Idiots in T-shirts and shorts.

Soldato
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I'm not judging you personally but leathers or not, you binned your bike due to typical sportsbike rider behaviour that ends up putting everybody's insurance up and makes the Frank Thomas brigade vilify safe riders who want to wear what they like.

Ok, you open with a statement that you’re not judging me, then in the same breath tell me that I binned my bike due to somesuch typical behaviour – if personal attacks were allowed, I’d probably have stooped to your level…

Now, I appreciate that you and everyone else who viewed my thread, are simply looking at pictures and words and weren’t there, but seriously, I bet you that 98% of the drivers in this country wouldn’t bat an eyelid to being ~10mph over the posted limit in areas outside of residential; that’s exactly what I did! If riding above the limit by such a slight amount is typical sportsbike rider behaviour, what the hell would you say the muppets who do x2 the posted limit and overtake on solid lines etc are? Personally I would have said that THEY are more a risk than me.

I’ve never considered myself as anything more than a new rider with a few years under my belt, sure I’ve enjoyed the speed of bikes and the limits of my tyres on the road, I have even worn out my far share of sliders in almost 3 years of riding, but have always done these things where it has been safe to do so; and in the spirit of this thread IN FULL KIT!

My recent off was caused by one of the oddest experiences of my life – my brain refusing to process what I was seeing and reverting to some caveman-like fear and completely ignoring training and experience. I don’t accept speed as the cause; I would have ended up in the same manner if I was doing ~10mph under the posted limit.

And as for your comment about insurance being pushed up, surely that has more to do with the cost of claims – let’s see shall we: a fully kitted out rider gets knocked off by a car and results in an injury claim for a broken leg, same accident but a ‘vilified’ and ‘safe’ rider who refuses to kit up (as he or she are such a safe rider) suffers the broken leg but also a complete loss of skin and some muscle mass; end result is a much higher claim due to the prolonged period of recovery and rehabilitation.

As the campaign says – Think!
 
Soldato
Joined
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Sheffield, England
Scort,

I don't need to think anymore than I already do. I got knocked off back in '93 wearing a good lid, summer gloves, jeans and a nylon bomber jacket. I snapped my femur on the kerb, and sprained my little finger. The only mark on the thin nylon was a bit of paint from her car. Leathers would have made sod all difference.

But no, power rangers think that because they're suited up they can ride like bloody lunatics. I know because I use to be that soldier. I used to ride an RGV250 like a man with a death wish, but that woman knocking me off was a warning. If it hadn't have happened I may well have done something far worse, with nobody to blame but myself.

Fast forward 15 years and I ride a 1600cc cruiser with ****ing loud pipes. I know its limits and I know my own. And I don't go tear-arseing around corners then panicking because I've left myself no safety margin.

If you consider yourself a new rider then why are you getting your knees down on public roads. Keep that **** to the track.

And your back tyre was bald.
 
Soldato
Joined
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4,799
Location
No longer riding an Italian
Scort,

I don't need to think anymore than I already do. I got knocked off back in '93 wearing a good lid, summer gloves, jeans and a nylon bomber jacket. I snapped my femur on the kerb, and sprained my little finger. The only mark on the thin nylon was a bit of paint from her car. Leathers would have made sod all difference.

But no, power rangers think that because they're suited up they can ride like bloody lunatics. I know because I use to be that soldier. I used to ride an RGV250 like a man with a death wish, but that woman knocking me off was a warning. If it hadn't have happened I may well have done something far worse, with nobody to blame but myself.

Fast forward 15 years and I ride a 1600cc cruiser with ****ing loud pipes. I know its limits and I know my own. And I don't go tear-arseing around corners then panicking because I've left myself no safety margin.

If you consider yourself a new rider then why are you getting your knees down on public roads. Keep that **** to the track.

And your back tyre was bald.

I’m sorry to hear you were knocked off, but at least it was one you got to walk away from – and I’m guessing that it was low speed too, possibly ~20mph; the only reason I say that is from some of what people have posted on bike forums over the years about jeans wearing away at 30 etc etc – hell there was even a video on youtube (I’ll post it if I find it) where some lad on a scooter comes off at 30 wearing jeans and in the distance he slid (about a car’s length if that) they wore away and so did some of his flesh. You cannot seriously say that leather wouldn’t make a difference in that instance…

I wouldn’t dare question your thoughts on riding as you have clearly been riding a lot longer than myself and have no doubt ‘been there and done that’ so to speak, but you really are on a high horse about ‘power rangers’ – the generic term that seems to be banded around towards anyone riding a sports bike and ‘race’ leathers et al.

Would you seriously say 80, or even 85 on a sweeping dual carriageway is ‘tear-arsing’? I bet you wouldn’t, and this corner I ****ed up on was that, a sweeping bend, one I suspect could easily be taken at 100 with no troubles; yet some deep-rooted fear kicked in for me, as I thought said corner was actually a really tight one I passed several turns back!

I’m sorry to derail this thread guys, I really am, but again going back to what I mentioned with the *you weren’t there* stuff, getting accused of binning the bike due to riding recklessly is BS, I’m no psychologist, so can’t explain how the mind works – but mine just…. didn’t, at that particular point of the ride.

As for my knees and tyre, I have no defence for either – I totally agree that knee down antics are very power ranger, and I should save it for the track, but like many others I didn’t. The tyre was far from ‘bald’ though, if those middle cuts did have TWIs then I admit, I would have been down and through them, but they don’t and there is still plenty of tread elsewhere; personally I wouldn’t trust them in the rain.
 
Soldato
Joined
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Sheffield, England
Scort,

A very good reply- Thank you.

I was doing 60 miles an hour on a sweeping bend when I saw her coming out of a junction. I rapidly applied brakes and block-shifted down to third (you can get away with such lunacy on a two-stroke) cranked the bike even further over and yanked the revs high into the powerband in an effort to pass her before she hit me. Nearly made it too. The witness stated that she hit the back end of my bike, cartwheeling it through the air, when it landed on its front wheel, bending the forks right alongside the engine.

I went in another direction. I bounced on tarmac half a dozen times, giving out expletives every bounce. I came to a stop. I must have passed out for maybe five seconds (according to witness).

I had bounced, and on the first bounce I sprained my little finger and chipped the base of my thumb. I probably gravel rashed my knees here also (leathers would have helped but it wasn't bad). The penultimate bounce was when I hit the kerb and snapped my femur. The last bounce was off a victorian stone wall. The back of my AGV prelude helmet was the bearer of that particular bump.

After becoming aware of my surroundings I was red hot and asked passers-by to remove my helmet. They refused so I did it myself. My right foot was at 180 degrees to where it should have been after it pivoted around the fracture site.

I was lucky. I got £13,000 in compo.

The poor fellow in the opposite bed to me had broken both his arms and legs giving it large on a CBR600. I bumped into him a while ago. He rides a Harley nowadays.

My mother used to worry herself witless when I was on the screamers. Now she knows the crack with cruiser pack riding she hardly worries about me at all. There's got to be something in that.
 
Soldato
Joined
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Sheffield, England
And rightly so? You should never remove your helmet, unless a qualified paramedic says you can. It's likely in this sort of situation that they may have suffered a head injury that taking the helmet off would only worsen, and in more serious cases the helmet can be the only thing holding the head together.

Yes grandmother.

Regardless, I was boiling and I needed fresh air. It was coming off.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
12,415
I feel for Scort, he ****** up and knows it, lost his pride 'n joy and took a pucker factor #10.. What good is going to come from jumping on him when he's down??

Most of us mess up at some time or another, our aim should be to aid the unfortunate rider and anyone else so that they can advance their ability and safety. It's less stressful for all and more effective than having a rant.

BTW Elvis, I also had an RGV250 once: Mental little machines.. I'll try and find the photos of it tomorrow night. You wait 'till you see the forks as they didn't get the chance to bend, they both got cut clean in two :o

This was in mid 1991 (having done over 70k miles on bikes in all weathers) I lost half the skin from my back, a lot of skin from both arms, a huge chunk out of a leg, smashed my knees and took impacts to my head and spine. I even found my broken clutch lever sticking out under my armpit :eek: If I'd had leathers and knee/body armour I would have taken a lot less damage, that is without doubt. That mishap though could have resulted in 101 outcomes, we will never be able to predict the damage we will take because that's the nature of the roads.. The style of bike I feel is inconsequential.

Anyhow, with that I'm off to bed.
Take care :cool:
 
Soldato
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Expat in the USA
(having done over 70k miles on bikes in all weathers) I lost half the skin from my back, a lot of skin from both arms, a huge chunk out of a leg, smashed my knees and took impacts to my head and spine. I even found my broken clutch lever sticking out under my armpit :

Ummm may i suggest riding retirement to you sir? It doesn't sound like luck has been much on your side when it comes to biking, does it?
 
Soldato
Joined
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Posts
12,415
Ummm may i suggest riding retirement to you sir? It doesn't sound like luck has been much on your side when it comes to biking, does it?
To be clear, I'd had a few slow slides in bad weather but got up unscathed but for the odd scratch. All that damage was done in my one and only biggie.

It'll be emotional for me to explain the years of recovery but I've worked hard to get back up on my feet and it's not been easy. I'm not quitting now mate because I can go out when I want to... I can go out!!!! You have no idea how cool that is for me to be able to say and then do :)

So with that, I'm off to get kitted up and nip over to see a freind :cool:
 
Soldato
Joined
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4,799
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No longer riding an Italian
Scort,

A very good reply- Thank you.

I was doing 60 miles an hour on a sweeping bend when I saw her coming out of a junction. I rapidly applied brakes and block-shifted down to third (you can get away with such lunacy on a two-stroke) cranked the bike even further over and yanked the revs high into the powerband in an effort to pass her before she hit me. Nearly made it too. The witness stated that she hit the back end of my bike, cartwheeling it through the air, when it landed on its front wheel, bending the forks right alongside the engine.

I went in another direction. I bounced on tarmac half a dozen times, giving out expletives every bounce. I came to a stop. I must have passed out for maybe five seconds (according to witness).

I had bounced, and on the first bounce I sprained my little finger and chipped the base of my thumb. I probably gravel rashed my knees here also (leathers would have helped but it wasn't bad). The penultimate bounce was when I hit the kerb and snapped my femur. The last bounce was off a victorian stone wall. The back of my AGV prelude helmet was the bearer of that particular bump.

After becoming aware of my surroundings I was red hot and asked passers-by to remove my helmet. They refused so I did it myself. My right foot was at 180 degrees to where it should have been after it pivoted around the fracture site.

I was lucky. I got £13,000 in compo.

The poor fellow in the opposite bed to me had broken both his arms and legs giving it large on a CBR600. I bumped into him a while ago. He rides a Harley nowadays.

My mother used to worry herself witless when I was on the screamers. Now she knows the crack with cruiser pack riding she hardly worries about me at all. There's got to be something in that.

Holy **** :o That was some accident by the sound of it, I’m actually quite impressed that your clothing stood up the way it did, but I will still always full kit up, even on my short commute.

I would love 13K compo for my outstanding claim (accident in 2008), but have been offered 12.5K (I know, I know only £500 :p) and it looks like it may go to court now, but I’m thankful I have gotten to walk away from both; so to speak – was carted to A&E for 10 days in 08.

I’ve decided to go back to a ‘600’ this time, it will please the family, they respect I wont give it up, but at least they’ll appreciate me going to something more sensible for the road so to speak.
 
Soldato
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No longer riding an Italian
I feel for Scort, he ****** up and knows it

I certainly do, I'll learn from this for sure, having got to experience how violent it can be coming off – cliché as it sounds, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fear for my life on the first impact and subsequent sequence of floor/sky/floor/sky….. and so on. Odd what went through my mind, all I could think of was this girl from work :p

When I got up though, I was in a completely ‘neutral’ feeling, not sad or angry, I just thought – ‘oh well, good job you prat, onto the next bike then’.
 
Soldato
Joined
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No longer riding an Italian
All that went through my mind was, " ****!, ****!, *******!, ****!, *******!, ****!! "

Soon followed by, "Well, that's this summer ****ed!"

:D I got that a fraction of a second after, but in a strained voice as my mobile phone (in a chest pocket), got rammed into my ribs, cracking them in the process - oops!

I was a bit cheesed off that I was meeting some mates for a Sunday roast, ended up with a rank McDonalds afetr leaving A&E around 10PM :(
 
Associate
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London
From MCNNinjas forum

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Yes that is a school child - And no its not a member .. a thread similar to this
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Feb 2006
Posts
4,799
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No longer riding an Italian
Yikes!

Kind of shows the importance of wearing kit I guess, ok the guy was asking for it riding like that, but it’s interesting to see how easily his ankle is destroyed when he comes off – sturdy boots and leathers would have probably just left him with the injury I recently sustained.

P.S. I don’t think that link breaks any of the rules, there was nothing bad on the link when I posted it, but if it does, sincere apologies mods and please remove.
 
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