I was on a little ride around my neighborhood today, nice cool breeze, sun setting. I see a red light so I start slowing down while squinting my eyes due to the glare the setting sun is creating. I usually look in my mirror for the car behind me when coming to a halt, but not this time. The sun glare served enough of a distraction and discomfort for me to forget about safety, safety from the death cages zooming around me. As I come to a full stop and shift my bike into neutral I feel a sudden hit from the back. "This b**ch!" I hear the sound of the rear fender scraping the hood of the honda and then an impact with the tire. I'm thinking, "Oh well, there goes my rear fender." I pull over to inspect and to my surprise, I can't really see any damage. The woman behind the wheel gets out and apologizes, while also pointing out the fact that the glare was blinding her. Since no visible damage was caused to the bike and me being a little bit stunned I decided there's no reason to trade info or to file anything. Anyway, once I cool off and get home, I inspect the bike again to find a few minor scratches on the blinker and the license plate holder, oh well now. Anyway, a valuable lesson was relearned through experience. ALWAYS stay in gear when coming to a stop and check the mirror until you see the car behind you come to a full stop. Although this incident was minor, it could have been much worse and I'm happy I got off easily with my first accident. RIDE SAFE, STAY SAFE AND HAVE FUN!! PS And I was so happy that I survived Friday the 13th without any incidents when riding. Saturday the 14th is the new Friday the 13th.
Glad to head you're ok. Watching approaching vehicles in the mirror is a good habit. I need to work on keeping bike in gear until approaching vehicle is completely stopped. I have a tendency to throw it in neutral as soon as I am stopped.
Not sure I understand. What benefits are there to keeping the bike in gear with the clutch pulled in vs having the bike in neutral when stopped?
I think it's the ability to move out of the way of a car that's not slowing. I've pulled between a guard rail and the car in front to avoid getting hit from behind. If you're in neutral, it's going to take more time to get out of the way.
I think there is a perceived benefit that if the bike is in gear that you can move if a car behind you is going to rear end you. I know they teach this as good riding practice in some places. I'm not sure that even if you're 100% prepared that you can avoid being tailended in all circumstances, or whether you're putting yourself into more peril by going forward when you're stopped at a red light.
Thanks. I'm reasonably sure I put myself in peril every time I ride in the local town here, which seems filled with a bizarre set of driving skills I've not seen in any other town.
Glad it turned out the way it did. Could have been much worse. In the "What did you learn to ride on" thread, I posted a pic of my brother and I on a buddy's GT80. His dad became a father late in life and had about 40 years of riding under his belt and gave us some excellent tips when we started riding street bikes. Keeping the bike in gear at a light and keeping enough distance from the car in front of you so you can escape quick was one of them and probably saved my brothers life. He was siting at a red light on his GSXR750 with cars in front of him and heard screeching, he said he didn't even look in his mirror. He hit the throttle and went along the side the other cars and the car he was behind was rear ended bad by the car he heard screeching.
Glad it worked out well. On the neutral issue, it makes a huge difference. Have someone time how long it takes you to move in these to scenarios... a) Start with bike in neutral with both feet on the ground, hands not on the bars, both feet on the ground. A 'resting' position I observe often. b) Start with bike in 1st, both hands on the bars, right foot on the brake. That difference, when the driver behind approaches you with the sun in their eyes, while texting etc., and fails to top can be the difference between walking away or not.
Good advice. Does anyone know of any small LED white strobes that can be used to increase visibility?
http://www.lights.skenedesign.com/P3_Features.shtml Tie into your brake and signals. Work fantastic, hold up well. Excellent customer service. I don't have them on the Terra yet, but have had them on two bikes in the past. Good stuff.
custom dynamics seem to have every imaginable LED configuration, but an incredibly cumbersome website
It's everywhere, Dean. Incredible vigilance and a healthy dose of defensiveness serves us all well no matter where we are. [quote="Eaglefreek, post: 345050, member: 9393"Keeping the bike in gear at a light and keeping enough distance from the car in front of you so you can escape quick was one of them and probably saved my brothers life. He was siting at a red light on his GSXR750 with cars in front of him and heard screeching, he said he didn't even look in his mirror. He hit the throttle and went along the side the other cars and the car he was behind was rear ended bad by the car he heard screeching.[/quote] This is one of the reasons I filter to the front of the line at stop lights. I would just be a sitting duck waiting to get crunched if I sit between cars in that situation. Glad you escaped unharmed, nycrider!
Can be crazy. I watch my mirrors and blink my brake light a few times to get the 2 ton's driver to notice I exist and stopped. So far....so good.
Leaving enough of a gap in front of you firstly, and planning your escape route as you approach the intersection are things they taught us in the licence course. Staying in gear until the car behind has stopped, don't assume they have seen you. If there isn't enough room to escape up between or beside cars, leave a bigger space in front. Thankfully I've never had to take an escape route, but a good reminder to keep the option there if needed, and to stay alert. Glad you came away ok this time
Exactly T-rob! Grampa thought me to ride at 10 years old and pretty much (verbally) beat into me what you just said. Always have an escape route....whether your stopped or moving...always be ready to react.
i have a wide and skinny LED bar that bolts onto the top of the license plate and wires into the existing harness. It acts as an extra brake light. I stay in first most of the time, but it is actually not good for the throw out bearing. They are not very robust on bikes. So I will put mine in neutral when I know it is a long light and when everyone behind me is stopped. Otherwise...I am in first, with the right foot on the brake and ready to bail. This also helps when splitting lanes and wanting to get a jump on the 2 cars around you.
I hear a lot of guys saying that they will nail the throttle and take off if they hear screeching behind them. Into what? A semi coming from the cross street? Keeping escape routes in mind at all times, good. Just randomly taking off to avoid the noise behind you, not so good. Usually if you have time to figure out where to go, you have already put the bike back into gear and you are rolling away. Other times it is screech, bam, and you have already been hit before you can take evasive action whether you were in gear or not.
Yeah, several obvious flaws in that logic aside from the cross street semi.... 1. If you hear screeching, the vehicle is already braking. It's the cars that are not braking that you really want to get out of the way of. 2. In this era where the percentage of cars on the road with ABS increases every day, there are no screeches. You'll never hear them coming even if they have both feet on the brake pedal.
