How many times have you wrecked?

I was just realizing that I've been riding for 27 years and I've never gone down. I've come close, of course, when people didn't see me, but I've always managed to stay upright (knocks on wood...ow, that hurt my head). It seems that I hear of a motorcycle crash every other day on the morning traffic reports and it made me wonder...how many times have you all crashed your bikes?

 

Street bikes = 0
Off road bikes = I can't count that high due to to many blows to the cranium.


In hang gliding the same question is often asked. There are those who crash almost every time they fly. Then there are those who have 30 years in and no injuries to speak of. Myself I have 9 years flying gliders and my worst injury occurred during the after flight celebration (on multiple occasions). Of course I don't feel them until the next morning.

In either sport there are things that will jump out and bite you. Having a healthy respect for the damage that can be done is critical to longevity. Know what can happen, and be prepared for it to happen. Or, as I like to do, know what can happen and reduce the probability by controlling your environment, and maintaining a safe distance from the things you can't control.

 

Never while riding...In the garage that's a different story.

Started riding when I was 19 took a break from riding at 20 until I turn 46 and have been riding for 5 years.

My wife, son and daughter all laid their bikes down in their first year of riding.(And it was always during or just after a rainstorm)

 

At least a dozen times on my first seca . most of the time at the track pushing it far beyond it's lean angle . Once hit head on by a car turning in front of me . Almost every time i was pushing it way too hard for conditions . All before 32 now i am riding on street again after 15 years on an atv , and i am way more careful with this couple of seca's i have . At almost 50 i do not look forward to hitting the ground again .

 

The 650R=0
The CB750f=0
Motocross bikes=a lot
1 concussion, 2 broken toes, cracked ribs, bad knees, dirt rash (same as road rash-hurts like hell when you clean it out), numerous bumps and bruises

 

Off road when young: Lost count.

Street bike: Once. Was more than enough.

 

Once. On my 1970 CB175 in 1987. Going 70, yes, it would go 70. I had time to scrub some speed but low-sided at maybe 50 as the limited access highway turned to dirt and jogged HARD to the right. Warning signs had all blown down. Ripped my jacket and went drinking. Thought I was fine. Mostly was, but the next day I felt like I had pulled every muscle in my body. The little CB bent a couple of things, I bent them back. I miss that little bike.

 

On the street: Twice. Once my own fault for being a teenage hotshot; and again at age 30 when a Toyota attacked me and won. Nothing but ego (and wallet, it wasn't my bike) pranged the first time; the second one resulted in a couple of weeks in the hospital (and my SR was totalled.)

Racetrack: Too many to count, usually my own doing.

 

Off-road: a few times, nothing serious.
On the street: once. October, 17th, 2008. Hit a 7 point buck at about 45 mph. Result: concussion, cracked cheekbone, broken collarbone, 9 broken ribs, punctured lung, cut spleen and a whole lot of road rash.
For the people who don't helmets; I would be dead if not for my helmet.

 

Did you mount the buck and have backstraps ..........i would have . Almost got a nice buck and doe the other day myself .............love the new brakes i just installed .Windy 2 lane country road came around corner to see 2 deer on the yellow line .

Will return there in the fall to try to harvest that buck !!

 

Twice. I forgot to put a kickstand down once. But i dont count that. 1St time was grave. 2Nd was spilled oil.

 

off road=0. never even ridden an off road bike...

on road=1. was run off the road when on a tight lefthand uphill curve a 20 something girl was coming down i my lane around that curve. i went off the road (maybe it WAS off road?) and then went over the handlebars hyper extending my left knee (torn ACL and Meniscus)...

on track=1. too much throttle and not enough clutch at the start of my 2nd trip down the 1/4 mile. stood the bike straight up on its license plate, slid down off the back of the seat and then scrambled out of the way when it fell over...

heres my first trip ever....



114+ mph
12.83 seconds

 

Sweet

 

Does dropping a bike while unloading it from the bed of a pickup count?

If not, then it's just once; practicing low-speed maneuvers in front of 35 other MSF students.

 

I was trying to drag a peg in a parking lot, on a XS400 with my brother on the back. I had already done it with just me on the bike, and the extra weight made the bike dump right over - we slid 15 feet and had some scrapes. (30 years ago)

This shouldn't even count as a wreck on the street, as we were just screwing around. It DID ruin the day - family outing to Blue Springs.

 

Street - never laid down (knocking on wood everywhere, salt over the shoulder...)

Off-road - about once a week on everything from mini-bikes to CR250s from the age of 7 until about 19. BOY do I miss slingin!!

 

never, but i had a close call when i almost flipped my bike backwards, when i released the clutch to fast, instead i ended up riding a wheely for about 10 feet. scared the shit outta me! did i mention this was on the way to my motorcycle traing class, lol

 

I forgot to put he side stand on my street bike while parking it on the grass in front of my house, those it count as off road? Funny part is the instructor said the week before this might happen to a bunch of us newbies...

Other than that never. I'm still waiting for that one car that wants to occupy the same exact physical space as me I guess

 

Never have. A few close calls though.

 

Once on an XS650 and 2 x times on an XS1100.

The 2 x times on the XS1100 were self inflicted due to stupidity. lol.

Like they say there are two kinds of bikers those who have gone down and those who are going to go down.

Put 100K miles on any bike and ride through all kinds of weather and you will eventually go down. Be prepared and dress accordingly.

 

Once, had a guy in a truck pulling a trailer with quads on it pull out in front of me. Did not make contact with the truck or trailer, just the road. On the most expensive bike I have owned. Learned its not necessarily a good idea to replace the stock round head allen key shock bolt with a longer 5/8 hex bolt for mounting a saddlebag bracket. The allen heads are smooth for a reason

 

NOne for the last 305 years, but I haven't ridden my bikes a lot. Last time I went down, it was at very low speed, on the gravel, I stupidly braked on the front wheel while turning the bars to find a place to aprl the bike, and down she went in a flash.

I managed to stay up myself, so the only wound was the one inflicted to my pride...

 

Twice. Both on my first bike, a 1980 XS 850 SG Special.

#1, Started raining, couldn't see through my visor, familiar road but lost my head a little due to very low visability. Dropped the bike on a turn. Minimal damage to the bike and no damage to me thanks to helmet and gortex with kevlar.
Lesson, Increased risk of riding with reduced traction and visibility.

#2, Pushed off the side of road and into a 6" concrete bank. Minimal damage to bike and myself. Laptop that I was porting at the time was completely fragged. It probably broke my fall.
Lesson, Mind other drivers and expect them to kill you.

That was about a decade ago. Nothing since. 30K miles of two wheel road experience has taught me a lot.

 

305 YEARS?!?! How old are you?

 

I am 353 years old, lol! I wanted to write 35 years, I ended up with 305...

 

I only remember dropping a bike back in 1986 or so, and that's because I was stupid enough to drive my bike on a sandy portion of a beach. I got what I deserved, but it was very low speed.

Alternatively, here's a picture of my brother's motorcycle after he was hit sideways by a cop in 1986 in Quebec who ran through a stop sign without his lights on as he responded to a silent alarm at a house. It's amazing my brother didn't die. The cops who arrived afterwards took the cop away from the scene, and it appears there was a fair amount of cover-up afterwards. I never really regained my trust in the police after that.

Oh, and the bike is a Suziki GS450.

 

havent yet (6months riding), hope i never do. friend started riding about 2 weeks after... hes dropped his 5 times already

 

In the dirt, so many times I was getting good at it.
Gravel roads on a dirt bike, a few, their not fun
Street 0

 

Lol

 

Twice, back in 1970, both times same bike, Honda 550Four . Too much throttle in a turn bike slid out from under me :? . Second time taking an off ramp one the QEW on to Hurontario Street in Mississauga Ontario. I wasn't going very fast, but the ramp was made of a mixture of ground glass and asphalt. Very slick stuff. There was a OPP Station right off the ramp 8O . I don't think my bike even had time to come to a rest. I had that thing up and going so fast I don't think anyone knew what happened :wink: ! Broke a mirror once and scraped an exhaust pipe and crash bar.
Never got hurt either time. All I got was black skid marks on my jeans. Never saw any riding gear back then. Only on track racers not on the road. Everyone wore jean jackets or leather jackets and jeans. Back then if you wore what we do now your manhood was questioned, even by your parents :roll: .

 

In 28 years of riding I dropped my GSX400 twin (sold als GS400 in the states afaik) once while braking. Same thing with with my R1150GS. Both times when suddenly braking because of not paying attention enough. Damage: front fender on the Suzuki (because of sliding into a car in front of me at low speed). Didn't really drop it, tipped over when I got to a standstill .

The Beemer traveled a few yards on it's side before coming to a stop. I got up and was next to it almost the same time it stopped. Damage: rear indicater and the valvecover got scarred.

That's about it. Two other emarrassing moments were with my K75S. Foot slipped while putting it on the main stand., so it fell away from me. Never had much luck with that bike. It was also the cause of a small fire wich took out the back of my garage. Didn't care for the toasted bike, I was more upset by the lost wrenches I still had from my dad who passed away when I was 11 :/

 

XJ, is there nothing you can't do?
Back on the Bike

 

oops.... twice. I forgot about the parking lot incident a few years ago. I was leaving work, and failed to notice that grounds maintenance had flushed the sprinkler system that morning. I found one of the patches of sand that was left behind.....the front slid out and I dumped the bike into a curb.