What was your closest call?

[Regis]

The barriers are about 3 feet tall. The bike struck the barrier and crossed over the top and into oncoming traffic. No one else was involved. It was a hit and run.

Richard Z.

There's got to be a special place in Hell for these kinds of people! May the 'hit and run' driver find himself alongside the animal and child abusers (and maybe the spammers too!). Gawd, three feet high! And I'm sweating the angled 6 inch high concrete on the traffic islands with trepidation!

[Beauetienne]

Another Story

Back in about '79, without a helmet, I was following a winding road that followed a bayou several miles out in the country. It was a skinny, winding, old black top and I was the only one on it. I wasn't really pushing it, just leaning way over from right to left on some close curves when in the next curve ahead I saw a chicken run across the road and continue running. No prob, I never slowed and leaned into that curve but, that chicken changed it's mind and decided that she had forgotten something where she had come from and ran right back in front of me. I remember hitting the bird as I was leaned way over on the right. I started to skid and probably over corrected. I remember seeing the road coming at me as I went suddenly left, slamming into the road on my left side then rebounding and slamming into it on the right side. Next thing I know, I am waking up and my bike, a Honda CB450, is laying on top of me and still running. No broken bones although i had a major concussion. About 90% of my body was black or blue and I could hardley stand or walk for several days. Had to wait for a good citizen to drive along and rescue me.
Another time, in '84, I had to lay down a Yamaha 650 special, at around 50mph to avoid a trailer full of pipe stopped in my lane (no tail or brake lights at around 6am in a fog). I was within a few yards when I saw it. Had leather and a helmet on ( I do learn), and slid on my back, watching between my knees as my bike tumbled ahead of me. I slid in the oncoming lane for about 50 or 60 feet then into a ditch. No oncoming traffic. Came out with bruised elbows and a few scratches. Nice to be young and in good shape.
When my first son was born in 1984, my wife begged me to quit riding until the children (another in 1990) were grown. I agreed. My youngest just turned 17 and I am geting back on the road. We are restoring an '82 GS1100gkz. OH YEA!

[bwringer]

I'll leave out the tale of how I broke my leg this spring when I lowsided my VX800 in a huge spill of chicken grease... it's been told before.

Instead, I will confess to a childish habit that is often my response to a close call.

Basically, I'm used to multiple murder attempts on every ride, as is every rider with more than a mile or two of experience. After a while, they don't even make you mad any more. It's simple SIPDE, like you learn in MSF: you Scan for idiots (they're everywhere), Identify the worst boneheads, Predict the worst, stupidest possible thing they could do, Decide the best way to avoid said imbeciles, and then, as your jaded eyes take in yet another scene of developing imminent death, you Execute your Moron Avoidance Plan.

Pretty standard, really. But here's my confession: sometimes, when it's just too, too predictable and there's no one behind me, I succumb to temptation.

As the blank-eyed minivan pilot heaves the wheel to the left and stomps the throttle, I've already slowed enough to give myself plenty of room for the show. When she starts to move, I lock up the rear brake in a lurid, smoking, screeching, fishtailing slide while doing the actual work of slowing safely with the front brake. :twisted:

I count it as a direct hit if they drop their cell phone and/or latte. Often, they slam on the brakes, freeze and come to a complete stop in the middle of the intersection, knuckles white on the wheel and eyes the size of dinner plates. Sometimes they manage to scoot out of the way.

Most frightening of all, many still continue yakking and sipping while continuing their left turn as if I was never there...

[Eli69]

When my first son was born in 1984, my wife begged me to quit riding until the children (another in 1990) were grown. I agreed. My youngest just turned 17 and I am geting back on the road. We are restoring an '82 GS1100gkz. OH YEA!

i did the same thing when my kids were little although it was my idea. my wife didn't know about all the self-induced close calls i was having at the time. the last thing i did before parking my cb750 for good was pass 10 cars at once, split down the middle as several oncoming cages met me on a semi sharp turn at 100mph. that was just a normal ride home from work. i'm better now. i rarely even pass on a solid line anymore.

[Pharkmeh]

fair stories all - but geebuz how lucky was I.....


asked my current missus to marry meh 3 years ago...... and she said NO !!! \\/

now thats a close call.....:shock:

Yeah, you win......

I still win dont I

[willie]

In my 35(?!) yrs of riding I've had a couple of close calls. One that comes to mind involved my being a dumb-a**ed teenager with a girl on the back. I had adjusted my mirrors so I could see her face. Recipe for disaster. I was looking at my mirror, admiring her smile when I happened to notice the road I was on merged into another one and I was coming up on a stop sign. Of course, at the moment I noticed this there was no way I could stop. I could plainly see the driver's face in the oncoming car who's path I was about to cross. Thank God he stopped before I entered the intersection. No fear? Ha! No brains is more appropriate. My mirrors have never been out of adjustment since that day.
Willie in TN

[rxcrider]

Thank goodness for fast running deer

My daily commute is 53 miles each way and mostly through rural farmland here in Northern Ohio. Riding in the dark each morning, there is little to no traffic and fewer police. Speed limit + 10 - 20 is my general pace to get me to work in an hour, be it on 2 wheels or 4. A couple weeks ago (before I had the GS running) I was riding my '97 KTM 400 RXC (dualsport thumper) and had to stop at the corporate office on the way to the plant, adding an hour to my commute and putting me on the road at dawn. Cruising down a narrow 2 lane in the woods at 70 MPH, I saw a large flash of brown fly out of the trees about 20' ahead of me. There was only about 3' of ditch separating the trees from the pavement and 20' goes by really darn fast at 70. I always keep the brake lever covered with a finger and as the object was headed to my left, I gave a quick flick to the right. The message to squeeze the lever got to my finger just as I felt a slight tug on the bars and watched the front fender flap as it touched the last bit of brown. It wasn't until I turned my head and saw the white tail that I realized it wasn't sasquatch or the world's largest farm dog. If the deer had been runnning any slower of if I handn't given that little flick to the right, It would have been a bad day for at least one of us. I know it is probably the wrong lesson (at least my wife would say so if she knew about it), but if I'd been in my truck, I wouldn't have made it past without some blood and broken lights. Therefore, I believe that dirt bikes are good for wildlife and the environment.

Speaking of dirtbikes and the environment, A year ago on a dualsport ride in southern Ohio, I was flying up a closed logging "road" (3/4 of a lane with overgrowth, mud, roots, rocks and old ruts open to us for the event only) and hit a root in the mud at about 50 MPH while on the gas on my 300 EXC. The front end went one way and the back end went the other and my trajectory was no longer aligned with the intended path. I was still upright and on the pegs as I went careening through the brush. I was backing out of the gas and looking for a clear shot to get back on the road when I realized that this section of forest had been logged to a small extent leaving some unwanted lumber laying around. A good sized trunk laying on its side about 2 - 3 ' off the ground was of particular interest as the cut end was about 10' in front of me and there was a small opening between it and other remains of the tree to my left. Apparently, I was fearing for my right knee and everything below it because I belly flopped on the tank dangling my legs straight out behind me. It wasn't a conscious decision, but it was a good one. I was probably still going somewhere around 20 MPH when I went past and my toes bounced off the top of the trunk. Thank goodness for good MX boots. A few seconds later, I was back on the "road" with my heart beating like I was riding the event on a mountain bike.

Those are my two best near crashes. The rest I've either gone down (all but one* in the dirt), gotten hurt or just been humorous wthout the chance of injury.

(one*) If you try to find the limit of lean angle in the parking lot on knobbies, you may just find it a bit faster than you intended. There is no warning of impending doom, just the sound of your bike sliding on asphalt, the slow trickle of blood coming from your ankle and a scraped cell phone housing sticking out of what used to be a cargo pocket. If you must learn this lesson, an empty parking lot is a much better choice than a busy road.

Finding the limit on the GS is a bit more challenging. The CB450 would hit the pegs and scrape the center stand with little to no effort. I can't get my boss's Fat Boy out of the parking lot without grinding away at the chrome. The dirt bike, well - you already know (although I can almost scrape the pegs running D606s). The GS still has 3/4" of the tire left to use and I'm thinking about leathers and knee pucks.

ok - that was long winded and veered off topic - later

[GS1000SNKS]

I had one last night... I had just come through an intersection. Well behind the cars that had already been through there, when a PT Cruiser pulls out in front of me and slams on his brakes... As I swerve around him he yells at me to slow down... Funny. I was running 35 in a 45 when this happened.. The dumbass just never seen me.. I gave him the one fingered salute as I went around his dumbass.

vesparider.
aka Richard Z.

[t3rmin]

This happened just today. It's the nastiest attempt on my life by a cager to date.

I was stuck behind a cluster of three slow-moving cages on my favorite local twisty shakedown-ride road. When an opportunity came up, I dropped two gears and grabbed WOT for a quick pass. Unfortunately car #2 decided to pass as well, but didn't do a head check first. The dork pulled right into the lane as I came up beside, almost pushing me off the road (no shoulder). Luckily I kept my head, moved over, grabbed the next gear, and between his noticing the roar of my engine shifting at 10k RPM and my momentum advantage, I was out of danger before I ran out of road width.

[82GS650GZ]

Not really a close call, but funny as he!!

I don't think that you would consider this a close call, but damn funny anyway.:-D

As I was on my way home from a buddy's house tonite, I was passed by a "County Mountie in a plain blue wrapper" I was behaving myself so I had no worries. Just kept him in my front sights.8-[ As I came to a corner, i had a kid in a rice-cage pull up behind me, wanting to play. Well, for the next 5 lights we played a subdued game of cat and mouse. I would pull away from the light and he would catch up and pass me only to meet at the next light.
Well, the last light before the turn to my place, the cop was about a block ahead of us and the cager was blissfully unaware of his preasence. I pull away from the light grab the next gear and leave him behind. I enter the last turn and drop back to a slower speed and volume as he "zooms" past me in the turn. I complete the turn and get about half a block down the road, to see the cops lights come on and pull him over. I could have died laughing.
Yeah, I was kind of toying with him, but I never broke the posted speed limit. I just used the power to weight ratio of a bike vs a cage to play with him. Guess he will learn to be more aware of his surroundings next time he wants to "play" with a bike.:-D

Best reguards.

[Steveb64]

But there's been soooo many...

Over the years... one of my first was a lesson in not putting cheap nasty tyres on my bike (GSX1100 EX) - short of cash, I'd got hold of an old, well worn (but still legal tread) Dunlop Tourmax - and fitted it to the rear wheel. Off I go - ****ing rain, but I'd been invited on a date by a lass (dirt biker - as I was mostly in those days), so I pushed on. Motoring along a straight road, at around 120 kph (bit over 70 mph), when I hit some slick, smooth, tarmac (as slippy as wet glass) - and it all got a bit crazy! The tacho shot round to red-line, and the rear of the bike took off sideways - to full lock! And then all the way back to the other lock! I was ****ting myself, waiting for it to hit some traction and do the high-side from hell - loosed my grip on the bars (wasn't going to fight it - I would have lost the front as well), as it came back around towards opposite lock again (but not quite to full lock), back to the other side again, then it did a little wiggle, straightened itself out, and sailed on oblivious to the sweating wreck on top of it! I got a few adrenaline rushes out of that one - every time I thought about it for a few weeks. The bummer was - I changed the rear tyre real soon after that - put a NEW Conti Super (or was it a Speed) Twin tyre on the rear - and dropped it when I hit some white road markings that the paint hadn't dried on (actually smeared the paint out in an arc as it went down). At least that was an easy low-side crash.

The next BIG close call was a few years later - I'd been out for a ride with some mates who had just finished racing the NZ national series - on GSXR1100's and FZR1000's, we'd stopped for a break on the way home, got going again - and I peeled off to head for my abode, still in full speed mode. Came rocketing out of a corner, into the next one which was blind onto a straight - to discover a 5 ton flatdeck truck just pulling out to do a U-turn in front of me - problem was, I was doing somewhere around 160 - 180 kph (100 - 110 mph). I grabbed a huge handful of front brake (could feel the muscles in my arm rip!), the poor old 1100 was bucking, front tyre squealing, and I wasn't going to stop. Not even close. And the road went left after the truck (in NZ, we drive on the LH side of the road) which gave me no visibility for going 'round the outside. At this oint, the only option left was to jump just before I hit the back of the truck, and hope I skidded to a halt on the deck, before I hit the cab. Then I saw it - the light! Down the left side of the truck, as the left corner of the cab just cleared the bank that sloped right down to the road. So - off the brakes - haul the bike hard left, straighten up, and rocket through the gap. And I mean rocket - I was still doing over 100kph when I came out past the front of the truck, and to this day - I can't remember actually going past it. Brain censor cut in - TOO SCARY! Hauled things up back on the road - turned around and gave the truck driver the fingers - and a couple of other rude gestures - then decided that _I_ was a **** for going so fast in a relatively built up area, clicked back into gear and rode off. Much slower.

The third one (still on the same bike) was a few more years on - I was on the GSX, my wife (well, girlfriend at the time) was on her GSX750F, and we were heading off on a tour (did about 5500 km in 2 weeks) with some friends - just after the New Year (peak summer holiday time). Mosying along in a heavy stream of traffic (both directions), when some F-wit in a van decided that because there wasn't a car where I was, the road was clear, and he could turn across the on-coming traffic to get to a roadside cafe. Problem was - I WAS there (Lights on, bright yellow one piece rain suit) ! Luckily, Carol was a car back from me - but she nearly **** herself, cos I disappeared from view as I chucked the GSX on its side, then hauled it up and over to the other side, as I had to ride around the back of the van, between it and the oncoming traffic. I missed everything (still not quite sure how), and pulled over to the side of the road, with murder on my mind. Once I got a gap in the traffic, I headed back to the cafe. Oddly enough - as I came into the parking area - the van suddenly reversed out of the park it was just pulling into, and took off - driver mouthing "I'm sorry , I'm sorry". I yelled some verbal abuse at the A-hole, decided it wasn't worth being locked up for, and let him run away. The saviour for me on that one - 18" wheel conversion front and rear, and Michelin radials (nothing fancy - just their first street radials) - gave me the quick steering and traction to pull it off.:-D ...and there's more - but this is a GS forum - and the other s were on other bikes...

[the_journeyman]

Most recent? On a crooked road in the middle of the nowhere, I had the sun in my eyes. Dove into a left hander, only to go sliding due to some gravel I couldn't see because of the sun in my eyes. Made a save, but it cost me a dent in the tank from my knee & dirt-bike style save. Not to mention a big bruise & sore place on my knee ~

JM