Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi guys.

I have been off the bike for a week waiting for my seat to be re-covered.

My last ride was an eventful one last Monday.

Like every other biker, I have had experienced a vast assortment of hazards on the road-

-The obligatory cigarettes out the window
- A kamikaze bush turkey tried to decapitate me
- A whole meat pie thrown at me, etc, etc

but last Monday took the cake!


I had the day off and it was a beautiful day here. I knew my seat was going away for a week, so I thought I'd go for a ride up Mt Mee on my own.

There was a strange nagging thought in my head not to go, but I shrugged it off and went anyway.

The ride over the mountain was great. Warm 'almost spring' QLD weather, most other people at work so no traffic, not too much road debris or potholes from the recent deluge. No police up there (again! )

I got over the moutain and decided to take the highway home. On a single lane 100kmh stretch of road I caught up with a truck carrying a load of wheelie bins. Not one to stick behind anything carrying a load, I was hanging back and waiting for a break in the oncoming traffic to pass him. There was a car right up my behind as well.

What happened next seemed to be in slow motion- there seemed so much time for so many thoughts to go through my mind, but in fact it was maybe two seconds.

I saw one of the bins lift out of the truck. It hit the bitumen maybe two feet infront of my front wheel. I swerved right and hit the throttle. The bin bounced on the road (amazingly, and luckily for me, not breaking up into pieces) and flew up into the air. It careered over my left shoulder missing me by about 6 inches.

I took off around the truck, the idiot tail-gater behind me stayed behind him. I know I should have stopped and told the truckie, but I was so shaken up that I just wanted to get away.

Not two minutes down the road I overtook another truck (more hurriedly this time.) As I passed him his mud-guard flew off! It went nowhere near me, but I couldn't get home fast enough.

I am sick to my stomach everytime I think of it, and unfortunately my seat was posted off before I got to ride again. (The best thing for me after a scare is to get right back on, I have found.)

Like every other rider I am aware of the risks that riding poses each time I get on. I can't help thinking what a wheelie bin at 100kmh would have done to my head........ let alone what the ride along the bitumen after the rest of my body left the bike would have been like...... and then that nice young car driver behind me who felt the need to get up close and personal with my rear end.......

ohhh- the horror!

Gee,your lucky day! Should have gone and bought a lotto ticket!

I think every rider has there moments that stick with them and little fears every time they go out.
Thing is if we all let these things run our lifes the world would be sooo boorring!
Go and give your wheelie bin a few good kicks, you'l feel better.

Don't stress,your not the only one.(I could just tell you to HTFU and get over it ,but i won't).

Frosty wrote:Gee,your lucky day! Should have gone and bought a lotto ticket!

I think every rider has there moments that stick with them and little fears every time they go out.
Thing is if we all let these things run our lifes the world would be sooo boorring!
Go and give your wheelie bin a few good kicks, you'l feel better.

Don't stress,your not the only one.(I could just tell you to HTFU and get over it ,but i won't).

Thanks Frosty.

I'll go beat up the wheelie bin!

Shit, that was lucky...twice...

...makes you think it would have better not to get out of bed .

I was nearly taken out by an escaped wheel off a trailer coming through an T-intersection at me a while back and I can relate to the slow motion action and it's really freaky. In reality the wheel was rolling too slow to be a real threat and I saw it pretty early (it's a blind intersection screened by trees which I am aware of being a risk). I had the luxury of having the time able to hard-brake, then change my mind and wind it open when I realised I was in a low enough gear to shoot me uphill with great rapidity, which the Hornet is geared to do. The wheel ended up missing me to my rear by 3-4 metres, and the guys who lost it didn't even notice they'd nearly taken me out.

Take it easy, the beating up of the bin sounds like the go...

Mick

yea..a very lucky escape- and maybe a hint of good riding to avoid it to ?? ...good work!!

i too hate following anything with a load (except stace).... i have a tendency to not ride behind a truck unless its a fully enclosed trailer...

its a learning exp..and i reckon u will remember it for a while, so therefore, lesson complete grasshopper!

Ratmick wrote:Shit, that was lucky...twice...

...makes you think it would have better not to get out of bed .

I was nearly taken out by an escaped wheel off a trailer coming through an T-intersection at me a while back and I can relate to the slow motion action and it's really freaky. Mick

Yup yup, lets see now, nearly taken out by an errant LPG bottle that's fallen off a truck and started rolling back down the hill, one of my favouritte left handeers coming into Nicholson st off Bell st, Ute loses a ladder on Bolte Bridge middle lane, truck tyre decides to blow out on Western Highway, chunks of rubber flying everywhere, times like these you know full face helemets are the ONLY option.

Am sure thre's plenty more and am sure am not on my pat malone, it's alas a risk of the trade so to speak.

BM< make sure you don't go kicking shit out of ANY wheelie bin, has to be THE bin ideally or at least close family. LSt but not least, can ya really blame the bloke for sitting fairly close behind what is probably one of the better views available in this place...

Glad to hear you ok mate

Thank- you everyone-

yes- lesson learnt grasshopper!

After the shock wore off and i reassessed the situation to see what I could have done differently I did commend myself on thinking quick and not being too close to him or the outcome may have been very different.

1. When you get the feeling not to ride- DON'T!
2.Don't ride behind anything towing a load.
3. Beware of people up close having a look at your goods!

Black Magic wrote:Thank- you everyone-

3. Beware of people up close having a look at your goods!

IE Neka

Glad you're okay !!

mick_dundee wrote:

Black Magic wrote:Thank- you everyone-

3. Beware of people up close having a look at your goods!

IE Neka

Nah- I'm safe...

I think neka has a thing for Stace!

Black Magic wrote:

mick_dundee wrote:

Black Magic wrote:Thank- you everyone-

3. Beware of people up close having a look at your goods!

IE Neka

Nah- I'm safe...

I think neka has a thing for Stace!

nah....stace is safe...

mick finally made a worthwhile point tho

Yeah, truck droppings are right up there as a major occupational hazard. I'm not even surprised when that sort of shit happens anymore, I just hope I've managed to anticipate it well enough to avoid getting taken out. It's a bit much to have two within two minutes, though. A person could reasonably start to feel a bit picked on! Well done for getting out of it okay (twice!).

Not sure why it is that there's ALWAYS someone right up your arse when the world starts going pear-shaped though. S'pose it's just to keep us on our toes.

Thankfully you are ok BM! Scarey moments like that are not nice to occur, but certainly are good practice.

Got my seat back this morning and went straight out.
OMG did I miss that feeling!

Sounds kind of corney but it was like getting oxygen after a week without it!

Set a new top speed (within the legal limit of course ) and popped a wheelie at the lights (by accident of course )

Guess my confidence is back!