I tossed my shiny scoot down the road.

[grommit]

Sounds like you guys are having fun.

Gald your all ok.

 

[dark_isz]

..........

 

[HavBlue]

Man, go away for a couple of days and the board runs into each other! Glad you guys, and gal, are more of less okay. I can't wait to see the photos.

Yeah!!! And the funny part is we were doing so-so in that the crashes had been limited to natural causes like dirt, rocks (marbles), normal stuff like drops and then bam,
Every wreck I have ever responded to or heard about or witnessed on the street involved the wrong place at the wrong time. Great is when that wrong place and wrong time may be limited to once every decade of the riding experience and should that rider or riders walk away with a machine and physical body that can still make it home, it was an awesome ride. Safe, will always be a relative term.

 

[gomd3]

hope the repairs aren't too bad, good to hear that no one is hurt, Good thing it's june now cause may was not a good month for FZ's everywhere.

 

[trailblazer87]

Total suckage on the Dragon.

Sorry to hear about it guys, gklad that your OK.:thumbup:

 

[chuckfz6ryder]

I'm glad everyone was unhurt, hope everyone is learning from all these crashes, we need to be extra careful. These bikes can be so much fun, and I want everyone to keep enjoying them.

Chuck

 

[bd43]

I'm a little confused. 1st crash, wrightme43 low sides, and on his own? 2nd crash, cut off by a left turner, and tries to avoid by braking only to have Defy riding up his rear?

I'm just glad that everyone is okay. <sigh of relief> And...., still having fun. However, maybe there something here we can discuss about when it comes to group riding. After reading this, for me, at this moment, I'm not too comfortable hanging two seconds behind someone in a group ride. I think I'll be the guy in the back who's 12 seconds back.

 

[SpacemanSpiff0x0]

Glad everyone is ok....this has been a really crappy month for the forum. Seemse like there's a new thread every day about someone biffing it. I'll second (or third or fourth or whatever) the notion that a crash specific area might be a good idea.

Get your stuff fixed and get back out there! I hope to make it to the next trip to the gap and want to see you guys there...regardless of the luck this year.

 

[ant_mb]

I'm a little confused. 1st crash, wrightme43 low sides, and on his own? 2nd crash, cut off by a left turner, and tries to avoid by braking only to have Defy riding up his rear?

I'm just glad that everyone is okay. <sigh of relief> And...., still having fun. However, maybe there something here we can discuss about when it comes to group riding. After reading this, for me, at this moment, I'm not too comfortable hanging two seconds behind someone in a group ride. I think I'll be the guy in the back who's 12 seconds back.

You have the first one rihgt. In the second crash they were overtaking 2 cars so the guys were on the throttle and accelerating hard. The cars then decide to make a turn.

 

[cv_rider]

In the second crash they were overtaking 2 cars so the guys were on the throttle and accelerating hard. The cars then decide to make a turn.

Isn't that the first crash sequence in that awful Requiem to a Biker YouTube? Ugh, can't get that horrid thing out of my mind.

 

[DefyInertia]

It was more like a crunch, a 5MPH crunch that could have been avoided if I had allowed wrightme to finish his pass before initiating mine.

Picture it, we get waved by the cage at the very start of a long straight (one of like 2 in the surrounding 400 miles), lead bike (wrightme) goes...with me and GFD on his '08 R6 making the same move at close to the same time (like often is the case in group ride passing...more on that later), an instant later I'm hard on the brakes (stoppied w/out washing the front) with a loaded and 2up FZ6 (full top case and tank bag...300lbs of riders without gear)...so yeah, I'm pretty happy with my emergency braking.

End result, I come up a few MPH short of not making contact and the SS behind me comes to a stop right on my rear (he said he thought my rear was going to drop on his front)....so three bikes completely stopped all in a line on top of eachother in the passing lane...WTF?

So SNAFU for sure, but one that could have been avoided with more conservative passing. I'm not sure how everyone else sees group passing, but it has been my experience that when riding in a group you need to execute your pass and get back in your lane so that those behind you can get it done safely. The importance of making quick passes is amplified when very very few passing opportunities exist. I guess I'm just going to have to piss some people off in the future by not passing until the person in front of me has completely passed...this may mean I ruin a good opportunity for other people to pass in the name of "what if".

I'm kind of at a loss though...do I ride at the back and just hang way back so I can do my thing in the corners without catching up? Do I just explain to people my new views on passing before the ride? Do I continue to pass like everyone seems to do? I don't know...I rode at 50 to 60% this weekend and ran at the front 2up...then I get into a 5MPH misshap 1 mile from the end of the trip...ugh...kinda speaks to the fact that HavBlue's signature line is such a stupid thing to embrace.

Any thoughts on passing would be much appreciated (cage or bike). Oh yeah, the bikes are fine...like I said, we were barely moving...fender frickin' bender.

 

[jsteinb95]

I am so glad you guys are ok.

 

[Wavex]

Damn... +1, glad everyone made it out in one piece.

Now what about the cager? did he stop and admitted he cut you guys off? his insurance will cover you guys?

wrightme43, that rear tire looks like a slick bro lol

 

[Tailgate]

Wrightme43: I don't understand how the mishap occurred. Lady waved you on? Was she on passenger side...I don't understand. She isn't driving yet is giving you signal to pass? Husband and she are not on same page but in same vehicle?

 

[Nelly]

I'm not sure how everyone else sees group passing, but it has been my experience that when riding in a group you need to execute your pass and get back in your lane so that those behind you can get it done safely. The importance of making quick passes is amplified when very very few passing opportunities exist. I guess I'm just going to have to piss some people off in the future by not passing until the person in front of me has completely passed...this may mean I ruin a good opportunity for other people to pass in the name of "what if".

I'm kind of at a loss though...do I ride at the back and just hang way back so I can do my thing in the corners without catching up? Do I just explain to people my new views on passing before the ride? Do I continue to pass like everyone seems to do?

Any thoughts on passing would be much appreciated (cage or bike). Oh yeah, the bikes are fine...like I said, we were barely moving...fender frickin' bender.

Hi Nate,

I think that your own personal safety needs to come first. The guys behind you can't fully see what you see. Also if you allow the guy in front to finish his pass you are giving him a bigger safety window.
I try to ride with the view of getting back in lane so that the guy behind can have a clear road I think that that is a sensible and courteous thing to do.
The only problem with hanging back in my opinion (and has happened to me) is that if the guy behind you gets impatient they may well end up cutting you off just as your about to make your move.
I think that you should ride in the pack where you feel the most comfortable.
The lead bike also needs to take some responsibility for ensuring that the pace of the pack is not to fast or the slower riders end up riding outside their abilities to keep up. Leading is hard work, especially in traffic. Glad your back safe and sound. If Steve dosn't want my spare silver tank you are welcome to it.

Nelly:thumbup:
Nelly

 

[FZ1inNH]

Any thoughts on passing would be much appreciated (cage or bike). Oh yeah, the bikes are fine...like I said, we were barely moving...fender frickin' bender.

In rides I've participated in, we typically wait for the bike to pass rather than everyone just jumping out to pass. The BIGGEST problem I have with these is when a leader makes a pass without considering if there's enough room for the rest of the group to follow, that being, enough passing lane or enough space after passing before the next car is reached. Or, the leader passes then slows down a bit. The leader *must* keep passing speed until the whole group has completed a pass.

When the group ride reaches 10 bikes with more to come, it's always best to break into sub-groups of 5 - 6 bikes with a space between groups. This is especially important on the highway where a long train of bikes may be blocking a cage in the passing lane from moving over to get to an exit. This can cause that driver to panic and make a dangerous move. If the group is divided into sub groups, the cars can move between them with safely. Spacing between sub-groups should be 4 - 6 car lengths. More than two bikes leaving a stop sign at a time is illegal in most states. Also illegal is having the sweeper block traffic for the entire group to pull out.

The in end, it is solely your own judgement for the safety of you and your pillion to pass or not and at what point you should do so but the unspoken rule is to pass only when the guy in front of you has safely passed AND has left enough room for you to move in front of the car being overtaken.

There are many good references out on the net for group riding rules and safety. I hope this helps!

 

[Cali rider]

If I'm leading a group, I will wait for some form of acknowledgment from the operator of the vehicle being passed (whether it's a cage or another bike) before beginning the pass. Sometime it's a wave, a turn indicator, or sometimes the vehicle pulls hard to the right. Once I receive this cue then I go by, along with a "follow me" hand gesture to the bikes behind me that it's clear to pass. Never on a blind hill or curve, etc.

As for the accident that's being discussed, I wasn't there, but the riders who were seem to have a clear understanding of what happened: The driver of the car didn't know that anyone was passing him when he made his turn.

 

[GFD]

Wrightme43: I don't understand how the mishap occurred. Lady waved you on? Was she on passenger side...I don't understand. She isn't driving yet is giving you signal to pass? Husband and she are not on same page but in same vehicle?

Hello Guys,
This will be my first post on this forum. I was more active on SBN and R6 forum, but i guess i'll add this to the list since some of my old friends hang out here.

I purchased my '08 cadmium yellow R6 to replace what used to be the love of my life (05 FZ6). I've been riding with DefyInertia for years and I know I can trust his judgement. That's why i decided to follow him closely when we tried to pass the cagers.

This mishapp was 100% the cagers fault. The lady who waved us by was driving a jeep grand cherokee following her husband who was driving a pickup truck. I believe she was just following her husband not knowing where she was going. As soon as she saw a fairly long straight, she waved us by and simultaneously her husband turned left.

 

[CHEMIKER]

Glad to hear that you are all okay!

Can't wait to see your naked bike Steve!

 

[Nelly]

Hello Guys,
This will be my first post on this forum. I was more active on SBN and R6 forum, but i guess i'll add this to the list since some of my old friends hang out here.

I purchased my '08 cadmium yellow R6 to replace what used to be the love of my life (05 FZ6). I've been riding with DefyInertia for years and I know I can trust his judgement. That's why i decided to follow him closely when we tried to pass the cagers.

This mishapp was 100% the cagers fault. The lady who waved us by was driving a jeep grand cherokee following her husband who was driving a pickup truck. I believe she was just following her husband not knowing where she was going. As soon as she saw a fairly long straight, she waved us by and simultaneously her husband turned left.

Welcome to the site,
That makes more sense, I didn't realise that the woman was in a seperate car. I am glad that you are all safe. Thanks for clarifying the confusion.

Nelly