Falling off/crashing anecdotes

[notbike]

So there was/is a thread similar to what this one's gonna be where a preachy Facebook video was posted of a guy having a near miss and his life flashing before him etc, it was quite depressing.

Anyway, MC posted his brief anecdote of his accident in that thread which was interesting so I thought I'd make this thread instead.

For those of you who have crashed, what happened & what did you think as it was unfolding? Was your train of thought what you expected it would be?

Whenever I've had a crash or near miss my train of thought has always been so matter-of-fact that when I recall it to myself it's kind of funny. Then again I haven't had a "serious" off so it could just be me being dumb.

It's surprising how well you can recall your train of thought with each incident, granted it all happens in one or two seconds.

The first two lowsides I had were like below 10mph just setting off, not so much scary as they were surprising, because each time caught me completely off guard. Train of thought was like "Something is wrong/feels different" - "What is happening" - "The bike is very heavy" - "I'm on the ground" - "That happened very quickly" - "I'm not hurt" - lots of adrenaline and laughter and calling myself a twat and riding off.

Third time was a near miss with a car at that pulled out on me right at the last second and I hit the front brake way too hard at what I imagine was over 20 and under 30 - "Shit shit shit what are you doing" - "Cant swerve, must stop" - "Bike is heavy, lost the front" - "I can see my hands in the air" - "I'm on the ground" - "I'm standing up" - "Cant stop laughing but so mad at driver" at this point I had kicked the bike and was bouncing around (because of the adrenaline I suppose?) - Was unsure what to do, but checked I was okay, realized the driver fucked off quickly, and picked the bike up out of the road etc etc.

Fourth time was lowsiding at 30 on an uphill bend because the rear brake got stuck just as I was entering. "Shit brake is stuck" - "Cant stop before bend" - "Just take the bend" - *bike goes down very quickly* "NOT AGAIN" - "Im sliding wtf so quick" - "I can see tarmac through my helmet" - "Im rolling" - "Why cant I stand up!" - "Wow I finally stopped" - "My arm is weak, shit is it broken" - "Cant pick bike up arm is too weak" - This time I wasn't bouncing around despite the fact I was buzzing off my nut full of adrenaline & shaking lol, wondering why the fuck cars were just going around me and not offering to help me pick the bike up!

The weird part after typing that out, is that I realized the difference between the feeling of crashing and the feeling of a near miss.

Near misses are more "what if/what could have been" and feel so much more scarier, like when you save a bike from fishtailing, why does that feel scarier than actually dropping the bike and having it over & done with?

Gogo

[UrbanRacer]

No

[Wonko The Sane]

Usually for near misses it's a combination of the following:

Shit
Bugger
Fuck

usually only two of them, one repeated three times, eg, "Shit, shit, bugger shit I'm going to hit him" which was tonight's

quite some time ago I drifted the bike round a tight corner outside a TNT depot, the road was a rainbow but I didn't see it until too late

"bugger, fuck, bugger, there's no car coming, let it run out, don't go over the kerb"

When I actually got knocked off, hit from behind "fuck I've let go of the clutch, where's the bike?"

the bike got knocked forwards and to the right from under me.
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[mentalboy]

[barrkel]

It's usually over before you've had a chance to do much about it, never mind have coherent thoughts.

One moment you're minding your own business, the next moment you realise you're going to have an accident, and the last moment is you're hitting the ground at an unusual angle; if you have any more moments beyond this, it's a bonus.

In fact, if you remember all the moments, that's great; if it's a bad one, you may just wake up in hospital.
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Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
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[XBIKER]

Quite agree with the rest of the posters that it's over before you know it with little time to think let alone any other comments apart from shit, damn when it's a straight forward skid, crash....... although sometimes it gets really weird!

Approaching a box van at 50 when he indicates left for a junction and I move out closer to the central white line.
He starts to turn left as I catch up with him and then............

"A black car bonnet" as I'm doing a perfect three quarters sommersault over the top of it in slow motion.

"Wow, that truck's upside down" still turning

"Look at those beautiful clouds" ????

"Shit" as I hit the road and slid along on my back.

"Damn" when I saw my GT 750 Kawasaki front wheel embedded in the engine.

I was pinned to the ground by an off duty policeman "don't move son, keep still" as well as an off duty nurse who made sure I didn't move "you can't take off your helmet, you might have injured yourself".
This was on a small country road but they directed traffic around me and didn't let me move until the ambulance guys put me in a neck brace. Most grateful but it started raining and I was on my back with no visor (snapped off) glub. glub, glub........

Thankfully I only suffered concussion but the bike was gone.

[Beehive Bedlam]

[deadwolf]

“Your arse, if you’re going fast enough.”

– Barry Sheene’s famous retort when asked by BBC, “What goes through your mind during a crash?”
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Motorsapien Art

[RedPanda]

I haven't had a crash yet but I've been robbed at gunpoint
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CBF125 (2013) -> CBR600F (2001) -> 'Ninja' 300 (2014)

[Rogerborg]

Falling off, you're down, you get up, you ride off, you hope that nobody saw.

No crashes, no near misses yet. Could be luck, could be caution, could be super awesome.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[steveh]

My "big" crash happened a few years ago on my first 600, went too hot into a corner, back end hit a white line, stepped out and then high sided me over a wall, tried to hold on, handlebar came round and crushed my hand into the tank (dented it) and now ive got pins holding it together with limited movement.

I remember the moment it spat me off, and I was flying through the air and all I remember shouting was "no, no no!" as I could see the wall coming, Its strange, but I remember thinking "this will be over soon" not sure what I meant by "over" but luckily I cleared it, I can sort of remember my boot catching the wall but I cant be sure.
I ended up head first in a thorn bush, probably the most scary part if im honest, as I didn't know were I was, my visor was down and I couldn't see or breathe.


The strangest thing that happened, was when I picked myself up, slowly making sure everything still worked, I went over to my bike, picked it up, seen the forks were bent and I tried to do that thing you did with a pushbike as a kid when your bars got twisted, wheel between my legs and pull on the bars... I have no idea why I did it (shock?) but as soon as I realized it wasn't going to work I thought "Idiot!" and dropped the bike into the grass again.


Now, im not superstitious atall, but I admit the coincidence was a little weird.. an hour before, my mum said to me not to go out on my bike, as it was Friday 13th.
Took no notice, ended up in hospital lol.

I felt a little nervous afterwards on left handers but that soon passed.
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[Dave70]

My trail of thought after my first crash (van pulling out of a side road and then stopping side on right across my lane) went something like SSSSHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTT. Hit both brakes hard (I was going to hit the van either way), locked up, slid down the road on my side while still holding onto the bike. Ended up underneath the van with the bike.

My second crash I didn't even see coming, as I was taken out from the rear while waiting at a give way junction. I just remember hearing a loud bang and then coming to in the middle of the road in a fair bit of pain. My first words were "What the fuck? While looking at my very broken three day old bike and a small gathering of people.
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There ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk.

2012: R125 killed by white van. 2016 R125 killed by 30,000 miles of redline. Current: 2016 Kawasaki ER6f.

[SteveSmith]

Only one off, and that was on a track having got the braking wrong at 90ish going into a chicane. As it started to wobble, my first thought was "Oops, didn't get that quite right".

Next thing I was sliding along the tarmac at 80-90mph, and the thought going through my head before I'd even stopped was "Shit, my wife's going to kill me". Thankfully I only got a little bit of road rash on one arm, and minor damage only to the bike, but I did come in for a bit of domestic grief!

Steve.

[Taught2BCauti...]

Several near-misses every time I go out on the road, whether in the car, or on the bike, so I constantly have to make allowances and learn from them.

If you have time to think about what's happening, you probably have time to avoid it.
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[Fladdem]

I don't think. I once rear ended a car. After I thought, "Piss! Now I'll have to deal with insurance nonsense" The driver was foreign and I'm guessing didn't have insurance because got back in her car and drove off as soon as I picked the bike up.

Like someone else said, I hate it when observers make a fuss. I highsided once and was about to just hop on my bike when an off-duty copper came along and started asking me questions, why am I stood at the side of the road, am I ok, have I consumed any alcohol, then they nearly called an ambulance and then called a clean-up crew to mop up the petrol from my carb on my floor.

Another time, I had just put some fresh knobblies on the TTR and was heading to a motocross track to try and break my bike, I left my road, turned right, slipped over immediately. A nurse was behind me and started making me take deep breaths, I told her to "sod off" and let me pick my bike up She then hung around talking to me, not letting me go for ages because I would have adrenaline going through my body making me act rashly. I basically stumbled at 3 miles an hour.
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Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[...]

[LustyLew]

Of the actual 'crashes' I've had, all were attributed to being a new rider out of my depth.

Most significant one, went into a corner too fast, started to run wide, looked at the kerb and grabbed the front brake in a panic. Bike written off. Battered ego and a few bruises to me. The lesson? Don't be a twat and ride outside your limits.

Th near misses, again, down to me.

Usually braking late, or not noticing an indicator or a gap that has been opened to allow someone into a side road.

The usual London crap.

These days if I'm not sure, I ease off. I'm no speed junkie, rather get there alive than not at all.
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[Polarbear]

I haven't had one for many years thankfully but one that does rather stick in my mind happened when I was a student at Plymouth.

Please bear in mind that this happened in 1975 when drink driving wasn't frowned upon the way it is now and also I cannot remember anything about the accident, only the police diagramme and the witnesses reports to go on.

I was at a pub called the Plume of Feathers in Princetown on Dartmoor with friends on our bikes. Me on a YDS7. We got very drunk! Now I cannot remember anything after this but it seems when we left someone had to kick start my bike for me as I couldn't manage it.

On the way back to Plymouth while crossing Dartmoor I went off the road. From the police diagramme I went over small rock which took off one of the silencers, then over a large rock which took out the sump and somehow removed one of my boots. Over a stream. where I parted company with the bike and landed on my head. (crash helmet had a big dent).

The bike however kept on going and ended up going back on the road where it continued along with no one on it. A car coming the other way saw the riderless bike coming towards it and promptly drove off the road into a ditch! Perhaps they thought it was a haunted bike!

Luckily the car contained nurses who found me and looked after me until an ambulance could be called and I was taken to Greenbank hospital.

The police visited me sometime later and were rather annoyed that the hospital had refused to let them breathalise me or take a blood sample so they could only me for careless driving.

While I was in there, with a broken ankle and snapped ligaments, they decided I needed a bed bath and sent in two of the youngest, prettiest nuses in the hospital to do it while the other nurses stood around and laughed.

Happy Days
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[Rogerborg]

I am coming to the conclusion that every 2nd car on the road is being driven by an off duty copper or nurse.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Polarbear]

[kawakid]

On a road I thought I knew very well (Moorland deserted, one car every 20 minutes) on a straight stretch.

A car in the distance (when I was going ??0) pulled out of a hidden parking place (lower than the road) and turned right in front of me.

I was a knob for going so fast, he probably didn't see me. We missed.

Anyway my life didn't flash, I just simply thought, that's it I'm dead. I didn't panic break I just kept it straight.
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[XBIKER]

Too true Rogerborg.

Thankful as I was for the attention of the off duty staff, all I really wanted was to get up out of the rain but the ambulance guys said they did the right thing especially in view of the speed and type of accident.
Probably saved by the many layers I was wearing and big scarf wound tightly round my neck (it was freezing) which meant my head didn't move that much even at touchdown!

The GT750 only had 4500 miles on it but insurance sorted it out anyway and I ended up with a fully faired GS 850G

[Val]

[swampy]

[andyscooter]

i had two off duty paramedics
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