“You’ll kill yoself!”

[OneLeggedRider]

I'll try not to write a book but..

When I was 15 I wrapped a KX 80 around a tree 30 feet in the air. My helmet cracked from front to back and I peeled it off like an eggshell. I remember laying on the ground looking up at my bike in the tree for a second and then it fell on me. I pushed the bike off, rolled over and tried to get up but my right leg felt like jelly and I lost consciousness. I woke up in the hospital and found out I had shattered my right femur, doc said it was like picking out little pieces of gravel. So they replaced it with a metal rod and lots of plates and pins, and 4 weeks later I was walking albeit painfully.

When I was 18 I had a Yamaha Seca. I caught my gf in bed with a couple guys, I threw my helmet through her window and left her and it. I then proceeded to the liquor store and bought a fifth of Jim Beam and chugged it down. I then went to my buddy's apartment complex and beat up and body slammed some random guy that didn't deserve it. Cops were called so I headed home the 11 miles and there was a hairpin curve right before my house. I came into the curve at 100mph, broke the speed down some and leaned it far as it could go. The bike slid out into the oncoming lane and stood up just in time to hit a Subaru wagon full of Mexicans head on. I woke up in the hospital 2 weeks later with a Dr telling me they were gonna have to cut my left leg off above the knee and my left hand was now crippled. Never mind all the new plates and pins they had to put in and I had tore my aorta because my heart had slammed into the front of my chest cavity. If it had been any worse I would've died instantly. I also had countless broken bones but amazingly my head was fine even though I wasn't wearing my helmet. So after 4 months in the hospital and 21 major surgeries, followed by 6 months of physical rehabilitation I could walk again and regained some of the use of my left hand. Didn't think I could ever ride again but 2yrs later my buddy Rooney convinced me to try.

A few years back I was on my KZ 650 and an old man in a red F150 pulled out right in front of me in broad daylight and I could've swore he looked right at me. I swerved around the rear of the truck but my handlebar caught his tail light and the bike went down. Me and the bike slid side by side on the pavement for a remarkable distance and time lol. But thanks to my helmet and leather jacket I was unscathed, the sidecase and stator didn't fair as well so that was the end of that bike. And the old bastard slowed down but never stopped.

So don't drink and ride and as Motocheez says pretend you're invisible and none of the other drivers can see you. I do drink beer and ride my quads on my trails, but there better not be anyone else back there unless they're with me.

[Azhule]

There is a reason I only ride "Dual Sports" out on public roads... it gives me several more options to "get the hell out of the way"!

Everywhere I look is now a potential way "to freedom!"

I have lost count of how many times I had to split lanes (still illegal out here!), hop sidewalks, and a few times I even had to ride down and up a few ditches/medians to keep myself out of harms way... a couple times I did those acts in front of a cop whom needed to have a few words with me... flat out told them "I only ride like that to potentially save my life from a distracted driver" (that is now long gone)

Lost a few friends over the years, mostly due to them riding too fast for their protection used (one friend would barely put on a helmet when he went out on his turbo'd liter bike... RIP)

Keep your head on a swivel and remember you're invisible...

[MAT]

I bought my first dirt bike in 1976 and been riding ever since. Fortunately the worst that happened to me was hitting a deer on the way to work. I was wearing a helmet but no gloves, guess what always hits the ground first? My hand looked like it hit a belt sander, which is exactly what the road is. I was also wearing a tee shirt so my back and elbows looked like it too. I never ride w/o gloves and a jacket now.

Some pretty scary stories here that could have been me, but what saved me was roadracing. Once I realized how fast I could go on a track there was no point to even try that on the street. I ended up selling my street bike and just racing for 10 years. Now I ride on the road but am very careful, riding like everyone is out to get me. But you won’t see me like those idiots riding big heavy cruisers with ape hanger bars. That the worst riding position if you need to avoid something, and they look just like a bug that’s about to get splattered on a windshield. Ironically the best street bikes are sport bikes and SMs, something that’s super mobile in the event you have to take evasive actions.

The best training for riding on the street (and racing) is dirt bikes. Only on the dirt can you learn by instinct how to control a motorcycle that’s out of control. Crashing is part of the learning process which is a given on dirt, but that’s generally pretty safe of you have the gear. Still the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done on 2 wheels is woods racing (enduro). Going 40 mph bashing bars off trees leaves zero room for error. I’ve seen some guys get pretty messed up. Nope, I’d rather high side going 80 on a race track again than do that.

[OneLeggedRider]

Dress for the slide not the ride. I also started out riding and racing dirtbikes, and didn't get my first street bike till the infamous Seca at age 18. It was basically a super bike at the time (what was my Dad thinking?).

But I was a little off in the head to begin with. There was a long and extremely steep gravel hill out past the grave yard. At 10yrs old I would put my 10 speed bicycle in top gear and pedal as fast and hard as I could down it, then 3/4 of the way down the hill I would crank the wheel sideways to dump it because I wanted to learn how to crash and roll. And I might do this 5 times in a row lol. But it was very beneficial. I learned to tuck and roll, get away from the bike, and never tense up too much.

I was doing all this in preparation for my future motorcycle racing career which eventually came to fruition with lots of hard work on the farm and begging and pleading lol. I think anyone trying to get a motorcycle license should have to spend atleast 6 months on a dirtbike.

[bwhite757]

Been driving for 20 years now, got my motorcycle endorsement a year after I got my driver's license. I've got as many, if not more, miles on 2 wheels, as I do on 4 wheels. I've been involved in 4 accidents, all while driving something with 4 wheels, all accidents not my fault, and 1 time sent to the hospital. It's a game of odds, but I'm a lot more vigilant on a motorcycle than I am in a car. I ride like everyone is out to get me, and it has saved my butt on more than one occasion. I'm not a speed freak, and I don't drink/drive, probably has helped me along the way. *Knock on wood*

[wheel spinner]

My first source of transportation was a Honda 350.. 1974... I have had 2-350's.. 1 454.. and a 550... all CB Hondas... When that truck ran the stop sign and T-boned me, I was glad I was wearing a good thick coat.. wearing Dingle boots and Levi's and gloves...I had a brand new Blue and silver helmet on that I had just bought... when I hit the pavement I guess my helmet hit first and the helmet cracked... I spun around in the street... and I saw the truck trying to sneak off without stopping... but people saw what happened... he eventually told the police that I hit him... lol.. because I hit the pavement so hard I lost the feeling from my waist down for a few hours... broke alot on my bike... I had the high rise handlebars which they were bent... clutch and grips were tore up... shifter was bent .. signal lights were broken... the list went on... the insurance company fixed it... I just wanted my bike fixed ... got it back and all I heard was..

"You're gonna kill yerself" I learned then that I was invisible...

[Blaze]

Originally Posted by 2LZ

I guess I'm in the clear. I only excessively speed on my way to get alcohol.

So many of your quotes speak to me on a spiritual level

[pete]

ha ha…

when I was 32 my wife and her parents thought it was time I grew up
and sold my bikes..... I did have a broken arm at the time from a little
incident from a KDX175.. but that's no reason to sell the bikes...

I still have bikes and not seen her for near 30 years.... you lose bitch...lol
and her dumb ass parents are now worm tucker..

bad mistake... you or my bikes.... you will lose every time..


..

[Sochin]

I always tell people trying to advise me how "dangerous" motorcycles are, please look out for motorcycles more.......because YOU car drivers are what is killing us.

[timcosby]

pete now i got to know what a worm tucker is????

[pete]

Originally Posted by timcosby

pete now i got to know what a worm tucker is????

tucker = food



..

[ChipToothy]

Advice from people who probably look at their phone and text etc.. while driving isn’t something I’m interested in. It seems 8 out of 10 drivers have a phone in their hand.

I know a guy who hit and killed a young lady a long time ago, his phone was shown to be active at the time of the wreck. He went to prison for a good long while, gets random hate mail from what obviously has to be her parents but I guarantee you he is hurting on the inside all these years about it every bit as much as they are.


When I was young my own father had racked up 4 DWI’s before a judge finally threw him in a short jail stay for the 5th one. I personally believe it should be a mandatory 6 months for the 1st offense. They arrest you, you bail out the next morning and come back later to bargain for lesser fines at the hearing. Small price to pay for what can way too easily cost some innocent person their life. When I hear guys bragg about their drunk driving routes or 1/2 stumbling to the car which is about every night here since I’m downtown I can only cringe.

Cell phones and alcohol are the 2 worst things to ever happen to the roads.