Am I Naive about riding?

Hey Guys,

Don't get me wrong, but the more and more I read about guys taking turns and dumping their ride, or riding and braking and dumping their bike, it's making my case to the misses more and more difficult.

When I rode, I never dumped my bike. I rode in all conditions, except snow and didn't have any dumps.
I did ride like a jack a$$ and rear-ended a sod truck on a canyon road, but that was all my fault.

Maybe one factor was I never rode on the edge. Maybe fast but I got myself out of trouble.

Was I just lucky, skilled a bit of both?

I don't want to start a "did you dump your bike?" thread, just want to get feedback.

I'll put it in the general forum if needed.


Cheers

Bill

 

I'm not sure what you want from us.. You could ride another 30+ years and never have another accident, or you could walk out your house tomorrow and drop dead from a heart attack. you could give up riding, get in your cage and have a semi truck do the auto wreckers work for them. who knows? Ride at your skill level and hope for the best. worry about stuff you can control, keep up on safety maneuvers etc.. deer strike, drunk driver, oil soaked corner etc.. don't even worry about those things.

 

What he said!!!

 

Sometimes it doesn't matter how good you are or what you ride, sometimes "$#it happens" and when it does, sometimes there's nothing you can do about it! I've been riding for some 30 odd years and have had a few spills in that time but nothing that put me in the hospital or broke any bones, but enough to bruise my ego and my bikes fairings! I have had many close calls on the road, some with other vehicles, some with stray animals but I was both skillful and lucky enough that I made it home. All you can do is keep aware of your surroundings, keep within your limits and always wear the proper gear, and never ride when not feeling 100%. Sometimes it doesn't matter who you are, or what you ride, if it's your time, it's your time!

 

Riding 30 years at 50 miles per weekend isn't the same as riding 30 years EVERY DAY. The more miles you put in more apt you are to encounter issues. I rode over 20,000 miles last year....

 

I agree with the above statements. I would like to add that if your thinking about crashing while your riding,you have the wrong mind set. Concentrate on accelerating and braking smoothly. Be aware of your surroundings. Life itself is dangerous. If you become a paranoid rider or driver for that matter, you won't be a safe rider or driver.
Even the best racers in the world fall down occasionally.

 

I hear you guys.

It's just that, in the past, I don't ever remember going out saying, "Boy...I hope I drop her today."
I just got on and rode.
I was alert and tried to never ride beyond my bars. (Whatever that means).
I understand confidence, and trusting the bike in situations along with your skills.
Practicing emergency braking and turns.
You Guys are great!

 

Living in the OC 50 miles barely gets us to any decent riding locations! Daily commuting in LA/OC amongst all the cagers is a task all to itself. Lane splitting on top of that just adds to the risk. But I'm sure you know that.

 

I was like that too when I was younger and not a parent. Though I hate to admit it, I may have matured........ a bit.
There is no denying that you would be safer in a cage in almost any situation on the road, I don't ride because of the safety factor or because I get better fuel economy on a bike. I didn't ride for 15 years and almost had it out of my system. Then my best friend got a bike. I now commute to work (180KM there and back) almost every day when it's not snowing and I've never enjoyed commuting as much. I smile more and I am a happier person with a bike in my life and I don't care about the POS car I drive when I have a nice VFR in the garage. My wife has a nice safe SUV that we use for the family.
This time of year after being forced not to ride (winter) I start thinking how crazy stupid it is to ride on the highway at speeds that may cause me to get a ticket and what would happen if i went down at those speeds. Then I get back on the bike in the spring and start grinning again.
People drive cars because they have to, they ride because they want to.
Don't think about it too much, it's a hard argument to win.
Wear your gear and enjoy the ride.

 

Practice makes perfect, its like being a pilot. Accident rates don't go up with logged hours btw. Merging onto highways is a bitch here, its a coin toss if the dick head you get in front of is gona "ride you" or give you spoke nipple of civility. I don't expect anything from anyone really, and don't take anything for granted. Watch your mirrors more when your stopped than when your riding.

I get away with cutting a car/truck close but try to mitigate the risk factor and reflect later if I was a riding like a dick or not, 99% of the time I side with myself and I. Its all about lessening your risks. I wana make it home and park my shiny bike the way it left its bat cage :vtr2: Cheers and happy/safe riding.

A 1986 eliminator was my first real street bike, I rode that chit 40,000 and it snapped a cir clip in the tranny which produced a catastrophic failure, it was a warranty yab and they made me wait months. When that crap was back together, it rode like chit. I ended up trading it in for a 1991 Nighthawk. I thought I discovered the best thing since sliced bread. That shaft drive was shite, I wished I owned an EX500 back then. Anyway, no more bantering :thumbsup:

 

Excellent feed back guys, you just have to get to the point were your in tune with your surroundings and always expect the unexpected. Its a game really for me, always watching mirrors and body language. When my (sounds stupid) spidey senses alert me I usually know most of the time what people are going to do before it happens...
Its the what if game. Never be in a rush or late, or pissed off..it usually bites ya.
All I can say is still now before riding, Im still nerved up alittle before every ride and always say a prayer, but it just gets me more focused.
Now not riding since Sept, I admit...I'm nerved up but I know if I ride safely and just use everything I know to survive, it will be alright.....lost a very close friend just over a year ago, this guy was such an excellent rider, I learned something new every time we rode
( been riding since 8), and talk to him every ride knowing he's with me watching my 6.
Still waiting for him the flash my brights when I goof around but it like it calms me down and get focused.
Sorry to say with crashing, its not if it's when and thats when ATGATT comes into play, even when it so hot it feels like you have a hot hair dryer blowing in your face.
Good luck and chill........

 

Good posts here. I'm not superstitious but just the same would never crow on a bike forum about having kept rubber down for several years, because tomorrow could be different. That said I do not think about crashing, I just take reasonable steps to minimize risk and don't ride over my head. Places I NEVER push it: intersections, night time, blind corners, and ANY time I'm not feeling it.

I also like to think I got most of my stupid crashing out of my system when I was 18, and I've had 37 years of riding since then to learn the risks and my limitations.

 

I think what might have unnerved the O/P is he probably started reading the posts about "you dropped it how many times" reading that is enough to unnerve anybody, even I was starting to get a bit twitchy