Just attended the Dubai bike week http://www.dubaibikeweek.com on the last day they had some demo bikes that you can try out. There were 3 buells and a V-Rod raodster. I said what the heck, i'll try riding a firebolt. The dealer warned us that these bikes do have alot of TORQUE. There were doing it in groups and I was in the first batch.

Let me note that I've never riden a sports bike and I'm fairly new to riding. Before I got on the firebolt I had a gut feeling that it was a bad idea but I ignored it. The demo ride was fine one of my friend was doing a wheelies every once in a while. "Hey that looks easy", I should have listened to my gut feeling back then.

As we were pulling up to the bike show I wanted to do a mini-wheelie. You know just get the front wheel off the ground a little bit. I don't know who said that when you get into an accident everything happens in slow motion, let me tell you that they are wrong! Everything happened so fast I can sum it up in the following moments:

1 - Was doing 5km/h in first gear and i aggresively bliped the throttle.
2 - The front wheel came up a just a bit and I let go of the throttle.
3 - I'm about 2 ft away from the ground and I'm facing downwards!
4 - I'm sliding on my back as I hear the scraping of metal on the ground.
5 - After come to a stop, I see someone rush up and lift the bike of my right foot.

I guess the front wheel came up and came down with the steering off-centre, this caused the bike to slide under me to the left. As I was laying on the ground, the first thing that came to my mind is: "S :censor the dealer is gonna be pissed off!" quickly followed by " I guess I should stay VERY still".

I was scared because this is the first time I'm involved in a motorcycle accident. I have to give credit to all of those who came up and helped me. The one thing I do remember is this lady who was sitting next to me while I was laying down waiting for the paramedics, she said to me "I guess you'll not be hoping on a bike ever again?", I quickly replied "No way I'll keep on riding but I'll remember not to do stupid s :censor like that ever again :) "

Right now I'm sitting at home with a pair of crutches nursing an ankle with some ligament damage and some road rashes on my arm and knee. I'm writing this so someone might learn from my mistake of not riding at my own pace and trying to imitate.

Well got to go to sleep, so be safe and ride responsibly.

Bummer, glad you are ok :D Makes you wish you took

the safety course huh. :yikes

Hope ya heal up fast, man.

Ouch! Glad you're ok!

I'm glad you're OK too. That kind of power is why I didn't buy a 1200 Suzuki Bandit when I had the chance. :eek:

Hey hope ya heal. What did the dealer have to say? and if they will ship a scratch and dented firebolt to the US?

Wow! Glad to hear you're ok. It could have been much worse. Shows how quick you can get messed up even in a low speed crash. Doing all the hot dog crap that they show on the Buell home sight is not really a good idea. Unless you are very pricticed and experienced. Even then it is still dangerous.

the lessons learned the hard way are the most remembered.....

Leave the stuntin to the stunters ;)


good ta hear it was mainly pride and not body that got hurt... :)

I saw a guy really crash bad on a Buell while on a demo ride in Sturgis a few years ago. We were all riding in line going down this country road about 55 mph. We approached a long left sweeping curve......easily handled at that speed by almost any rider. The ground fell off the shoulder by about 10-15 ft. As I enter the turn, I see a puff of dirt ahead of me, then I see this guy and the new Buell literally FLYING thru the air doing summersaults mid air! It seemed like it was in slow motion....I just could not believe it. I watched as the bike went one way, and the rider went another....right into a tree....hitting branches about 15-20 ft off the ground, then dropping straight down like a rock. All told, he must have flew close to 80ft thru the air, most of it at least 15-20 ft off the ground. Don't forget, we were going about 55mph. Well, I quickly pulled over and jumped off the bike. Others behind me were already running to his aid, then I thought....do I want to see a dead body today? So I started walking really slow, because I was sure he was dead. As I approached, I saw him try and stand up! I then ran to him, and tried to calm him, telling him to stay down. I began looking for injuries, and all I could see was a little blood from the back of his head. Nothing else visible, but I was worried about a head injury. His helmet must have come off in the accident, because I didn;t see it anywhere nearby. He tried again to get up, and collapsed from ankle pain. Soon the ambulance came, and I left him in good hands. The Buell trip leader was really stunned, he had no idea wht to do, another guy used his cell to call for help. The next day, I went back to the demo area, and they said he had a broken ankle and a concussion. He was really lucky. I think Demo rides are a breeding ground for inexperienced riders to get into real trouble. Beware the novice demo rider.

Wow. I thought a demo ride was just a cruise around the parking lot. I was in sturgis 4 years ago and the Triumph demo was just a few spins around the lot the Rapid city civic center.

Ha! I've had lots of fun over the years at demos in Sturgis. I once rode a 600cc Honda thru the twisties following the Honda leader. Redline was 13,500 and that's what I rode it at. We went thru twisties and then took a short highway ride returning to Sturgis. On the off ramp, traffic was backed up and I pulled next to a Hells Angel on a chopper. Now picture me on the 600, with a helmet, revving up the little 600 right next to him and looking him in the eye. Damn! I thought he was gonna get off that bike and beat the :censor out of me. I put the bike in gear and was ready for a fast exit! It was hilarious. When I got back to the Honda demo site, the little bike that could was puffing blue smoke. My buddy and I also took out some Gold Wings. Did you know the Gold Wing makes the most god-awfull sound at redline? Kind of like it wants to puke and die. Next, we went to Harley and I took out a FXRT. (this was the 1980's). The FXRT did nice wheelies! But redline was no fun, because of the rev limter. The Harleys took a beating much better than the Hondas. That's my mini road and torture test review. But let me give all a caveat......do not try this at on your own. The actions described here were taken on a public highway by an experienced demo riding test rider under uncontrolled conditions. Failure to heed speed limits and the rules of the road may cause bodily harm and loss of driving priveleges.

Out here in Phoenix, they hold demo days at the track. This last time I got to ride a Triumph Rocket III (LOTS of motor, total pig), a Honda Interceptor 800 (kinda fun), and my new FAVORITE BIKE OF ALL TIME... a Buell XB12S.

It was fun stuffing a CBR1000, GSXR1000, and CBR600RR into the turn before the short straight at Firebird West (the only place that passing is allowed on a demo ride) :clap

I didn't stuff them that bad...I gave them plenty of room, I just took a totally different line, braking a little earlier than they did.

2 years ago, I took a V-Rod out on a demo ride. The V-Rods were placed at the head of the pack due to their power. I was taking it easy (not TOO easy), but the guy next to me geared down for a stop and then gave his bike a little too much throttle and broke the rear tire loose, spinning it and fishtailing at about 40mph. Man, you shoulda seen his face!
They let pretty much anyone with a license take a demo ride. Not too wise if you ask me.

Sorry for your ankle but not sorry for you!
Stupid to try a wheely in 1st gear with a Buell you do not know and own ...
:frownthre :frownthre :frownthre :frownthre :frownthre :frownthre :frownthre

Sorry for your ankle but not sorry for you!
Stupid to try a wheely in 1st gear with a Buell you do not know and own ...
:frownthre :frownthre :frownthre :frownthre :frownthre :frownthre :frownthre


Ouch! Missyd.......cut the guy some slack! All of us have done stupid things on bikes, and all of us have been down. It's all part of the learning curve.

MissyD is quite right, I had it comming BIG TIME :frownthre
Well you know the saying "Pain is the ultimate teacher"

Ouch! Missyd.......cut the guy some slack! All of us have done stupid things on bikes, and all of us have been down. It's all part of the learning curve.

Its ok to do stupid things on YOUR bike but not during a testride with a bike that does not belong to you! :rolleyes:

Yep, that's why the first thing that came to my mind after the crash was the state of the bike!

Yep, that's why the first thing that came to my mind after the crash was the state of the bike!

I think that is the usual reaction after a bike crash ..... :rolleyes:

i'm glad ur not hurt that bad.thats one of the reasons i'm afraid to do a burn out.i've only been riding about a year.i've never owned any motorcycles before.if i'm standing there while the back tire is baking,then all of a sudden my hand slips of the front brake,then the bike and prolly me are going to be launched.thats scary.i can see me goin home and telling the mrs.honey i just destoyed our new bike.

now the wierd thing is that i can be at a light and grab it,and no prob.but standing and burning,that worries me.

Just further proof that Darwin's theory of evolution is alive and well...

I was looking at Buells a little bit before I got my Sporty, and I knew that if I got one I probably would have done the same thing you did; at least once. Except on my own bike! Well, good luck with the ankle, and at least you learn from your mistakes! haha :)

then I thought....do I want to see a dead body today?

:roflblack:roflblack:roflblack:roflblack:roflblack :roflblack

It has been a while since the accident and you are correct about the torque I had a fxrs that when I left my house I pulled out turning right and would always get on it. I bought the xb12r and left the driveway the same way as I was used to and damn the back wheel broke loose and was on the way to being a low side but luckily my riding experience I gained control of it and kept both wheels on the ground. Got the blood pumping quickly.

what did you learn?

the bike (regardless of what bike) can always do more than you (run faster, turn sharper, lean more, stop quicker) expect it! that's what i've learned, i've laid down bikes in a number of situations and thats the gist of what I've learned...

I think Demo rides are a breeding ground for inexperienced riders to get into real trouble. Beware the novice demo rider.

I think they just attract people that want to try stupid stuff on a motorcycle but they don't want to risk their own personal bike. I've seen people take demo bikes and just do really dumb things with them, like revving it at a red light to see what the rev limiter feels like :frownthre