xpress Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Was heading to work earlier this week, just about 1/4 mile out from home. Pulled up to a stop sign, looked, then proceeded to pull out. As I was pulling out I seen out of the corner of my right eye someone coming hot and heavy around the corner (way faster than they should be). This is a scenario I've been in thousands of times and have successfully maneuvered it as many times, so naturally I just rolled on a little bit of throttle to try and pick up a bit of speed to get ahead of the NASCAR status truck fastly approaching behind me. Down she went :'( Cold tires and cold roads make for very poor riding conditions. There was zero traction to keep me stable, the tires are Bridgestone T30, which are a great performing tire so long as they have some heat to them. When they're cold, they grab about as good as a teflon coated frying pan lubricated with butter. Traction control did kick in to kill the spinning, but by the time that happened I had too much momentum and the rear tire just slid until I was 90* to the road in the oncoming lane (thankfully traffic is light that time of morning) which then highsided me. I just let go of the bike at that point and tried to get away from it since I didn't want it to fall ontop of me. The damages are a broken hand guard, scratched side case, bent rear brake lever, and scuffed trim plate on the front of the hand guard. Steering was whacked slightly out of alignment but I remedied that already- no damage to any of the front end components at all. Will be ordering replacements, I don't like the way it looks without the hand guards. As for me, just some basic bruising and general soreness from falling shoulder first into the ground. Not even a scratch on my helmet though O_o Anybody else got their FJ-09 crash stores to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member michael Posted February 4, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2016 Your motorcycle, cold tires or not, did not cause this crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkereddemon Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Michael proclaimed: "Your motorcycle, cold tires or not, did not cause this crash." Wow! Give the guy a break, okay? I would speculate the the asshole driving the truck is completely at fault. Even the best, most experienced riders can get caught in a situation over which they have NO control and no good options. I know I have and I've been riding over 45 years. Go after his insurance company to make you whole again, and that should include a visit to an ortho doctor as well. I hope you are doing well and everything works out to your satisfaction... -CD- 2015 Yamaha FJ-09: RaceTech Gold Valves, RaceTech Rear Spring, Arrow Full Exhaust - black with w/Carbon Fibre endcap, ECU Flash, Lowered 20mm front, 15 mm rear, Denali driving lights, Fenda Extenda, Tail Tidy, Corbin Seat, Madstad 22" Windshield, OEM heated grips, Woodcraft frame sliders, Grip Puppies, BadAss Cover (Large).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member michael Posted February 4, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2016 Anyone who has been in that situation "thousands of times" needs to take a hard look at their riding patterns. As long as you blame stuff like this on the other guy, the pattern is likely to continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I am happy you could walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkereddemon Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Michael reminded: "thousands of times" I somehow missed that. In that case, I totally agree with your assessment, my apologies sir. I just finished reading Nick Ienatsch's book about riding techniques and found that I have been practicing virtually ALL of his techniques for quite some time. And doing so has certainly kept me from being faced with thousands of dicey situations. He obviously needs to read that book, it may save his bacon one day... -CD- 2015 Yamaha FJ-09: RaceTech Gold Valves, RaceTech Rear Spring, Arrow Full Exhaust - black with w/Carbon Fibre endcap, ECU Flash, Lowered 20mm front, 15 mm rear, Denali driving lights, Fenda Extenda, Tail Tidy, Corbin Seat, Madstad 22" Windshield, OEM heated grips, Woodcraft frame sliders, Grip Puppies, BadAss Cover (Large).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member stad Posted February 4, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2016 Well, it's not truly yours until you drop it Sorry about the get off mate but it could have been a LOT worse! Roll on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member hooligans3 Posted February 4, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2016 Glad you are OK! Now you bike has character, and you won't be nearly as concerned with dropping it since that bell has already been rung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member ULEWZ Posted February 4, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2016 I love to read the analysis from all the arm chair quarterbacks. You weren't there, you do not know what happened (even though you read his 2 line statement). I will give the rider the benefit of the doubt and say, glad you are ok as it could have been worse. Cold tires do tend to have poor grip, so thanks for the reminder. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Bikes: 2015 FJ-09, Seat Concepts seat cover and foam, Cal Sci medium screen, rim stripes, factory heated grips, Cortech Dryver tank bag ring, Modified stock exhaust, FlashTune with Graves fuel map, Cree driving lights, Aux power socket. 2012 Street Triple type R (Wifes) 2007 FJR1300 (Sold!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docsimple Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Feces occurs. Glad you are ok, thats all that really matters. I do recommend Lee Parks Total Control. I read that early in my riding career and continue to use the insights in there. 2015 Red FJ 09 2013 WR250R - little boy blue - sold 2012 DL650 V Strom - sold 2007 FZ6 - sold 1986 FJ600 - sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Trambo Posted February 4, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted February 4, 2016 All things considered, the damage isn't too bad from a mini-highside. Glad you walked away mostly unharmed. Cold tires or not, it could have been a lot worse... count your blessings. 2015 Stealth Grey FJ-09 Pilot Base of Operations: Chesterfield, VA Farkels? Lots, nothing flashy, but all functional... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checkereddemon Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I totally agree! Get the Lee Parks book and Nick Ienatsch's book and really study them, they are chock full of excellent suggestions. Ride as though every driver on the road is out to kill you, because they are! My own piece of advice is to "surf the holes". WTF does that mean? Most folks concentrate on and only see all the vehicles around them. Me? I see the holes between those vehicles - holes can't kill you, other vehicles can. And as I'm filtering thru traffic, I make my moves predicated upon the available holes in said traffic. I'm always hyper aware of the movements and behaviors of the pilots of those vehicles. If I see *anyone* using a cell phone, I avoid that a$$hole like the plague. Do you see a driver gesticulating to their passenger(s)? You can bet that driver is paying NO attention to you or anyone else. I also use other vehicles to act as my shield when crossing busy intersections. At those intersections, I try to position myself in the middle lane, and use the drivers on my left and right to provide a shield in the event someone blows thru their red light. And never, EVER, expect that a right turning driver will pay any heed to the fact that it's right turn on red AFTER stopping first. Everyone out their treats their red light as though they were green and will, maybe, slow down a bit before turning. But I ain't counting on that and ride accordingly. In these cases, an ounce of avoidance is worth a pound of expecting others to respect the rules of the road. And when I pull out to make a pass, I don't fiddle about. I make the pass as quickly as is safely possible and put them in my mirrors. I have yet to have any ass puckering moments from vehicles that I've dispatched in this manner. It's a big, bad, dangerous world out there and you must ride accordingly. The only thing I really take issue with in Nick's book is his use of the term "aggressive driving". I prefer to think of it more as "assertive driving". Stake out your piece of the road and defend it using safe and assertive moves. Aggression plays no part in this.... Best Wishes, -CD- 2015 Yamaha FJ-09: RaceTech Gold Valves, RaceTech Rear Spring, Arrow Full Exhaust - black with w/Carbon Fibre endcap, ECU Flash, Lowered 20mm front, 15 mm rear, Denali driving lights, Fenda Extenda, Tail Tidy, Corbin Seat, Madstad 22" Windshield, OEM heated grips, Woodcraft frame sliders, Grip Puppies, BadAss Cover (Large).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpress Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 The main issue is where I live, I have to deal with exiting my side road out onto the main stretch of road in a bit of a tight spot. So long as some idiot isn't flying past the 30mph speed limit on the tight main road, it's not a problem, but this guy is habitual in ignoring those signs (I have seen him before). The scenario I've been in thousands of times is exiting that particular stop sign with power on the bike, not necessarily trying to get head of rednecksaurus behind me. This wasn't anyone in particulars fault, aside from maybe the truck, it was just a horrible combination of elements that lead up to it. New parts ordered at the dealer- I don't see the appeal of riding without the handguards on this bike, it just feels so wrong :-S I've been riding for years, so I know how to ride and actively avoid scenarios, it's just this particular intersection is exciting to say the least... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulsmith Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 If you want to learn to ride better and safer on public roads (and not race tracks) then I would recommend "Motorcycle Roadcraft". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpress Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 If you want to learn to ride better and safer on public roads (and not race tracks) then I would recommend "Motorcycle Roadcraft". Books are great and all, but nothing compares to actual hands on experience in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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