I firmly believe that each time my bike and I go out on the road there is something or someone that either makes me shake my head or makes me understand motorcycling even more. Maybe we can post into this thread each time we have these encounters while riding our supreme GS beasts.

Yesterday while riding back home from work (11 miles) I was following a old Chevy Corsica. My position was left side of the curb lane closest to the left (2nd) lane. I trailed this person by approximately 4 seconds, (I counted), and had no issues seeing in front of them. Needless to say the driver decided to make an immediate right into a Cottage Pizza parking lot. Normally I have no issues reacting to these quick turns but this one was different, all of their taillights did not work. I'm talking about the whole back end. No turn signal, no brake lights, nothing. As I quickly came up to their back end I applied the rear brake which ended up locking. I released and re-applied and put slight pressure on the front brake. This all took place in a matter of split seconds and I felt kind of shaky after. Needless to say I was happy with my quick reaction to the situation and feel confident that my skills continue to improve as a motorcyclist. But, I won't put it past a single driver out there that they will do something stupid while I'm riding. On the flip side I continue to improve my skills but that just means more risk for me, and possibly me making the incorrect move first.

Wow, let's see, where to start!
Today I was coming home from Best Buy and some lady in the car to my left was talking on her cell phone (holding it with her right hand) and she decides to change lanes into my lane while I'm still right there! It was traffic time so I couldn't just get out of the way and I didn't think of it at the time, but I didn't lane split out of the way so I stuck my foot out and kicked her car. She swerved back into her lane as I proceeded to show her my favorite finger. I looked and she has a nice dent to remember me by.

Being able to kick another vehicle = very close.... I was driving near the turn around and a mini van who was waiting for traffic to clear started to come out on me. The person once again had full eye contact with me. I swerved around their front end, they slammed on the brakes, and I just shook my head. What the hell is the matter with people when they totally see you!! The safety course I took was totally right about eye contact does not mean they see you!!

I honestly haven't had these problems since I started wearing my Hi-Vis. 

My "close-calls" now involve dodging the stink eye from the cool kids. 

Quote from: plewis51 on August 18, 2010, 08:41:33 PM
What the hell is the matter with people when they totally see you!!

Said it before, here it is again.... They Don't Care. It's "just a bike, he'll stop" and off they go. IF you Look like a cop or kick-your-ass biker - Then - they care and give you more road respect. Otherwise, screw you buddy.

Of course, sometimes all the highviz flashing lights looking like a cop doesn't help http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm9LlKJivEU

Solution = be like the Hover Fly. Go about your business totally aware and always ready to Dart out of harm's way then go about your business again.

Michael

Quote from: ragecage23 on August 18, 2010, 02:54:50 PM
I looked and she has a nice dent to remember me by.

I swear someone's going to loose a mirror one day. Hell, they aren't using it anyway.

I wear a Hi-vis yellow vest (Icon Milspec) but can't see a significant difference in the frequency of close calls. But it's less than half the area of Homer's suit.

I have removed a couple of mirrors with my carbon fiber knuckle gloves. Had a bruise on my hand once but it was worth it.

Let's see my latest two. Going through a green light third vehicle car at the red light decides to bang a U-turn just as I am riding through. It is a scary feeling having to slam on the brakes in the middle of a left turn 

The other I should have been paying a bit more attention was at a redlight I did have a car behind me and was sitting in the right track. Guess the car decided to turn right and had no one behind me. A lincoln continental decided to use my lane as a U-turn all of a sudden my peripheral vision fills up with car scared the daylights outta me she came within a few inches of taking me down. I blew my horn to alert her and she flips me the bird.

Just a day in the life!

Mary

My MSF instructor started out our day at the range with, "When you drive a car down the street, most other cars will just ignore you and go about their way. On a motorcycle, ever mother****er out there is out to get you. If you can remember that and are always alert, you'll do alright." Best advice I ever heard.

Quote from: Toogoofy317 on August 19, 2010, 08:59:15 AM
I blew my horn to alert her and she flips me the bird.

A simple... "sorry"... would suffice. A Bird Flip is just a way to enrage the receiver. And so...

Carry some side cutters with you. If you have time, follow the person to where they are going, let them pull up and walk away, then grab your side cutters and cut the valve stems off of Two of their tires. They can fix one there and then with their spare, but the other being flat... could even leave a small note with a picture,

"Thanks for flipping me the bird when you almost killed me. Try using your bird finger to plug the tire after you fill it with all the hot air in your head. I hope the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits"


I've been trying to think of a good way to get back at them while in motion. Like a water-pistol filled with paint stripper or something. But that could effect the innocent.

Michael

LOL here in Orlando that picture would be perfect! I must say I really don't fly my bird but I will put a fist in the air.

People down here are just crazy!

Mary

A couple of weeks ago I put a larger horn on the GS.  It's one of the FIAMM ones.  It's quite a bit louder than the stock horn.  Since then I have used it twice when car encroached on my space.  Seems to heard better.

Quote from: Chuck500 on August 20, 2010, 04:19:47 PM
A couple of weeks ago I put a larger horn on the GS.  It's one of the FIAMM ones.  It's quite a bit louder than the stock horn.  Since then I have used it twice when car encroached on my space.  Seems to heard better.

I've thought about doing that, one of these:
http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2137/210/

But I'm not sure if it's really worth it.

The Strebel Nautilus is an air horn.  They are supposed to be incredibly loud, 140 db I think.  I didn't go that route because they require a separate relay.  If you are comportable with electrical work, I'd say try it.

Keep the shiny side up,

Chuck

This is a good thread.  Allow me to relay something that just happened last week.  A guy on his bike was waiting to turn left in a left turn lane.  When he got the green arrow he proceeded, only to get his leg smashed by a passing car.  On paper he's innocent, but he made a huge mistake.  Just because the light turns green doesn't mean you don't have to look first!

Quote from: Homer on August 18, 2010, 10:08:14 PM
I honestly haven't had these problems since I started wearing my Hi-Vis. 

My "close-calls" now involve dodging the stink eye from the cool kids. 

you're not wearing it , but riding it

my close call today was hopping over a table-top to find a swamp bottom on the other side, complete with rocky crap in my line. all this without a chance of a restart (my stator is fuxored) from the e-button. thankfully i twisted and double clutched a short wheelie over the mess. man i love my drz.

Went for a ride today. The guy leading was his first time leading. I missed the proper exit on the round-a-bout and had to circle it to get it right. By this time I was 3rd last in the group. Maybe 10 minutes up the road I come around a bend and see a car pulled over, a guy in a beanie standing on the road, a bike laying on the ground and the ride group (about 20 bikes) pulled up everywhere. What the hell happened?

As I ride past the downed rider - lying face down on the road and not moving - I am watching for Any movement in his chest area to signify breathing. The guy in the beanie is standing there with a scared-sh!tless look on his face at all these "bikies" and his hands up - like if a cop tells you to put up your hands.

By the time I pull up to get out my first aid kit, another rider has his out and three people are on the phone to emergency services - bring an ambulance and the police. What the hell happened?

The car in question is NOT damaged. There is gravel the bike slid on, but the scrapes in the road start at the start of the gravel, so the bike was already on the way down by the time it reached the gravel. What the?

I find a black line. Rubber? I look at it from further away. It starts thin, gets thicker, starts to bend and gets thicker again - and the bend points to the scratches.

Ok. So the rider is riding along. Car pulls out - didn't see the bike but I'll explain why in a sec - NOW sees bike and starts to accelerate out of the way. Too late, the bike, which could have simple gone down the side road the car come from, or gone behind the car, grabs a bulk load of brake. Tire locks. Skid. Starts to go sideways. Instead of now keeping the brake locked until control is retained, brake is released. Highside onto head and side. Knocked out for maybe 30 seconds as that's how long it takes for people to pull up to get to him and about how far behind I was. He started to move and painfully turns himself onto his back. We keep him there until the Ambulance comes to secure his neck before removing his helmet.

Cops arrive. Take statements. Beanie man is apologetic all over the place. Breaks down and cries a few times while we are there - composes himself, cries, composes, cries. After the cops are done and leave and the ambulance has the rider on board - broken ribs and some concussion - and the driver can go, he starts crying again as he drives off.

So how do you NOT see 20 bikes? Well, road is like a Y shape. He is coming from the top-left part of the Y onto the main road which is bottom-to-top-right (reverse this for US - that is, coming from top right). As such, he has to see partially behind him for traffic from his left. SO... as he approaches the intersection he looks to his right. Coast is clear, checks over should to left (while doing so, bikes now come around the bend). Seeing left is clear he keeps going and as his head comes back around he sees the bikes. He'd being thinking "where did they come from?" Without realising why they suddenly appeared. Plants foot to get out of there.

He admitted full fault and that the bikes were NOT speeding.

Mistakes the rider made...

Once rear was locked, he released it before having full control of the bike - before the bike was going/pointing straight again.
He jumped onto the brake instead of avoiding the object - there were two paths away from the object.

Close call to impact. But rider down and in hospital. And alive.

Michael

Quote from: plewis51 on August 18, 2010, 08:41:33 PM
Being able to kick another vehicle = very close.... I was driving near the turn around and a mini van who was waiting for traffic to clear started to come out on me. The person once again had full eye contact with me. I swerved around their front end, they slammed on the brakes, and I just shook my head. What the hell is the matter with people when they totally see you!! The safety course I took was totally right about eye contact does not mean they see you!!

It is etched in my memory forever.  It was February, 1987.  I was on my way to play bar league hockey.  A 17-year-old boy in a white Century was waiting to turn left.  He looked right at me then pulled out just as I approached.  I only had time to take my foot off the accelerator and put my foot on the brake.  T-boned him so hard I folded his roof and put him in the hospital.  His front and rear wheels were no longer parallel.  Totaled my brand new Nissan as it was now two feet shorter.  I can still see him looking at me.

There is a preview button prior to actually posting..... LOL.

Anyways I had a lady try and overrun my lane as everyone was stopped on an off ramp. She was right alongside me and I raised my hands and moved up. She pretended not to see anything and stayed her distance behind me.

Thanks for ruining another thread.......   

HOmer:

Every time you do this sh!t, you show people how you truly are. Loony!

Look at you. How many threads of mine have you had to go search through, to post your little cut/paste thing here? Man, there really is something wrong with you, isn't there? How much time did you spend looking for old posts and then reading them to cut paste your selected bits?

Unfortunately for you, your time has been wasted. You see, I am Indifferent to you. While you, on the other hand, have got a hate on for me. Fair enough. So, for all the world to see, let your seething hatred rise up even more and overcome you. Show everyone what a psychic vampire you are.

A psychic vampire is someone who tries to psychologically manipulate people by repeatedly playing the victim. (And you always seem to be a victim, don't you, HOmer? Poor Homer, has got bad neighbors, someone told him to HTFU, his bike was faulty when he bought it, almost ruined his life cause of a video game, etc., etc., Ad infinitum.) They are also known to use emotional type blackmail - such as maybe giving you something (could be a physical thing or just Do something for you) and then use this against you as You Owe Them (you tried that in the picture game, didn't work eh?). And get VERY upset when you brush off their machinations. The result is, you feel drained after dealing/interacting with these people.

So HOmer, why don't you build a bridge and get over it. HTFU.... and after you've done that, come back here, play the victim some more and whine like a little girl that you got told to HTFU. And then come back again, and again, and again, and keep playing the victim and mentioning how poor old you got told to HTFU. And then, after that, come back again and mention again how you were told to HTFU. But, make sure you put on your girls blouse first. Oh, and throw on your skirt too, you big wussy girl.

Arnie would call you a girlieman. But that implies there is some man there. I don't think there is man there. I just think there is whiney little girl stuff inside you.

So now.... save this post to your dossier on me or your little search thing or whatever so you can use it later when you play the victim again, or once again need to remind us all you were once told to HTFU. Or when you feel the need to show us all what a fruitloop you are.

Now run along, be careful not to fall which would see you come here to tell us all (I have my violin standing by to play it for you just in case you need that sad song played), and take your special medicine. Cause dude, you are not right in the head at all.



Michael