:frownone Went on a pick-up ride today with members of a local all bike club that meet same place/same time every Sunday during the "off season." There were only five of us; three H-D, a big Kawi cruiser and a big Honda cruiser, no lightweights or sport bikes. We decided to ride to Washington, Missouri, a pretty little town on the Missouri River about fifty miles from downtown St. Louis.

About midway there on a twisty county blacktop the lead bike began pushing it through the curves (on a fu*kin' electra glide). The Honda was second, the Kawi third, followed by another e-glide, and I brought up the rear because I told them earlier I don't push it (still getting used to the barge, Jolene the Fatgirl, after being used to a sporty) and would tag along as best I could.

I'm putting along, swing thru a tight curve, and come across the second e-glide (which is demolished) on the far right side of the road (left hand curve), the rider in the middle of the road, sitting up, dazed and bleeding profusely from his mangled nose and forehead.

After he was picked-up by the ambulance and the bike was placed on a flatbed, what happened was easy to see. Got the front wheel too far right (really no shoulder on the road) into ground asphalt, loose gravel, and dirt, tried to pull it out, flipped and bounced taking out two of those yellow < signs you see on curves. His leathers were abraded, ripped and sanded, but he was not where covered. He probably would have suffered little if any injury if he'd been wearing a full-face instead of a half-helmet. As it is he's quite lucky, broken nose, maybe broken jaw, maybe a break in the hip area, concussion, and generally fu*ked up, but seemed to be ok when he got in the ambulance, not making much sense because he was in shock, but he was ok.

Lead rider said they were probably doing 50-55 mph (sign on curve said 30 mph).

This reminds me, I will never be able to match the limits of any bike, even a barge like Jolene the Fatgirl. My limits are significant and I need to stay within them. Pushing my limits can mean serious injury or death if I make a tiny error.

Be careful out there!

Lefty

Glad your bud is not hurt too bad.

YES...we all need to know the limits...both ours and the bikes. I don't even try to keep up when fellow riders start "pushing" it.

I like myself WAY too much for that! ;)

YES...we all need to know the limits...both ours and the bikes. I don't even try to keep up when fellow riders start "pushing" it.

I like myself WAY too much for that! ;)


WAY? Did you meen Weigh?

:frownthre A final note, the guy who went high side was not a newbie, his '02 e-glide had 25k+ miles on it, and was not his first bike. . . . .

Be careful out there, stay within your (and your bike's) limits!

Lefty

Thanks for sharing your story. Riding is a whole lot more fun when you can park your bike in the garage at the end of the day!

Glad to hear hear he's not hurt real/too bad. I know each spring it takes me some time to get back to the level I was last year after the weeks/months of non riding. But then again my skill level is still pretty low at it's best

Crashin Sucks! :cry1

A good man has got to know his limitations. ;)

Sportys are a blast to ride, but they ain't knee dragger specials. An e glide, that's a recipe for disaster!

Always dress for the crash. When you make it to the big dance, you won't feal over dressed!

Later,

Lefty,

Thanks for relating the tale to us. I'm glad to hear your buddy wasn't busted up too bad. Also glad to hear that you weren't involved in the fracus. Probably a real good thing he was wearing leathers- betcha they kept him in a lot better shape than he would have been otherwise.

Riding beyond your ability is something we all have to watch out for. Everyone's level is different, and those of us that like to test ourselves have to keep this in mind when we're pushing the limits.

Lefty, glad to hear you are ok and didn't get tangled in the mess! I hope your riding buddy pulls through with just the cuts and abrasions and nothing worse. Thanks for sharing.

I usually ide within the limits of what I'm wearing...

T-shirt + open face helmet= steady run
Leather jacket and Draggin jeans + open or full face= harder run
Full race leathers with sliders and kevlar gloves and back protector and race boots and top of the line fulface helmet = yeeehhhaaaa :D


that's not at say ya not gonna go down with a T on BUT ya ride with a bigger safety margin.... and ya never ride within 20% of your limit on the road... too many variables.

I never touch a footpeg on the road but I grind 'em and my boots on the race track.

This is exactly what happens when you try braking after the

apex of the turn. Always brake before to setup the apex
and throttle out midway to conclude the turn. :D

I hope your friend has a rapid recovery Lefty. I sometimes ride with a couple of friends that don't have near the experience they think they do and they sometimes push their luck. They haven't seen the wrecks or heard the stories I have and they think I'm overly cautious. Overconfidence can be as dangerous as inexperience. Your story helps us all remember that no matter what our riding experience is, there's always something out there waiting to bite us in the arse.

Thanks for reminding us to watch the limits, Lefty! I hope your friend will be alright!
Billy

Thanks for the reality Check!!!! :D

Hope your friend gets better Soon!!!

I usually ide within the limits of what I'm wearing...


I never touch a footpeg on the road but I grind 'em and my boots on the race track.
Safe way to ride using the pegs as a guid if I start to grind the pegs its time to slow down a fraction.

Grayfeather.

:frownone Went on a pick-up ride today with members of a local all bike club that meet same place/same time every Sunday during the "off season." There were only five of us; three H-D, a big Kawi cruiser and a big Honda cruiser, no lightweights or sport bikes. We decided to ride to Washington, Missouri, a pretty little town on the Missouri River about fifty miles from downtown St. Louis.

About midway there on a twisty county blacktop the lead bike began pushing it through the curves (on a fu*kin' electra glide). The Honda was second, the Kawi third, followed by another e-glide, and I brought up the rear because I told them earlier I don't push it (still getting used to the barge, Jolene the Fatgirl, after being used to a sporty) and would tag along as best I could.

I'm putting along, swing thru a tight curve, and come across the second e-glide (which is demolished) on the far right side of the road (left hand curve), the rider in the middle of the road, sitting up, dazed and bleeding profusely from his mangled nose and forehead.

After he was picked-up by the ambulance and the bike was placed on a flatbed, what happened was easy to see. Got the front wheel too far right (really no shoulder on the road) into ground asphalt, loose gravel, and dirt, tried to pull it out, flipped and bounced taking out two of those yellow < signs you see on curves. His leathers were abraded, ripped and sanded, but he was not where covered. He probably would have suffered little if any injury if he'd been wearing a full-face instead of a half-helmet. As it is he's quite lucky, broken nose, maybe broken jaw, maybe a break in the hip area, concussion, and generally fu*ked up, but seemed to be ok when he got in the ambulance, not making much sense because he was in shock, but he was ok.

Lead rider said they were probably doing 50-55 mph (sign on curve said 30 mph).

This reminds me, I will never be able to match the limits of any bike, even a barge like Jolene the Fatgirl. My limits are significant and I need to stay within them. Pushing my limits can mean serious injury or death if I make a tiny error.

Be careful out there!

Lefty

Glad your Compadre is ok. I wear an open face helmet and at times I think about a full. I wear one on out of State rides.

Thanks for the information...........opens up a lot of memories.:wonderlan

Is it a bad thing to go fast through a turn when you can clearly see how the turn goes, where it comes out, and what is in the path?

Going fast through a turn with a clear exit path isn't the problem. Exceeding your bike's cornering limitations and riding beyond your abilities usually is. When the back wheel passes you in a turn, especially if you're not still on the bike, that's a bad thing.

Had a few getoffs in 12 years of roadracing, and sliddin on the asphalt, even with full leathers on, sucks big time! :frownthre

Later,