I should have worn pants.

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by GatorGreg, Mar 12, 2017.

  1. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

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    Got a nice little reminder last night of just how hot the exhaust can get. I had just gotten home from the gym and forgot to take my garage remote so I stood up straddling the bike and leaned way forward to type in the code at the side of the door. I then proceeded to shriek like a little girl in pain as my right calf (I was wearing shorts) made contact with what I'm guessing was the connector pipe on my Delk exhaust :glee: As you can see in the pic there are no bubbling blisters so I guess it's not that bad a burn but it's still very red and painful today!

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  2. Diamondhead

    Diamondhead New Member

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    Why the heck are you riding in shorts? Just saying
     
  3. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

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    Sometimes I wear shorts when I ride up to my gym at night since it's only a mile or two away on suburban roads with next to no traffic - in fact I usually try to ride my pedal bike to the gym to get a bit more exercise. But they say most accidents occur within a mile of your home so I agree it's very stupid on my part!
     
  4. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    The national average with motorcycle accidents are said to be within 2 mile of ones home, why, because of this right here thinking. Awe gee it's only a mile or two, what can happen? Ha. let me tell you. i get the simpleton mind set, believe me I've done my fair share. It's still one of the wonders to figure what its worth, gear all up to go to the PO, or take the auto. On a very nice day where the bike is just sitting there waiting to be ridden when you haven't had time of late. Yep. ;)
     
  5. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    That reminds me of when I rode my CB125T in shorts in 1982, and burned my leg in the same painful manner. That was the last and only time I ever rode in shorts, lesson learned. ATGATT.

    All that stuff about crashing close to home/work is absolutely true (feel free to ask me how I know); at least you don't have very far to push the wreck while bleeding...
     
  6. NorcalBoy

    NorcalBoy Member

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    ...........
     
  7. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

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    I know - I'm hoping I don't do something REALLY stupid like trade in my VFR for a Ducati :popcorn:
     
  8. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

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    I'm almost afraid to ask - but I do like to learn from others' mistakes - so what happened?
     
  9. GigemVFR

    GigemVFR New Member

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    Gregory, Gregory, Gregory.......

    Do you need to take a refresher MSF course? Did you not listen the first time? Damn kids just don't listen anymore. j/k


     
  10. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

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    Oh crap, I must REALLY be in trouble now cuz only my Mom called me Gregory :witless: This may be hard to believe for some but I actually managed to get the highest score on BOTH the written and riding portions of my MSF course. But that's not saying much if you could have seen the other 20 or so people I was in the class with :glee:
     
  11. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    Riding my CB400N in 1983, after having spent a day at a track with the University M/C club, I found out the hard way about limited ground clearance on the only corner on the road that I lived with my (motorcycle-fearing) parents. Slid into the forecourt of a gas station on my arse. Pushed the bike home, bleeding (about 500m).

    Riding my VFR400 in about 1989 coming home from the gym in jeans and a nice Rothmans Honda nylon jacket, a dog darted out from parked cars and I hit it, caused extensive rash to the bike and myself, all within 100m from home. Pushed the bike home, bleeding.

    I now always have helmet, boots, gloves and at least an armoured jacket. I hardly ever wear jeans (certainly not for any serious riding) and will usually be found in full leathers or a full textile suit, depending on which bike I am on. I have been riding for 35 years and have had more than just the above crashes, and wearing good gear has minimised the damage that I have suffered. My worst spill was in 1984(?) test riding a VF750 Interceptor, when I decided to test the top speed, and then test the brakes; I managed to lock the front wheel at over 100mph and lose control, and suffered just a tiny graze on the heel of my hand because I was wearing full leathers at the time.

    I have also:
    1: Slid off crossing wet train tracks (CB125T)
    2: Forgot to retract the sidestand, all good until that hard left turn (CB250RS)
    3. Rear-ended another bike, by not looking where I was going (CB250RS)
    4. Locked up the front and slid over, when cars have pulled out in front (x2, but have not actually hit any cars); (VF750 and VFR700)
    5. Slid off on a patch of water dropped around a blind bend on an otherwise bone dry road; ironically the water was dropped by a fire truck (VF400)
    6. Hit a pedestrian who jay-walked, I dodged him, and he dodged my dodge, and we collided (VF400)
    7. Slid off on a patch of oil on an otherwise dry road (VFR800)

    I've also been hit by a car that ran a red light, fortunately just a glancing blow across the muffler of my RF900.

    You can't predict when these things will happen, but you can predict that they will hurt if bare skin comes in contact with abrasive road surfaces.
     
  12. GatorGreg

    GatorGreg Honda Fanboy/LitiGator

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    Unfortunate but I LOL'd when I read about the fire truck and pedestrian! :glee:

    Thanks for sharing - I can definitely learn from those accidents. One thing that stood out to me is that perhaps as many as 3 of those accidents would not have occurred on an ABS equipped VFR with kickstand deployment kill switch - would you agree? I'm referring to the two where your front wheel locked up and the kickstand being left down of course.

    I've forgotten about my kickstand being down when rolling backwards out of my garage in neutral and almost tipped over as a result - but fortunately it's smart enough now to not let us start it up and put it in gear :glee:
     
  13. Terry Smith

    Terry Smith Member

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    Glad you found some of those enlightening/entertaining.

    The march of technology is a great thing. Back in the day, bikes did not have sidestand switches, and as I vividly demonstrated, it was easy enough to ride around with the stand deployed until the inevitable happened. Even now, I always double check that the stand has retracted before setting off, as I don't fancy a repeat, even though technically it is no longer possible.

    Regarding ABS, I do agree that this would have prevented three of my crashes, and I wish my current fleet was so equipped. Certainly I wouldn't buy a car without ABS, but the old bikes I have never had that option. Maybe one day.
     
  14. Diamondhead

    Diamondhead New Member

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    I heard that too..so I moved ;-)
     
  15. A.M

    A.M Moderator Staff Member

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    You should have worn *riding* pants! But we've all done it...where we haven't.

    I can say though, the thought of riding in shorts just makes me cringe.

    Have you ever had a rock fly up from a car in front of you and just peg you in the Knee?!
    Even with riding pants on those things hurt. Same with riding without gloves.
    I've been pegged so many times by rocks on knuckles ... I know my hands would've been split wide open had it not been for me wearing gloves all those times. Can you imagine a rock to the face while not wearing a helmet?!

    Anyways...

    Glad you weren't hurt even more though and I hope it heals up fast.
    Burns are extremely painful and I imagine rash could be even more.

    It really super sux to get all geared up just to go around the block or something.
    So yeah, if you aren't into that, at LEAST wear some pants!
     
  16. fink

    fink Member

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    Sorry ,No sympathy from me, whilst I see your post more of an educational one rather than looking for sympathy. Hats of you for posting it knowing full well to would get the piss taken.

    On a more serious note, from what your are saying I gather you never thought of cooling it for 10 mins in order to reduce the burn and take the heat out as you are feeling the pain now. Idiot :frown-new: couple of paracetamol for pain relief required.


    Least next time you will have protection on and if you burn yourself you will run injured area under a tap for 10 mins. :courage:
     
  17. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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  18. Jeff_Barrett

    Jeff_Barrett Member

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    Sorry, Greg ... it's your body and your life, but personally, I won't even go down the street to the end of the block on my bike without all my gear on.

    It only takes a brief moment in time for an accident to happen, and guess what? You don't get to choose when, where, or how that accident happens ....
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2017
  19. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    For those who go full ATGATT on trips to Wal*Mart, first, Wal*Mart has in many stores, a personal shopper service. Delivery services are soon to follow.

    I see no reason to dress in unless style dictates and the trip down the street is done in a car or pickup. For the "bikes are a lifestyle" set dress is a matter of choice and declaration of gender of the day. This is important when a bathroom break is necessary

    IMO,take off the skidlid before entering the store. This could be construed as a mask and ya never can tell if the clerk has a 12 gauge under the counter.
     
  20. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Like Jeff said, it's your life dress how you like but I know that if I'm riding, I have some sort of protection on. Whether it be riding pants with the armor inserts or the knee/shin guards that go under the pants, I always have some form of protection. Having low sided a few weeks ago, I'm sure glad that I had my leathers on this go round! Based on how my leathers and boot turned out, I'm pretty sure if I was in shorts and flip-flops, I wouldn't be feeling too good right now. Oh yeah, this happened 5 miles from the house too! The same off ramp I take when coming home on this freeway...

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