Let's be careful out there...

[Jarno]

Took my almost new GSX-F for a regular morning commute a few days ago... and ended up having to make a brilliant save after a decidedly bad decision about where to rev up.

I banked out on a highway ramp from local belt-way to a highway - the ramp's quite familiar to me, the (cold) weather was dry; in short, all of the external matters were right and well for a quick rev-up to highway speed.

The one thing I didn't consider fully was, that the traffic on the highway wasn't moving as usual - it was slowing down to a stand-still about 3-400m from the end of the ramp - where I was running 'round 90km/h.

So. The save was brilliant and well-executed - break hard, evade the standing lines on the outside, not between, rubber side down whole time, some sliding, et cetera, and back to the traffic without any further incidents.

But the fact that I had to do the save was... well, I won't admit to *being* stupid, but the action of not fully checking the situation and being fully aware of the whole situation *was* *extremely* stupid.

So no matter how nice it's getting back on the saddle after the winter - let's be careful out there.

[Y2K6GS500F]

Nice Save! You have a good point. Unpredictable things happen, we need to be ready for it!

[simon79]

Very similar thing happened to me as little as a couple hours ago.
Approaching a roundabout, some slow traffic ahead.
I noticed a BMW rider on the opposite lane overtaking, so I gave him a wave, being the good boy that I am  (and he waved back, actually )
A split second later, my eyes focus on the road again and the traffic ahead of me. Which is coming at me too fast. Argh.
Luckily for me, a large gap on the right allows me to pass said traffic by with a certain amount on nonchalance and with little use of brakes (so, panic stop avoided).

Next time I'll be more careful, I promise.
(Also because, if it isn't so, there might not be one more time after the next... )

[commuterdude]

I scared the poo out of myself last week....entering my favorite decreasing radius sweeper, I am going great, bike is healed way over, I LOOK DOWN AT THE GROUND TO CHECK MY COOL LEAN ANGLE,  look back up and i am HEADED FOR THE WEEDS.....ARRGHHH POOOOOOP  white knuckle it ever tighter and enjoy POUNDING ADRENALINE DEATH RUSH....the decreasing radius turn almost became my deceasing radius turn.

Cool thing is I have some RADICAL chicken strips on one side of my tire......

[bill14224]

I went for a ride with a friend who is my son's age last weekend and had a close call.  He wanted to show me how quick his Gixxer 600 is. (like I didn't already know)  We were riding two abreast with him on the left.  The car in front of us decided to slow down and make a left turn without signaling as Brad was rolling on the throttle in 3rd gear.  I saw this developing and laid back, not that I had any chance of keeping up with him.  He grabbed all kinds of brakes, pulled next to the car on the double yellow line before he slowed enough, then got back behind the car right before the car turned.  The car driver was oblivious to what was going on.  One more second and I would have been picking him and his bike off that car.

He is a smart kid with fast reflexes.  There is only one reason I saw it before he did.  I'm old, and he's young.  I anticipated it, and he didn't see it until it actually happened.