Crashed your bike?

[iswoolley]

I was just wondering how many of us have failed to keep it all sunny side up and lobbed the bike down the road, or into the number 13 bus, or that magnetic ditch on the Cat & Fiddle pass. I know the stats say that bikers can't ride for more than five minutes without there being a call to 999, but I'm guessing that big traily owners are slightly safer riders than most. So, here's the poll.

Also I guess this thread could be a place for recounting those near (and not-so-near) misses so that others can learn, or laugh. :lol: Photos earn extra credit.

Iain

[iswoolley]

I'll get the ball rolling with my recent close encounter,

The Scene: I was 3000 miles into my summer trip around the Baltic, and in the far north east of Poland. After the flatness that is the Baltic states I was elated to find that the Poles can build roads with bends in. Although these roads were all built in the 50s and never repaired since.

In the Baltics there are two sorts of roads, smooth gravel and smooth flat lovely tarmac. In Poland however the middle section of the road, about a cars width, might be a patchwork of tarmac, but it'll be flanked by a mix of lumps of tarmac and gravel. Then there's a bit of a grassy verge with deep drainage ditches cut into it, and brand new reflective marker posts every 10 metres (probably financed by the EU). Most cars drive down the middle of the road, then when something comes the other way they inch onto the side of the road throwing up big roosts of dust, before swerving back into the middle of the road again.

The Action: I came up behind an Estonian artic lorry tailing another artic on a quiet country road. The lorries were doing about 45mph and as the road was one of those meandering affairs there was no real opportunity for the Estonian to overtake. I waited for a bend to open up, saw that there was room to get past one, or maybe both, of the lorries so I dropped into 4th, hit main beam, and opened it up.

As I got half way up the Estonian trailer I noticed that he wasn't sticking to his side of the road and I had to move onto the crumbly stuff. By now I'm doing 60mph and still accelerating. Then the thought 'F**k, he's pulling out!' ran through my head, and before I knew it I'm riding down the grass verge.

At this point I was fairly sure that The End was near. I'm bouncing along a bumpy grass verge with drainage ditches causing a wicked weave on the handlebars, plastic marker posts are wizzing past my left pannier and the artic trailer is so close to my right that I collected some paint and a gouge in the aluminium. But I kept on the gas, rode the bumps and ignored the temptation to hit the brakes.

Eventually the Estonian completed his own overtake and moved back across the road. I bounced back onto the road to find a couple of cars bearing down on me. Luckily they'd seen the Estonian's mad move from a ways away and had slowed right down to enable him to complete it. So before the adrenalin had worn off I nipped past the lorry while giving him the bird.

The Lesson: If I had been riding a sports bike I would be toast. The extra acceleration would never have got me past in time, and then I'd be doing 100mph on gravel...

So the Africa Twin really shined in a situation I really thought would see me and the bike disappear in a cloud of broken limbs and plastic. Also I'll credit the off-road riding I do in helping me stay upright. Although I think I was a passenger for most of the ride, staying loose and not braking probably helped me stay onboard.

[Sorry, no photos!]

[landyandy]

Hmm ... Are we talking AT's only? If so, I've been crashed into by a dude in his Beemer at the Elephant and Castle, but mercifully stayed on ...

Usual story involving London drivers - he was crawling through traffic in the outside lane, and I was doing much the same (except crawling a bit faster) in the inside lane. Dude decides that he wants the inside lane whilst I'm just passing his passenger door. Try to accelerate out of the way, but it's too late. Inevitable riding in the gutter doesn't solve the situation, but still he keeps on coming. His front wing and my engine guard collide, and I topple my arse off the saddle and onto his bonnet (cue an amusing loss of control situation). Still he carries on, as I sort myself out, get back onto a more traditional riding position, and hit the brakes, still with the bike scraping down his car.

Somewhat flustered, I then overtake him, block his path, and stop - fortunately, he does the same. He then winds down the passenger window, leans over his bird, turns down the 'pumpin' sounds', and ask if he's damaged the bike. I have a look around and say, 'No, but you should see your car'.

Big dude hops out, and his face drops as he notices the gouge running from his front wing, via both front and rear door, and finally tailing off at the rear wheel arch. This, I suspect, meets with considerable displeasure.

I then get accused of it being my fault (I felt it prudent to stay on the bike, complete with crash helmet, and trying to look well 'ard). I suggest that he pulled into me, and if he had a problem with it, I'd be more than happy to exchange insurance details, and/or get the old bill over.

He doesn't seem to be agreeable to such a solution, so gives me the bird, and races off in the only way a BMW 316 can, ie, not particularly racy.

I then have the last laugh by overtaking him whilst he is stationary (went into temporary stealth mode and switched off headlamp), gave him a toot and a wave, and that was that.

Somehow, I don't think it was his car.

As regards other bikes, I used to make a habit of toppling off my triumph Tiger at low speed - it had a nasty problem where it would stall and leave me in the lurch. I hated that bike.

[Maverick]

Ohh boy where do I start? 1994 - First big off on a Suzuki 750GSX going through a nice right hand bend when the pillion decides he does not like the scraping noise of the exhaust under his feet. Needless to say when a 16 stone pillion sit upright through a corner you become a mere passenger on your bike. Went into the field,hit a ditch and flipped the bike front wards. 3 compression breaks in my vertebra and 2 broken ribs later!

October 2003 - Lovely Island of Creté(ermm not) Hired a "cruiser" mistake one, went out to explore mistake two. 5mph around a little village corner and the front wheel pulls a Houdini on me. Summer = t-shirt, shorts & trainers, don't try this at home!! Grazed knee, elbow and missus who had a free ride on my back. Somehow I won't be doing that again.

January 2004 - Filtering on Tusle Hill Brixton way when I notice mommy driver pulling out from a side street. Not going fast so I stop dead before she pulls out in front of me. She looks to her left turning right and promptly ride me off my bike??? WTF!! I gracefully fall onto her bonnet with my 13 stone anorexic frame creating a nice silhouette. She gets out starts telling me it's all my fault I drove into her. Well luckily for me and not so fortunenate for her nice lorry driver called me over and gave me his details as witness. She is till after 8 months trying to sue me for the damages. My bike's damages was less than the excess and myself little bit bruised but still managed to drive to work with bend handlebars.

Luckily out of all of them I managed to walk away from alive and if you out there be careful, always a SMIDSY behind the wheel!