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I had a woman cut me off this morning, but she noticed in the process and cut back over, and I'm pretty sure I'd have been able to back off in time anyways. The weird thing though, was when I pulled up and she came to a stop behind me at the next light, I could see in my mirrors that she was sobbing hysterically. I couldn't tell if she was honestly that upset that she tried to kill me, or if she'd done that because she was already crying and therefore not paying very close attention. Either way it was really weird, and further reinforces to me that everyone in a car is loving crazy and not to be trusted.
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Oct 13, 2010 20:30
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 08:19 |
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I understand now why in the MSF training the insctructors had us practice a drill of straightening up before braking in a curve. I was going through a twisty road with an SUV in front of me, and he disappeared around a bend. When I was about halfway through it, leaned over a bit and going only about 35, he suddenly pops back into view and is sitting there stopped with his brake lights shining; it's a college campus, so there was some dumbass student in the road. Instead of straightening up first like I should have, I went right onto the brakes in the middle of the turn, and my whole bike did a bit of a wobble and I could feel the front wheel jerk to the side. I think if I had been going 5-10 mph faster I would have high-sided, but I was able to get it straightened out and still come to a stop in time. I definitely understand the danger of the blind corner, now. Even if I had straightened out first properly, I might have ended up going into the other lane before coming to a complete stop, and still could have been hit if there was a car coming from the other direction.
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Nov 11, 2010 17:41
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Yeah, I need to get the front brakes checked out on this bike. Basically they do absolutely nothing until you pull the lever in about 90% then come on suddenly strong enough to lock it up.
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Nov 11, 2010 19:13
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Yeah, I just bought the bike last week so I'm still trying to get a sense of what needs to be worked on. I'll check the pads for sure, and look into bleeding the brakes next chance I get. Thanks for the advice, as I imagine those 30 minutes and $4 would cost me $200 if I had my mechanic check it out! edit: the bike is a 2009 with like 3,000 miles on it, so I'm guessing it's not old brake fluid, but the front end was rebuilt after a crash by a PO and may have had a sub-par job of it done, so I wouldn't be surprised if they got air in there or something.
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Nov 11, 2010 20:13
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Triumph Bonneville.
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Nov 11, 2010 20:59
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I just ran out to the parking lot and checked. Brake pads have nice deep gaps in them still, and brake reservoir is a perfectly clear amber that's above the marked lower limit, although a good ways from the upper mark (maybe 1/4 full between the two).
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Nov 11, 2010 21:26
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For future reference, the trick to getting over a curb is to really lean into it and give it some power with your feet to propel the body forward, thereby overcoming the force of gravity pulling you down. Also, pick your feet up so you don't trip.
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Mar 29, 2011 18:18
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ReelBigLizard posted:Squid Whoa, I wish I knew all this a few weeks ago. I used to have some really nice Harley Davidson shoes, but I came up to a curb a little faster than I was comfortable with and had to lay 'em down. Good thing insurance covered them, or I'd still be paying down that second mortgage I took out to buy them.
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Mar 29, 2011 21:55
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ohwandernearer posted:it was a good night at Max's down in Fells point Say no more, it's understood.
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Mar 30, 2011 05:04
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It's the transfer of weight that screws up your traction and makes you go wide in a corner if you brake. I guess theoretically if you used the rear brake while you were giving it throttle so there was no weight transfer, you might be able to do some sort of voodoo, but I can't imagine how that would work.
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Apr 2, 2011 00:48
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Mushika posted:Not really a near crash, but I was dangerously cut off today by a tiny woman in a huge pickup with a "WATCH FOR MOTORCYCLES" sticker on the back windshield. I always love when that happens. Maybe somebody stuck that there to try to tell her something.
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Apr 6, 2011 23:21
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Bondematt posted:Try it in a minivan full of people and you'll instantly feel the hatred. Try it stuck behind a minivan full of people and you'll instantly feel the hatred.
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Apr 19, 2011 14:28
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Z3n posted:Alright, let's do some crash analysis: Jesus, I guess if he saw them coming, he might have been able to get out of the way, but he was pretty well boxed in. I think the only real thing to do in a situation like that is not get into it in the first place. It does say that he saw the occupants of the car "acting like fools" earlier, so maybe the lesson here is to pay attention to possible dangerous drivers and put another car between them and you. I'm also always a bit torn as to whether or not it's safer to ride in the left or middle lane on the expressway. The middle lane has twice the risk of somebody merging into you, but if something goes wrong and you need to get out, you have twice the possibility of an escape route. Of course, if the left lane has a shoulder then that's the best of both worlds.
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Apr 25, 2011 20:22
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Oh great, I guess I can look forward to an increase in the rate of people lecturing me about how stupid my chosen hobby is. Because, you know, cars never crash.
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Apr 26, 2011 19:08
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schreibs posted:People never get injured when cars crash. LOL, donormobiles!
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Apr 27, 2011 00:28
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I've come up with a pretty good sequence that I follow for turning left on busy streets. I think it's saved my life at least a couple times: 1) Turn on left blinker 2) Check mirrors to be sure you're not about to be rear-ended when stopping 3) Come to a complete stop 4) Press firmly on rear brake 5) Shift attention to oncoming traffic lane while continuing to monitor rear 6) Throw flaming molotov cocktail into oncoming traffic 7) loving gun it
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May 20, 2011 16:55
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I was coming off the highway onto a 4-lane road, and decided to cut around the person in front of me on the left, to get out of the right-turn lane. I should have anticipated that he might do so as well, and he also immediately put on his blinker and began to merge left. I hit the brakes to back off, but I should have given myself a second to straighten out first, so I began to fishtail and the rear locked up. I was probably still going 40-50 and eased up on the brakes and straightened out perfectly. Two lessons learned: 1) I should have anticipated that he would do that, and slowed down before passing him instead of immediately overtaking. 2) Straighten the gently caress out before braking!!
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Jul 20, 2011 01:44
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That definitely sucks, but if you had been in the right lane instead of the left, you would have had a better view coming around the bend. Obviously not something you'd expect, but never let your guard down.
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Sep 15, 2011 12:55
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Why listen to a bunch of jerks on the internet? Ride to a parking lot and find out for yourself!
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Sep 15, 2011 22:06
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I hope you didn't scratch up any of your Japanese clothing you were wearing at the time? That poo poo is expensive to replace. That's why I always walk around my flat naked.
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Sep 20, 2011 14:57
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I can't imagine how that could happen, unless a car pushed you off. Unless you simply weren't attempting to turn at all, and hit the sidewall basically head-on, you'd be leaned inside the ramp, not outside, and it basically shouldn't be possible to be thrown over the guard rail. I guess it could happen if you went in too hot, panicked and tried to brake, then went into a skid and high-sided over it, but getting past that SR should basically be the first thing that anyone does as a new rider (at least anyone who's smart enough to be reading these forums).
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Sep 29, 2011 14:45
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Some rear end in a top hat tried to door me the other day when I was splitting through stopped traffic. I was only going like 10 mph though, which gave me plenty of time to move out of the way. I'm not sure what he really thought was going to happen at that speed, besides a hosed up door and a fully armored dude beating him senseless.
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Oct 17, 2011 16:27
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I'm pretty sure it was intentional, because he opened it just a crack when I was still a car back, and then tried to pop it out as I got close. Actually, if he hadn't started by opening it up a crack like that in preparation, he might have gotten me. As for beating him senseless, I was so busy being exited that I avoided it (same as with any near-crash I manage to outmaneuver) that it didn't actually even occur to me. I just wanted to be as far away from him as possible.
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Oct 20, 2011 19:32
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You are a loving genius. I'm not sure any girl at 6'1" and 190lbs could qualify as "cute," but a pink tutu and some hello kitty stickers can't hurt, right?
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Oct 21, 2011 14:55
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Saga posted:Shave your legs - problem solved! No way man, I'm All The Hair All The Time!
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Oct 24, 2011 17:39
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If anyone ever stops to chat while I'm hopping on my bike, I'm pretty much 100% guaranteed to forget about my disc lock. Thankfully, I usually either back out of my spot (at work) or edge forward slowly and carefully into traffic (at home), so I'm never going fast when it hits.
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Oct 28, 2011 15:29
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Ziploc posted:What the hell is scree? Well that's Australia, so I can only assume it's some kind of marsupial.
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Nov 11, 2011 17:03
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I've had a couple of close calls now when splitting, so much so that unless things are really bad I've stopped doing it when cars are moving at all (mostly just use it to filter to the front at a traffic light where I might have to sit through 3-4 rotations to make it through). The absolute most hilarious thing happened to me the other day though: I was sitting stopped at a red light, and a car actually split between me an the car next to me and popped in front. I thought he was going to hit me at first when I saw him coming, but cracked up when I realized what he was doing.
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Dec 14, 2011 15:51
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I'm always dodging plastic bags and other trash when I ride around the city. I don't know how serious it would really be, but I've heard stories of people slipping up on things like that so I don't take any chances.
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Feb 1, 2012 17:40
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 08:19 |
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Riding is so psychological and doing it properly depends on being able to act reflexively instead of thinking about it. Whenever I do one stupid thing, I always get concerned and start thinking about everything I do, which makes me just keep loving up more. Probably best on days like that you just go get a cup of coffee somewhere for a bit.
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Apr 11, 2012 14:11
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