Close calls

[chunkygoat]

I've had my bike for a couple of months now and had no serious incidents YET. I've had quite a few "oh crap" moments though.

I used too much back break once and skidded on wet pavement trying to slow to make a turn I was about to pass. Luckily i let off and straightened the bars and recovered. I've also slid on wet paint once, and gravel another time, but luckily pulled out both of those times too. I always encounter oblivious drives that cut me off. I've been driven off the road now, pushed onto the shoulder, and had to accelerate and decelerate to avoid crappy drivers moving into my lane or pulling out in front.

I like to think i'm a good rider. But i've had a number close calls now within just a few months and its kinda freaking me out.



But i love it.

 

[YamahaMAXdRPMs]

i had a couple close calls once, but one of the funnier ones, (not really funny but not as dangerous as it could have been) was riding with a buddy of mine, coming up on a light that was turning yellow, we were at that point where its do or die, either gas it or slam the brakes, so i look at him to see if he is going to stop and has not hit his brakes yet, so i keep going, within a second i see his brake lights come on. so i slammed it, locked the back up and started to fishtale, right away i eased off the back and went through the freshly changed red, luckily there were no cars around and i just waited for the light to change for my buddy to come. usually i would have just gone and let him catch up, or stopped and caught up to him depending on if he would have gone or not, but i guess it was just (i thought) easier to stop this time. oh well. Emergency stopping practice

 

[OZXJR]

I had a close call looking at 2 nice looking girls on the side of the road without looking to see if the traffic light was green or red ......................it was red

 

[Wolfman]

I had a close call about two weeks ago.....hit gravel, braking for a corner, on a downhill corner, at about 75km/h. Both wheels let go..somehow managed to keep bike upright, and push off a cliff face, and get myself back out into the middle of the road!

 

[DefyInertia]

Chunky, you have to pretend that you're invisible. I was pretty young/immature when I started riding on the street and it took me a while to wrap my head around the fact even though the other driver was usually in the wrong, if I failed to anticipate/avoid other peoples' bad moves, I would be the one in the ER, not them. Riding on the street is not easy...I'm much more apprehensive about riding across town than I am about doing doing 250 miles at the track on a Saturday.

Basically there is an endless amount of ways to improve your riding. I often hear people say that when it comes to riding on the street, you start with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience...the key is to sufficiently fill the experience/skill bag before the luck bag runs out.

Defensive driving FTW! The amount of jerks on the road will probably only increase...it's up to you and only you to decrease the "oh ****" moments. Sounds obvious but it remains an every-ride challenge for even the most experienced out there.

 

[necrotimus]

I've had three and they all invlve back tire lock-ups...

The first was shortly after I started riding as I was slowing to a turn and I downshifted and let the clutch out without getting on the throttle. The downshift spiked the rpms to high and the gear change loked the rear wheel. Kept my balance and rode it out.

The second time was because I trusted my wife too much. She was driving in front of me in a turn where you can't see the stop light. She ran it and I realized I wouldn't make it before the cross traffic was moving. I probably would have been fine but alot of oil colelcts at that intersection. Back end got loose and came to a stop mostly sideways.

The third time had multiple causes. Light turned yellow and I got on the brakes and had time to stop. Heard SUV lock tires behind me. Let off brakes too create distance and should have just run the light at this point but instead after opening some distance I applied the brakes again. Too much rear and it got loose on me. Stopped past the line but in no danger. The dick SUV passed me illegally on the shoulder after I stalled because I thought I had downshifted all the way to first.

I need to practice my rear braking more but its tough when your adrenalin gets going in a real situation not to apply too much. I'm debating just never using it but I keep practicing.

 

[CanadianFZ6]

I've had my bike for a couple of months now and had no serious incidents YET. I've had quite a few \"oh crap\" moments though.

I like to think i'm a good rider. But i've had a number close calls now within just a few months and its kinda freaking me out.



But i love it.

I wouldn't exactly call that being a good rider..... I have only one or two close calls within the last 5 years!.... Slow down, maybe take a course before you run out of luck....

 

[04fizzer]

I've had close calls of both my own doing, and not, though it's all related back to the rider (choices of line, speed, etc.).

I've hit road snakes (crack filler) at about 30mph on a decent lean and almost lost it. I've hydroplaned in a corner, as well as hitting wet leaves/rocks in corners that unsettle the bike.

One morning, on my way into work, I was impatient and shot past a line of cars heading to an on-ramp. I got into it too hot, and almost missed the on-ramp, and nearly clipped the curb on the outside of it (it's a 270-degree on-ramp, so it had a decent radius. It'd be more fun if they hadn't used so much crack filler on it).

 

[chunkygoat]

Chunky, you have to pretend that you're invisible. I was pretty young/immature when I started riding on the street and it took me a while to wrap my head around the fact even though the other driver was usually in the wrong, if I failed to anticipate/avoid other peoples' bad moves, I would be the one in the ER, not them. Riding on the street is not easy...I'm much more apprehensive about riding across town than I am about doing doing 250 miles at the track on a Saturday.

Basically there is an endless amount of ways to improve your riding. I often hear people say that when it comes to riding on the street, you start with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience...the key is to sufficiently fill the experience/skill bag before the luck bag runs out.

Defensive driving FTW! The amount of jerks on the road will probably only increase...it's up to you and only you to decrease the \"oh ****\" moments. Sounds obvious but it remains an every-ride challenge for even the most experienced out there.

Thanks man, that sounds like a good mindset to try to keep. And most of the time it feels like i am invisible on the road.

and to Canadian, quit the nay'sayin', I'm already freaked out. i'm still new and am learning my limits as far as how quickly i can brake, how far i can lean, etc. All of my close calls though ended in my favor SO FAR. so i'm doing something right - and i haven't made the same mistake twice yet.

 

[MarinaFazer]

i've had a some close calls, but nothing beats day 2 on my second bike, a Suzuki SV650, which was upgrading from the Rebel 250. I craved the torque and did 90mph on an offramp. Thought I'd make the light but couldn't. Came skidding through the intersection, front chattering & rear skidding. That probably emptied about half my luck bag LOL

slowed down and learned since then taking it easy. no biggies besides the usual cutting off from cars and such. I like to think nothing has been my fault since that one experience that could easily have made me a statistic...

ps: i pulled over to check the pants

pps: if you think dragging knee makes you good, go to a parking lots, go in circles faster and faster until you do. There...you've touched knee. now go ride safe. LOL

 

[FizzySix]

I've had my bike for a couple of months now and had no serious incidents YET. I've had quite a few \\\"oh crap\\\" moments though.

I like to think i'm a good rider. But i've had a number close calls now within just a few months and its kinda freaking me out.

From your "What do you find most entertaining" thread:

I love windy roads, being able to lean far over and take turns faster than most drivers on the road. At the same time i like driving through traffic - passing people on the right when they're turning left, driving where cars can't fit, etc.

Putting these together, it sounds like you're riding beyond your limits (or being new, discovering what your limits are, and finding them just ever so slightly behind what the current situation demands).

Not to sound like your dad here, but you might want to consider easing up a bit before your luck runs out, and gradually grow your skills on and off the bike from there such that you continually increase your skill/fun without any more close calls. We've got a whole winter coming up to read books, practice vision skills in our cages, etc.

We don't want to see you start another thread that begins "I wrecked my beautiful bike today...."

 

[chunkygoat]

I ride easy maybe 90% of the time. I'm not concerned so much about the other 10%, but rather the conditions beyond my control.

Thanks for the advice though, I'm a very impulsive person and its hard not to take advantage of being on a bike.

 

[keira]

I'm a very impulsive person and its hard not to take advantage of being on a bike.

this comment makes me scared for you. Impulsive should not mean stupid, but in many cases, uncontrolled impulses have led to injuries or death. Have I had Oh Sh*t moments? Yeah, sure. But they were my fault, riding too hard for my skills or the conditions, or just being blissfully unaware of all the things that could have happened. I have also had situations where I have been cutoff, swerved into, lane-changed on (yes, someone actually came 85% of the way into my lane before I punched their window with my kevlar-lined knuckles). Do I think of those as "Oh sh*t" moments though? no, I don't. Those are par for the course on a motorcycle, where you are invisible to the majority of drivers.

The real "Oh Sh*t" moments are the ones that it is your fault, and the only way to minimize them is to work your way up to high skills (don't just pretend you have them already), stay within your comfort zone (it will get larger, I promise), and don't do things that are just plain stupid. Getting to be experienced takes time, and if you spend your first few months riding like an idiot, one of these days you won't be so lucky.


And I don't want to read that thread......

 

[abacall]

Take it easy man. There's a very real learning curve to riding a bike. I learned that the hard way. Twist of the wrist gave me one of the best rules to live by. Ride within 75% of your ability (when pushing), that way you can always make some corrections when needed.
It's a great read...

There comes a point that you feel like you're "getting it" and you start building confidence. You start pushing it a bit more and more. It's all good, but remember that there is NO replacement for experience.
My suggestion is simple, once you start feeling confident, go out on the track to improve. Get your thrills there and keep riding "normal" on the streets where you can get hit by a car, or run over by a truck if you low-side......
Ever see a car make an unexpected turn, or in your lane? What would happen if you're leaned over and can't get out of the way?

I got confident after three months, I started pushing it. I had enough sense to really only push it on roads that there were no cars. One day I lost it, and my bike.
Wear gear, and build your skills in controlled environments.

 

[AlanB]

I was a new rider a year and a half ago and haven't had nearly the close calls you've had, even with 7,000 miles in fairly dense traffic. Watch your space cushion. If they are pushing you off the road, you must spend a fair amount of time beside cars. I go from sufficiently behind to stop to visible at their front fender very quickly, like I was passing rather than just driving in the next lane. So far has worked for me.

 

[AlanB]

Take it easy man. There's a very real learning curve to riding a bike. I learned that the hard way. Twist of the wrist gave me one of the best rules to live by. Ride within 75% of your ability (when pushing), that way you can always make some corrections when needed.
It's a great read...

That advice saved my bacon a couple of weeks ago in the twisties. I was headed uphill and some jackass in leathers playing Rossi was headed downhill passing well over the double yellow through the curves. I rounded to come headlight to headlight with him, but because I was at 70% I was able to immediately adjust to the outside of my lane. If I was doing the same as him, we'd both be dead. Close call? Depends on your definition, I guess. Scared the crap outta me, but had enough room to correct so I don't feel like we almost collided. My 19 year old son was with me - fortunately behind me - and it made a GREAT object lesson for him.

 

[champion221elite]

I had one close call this Summer and it happened in a parking lot. I was leaving the parking lot and was headed out towards the main road. I was moving maybe 10 mph. when I caught movement out of the corner of my left eye. It was a tan colored Buick Lucerne (Elderly Driver) who was moving perpendicular to my direction of travel. The old timer never saw me, and I had to fully apply both brakes to avoid a "T" Bone accident.

He stopped and mouthed the word "Sorry" to me. I acknowledged his apology, and shook my head in disgust while the realization of what could have happened finally sunk in.

You can never be impatient while riding a motorcycle. Never assume other motorists see you either, and don't write a check your ass can't cash. Basically, ride within your limits... experience will come with seat time.

 

[Botch]

Chunkygoat, your thread sounds extremely similar to my experience when I first started last summer, I think I even started a thread something like "What's your close call per mile ratio". I had four VERY close calls the first 300 miles, all other drivers' fault, and was about to sell the bike.
Things never have been as bad as that first month or so, guess it was just beginner's bad luck. Hopefully things will smooth out for you too, hang in there and be careful! :thumbup:
EDIT: okay, I didn't see this second page until just now, but my advice is the same, be careful!

 

[chunkygoat]

My rider coach always said that most accidents occur within the first 6 months of riding (actually a percentage, i forget what it is though).

And on top of that I'm used to driving a ford explorer. Slow, but big - I was always afraid of nothing. Having the power of the fz6 in my hand, I feel like i'm just getting past the initial thrill and shock of how fast and exciting it is.

And only 2 of my "close calls" were my fault. The 3 or 4 were other people being idiots. Every close call was very well handled on my part and I barely consider them close calls because I had it fully under control and saw them coming.

I've calmed down since. I'm still learning that precious balance of fun and safety. I'm still learning and will be for a long time to come.