Ugh, two days before my wedding, I'm on my way home, maybe 500 yards from my house... I turn onto this road, its a 45-mph zone but there is a car 100 yards ahead, going real slow. I backed off the throttle (I figure he just pulled onto the road, and is about to accelerate,or 's about to turn, cuz he is going so slow). As I get  closer, he still is putting along, no brake lights yet, no turn signal. I start to brake harder and downshft. Well Mr. asshat was lost, and missed his road, so he slamed on his brakes and starts to turn (without a turn signal). I realize I won't be able to stop, so I try to avoid him and go around him. Unfortunately for me, I tried to avoid him by going left, and he was turning left. I smacked into his rear left corner, flipped over the handlebars, and landed on my back.

There were witnesses that saw the whole thing, but the cop didn't ticket either one of us. I broke my right wrist (colles fracture?), and bruised my neather region from the gas tank (that hurts worse than broken wrist!!). I had on a full-face helmet, and a Joe Rocket leather jacket with armor, both came out without a scratch.

My front forks are bent, front tire is now touching header pipes, and of course mirrors/turnsignal are trashed.  I go in for surgery on my wrist Tuesday. Unfortunately, the driver of the car survived (I think the only damage to his car was a broken brake light).

I bought my bike, '01 Gs500e, back in December, and had put about 1,200 miles on it already.

Anyways, I'll be fixing the bike, and I'll ride again. I always thought I was a pretty defensive driver, but now I'll go from defensive to paranoid mode.

Just goes to prove that you can't assume other drivers have a brain, always assume they are TRYING to hurt you, and you may be OK. My biggest mistake was assuming the car would be turning or accelerating soon, and so I didn't take the threat serious enough soon enough.

so you are satisfied that the other guy is getting off?  i would fight his insurance company to pay for ur bills

I'm glad you weren't hurt worse.  Hope Tuesday goes well.

Isn't it mind-blowing that it takes riding a motorcycle to fully appreciate some of the idiocy that goes on behind the wheels of automobiles.  I've been driving for over 20 years and figured I understood what crazy stuff people were capable of.  But taking up motorcycling (this year) has opened my eyes!  Wouldn't it be interesting if people were required to ride a motorbike for a year before we'd allow them behind the wheel of a car?

Heal up!

Neil.

Considering that I hit him in the rear, I considered it a mild victory that the cop didn't ticket me.  I think that because the other driver didn't get ticketed either, that his insurance company will use that as justification not to pay for my bike/arm.

You hit him from behind.  It's your fault.  YOU are required to stay at a safe following distance to avoid hitting the person in front of you no matter what they do.

Yep, you could have been ticketed for failure to maintain; and he could have been ticketed for failure to signal.  I'd say that the police not ticketing you both was probably a nice outcome for both of you.  

If you're paying for surgery out-of-pocket, then go ahead and go after him.  A small shot at something is better than a guarantee of nothing.  But if your surgery is paid by your medical insurance, then I'd leave well-enough alone.

BTW, taking legal advice from me is about as smart as taking riding tips from a cager.

I wouldn't go after him.  You're at fault for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to maintain proper following distance.  Those violations carry more weight than the guy's failure to signal.  There's nothing illegal about doing 10MPH in a 40 zone.  In some states, hitting somebody from behind makes you automatically liable for the accident no matter what the guy in front was doing.

If you did manage to get into court it would probably be possible for the cager to countersue for damages to his vehicle because you caused the accident.  Unless you can prove that he slammed on his brakes for the purpose of causing an accident I don't see you having a case.

As humans we all screw up at times.  Don't try and fault someone else.    Pay to get you and the bike fixed up and ride.  

I can't believe nobody has asked about the wedding!

* Did it already happen?  (If so, I'd love to see a couple pictures.   )

* Did she call it off because she refuses to become a motorcycle widow before her time?

* Did her

parents call it off so they wouldn't end up with a "crazy son-in-law"?

* Perhaps it's been postponed until after the surgery?

* Or is it still happening this weekend?[/list:u]Do tell!  

Accident was April 22nd. The wedding proceded as planned, a low-stress, high-fun beach wedding. I've thrown a few pictures up at http://fint.org/burton/wedding/

Congratulations!  That's so cool.  Best wishes to you both.

its good that your ok and cool the you still got married on time

Wow -- not just ANY beach wedding, but a Daytona Beach beach wedding!

Congrats to both of you, and good luck with the surgery.  

QuoteI wouldn't go after him.  You're at fault for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to maintain proper following distance.  Those violations carry more weight than the guy's failure to signal.  There's nothing illegal about doing 10MPH in a 40 zone.  In some states, hitting somebody from behind makes you automatically liable for the accident no matter what the guy in front was doing..

Actually in some states going 10mph in a 40 is an offense. It called "Impeding the safe flow of traffic". However the fact that you struck the car from behind may not fare well for you, because you obviously "Failed to maintain a safe distance". So either way I'd say you were lucky you did not get ticketed, and only suffered a broken arm.

The screwball in front of you ALWAYS has the right of way. Congratulations and best wishes.

next time.. use the horn.. take care!

Congrats on the marriage.  Good luck to the two of you.  

Now all you need to do is get her a bike!  

Thanks everyone. The plan was to give her the Gs500 when I out-grow it... looks like I'm not there yet    

I'm questioning my front brakes (the forks were leaking fork oil on my front rotor, but my mechanic said I didn't need to replace the front pads.. I wonder if that would have made a difference?)

replece them, once oil soaks in contaminating the pads they will bleed when they get hot.  trying to degrease them if it just happend today and you caught it quick you would be ok using brake clean in spray can.  For comepletely soaked pads ive vented a full can of brake clean into a small metal container with a lid and submerged the pads for a few days, the oil kinda floats to the top and cleans up. it was workable for the 2 weeks i had to wait to get new pads, but they were never 100% again.

I have pictures of my x-rays up on my website if anyone wants to see them... I now have one semi-bionic arm (one metal plate and four screws holding my wrist together).

x-rays are: Side view and top view

Please, be careful when you ride, and never under-estimate the stupidity of the cagers who are around you!!

Glad you're going to be ok.  Will you make that cool Six Million Dollar Man noise when you work the throttle, now?


nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh....