[vanillagorilla]

It quit raining here for a while here finally, so i figured i'd take the ole' gorilla mobile out for a cruise.

Was going down the main road here in town (three lanes) and i was in the far right lane. I came, up on a van in the center lane to my left and we ended up cruising the same speed...so i bumped it up a little to get out of his blind spot....well as i did, he slowed down really rapidly, and here comes some moron in a truck fromt he FAR left lane, almost hits the van, and now i'm exposed and he came within 12 inches of my front tire while coming over in front of me into my lane...all at about 45 mph. I braked, made noise, etc as it was happening...and stayed out of the way...i'm just glad he wasn't trying to turn right or something once he got over there. Now..i know the guy wasn't TRYING to run me over or anything.. but he WAS driving like an idiot....he honestly DIDN'T see me till it was too late, cause he was busy trying to run that van over or something, but that's how bikers get KILLED. IDIOT.

I was never really in any danger of dying on the spot or anything...but it was a big surprise and i'm glad i've been riding for a long time, i'm used to my bike, and i took a some safety courses. I was never scared....i was pissed off, but my mind reacted correctly, and my body listened to my mind, and my bike listened to me...so all was well.

NOW.........the one that made me nervous. Not 5 minutes later...same road...45 MPH...this big ass Catahoula/Pitt comes TRUCKING across the road...cars are honkin n stuff...the dog is freaked out and running..and we are on a 100% Collision course. The pooch was STOUT..would been like hitting a PIG. It took both brakes HEAVY to miss him, but we didn't hit. WHEW!!!!!!! I'm thankful he KEPT running...if he had slowed down we woulda danced. The Back brake locked, but it was easy to bring it back right to the verge of lock...so that accutronix master cyl works good! The front worked great..the bike fishtailed a tad when the rear brake locked, but it was totally smooth and controllable. Noone was behind me, and the bike REALLY scrubbed off speed in a REAL HURRY....i was impressed! Again...all was ok.

On this one...i was able to really put a LOT of back brake to it along with front. I'm sure us moving the seat so far back and putting all that weight to the rear really helped. Bike NEVER felt out of control.

I have to say...TAKE A SAFETY COURSE!!! TAKE TWO IF YOU CAN!!! AND PRACTICE THE STUFF YOU LEARN. If yo cannot take a course...read up on safety and PRACTICE the stuff! If you PRACTICE what you learn in the riding classes......you WILL react that way when things happen like this. Tune your mind into working on practice all the time...and when you need to react, you'll reacy correctly. PRACTICE EMERGENCY BRAKING, ETC with your bike!!!!!

Be careful out there!!!! They ARE out to get you !

 

[2007VTX]

thanks

Glad you are ok and it's really great to practice and know your bike in and out. It's also good to just take control of the bike and be confident, yet smart. I recently had a ton of cars slam on their brakes right in front of me everyone going in different directions. I slammed on the brakes enough not to lock them and kinda weaved in and out of cars. Since they were all slowing down, I just took control and beeped my horn a little and tried to make sure people could see me going in between them. It could have gone many ways, but I would bet lots of new bikers and maybe even a few experienced ones would tend to lock up brakes too much. In the MSF course I took about a year ago, they of course had the test of braking and like half the people bit it trying to brake too hard and not feeling the tire that spilt second when you can tell it's about to lock up. Anyhow, thanks for the post, I think at least once a week, especially the newer people like me, should set up cones in a parking lots and practice braking, turns, etc...


Curtis

 

[motorcyclereb]

Glad to hear everything worked out ok. Man it feels good to vent sometimes, does't it

 

[vanillagorilla]

Yeah...LOL....but i figured it was a good time to remind folks of safety and safety courses and practicing braking, and all that stuff.

And yeah....go out to a parking lot and practice stuff....it could definitely save your life.

I thought when i took the first safety course i took, that i'd be like bored, and all that junk...but i told myself i was going to walk in there and learn something and pay attention. I'm glad i did..it was actually fun, and VERY informative..and it pays off in times like last night.

We overlook courses, and saety and all that too much some times. Safety doesn't just mean wearing safety gear...it means KNOWING FIRST HAND what your bike is going to do under every circumstance. I've rode a lot of street bikes....but i also rode a BUNCH on the dirt, so the fishtailing, etc didn't bother me..it felt natural...but to some it may freak them out...so go do it in a parking lot before it's life or death.

Learn to know what you and your bike are going to do before you need it!

Peace ya'll