Fear of Fords (Not the cars)

Sooty09

Sooty09

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I have developed a fear of Fords over the last few years. I used to enjoy splashing through them and traveled miles to find a new one.
My wife fell off in the ford outside Grosmont , she was half submerged under her BMW R65 just holding her head above water. The ramblers on the foot bridge were taking bets how long she would last in the cold water but did nothing to help. Once I had rescued her I thought it was very funny and it became a bit of a long standing joke.
judith2js.jpg

Several years later I crossed the same ford on my almost new Triumph Tiger,
I managed to cross the river but crashed heavily on the slimy cobbled exit.
I still ride fords but always walk them first and often turn back.
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I still cannot pluck up the courage to try cross the Grosmont ford. I got the wheels within a few yards of the water today but turned back.

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Has anybody else got this fear or had problems with fords?

Which are your favourite and scariest fords
 
Not a ford, but I dropped my bike on a cattle grid in the Dales last week after the rear end slid out sideways. Sure made me cautious about every other grid I rode over - had never given it a thought before.
 
theres a ford near Gayle near Hawes yorkshire
I have ridden it 3 times - once with the wife on back
me mate dropped his then 3 next all dropped um
The ford is famous for its slipperyness
So much so the locals have put a seat there to admire the fools attempting it
You can barely stand up in it
I nearly always walk the fords first to give um a coat of lookin at = COLA
that is if I am on me own or have not done um for a while
I dont do too many now as it does too much to the bikes to be worth the bother
Sometimes you have to - of course :thumb2
get some waterproof socks if yer doin fords :thumb2
 
I have to admit to being pretty nervous about fords. Having only just got into GS ownership it's not something I have had to deal with as yet and I'm not sure how I will react first time I come to one.

A few years ago I was at a ford in the Lake District. Not sure of the name but it was perhaps 10 meters wide with a concrete bottom. The water was not deep (I walked over it while the family took the nearby foot bridge) but the concrete was quite slimy and the water fast flowing. Either side of the slab the water was perhaps a foot deep.

As we walked back I saw two bikes approaching. The one at the rear was a Virago but the front one was a big tourer two-up. I remember wondering if the rider knew how slimy the concrete was as the first bike headed into the ford. A few meters later they washed out, pitching the pillion into deep water and the bike ended up on the lip of the concrete slab with both wheels hanging over the edge.

The pillion was pretty upset (perhaps unsurprisingly) and it took several of us a while to recover the bike. We couldn't just stand it up as it would most likely fall over into the deep water beyond the concrete slab. We had to lift and drag the bike back onto the slab, trying to keep our footing on the green slimy stuff. Everyone got pretty wet and the bike was well scratched up by the time it was back on the hard and dry.

This was about the time I started riding and it has certainly coloured my view of fords. Admittedly this was a big touring bike, not a GS, and the rider really should have stopped and checked the terrain before riding straight in, so there are things one could do better. Still, all the same I remain unsure whether I really want to take the chance and risk damaging my nice shiny bike.
 
MickDB1 said:
theres a ford near Gayle near Hawes yorkshire
Click to expand...

saw that t'other weekend and thought I'd give it a go... Bit slippy isnt it !! thankfully my road tyres got my through upright:augie:augie:augie

here it is !

gayle.jpg
 
I give that one a miss C-J, Iv failed to cross on a push bike and on foot.
How did you get the image? I have tried to attach a street view image but Photobucket notices a copyright issue and refuses to load it.
 

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Grosmont was a bit wet today so we tried shallow but slippery: :thumb2:


<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SxPivbARisU?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SxPivbARisU?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>

Then something a little deeper: :blast

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KTfR8G7U7e8?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KTfR8G7U7e8?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>
 
I think Ill stick to my original plan and avoid as many as possible, and treat all others with great respect.
On my few dips into the water on road and enduro bikes I have never submerged the air inlets, dose water pass the air filter element and cause any damage due to hydraulic lock?
Hope the rider had no such misfortune and lives to ride another day.
 
Sooty09 said:
I think Ill stick to my original plan and avoid as many as possible, and treat all others with great respect.
On my few dips into the water on road and enduro bikes I have never submerged the air inlets, dose water pass the air filter element and cause any damage due to hydraulic lock?
Hope the rider had no such misfortune and lives to ride another day.
Click to expand...

No 1200's or riders were harmed in the making of the video. I rushed in to assist (after putting the phone away carefully first, of course :augie) but the rider had already got the bike righted by the time I got there. He'd hit the killswitch as it went down and the bike suffered no ill effects that we are aware of.
 
Ford at Barkham Mills, a327, near Arborfield

Ge0rdie said:
Good ford in Stanhope, bit scary in flood mind:eek:
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To this day I have no idea how i managed not to bin it, but on my 800GS I rode through the ford mentioned above with the water level just approaching the bottom of the tank, which I think is where the air intake(s) are/ is. I soon discovered that adrenalin is brown as it slipped sideways only to be recovered by putting a foot down and stopping me from dropping it. Now I have a shiny new 1200 I have to say I dont think i will be attempting it again, call me a wimp if you like, unless of course anyone wants to see me do it, and if I do drop it, will help me get it out, not just stand there pissing themselves laughing and taking the piss endlessly.
Oh and Why did I choose to go through a ford that was quite clearly rather higher than it should be due to excess rain???? Road closure, err I think....,:blagblah:blagblah:tears
 
I would like to add this to your thread from a few years ago up above Helmsley.
Karen and myself on the old 1150, but not half as impressive as some of the other pics in this thread.
 

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