PAY ATTENTION ALL THE TIME !
Went for a ride Sunday with two buddies. One rode his metric cruiser and the other rode my ST 1300 . Absolutely beautiful day in the low 80’s - no humidity and not a cloud in the sky . I rode my 1950 Norton single which has a manual ignition advance on the left handlebar. Let in the clutch in first gear and then advance the ignition with your left thumb while rolling on the throttle. Leave it advanced while changing up or down until you get to bottom gear then retard just before coming to a stop. You are very busy operating machines of this nature but I have been riding this one for fifteen years now . We were riding two lane paved country back roads on a route I have traveled hundreds of times and I am intimately familiar with it.
I was in the front and came to an intersection with a stop sign - stopped , looked both ways and when no traffic was seen I proceeded across and reached for the advance with my thumb and it wasn’t there . I glanced down while I was in the intersection ( turns out I hadn’t retarded it before stopping - the rpm should have told me ) and when I looked up I saw the truck that I was about to cross in front of.
Instinct took over with stabbing in countersteer and stomping the inside peg . Turned right in the lane and then around the back of the truck which had never slowed .
My buddies whom had front row seats to this incredible stupidity on my part said it looked like an act in a motorcycle thrill show.
This was entirely my own fault and I am still beating myself up over it - as well I should . I allowed a simple distraction to take my eyes off the road for split second while in an intersection of all places. Thankfully no harm done to anyone or anything but my pride and my ego . I have been riding for over 50 years and this is as close as I have come to what would likely have been a fatality - yours truly being the likely victim. If by any wild stretch the driver of the red truck reads this I apologize for the likely stress I and I alone caused - my bad .
So maybe some good will come of this - I hope I have re- learned something and perhaps it will impress upon some who read it how vulnerable we are on motorcycles and how important it is to be vigilant. If something seems amiss wait for the appropriate time to assess the problem. Don’t allow complacency to creep in . Ride safely please - EVERYONE.
Went for a ride Sunday with two buddies. One rode his metric cruiser and the other rode my ST 1300 . Absolutely beautiful day in the low 80’s - no humidity and not a cloud in the sky . I rode my 1950 Norton single which has a manual ignition advance on the left handlebar. Let in the clutch in first gear and then advance the ignition with your left thumb while rolling on the throttle. Leave it advanced while changing up or down until you get to bottom gear then retard just before coming to a stop. You are very busy operating machines of this nature but I have been riding this one for fifteen years now . We were riding two lane paved country back roads on a route I have traveled hundreds of times and I am intimately familiar with it.
I was in the front and came to an intersection with a stop sign - stopped , looked both ways and when no traffic was seen I proceeded across and reached for the advance with my thumb and it wasn’t there . I glanced down while I was in the intersection ( turns out I hadn’t retarded it before stopping - the rpm should have told me ) and when I looked up I saw the truck that I was about to cross in front of.
Instinct took over with stabbing in countersteer and stomping the inside peg . Turned right in the lane and then around the back of the truck which had never slowed .
My buddies whom had front row seats to this incredible stupidity on my part said it looked like an act in a motorcycle thrill show.
This was entirely my own fault and I am still beating myself up over it - as well I should . I allowed a simple distraction to take my eyes off the road for split second while in an intersection of all places. Thankfully no harm done to anyone or anything but my pride and my ego . I have been riding for over 50 years and this is as close as I have come to what would likely have been a fatality - yours truly being the likely victim. If by any wild stretch the driver of the red truck reads this I apologize for the likely stress I and I alone caused - my bad .
So maybe some good will come of this - I hope I have re- learned something and perhaps it will impress upon some who read it how vulnerable we are on motorcycles and how important it is to be vigilant. If something seems amiss wait for the appropriate time to assess the problem. Don’t allow complacency to creep in . Ride safely please - EVERYONE.
