20+ Years Of Riding Harleys And Close Calls - Here's My Story
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ย. 2023
- There have been a few bumps along the way - close calls riding @harleydavidson mortorcycles for more than 20 years.
#harleydavidson #motorcycle #biker #promonkeynation #sturgis #streetglide #roadglide #roadglidest #daytona - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
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Something the instructor said years ago when I had to go to driving school really stuck with me. “If you expect somebody to do something stupid, they will rarely disappoint you”.
3 days after my 74th birthday this year I went down on my '02 Yamaha Roadstar. I was doing about 15 or 20 and to avoid the a car that almost stopped in a corner and I got into the dirt and pea gravel and I couldn't correct and I hit the curb with the back wheel and it spun me around and the next thing I knew there was an EMT kneeling over me asking if I knew what happened and I wasn't sure so I got an ambulance ride. I ended up with 2 broken ribs, 2 broken bones in my foot and a broken scapula. In the meantime I had turned my classic, into a repair project now that I can finally wear shoes again.
I may not ride a Harley, but I do like the brotherhood!!
Hope you had a safe Thanksgiving!!! You guys seem to have something happening each holiday!! Have a safe and blessed holiday season..
Up here in Oregon the riding season is so it's still good watching your escapades.
Whoa, that is seriously nuts! Funny how the smallest bump can make for the BIGGEST injury. Glad you were O.K., broham!
I started riding aged 5 (on a farm) and now 64, I have had many gnarly close calls, and been down a few times. I should write a book lol. Worst one was in '92 when a head on with another bike resulting in left leg amputation below the knee. Changed my life in many ways, as you can imagine - the best and worst effect was that my wife couldn't handle the change, and we parted ways. Hard to accept, but 3 years down the line I met the love of my life as Garth says: "thank god for unanswered prayers". The accident kept me off bikes for just long enough to get a prosthesis and learn to walk on it. About 3 months. I have never looked back, in fact I haven't owned a car since 2003. I switched to road bikes only, and after a veritable procession of crotch rockets, European bikes and Japanese cruisers, I settled on HD, and having tried most, I now have 2 Crossbones: one for each locality I live in.
I’m 55 and have been riding since I was 16. On July 28th this year I had my first accident. I was on my 1998 RK Classic when some one pulled in front of me at 55 mph. I got it down to around 40/35 when we hit. I got him with left crashbar, threw me into guardrail, and then I hit pavement. I had no helmet on, a short sleeve tee and jeans. The crash guards saved my legs, and I walked away with some rash, bruises, and I lost a part of my pinkie finger. I was very lucky. Bike totalled. I since sold my 1998 FXSTC. I won’t ride a bike without crash bars again. I have since bought a 2021 CVO Limited ….. and a helmet. Love the channel !!
Count your blessings on that one. You should have bought a lottery ticket immediately afterward.
ok here goes.
In 2010 we bought a 2010 Road King but after a few months it just wasn't what we were looking for. In 2011 we bought a 2011 ultra limited and decided to ride from home in Boise, Idaho to my family in metro Kansas City, MO. After the second night spent in Ogallala Ne. we are heading East on I80 it's pouring so I'm taking it easy and not driving at a break neck speed, I settled behind a whole line of cars and trucks. About midway across Ne. the skies cleared and roads dried up so I scoot to left lane and step it up to 70mph we're cruising along and about to pass an 18 wheeler then all of a sudden a 1 ton dually pickup pulls out and hits his brakes. Thank god for anti lock cause I hit the brakes with everything I had we finally got slowed enough to avoid rear ending the truck and after a few blue words I look down and this guy was from Idaho. So we almost got killed in Nebraska by an Idahoan. I told the wife thank god we weren't on the road king we would of surely hit the truck or major slide on I 80.
That was our worst we have had others but not the pucker factor of that one, We now ride a 2015 Tri Glide because of some knee issues and I'm 73 and like the stability. Really like your channel, do some more with Papa Monkey and his trike.
Bill
As a Breakout rider, I can completely appreciate your Vrod story. Shoulder and hip. Yep, I can relate. You have a unique way of telling a story! My limp involved a 5 ton and an anti-tank mine in Vietnam. Maybe I should swap for a 5 ton with a green guardian bell. I always look forward to your videos!
1976 lost the back end of my 550 Honda on mud. It spat me off. Like you I bashed my head. When I came to, I attempted to lift my bike up, but my right shoulder said "Nope, you ain't doing that today!" I'd dislocated it so not as bad as you but painful enough, thank you very much.
1994 I got T-boned by car pulling out of a side road into me and my XS 850 Yamaha. Crushed my left leg into the bike and sent me over the handlebars. I bounced onto the sidewalk, sat up and my left foot was pointing in a way it shouldn't do, so I laid down again before I fainted! Funny thing was there was no real pain with it. Open fracture of Tibia and Fibula. Took 3 years to get sorted, countless ops and skin grafts. Ended up with a steel pin down theTibial shaft and a left leg that is 2 inches shorter than my right, so I got the funny walk too! LOL
Not a close call, but a direct hit. In June of this year on my way to work I was T-Boned at 40mph by a lady coming out of a driveway. There was a dump truck coming the other way that I can only assume she was trying to get ahead of (also the reason I couldn't swerve). According to the police report, she said she didn't see me until she hit me. 6 ribs & 3 Vertebrae. I was told by witnesses I'm lucky to be alive. I guess a close call from the pearly gates. God I loved that bike....
Been riding since 68', More close calls then I care to remember. The longer you go without an accident the closer you are to having one.
@davefiello2517
I guess that’s why I got mine out of the way early!!!
😜🤪🤬
You are spot on. Relaxing while intense. I ALWAYS watch EVERYONE and anticipate EVERYTHING.Every rider should watch this video. Great job bud.
One year and one month ago, a lady turned left in front of me. It happened very fast and I couldn’t get stopped or swerve because she had traffic behind her. I hit the back right of her car in a skid. Broke my right Tibia Plateau and shattered my knee cap. Broke my right right elbow, 3 ribs, my right shoulder (all three bones) and my left ankle because my foot was caught in the controls when we finally stopped and fell over. I’m still healing. I’m lucky to be on the top side of the grass. Ride safe all and God Bless you all on your rides.
I was 18 and wrapped a 58 Harley around a Telephone pole 6 months in the Hospital broke 43 bones and still love to ride
March of this year. I was in New Orleans working as a travel nurse in a cath lab. I was heading back to my rent house from a bike night event and was going down Napoleon Street when a guy on a cross street ran a stop sign and crossed right in front of me. I leaned hard left and managed to miss hitting the car, but I did not miss the big ass pothole in the road. The pothole jerked the bars out of my hands and sent the bike to the left. I hit the curb on the median, the bike slammed down to the ground, and I went skidding across the grass. I ended up with a completely torn ACL in my left knee. Since I couldn't really stand or walk, my contract was canceled, and I went back home to have knee surgery and do physical therapy. I was out of work for three months over that.
My Wide Glide wasn't horribly damaged. I got it back feom the repair shop in June and still ride it almost every day.
I remember I was about 6 or 7 years old I was on the back of my dad's bike doing a poker run and we were in a collum for the hog chapter, we were going into a curve in the road when his back tire hit a patch of gravel and slid out from under us and we low sided the bike and I remember sliding across the other lane and into the sholder of the road which was gravel. By the time I stood up I was swarmed by every lady on that ride lol. I was fine, not a scratch on me amd my dad got away with a twisted ankle. And hear I am today 26 years old with my own bike. I love every chance I get to ride along side him. Brings back childhood memories
Also, I'm sorry if anything's misspelled. I have to use voice to text due to my wrist being broke.
I hit a deer last year on my bike . I am very blessed and was able to ride it home.
I have a beautiful 2018 Electric Blue Street Glide that I had for 5 months before my wife found out. She went bat shit crazy when she found out.
In 2002 I was following a guy in a car a little to close. I turned my head at the same time he brake checked me. I swerved and missed him but I high sided off my bike. No gloves. I didn't scrape the pavement. I just smacked it. It was enough that I did, what the doctors called, a "De-Glove Of The Palm". Ripped my palm open. I needed a skin graph on two spots at the base of my thumb. I also tore all the tendons in my right knee. I also stretched and ripped my ACL in the same knee. The tendons in my knee healed without surgery. The ACL is still loose but doesn't hurt much. Not enough to warrant a surgery anyway. Be safe people.
I've totaled 2 Ultras. Both doing 35-40 MPH. The first was in the rain, and we were in a pack. The bike ahead of me switched to the right lane, so I followed and had to hit the brakes because he did. The ABS on that bike never worked right from the day that I bought the bike so front tire locks up in the loose gravel and rain. No helmet, so I bounced a bit. Got up and walked away from it. The 2nd was this past June. Young girl wanted a cookie from the Mall while she was taking a study Brake. She attempted to pass on my left, and then cut over in front of me. Her SUV rear quarter panel took out my handle bar and engine guard on my left side, threw bike down on it's right side where it slid about 30 feet on the pavement. I jumped off when it was going down, so I rolled along behind it only coming to a stop when the bike did. I hit pavement with my helmet, boot, elbow, both knees, left foot, and right glove. Got up from that one too. Next day I could barely move. Just had the repair surgery on my right shoulder where I landed on the palm of my hand before I started rolling. Had a spot about the size of a quarter on both knees and left elbow of road rash. Didnt mess up the clothes other than trashed the helmet, left boot, and right glove.
Been riding for over fifty years. They say,”It’s not if you’re going to dump it, it’s when…” Well, when I was living in N.Y. in my younger days I first dumped my 1976 XS650C Yamaha ( bought new, still have it) going around a corner on ice. Lesson: When you can’t feel your hand squeezing the clutch because it’s way to freakin cold out, time to put away the bike for the season. Another time, I have a Ural w/sidecar. Sitting fifth in line at a red light. Light turns green, we proceed. As I hit the intersection a little old lady taking her granddaughter to the airport runs the red light. I see her out of the corner of my eye and goose the throttle to get away. She bails me on the back end of my rig. I spin around, the front end of my rig wheelies as I’m spinning and I smack my chest hard against my left mirror. Miraculously I only bruised my chest nothing broken on me. My rig suffered a bent rear tire and smashed fender and a bent sidecar tire and smashed rim. The Ural is basically a tank! When I called my wife to pick me up after the fire Dept medics checked me out, she showed up with a big bag of ice. She’s used to my adventures…. She’s a keeper… The repairs covered by the little old ladies Ins. (In Florida unless your under the influence, or driving excessively dangerous,motorcycles are considered in the right) covered the repairs and my medical at the walk in clinic. I consider myself very lucky as if I didn’t see her at the last minute and goose it she would have totally t-boned me.
The golden rule I learned in the MSF course is that a car's front wheels are a window into the driver's intent.
I've always told my kids it's not if you get in an accident but when. I feel the same about riding, not if I go down but when.
That's it. Not if but when. I had a major but still don't wear a bucket unless it's raining or I'm force from where I'm at.
I always say there are 2 kinds of riders, those that been down and those that are going down
I fell off two weeks ago, just doing a simple U turn. I reckon that I wasn't going more than 4 or 5 miles an hour at the time. It all happened in an instant, just the same, and my right arm is still sore. $200Aud. in parts, too.
I we were talking about STL earlier tonight, imagine that... any story about STL late at night that involves alcohol has to involve white castle...
In 2008 i was coming home from work in heavy traffic and a 4"×4" board came out from under the car in front of me sideways across the road, i had nowhere to go so I hit it and the bike went airborne but i didn't go down. The bike seemed fine so i just kept going, think there was a gaurdian angel riding with me that day.
I felt the pain as you were describing it. Glad you are better and it was not worse when it happened!!
I have been riding since my early teens, I am 68 now. If all my bikes could talk they would have stories to tell. I bought a 250 Yamaha, had it two weeks. Riding in the city but on a four lane. A truck in front of me slams on the brakes and goes into a skid. I went down and slid past him somehow and no body ran me over in the right lane. In my twenties I had a 1975 XS 650 Yamaha. On my way to work a guy backs out of his friends driveway as I am coming around the corner doing about 50. I laid it down and took out the mailbox with the bottom of the bike, thankfully not with my bottom. On a 1977 Gold Wing riding through a town, a young kid pulls out from a stop sign. I could have kicked his grill on the way by. With the same Gold Wing coming into town close to were I laid the 250 down there was a stop light. It turned green as I got close to it so I kept rolling. The car in the left lane pulls away and starts changing lanes. I had a set of air horns on the side of the fairing and I let them blast and he got out of my lane pretty fast. That wasn't the only time those horns helped me out in a pinch. On the other 1977 Gold Wing I had a couple of flat tires with the wife on the back. Both times were pretty hairy. One front and one back, but the back tire went down instantly. We went down the road like a water snake. Both times I kept it up. The moral of that story is if somebody wants to give you a set of tires that are old don't do it. On the 1998 Fatboy I was on a charity ride. I was rounding a corner with a gravel road on my right. There was a lot of gravel on the highway. I broke hard, started to skid so I had to back off or go down. I had a millisecond to decide do I take the ditch or do I take my chances of getting around the stop sign. I chose the ditch and road it out and never stopped. Luckily there was a field and when I got it under control I pointed it back to the road and kept going. I also hit a deer with the Fatboy. After I was done rolling and sliding down the highway, I was able to still get up and walk to the bike with the 45 still hanging at my side. I wasn't shook up, I was just pissed my beloved Fatboy was laying on the road. I was pulling a trailer with my Ultra Classic on the freeway. I road behind a company pickup pulling a long tandem axle trailer for many miles. He stayed in the left lane. I finally decided to get by him as the highway took a gentle turn to the right. I was doing 80 and was up to his pickup bed then he starts coming way over into my lane. I slacked off fast but with that long trailer behind him I had nowhere to go but the landing strip on the side. When the road straightened out I kicked it down and expressed my feelings as I went by. Sadly on August 20 this year I hit my second deer in broad daylight with the Ultra. I still don't remember hitting the deer or the helicopter ride. When I woke up three days later I didn't know were I was and what I was doing there. All I know was I hurt like hell and my family was there. I broke my shoulder, pretty much all the ribs on the left side of my back and cracked my head open and got a concussion. They plated seven of my ribs. I healed pretty fast to a point but now I still feel the effects in my back and neck. I went to look at an Electra Glide to replace Ultra Classic. It was after dark when I left the guys place. About a half mile from his driveway a big buck ran right in front of me and one right in back of me. you can't get any closer to a deer and not hit it. The anti lock was working. As I was riding my new to me replacement bike (with no blessings from my doctors) I started to think. Motorcycling: for a lot of people it's a hobby, for some it's a passion, and for a few it's a death warrant. Well you said wanted comments. that isn't all the bikes and that isn't all the stories but that is enough. I enjoyed your video but sad to hear you are still feeling the pain after all this time. I was hoping at some point my pain would go away but now you got me nervous. It can be dangerous out there but never did I want to quit. Getting old sucks but dying young isn't that appealing either. Fortunately I am to old to die young. Ya I heard that in a song.
I was riding my 98 Ultra East Bound on Gandy StPete ... POURING RAIN... AT NIGHT Coming up on the Dog Track....
When a Car pulled right out in front of me.... again ,in the rain, I wacked the brake hard... the bike turned 90* to the right... My Guardian Angel was right there because a second later I was going East again and missed the back end of the car...
Couldn't do that with the new bikes with interlocked braking
True. It’s weird how new tech can make it worse.
I’ve been fortunate so far . I’m 53 ,been riding since I was 14. However, riding with our group of 6 bikes( 4 couples) heading East on I 90 ,finishing up our 5 day pre Sturgis ride in 2021, my wife hit a 4x4 block laying in the left track of the right lane ,@80 mph! I was just ahead of her , in R track and as I passed the block I thought “ oh s#*t”,I didn’t even have time to point it out or anything. Next I look in mirror ,she’s comin* off her seat but kept it straight and up , the lady behind her , now the block is rolling, bouncing, hits it as well gets really squirrely and we all get stopped safely! But, both rims bent on both bikes to where they couldn’t be ridden. It could have been much worse so we were all grateful no one went down! Moral of story, objects on road surfaces can disappear sometimes no matter how well you are surveying the road way. We think what happened was we were all so taken in by the beautiful scenic road where you could see for miles ahead , that the piece of wood got overlooked until we were right on it which by then it was too late. ( and since then I have actually stopped and removed objects like that from the road so someone else doesn’t hit it) .
Way back in'71 riding downhill on a dirt road on my first bike I was chopping, I needed to downshift to help the brakes slow me down. Missed the gear, went to neutral and launched off the road into a deep ravine. The bike fell away and I landed on a steel culvert. Broke 3 ribs under right armpit. Tore off skin on both palms and knees. Was summer and the gnats immediately covered all the wet spots and had a feast. Took a long time for the ribs to knit back together.
Got my broken wings in 03. Drunk in a F550 ran the light and nailed me. I got a ride in a helicopter and two weeks of a coma. Lots of speech therapy to speak right after i woke up. Short term memory is still iffy.
I have bad shoulder movement in one arm from a cracked collar bone as a kid your story brought back all the pain again lol
Same thing happened to me here in August, thank God for no surgery, healing in a slow process
I actually met you briefly in sturgis 2021, my buddy was having a bad day so I couldn't stick around. I'm a hair older than you, started riding as a (late) teen. I have had my share of close calls and low sides a few times. Minor broken bones and scars, scratched paint, ruined chrome and all that.
Anyway, March 6 2023 I got t-boned at an intersection. I had a steady green, was following a car in front of me and a lady decided to just go. Broken ankle, spiral fractured wrist, pelvis broke in 5 places, lots of blood.
Didn't get back on the bike til august really. I was pretty messed up, but took the PT serious and it worked. I'm not the same, but I'm still working on it. Lots and lots of plates and screws in me now. They weren't joking when they say you can feel the rain coming in your bones.
The only silver lining is, since it was an unseasonably warm day I decided to have fun and record the ride. I caught the whole thing on my gopro. So when the cops asked me what happened a couple days later in the ICU I was able to snag the raw footage off the camera and literally show them. There were no further questions about who's at fault. Her story, it turns out, was completely fabricated. Lots of stuff is still up in the air, but the important thing is I'm back home with my wife and pets able to walk, do most things and not in a wheelchair (any more).
Last summer , beautiful day after work I jumped on my '15' wide glide. Got about 50 miles in and pulled on our local truck pass. This older woman pulled out from a drive way never even looked . I probably was maybe 15 feet away .. thank God nobody was in the other lane cuz I was scraping pegs leaning the bike over to get around her without t boning her.. my ass was puckered up I think I was plucking seat leather out of my crack for 2 days....
I hit a pickup truck. It turned left in front of me on the highway and I basically sideswiped it. It ripped my crash bar, floor board, and leg all nearly off.
I had a shattered and exposed femur. The pain really set in in the helicopter. The nurse said we're giving you morphine. I said it's not working! Along with the shattered femur, I had 3 broken ribs, shattered radius, broken fibula, and broken floor under my left eye (no helmet).
I spent 2 weeks in the hospital, 3 months in a wheelchair, 2 years on crutches, another year on a cane. Had 1 surgery on my arm, countless procedures on the right leg including a bone graft, knee scope, and hip replacement. Eventually had to have the hip on the other side replaced also due to compensating for the right side.
I just bought another bike less than a month ago. It's been a little over 4 years since the accident. There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not in pain, but some days are better than others.
Holy crap!!! That’s a horror show!!!
I'm 67, been riding since I was around 12...dirt roads in Minnesota. I own 2 HD now with 65K & 50K miles I've put on them. I've had several OMG moments and 2 times down with slight injuries. I was told by my uncle who owned the dirt bike I started on that once you through your leg over a motorcycle you become invisible. I've been riding that way ever since. I believe it's saved my life more than a few times.
Thanks for sharing,,, mine wasn’t close but it was close to home, right in front of my house… new rear tire, right turn out of my driveway, look down to make sure my kickstand is up, crack throttle just a hair,,, spin out, lay down , break fall with hands, break wrists, hit head- concussion!
I hope I never have an experience like that again! I felt so ignorant!!
I too have wrecked a vrscw about 6 years ago going around a corner, wasn’t used to the wide tire so it walked out on me, hit some gravel, I over corrected then shot into the sidewalk and rag dolled down it at about 40mph.
The last time I had the front end wash out I drove the bike home, drove myself to the hospital and spent the night. I had 7 broken ribs, broken collar bone, broken scapula that almost got plated, and a collapsed lung. This was 20 yrs ago.
It's not if but when, 5 years ago a Chic-Fil-A catering van pulled out and tried to occupy the space I was occupying between two cars. I laid it down, so I didn't slam into the van and my right leg got stuck underneath and dragged me a bit. Ended up with a torn MCL and partially torn ACL in right knee. Thanks to having full riding gear on only other injury was some major road rash on my right arm which can still be seen a bit 5 years later.
Had a 2009 Ultra, running 60 mph on county blacktop with jeep wagoner in front of me. I looked down in the ditch thinking I saw something moving, nothing there. In the meantime a frickin dog ran out in front of the jeep so he slammed on his brakes. When I refocus on road in front of me I see the jeep coming fast, so in a split second I have two choices, slam into the back of the jeep or lay down my $22,000 bike and hope for the best. I layed her down , a farmer said yep you went down, the bike flipped twice while air born and I did a couple of cartwheels, my helmet with my head in it slapped the pavement hard and I slid about 25 ft after landing. I had some road rash thru my HD jacket on my arms, my billfold was laying on the road 30 feet back after my back jean pocket was ground off. I was impressed how my head didn't hurt after smacking the pavement and the helmet took all the damage. So anyway they called the cops and ambulance while the fricking jeep driver drove off. I told the ambulance to go back home and I found a ride home and the bike was totaled. The next day I felt like I had wrestled a 1200 lbs. bear , sore everywhere. I gained a new appreciation for helmets that day.
I've been pretty lucky, but When I was in charge of the motor unit for the dept., one of my guys was t-boned by a landscaping truck. Motor goes over, he's on the ground and like you said, trying to get up and pick up the bike. Each time he tried, back down he went. The paramedics arrive and began tending to him and noticed his right foot turned inward instead of outward as he lied there on the street. The paramedic got his scissors out and was getting ready to cut the boot that went up over his calf. As the medic grabbed the boot, my guy grabs the medics throat saying what are you doing? Medic responds while trying to breath, I have to cut your boot, your ankle is broken. Officer replies these are $600 boots, medic still trying to breath, while responding he'll cut it down the seam so it can be fixed. Off in the ambulance the doctors questioning the medic at the hospital why his neck was all red.
A beautiful summer day on the Blue Ridge Parkway, didn’t have to be anywhere for three days, cruise set at slightly over 40, feet up on the highway pegs, one hand on the bars (yeah, I know, stupid), come around a curve and there’s a turkey walking across the road. Hit it square, upset the bike, stuck my left leg down just as the bike flicked left, instant shattered left tib-fib. Brought the bike to a nice safe stop then fell over in the grass. Only laid there for 2 or 3 minutes before another bike came along. Within 30 minutes I was in an emergency vehicle and gone. Still don’t know exactly where they took me, but I eventually ended up in a Roanoke, VA hospital for about ten days. Two surgeries to fix my leg, seven month recovery. Not a scratch on the bike, a turkey feather stuck in a highway peg.
Just 3 weeks ago on November 7th, I was on I-10 East in New Orleans when I came into a "super fog" as they are calling it. It was foggy, but nothing you haven't seen before, but all of a sudden, it mixed with smoke from a marsh fire. I mean it went completely white. Never seen anything like that before.
Anyhoot, I was in the middle lane with a car on my right and I just started braking and downshifting. Then as soon as I saw the stopped pickup truck in front of me, I was hitting him. Went over the handle bars and into his tailgate. Figured I had made impact at around 30 mph. Probably the only thing that saved me.
Ended up being a big pileup. Two big trucks had overtured and there was one fatality and me. Oh, and a dump truck on the west bound side turned over and lost his load of sand.
Not one thing is broken with the exception of my right shoulder separating from the clavicle a little. Still cannot raise my arms, but that is it.
My funny story from the ER: When they got me there, they finished cutting everything off. EVERYTHING. Nothing but nurses walking around and one doctor. So I piped up, "Before y'all pass judgment, just remember that's it's cold in here!" They laughed and finally covered me up.
That's it.
Oh, it was a 2013 Electra Glide Ultra Classic and she is totaled. Found another one just like her, but with only 14000 miles. Going to be able to save a bunch of my upgrades and put them on the new one. Making lemonade!
New camera? New phone? It appears to be more clear and in cinematic mode. I dunno?
Thanks for sharing. I’ll share my scary rides over lunch.
It was just my phone but in cinematic mode.
A couple of years ago on the way into work, I hit the brand new wet white lines (like really oily slick gravel) in a roundabout, twice less than a second. I wasn’t aware it had rained an hour before, but they held all the moisture. The first one I almost recovered, but the second wobbled out of control on a curb and into a fire hydrant. It was in Vail so the fire hydrants are 4 feet tall or more so they don’t get buried under snow. I was on a road glide so it bounced off to the right and I went between the hydrant and the bike and shoulder checked the hydrant. Cracked a rib and a scapula and missed work that night, but went in three days later.
First off I love your content you’re doing such a great job with your channel. I have been riding my `15 FLHTK For the last five years, riding just about everyday here in Pinellas county FL. I believe I have a close call or come to Jesus experience everyday. Besides being able to clench my seat like nobody’s business I chock them up to learning experiences? Please keep up the great work thank you for all that you do.
Yep, I have always been (well not always but now am) a defensive rider as well as when I am driving the cage also. My worst happened in 1981 I was 19 Stationed in CA. Usually didn't wear a helmet at that time but that wee small voice in my head told me to wear one that day, so I did. I was out ridding with a buddy of mine that day along some roads I was unfamiliar with went around a curve to fast, went off the road into a ditch that had been concreted. I was able to ride out the ditch until there appeared a small boulder in the ditch, of which I hit. When I did hit the boulder, I was thrown back out onto the road head and shoulder first. Had road rash from hell. I refused to go to the Hospital since we were on the Army Base, and I was riding dirty at the time. No endorsement, plates or insurance. The only thing happened to the bike was broken clutch lever and bent handlebars. So, I speed shifted back to the barracks got into the most excruciating shower I had ever taken to wash the debris out of my wounds. The left side of my body was raw for what felt like months. I have worn a helmet ever since by choice, as well as at least a sturdy leather jacket. Dang hard to believe that has been over 42 years ago. Much better rider now!! Just have to watch out for the others on the road not paying attention.
I've been following you guys for quite a while but not Into writing much but here it goes. Been riding on road for 45 years and here is one that happened to me and wife that rides on back with me.we were in Amish country in ohio where we live following a minivan about 1/2 mile behind him we come over hill and he was stopped on just the other side of the hill. We barley got stopped before hitting him. The reason he stopped was there was a Amish buggy with no one in it coming the other way with a line of traffic behind it. The pickup truck directly behind the buggy had passed it . After getting in front of it he stopped in the attempt to stop the horse an buggy. The horse went around the truck and went between the truck and minivan in front of me.well the buggy didn't fit and the left wheel hit the minivan launching the buggy and horse onto its side slamming the horse's head against the ground. The horse , lying on its side ended up right at my left foot . In a panic it finally moved enough I could get my kickstand down . So I jumped on the horse putting my hands over its eyes calming it down. Learned from working on uncles farm as a kid. About ten harley riders behind all of this came up and asked what to do,so I told them to try and unhook the buggy from horse both lying on there sides. Inthe mean time a Amish 12 year old boy on a bicycle showed up and said it was his horse he would help. There's a lot of contraptions hooked up to horse and buggy so it took a while but finally they got the buggy pulled back and I let the horse up. It was lucky it just had a skin ed up knee and I'm sure a headache. Amazing the buggy was not hurt but the van had quite a bit of damage. So after hooking the horse and buggy back up the Amish boy put his bicycle in back of the buggy and the van followed hi 5 miles back to his house where he said his dad would pay for damages. I along with some of the other bikers wrote our numbers and names on paper and I told the 0ld man driving the van if he had any problems to call sheriffs and contact us for witnesses, never heard anything so it must have we t OK. Well that's my best story after 45 years of riding.
Good watching ya all
Reminded me of one of your earlier videos with your great stories . Great vid my friend
I've been riding since 17 now 52 just had my second accident this year. Never know what is around every corner. Be safe out there came over a blind hill and a genius decided to make a k turn on the other side of the hill. I came over with cars blocking the road had maybe 20 yds couldn't stop fast enough went right over the bars bike took more damage then me. But like you said the pain doesn't kick in right away.
I started at 14 and am now 52 and posted above my accident similar to yours took me about an hour for the pain to kick in and my whole dam body ached
Love your videos. I'm 58, been riding on the road for 42 years, motocross before that. Currently run an '07 street glide with 106K on it, and a '17 road glide with around 30K. Before 2020, my last bike accident was in 1986. T-Bird pulled out in front of me at 50 with little distance and nowhere to go in front of a popular San Diego restaurant and tourist attraction. Literally one second to grab all the front brake, compress the front forks, and hear the rear tire do a quick "chirp chirp", then jumped as I contacted the car. The witnesses said I did a beautiful acrobatic routine over the guy's hood. I remember thinking I had to get my feet down so I didn't land on my head - stuck the landing a few feet away from the car, facing it. Only injury (other than my totaled bike and my pride) was a bruised foot where it dented the fender as I went over.
Recently, had a rough few years. All in Wisconsin. July 2020, someone left one of those large fist-sized rocks in the middle of the road on a blind corner and hill. That tore a chunk out of my front tire and rim, slamming us down hard to the left. The wife was fortunately less injured - she was off the bike immediately, did a little bounce and roll (with a little road rash), and was up on her feet chasing after me. I apparently fought the bike for the instant it was going down and stayed with it for half of it's slide - I bent the left handlebar, resulting in a 3/4 tear of my left triceps tendon. My left foot was out on the highway peg. It seems I can not stop the world with my left leg, and I ripped the quadriceps tendon off the kneecap. It hurt. I yelled loud enough it scared people. A couple minutes later I stood up, and some folks stopped and were helping out. I tried to help the guys attempting to push my bike up out of the ditch (I got it shifted into neutral and tried to steer, standing on one leg), then convinced them we were not rolling that 900 lb bike up that little incline. Walked (I could put weight on the left leg as long as I kept it straight) over to the other side of the road into some farmer's front yard and waited for the meat wagon.
Once recovered from that (March, '21), hit a tree with a snowmobile, tore the right triceps tendon completely off. I did recover in time to enjoy most of the riding season that summer.
August '22, in an easy curve, only doing 30 mph, I didn't know what happened at the time, but I was violently slammed down to the left (again). I was immediately enraged - no accidents since 1986, then I'm down twice in three years. Didn't feel like I slipped, couldn't see anything I could have slipped on in the road, bike righted itself and went another 50 yards down the shoulder of the road. I stood up to get out of the road and my left leg (out on the highway peg again) felt like someone kicked it and like I sprained my ankle, but I couldn't put any weight on it (crap). As I hopped off the road on my right leg, I could hear and feel "clunk clunk clunk" and figured that was going to make a bad day even worse. I stood on the shoulder of the road with my left foot off the ground and shook the leg - it clunked and the ankle was really sloppy - broke the tibia and shattered the fibula. Laid down on the shoulder of the road, removed my vest, helmet and protective shirt, removed my boot before things started swelling. The guys passing the meat wagon as I was being loaded in says "D@mn, that deer didn't even break stride" (hit me at a full sprint), THEN, to add insult to injury, said "Hey, you know where he was laying is all poison ivy?" A couple weeks later, I thought I lucked out - didn't have any rash or itching (but did have some beautiful bruising where the deer hit my right side). Did you know that crap can wait for up to 21 days if you haven't been exposed before? The 19th night, I hobbled out of the bed to the living room with some insane itching, pulled off the boot, looked up what this rash could be, and then cursed a couple times, rubbed every itchy area with rubbing alcohol, and itched for about a week. The surgeon installing the hardware the day after the crash, after he opened me up, looked at his PA and told her "go get me another plate" - they stacked two to make one long enough to cover the break area. I recovered, and had a great riding season last summer.
Three weeks ago, the surgeon removed the hardware that 15 months earlier he had so nicely installed. I lose the crutches next week.
my worst is the time i was about killed by a ham sandwich in the middle of the road which sent me throw a corn field.. bike was f'ed but I made it out ok after i dug the cornhusk out of my helmet
The one that I thought was going to take me out was on 101 between Newport and Lincoln City. Came around the corner at 55, corner said 35, KZ1000, 45 feet in front of me is a stopped, yes stopped station wagon with its left blinker on, waiting for the pickup to go by. Sand on both shoulders with brambles 4 foot off the road to the right. I got all that info in a slowed down millisecond. Options line up - 1) tighten the turn go right and hope the sand doesn't move. 2) heck with the sand and head for the brambles goin hurt but I ought to live. I had not realized it but all three rotors were heating up and the back tire had started to come around due to the almost full stop. 3) continue the lock up and just break the right side of the body as I hit the wagon it will hurt but again I should live. 4) leap up just before we hit and go over the top of the wagon. The bike is gone but again I should live. The truck is just clearing the rear bumper of the car and there is a widening motorcycle size gap between the two of them. 5) IF the car does not start their turn, I could make it. There must have been tire screeching, because the wagon had not started to move yet. I did not hear anything until it was over. The world is in slow motion since I had processed the danger - option chosen - Off the brakes, on the throttle, swing out to the left and shot by the wagon. Pulled off the road about 60 feet past the wagon and looking back they had just complete their turn. A young lady pokes her head out the driver's side window and asks if I am OK. Both hands are shaking as I light up a Marlboro, "I will be as soon as I get a new pair of pants." Later I find a bruise on my right calf, I must have grazed the bumper as I went by.
On my street glide I was getting on the interstate and while looking back at a car not giving me any room to merge. A high gust of wind shoved me over and when I turned back around I hit the wall of the bridge and it ejected me over the bridge and into the 8in of water and sand 30 feet below. Fractured L1-L5 in my back. Fractured most of my right side ribs. Gashed open my right knee. Whip lash tore my acl and mcl of my left knee. 2 days later I was out of the hospital and at the wrecker yard checking on my bike witch ended up being totaled.
Great episode....brought back a lot of memories....I was laughing my ass off. Maybe I'm crazy, but I thank God for every "indecent" every single one made me a better rider.
In 2007 while riding the tail of the dragon going up hill into a right 90° turn, I had 2 women in a Mazda Miata coming down the hill around the turn on my side of the road. Lucky I had a victory Vegas at the time and was able to maneuver around them and not run off the road. 2005 my wife at the time were out enjoying a nice Sunday ride up here in Pennsylvania, when I noticed a deer running out from the woods on my left, as I hit the brakes I yelled to my wife to duck. This deer jumped right over us and up the bank...so that's my stories. Knock on wood I haven't had any accidents and I've been riding since 1980
So I have this 2003 Anniversary Electra Glide. I wanted one in 2000 and waited with baited breath until it came out in late 2002. It was $26,000 in 2002 money and I was buying a house. Out goes the bike. I decided to wait. 20 years later a kid whose dad gave him one because he was buying a new one sold it to me for $4,800. Pristine condition, kept indoors. Engine rebuilt.
I heard what sounded like a rattle of sheet metal on the front end and ignored it earlier in the week. I was rolling down by Holona Blow Hole on Oahu. Drop off on one side, oncoming traffic on the other. My fender came off, got wedged in the wheel and sent me in a skid into oncoming traffic. I jerked the handlebars back as hard as I could and the fender dislodged. Except now I was headed for a cliff. By the time I slowed down I was able to dislodge my bars and cruised it in to a parking lot. I was riding in a pack so they all stopped, we jerked the fender out and it was totaled. It also broke off the mounting tabs in the remaining bolts in my fork lowers so now they needed replaced.
I went and now had an excuse to get chrome lowers. the $89 fender turned out to be a $400 fender as it was an anniversary and paint matched my paint. rebuilt the much needed forks and am back on the road. What a place to lose control. Tour bus head on or 300 foot cliff drop on to the place they filmed the beach scene for "From Here to Eternity".
I wonder how the hell that happened? Makes ya wonder if that kid had screwed with it.
You are such an incredible story teller!!!!
DEER!!! yeah, I hit one at 90mph, broadside and wraped it around me and the bike. nuff said.
still ride 20K a year.
glad youre good.
I’m recovering now. I was hit on my birthday a year ago July. My wife rides a can-am a cager and I had a bit of an issue. He was about to hit my wife who was leading. I dove in trying to block him. It worked! I was hit pushed into the rear of my wife’s front wheel. I flew 22-25 feet landing flat on my back no slide after rolling 18” of heat shield into my leg. Broken pelvis,foot,leg ankle and toe. Leg was run through with 10-12” aluminum spears. My big toe was sheared off held by the skin. They worked on options saying it should have been amputated. I rode for 8 months with a black and blue 1/2 way upside down toe using a heel toe for the first time heel only no toe. I finally had foot surgery got a prosthetic toe multiple plates screws and rod to stab it together to replace the all but dead one. The concussion was the worst part I’ve had several and they have added up. I tried to walk out on crutches with an undiagnosed broken pelvis.
Anyway I’d do it all again now. I missed about 1 1/2 months with a couple surgeries. Sorry that was long. Oh and the dr visit from learning to drift a wheel chair with my buddy that lost his leg getting hit 2 years ago now. The dr visit was funny. My Brakeout is custom painted and almost done. I ride my streetglide now.
Sadly I don’t have a bike, at least one with a motor . . . I cycle quite a bit, many close calls over the years and one that went way past being close. Lost my brakes on a bike as a kid going down a steep hill that hard 90 over a one lane wooden bridge over a river - no lie - full on speed wobble and washed out in the gravel just past the bridge and before slamming into a boulder - no helmet, just scrapes and went into shock pretty bad. Plenty of close calls with cars, even locking eyes with the driver. Worst was mountain biking years ago and got on a bad line, went over the bars, ended up getting airlifted to the hospital with a resetting short term memory and couldn’t remember my last name. Could have gotten a motorcycle with how much my last bike cost . . . would I be faring better? Sometimes I wonder. Anyone cycle as well? Thoughts on similarities/differences? Definitely ride like you’re not seen . . .
More than once, I've seen a driver look directly at me just before they would pull out in front of me and stop.
HOLY SHIT Monk!!!!
2008??? Only serious accident: Wasn’t paying attention. Slammed on the brakes. Kept going forward - no longer on the bike. Told the doctor he could cut my arm off but don’t cut the vest. (Road rash & a couple of cracked ribs.) Still riding. Plan on riding in the morning. Happy trails 🏍️
So I was on Telegraph headed south at 40mph in the left lane and an old man in a pickup truck (came from Ill. for cheap gas and cigs) decided he was going to pull out of the gas station into the left lane without looking. With oncoming traffic(on Telegraph) my lane got really small really fast, I threw a right elbow into the drivers side trying to push the truck out of my way which did not work. My XL1200N (Grace) slammed on her right side, yellow paint on my pipes showing I was on the line as far as I could without hitting oncoming traffic. My right foot hit the pavement and launched me over the top. I rolled laterally for about 40 feet with Grace bouncing against the back of my helmet I ended up resting in the middle of the oncoming lane. Luckily they stopped. After the two gorgeous female police officers picked me up and walked me to the ambulance I was found to only have a bone chip in my ankle and beat to shit from rolling down the pavement. This happed in February last year so I was in full snow gear covered in leathers (no road rash). The eyes you say, the woman(witness) in the oncoming lane and myself are forever bonded thru that look. Once I spoke to her a few days later I said I do not know how I missed your bumper. She said “you didn’t” their was a black mark on her bumper from my left boot. Fuck that was close. I keep wanting to buy a gremlin bell but everyone tells me it has to be a gift. Thanks for the video and I request one about your favorite Missouri runs. ✌️❤️🎣
I'm glad you didn't actually crash with somebody.
My husband and I did,last year. We were overtaking a car and the driver rolled up the steering wheel without conviction and blinker and we hit him. The husband had two or three cracks (rib and hand), a huge bruise on his right thigh and a swollen right arm. And I ended up with a broken femur and right wrist. So now I have a rod in my leg and I'm the house meteorologist.. The interesting thing is that my husband broke his right femur when he was little and now we both walk like ducks.😅 And what I find fascinating is at the time of the crash, everything was so slowed down for me, like I saw what's going to happen and just waited like forever. I wasn't afraid, wasn't panicking, just sat there like come on already.😅
I have had 3 close calls and a bangaroo. Two close calls were decades ago on my 350 Honda scrambler. Third close call I was coming back from Maine on my 21 Tri Glide 3 deer jump off a bank almost got the third one. The bangaroo I was entering an s curve car in oncoming lane stopped and as I approached he crossed in front of me with no signal. I dropped the bike (2006 Heritage).
The bike went ass over tea kettle flipped over his trunk I hit the ground (no helmet base ball hat) landed on my side and flipped about 3 time till my back slammed into the side of his car. As I laid there he started to move forward again his tire came up on my left ear. It put a split behind my ear about 3 inches long and my head slid out of the hat. Road rash right arm from fingers to right bicep. Damaged my hip and a hematoma from my right hip to the middle of my calf. Hip acts up now and then. Road rash went down to the white quick close to the bones. Therapy for about 8 months. On the 10 month I bought an 02 Heritage and Road King. This happened in 2017. I wrote too much sorry man.
Another great video Monk. I've been lucky not to have had a serious wreck in the past 45 years but recently had a complete radial tear through the anterior body of the medial meniscus of my right knee. Ouch is right! I highly recommend CBD gummies for your shoulder ailment. I think they are legal in FLA. Take a trip without ever leaving the farm.
I enjoy listening to war stories. My worst accident in 28 years of street riding was a girl that just got her learners permit and ran a stop sign and T-Boned me. I have 14 screws in my upper arm and shoulder. That was one of the times my helmet saved my life.
I’m glad you’re still with us!
Well i have a good one for you. Just a heads up it may be a long read.
I live up in Alberta, Canada and we have a main devided highway that runs north/south (QE-ll). I was heading north to meet up with my son to do a group ride. Was late of course so doing about a buck 40( thats 140km/hr ...87mph).
It had just stopped raining, i passed a truck just before my exit and as i was moving back into the slow lane when i picked up a nail in my rear tire and the bike went snakey like i was on ice. Well i got it slowed down a bit and thought i was going to get it stopped and that is when the bead broke free and the tire jamed up in the wheel well. The bike layed over on the right side and i jumped up and put one foot on the seat and one on the tany case and road it like a skate board utill something caught pavement and the bike did a switch from right side to left side slide. I don't know how but i got my feet to the other side of the bike and road it again. I believe about this time i was doing about 60km/h (approximately 40mph), thought the bike was going to flip again so i bailed, turned in mid air and landed on my back smacking my helmet and separating my collar bone from the center part not the sholder end. Separated that one playing hockey lol.
You went through way more pain than i did...this didn't even hurt. Just scary as hell.
If you and the misses ever want to check out some of Alberta just throw me a text. Would be glad to put you guys up. Love to sit down and share stories and beer.
You guys do awesome at your videos. Keep it up.
I had a 16 Ultra Limited. Leaving the airport here in Atlanta I got over taken by a car me and the bike cartwheeled and slid into the interstate…luckily nobody was coming managed to pick the bike up before the pain set in. Second degree sprain on my left knee. I think my guardian angel is getting tired. Thanks for the input on the Vrod I was thinking about getting on of those to get me back on two wheels.
I was very lucky when I had an accident on my bike back in 1991. I took it for a ride after work. I was running her hard that day. I had it up to 130. As I rolled of the gas I noticed a white vehicle with lightson top coming from the other direction. I applied the brakes. Unfortunately the front locked immediately. I went down and tumbled down the highway.
I had roadrash on 40% of my body. Luckily nothing was broke. I spent 5 days in the hospital. I was wearing what I do any other day. A t-shirt and blue jeans. My left knee was beatup and still bothers me from time to time. Part of my left foot goes numb when my knee acts up. I am sure my full face helmet savedmy life that day. I remeber the back of the helmet hitting the pavement everytime I rolled over. I miss that bike. It was a Honda V65 Sabre.
My first day out after taking my MSF which I failed due to the swerve test. I’m riding home in the slow lane, a car in front of me with a good space cushion turns into the right turn lane into a neighborhood and as I start to pass him as he slowed, he decides to jump back in the lane with no signal and driving slower now, I had to swerve to the left of my lane, and having to look instantly that I wouldn’t be sideswiped from a car passing in the middle lane. Im now right at the side window of that car, and the driver would not turn his head and look at me then speeds off. I ride with confidence but also like everyone is trying to kill me.
I was going through Atlanta on the I-285 western bypass and came around a blind corner and a semi truck was dead stopped in the hammer lane. I had a 2009 Heritage Softail Classic trike towing a Timeout camper. So instead of eating the back of a semi headon, I shot off onto the left shoulder. About that time, the semi truck had the same idea! Since the laws of physics do not permit two objects to occupy the same space, I got squeezed between the semi truck and the jersey barriar! Well, I broke my neck and had 16+ hours of surgery, a severely dislocated hip and a sever shoulder injury. My passenger suffered a broken collar bone, some bruised ribs and bruises.
This happened October 27, 2023 and the totalled my bike! So I've already started shopping for the replacement! I plan to be riding again by at least mid-May!
Back in 2013, I was riding home after work on my Heritage Classic in the Tampa Bay area and was hit from behind by a pizza delivery driver while making a left turn. Was laid up for a few weeks and my bike was repaired.
I think my biggest close call was the first time I rode my new to me Harley at night.
Started riding when I was 12 on a bike my dad brought home from the landfill where he worked (Suzuki, 125 street and trail) me and both my younger brothers learned to ride on that bike with dad sitting on the back of it.
Flash forward to my mid 30s. Dad has just passed away and always wanted a Harley, so I went to my local steelership and bought one (2018 Harley Davidson Electra glide ultra, limited low). I was driving home from a friends house. It was probably around 10pm-ish, they live in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma. So I am doing 35 in a 55 because I know a deer is going to run in front of me eventually, from past experience driving these roads at night.
The factory lighting on a 2018 Electra glide sucks so I barely see the first deer which did run in front of me, I got the bike shut down missed it then the second deer I didn’t see decided to jump the fence, hit me square in my rib cage. I didn’t go down, but it did knock the wind out of me. Deer didn’t touch the bike.
I’m just glad it was a doe. I probably wouldn’t be here if that had been a buck.
After 27 years of riding I had countless close calls that usually involved an 80+ year old and also seeing a few of my buddies get severly injured while riding (one killed) always due to other motorists I decided the anxiety i was experiencing every time i rode that i just didnt enjoy the ride like i used too so i sold My last Fatboy and so far i dont miss it one bit...
thanks for sharing…. uncle Arthur (arthritis) will not be gentle on you as you age…. sorry for that for you. I’m still new to riding with less than 5K miles, but had one close call…. Every day is a learning experience.
I'm with you there, already hurts all the time.
2012 coming home from work for supper I turned at a stop light( thankfully I had to stop for a red) I was just grabbing third when a young driver turned in front of me I grabbed the brakes and said this is gonna....never got to say hurt because she turned right in front of me and I went over my bars and through her windshield rolled off and landed on the pavement. I was doing about 40 km/hr( 25 mph) I refused an ambulance but the officer on scene strongly suggested I go to the hospital so he gave me a ride there, when we got up to the reception he said he was there with a rider from an MVA so she looked up and down the hallway and said he must be in emerge in a stretcher is he? i was stood behind the cop and said nope i am the rider and she said yea right, the cop confirmed it was me, we had a chuckle at that. funniest part is when I did get in to see the Dr. she looked at me and asked what I was there for and I said I was in a motorcycle accident, she went yea right so I said wanna see my bike lol. she didn't send me for X-rays just said go home and take some Tylenol it's gonna hurt in the morning! And hurt it did. i found out later through an X-ray that i had 4 cracked ribs, 2 broken ribs and a collapsed spine that pinched the Sciatic nerve. Sorry for the long write but had to tell the funny parts lol I have had many numerous close calls in my 30+ years of riding( started at 14 and early 50s now}
Been there P Monkey, had to quit in 2019. 5 times is too many. I learned the hard way, in my 60s now, ride as long as you can!!!
only one worth telling ......... in April 1998 i was going thru a divorce and moved back home to western Massachusetts and rented a room from my sister, my brother in-law also rode, so we often rode together. one time we were side by side and he took a right turn and my front tire hit his rear and we both went down , and the way i fell messed up my right knee, we get to hospital and Dr says you have some ligament damage and that my riding season was over. couple months later riding home from Amherst Mass to Easthampton on rte 9 this road goes from 4 laned to 2 and back to 4 and back to 2 several times, just before one of these merges i was in the outside lane and the traffic stopped in the inside lane and someone in that lane left space for someone to make a left hand turn and as he did he hit me from the side and i went sliding down the road on my right side AGAIN !! i got the the Hospital and it was the Same Dr and he shook his head and said my riding season was FOR SURE OVER THIS TIME !! my sister looked at him and said how do you think my Brother Got here, he rode his bike !! with my knee all messed up i managed with help from by-standers to get bike up and get on, and i bungie corded my leg to the bike and when i got to ER i honked horn till people came out to help me off the bike, tore an ACL or MCL don't remember which , but didn't stop me by August i was riding to Sturgis from mass on a Bet because my bike back then was a Sportster XL1200C LOL (See Facebook for Pic)
He was only 50% right...
I just want to add I ride now with a Helite brand air vest and I have a Helite brand adventure air jacket. There are you tube videos showing stunt riders demonstrating them. Very good insurance to have.
Just had an accident with brain injury. Good to go now and riding again!
You never know when shit hits the fan! 9 years ago, brand new 14 LTD, wife on the back, out in the country on a sunny spring morning, farmer in a tractor pulling a trailer full of manure, pulls out in front of us and literally loses his load! To this day I have no idea how I kept the bike up at 60mph sliding on shit! Didn’t react until I pulled over. I guess all those years when I was a teenager of off road trail bikes in the mud paid off on that day
September 2nd 2015, I took my 100th Anniversary RoadKing, Screamin Eagle effing everything, to my local private bike shop for a new front tire and a primary service. On my way home from that shop, my front brake seized at 55mph. I supermaned it and go sliding down the highway as I watch the bike tumble end over end and bounce off the concrete divider. The bike landed on me and broke my leg just below my knee. I have a plate and 10 screws to remind me of that day.
Many years ago, I pulled up on my girl friends house on my little Suzuki, hit some dirt and loose stone and almost ran into her dads car. The bike went down and I landed on his trunk.
Luckily the only damage done was my pride. Very scary for the first couple of minutes though!
Idk how I made it but I tore front fascia off an accord at 70 that pulled out in front of me with a half helmet and walked away uninjured
Holy crap. That is a puckered up moment for sure…
You were very lucky! Thank your guardian angle.
Lots of close calls. It's all the same story. I would like to thank Harley for Brimbo ABS breaks!
I was on the back of a 1 seater 50cc Honda scooter with my buddy coming down the only hill in town worth the bother and the speed wobble got us! Must have been dam near 40 mph lol
I had an accident with a deer when I lived in northern Wisconsin. I had already passed the deer, he was 8 feet off the road and I was about 8 feet passeed him already. He suddenly spooked turned and ran into the the side of me. It was a 6 or 8 point buck. He could have impailed us but I ended up running over top of him somehow and we went down. We only had minor road rash but the deers back got broken and he died right away. You can't trust a deer, they can be fickle.
I’ve been riding about 7 years now and am a few years younger than you but not a ton. Other than dropping the bike a couple of times, including most embarrassingly last July when attempting to load my toy hauler for first time I haven’t had a ton of close calls. The closest being last June on the Triple Nickel (OH-555). Came up a hill a little too quick directly into the still rising sun and lost where the road was going. Luckily there wasn’t a car in the oncoming lane and I was able to find it before going off the road in the opposite lane. Long story short, I don’t ride super twisty roads within about 2 hours of sunrise or sunset any more. I don’t care how good your sunglasses or tinted shield is. You catch that sun just right and you might as well be blind.
The only other kind of close call was this year on Berthoud Pass in Colorado. But that was in the apex of a 180 switchback going up the mountain, just a massive crater of a pothole right on the white line. This thing would have destroyed the rim and probably trashed the forks too, even though I was probably going about 30 tops. So swerve in a turn towards left track and there’s a car right at my 5 o’clock, probably about a car length behind but going faster than I was. Has he not been paying attention, it would have been a really bad day. Get to the top of the hill about a mile later and check my drawers and settle myself then proceed another 450 or so miles to Salt Lake.
As you were describing your fall I could visually see how that could easily have happen. I e hit a few of those slick manhole covers straight on and feel the tires wiggle so leaning it would be easy to go down and FAST.
I've had many butt tightening moments but prob my scariest mom was going into a hard right curve with a guard rail on my right i didn't see a stick in the road. When my front tire hit it it pushed my front tire to the right and it took everything I had to not hit the guard rail.
Ive also layed bikes down many times in my youth riding in the dirt but that was more fun than scary.
I liked this….. I hit a deer @ 45 mph in 2019 walked a way not even a scratch! 2023 Sturgis coming back from crazy horse ( at night) came feet away from hitting an elk
2020, I was cut off by a car, (like 20 feet between us), and I slammed into him at 30mph. I broke two vertebrae, left ulna, left humerus, and left acetabulum. It's really nothing short of a miracle that I can still walk.
About 2 months after I bought my second bike, an 09 roadking. I was convinced the bike was cursed somehow. Too many close calls to mention. But anyways, after about 2 months I rode the bike to work to show some of my buddies that were interested in seeing it. When I left work the next morning, I was scootin about 65 after turning out of the parking lot. The first intersection I come too, someone turns left across the intersection and I locked it down. Just enough to kick the back end sideways, and rolled back on the throttle which allowed me to clear the car by less than 6 inches as it came across my lane. Needless to say I was shaking so bad I had to pull over at the next gas station and take a bit of a breather
This August I was coming home from a bikerally, coming up to a trafficlight that was red, it turned green so I kept going…I had a car on my left side turning left, a car on my right side turning right and me in the middle going straight ahead. An oncoming car turning left didn’t see me until he was in my lane. I saw him, hit the brakes, skid a bit laid down the bike and smashed my ribs into his bumper. Three months later my ribs still hurts tho nothing was broken or even cracked. I had about a half mile left to home…
Been riding since I was 7. Years old yea yea, I hear it already. My dad was a hippy and had me on a Kawasaki 1000 at 7 on public roads! Years later in my 20’s I had someone run me off the road, I hit grass, you don’t hit brakes in this situation, went thru 3 yards and jumped a 4 foot wall at the last yard into the street corner. I jumped the wall and landed on the middle of the street breaking my rear shock and hearing a guy across the street yelling “ you should be fuck!ng DEAD!
Absolutely
Was hit by a police car in 82, was not chasing me. He was on a call and whooped siren just before he hit me in a intersection. Lost part of foot and missed out on military service. Still ride today, own 10 Harley's.
Hopefully you invested the settlement.
@@freebehindbars8654 Ohio law states any emergency vehicle involved in an accident has total immunity during an emergency run... never saw a dime
@@dmcharley64 Need a better lawyer. I’m sorry to hear that. Sounds like life turned out just fine.
@@freebehindbars8654 took to supreme court of OH...the law is the law. Yup, came out just fine... have great holidays!
@@dmcharley64 I apologize for the insensitive comment. I don’t know what was in me last night.
Boy If I ever meet you in person. We'll have a good long talk ,and a laugh or too.