Close encounter of the worst kind

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Close encounter of the worst kind

Postby HappyPuppy » Fri Sep 10, 2004 23:00 23

I was cruising home last week , on my burger and a flatbed truck dropped a 6in. long half inch socket extension on the road in front of me . I was too close to breaking and time and I didn't have an exit path to the left or the right as I was in the center lane . I did the MSF quick swerve maneuver and missed it with my front tire. Unfortunately, it caught my rear tire and drove it all the way through the tire . This caused the tire to immediately to deflate. I was able to maintain control by maintaining my speed and slowly exiting to the right .
I put the bike on its centerstand and I was shocked to see a huge puncture as if a large hole had been drilled in the tire . The shop told me it was the largest hole they had ever seen a tire . From this I learned several things , too hopefully help out other forum members .
1. make sure you don't ride two closely to the vehicle in front of you .
2. The MSF maneuvers really do work . If I had not taken a class I do not think I could have avoided a nasty spill or worse .
3. It really is a good idea to stock a set of extra tires in the garage ! 8)
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Postby billmeek » Fri Sep 10, 2004 23:11 23

Sorry to hear about the tire damage... but am very glad you were not injured. That's the most important thing!
Bill
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Postby pauljo » Fri Sep 10, 2004 23:15 23

All good advice. Sorry you had the mishap, but at least you didn't get hurt or drop the scooter.

Just curious. How did you get it from there to the dealer?
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Postby HappyPuppy » Sat Sep 11, 2004 1:25 01

pauljo wrote:Just curious. How did you get it from there to the dealer?


I was very glad to have roadside service added to my insurance. I was able to pick any service and I found a fellow that had a rig setup for bikes.
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Postby allwalk » Sat Sep 11, 2004 6:05 06

Glad to hear everything worked out for you. I think the biggest thing for people to learn about your incident is that the Burgman was still stable enough to get you to safety because you didnt panic. Don't get me wrong I give your riding skills some credit as well.
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Postby Randy » Sat Sep 11, 2004 15:45 15

Ditto to all the above :!:
Did you add the half inch socket extension to your tools :lol:
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Postby billmeek » Sat Sep 11, 2004 15:58 15

Randy wrote:Did you add the half inch socket extension to your tools :lol:


:sign5:
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Postby HappyPuppy » Sat Sep 11, 2004 22:33 22

Randy wrote:Did you add the half inch socket extension to your tools :lol:


the shop kept it! :lol:
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I shall use my time.

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Re: Close encounter of the worst kind

Postby blueberry » Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:01 11

Makes me wonder if the driver saw what happened...wonder what thought went thru his mind...
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Re: Close encounter of the worst kind

Postby Tokkyu40 » Wed Jan 07, 2009 21:46 21

It all happened behind him. Probably, the first time he found out something fell was when he needed the extension on a job.

8) Claude
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Re: Close encounter of the worst kind

Postby trebor » Sun Jan 11, 2009 15:04 15

That's why learning to break and swerv is so important, you have but a fraction of a second to react. Well done !
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Re: Close encounter of the worst kind

Postby sc00ter » Sun Jan 11, 2009 21:36 21

Glad to see you kept it under control and didnt get hurt! I was actually thinking about taking a refresher course this year. I clipped a BIG rock on the Buddy scooter and smashed the down pipe in half. The bus driver that was behind me told me at the next light he was shocked I didnt "kiss concrete" as I almost did crash. Luck kept me upright. Looking into the Advanced course first thing Monday!
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