Tell us about you're closest call(s) while riding ur bike

I'll kick off:

I got into the city and the trafficlight was on red (2 lanes) and there were around 7 cars all on the right lane, and no cars on the left lane. So i approached and ofcourse kept on the left lane. When i drove past those 7 cars one car suddenly threw his car to the left scaring me shitless and steering directly to the left - Luckily there was nothing on my left and i got to safely recover to the right lane. The guy didn't even probably notice me..... Everytime i get into the same situation i always drive much more to the left, to have more reaction time. Fucking idiots.

Most of my close calls were like this, drivers throwing their steering wheels to the left without looking. Had those close calls around 6 times already in a short year - which i find pretty scary.

Slightly over 200 mph on CA 280 headed south, about 3 miles north of San Jose exits. Side by side with an F40 Ferrari. Highly modified 91 ZX11. Come over the rise 3/4 mile before first exit (I think exit 10, been a while) and saw Sunday morning church traffic (seriously!) stacking up in all 4 lanes.

Ended up lane splitting at 50 mph before I could weave over to the right lane and exit.

I didn't ride the rest of the day. Heh.

I only count this as my closest call because if so much as one thing had happened other than exactly what DID happen, I would have been dead beyond a shadow of doubt.

I didn't ride the rest of the day. Heh.

Same way I felt after i rolled by bike on it's side getting off of it....after 4 weeks of ownership.

My closest call happened last year in early November. I was taking a corner with ~ a 20" radius at about 30 mph and the back tire lost traction. Now that is a corner where the sign says "10 mph" and they really mean 10 mph! I had taken that corner a lot of times at 30, though. I straightened up and braked which stopped the slide but I went straight across the oncoming lane. If a car would have been coming at me, they would have probably never seen me with all the trees and the tight corner. I was on the stock tire and the roads were cold. Careful with that stock tire.

Similar thing happened early this season but I did not slide, I just went very wide in a corner, right up to the edge of the oncoming lane. There was a van coming at me. I leaned it hard and it felt like I might drop it so I took my foot off the peg and I felt my boot scrape the road.

No more close calls caused by my willingness to corner hard on the street without being able to see what's headed at me in the other lane. I have had a couple incidences in the last week of cagers pulling into my lane just as i was about to pass them. Both times, i was hesitating because I somehow knew they were going to do that.....and they did. Cagers often don't look in the side mirror or do a head spin.

* Last updated by: Rook on 9/24/2009 @ 10:03 AM *

I understand that one, Rook. Same ZX11 I cracked 200mph with, I low-sided about a year later in the Santa Cruz mountains, headed up to the ridge road on my way to Alice's Restaraunt.

Came to a 90 degree off-camber uphill I had slid through many a time before. In it a little too hot, road temp a little too low in the shade, leaned over a bit too much, and she went out from under me, rear end leaving first.

As I tumbled up the hill (looking up at the sky.... looking down at the asphalt.... ommmmhhhhppphhhh..... looking up at the sky.... looking.....) I watched in slow motion as the ZX11 tumbled end over end up the road, tearing pieces off as it went.

Don't count it as my closest, because I did everything wrong and didn't come close to death.

Closet bad news call. Rounded a high speed up hill sweeper (the hill crest right at the apex) at around a buck thirty. A car pulled out of a driveway right in front of us. I got hard on the front brake and shaved off some speed but not nearly enough (we were closing distance fast) so I eased on the back brake. Problem is weight was already transferred and the back started to lock, so I had to ease off the back and get back on it. I had briefly thought about getting off the brakes and passing on the left but then thought what if they decide to turn left and scratched that idea. I stayed on the brakes looking for an escape route that didn't include trees and really didn't see one, so I kept trying to shave of speed and downshifting without locking the rear up again. At the last minute the lady turned left into a driveway and gave me enough room to go around on the right.

I turned around and went back to make sure the lady was alright and ended up talking to her and her husband for awhile (both pretty cool) turns out he rides a Duc I see on the mountain all the time. He said it was pretty cool watching us control the bike after he figured the outcome was going to be alright.

I asked my wife if she needed to clean out her panties. She said "nah I knew you would do the right thing and take care of us". Funny thing is after 25 years of riding with me she don't get rattled. I never felt her back there, she stayed nuetral and kept her weight from shifting forward on me and just calmly watched it unfold.

Yea I was caught up in the moment and traveling a little faster than we should have been. It was one of those days when everything is right and your connected with the road and just railing along. Every corner just flowed beautifully even when the pegs were dragging. It was just one of those things that happen and put you in check.

A few things different... you leave a stop light a little slower 30 minutes earlier, and the outcome would have been entirely different, and quite bad.

Some call it luck, some fate, some prefer to try to describe it with chaos theory.

What is the differnce between your experience and the guy last week who t-boned granny's caddy and both rider and passenger were killed? Seconds..... mere seconds.

My closest call was a blue car that wouldn't let me pass in the fast lane, they would purposely close the distance between the vehicles in the next lane for approx the next 5 miles. We came on a slower moving semi in the no 2 lane and truckers are pretty good at keeping in the middle of there lanes so I went for it, I only needed a few sec to burst thru the opening. Sure enough the car started squeezing me into the truck and I just twisted my throttle and kept my eye on the 10" of pavement between the lane divider and the truck. My left and right mirrors bent in by the blunt of the guys car and the other mirror hit the truck trailer side, I then accelerated to get out of there. When I pulled into my drive way, my nephew came up to me and saw the bent in mirrors and then and asked what happened you've got paint scratches on your mirrors? I didn't say anything, got into my car and headed to the bar..lol

I came pretty close to hitting a low flying goose a couple months ago. Surprised the SH1T out of him, poor birdy. Wish I had not looked up as i passed under him.

jk- no poop

* Last updated by: Rook on 9/28/2009 @ 12:32 AM *

Hahahahaha that's just funny if u ask me,

When i was still having lessons, we were on the highway and the other cursist was riding in front of me, when suddenly some bird got kinda low and slammed against his helmet, from behind u really saw somethng EXPLODING on his helmet and him getting knocked back pretty well - I laughed my ass off since u saw all the feathers everywhere, and here was kinda riding from left to right for like 10 seconds :D:D:D:D

... He didn't find it funny though

lol- Sounds like an old Buggs Bunny Cartoon. SPLAT......and then you see a cloud of feathers floating the ground!