Top Riding Story

[Cobie Fair]

OK, lets hear your best riding story--when did you do the right thing, and it all went well.

 

Keep this to actual things that have happened please, if I see a really good one, free t-shirt.

 

I'll start it off, with a nice easy one:

 

Riding down the freeway, I see a large extension ladder going across a few lanes. No time time to check the mirrors (saw it kind a late), didn't think I could turn around it (remember, it was a large ladder). Not much time as a dirt bike rider, so this was a big deal to me at 70 on a ZX-9. I pinned it and got light in the saddle, rode nicely over it, no dramas other than an elevated heart rate.

 

Best,

Cobie

[faffi]

It's funnier to write stories about things that went wrong but here is my contribution:

 

This was way back in 1980, and didn't have a lot of riding experience. I was riding a narrow backroad lined with old, large fir trees - and farms. Most exit roads came out of the trees, causing horrible visibility. I was doing maybe 45 mph when suddenly this huge tractor shovel appeared right in front of my helmet. There was no time to swerve or stop; I just managed to throw myself flat on the fuel tank. I didn't hear the shovel scrape the backside of my helmet - I guess I was too stressed to hear anything - but I did notice the scratches when I got home. That's as close as I've ever been at becoming decapitated without even coming to any harm.

 

Then there was the time, a bit earlier, when I spent a bit too long admiring my own reflection in a shop window and as a result failed to notice that the car in front had stopped to let some kids cross the road. I got a glimpse of red lights at the corner of my eye sitting much to close for comfort and pulled a handfull of front brake that nearly threw me over the handlebards. That wasn't the worst of it; when I pulled the clutch I realized that I hadn't had time to close the throttle before I pulled the brakes. So I came to a stop just inches from the car's bumber with the engine screaming its tits off. Just what was needed to draw attention to myself...

[Cobie Fair]

There are a couple of good stories Eirik.

 

Anyone else? I need to get one of my Aussie mates who used to be a m/c courier, he had some good stories.

 

One day I asked him how many mirrors he had taken off (side mirrors, off cars). He said about 20. Maybe he was lying, but he was convincing at the time.

 

CF

[jasonbw]

The scariest moments do turn into the funniest if it all ends well!

 

Turn 1 at Eastern Creek is reasonably fast at 130mph/210kph mid turn, after I made the mistake of overtaking on the inside, late and not giving room to get the entry speed comfortable, I was faced with a corner that was suddenly waaaaaay different to the fun, safe, consistent T1 I was used to; tighter, now looking at just the width of the track ahead and needing a small miracle to save it!

Pre CSS there is no doubt what would I have caused.

 

Later on when replaying that mind movie I can recall the special word I kept screaming over and over with ever increasing intensity and pitch..... Represented by text it would look something like....

gas gas gas gas gas gas Gas Gas Gas! GAS GAS GAS!! GAS GAS!!! GAS!!!!

 

I just like the fact that I can still make those occasional 'leather soiling' mistakes, but that now I won't turn them into painful mistakes.

[6blade07]

I don't have an "all timer" but the first occasion that comes to mind was avoiding a head on collision with another motorcyclist in my lane, caught on film too but all you see is the black flash of him being a tool (noting, that here in oz we ride on the LHS of the road).

 

I was corner carving through some twisties with a mate straight after I completed CSS and my visual skills were still quite accute. It was a marked 35km/h left hander hairpin that had 2 hairpin feeders comming into it.

 

I had id'd a late turn in point and began my 2step drill. Still on course for hitting my turn in, I look through the turn for my apex and I see another motorcyclist in my lane comming straight at me (not at 35km/h)

 

He had no where to go because he was being an idiot and overtaking cars from the outside lane through blind corners on their inside So to avoid a collision and becomming a statistic, all I did was take an earlier turn in.

 

For this instance, the one skillset CSS taught me that I can soley attribute to it all going well is the visual skills.

[ozfireblade]

Two stories

 

I had just bought a new fireblade ,2001 Erion racing honda cbr 929, and went round to a mates house to show it off. He had 2 really gorgeous girls who lived next door and this day one happened to be washing her car with not too much on. I was too busy perving at her that I forgot to put down my stand, so when I got off the bike it went over and I walked inside acting as if I had meant to do that. Once inside I nearly burst into tears waited untill the girl had gone inside then ran out picked up the bike and wheeled it into the garage.

 

 

 

Best save was coming home in the rain and overtaking a car, same bike actually, as I accelerated the rear tire slipped on the white lines and sent me into a tank slapper at around 100km/h iin pouring rain, with the handelbars going to stops on both sides. Just loosened up on the bars and let the bike sort it out.

[sleepr]

Well I'll try to keep this brief. One day in my second year of riding on a clapped out 78 Yamaha XS400, I was heading home on a 2 way single lane road. An oncoming small truck had a bunch of furniture piled in the back. On the very top of the load was a small love seat/couch turned upside down. This love seat appeared to be tied down but was fluttering a little. I was wrong on the tied down part! The love seat became airborne and because of it's orientation decided it would need to occupy my airspace and lane position. To this day I do not remember the 3 quick downshifts nor the quick countersteer to the very right edge of the pavement gravel shoulder but I do remember the sound of the couch hitting the ground just behind me over the sound of the bike. The most interesting part of the whole experience was the tabloid headline flashing through my mind "Motorcyclist killed by flying love seat" Because I was so close to home and I knew I would likely dismember the driver I continued home like nothing had happened but when I walked in the door the adrenaline was wearing off and I was as white as a ghost. Of course Mom felt it was a bad omen and should stop riding but here I am 20 years later no worse for wear. Now whenever I am near an open truck or trailer of any kind I am extra vigilant!

[jodypresti]

Well I'll try to keep this brief. One day in my second year of riding on a clapped out 78 Yamaha XS400, I was heading home on a 2 way single lane road. An oncoming small truck had a bunch of furniture piled in the back. On the very top of the load was a small love seat/couch turned upside down. This love seat appeared to be tied down but was fluttering a little. I was wrong on the tied down part! The love seat became airborne and because of it's orientation decided it would need to occupy my airspace and lane position. To this day I do not remember the 3 quick downshifts nor the quick countersteer to the very right edge of the pavement gravel shoulder but I do remember the sound of the couch hitting the ground just behind me over the sound of the bike. The most interesting part of the whole experience was the tabloid headline flashing through my mind "Motorcyclist killed by flying love seat" Because I was so close to home and I knew I would likely dismember the driver I continued home like nothing had happened but when I walked in the door the adrenaline was wearing off and I was as white as a ghost. Of course Mom felt it was a bad omen and should stop riding but here I am 20 years later no worse for wear. Now whenever I am near an open truck or trailer of any kind I am extra vigilant!

 

I'm guessing you were not a NEW rider at the time? My only street incident in 20 years of riding was similar. If I had understood the Quick Turn and Pivot Steering back then I'd probably still have that old ZX7. It is easy to read the experienced and safe riders on the street by their body position and gear. That "love seat" probably takes down more than half of the folks I see in flip flops and t-shirts.

 

Thanks for posting.

[sleepr]

Actually it was only my second year riding, luck more than skill came into play in this incident.

[khp]

A couple of years ago, I was leading a group ride with the local university motorcycling club around one of our favorite haunts - a "golden triange" of great roads around 6 miles long. These roads not only have twisties, but also go fair bit up and down by Danish standards. We tend to have a lot of new riders in the club, since most members are student who've just gotten their first bike, so all group rides have an experienced rider in front guiding the way.

 

I was coming up to a left turn where the inside was obscured by a patch of fir trees, shifted to hangout (as I usually do on non-commuting rides), the bike was fully in my own lane, but my head was across the centerline. As I was about 20m from the approaching turn I thought "Nah, it's better to stay completely in my own lane should some idiot coming in the other direction be too close to the centerline for comfort" - so I moved the bike a bit further into my own.

 

After making my turnpoint, I found that a bus travelling in the other direction appeared from behind the trees - and we was 0.5m ACROSS THE CENTER LINE! Instead of triggering SR's I just pushed the outer bar, standing the bike up, moving the bike and me to the right side of the lane and out of harms way, pushing the inside again, and I continued my arc, but displaced a 1m or so to the right.

 

Not exactly a heroic save, but it could have been really messy if it had been one of the unexperienced riders in the group who had to deal with the situation (we have a large disparity of riding skills in the club, because of the new riders).

[faffi]

That's the very reason, khp, why I always make the corner as wide as possible. Not only can I see much further around the corner, but it also keeps my head as far out of harms way as possible. Turning in the opposite direction, I will sit closer to the oncoming traffic, but this is more than outweighed by the improved visibility ahead. And should the oncoming traffic be too close for comfort, I can tighten my line. Surprisingly often, that oncoming traffic is a rider crowding the centre line and leaned into my lane.

[richard_m_h]

Up in the mountains overtaking a line of trucks on a borrowed bike. A corner was coming up so I pinned the throttle and instead of taking off like my bike would I hit the rev limiter. Then a car came around the corner. First and hopefully the only time I've used that special motorcycle lane in the middle of the road. Target fixation is OK if you fixate on the right thing!