Avoiding the Elephant!

[Gug]

In reading here through the years now there have been some really interesting pieces on what each of you have avoided while riding. In David Hough's book "More Proficient Motorcycling" (If you don't have it, get it, it should be required reading) he mentions on page 83 of "Avoiding the Elephant".

I have a couple I would like to share. When I first bought the ST, I believe within the first couple hundred miles and not having owned a bike in almost twenty years I was riding abreast with my brother. We were tooling along about 40-45 in the spring when in my part of the lane or better than half the lane there was a chuck hole 2 feet wide and 6-8" deep. I went right through it. The bike jolted violently, but I was able to keep it upright. From that point forward no more riding abreast. Something I also learned in the above mentioned book afterward. Oh yeah, the rim was fine and no blow out either. Ran that set of Battleax's for about 13K.

Another one that comes to mind was while riding to work last year. I was on M39 N. in Dearborn and while in the left lane running in moderately heavy traffic a garbage truck changes from the right to the center lane maybe 50 yds. up from me. As soon as that happened he hit a small bump and a shovel that he had just wedged into a recess in the side of the truck let's go in the air about head level across my lane. It all happened in slow motion from there. I remember the spade of it hitting the dividing wall and the shovel handle now heading straight across at about head level coming at me from the momentum of the spade hitting the wall. I was fortunate. I really had no where to go but my lane and I swerved to the far right side of my lane and leaned over to the right to allow the shovel to pass me.

Anyhow there have been numerous others but these two came to mind. In hindsight The first experience could have been avoided had I been doing what I should have been. The second experience had actual skill involved to stay out of harms way.

[John Anthony]

Gug - great post. One of the reasons I like our forum is that members regularly include personal stories like this that really bring home the importance of safe riding habits. Thanks for bringing this up.

John

[BigTom]

I really like to ride abreast about 30 yards apart:)

My two recent worst: (Neither on the ST)

Two lane on ramp northbound on the loop freeway around Indy. I am entering the freeway in the left hand entry lane, passing a pickup pulling a trailer with a Bobcat on it. Right rear trailer tire lets go just before I go by it. It spins a beautiful (smallish) road gator out, right in front of me. So close I couldn't brake or twitch or flinch. It missed my front wheel (I don't know how) and shot all the way across 5 lanes, bashed the divider and rolled back to about the middle. Not my fault that I didn't catch that Elephant.

In Phoenix. A turks head ventilator dropped off the bed of a pickup that entered the freeway right in front of us. Riding about 15 yards apart, same lane, staggered. It hit the ground and spun like a top, Ray went right and I went left, the thing went between us...then clobbered a BMW (car) in the fast lane. It did not move in a straight line, kind of corkscrewed across the freeway...Ray got the PU's licsence #, we went back and gave it to the Beemer guy...He didn't stop. Interesting Elephant. Avoiding an object with an unknown trajectory.

[Actionfigurejoe]

Excellent post, Gug! I"ll give another plug to Hough's book. It's a very good read. The delayed apex idea remains a potential lifesaver.

Last year on a warm summer night I took a solo ride to Sheboygan WI. I was traveling through town at 25mph. A woman pulled out from a blind ally without looking. I had to brake hard to avoid broadsiding her car. I was able to look right into her drunken eyes. Something else I noticed that's still imprinted into my memory. I noticed her diamond wedding ring twinkling from my headlight as she had her hand on the steering wheel. Strange how the mind grabs on to images when it's scrambling to make a decision.

[gnorts]

I wasn't on a bike, but in my cage headed south on I-5 in Everett, north of Seattle. A pickup in front of me, no tailgate, with one of those cheesy stretch mesh gates across the back, with a lower corner pulled loose. Pickup hits a small bump, and out from the corner of the gate, comes a 6-pack of Corona longnecks. I'm close enough to read the 6-pack, and I can see caps on the bottles.

And it was weird; the 6-pack hit the pavement and didn't bounce, it stayed upright and was skidding along the pavement in front of me, and I'm closing on it fast. Quick mirror check, and a quick swerve one lane to the right. Just as I go past the six-pack, it hits a joint in the road and launches. In my left mirror, I watch six full longnecks hurtling through the air, bursting on impact. Luckily, traffic was light and nobody was in the wrong place to take one of those missiles through the windshield.

And two days ago, on the ST, I'm coming home from Olympia, northbound on I-5 approaching downtown Seattle. I'm in the HOV lane, and I hear a siren. Ambulance coming up from behind, so I move right a lane and he goes by. I start moving right for my exit, and the ambulance does too, up ahead. I know we'll be taking the same exit, since it leads to Harborview Hospital. I'm the second vehicle behind the ambulance. Cars ahead are pulling over to let it pass; now we're in a one-lane exit ramp. A guy in a white BMW pulls over to let the ambulance pass, then pulls back into the single lane at low speed without looking, right into the path of the car in front of me. We're doing about 50, I'm in 3rd. The guy in front of me stands on the brakes, locks up the rear and starts to fishtail. I get the clutch in and get on the brakes, HARD. The knothead in the Bimmer realizes his goof and hits the gas, and the guy in front of me gets off the brakes. I'm in total control, going a lot slower. This bike has AMAZING brakes. Downshift to second, hit the gas. The sun was sorta out, and it was a nice day in Seattle.

[Mikeysduck]

Spinning down the Hollywood freeway headed into LA. Traffic is moderate to light A 60's Chevy convertible looses its left rear wheel. I see it bounce in slow motion, heading right at me. As is close the 20 yard gap it bounces left, and goes up an incline. I turn to look as I pass it and see it landed on the armico barrier, it teeters and falls back towards my lane. I don't remember what happened to the car.

[dickie9587]

I was 17, and on my first bike, a small Honda (of course), when I returned from my girlfriend's house in the pouring rain. It was a pitch black night, and my journey necessitated a ride down an unlit, twisting road bordered by cabbage fields.
I was tonking along at about 25 mph, just managing to follow the road, when about four inches in front of my 7-candle-power headlamp appeared a horses ar$e!! So, pitch black rainy night, black horse, horse rider wearing all black and no reflectors or lights of any description!! Needless to say, yours truly ploughed into said horse, went flying down road on my own well-padded backside, ending up in the cabbage field. I was aware of cars pulling up and drivers getting out to look for me.
According to the witnesses, I got to my feet, some 10-15 meters into the field, took off my helmet and shouted "Where did that F***ing horse come from" before collapsing in an ungainly heap!
This happened at the time the original Police Academy film came out, which featured a biker ending up having to be pulled out of a horses ar$e, so you can just imagine the sympathy I received!
Funny thing is, whenever I've told this story, the first thing everybody says is "How was the horse?"

Dickie

P.S Before you ask, the horse was OK!:BDH:

[Gug]

Great stuff guys. Unfortunately it's real life. But most uf us come out unscathed or with minimal injury other than pride. The detail of what each of you describe only someone that rides a motorcycle would understand. C'mon folks I am sure there are alot more of these types of experiences out there.

[Anthony Houle]

I was traveling east I-80 on my 1300, drafting behind a fuel semi. A metal hose coupling fell off. All traffic was traveling about 75 mph. It is quite amazing how the coupling appeared to be in slow motion as it fell from the truck.

The diameter of the hose was 6-8" and the coupling probably only weighed a couple of pounds. It scares me to think of the possibilities.

I leaned to the left to avoid the coupling and watched it rapidly deccelerate in my rear view mirror. Don't know if any cars hit it.

I passed the semi.

Tony
03ST

[Biker George]

OK...here's one I never forgot - how could I? - that happened more than 25 years ago.

I was a young man teaching school in Richmond, VA and made many trips to visit family in NY on my GS750E since I didn't own a car. 400 miles one way in Thanksgiving/Christmas weather...

Traveling north on I95 just before dusk, I was fortunate in that I spotted the hazard well in front of me. (Aim high in steering...remember the Smith System from your Driver's Ed days?) ...anyway, we all know that it is possible (easy?) to get lulled into a passive mode when traveling long distances on the slab.

Here's what it was: A tractor trailer had lost most of its load of lumber on the interstate! :o4:
It was spilled all over 3 lanes of I95 and must have happened just before I spotted it about a mile in front of me. No cars were stopped yet - and there was no traffic build up at all. I slowed all the way down to 1st gear and managed to very carefully pick my way through the debris, but am sure that screwed traffic for hours right after I passed by. Talk about "WHEW!"...

It has always been something I try to keep in my mind when I'm on the slab - especially at dusk. Like the rest of you, I have other stories - but this one stands out in my mind as the worst road debris hazard I ever encountered.

Ride safe, brothers and sisters.

Regards,

-Geo

[Papa Bear]

Both recently, both in my car. A semi was coming towards me on a two lane, when about fifty feet from the car in front of me one of his trailer recaps let loose and shot across our lane in a cloud of dust. Talk about pucker factor, all I could think about was what would have happened if a car had been there let alone a bike!:eek:

Two days later I was following another semi, easing up on the center line looking for an opportunity to pass when one of the bungee cords holding his tarp down let fly. It hit the windshield of a car coming towards us, hung up on his wipers for a second then flew off. I'm sure that would have caused some havoc hit me on my bike.

PB

[sparkinator]

Nothing really comes to mind as far as stuff flying out of trucks or trailers.

I did run over an armadillo one night on my old V65 magna. Don't know how I survived that one. I was leaned over pretty good in a curve when it ran out in front of me.

[Herleman]

Back in the day (college, Honda 350) I was headed out to Colorado on I-70 at about 80 mph when an old Chevy pickup -- the kind with split rim wheels with retainer rings -- blow up a front tire right beside me.

The sound was deafening and I remember pieces of rubber bouncing off my $29.00 Bell helmet (with a snap on bubble shield), but most of all, I remember the metal retainer ring spinning and bouncing along ahead and slowly curving into my lane before heading into the ditch. The truck was going every which way behind me so I didn't want to try to slow down, but that ring went bouncing by me at about 100 mph. I've replayed the moment many many times in my sleep. I'm sure it would have cut off a leg, arm, or head it it had bounced in the right place, and I would have become a hood ornament for the truck had I hit the brakes. Fortunately using my great skills (yeah, right), I paniced and froze, and did nothing at all as the ring bounced by me and into the ditch, and the truck slowly ground to a halt behind me.

Pucker factor, 10.7.

[skidlid1300]

We all have a story or two to tell. 20+ years ago, I was on my ol' GL1000 on a trip to Michigan's UP. I was with a group, and we were all in stagger formation riding on US Rte 2 when we came up on a van hauling 6 canoes on a trailer. I was the first in line, and when I came up on it, the canoes didn't look secured. I was watching very closely as we approached, and we were on a long, straight stretch, so I signaled to get around it right away. Good thing I did, and the group all did the same. Just as we went by, in the oncoming lane, the van hits a bump, and 4 or 5 canoes came flying off the trailer at 60 mph! All of us avoided the canoes. Talk about trying to avoid an elephant!

When coming up on trailers, I always scan over if their load looks secured, and I ask myself, "what if?" I think we all can't afford not to.

[STeve Kelly]

Back in the early 70’s my riding buddy Tommy and I were riding south on I-75 just entering Atlanta. We were on brand new Kawasaki Z1s with our wives who were riding pillion. We were riding two abreast at about 75 or 80 and following a semi.

Everything was going along fine until the semi driver made his truck do an exaggerated weave back and forth, like he was trying to avoid something in his lane.

I can’t explain it and I don’t know why but Tommy moved to the right and got exactly behind the semi’s right wheels and I did the same and got directly behind the left wheels.

Within a second or two a piece of freshly cut firewood appeared from under the truck and we passed on either side.

I think the driver knew we were back there and was trying to warn us. He may have saved our lives.

I try not to follow large trucks anymore because of this and tire gaters.

[Swifty]

As recently as last month, while doing my combined SS100 and BB1500, I very nearly got taken out by an owl. It was very early morning, around 2:30am, and very dark. I was riding third. The first bike woke the owl, the second bike scared the owl which now took wing. I'm not quite sure how it missed my head. My wife, following in the car, also was amazed by my lucky escape. No harm done, and no animals harmed. Got the old ticker going, I might add.

[BlaSTr]

I've never had close calls with critters - but I have, in super slo-mo, dodged the still undulating retread off a semi, a new refrigerator taking flight out of the back of a speeding pickup, and an empty 5-gallon paint bucket bouncing and bucking down the highway.

Critters really scare me. I guess it's because even they can't figure whether to zig or zag.