What's your biggest fear whilst riding?

[rider1a]

I was just reading the thread on gravel. Some people seem to be really hung up on it but gravel is just one of many many hazards that could affect us riders. This scares the life out of me when I'm doing 80 and tucked behind the fairing.

Yeah, I have seen large ladders and other building supplies in the middle of the freeway at night..yikes! I suggest HID lights, which increase how much further you can see in front.

When night riding, I like to not "over-drive" my lights. Basically, you want to go at a speed in case you do see an object in front you have ample time to take evasive action. With stock lights on a FZ6, I am guessing around 55-60 mph max on a dark night on a straight dark highway is the key.

I have heard certain night driving classes with a special tint help too. Of course, you could always try to score a pair of military night vision goggles.

Fred

 

[niben001]

Anyone for semis?
Tires blown
Random pieces of the trailer flying off
Or just that wind tunnel effect when coming up to and going by them

 

[rider1a]

Anyone for semis?
Tires blown
Random pieces of the trailer flying off
Or just that wind tunnel effect when coming up to and going by them

Did you see the Myth Busters TV show about simulating a blown truck tire? It did not matter if you were in a car or motorcycle, the test dummy was decapitated!

Stay far away from the trucks kill zone and pass them very fast is all I can say.

Fred

 

[Heather]

all of the above...plus speed wobbles .

 

[mstewar1]

Did you see the Myth Busters TV show about simulating a blown truck tire? It did not matter if you were in a car or motorcycle, the test dummy was decapitated!...

I thought that they "busted" that myth? I seem to recall that they had a real hard time getting a tire to delaminate. And when they finally managed to get one to shed a big ol' strip of rubber they had to essentially point it right at the head of the dummy by feeding it between a couple of rotating tires -- kinda like one of those machines used to pitch baseballs for batting practice.

While I think that it would definitely ruin your day to get hit by one of those big hunks of rubber, I think that the odds just aren't that great -- unless all you ever do is ride on the freeway around nothing but trucks.

 

[TRAILERTRASH]

My biggest fear is that i will wreck duh!

 

[GastonJ]

Definately a deer running into me. I've had 2 incidents with deer in the past, thankfully both when I was in a car.

First time a deer ran out of the woods and it didn't notice that there was a road below it (the road was on a hill, so 8 foot higher on one side) and managed to go over my bonnet without hitting the car - could have been worse had it been a second later!

Second time I saw a deer running down the side of the road in front of me off to one side, with no hesitation whatsoever it changed direction and ran into the side of my car. Damaged the front wing, door and rear wing. The deer looked to be totally undamaged as when I stopped and looked back it had recovered, got up and run off.

For those in North Yorks who ride on the road from Helmsley to Stokesley, seriously be careful. This time of year, early morning or mid evening the deer tend to cross the road, with their young. Hit one and you'll certainly come off worse.

 

[Mlebout]

Not being seen by other drivers. Moose, deer and bear running out in front of me or into the side of me.

And/or something breaking on my bike and causing a crash.

Mike

 

[ScubaSteve08]

I am not afraid of road debris because it is me that is in control of how fast i am going and how i can react to them. If i am going too fast to account for something in the road then it is up to me to slow down...


what does scare the heck out of me is drivers that don't pay attention and Deer/Moose/Smaller animals. I have been almost hit already about 5 times this year and if i weren't looking out for the idiots in the cars then i would be a pancake...

yea i just keep ball bearings in my pockets for the jerk offs who decide its ok pull in front of a bike thats going 70 while they're doing 50. Dont forget to pull up next to them and let them know you're they're #1 fan!!! lol

 

[04fizzer]

Road snakes. Absolutely hate them, especially in the summer when they're nice and warm and slick!

 

[deeptekkie]

Horse manure, (always in curves on hills),
12 pound killer chickens, (they kamikaze you off high banks),
Idiot cagers with eyes that just do not see bikes! (They're everywhere, they're everywhere!)
I enjoyed your original post, thanks!
(Bread rolls?)

 

[Bram]

My biggest fear is becoming fearless and overconfident. It's then when accidents happen.

 

[Hutchmaster34]

Man i'm gonna have to say one of mine is POT HOLES!!, here in Minnesota they are freaking everywhere. Couple weeks ago i was riding on 35W just got out of downtown came into a turn at about 50mph and there was a huge hole. i mean the thing covered half the lane. Cars on both sides of me so no quick lane change available so I tried to hit the skinner part of the hole and all that was going through my head was OH SH*T i'm going down. I hit the hole pretty damn hard but saved it somehow. Now my handle bars are off about 5 to 10 degrees off from being straight with the tire. Probably my second scariest moment on my bike so far

 

[DefyInertia]

My biggest fear is becoming fearless and overconfident. It's then when accidents happen.

seriously....

 

[RJ2112]

Man i'm gonna have to say one of mine is POT HOLES!!, here in Minnesota they are freaking everywhere. Couple weeks ago i was riding on 35W just got out of downtown came into a turn at about 50mph and there was a huge hole. i mean the thing covered half the lane. Cars on both sides of me so no quick lane change available so I tried to hit the skinner part of the hole and all that was going through my head was OH SH*T i'm going down. I hit the hole pretty damn hard but saved it somehow. Now my handle bars are off about 5 to 10 degrees off from being straight with the tire. Probably my second scariest moment on my bike so far

You need to re-align your forks.

The fork legs are only clamped in place by the upper and lower triple clamps, and the pinch bolt holding the front axle.... as well as a little bit of torque from the fender. When you whack the front end, the parts can shift, and cannot 'return'.... the friction of the clamps prevents them from springing back.

The fork will not have it's best action, if the tubes are not aligned parallel to each other. The action will be 'sticky' from the binding of the bushings and the fork legs. This can cause wheel chatter, and will adversely affect ride quality.

To correct:

1) loosen the upper triple clamp pinch bolts. DO NOT DO ANYTHING with the lower triple clamp... that's your 'point of reference' everything else needs to align to.
2) loosen the axle pinch bolt, and slightly loosen the front axle
3) loosen the fender mounts

4) straddle the bike, grab a fist full of front brake.
5) 'pump' the fork.... bounce it through as much of it's stroke as you can while still holding the front brake. Do this half a dozen times.

6) inspect the angle between the bars, and the wheel's alignment.

If it's now 'true', tighten all of the bolts you loosened to do the alignment.

 

[Kazza]

Road snakes. Absolutely hate them, especially in the summer when they're nice and warm and slick!

+1 on the snakes!

Narrowly missed a 5ft tiger snake recently - was convinced I hit it and kept waiting for it to poke it's head next to my speedo for the next 5kms!

But mainly - a car/truck pulling out in front of me and hitting me. Keep your eyes open and be alert and of course, ATGATT !

 

[04fizzer]

+1 on the snakes!

Narrowly missed a 5ft tiger snake recently - was convinced I hit it and kept waiting for it to poke it's head next to my speedo for the next 5kms!

But mainly - a car/truck pulling out in front of me and hitting me. Keep your eyes open and be alert and of course, ATGATT !

Nah mate, I'm talking about the crack filler they used on the roads.

 

[Kazza]

Nah mate, I'm talking about the crack filler they used on the roads.

Oh, Doh!

But, my snakes are real...........

 

[Prebstar]

Having a sneezing fit...can get a bit messy.

 

[lonesoldier84]

Mine? Bears. Definitely bears.