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Never Again! (Or I learned about riding from that)

4K views 33 replies 19 participants last post by  ButchA 
#1 ·
So I had this idea for a thread that might have been tried before.. How about brief (maybe 200 words max?) riding experiences that taught you an important lesson..e.g traffic situations, road conditions, weather conditions, rider judgmental errors (like "get-there-itis") cob-jobbed repairs/equipment, etc. Maybe a two item deal, "What Happened" and "Lesson(s) Learned".

What Happened. Was at friend's garage about 30 miles from home, hot muggy FL summer day. Thunderstorms probable in afternoon forecast. A rain shower had just passed and there was a break with weather radar showing a fast-moving squall line about 10 miles to the south that would likely cross my route home. Decided I could beat it and get west of its projected path before it came through. Suited up and took off. As I approached an arched bridge about 10 minutes into my ride, I could see the squall line approaching fast. Just as I got on the bridge the deluge came, reducing visibility to 0. I was holding just right of the centerline, leaning into the wind and a violent gust caught me. The rain was coming sideways and sheets of water were flooding across the roadway. It pushed me to the right the full 12 feet of lane width and I barely avoided being pushed onto a 6" wide paint line marking the bridge shoulder. I made it through and broke out of it about 1/4 mile past the other end of the bridge.

Lesson Learned. It would have been better to pull off before the bridge and seek shelter in a self-serve car wash stall (which I only noticed on my next trip that way)rather than try to beat the storm. Now I try to take notice of self serve car washes, bank drive-thrus, and anything else on my local routes that might serve as "any port in a storm".
 
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#2 ·
Whether its a get off because you stepped in a hole at a stop to a full blown dump at speed, most of us have dropped a bike. For the fortunate among us the machine was laid down semi-gently as we hopped away to avoid being trapped under, the rest of us had to suffer through the carnage of grinding metal and plastic as we desperately tried to avoid joining our bike in the resulting crash.



I have had the great fortune to be in both situations. Most recently was my '87 GL1200 as I and my wife pulled up to a 'Ye Olde Curio Shop' commonly found in tourist destinations. As I put my foot out to steady the bike I stepped into a pothole in the pavement. As the bike continued to lean over I found myself on the losing side of a Physics equation as the center of gravity migrated past my foot. The force required to hold the machine upright exponentially increased past my physical ability. Fortunately I was able to communicate the rapidly approaching hazard to my wife who bailed off the back and landed on her feet. I ended up with my beloved Goldwing snuggling up to me on her side. Once extricated we were able to lift her back to a normal upright posture on the sidestand. Other than a bruised ego and a perturbed wife there was no real damage to the machine.


Not so with my second bike, Back in my 20's I wadded up a Honda CB400t Hawk on a hairpin curve while exiting the town of Packwood, WA. I was taking a shortcut home from Yakima called Skate Creek Road. A 20mi stretch of paved forest service road that transits between US12 and SR706. Open during the summer it is a twisty road that snakes along a river gorge, tops out on a plateau with some wonderful scenery, and then drops down to run along the Nisqually river to an overpass that connects to the state highway. Taking this route can shave a good 50 miles off your trip if you are traveling to Elbe, WA.
At the time I was living with my parents in Eatonville and had taken a trip with some friends to Yakima via US12. On the return leg I decided to take the shortcut and gassed up in Packwood. While filling my tank I noted a medium duty truck leave the station and turn onto Skate Creek Rd.. After I had paid and was leaving I also noted that the guy driving had left his gas cap on the pump. It had rained earlier as I was coming off the pass so I had donned my raingear. The ground here was still damp but not wet. I elected to keep my gear on as I expected more rain.
Leaving the station I headed up the road and entered the first set of turns. The fresh air and the lack of rain plus an open road was a pleasant experience for me as I carved through the corners. Then a short straight and the first switchback as the road climbed out of the plain and up toward the river canyon. As I leaned into the curve I felt my rear tire start to slide out. I quickly cut the throttle and straightened up some to regain traction. Suddenly the sliding rear tire caught traction. Hooking up solidly it flung the bike into what is called a highside; turning that sliding kinetic energy from the bike to rotational energy as the bike now rotated around the contact patch of the rear tire. Since I was now the outermost part of the rotating mass I was also the fastest and centrifugal force now acted upon me to fling me headlong from the bike. I remember trees and sky flashing like a kaleidoscope as I tumbled into the rocky ditch. The now riderless bike sliding up into me finished off the job and drove me into the dirt.

I lay stunned for a few moments as I gathered my wits and then did a self check of fingers and toes. Everything still worked fine. then the smell of burning plastic/vinyl got to me as the hot header pipe was roasting my raingear. I was able to push off the bike just as a Jeep drove up. A passenger hopped out to help me while the driver sped into town to get help.
The State trooper showed me the cause of my slideout. A sheen of gasoline arced throughout the curve starting from the edge of the road at the beginning of the curve to the inside of the lane as the driver cut the corner. I immediately thought of that truck earlier and mentioned it to the cop. He said that there was no way I could have seen the sheen and avoided it. He declined to write a ticket even though he could have.

The bike was still rideable though. The fire department gave me some duct tape and I taped my signals back to their mounts. I straightened a bent shifter enough to clear the engine cases. I still had one useable mirror left and I repositioned that so it would still work. The handlebars were bent but still worked and the engine started up and ran good after clearing out the oil and gas. I mounted my battered bike and gingerly rode home.
I was really sore the next few days and after I could move again I started rebuilding my bike. I rode her for a few more years before I sold her and bought my Shadow.



I count myself fortunate I did not suffer any serious injury. In hindsight I should have taken an ambulance ride as the adrenaline masked all the bumps and bruises I got from the impact. Another sobering discovery was found in a few days after I as able to get around. My helmet had a tiny divot in the upper left quadrant of the polycarbonate shell. Pulling back the liner I discovered the foam layer was compressed to about 1/2" in that spot no doubt due to an impact with a rock. I did not even have a headache from that impact. That alone made me a believer in helmets and safety gear. My leather jacket and chaps had scuff marks and dirt but no holes. I had to replace the chaps because of all the melted vinyl on them. Once again no road rash on my skin just contusions. Simply Amazing. Thank you Jesus.


Ride safe my Friends
Thanks George!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Two events that could have had a nasty result...

I recall the instructor back in my motorcycle training course days telling the class to get their feet up on the pegs as soon as possible because, sooner or later, they'll catch on something.

I had pulled over on a remote road to check my bearings. The asphalt road itself, probably due to repaving, was a few inches higher than the level of the gravel pullover. As I eased back onto the road with my feet off the pegs, the toe of my boot caught on the asphalt while the rear wheel was still on the lower gravel. The peg caught the rear of my left foot on the Achilles tendon right above the heel as the bike moved forward, squishing my foot between the road and the peg. Fortunately, I didn't snap or damage my foot, but I still remember the hurt.

The second one was very early on in my riding "career." On my commute there is a place with a 90 degree left turn quickly followed by a 90 degree right turn. I would enjoy snapping through them...But this time I didn't pay attention to some gravel on the road. I almost lost it. I reflexively slammed my leg down so hard to keep from dropping the scooter that it was painful for days.

I learned to keep a much closer eye on road conditions.

God was watching over me.

I can think of a few more learning experiences, too. :oops:
I'll leave 'em for the campfire tales. ;-)
 
#4 ·
Besides having spills in the dirt while learning to ride I hit a dog one day. The dog was walking alongside the road so I slowed way down. It looked over its shoulder and continued straight I was going very slow in heavy traffic. It appeared the dog was going to make his way straight until I was right beside him then he cut right into me. Divine intervention. As I saw the dog cut I heard a voice, What if it hits your foot? I stood up on the foot pegs and lifted my left leg. After impact the bike swerved, I nearly lost control and I kept going. I looked in the mirror and the dog was gone. I couldn't stop since the ditch on a heavy traffic 2 lane street was about 3' deep with no shoulder. I made it to the next light and noticed I had no gear shifter. I pulled into a gas station which was right on the corner and noticed my shifter was doubled under. Wow..... Thanks Lord for speaking, What if it hits your foot? Had I not raised my foot I am sure my foot would have been broken. I barely got the shifter pulled out enough to shift pigeon toed to make it home. Once home I pulled the shifter off and beat it with a hammer to a somewhat usable shape. That was some strong steel. I felt bad about the dog and apologized to the owners the next day. They were sad about the dog but appreciated that I came to tell them what happened. The dog had gotten out. Listen to that still small voice when you ride, it could save you much pain.
 
#5 ·
I took a trip to Drake university to visit a friend coming back on the I88 toll very late at night I was very fatigued and fell asleep somewhere before the Dekalb Illinois toll plaza (before open road tolling) I woke up just in time to NOT hit the concrete barrier between the toll booths.
Um yeah, if you're getting tired DON'T try to just push through it because you could find yourself pushing up daisies.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Artie Johnson would've been proud of me...
Was on the first leg of what was to be a 4,000 mile odyssey enroute from the middle of the west coast of Florida to northern Minnesota and back. The bike of choice for the trip was a sport-touring Honda VFR 800 Interceptor. Got an early jump out the driveway at about 4:30 AM with bike fully loaded with Givi carrier and an additional cross saddlebag with tent and sleeping bag lashed atop with several bungees. Beat the early morning Tampa rush hour traffic and got to the rest stop just south of the Florida Turnpike split off I-75. All was well, took about a 10 minute break and stretched, then back on the bike with the next stop to be a fuel stop at Ocala where SR 326 intersects I-75. Was comfortable in full leathers, helmet and gloves.
Arrived at my fuel stop exit, took the off ramp and swung around through a green light into the gas station. As I approached the pumps, full of confidence and joy with the successful first fuel leg, I shifted the bike into neutral, coasted up parallel to my chosen pump, and hit the kill switch intending to slide my left foot onto the kickstand as I gently finished braking to a full stop...a smooth landing and easy swing off the bike. Ha! My legs had locked up into the semi-raked position and neither foot would move at my brain's command! With the engine dead, bike in neutral, and now at a complete stop, my joy lasted about 0.5 seconds, them BAM! Down I went with a perfectly executed Laugh-In Artie Johnson fall.. I half expected Ruth Bussie to appear from nowhere and hit me with her purse. I managed to do the crawl of shame out from under the bike with nothing more than a bruised ankle and extremely wounded pride. After unloading the gear (at least it all stayed in place!) I got the bike righted and on its sidestand with a gracious assist from the station attendant. I now had a nice little raspberry rash on the left fairing and a custom curved clutch handle, that fortunately was still operative.
Lesson learned. When on a long haul trip, be sure to periodically change leg positions and get off and stretch to avoid cramping or leg lockups. On the remainder of my trip I made sure to either periodically stand up on the pegs or straighten and flex my legs out to the sides every 20 minutes or so. When slowing to a stop ALWAYS leave your engine running and bike in low gear so that if you find yourself headed for a low-speed fall, you can add a bit of throttle in the friction zone to pick up the bike. If anybody had been able to video my performance they probably would've made 10 grand on Amerca's Funniest..(blush)
 
#7 ·
Never ride parallel to trolley car tracks if you can help it. I found myself in that situation many years ago in downtown El Paso, Tx., on my CB450. I was approaching a cross street when a car came up to the intersection from my right at a very rapid pace. I didn’t think they were going to stop and instinctively moved to the left to try to avoid a collision. When I went across the trolley car tracks, or tried to, both my wheels went into the void and the bike instantly went down. Fortunately I wasn’t going very fast, maybe 20-25 mph, and, even more fortunately, the car did actually stop. Had he not, he would likely have run over me and my bike while we were lying there in the street. After that I completely avoided any street that had trolley tracks on them.
 
#8 ·
I was coming outta a driveway covered in pecan leaves, a car was coming up the road, so of course I attempted to stop...
I DID!
BUT it was with the bike laying on its side...

The bike went down but I dismounted and still standing, The girls in the car stopped to make sure I was OK...

Wet pecan leaves do NOT create enuff friction to stop a 600 pound Bike @ 4MPH,
D
 
#9 ·
When I was 18, I bought my first bike and took the safety course. My mother had always wanted to ride so she took the course with me. We both got our license, but she didn't have a bike. I let her ride my 500 Interceptor. One day coming in the driveway she hit the throttle as she reached for the brake and drove right into the hedge that ran down the side of the driveway. I'll never do that again, let her ride my bike.

In all seriousness, I would let her ride my VTX in a minute, she's come a long way and rode for years after that.
 
#10 ·
A few years ago, I was riding my bike and had what is probably a 1 in a million kinda thing happen. A bird didn't take off quite fast enough from the road as I was approaching. It hit me in the helmet - and I was going about 70 MPH. Normally, I would wear a 1/2 helmet. But, it was a colder day and I was wearing my full face helmet. If it had been my 1/2 helmet it would have been a major crash. It was still bad but I managed to keep everything together. No 1/2 helmets for me ever again.
 
#12 ·
You just reminded me of an almost bad time last year. A wild turkey flew low across the road in front of me. Stupidly, I was watching it, forgetting that they seldom travel alone. I saw the second one at the last second and ducked. It grazed the top of my helmet.
 
#11 ·
Riding on a 45mph 4-Lane undivided roadway in right tire track of leftmost lane. Dump truck approaching in near lane of the opposing traffic. Hot summer day, but riding with FF helmet and visor down to last click before latched. About 50 yards away from approaching dump truck, he hits a bump into in the road. About 1 second later my head snaps back wth a resounding "PING!" off my helmet, and I look out to see a nasty crack with a couple surrounding scars near the top of my visor. Pulled over off roadway about 1/4 mile down the road. Probably got hit by a small chunk of loose concrete that came off the top of the load when the truck hit the bump. Visor now sits on my "wall of shame".
One in a million, but doing the math if we were both going 45, whatever hit me was a nearly 90 mph fastball.
Lesson learned. Always ride with your visor down whenever there is opposing traffic. If anything gets launched at you it clips you at your combined speeds. Watch for any vehicle going either direction carrying a loose load. If in an area where there are gravel boat launches, a stone leaving an oncoming boat trailer tire comes at you with amazing speed because of the fast rotation of the smaller tires. Take the right side of your traffic lane to minimize your chances of getting hit by incoming missiles.
 
#13 ·
I came into ownership of a rebel 250, which prompted me to sign up for the class and get my license. It was a saturday evening, and DMV wouldn't be open again till Monday, so I had the papers in hand, just needed get their signature Monday afternoon outside the DMV and go in.. In the meantime I trailer'd it home. Now it had been ridden up onto the trailer under power and strapped down for me, but I was on my own to unload it and return the trailer.
Having less than zero experience with motorcycles, I tried to walk it down the ramp like a bicycle, standing next to it, using the hand brake lever to control it.



I'm sure you can see where this goes next....


It's amazing how quickly a motorcycle can get beyond the balance tolerance angle before you know it when you are standing next to it instead of straddling it to walk it backwards down a ramp...even at only 300lbs, it happens real quick and once it decides to go....well there it goes.



I think I hold the record for earliest drop at 0.0000 miles ridden and negative 2 days of owning my first bike.
 
#14 ·
Too bad about the drop. Just like anything it takes a little practice until you get rolling it around without damage. Also there are other factors, I slipped with leather bottom boots on a very small amount of oil on the ground. I suggest non slip riding footwear. Depending how wedged in my garage I sometimes only move them when sitting on them, less chance of a drop. Enjoy the new ride and have fun.
 
#16 ·
I learned about riding from that: I had a 3hp mini-bike when I was young but never a motorcycle. This post got me thinking and laughing as I was recalling my first riding experiences. My first bike was the TW200 which is a trail bike. I figured the dirt is softer than concrete. I learned riding the old way not a MSF course. First time out following trails in the field I couldn't turn sharp enough and kept riding off into the bushes with a few dumps. I went back to check the DPS handbook and read about countersteering. I tried that at very slow speeds and it worked. I went back and now stayed on the trails. I jumped some small hills and my legs got wore out. Now I see why motorcycle riding is a sport. I passed my driving test and all some time later (months). First experiences on the street, lift a hand and the bike wobbles and moves slightly another direction (learning to balance) I never had this problem on a bicycle. Also was ohhhh my neck is so tired with that heavy helmet fighting the wind, (I had the dirt bike style helmet with a bill) great for high speed areodynamics, lesson learned. I think having the MSF courses now are saving a lot of pain and medical bills for new riders.
 
#17 · (Edited)
The MSF Basic Rider Course is worth its weight in gold. A few years back I had to take the course to get my FL motorcycle endorsement. One of the topics was "what to do when stopping for a traffic light." Best tip ever was something I had never thought about (in my case, no surprise). A friend of the instructor's was a policeman for city of Sarasota. He told the instructor that the worst accident he ever worked was a scene where a motorcycle had pulled to a stop in the right lane behind a box truck. The bike had stopped centered in the lane. There were two more open lanes at the left of the box truck. A car came down the street in the right lane, going the 45 mph speed limit. For whatever reason, the car driver never saw the red light, the motorcycle, or the box truck stopped at the light; drove the motorcycle and it's rider right up into the box of the truck, killing the rider instantly.
Lesson learned. When stopping for a traffic light ALWAYS stop offset in your lane to the right or left with enough room between you and any vehicle ahead of you to swing out if the next guy behind doesn't appear to be making the stop. Whether or not there is a vehicle in front of you, keep your bike in gear, clutch in, eyes in the mirrors and ready to GO. And when driving a car be especially vigilant when approaching a traffic light where signage or other lighting may cause a stopped motorcycle's tail/brake light to "blend in." Flicking your brake light or having it on a flasher is extra insurance. It's saved my bacon a couple of times.
 
#19 ·
I've learned to always be cautious when passing or following a truck hauling pigs, they often pass their bowels while being transported.
 
#20 ·
:laugh: my father used to drive a cattle truck, I don't get anywhere near any kind of truck hauling livestock.
One trip my father stopped at a red light and a car wth the top down pulled along side just as a cow urinated, into the car, to say the driver was pissed is and understatement.
 
#21 ·
My first bike was a Suzuki GS500E that I used as a daily driver in college (maneuvering and parking on campus became SO MUCH easier).

I bought the bike used, knowing absolutely nothing about motorcycles. So I took the MSF course, got my license, and immediately starting daily driving it. At this point I hadn't done any maintenance yet, and I really hadn't inspected the bike very thoroughly.

So this one day, shortly after getting the license, I pull up to the stop sign heading out of my neighborhood and I get ready to make my right turn out onto the road. As I make the turn, the rear wheel slips out from under me and suddenly the bike is almost all the way down on it's side. Now this was a sport bike, with pretty decent ground clearance, and it was far enough over that the foot peg was folded up pinning my boot. As this is happening, literally the only thought going through my head is that I REALLY didn't want to lay down the bike. So instead of getting myself clear to avoid injury, like any sane person might have, I did my best to get the bike back up. I shifted myself as upright as possible, and gave the bike as much throttle as I could. Somehow the rear end caught traction for a moment, the bike jumped upright, lurched forward, and then the rear end lost traction again and fishtailed back and forth like you wouldn't believe. So now I'm heading down a narrow 2-lane road, with deep ditches on either side, with oncoming traffic in the other lane, and with my rear end sliding back and forth threatening to high side and launch me into an oncoming camaro. By the grace of God, the rear wheel caught traction while parallel to the front and all at once I was speeding down the road like nothing had happened.

As soon as I could pull over, I parked at a gas station and inspected my tires. I don't know if the previous owner did non-stop burnouts, or just rode a lot of miles in a straight line, but there was zero tread left in the middle of the rear tire and seemingly brand new tread on the sides (this explains why the bike caught traction when it was nearly on it's side, but kept losing traction as soon as it was upright). Both tires were also significantly under filled.

This whole situation taught me a couple of important lessons:
1. God definitely has my back
2. NEVER take your tires for granted
3. ALWAYS thoroughly inspect a used bike before riding it

I've had a couple of other close calls, but I think this is the only one that's particularly interesting.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Lots of good above here... riding since 72....lessons...

1 dont ride the middle of road crap lives there use a tire track either one.
2 birds are stupid most people too everyone is out to kill or mess u up...always!
3 accident sites are VERY slippery either gas oil anti-freeze worse than cold ice
4 did I say every thing and everyone is out to kill u
5 all truck / all trailers are just conveyors of **** that will fly off and kill you.never follow one.
6 weather is a bitch if it can catch you it will, plan on it ..corollary : bars make good shelters just ride it out on a stool....hard all weather rides need Through planning.
7 loud bikes are ok...very loud horns are better note 2&4 above
8 long rides / cold rides leave the body stiff, and not in a good way move yer legs b4 u need em.
9 anything between your tires and pavement.. bad ...sand /gravel/ leaves/ grassclip/worms/ mayflies/frogs/that tiny water trail today was 20ft wide yesterday and muddy.
10 turns are always places of chance meetings ...car on side of road/ deer /Raccoon family. see 4:
11 above all watch the road infront of you and in front of that...

several things that have nearly killed me the oddest ....turtles laying eggs on road edge. saw one unidentified moving object saw two ...3d one trying to get good look at it ...road slow curve ...
I was in the grass at hi speed was lucky ...note 11 above
currently the worst stuff ...note 5 never follow anything but bikes and small cars, plan it that way.

good luck

not really funny or cute but learn to be tuff it would not have been deadly but would have messed me and bike up ...a wasp/bee got in my helmet and I freaked out slapping grabbing let go of bike everthing now I am not allergic but it just surprised me so much..spun the bike 180 and put it down gently threw the helmet in the ditch was only going 35mph and stood in the middle of road brushing cloths and jacket off digging in and around my neck stung twice b4 killing it ...so yeah it hurt but if I could have thought straight I could have fast stopped and dug it out with out trying to killmyself....2&4.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Addendum to Note #5 NEVER ride staying beside a large truck either.

Ever seen a truck tire blow?? the amount of junk is more of a spray of rubber & steel cords that goes everywhere...and sometimes other parts fly off as well...like the air bags and associated metal parts.


Loose cargo – A truck tire explosion can cause a trailer to unlock and its cargo can hit other motorists.
Loss of control – Trucks often become unbalanced when tires explode. In an effort to stay in one lane or to veer away from other vehicles, a truck driver could hit and seriously injure adjacent motorists.
Flying parts – Parts of a tire that explodes can hit the windows or windshields of other motorists, causing them to lose control of their cars.
Debris on the road – Tire parts that fall onto the road after a blowout can cause vehicles to swerve into other lanes and accidents can quickly ensue.
GRAPHIC vids of truck tires blowing and hurting people...or just flying across the road...


The other thing is a truck May Not See You and crush you like a bug while dodging road debris/stupid cars/animals/etc...or you are the lesser of two evils...like hitting another vehicle parked on the side of the road, but they didn't get totally OFF the road...and bumping a moving object is less dangerous than hitting an object that is not moving.

Both cars & bikes should pass a large truck as quickly and effectively as possible.
Do not dawdle or hang around.
Dang sure don't hang around the rear bumper for ANY reason, in either lane.


If you see a trucker's turn signal engage, take it as a WARNING that he's coming over shortly, so don't be there. They can see much farther ahead than you can, with their additional height, seeing distant problems developing gives them more time to react, as long as everyone else pays attention and reacts to what THEY do.

In general, try and stay as far away from Semi's & Large Box Trucks as possible. Things go wrong, and when they do with a big truck, it tends to get really ugly. Give them the respect of any other road hazard.
 
#25 ·
I followed a Dodge duelly with a flat deck on the highway once when out of the blue his outside left rear tire exploded. Sounded like a shotgun blast and I swear the left rear of his truck jumped up 4 inches. Debris flew all over my car and scared the hell out of my wife who couldnt understand how it made such an explosion no matter how much I explained about tire pressures and heat expansion. She figured the tire was full of something, like he was smuggling explosives in his tire or something. It was quite the sight
 
#26 ·
When I was a brand-new rider, I was parked at a curb with no traffic on either side of the road in a business area. I made a U-turn over a double yellow line and didn't count on the tree sap that was there in the middle. I almost went down, but saved the spill by using sheer force of my leg (which hurt). Moral of the story for me was just obey all traffic laws. ALL. Speed, stop signs, signaling, etc.
 
#27 ·
I just got my CDL within the last year and though i drive mostly smaller trucks, dump trucks and trucks pulling about 30,000 lbs I have learned how dangerous they are. Great advice above (Do not dawdle or hang around). Also if you pass a big truck it is better to do so on take off not the space in front of a stopping truck. I had multiple cars pull over in my stopping space and nearly plowed them all one day. Also don't be the jerk to pass the truck to lock up your brakes and turn in front of it while it locks up the brakes, you're taking your life in your hands. In all vehicles sharing the road and courtesy go a long way for all our safety.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Paint Lines, Rumble strips, and grated bridge decks...
Was out for an evening spin and jumped on a couple mile segment of interstate, following my son on his sport bike. He had a couple hundred yard lead and caught a break in traffic to merge. There was fairly steady traffic in the "slow" lane, so I lagged a bit to merge smoothly, putting me about 1/4 mile behind. Anticipating the need to get ahead of the traffic I'd just merged with, I twisted the noise maker handle and got out in the middle lane, passing my son by just in time to cut over and take the exit ramp we had agreed upon earlier. It was an upslope ramp with a right-hand sweeper bypassing the traffic signal at the top. I could see the traffic was all clear on the crossing road, so boogied up the ramp, ready to take the sweeper to the right. Traffic was clear and I rolled into the sweeper at about 45 mph with a good lean angle. I too was on a sport bike with great tires (Michelin Pilot Road 4s) so wasn't real concerned about taking a fast corner. Shoulda been. The line I had chosen coming up the ramp for the sweeper put the apex of my turn on a "paint ladder" on the roadway to herd the traffic merging onto the crossroad. I was trail braking with a touch of front brake and released just before the ladder. As my tires made contact with the ladder, I could feel the front tire starting to wash out, and the back get a bit squirrelly. Fortunately, I was too stupid to try to do anything which turned out to be the smartest thing to do. The bike was stabilized for the turn, so I just held steady on the throttle and gyroscopic effect worked its magic. My back tire held its grip and all ended well.

Lessons learned. 1) Wide paint stripes, even dry, can be slick as glass (but I knew that...) 2) If you can't assess the road surface on a curve due to visibility, or whatever, DON'T PUSH IT. 3) Roadways and edges are full of surprises, like wide paint lines, double paint lines that make nice tire traps, continuous "rumble" strips like at the lane edge on some interstates, and grated bridges that are a real treat with dual sport tires. Gyroscopic effect and suspension engineering are your best friends. Don't panic and let the bike do its thing.
 
#30 ·
Multi-lane urban traffic...
Riding solo in 3 lanes of moderately heavy 45 mph traffic on US 41, in left tire track of rightmost lane to afford cross-street traffic best angle of view of the bike while maintaining "ownership" of my driving lane with traffic in middle adjoining lane. Bike maintaining "air cushion" best as possible slightly aft right rear quarter panel of car in adjoining lane and driver in line of sight through passenger side mirror, with 1-1/2 car lengths space ahead and behind in my lane. Middle lane traffic slows rapidly while my lane continues at speed, middle lane is a sea of brake lights. Still moving with traffic in my lane and maintaining space with car ahead, as I pass the second car ahead in the middle lane I see the front tire of the third car ahead in the middle lane start to move my way..no signal..but this minivan is trying to " beat the clock" by ducking into my lane. Full horn, slight swerve right, heavy front and rear brakes with slight chirp of front tire, driver sees me and swerves back when right quarter panel is still about 3-4 feet away...and I still had more escape room to the right and an upcoming business entrance driveway if needed. But it was still uncomfortably close.

Lessons learned. 1) position your bike within your lane so as to afford maximum visibility to drivers in adjoining lanes, 2) be aware of rapid changes of speed, either accelerating or slowing in all lanes, 3) keep the front tires of the cars slightly ahead in adjoining lanes in your peripheral vision, remembering that the front tires are the first to move in your direction, 4) practice maximum braking stops from 45-50 mph regularly and medium to low speed braking and offset swerving so they're instinctive when you need them.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Bad vibes...
Several years ago, riding my Katana, just coming off a grated bridge at about 45 mph, I started to pick up a strange vibration feeding back through the handlebars. My son and I had pretty much rebuilt this bike from the ground up, having gone through all the systems pretty thoroughly. We had inspected, but not replaced the front wheel bearings, so I figured we missed something. I continued the ride for about 15 more minutes to try and determine what might be the source of the vibration. It would start in at about 35mph and didn't seem to get better or worse at speeds up to about 50 (my test pilot "chicken" limit) remaining fairly constant and ruling out a tire balance problem. So I parked the bike and ordered a set of front wheel bearings.
Bearings arrived and I replaced them and took it out for a test ride...Dang!...same vibration...what in the heck is going on here??
Back home, I raised the front end of the bike and gave the front wheel the usual lateral shake test, and inspected the tire..nada. Then I gave the front wheel a slow spin. As it was turning I could hear a nice, regular, faint clicking noise. So I spun it again. Same faint clicking noise, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Looked at the left side brake caliper, rotor and pad..nada. Went around to the right side and gave it another spin. Clicking was still faint, but a bit louder. Spun it again and found the culprit. We had recently gotten new tires and had the shop install 90 degree valve stems to ease pressure checking and filling because of the large brake rotors. A close look at the metal valve stem revealed a slight wear mark on the dust cap where it was not quite clearing the caliper. Shot a little lube around the new valve stem and gave it a slight inward twist. Spun the wheel again, problem solved.

Lesson learned. ANY front wheel vibration is bad, and can come from the tiniest cause. An uncle of a friend "experimented" trying to find a high speed vibration until his front wheel came off at 80 and he landed in the hospital. When you have a vibration, thoroughly check your rotors, calipers, tire, wheel weights, steering head, motor mounts and whatever else you can think of. But don't leave out the little stuff like valve stems and dust caps.
 
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