Went Down.....

[Bates121]

So last Friday I got clipped by a car. I am ok a few bruises and soreness but nothing broken. The bike is also not too banged up either. Thank you frame sliders!!!

I was going down sunset blvd in the left hand lane and the guy next to me wanted to be where I was. My front tire was lined up with about the middle of his car. Well he came over and clipped the front of my bike. The bike went down and so did I. Luckily it was only at about 10-15 mph so it was not a bad one.

What did I learn:
1. Always be ready to move away from other motorist
2. Stay out of blind spots :spank::spank:
3. Continue to always wear my gear
4. Falling hurts

Damage to gear:
NONE!! my jacket where i hit the ground wasnt even scuffed I couldnt believe it.

Damage to me:
Bruised tendons in the right arm and I only have about 50% of my range of motion with it but everyday is getting better with increasing range of motion:rockon:. A small patch of road rash on my right knee. Random bruises on my right side

Damage to Bike:
1 cracked headlight casing, a cracked right side plastic on the front of the bike, and a right side frame slider rubbed down


The only problem is people are now asking when I am selling the bike. Screw that I can't wait to get back on the thing once the arm is better

Attached is a pic of the bruising on my elbow I'll post bike damage pics later

 

[Hellgate]

Ouch! That was a hard lesson to learn, stay out of those blind spot. Get well soon and get back on that FZ! :thumbup:

 

[RJ2112]

Glad your gear worked for you, and good to hear you're already planning the return to riding.

 

[tskorka]

Same here. Glad you are ok. Do you think louder pipes would have helped to make you more conspicuous?

 

[Wavex]

Glad you're OK!

ATGATT FTW!!!

 

[Bates121]

Wow Wave that is a great pic

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Must have been great gear Wavex (David), you obviously survived the fall.

As far as the OP, would have the horn saved you? Were you able to swerve or did you apply your brakes?

Covering the horn in those situation might be a good idea, in my opinion.

 

[Bates121]

Horn would have been a good idea i went for the swerve instead but I reacted late. But in the future I will be covering the horn in those situations

 

[Dennis in NH]

Glad you made it out ok. I hope things heal fast. It's very frustrating when you cannot do something you used to do before an injury.

When I'm in really stop/go bad traffic and I see that folks are not looking at me, I rev the Scorpions and am ready to bleep the little horn too. I'm not trying to get attention for my ego, I just want them not to hit me.

Dennis

 

[simonwb]

The only problem is people are now asking when I am selling the bike. Screw that I can't wait to get back on the thing once the arm is better

+1 on that when I've gone down in the past.

Glad to hear you're not too bad and, like you say, that much wiser now.

 

[FZ1inNH]

Glad to hear it was minor and you're not broken! The bike is much easier to fix or replace!

I always try to watch the driver I am near out of the corner of my eye. If I can get a hint of their intentions, I am better prepared to avoid it.

Couple of points, before passing, pull up behind their drivers side keeping a safe distance. Flash the high beams once or twice after putting on your signal to change lanes. Look at them to be sure they see you. If you don't think they saw you, a quick beep of the horn before you pull out will get their attention. Get by them as quickly and safely as possible.

With practice, this will avoid 99.9% of these types of accidents and become second nature to you.

 

[Wolfman]

Glad your ok, looks like you got out of it reasonably well...

As for the people that ask when your selling your bike... tell em to go jump!

 

[DefyInertia]

Glad you're doing reasonably well. Take it easy and heal up.

I like your crash analysis. Seems like you were riding in the driver's blind spot.

Covering the horn in those situation might be a good idea, in my opinion.

And staying out of or getting through the driver's blind spot might eliminate the need for the horn altogether.

Get by them as quickly and safely as possible.

+1

Avoiding the need to swerve, brake, or sound the horn is the way to go....sometimes it's unavoidable, often a little defensive driving will go a long way.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

And staying out of or getting through the driver's blind spot might eliminate the need for the horn altogether.

.

But when you have the Steibel, you beg for these type of situations to develop so you can blast the entire block and scare the living daylights out of that driver that he or she just F'd up!

 

[granda080]

Glad that you are okay!!!

 

[BusyWeb]

Glad you O.K....
I heard that some part of cross streets in the Los Angeles have reputation for this kind of incidents.

 

[mstewar1]

Sorry about the unplanned separation. Glad you're (relatively) ok.

+1 on the horn. I also have the stebel and it's really fun to watch it wake some folks up.

Definitely stay out of blind spots.

How much gear did you have on?

As for the "loud pipes" question: rubbububububub...

 

[Bates121]

Sorry about the unplanned separation. Glad you're (relatively) ok.

+1 on the horn. I also have the stebel and it's really fun to watch it wake some folks up.

Definitely stay out of blind spots.

How much gear did you have on?

As for the "loud pipes" question: rubbububububub...

I had on my scorpion helmet (full face) jeans:spankbuying leather pants real soon now) alpinestar gloves, boots and leather jacket. The stebel would definitely be a fun/useful investment.

 

[copperhd5]

Glad you are ok!

 

[Motogiro]

Hey! Get better soon so we can go for a ride!