew the Ryan back to the farm in Northern Minnesota about 50 miles away. He admitted several very harsh landings and pants-filling takeoffs while building skill, but managed to master the machine without killing himself; me thinks a little luck was on his side too...

Always the Motorcycle enthusiast, he gave up owning but not flying airplanes, but was never without a Cycle; when I was born, he drove my Mom to the hospital on the back of a 1953 BSA 350 Goldstar (it was my Moms bike), and 2 months before dying of cancer 49 years later (he was 72), he showed up at my house after a ride in the AZ mountains on his cherished BMW 650 twin! His philosophy was always to do what you enjoy, because when your number is up, it's up. He raced cars, hydroplanes, sailboards, motorcycles, and loved every minute; the legacy lives on.

Motorcycling is one of the greatest thrills and I would not trade a moment at the controls even if it ultimately is my demise (greatly preferred over Cancer). It is no less foolhearty to climb aboard a modern sportbike without proper training or at least substantial information, than to try your hand at a Cessna 180 uninstructed. Modern 600's are Precision High Performance Vehicles, and should be treated as such. They can be a joy or a weapon depending on the rider. I hope new riders consider the nature of the 2 wheeler, and spend some time on a small dirt bike (not a Motocross bike) or on a 125 or 250 street bike (preferrably at an approved school), before taking to traffic. You may just love it - but if not, there are always Ferraris!

The included picture shows what a modern 600cc sportbike is capable of in the hands of a professional rider; unfortunately they also have the same potential for a beginner...

Cheers,
Warren

P.S., To me a Ferrari is the car closest in personality, construction, and performance to a motorcycle - that is the reason I bought one.
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WOW.

no, if it covered the whole road surface you did what you could.

The other posters are right though.. over here, anyone that INTENTIONALLY put sand in the road to make riders crash or slow would be sued to high heaven, if they survived the beatings given to them. Or it would be easy enough to light said farmers barn of fire on a regular basis, or scoop up the sand and dump it on his car.... any number on entertaining possibilities.

 

Man, I can almost feel that burning myself!

Best skin medicine I've ever used is called "Horseman's Dream Veterinary Cream"

Don't laugh.

Scarring? What scarring? Pain? What pain? Works 100²³²% better than anything else, ever.

http://www.horsemansdream.com/Products.htm##vetcream

*neeeeeigh*

 

Side effects: intense cravings for carrots, apples, and a bag of oats!

 

That's terrible. I'm against frivolous lawsuits, but in this case, you would be completely justified in launching both criminal and civil actions against the people who openly and maliciously sabotaged you. If you find out who it was, give 'em hell.

 

options:

Leave a note on all 6 front doors...

"...remove the sand, or you ALL will suffer..."

peer pressure is a wonderful thing.


put tack strips on all six driveways. 24 flat tires might get some attention.


Report it to the authorities.

its attempted murder (at least here), let the cops get to bottom of it.

 

amen ~

 

To avoid crashing in this situation you should have been looking as far ahead as possible to give you time and distance to deal with the situation. Then you should have determined a line that would allow you to stand the bike up and brake as hard as possible before crossing the sand. Then when the bike is straight up and you have scrubbed off as much speed as possible, you release the brakes completely, and keeping a very light touch on the bars (as you always should anyway) coast straight through. If you're going around a blind curve then you are toast unless you follow the rule of NEVER riding hard into any place that you cannot see. I had this happen to me last year while out riding my R1. Came around a blind curve into a large patch of sand. I did as stated above and negotiated the sand just fine, but the line I had to take put me across the centerline of the road and fortunately there was no oncoming traffic or I might not be writing this. The fact that I try very hard to ride where there is very little traffic helped also I'm sure.