Ten years ago I laid my Honda 919 down in order to keep from being a hood ornament. ....
I think the question is how many has he avoided using his method.
Intentionally crashing to avoid a crash is usually a terrible idea. If you had taken the time you spent "laying it down" and used it for maximum braking and/or swerving, I wonder if your outcome would be different?
In retrospect, I wasn't focused on the intersection and her and I didn't play the "What if?" game at that time -- and I paid the price.
yeah it's not easy to say sometimes but no laydowns, how to counter steer, really stopping your bike and making these second nature are fair forum discussions and need to be continually refreshed.
Then we should might ask ourselves why fragile old guys that "ride judiciously" are riding C14s? Gary that just sold mine The connie was just too much bike for the midwest. The K1200 is way too big (heavy). and am now thinking R1100RT may be next. Basically I would like a 500 pound all the bells 1 person touring bike.
I have no problem answering this question. Thin-skinned I am not.
I approached the intersection at about 35, and accelerating a bit. Facing me in a left-turn lane was Daddy's little girl. On her right were cars, one after another, making a right turn. She pulled out just as I hit the intersection. On my right and 90 degrees was a car making a left turn, essentially blocking my (desired) escape route. In short, I had no where to go, which is where the "idiot" bell goes off in my own head.
Rather than do a high side after a full on collision, I laid the bike down and avoided bouncing. I don't bounce real well.
Check my earlier statement in which I said, in part:
Attended a defensive riding course in 2003, during which I learned a ton -- mostly defensive measures, which I momentarily forgot in the incident above.
Since I'm new here, I'll say that i've been riding since I was 12 - minibikes, and then a 1965 Honda S-90, which is where I developed some measure of skill. I would not ever characterize my skill set as being much beyond "defensively competent." Never was much of a hotdogger. Just ain't wired that way. This C14 I now have is my third new bike, having bought my first new bike in 1982.
You can better believe I've made mistakes in my riding, just as I'm quite sure others reading this post can nod their heads (if they're being honest with themselves) and admit the same thing.
I'm prepared to keep learning, which is, I think, what the rational man does. To stop learning means to die, and I ain't dead yet.
Amen to "thick skin" Eupher! I have it too and have needed it on the forums
So, in response to your incident, I have learned from my cop buddy that you NEVER ride next to anyone for any length of time if you can help it. With that in mind I ALWAYS move from car-to-car when traveling and try to stay in "open" areas if I can.
You can do this all day long but when it comes down to it ... Intersection SUCK! You (we) are always at the mercy of the cager who doesn't pay attention.
So, as I ride every day I try and make sure that ,when approaching intersections, I am at a speed that will allow me to maneuver/brake to safety and that I don't have someone blocking my escape route. I create my own room using the incredible power of the C14 (meaning I get to open spots before the intersection and leave the cagers behind me) and enter intersections with room to spare.
Now, I have definitely made mistakes and fortunately they haven't cost me anything but a "kick in the butt" and some embarrassment for not doing what I know I should have done. Going down wouldn't be fun and I have no desire or plan to ever do it ... it's not on my list of "todo's"!
This was posted in love BTW!
Mike
Understood, and thanks.
It may (and does) look stupid, but especially at dawn or dusk when approaching somebody who's waiting to pull out, I'll wave. I ALWAYS ride with two fingers on my front brake, and I've practiced braking with front brake alone, just to gauge how much is too much.
Being seen is probably the biggest thing, just to cut through the fog and the cell phone usage that a lot of cagers find "necessary."
IMHO the worst are the lane changers that don't look! I've come across a lot of those lately ... you know who I'm talking about, the cager that moves to the next lane and THEN looks to see if someone's there! That's the craziest and scariest for me and where I take the most caution because I DEFINITELY don't want to get "bumped" into oncoming traffic by someone who's "sleep-driving"!
Most of us bellyache about the drivers that have completely forgotten what that little stalk on the left side of their steering column is used for, but I have NEVER seen so many idjits as there are here in Miss-sippi.
Come to California !
You guys win by default, just by sheer volume of numbers.