Close call and subsequent damage to bike

[Bendy toy]

I've seen muppets on motorways at night with satnavs sitting almost in their line of sight. The road ahead must be invisible from the glare alone. They are also severely limited to their left field of view. New BMWs have a screen on the dash, well below normal line of sight so expect the above muppet to be not even looking at the road.

By the looks of that, any other bike would have had a terminal tank slapper. Well done for keeping it shiny(ish) side up. Thank goodness for that sticky-out engine cylinder or you'd be posting from a hospital bed.

If the rear subframe was bent there is a good chance the shock is damaged. The repair shop should sort it out. You might even get them to fit a Wilbers.

 

[autogs]

really glad the rider was ok,buuut is it just me?,looks like speed was 80ish,junction easily visible ahead,low hedge on lhs so silver bm can be seen bowling along towards junction,no adjustment of speed for upcoming hazard,assumption the car was going to stop,no ajustment of bikes position on the road?.

 

[sk8mutie]

Hi guys....thanks for the support. I was unsure whether to post this at all as sometimes there can a lot of 'sh*t' slung at people for their riding. Yes, I ride relatively fast, but on this occasion, I think that's what kept the bike upright.

When I saw the car was moving at pace and wasn't going to even attempt to stop or alter direction, i think I've already said that my only thought was at least I kissed my wife and son goodbye.

The guy admitted everything to the police and was cautioned for undue care and attention.

So, I spoke to the dealership this morning and I understand what they would have to do as far as proving a failed rear shock with no visible damage was caused by the accident. I would have to ride it back to Belfast from Scotland, get them to dismantle it, find what was wrong, get the insurance company out to agree on it...and if they said tough, I would have the dealership expense of stripping down the shock and either overhauling it or putting a new one on....tbh, I haven't got the cash for that sort of risk.

So dealership looking at how much I can get for my bike as a trade in..... Have no idea what it is worth as it came from the Off Road Skills Course in the first batch of bikes that Bahnstormer got in 2012,
so if anyone were to give me a rough guesstimate, or was interested in it perhaps?? It has 9300 miles on the clock and has heated handgrips. It has scuffs on the plastics, but Alastair knew that I don't worry about looks. They gave me an adventure screen with a crack in it, which again, they knew I wouldn't mind as fashion doesn't function. It has aluminum BMW panniers and or course has a new subframe, exhaust etc...

Bahnstormer told me not to bring it back to them as they knew where it came from.....but at the end of the day, It's a 1200 GS with only 9300 mile son it and has had the rear end replaced...bar the shock of course....so it would be worth so much more for me to keep tbh, but the appeal of swapping bikes every 3 yrs sounds more appealing....

Anyway, glad I'm still here and although my heart is in my mouth every time I see the video, at least I'm alive and wanting to get back on the beast!!

 

[sk8mutie]

autogs....fully agree. There was no adjustment of speed from me. I have the HD version of the video and in slow motion, the first time you see the silver of the car is at 3 seconds when it pops out from behind the hedge....so agree, the hedges were low, but no one 'expects' a car to run straight across a crossroads at the national speed limit....I know this because he admitted everything to the police with me there.

I had checked the two oncoming cars were not planning on turning right, checked the junction had no cars waiting at it and kept the throttle open. I couldn't move into the other lane, and if I had been going slower, I would've gone into the side of him.....he was never for stopping, no matter what speed I was doing.....and as I approached the junction, there was something in my head that was telling me that the car to my left couldn't be doing 60 mph!!! Surely they're going to stop....that's what they do at at crossroads with a massive give way sign, two cars in from of them and a motorbike with full beam on on a lovely sunny evening!!

So it's not just you...he was doing 60 and I was doing the speed I was doing....yes I agree, slower and he would have ran across the road and would've been 100 yards further back....not sure where my road position should've been...I was sat just to the right of the centre of the lane, not too close to the oncoming cars, but further away from the junction so I could see it was clearish....

I'm so glad I didn't adjust my speed or position because anything other than the outcome I had is not worth thinking about.

I do remember seeing him though....but as I said, my brain just couldn't compute that he was doing the speed he was approaching the junction....either way, you have valid points which I cannot dispute, but hopefully explained my actions...or non-actions as the case may be!!

 

[andy79]

Lucky Bugger ! I've watched that vid a few times and i cant believe how lucky you were. Im glad your ok, that driver needs banning!

 

[autogs]

listen at the end of the day you returned home to your family safe and sound albeit with some washing to do,
that really is the important bit

 

[sk8mutie]

Autogs....you are not wrong. I had the video running for my whole journey....I cut it where I did as he had stopped and when I approached him, he was a bit shaken, but asked me if I was alright....I said, alright....f*cking alright....I'm on a bike and you just hit me with a car....

I then calmed and was really nice as he was genuinely apologetic....although apologies for any other outcome would have been useless.

I got home and cried my eyes out for 2 hours....hadn't even gone on honeymoon!!!! The Harley went straight away as I wouldn't be here if i had been on that....and I think it's time for ABS and Traction control on a new GS!!!!

Anyway...I just needed to chat about it on here to you guys as andy79 says, I've watched it a few times myself and each time I do...I keep thinking i'm losing another one of my 9 lives!!!!

 

[adventuredon]

Glad you ok. Just as an a side that gets my goat.. the council and so called cutbacks, or poor work..also contribute to signs being hidden, hedges too long and high

Sent from my D5503 using Tapatalk

 

[Flipfly]

I'd normally have a derogatory comment about the riding blah blah, but on this occasion I think luck is the big factor. You'd be very unlucky for that situation to reoccur in your riding career. 0.5 seconds earlier, 0.5 seconds later 2 completely different outcomes. Feck all to be done in that situation. I don't think you really had time to react either way.
Glad you came through it and I hope you don't let it hinder your enjoyment for too long. ABS/traction control would have made feck all difference.

There for the grace of whoever/whatever, you obviously have a higher purpose that you have been assigned. Be a lazy cnut and make sure you do it when you are on your death bed much much later on

 

[vRSG60]

Glad you ok. Just as an a side that gets my goat.. the council and so called cutbacks, or poor work..also contribute to signs being hidden, hedges too long and high

Sent from my D5503 using Tapatalk

This gets my goat too, The number of times you come to a roundabout and long grass has only been cut back about a foot from the kerb blocking visibility until you're on top of the roundabout. But then again, I sometimes think they do it on purpose.
On the plus side, glad you're OK.

 

[Bryn]

This gets my goat too, The number of times you come to a roundabout and long grass has only been cut back about a foot from the kerb blocking visibility until you're on top of the roundabout. But then again, I sometimes think they do it on purpose.

They do...around here they've got a habit of putting high fences up in the central reservation on the approach to roundabouts ...It can only be to slow you down ....

 

[Pukmeister]

Chris, if you need the rear shock repairing you can unbolt it and send it by parcel force etc to MCT SUSPENSION in Stowmarket. They have just rebuilt my rear shock (ESA) in a few days turnaround as it was leaking, for £148 inc vat and return courier. It was £12 to send it to them.

It's only two bolts FFS although you will need Torx sockets and breaker bar to undo them.

 

[GS-Jonesy]

Holly sh*t balls. That has to be the scariest video I've seen in a while. You see plenty of vids with major wrecks but they usually involve weekend warriors on sports bikes with less talent than they have balls!!

Glad you are ok pal.

I also think you were amazing restrained when you got back to the car. With that much adrenaline in the system I'm not sure I would have kept my cool.

Bravo re bike control too. All of the arguments re your speed, road position, observations etc are meaningless. Just what ifs. Fact of the matter is it happened as it did and you handled it very well IMHO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ButtonMoon]

Mate ! Glad ur ok. Don't know what else to say! Made a cold shiver go down my spine when I watched it !!!


Sent from Space

 

[autogs]

. All of the arguments re your speed, road position, observations etc are meaningless. Just what ifs. Fact of the matter is it happened as it did and you handled it very well IMHO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

really?so the police system of riding is meaningless,the iam have got it all wrong?

 

[mpgscott]

That is mental, surely the people in the car look far enough ahead to see the cars going past, saying that probably not given the standards of driving shown by some on our roads. Don't look further than the bonnet.

Glad your ok, hope you bought a lottery ticket that night ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Davel]

Two couples watching the GPS - was no one looking out of the windows?

Thank fuck you're okay...

 

[sk8mutie]

Guys, thank you for your replies....on a serious note though, this was meant as a bit of 'healing' for me as every time I think about what could've happened, that half second either way, my heart is absolutely pounding....so thank you for taking it easy on the sh1t slinging about my gash riding.

And autogs, you're not wrong....I'm not the greatest rider....as Pukmeister knows, i had a really bad snowboarding accident 15 yrs ago and cannot bend my wrists very far, and I have a prolapsed disc in my neck that causes great amounts of pain....but I love that f*cking bike, and as much as I am a bit of a physical wreck, I want to keep riding that damned bike till the day my body says 'no way, not today'!! And I try my best to be as good a rider as possible, albeit, I like to get a mosey on rather than sit in traffic....so positioning, speed (which is a lot better in this screen shot ;o) etc etc could have been a lot better.....but the picture I have inserted is what I thought was going to be my last view!! And how the f*ck he missed that car is a mystery!! Main beam was on too....

They weren't breathalysed either....and I even told the police they had just come from a tour of the Bushmills brewery.....and for anyone that hasn't been....whiskey is most definitely consumed at the end of the tour!!!

Feeling better about it all now though....

 

[GS-Jonesy]

Autogs - I fear you have miss-quoted me old bean. Or perhaps I made my point in a poor way). I didn't mean to suggest for one minute that the IAM or any other advanced rider programme have got it wrong. In fact my personal opinion is that they are a hugely valuable tools for improving riding standards and road safety.

However, IMHO applying their wisdom retrospectively in this instance doesn't change a thing. A muppet driving very poorly caused a relatively minor accident. It very easily could have been a fatality. Everything else is just what ifs and maybes.

A fellow biker had a close call and I'm grateful that's all it was.

Much love

Jonesy x


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tecman]

.

really?so the police system of riding is meaningless,the iam have got it all wrong?

in some cases all your training is worthless if you didn't have enough luck like our OP. Policemen die on the roads too...