Share your greatest mistake so others can learn

FinalImpact

2 Da Street, Knobs R Gone
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I'd like everyone to share two educational moments so that others can learn from our mistakes. The goal being "real world events" other can learn from.

In three years of riding the FZ I've repeated two mistakes which could have ended badly. Both are identical in nature and you're all gonna question "what was he thinking"... That's why I'm writing!


1) Trusting the cage. Don't do it. I was separated from my riding partner but in no hurry to make a pass. I waited and waited for a long straight stretch with no apparent options for a cage to turn left on and take me out as collateral damage. I didn't wait long enough.
I'd been behind this little truck for 6+ miles and it seemed like a good place at the time but I was wrong as there WAS A WIDE SPOT and he wanted to turn around. I was at his door when I see him begin to slow AND THEN HE's coming left into me!! I was steering left toward the shoulder, locked the back as I didn't skoot back enough on the seat and/or apply enough front brake but I did steer left and braked hard enough to prevent being ran over. He made his turn and all was well as I fell back in line on the right side of the road. It could have ended badly!!

2) Much like #1 in that I was behind a string of 3 cages held up by a car being towed up the pass. On a long straight stretch I gave the cages lots of time to pass the tow truck we'd all been behind it for 20 minutes on an uphill grade at half the posted to speed. I thought people would want past him at the first chance but no one moved to do so. So before the straight section ended I pull out for the pass. The car right in front of me almost took me out!
- Like above I waited and looked through the rear window of this car keeping an eye on the driver, about the time I was at his bumper (me now in opposing lane of traffic), the guy whips over nearly taking me out. I steered quickly to the shoulder applying some brakes and avoided this one with and followed for the pass.

Summary; passing nearly took me out twice despite waiting and watching for the best opportunity; I misjudged others intentions even though I was looking at the base of the there skull for any head nod that might indicate a lane change. Those are my two close calls in 3 years, 15,000 miles and lots of spirited riding.. .. .. Bottom line, some people just don't check their mirrors. That is my cue they may move. Neither driver moved their head at all and just turned left!
 

FIZZER6

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1. Using a GPS on your bike in unfamiliar territory with no audio. Don't do it. A GPS is distracting in a car, much more so on a bike! It almost cost me my life. I was paying attention to the GPS, made a left at a solid green light, didn't realize the oncoming truck that had been stopped a second earlier at a red light now had a green light and had floored it off the line, coming right at me. That was the first and only spill I have had on the street, low side at 12 mph as I locked up both brakes in panic, mid turn. The truck stopped just inches short of running over both me and my bike. Without the GPS distraction this could have been avoided.

2. Assuming that large scavenger birds (vultures/buzzards)on the side of the road will fly away from your path before you get to them. No. I was hit with a 7 lb vulture square in the forehead of my helmet at 60 mph because instead of slowing down and blowing the horn, I assumed they would fly off to the side as I approached! Nearly took me off the bike as one of them slammed into my head and I had a stiff neck for weeks. Now I am much more cautious around animals or birds near the roadway.
 
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Recluse420

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1.) Getting off my bike at a stop light to be the "big man"

2.) Pressure washing the speedo

3.) Financing a new bike when there is plenty to be picked up in great condition for well under $5k

4.) Installing heated grips, get some nice gloves and a pair of elephant ears

5.) Did I mention I wish I didn't buy a new bike?
 

dpaul007

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I only have one: Do not ride your bike in wet grass! I made this mistake, and it was only a 10-15' patch of grass, too. I was going slow across it in first gear, hit a small bump in the grass that in turn bumped my right wrist enough (we know how touchy the bike is in first gear!) to make the rear end kick out and down I went. Pride = hurt.
 

Botch

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- Do your absolute best to stifle a sneeze while wearing a full-faced helmet.

:tard:
 

lawlberg

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Looking down at my speedo while carving it up in the twisties:

Well - about to enter the twisties - I saw a couple of bikes coming out of them waved while still accelerating - hands back on the bars and I looked down, only to see what I thought might be too fast for the turn - I got on the brakes and looked back up. I stayed on the brakes too long and was late getting into the turn, I realized I wasn't going to make it so I stood the bike up and went off straight out the opposite of the apex into a grassy field at 40 - kept her straight and gradually slowed it down - (on two wheels) - it was definitely a butt-pucker moment.

tl;dr - if it feels good, it is, when you look at your speedo you'll scare yourself and screw up.
 

paperpirate

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ha yes done the sneezing with mild hayfeever around tall grass i took to wearing a snoode wich helped alot. silly moment in winter, just becuase the snow 'isnt too bad' when you set off doesnt mean it will be like that 40 minutes down the road. dropped it and had a few nice scuffs on my new (then) helmet :(
 

FB400

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4 years of riding = 25,000 miles which includes 2 7+day trips to Canada and Tail of Dragon.

Greatest mistakes are almost taking myself out and these manifest most of the time by learning how to properly corner. Twice I went off the road to the right on technical roads. Went through some soft shoulder stuff at low speed but still, could have ended badly (QwickFlick - you remember that "technical" road you took me on? and also on the Dragon)

More times than I care to recount I went over the double yellow in the corner. Not by much but got freaked out each time.

Trusting the cager - well I think you have to have some faith in these people just never forget they will do something stupid guaranteed every time you are out.

But my worst offense I wrote about here almost 3 years ago.
http://www.600riders.com/forum/what-i-learned-today/34200-close-call.html
 

FinalImpact

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2. Assuming that large scavenger birds (vultures/buzzards)on the side of the road will fly away from your path before you get to them. No. I was hit with a 7 lb vulture square in the forehead of my helmet at 60 mph because instead of slowing down and blowing the horn, I assumed they would fly off to the side as I approached! Nearly took me off the bike as one of them slammed into my head and I had a stiff neck for weeks. Now I am much more cautious around animals or birds near the roadway.

Obviously I FAILED to HEED GOOD ADVICE! :spank::spank:

Turkey Vultures don't Give a F***!!!! :Flip: Clipped one on my RH bar end tonight as it didn't move from the road kill until I was pretty much on top of it at which point it began to fly towards my direction vs away. Clipping didn't interfere with chow and he was eating again before I was turned around. From a turn back I thought it was a crow. Then mini bamby was there to observe.... One of those days...

+ 1 for the Vulture
 

regder

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Following the GPS down a gravel road that got worse and worse to the point that I got the bike stuck. Which was followed by a 15km hike and a river crossing. Ended up on an incredibly nice woman's porch asking to use her phone.

Shoulda used some common sense
 

Ssky0078

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1. The difference when to lean the bike over and when to hang off. My first accident that was hotly discussed on this forum and the Fz1 was in part due to my inexperience and secondly to gravel/cinder in the road. I was a new rider only 1,800 miles in 2 weeks at that point. I was riding on a crappy road that was seriously deteriorating, instead of hanging off the bike I was just leaning the bike over. The rear end kicked out and when it grabbed I almost went high side, because I chopped the throttle, I squeezed the tank with my legs, and had to lay the bike into the side of the hill instead of going off a cliff. A few months later on my Fz1 I was riding on the street and decided to come around a right hand corner a little fast, I hadn't seen the smooth manhole cover in front of my line of travel. I was hanging off, just maintained throttle and the bike slid out from both tires and gripped again as soon as I was over the manhole cover. I was going about 30-35 mph. Because I was loose in the upper body, hanging off and had good throttle control I basically kept my line and was fine even though the bike slid and was a little unsettled when it gripped again.

2. The human body is fragile. After I got the Fz1 I was a little throttle happy and ran off the road, hit the sand about 20 mph. I hit my abdomen so hard that I was worried for a week that I had ruptured my spleen or had other internal bleeding. After my first accident, I wasn't too worried about it, I had a headache from a concussion and that was my second concussion in my life, so I knew it went away, although it was worse than the first one. But the abdominal pain had me scared because that's the type of thing that can sneak up and kill a person in the middle of the night after an accident. Well, also hitting my head a second time within 6 weeks had me worried about a brain bleed as well. Overall I was finally aware of how exposed and how fragile my body was after the second accident. I never thought I was invincible but I just thought I would never get hurt bad.

Summary: I have put in about 19,000 miles in 10 months on two different bikes (Fz6 and Fz1). Done major tour rides, group rides and sport riding as well as a ton of commuting. I have done the BRC and ARC courses as well as get instruction from track riders when out sport riding. If you want to be a good rider, keep riding, ride at 60-80% never 100% on the street, learn from every thing you do and experiment with everything, body position, throttle, braking, entry points, apexes and exits, acceleration. Most importantly Ride Safe and Have Fun
 

SweaterDude

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1. Using a GPS on your bike in unfamiliar territory with no audio. Don't do it. A GPS is distracting in a car, much more so on a bike! It almost cost me my life. I was paying attention to the GPS, made a left at a solid green light, didn't realize the oncoming truck that had been stopped a second earlier at a red light now had a green light and had floored it off the line, coming right at me. That was the first and only spill I have had on the street, low side at 12 mph as I locked up both brakes in panic, mid turn. The truck stopped just inches short of running over both me and my bike. Without the GPS distraction this could have been avoided.

2. Assuming that large scavenger birds (vultures/buzzards)on the side of the road will fly away from your path before you get to them. No. I was hit with a 7 lb vulture square in the forehead of my helmet at 60 mph because instead of slowing down and blowing the horn, I assumed they would fly off to the side as I approached! Nearly took me off the bike as one of them slammed into my head and I had a stiff neck for weeks. Now I am much more cautious around animals or birds near the roadway.

buzzards/vultures are retarded. i may or may not have hit some "endangered" species with a 3 ton volvo wagon at some point in the past.

also rabbits, but at least they don't jump up and hit you in the face, they just run under your wheels to commit suicide. seriously! i was riding through my neighborhood and saw a rabbit by a mailbox. then i hear "thathunk" "thathunk". i circle back and sure enough there were 2 of them, both decided to run right under my wheels:confused:

oh also:

Don't just go tearing up a familiar road. even if its friggin awesome and theres nobody ever on it.

check the conditions first. ive done this twice. once i hit a wooden bridge that was wet. a stock FZ6 with regular gearing is not a bunch of fun to drift when you're 2 feet from going into a river. the other time i just came up on a pile of debris on the road. nothing happened but it reminded me of the previous and i slowed down.
 

SweaterDude

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- Do your absolute best to stifle a sneeze while wearing a full-faced helmet.

:tard:

open the shield and tilt it forward as much as you can.... when safe to do so



following a similar logic:

[1] Harden up if a bug is in your helmet (sorry ladies, but it applies to you as well)

[2]During Cicada/Junebug Season, close your visor. its better to be a little hot than take a paintball* to the face while on the bike.

*best reference i can think of
 

oldfast007

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#1. Know your equipment thoroughly, and trust it! It can do more than you think it can if you practice. Half way through a corner is no time for doubt and reaction..I know, after railing it round a bend and doubting the traction thereby leading to an off road excursion that could have ended very badly, but thankfully did not.

#2 Ride your own ride, you DO NOT have to keep up with anyone, pride has no place on a motorcycle unless your washing it! A small group ride years ago with some very experienced riders, thinking I can keep up no problem, I almost nailed a fellow rider from behind at a high rate of speed, close call and not a good way to gain friends...lessons learned.
 

Sixpackgal28

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Love these ! Makes everyone feel better!
I am a new rider - since April - bought a 2011 FZ6r - took the Motorcycle Safety course to get my M2 - hardest thing I have EVER done. I had (have) never driven a manual transmission; when I passed the course I felt like Rocky !

1. Practice S.E.E. - See, Evaluate, Execute - week before my course I "saw" myself into a fence. Blew the ass out of my jeans and wrecked my bike just a little bit....(got it fixed). Pride was trashed more.

2. Don't blow bubbles with your gum in a closed face helmet !

3. Trust yourself and even though you need to contantly push yourself -- don't ride outside your limits. No matter what anyone says...slow and sure wins the prize of safe travels! :thumbup:
Love this forum !
 

2007Fizzer

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Don't ever underestimate the slickness of fresh "road apples" (horse excrement - a common hazard in this area of South Central PA).

Took a jaunt from Lancaster, PA to my alma mater in Newark, DE. Rode down PA Route 896 which has myriad twists and turns, many of them with blind approaches. But that great MC road passes through heavy concentrations of horse-and-buggy-driving Amish farms and settlements. And I started out late, about 10:00 am on a Saturday morning, after doing a thorough pre-ride inspection, some minor maintenance and some windshield cleaning. Because I started out late, many Amish buggies had already "used" my ride route. And their horses usually give up their "road apples" out on the roads, in the first few minutes of serious exercise.

Findings: Last week's "road apples" pose little danger. They've been flattened out by cars during the past week and have gotten roughed up pretty well, so they generally yield good traction. However, "road apples" that are nice and "fresh" (think of a 6 inch high mound, about 18 inches in diameter) are a motorcycle traffic hazard similar to fresh road oil, traction-wise! Hitting one at 50 mph was the first time I ever got to slide the FZ6 totally sideways, just like a dirt bike on grass! And the subsequent "cleanup" was a bit "tacky", to boot. Moral of the story: Don't take even the smallest bite of fresh road apples, or you may pay a steep price for the privilege!
- - - Jim
 
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