Accidents or near misses?

FSTZ1

Well-Known Member
Just looking out the window here at work. Snowing so bad here in the worst weather city in the country that our CEO sent an email out letting us all go at 3:00 PM, 2 hours early. But I was just wondering if anyone has ever been in a crash on a motorcycle or had any near misses. Personally I have never gone down on a motorcycle in 40 years of riding. I had a front tire blow out on my old Suzuki GT 750 while going about 40 MPH. I was all over the road but I managed to keep it up and bring it to a stop. Wore the hell out of the bottom of my shoes though. And of course I've had the usual cagers pull out in front of me like I wasn't even there. Kinda of makes you want to plant your foot into their door.
 
Back in 2002, brand new (to me, 3rd ride) R1100RT BMW. Cruising 55 MPH ready to go through an intersection. Only other traffic is an oncoming Ford pickup truck in his right hand lane (there was a center turn lane). I notice the driver is on the cell phone and then he decides he is going to make a left turn in front of me. Gets part way into the intersection and stops. I hit the front driver's side of the bumper at about 50 MPH and a 45 degree angle. Slid forward and LUCKILY, just as my shin hit the bumper, the bike threw me off to the right, around/over the truck. Major tramua to my left shin, but no break (as far as I know). Bike was totalled (forks bent, frame bent, motor cracked, etc). Force of the impact broke the trucks left spindle in half. Luckily there were witnesses who saw all but the cell phone so the driver couldn't lie to the police. Police were nice and gave ma a ride home.

The truck driver's insurance company paid in full the price I paid for the bike.

Sometimes, you can't react fast enough.

Cheers,

MrHix
 
In September of this year I had a 2006 FJR1300, I rode it all of the time for commuting to work. I had a few close calls with cars and people talking on their cell phones. What happened to me was cars would move over into my lane without looking and talking on their phone, they start looking partway into their lane change. By that time I had either put on brakes to slow down if I had no one behind me, or punch it to quickly get out of the way. The FJR does not accelerate as quickly as the FZ1 but its not a dog either. The reason I sold my bike was that I thought ...even if I am right in my driving, if there is an accident, I still lose everytime on a bike. Well, that lasted about two months, I missed having a bike too much and got the FZ1 I currently have. Luckily no accidents, just have to drive careful and really avoid the blind spots.
 
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^^^

Yeah, I know what you mean. First, I must say that cagers around here are excellent. CA is kinda like Euro in that the cagers could care less about bikes and almost always give a few inches of room.

A little less true in SoCal, though.

However, on the slab/freeway, I'm kinda like a hummingbird. Cagers don't tailgate, but if a rare one gets too close (I'm usually in the no. 1 lane), just split up traffic a little till I get some more room.

If I see a cager changing lanes from 3 to 2, I'll chop a little if the possibility exists that they want my position in no. 1 lane.

When I change lanes I kinda dodge around the traffic, safely, not too fast as then I'm causing problems, but quick enough so cagers know that the bike has steriods, if you know what I mean.

Slab intersections I hang out in no. 1 lane as the cagers may jockey to get over. I stay outta their way.

City traffic. Like the above rider experienced, I don't wanna experience. I use cagers as shields when possible. One in front is perfect, I just hang back a few yards, far enough so that he doesn't think I'm too close, but close enough so that I have time to clear oncoming.

Also, when I see on coming side traffic, I'll move the bike over so I can see the driver, then move back over in case he doesn't see me. Give me more time.

Accident:

I was in Santa Cruz, on a city street heading back into the twists, half way through my loop. In front of UCSC, I'm following a couple babes. She turns right, and I pass on her left.

NOPE, she doing a freakin U-TURN! Right when I hit her, hard, on her door, her window's down (warm summer day), I think, 'just like Washington DC,' the idiot cagers their often do a U turn unexpectedly.

I'm braking and all this stuff starts flying around. I thought it was my bike. So, I think, 'crap, bike's breaking up, I just let it go.' My legs are long, I just stand up and let the bike go. Falls on it's side.

I pick it up and push it to the side. Looks great, but bent the bars and dented the akra can because I let it drop.

I'm thinking, what was that stuff flying around? It WAS HER HONDA CAGE. Her mirror, her molding, other stuff that I can't recall. Huge dent in her door, but she was OK.

They were Iranian or Iraqi college students. So fresh off the boat that when I pulled out the state farm card, her friend says, 'what's state farm?' wow.

I told her that I'll pay for my bike, but let's exchange info. (I hated that big akra can and wanted the graves. Didn't like the stock bars, either.) She said, right, you'll call be later that you hurt your arm. I said, worried that the po-po will get there before we get clear out, 'not to worry. I'm fine. I throw your info in the trash in one week after I call you to say all is fine with me and the bike.

I did exactly that. Complete my ride with those bent bars and had a great time on the 70 miles of twisties to reach home.

Thank you Lord.
 
Thank God I haven't had any really big OH Sh&%* moments on the bike, either the FZ or my previous bike. Perhaps because I always keep a St. Christopher medal under the seat and had the bike blessed by our parish priest when I first got it. It's true, I did.

But once on my old Seca II I was stopped at a stop sign. Then it was clear to go. The cage behind me started to go faster than I and plowed into my rear. Luckily he stopped quickly and more fortunately the height of his bumper was exactly, I mean EXACTLY, high enough so that it just kind of got wedged in between the rear tire and fender perfectly straight-on. I wasn't thrown sideways at all. After I got off I just kind of rocked the bike off easily. There was no damage at all except a slightly bent license plate. Not even a scratch. How lucky was that?

However I can't tell you how many times I've been in near accidents in the car. Not too long ago some jackass on Rt. 18 in E. Brunswick, NJ cut across two lanes to turn into a strip mall. It was a three lane section of Rt. 18. He was in the left lane. I was in the right. I had to really jam on the brakes as did another car in the middle lane. It was only a few feet away from being an accident at about 45mph. I often wonder in those situations, "what if I was on the bike?" But then on the bike I pay much more attention to the surrounding drivers than I do in the car. In the car it' easy to get listening to tunes or whatever. Not that I'm a distracted car driver, it's just I pay attention to the Nth dgree while on the bike.
 
I've had everything from being thrown down (with my wife on the rear) due to hitting antifreeze in the road to being rear-ended at a Canadian intersection in Sault Ste. Marie and everything in between. You learn to deal with the unexpected and just do the best you can. I will say that I've never left the scene bleeding but I had have my breast bone cracked. Like they say, there are two types of riders, those that have been down and those that will go down. Be careful and be alert.
 
My first FZ1....had to take it off road to avoid an accident...wear your gear it probably saved my life.

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as they say around here, there are two groups of motorcyclists. Those still to fall and those already fallen. Must admit I belong to the second group.

First accident was with my first bike ever (Suzuki GS850) at the age of 22. Young and no real bike experience caught up when going to fast in a 90° left turn. Second accident (Honda CB400FII) was loosing the front wheel in a turn over (so it revealed later) an oil spil. Called the police who checked, but could not find pollutor.... Third hit was on the highway during traffic jam (Kawasaki GPZ1100). Cages were standing almost still and I was passing trough the lanes at a calm speed, when suddenly a cage changed without warning lane 2m in front of me.
And fourth was not really an accident, but a last lap gone a bit sore on the track (FZ1).
In all accidents I never was hurt thanks to always wearing good gear....just the ego got bruised (spellec correctly?) and the wallet some € lighter
 
Just one wreck here on my first bike. My EX500 back in my squid days. City bus made a u-turn in front of me blocking all three lanes. It had just started to rain and was quite slick. I tried to stop and locked up my rear a bit. Recovered but then I was so close to the bus that I just locked everything up and went down. At that point I was probably only going 15 mph or so.

All the cagers actually jumped out of their cars to check on me. The bus started to leave and some of the cagers banged on the door and made her stop. Good for me because the cop that showed up wrote her a ticket for failure to yield right of way. That ticket meant all my problems were taken care of without involving insurance.

No real injuries, just a bruise on my arm. I also had scrapes all the way across my visor so I know that would have been my face even at a low speed.

So I appreciate these stories but I always ask...
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?

1. I learned gear is important and always wore good gear from that point on.
2. Slow down in the rain. Though I was going the speed limit I could have totally prevented this wreck.
3. Never assume that anyone will yield right of way.
4. Always assume that person in the median or at the intersection is going to do something stupid that will jeopardize your life.

It was a great lesson!
 
Ride like they're crazy

I always ride like the people around me are out to kill me. Always alert and never complacent. Other than the one near miss that I wrote about in another thread that involved a little race, I have had very few notable close calls. I am trying to keep it that way. The start of the season is always the most challenging.

And remember " Grey haired motorcyclists didn't get that way by sheer luck":2cents:
 
Only one accident and it was with my first bike. Riding in the city and I was coming up to a traffic light. There was a car going in the opposite direction stopped at the light and waiting to make a left. I was only doing about 20-25 MPH, but he just turned right in front of me as I got to the intersection. Hit the brakes and tried to steer away for the car (big 80's Cadillac), but locked the front wheel and I went down. Bike hit his front bumper and I hit the ground. Scrapped my helmet and jacket and bruised my leg pretty good because I had some keys in my pocket and they just dug into my thigh. He claimed the typical "I didn't see you and you must have been going too fast". His insurance paid for all the damages to my bike since clearly I had the right of way. Ever since then I am very cautious when I approach intersections and have two fingers on my brake lever just in case.

Have had other close calls of mostly "cagers" not paying attention, but I was so nothing happened. I tend to stay very focused and alert when I ride and don't even think about riding w/o all of my safety gear. Don't listen to music either when I'm riding. The motor provides all the music I need :D
 
@ scout....if the cage was at fault, why opt to part with you own hard earned cash?

I tend to keep a safe distance in city traffic, truly believe that how you drive in a cage will reflect ones livelyhood on the bike.

I've had a few close calls on the superslab during rush hour, but I'm still riding.

but I'm barely a 3 year old in my motorcycle journey around you veterans.....
 
Yeah, riding in the rain. First, the regular power do great in the wet. HOWEVER, any foreign mix with wet and it's all about some sliding.

I have a 4x4 f150. Tires worn buy still good. Got a first hand experience about oil/wet mix. Rain started a couple months ago. Had to go out. At EVERY city interaction, no matter how easy I was on the throttle, the back slid out.

Oil and wet. Kept thinking that if I was on the bike, I'd not be having a party. Bought new tires and that helped a lot. But it reminded me that it's not just the wet, but whatever else that with the water will cause us problems.
 
@ scout....if the cage was at fault, why opt to part with you own hard earned cash?

I tend to keep a safe distance in city traffic, truly believe that how you drive in a cage will reflect ones livelyhood on the bike.

I've had a few close calls on the superslab during rush hour, but I'm still riding.

but I'm barely a 3 year old in my motorcycle journey around you veterans.....

Because they were hawt babes. Can't think straight when everything's normal, and much less when around some lookers. They know it, too.

My mistake for totally misjudging them. But it became clearer once I found out that they just arrived here from wherever. CA cagers are the best, and they think nothing of giving me the pass signal by moving over a couple inches even when I'm not asking.

Ya have to live here to fully enjoy riding around these cagers. Anyway, I let my guard down outta habit. She did that weird girlie thing by veering right to turn LEFT on the U Turn. Such a waste of energy, no signal of course, and I always back off with cager signals, for sure.

When she veered right, I knew she was NOT giving me the signal to pass, but thought she was pulling over to park, which college goers do in that area. She was, but she wanted to park on the OTHER side!

When I hit her, she looked up right at that moment of impact. Just a pure beauty. Came out crying. You know how that goes.

Once I saw no injuries, we didn't need police, and wanted no part of their report because on my record of being involved. Not good. So I bowed out as fast as possible by offering to pay my own way.

Worked out well for me.
 
Older and wiser….. In Sept of 2004 I was heading up to one of the local mountain villages on my freshly cleaned 100th Anniversary Edition Full Dress Harley Road Glide. It was a typically perfect So Cal day. Mid 70s, clear skies, t-shirt weather.

I was heading up the back road of the mountain full of twist and turns. I was by myself but had traveled this road many a time. Almost every turn offered a view of the valleys below and the sky above. You could smell the pine trees. All my senses were alive.

I headed into a sharp left hander a little too hard, about 35mph. I had to go wide and in doing so drifted into the marbles along the outside edge of the road. I was doing everything I could to keep the bike upright.

At some point I think I panicked and locked everything up, my arms, my legs and the brakes. I smacked the mountain almost head on. The last thing I remember was the impact. Thank god it was the mountain side and not the cliff side. Things might have been different.

The next thing I remember was lying on my back at the side of the road and looking up at a group of people that were looking down at me. I remember someone yelling to another that my eyes were open but I would need an ambulance.

I tried to get up but when I tried to lift my left leg I could feel the bones “clicking” together. This was one I wasn’t walking away from. My left forearm was under the back of my head but I couldn’t move it.

I remember looking down across my chest through my legs and seeing that beautiful Harley completely demolished lying in the middle of the road. It looked like a naked bike. There wasn’t a single fiberglass piece on it anymore. The side cases, top box, and fairing were spread all over the road along with their contents.

I had a compound fracture to my left tibia & fibula. A nice stainless steel rod on the inside from my knee to my ankle kept things in check along with a brace on the outside. I completely demolished the humorous bone in my left arm and needed to have additional bone added along with a plate and thirteen screws.

I spent a week in the hospital and month in a hospital bed in my living room. I was in a wheelchair for a month after that and a cane for yet another month. I went back to work after the third month I had all the plates screws and rods removed after about six months.

I learned several things during the mishap. One is panic overcomes talent. I probably would have been able to steer out of it if I could have remained calm. The second thing learned is daytime television sucks.

I still ride everyday but I ride a little smarter and a little wiser. I still have close calls but I am much more prepared now. My eyes are always moving. I try to anticipate what someone else might do. If you can see their eyes there’s a good chance they can see you.

I wish I had a digital camera. I'd love to show you the pictures.:eek:
 
I remember looking down across my chest through my legs and seeing that beautiful Harley completely demolished lying in the middle of the road. It looked like a naked bike. There wasn’t a single fiberglass piece on it anymore. The side cases, top box, and fairing were spread all over the road along with their contents.

I had a compound fracture to my left tibia & fibula. A nice stainless steel rod on the inside from my knee to my ankle kept things in check along with a brace on the outside. I completely demolished the humorous bone in my left arm and needed to have additional bone added along with a plate and thirteen screws.

I spent a week in the hospital and month in a hospital bed in my living room. I was in a wheelchair for a month after that and a cane for yet another month. I went back to work after the third month I had all the plates screws and rods removed after about six months.
.:eek:

Yeah, once in the gravel in a lean, miracle to get out, unless you're running knobbies. Did you have any gear at all? Serious injuries for about 35 mph.

lol, daytime TV. Geez, when is TV good? About all we have is sports, then you have to like watching games to enjoy TV.

Were you going up toward Apple Valley, Crestline or like Julien? Use to live down there, but the traffic was always bad even in the rural areas.

Reminds me of a wild bike video that I understood fully. The riders were running way hawt in heavy traffic, just passing and making the cagers upset and scaring them. But I knew what they were doing. Not good though.

Are you on the FZ now?
 
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Yeah, once in the gravel in a lean, miracle to get out, unless you're running knobbies. Did you have any gear at all? Serious injuries for about 35 mph.

lol, daytime TV. Geez, when is TV good? About all we have is sports, then you have to like watching games to enjoy TV.

Were you going up toward Apple Valley, Crestline or like Julien? Use to live down there, but the traffic was always bad even in the rural areas.

Reminds me of a wild bike video that I understood fully. The riders were running way hawt in heavy traffic, just passing and making the cagers upset and scaring them. But I knew what they were doing. Not good though.

Are you on the FZ now?

Even though I was only wearing a pair of jeans and leather vest, I don't think it would have mattered. The impact is what broke everything. Imagine running into a giant rock at 35. It's the sudden stop that hurts ya. I was also wearing one of the cruiser beany helmets. It was scratched up but no head injuries...... Maybe there was brain damage?!?! lol

I was actually going to Big Bear Mountain via Highway 38 out of Redlands. You come down the front side through Arrowhead and Running Springs on my way back home.

Yes, I ride my FZ1 every day back and forth to work. It replaces my 07 Triumph Tiger and it's light years ahead of that bike in speed, handling, braking, ride and with less weight.

I had a first Gen FZ1 back in 01. Loved it then love the Gen II now.
 
I had a near miss last fall. I was taking a left at a light with 2 turn lanes and i was behind two cars. Well little did i relize is was sitting there in a puddle of oil wating for the light to turn green. As we went through the turn there is another light just as you make the turn and it turned red. Part my fault i do think i took off a little to fast but as the two cars in front of me slammed on there breaks ( one on the left and one right in front of me) I hit the breaks and oh S*&T no traction. So two options at this point eat the back of the car in front of me or shoot beween them and pray i can beet the cars starting to enter the intersection. I cant say i realy had time to think about it but luckly i went between the cars and cleared the oncoming traffic. LESSON never stand in oil and think you can stop fast.
 
hit a cow head on at 60, somehow i didn't eat it. he pushed up this t hill with a barbwire fence. i rode on the wire for about a hundred yards trying to keep the bike from going down. didn't succeed. hit a bump and caught some air. then i landed and got tangled in the barbedwire. somehow i came out of that crash without even the smallest scratch. only my leg was sore from the cow's impact. funny part though, i hit him so hard he crapped on my pipe. i thought it was mud, but found out different when i tried to clean it off. oh, and this happened on superbowl sunday of last year. i had only had my new fz1 for three months. but insurance covered everything and then some
 

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In the fall of 2007 I was out ridding the backroads of Rolla, MO with a buddy. He was on a 2006 R6 and I was on my BROTHER'S 1989 YZF600. This was right after winning my first MMA fight so I thought I was the biggest BA in the world, I had on no shirt and shorts, thank god I had a helmet on. We ran down a set of twisties then we decided to go back through one more time on the way back. I came up on a tight blind turn at about 75-80 mph and completly blanked. By the time I realized what was going on it was to late to make the turn so I tried to save it in the yard right behind the turn. What I didn't see was the ditch right off the road before getting to the yard.

I remember hitting the ditch but blacked out while in the air. When I came to everything was black. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that my head was lodged in a sewer pipe that ran under a driveway entrance. I was unable to get myself out and am very thankful I was riding with someone. When he came up on the wreck all he could see was a body! Needless to say he freeked out. With his help I was able to get the helmet unhooked so I could get my head out. I can't imagine what the owner of the house would have thought to look out the window to see bike parts thrown across their lawn and a guy bleeding rolling around on the ground.

I was lucky to have a broken collar bone and serious road rash all down my back and legs. I kept the helmet as a reminder to never ride without the proper gear ever again.
 
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