Bad day riding

Have any of you ever had a bad day riding???

Yesterday was one for me...I had a few things I needed to do yesterday.
1. I need to go to the drug store to get some meds..Plavix...for my heart.
It was about 50* F outside so I dressed for the cool weather. Went to a small town where my drug store is located about 7 miles from my home. Picked up the meds and started to my next thing to do list.
I was about 2 blocks from the drug store coming up on the next intersection, I watch a tractor-trailer coming to a stop at the stop sign...There is no left turn lane at that intersection. I approahed the intersection I caught a glance of a gray auto coming around the tractor-trailer on the left side. he was in a big hurry, he never stopped and came right out infront of me. I was running about 30 mph and was about 30 feet from him when I locked up the rear brake. I leaned to the right causing the rear of the bike to step out to the left . During those few seconds he saw me and locked down on his car and stopped just passed half way in my lane. I kept the rear brake locked up for about 20 feet, at 10 feet and just about parallel to his car I released the rear brake stood the bike back up straight then hit the front brake and rear brake together. I stopped about 2 feet from his rear wheel.
He had his window down just a little and I heard him call me a "Stupid Son Of A Bit*h. as he drove off...Dumb founded I sat there and just as he was leaving...I hollared.....F*ck YOU...
I looked at the Truck driver and he was shaking his head and motion me to continue on my way..I rode about 200 yards and was getting madder by the moment. I did a U-turn in the road and kicked the rocket in the A** going to catch him. I was in 2nd gear 3/4 power....then I thought..This might not be such a good idea..I was carring my guns and if I caught him it could turn out bad for both of us.. I slowed down ,did another U-turn and headed to my next to do item.

The trip was about 35 miles to the otherside of Durham to see the IRS about a letter I got from them saying I had to pay $4,000 more in taxes from 2010...Totally BS..but you can't win against the IRS here.
I was about 3 miles from the exit I needed to get off. The exit I need was a left lane exit so I was in the left lane which here is the fast lane. When a black SUV just made a fast move to get into my lane. I was to the rear passenger door when she made her move...I hit the brakes and let her go. Her rear bumper was just barely 1 foot from my front tire when she made it into my lane and I was 1 foot on the sholder.

I did make it home safe but it was a Bad day for riding.

Glad you made it home in one piece! I had one of those days not long ago in downtown Dallas. I was on the mix master and someone in a smart car pulled into my lane from my left and came to a dead stop while we are running about 60. I swerved to the left and dropped my left foot to the pavement while I stood on the rear brake with the other and locked the front once the bike was sideways. I white smoked both tires and stopped about a foot from his bumper. I couldn't believe I didn't drop it. It was like I used to slide to a stop on my old dirt bike. I looked at the guy behind me and he was shaking his head and laughing like he couldn't believe it either. I almost made a batch of Milk Duds on that one! Still cant figure out why they call them smart cars...

I learned along time ago to roll with the punches and keep that rear brake from locking up. I can be hazardous to your health..Glad you made it home safe and sound..

Kung Fu biker wins in a traffic accident in China - YouTube

Yeah, I had a bad day riding a couple of weeks ago.

Decided to take the KLR out on a Forest Road about 40 miles from home. A friend and I entered the restricted area (with permits) and rode about 1/2 way down the 20 mile road. It was getting increasingly rocky as we went. After stopping to discuss whether or not to continue or turn back we figured it couldn't get much worse and decided to continue on.

Bad decision.

Came upon a downhill section with some very big rocks covering the trail. In the middle of the downhill the road/trail made a sharp right turn. As I rounded the turn I realized the decent was increasing, the rocks growing in size and number, and my speed was higher than it should be. A few seconds later as I lay on the ground, wondering who was doing all the hollering I was hearing inside my helmet (yeah, it was me), I started taking inventory to see if everything was still working. End result, two broken ribs and a big gouge out of the $600 Arai helmet.

Two weeks later and I just managed to get off the Percocet. Some nasty pain that's finally becoming manageable.

Yup, that was a bad day.

TRIIICK

I have been riding about 50 years now..I have always been a rear brake person.
I use the rear brake 85% of the time with a small amount of front brake. But when I am riding hard or running the Dragon I use 90% front brake and 10% rear.

When I started riding the brakes on a motorcycle are nothing like the brakes we have on motorcycles today. Linked Brakes or ABS are very good at stopping motorcycles now. But if I would have been riding my K1200 BMW with ABS I truely believe I would have hit that car yesterday.

I still like to have the ability to lock the rear wheel if need be..to lay it down or to throw the rear out to help change directions. I have also used it to get out of a hi speed wobble once or twice.

For Straight line braking....Nothing can beat the ABS, Linked and huge front brake roters we have today

joey fletcher said:

TRIIICK

I have been riding about 50 years now..I have always been a rear brake person.
I use the rear brake 85% of the time with a small amount of front brake. But when I am riding hard or running the Dragon I use 90% front brake and 10% rear.

When I started riding the brakes on a motorcycle are nothing like the brakes we have on motorcycles today. Linked Brakes or ABS are very good at stopping motorcycles now. But if I would have been riding my K1200 BMW with ABS I truely believe I would have hit that car yesterday.

I still like to have the ability to lock the rear wheel if need be..to lay it down or to throw the rear out to help change directions. I have also used it to get out of a hi speed wobble once or twice.

For Straight line braking....Nothing can beat the ABS, Linked and huge front brake roters we have today

Click to expand...

I understand Joey,i'm no spring chicken myself. I almost bought the farm hitting the rear brake back in the day. The bike went totally out of control and to this day i cringe just thinking about what could have happened. It was a lesson i'll never forget..

brakes?

i bought my first rocket in late 04,maybe early 05...anyway,i just had to know how it behaved under heavy braking.I padded up,put on all the protective gear i had,heavy leathers,full face lid,kevlar gloves ect..then hit the Hiway.Got a long stretch to myself, bought my speed up to 120kmph.....then smashed both brakes as hard as i could.I was expecting the worst.i was wondering if the front would dive left or right on me.its happened before on other bikes ive owned.Smoke was pissin off both tyres but she stayed straight as an arrow. No wobbles,no tank slapper,no worries.For a bike of this size,amazing!Wow.Now i know wot to expect if i am ever in a all out stop situation.I have alot of confidence in my bike and maybe thats why i will never sell her. i flat spotted both tyres.i dont care.I just, had to know. p.s i dont really like that back brake when used on its own .ok around town maybe.....but it locks up/bounces too easy for my liking.different story when both brakes are used.

I applaud your maturity and cooler head in deciding not to pursue the bad driver.

We all can imagine that those decisions often turn a bad situation worse.

Nice accident avoidance skills, by the way. It's why I want ABS on all future bikes!

I've had a few incidents where I wanted to drag someone out of a car, but at 55, I figure I'm too old for that sh#t. And when they look at you, like you did something wrong, amazing.

Dan

I am 100% sure I made the correct decision not to chase him.

But as I stated earlier...If I was riding my BMW with ABS I am sure I would have hit that car or even worse Hi Siding the bike by trying to turn so hard to the right under full braking.
With that said...The K1200 LT BMW is a very top heavy bike with a high seat. I have dropped that thing so many times now I just let it fall when it gets off balance.
If you ever touch the front brake when coming to a stop and the front wheel is turned just a small amount.....The Dang Top Heavy Bit*h is going down...That is why she is named Dolly..