Your biking moments

[Shaun]

I'm talking about near misses, where you've just got away with it and possibly made you scream holy shit out loud after, whether it be through your fault or someone elses.

Mine that spring to mind...

1. On the RS125, heading up to McJamweasels aunties farm house, took a wrong turning and accelerated down what I thought was a straight only to be suddenly faced (it was dark) with a hairpin turning, I chucked the bike over and before I knew what was happening I'd made it round the corner, that was the first time I ever really leaned the bike on the road.

2. On the GSXR600, hadn't had it long and was loving the power, was coming down the A53 a road I know well down a long straight doing about 120, crested a hill to see about 5 five cars stopped dead waiting for the one at the front to turn right, look for an escape route and there isn't one, so I slam on the brakes and stop literally a couple of inches from the cars bumper thinking oh my fucking god and notice the driver staring at me in his mirror, the rest of my ride was a tad slower.

3. On the GSXR6, following m1ke, coming down a road that neither of us knew, as usual he disappeared round the corners, I had a pillion and suddenly I was gaining on him, getting a bit closer after every corner. I fly out of a left hander and the road looks straight, turns out some twat had a long drive the same colour as the road tarmac and the road actually sharply went right, I wasn't setup for the corner at all and was doing about 70 so shot up the drive way slamming on the brakes, no idea if they saw me but funny if the owners did.

4. Again on the GSXR, heading home from a rideout in wales and headed down a road suggested by Craig-, was making good progress and carrying a fair speed round lots of fast flowing corners, come out of a left hander braking down hill with a sharp right hander at the bottom, I hang off, turn in and the knee goes straight down, lift it up and it's down again, by this point I'm just thinking 'shit'. I'm now hung right off the bike, cranked right over just trying to look through the corner wondering when the fuck it's going to end, just as I think I'm not going to make it the back end steps out and somehow regrips, it had turned the bike in and I shot out the other side of the corner with my heart in my mouth and pants filled. It wasn't until a few days later when we were chatting about it that we looked over the bike and noticed some marks on the end can, turns out the end can touching down was what caused the back end to step out, I still think that if that hadn't of happened I wouldn't of made it around the corner!

5. Same road, same corner, different bike. A VFR400 NC30, come round the left, hard on the brakes for the corner, turn in and again the knee went straight down despite me scrubbing off more speed than last time, I instantly believe I'm fucked, soon as the knee went down so did the pegs. I'm hung off looking through the corner when my peripheal vision notices the front wheel heading for the kerb, I just remember thinking this is it I'm off. Next thing I know I've somehow got my bike up over the kerb and I'm on the grass upright with bushes hitting my shoulder, a quick glance and I see the kerb going down level with the road, I pull the bike back onto the tarmac, a moments thought and I punch the air in celebration of my god like riding.

Somehow I haven't actually fallen off since my first week of riding on a CG125, luck? nah just pure skill.

Your turn and I want drama and stories that make me go fucking hell!

[veeeffarr]

1) Come off of Ditton roundabout to join the A562 on my ickle CG125, notice a lorry coming from the exit next to mine and slowing down, all good, I crawl towards my exit, shoulder check... erm... Lorry is about 3 FUCKING METRES away from my left hand side, he mustve stopped and whacked the gas full open... I really didn't think I was going to make that but I did and he missed my back wheel by what must've been inches.

2) Scotch Piper rideout... I was on a CG, everyone else on bigger bikes... Was pissed off from the start because I hated the CG and it was wank, and I really couldn't be arsed doing this ride as the corners aren't challenging enough whatever speed you go on the CG. Come up to the first left hander, mind is concentrating on other things realise I'm running wide, boy racing hairing down the oncoming lane... I target fixate and drift towards the white line before finally managing to pull it back in... Shit meself after that one.

3) Happened last week, on my GS500E... Fucking tanking it down the A562 at about 100mph, theres a sliproad that's about 10 metres long that comes from a 90 degree turn, coach appears OUT OF NOWHERE down this sliproad, indicating right, doing about 60 and giving no indication that he has seen me at all. I shit my pants and pull the bike right instinctively, only to near get taken out by an overtaking car.

None really that bad, but I don't push my limits and I don't get to ride unfamiliar roads much.

[Rookie]

1) Absolutely tanking it down an excellent wide A road, there was a massive traffic jam due to a slow moving lorry so I had about a mile of perfectly empty road with a few beautiful flowing corners. Doing about 135, come out of this corner; I'd only bloody forgotten about the traffic lights. In so many words, I panicked and just wrenched the brakes on. I stopped about a metre from the last car, but there was a perfectly good escape route down the RHS of the cars, which I proceeded to use anyway.

2) Going down a lovely short twisty road next to my road. There's a kind of extended chicane, 2 corners one after the other, which I like to go round as fast as possible, but get something of a mental block trying. There was a car in front of me and I went to overtake. They were going faster than I thought but I figured this would be a good way to overcome the mental block with the first right hander. I eventually got past him at 100 and forgot all about the damn corner, suddenly realised I was going far too fast for the corner, managed to scrub it down to about 40-45mph before eventually turning in, I can't have been more than half a metre from the kerb by the time I started turning.

3) Got impatient and overtook a car on the motorway that was in the 3rd lane. Did it without incident, but pledged never to do it again, the stakes are too high.

[zephyrgirl]

Riding into Le Mans for the Moto GP in May.
I was on the XJR and last but one of the group I was travelling in. The roads were soaked and lots of surface water so I was taking it (relatively) easy.
I got caught up behind a group of 5 or so Harleys/cruisers and was starting to lose sight of the tail lights of my group.
With absolutely no idea of where I was going and my ticket safely tucked in my husbands jacket I thought I had better get round the slowcoaches and catch up.

So, mirror, signal, life saver etc and I twisted the throttle for a quick over take.
Mistake.

The back wheel span like a fucker, found grip and went into the mutha of all fishtails.
The handlebars were snatched from me and, dear God, were thrashing from side to side like a hammerhead shark!
'This is it' I thought, and all I could picture was my beautiful bike scattered down the road in a hundred pieces, me sliding along with it, and fucking up everyones day good and proper.

I got that all over electric shock feeling that accompanies those sorts of moments and it was all I could do to just sit there and let it all happen.
The manta 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck' was shouted for the duration (which seemed like a lifetime, but must only have been about 40 seconds or so) and it all came good.
The bike straightened and I rejoined the rest of the party.

My only comfort was that it must have been a fairly spectacular vision for the cruiser riders at the back of the pack.
The whole event was entirely my fault and totally preventable and a learnt a vaulable lesson that morning.
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Fly away on my Zephyr?
I bloody wish.

[P4LERIDER]

Once when flying up the A470 towards brecon at stupid mph, i was on my old zx6r & my mate behind me was on his firestorm. I usually tuck in close to the roundabouts for maximum lean going onto & coming off them but this time there was loads of traffic in the RH lane so I used the left...

Bike was laid on it's right, peg scraping the floor, no drama... was well in control when all of a sudden I feel the rear tyre run over some gravel & then just spin out side ways superfast, overtaking me mid roundabout, i feel the bike start to go down, me foot wedged between the peg & the floor, most of the bottom of my right leg on the floor under the bike.... thinking to myself 'Bollocks... there's no saving this' when some how or other i manage to push the bike back up by just pushing as hard as i could on my right knee., i sat the bike up and managed to come off the roundabout & carry on up the A470 in the biggest tankslapper I've ever had pissing myself laughing, overjoyed at the fact that I wasn't sliding down the road in peices with the bike

Checking the bike afterwards, the foot peg & rear brake lever had taken a good scratching, even the front indicator had taken a scuffing from the road... I still love those roundabouts just try to keep out of the gravel now tho

[EuropeanNC30R...]

About three to four years ago on my RGV250 coming home from work at around midnight, I had just finished an eleven hour shift in a hot kitchen washing pots. The hotel was about ten miles from home just over the border in England on a very un-policed road that had a huge five mile straight.

Because the RGV did the same mpg however you rode it made sense to thrash the arse off it every night so I did so. Like any other night I exited the right-left-right sweepers upwards of a tonne with my chin on the tank and the throttle wide open. With the needle nudging past 120mph suddenly headlights appeared in the pitch darkness in front of me. A car was pulling straight out in front of me turning right out of some sort of farm track. I didn't even time to brake, just shut the throttle, sat up and aimed for the left. As I got closer I vividly remember getting an extreme close-up of a Saab boot, and then there was just pitch darkness again. The driver had pulled out just in time.

[flamy]

1) NSR125 - Doing about 70 coming back from a mates house at about midnight, pitch black, hardly any cars on the road. Just over the brow of a hill, a pub on my side of the road had traffic cones scattered around the road as the police were in the pub car park tending to something... I couldn't see this as I was on my side of the hill speeding, came flying past an abandoned car on the road taking it's wing mirror and half it's paint work with me, had to veer around a few of the cones which sent me zig-zagging along the road. I was doing 70, so didnt stop, just bombed it all the way home. Put a nasty crack in my fairing though.

2) ZXR400 - A week after passing my test - Outer lane of motorway following too close to a van doing about 80mph, a dog ran out onto the road. Saw every single car infront of me slam on their brakes, including the van whose rear end was veering around the road under the braking - me no chance of stopping positioned my bike down the central reservation and hoped for the best... unfortunatley I had turned onto a thin strip of grass, thought I would loose it but managed to get back onto the road still overtaking like 10 cars before I could stop.

3) I think the one that really did scare the cock off me was:

ZXR400 - Meeting toby r on my bike like a few days after I bought it, coming down knowsley express way, dual carriageway, overtaking quite a few cars doing about 60... this one car on the left just infront of me came flying across my path into the central reservation bounced back into his lane BACKWARDS and then planted himself into the barrier on his side. If it wasn't for my tight leathers I would have squeezed a shit unto my pants.
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Current: GSXR 750 K6 Previous: R1, R6, ZXR400, NSR125 Next: Ducati 848 or 999

[Zanith]

Fazer 600:- This happened about 3 hours ago heading home to Stafford.

I just left Market Drayton and was heading towards Logerheads following a red car at around 60mph. Eventually the roads goes into a slight right bend and into a fairly low dip before curving to the left and rising back up again. For those that know the road will know you can't see around both bends until you are atleast part way into this dip. Anyway both me and the car proceed down into the dip and what i saw next is still giving me a headache.

A lorry was slowing down at the bottom of the dip and alongside it was some silver car which had attempted to overtake. The silver car is now on the wrong side of the road, the Red car instantly jumps on the breaks with nowhere to go except for a full stop. I'm too busy looking ahead at all this with a Huge expression on my face which proberbly looked like this -> .

I didnt react fast enough and thus didn't have a chance of stopping in time without going up the back end of this red car, so i just about managed to squeeze inbetween the cars and lorry on either side of the road.

I honestly believed i was going to crash until i saw that little gap at the last second, i dont know if the two cars drivers clipped each other as the silver car didnt hang around.

anyway that's that, hope it isn't too messily wrote to understand. I read these forums alot yet never post often as i rarely feel i can contribute.

[irving]

[Shaun]

I know that road well!

Fucking shocking a car would overtake there, it's tight for a bike to squeeze a pass in on those bends!

I had a moment there as well once actually, on my way home from stormy petrel, going a tad too fast on the GSXR playing with an R1, went down the bank, through the left and as I exited the bend going up hill the suspension bounced and knocked me onto the white line, not far off the traffic going the other way...

I'm such a dick at times.

[TOM M]

[Shaun]

Yup, don't ride fast with a fat pillion.

[MarkJ]

Not really a near miss, but shit me up all the same.

I was out on the Cat and Fiddle going towards Macclesfield, and got stuck behind two cars, the car at the front doing it's usual trick of going as slow as possible, probably about 25-30. This of course is really starting to wind me up, and as it's only my second time on the road I didn't really know where to overtake. We eventually get to the part of the road at 3:26 in this video and I've had enough, and decide to overtake on the solid white line. However as soon as I've pulled out, the car infront that had been holding us up for ages decides to get a move on, and the blind left hand corner infront is getting ever closer. I try to leave the braking as late as possible whilst trying to get past the car infront and slam the anchors on as hard as possible once I'm infront of him. End up locking the back up and get the horrible CHAT-CHAT-CHAT-CHAT sound as I slide my way around to the left on the opposite side of the road. I'm sure that manouvre would have been pretty easy for a skilled rider, but I'd not been riding very long at the time.

I learned a very valuable lesson that day: Ride like a dick and you'll die.

[Whosthedaddy]

It was last winter, travelling down a main A road thats a little twisty. Its night time and I'm feeling confident so I start to practive over taking. After a couole of gos, I suddenly realise that when I'm in the middle of the road, a lorry is approaching round a bend thats hidden by hedges and poor lighting.

I am going too fast to slam on the brakes and pull in behind the moving traffic and the roads not really wide enough to filter through, so the throttle gets pulled.

It then gets to the point where target fixation starts by staring at the headlights, it goes quiet and I can subconsciously feel myself being thrown over the bars.

As I squeeze between the car and lorry, my heart almost stopped and spent the rest of the ride shaking my head for being an ass.
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[Andy C]

Ive had a few but the closest was probably on the RS125 i had.

1. I was on a country lane with has a farm college on the road., However, a tractor stoped by the junction and starts chatting with this guy who is in the middle of the road, i was about 7cars back and they were holding the traffic up with no care so i blip the throttle and filter my way down.

The guy was still talking as i was about 2cars from tractor so open her up as its a stright with no traffic coming other way. Just about im half a car away from the tractor the guy turns around to walk away and im going fair speed now (though no more than 40ish maybe little less) and how i missed him i have no idea, was so scary and i think my body made contact with his.

EDIT: Thought id add the one i had on my SV which i swear would have killed me if id come off.

I was going to college on a road i know very well, happierly overtaking in all the spots i know are safe (knowing the road and all) and come to a striaght and about 4cars in front so i open her up and going past the cars, however the one behind the lead car (women driver course ) pulls out without even checking her mirrors or a bindspot check and i have to brake like crazy, rear locked and at one point i swear i was going to go down.

Somehow i didnt and got behind her, never in my life have i giving a driver so much abuse, for about 10more miles (after 5 i overtake to give the finger a few times) and i hope it scared the life out of her, maybe she'll look next time
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99 RS125 --> 02 SV650s --> 03 Speed Four --> 92 RXS100 --> 93 CB400sf --> 01 CB600f Hornet

[ram_doom]

Besides crashes and what not, my worst "moment" happened a couple of weeks after getting the 636.
There's a 60mph road from pembrey heading toward carmarthen past the race track, where you can (with a great deal of risk) absolutely fly along.
Well, as usual, I was blasting along the road, I believe it was around 110 mph approaching the right to left corners, and for some reason it appears that whilst I'd been avoiding the windblast, I'd managed to end up on a collision course with a sticky out bit of grass verge. The tyre clipped the grass, the wheel bounced into the air momentarily, must have come back down a little crossed up, and sent the bike wobbling onto the other side of the road towards some sort of estate car towing a caravan
Thanks to him slamming his brakes on, I was able to scrub off some speed and regain my own side of the road gave the chap a little wave of sorts and carried on feeling like an arse

Thats actually the second time I've almost had a head on with a car, the other time was more embarassing however...
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TL1000s, KDX200

[Blackrhythms]

Aw g'wan Ram - what was the other time - you know you want to tell us!!
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[0ni]

Head on with an oncoming car during a piss poor overtake. Oncoming car was over a slight crest so I didn't see him when he pulled out - had already commited when I seen him so had no option but to gun it even more - 120 on the clocks and hurtling towards a set of headlights was a surprisingly peaceful experience. As mentioned above I got so close to the oncoming car I "felt" it when I just missed it.

Thats what happens with a riding hiatus of 3 months on a freshed up bike that you are over confident on.

Some buzz afterwords though. Poor drive must have shat themselves.
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Its a lovely day, just wait until some bastard spoils it.