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Cruiser
Posts: 102
Madison, AL | Well I did the unthinkable I dumped my Vision. During lunch I ran down to my Victory dealer to get the oil and filter for my 2,500 change. I've had my Vision for two weeks. Well a funeral procession was passing on the other side of the median but cars were stopping in the middle of a 65MPH road(which is illegal in Kentucky and Tennessee). To my own fault I was looking at the funeral procession and the Patriot guard I am a member of, however, when I heard tires screech I looked forward and the car in front of me was skidding to avoid hitting a parked car in the middle of the road. I hit my brakes and decided I wouldn't make a stop in time before hitting the back of the vehicle in front of me so I dumped my bike. The problem is that a Vision is not your ordinary bike. As I jumped off, the bike proceeded to the right but hit the tip-overs, righted itself and bounced into the car I was trying to avoid hitting, (I hate to admit it but all I could think of is , that is going to cost". I can say is that the bike is balanced beautify and even without me on it. As I admired the balance of my bike, my second sense kicked in and said "hey stupid get out of the middle of the road" so I got up and ran to the road shoulder, and watched my bike plow into the ditch. I was wearing all my protective gear and it paid for itself. The thing is that only the front faring was damaged and everything else looks fine, even my fog lights. I mean you couldn't tell I dumped it from the side or the back, only the front that came into contact with the front vehicle was damaged. What an outstanding bike. I walked away with a hurt ego and a reminder to wear my protective gear no matter how hot it is. This is the first time in 21 years I had a booboo. When I was younger and fuller of "you know what" I pushed my bikes to the limit and they often failed or I did. So I'm no stranger to having a little scratch here and there. Like the saying goes it isn't a matter of if but when you have an insurance moment. I have to admit I became too comfortable with the bike to soon and was not as familiar with it as I should have been. This is my first really big bike and wasn't sure if I could handle taking it into the ditch and coming back up. I've had to do similar evasive action on my Suzuki 109, Harley Street Glide, Harley Sportster, Yahammas, Hondas (Hurricane 1000, man that was a fast bike), and my old Sears and Roebuck pull-start mini bike. If you can't remember a bike by what color they came in you are a young rider. It was like the old Model-T days.
It was a wake-up call for me which I probably needed. The problem was the space between my ears and I wouldn't have had to dump the bike if I was more familiar with it. Lessons learned wear your protective gear, respect your bike, expect the unexpected, and no matter how seasoned you are it can lead to complacency that can spell disaster. And I called my dealer and they will have my bike ready before my July 4th trip to FLA. Yea…. Now if I can only talk them into a few more chrome blings since the insurance company will be paying for it
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Visionary
Posts: 1290
Ruskin, Fl | Glad to hear you're OK. Bikes can be replaced. |
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Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | Good post David. Thanks for the reality check. I'm putting the jacket back on.
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Cruiser
Posts: 256
Florida | And people give me grief for wearing protective gear in the Summer Heat. I'm glad you had your gear at the right time and you're here to write about your experiences. Here's a very scary link a friend sent me. Please note that if you're using windows, it will launch the media player, If you're using a Mac, it will play in the browser: http://www.ntsb.gov/Events/symp_motorcycle_safety/Public%20Educatio...
I guarantee you'll watch this 30 second video twice.
Edited by PalmBeachRider 2008-06-20 9:50 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | David, great to hear you are okay. Walking away means it was a good ride, riding away means it was a great ride. Hope things work out well. Thanks for reminding me to wear the jacket even in the sweltering heat, it save a lot of skin. Here's another safety video on the topic on how we can get noticed, though I wouldn't recommend it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqa9zE9-_Sw |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 25
Aurora Colorado | Glad to see that you are able to post your message. I am guilty of not always wearing protective gear. I guess I just like rolling the dice. Dumb I know it. Again thank you for your post and I am glad that you are ok. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 297
VA | PalmBeach, good clip but one thing I noticed was that whebn I ran that video back to the beginning, you actually could NOT see him. In the replay, you see his headlight, but the first take of the guy looking right, you don't see the headlight. I know it's a video, but I had to take a second look because I didn't see him either. And I was right, he's not there. Good clip though.
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Cruiser
Posts: 297
VA | Varyder....I like that video. Gotta send that link to some friends! |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | divesharc - 2008-06-20 11:59 PM Varyder....I like that video. Gotta send that link to some friends! I had to hunt it up. We seen it at the MSF Experience Riders course on Fort Lee. I knew it had to be available in UTube. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 721
| Great to hear that you made it through this with only scraped up riding gear and slight damage to your Vision! 
I do have one question though that I ask every time I hear that someone had to "dump their bike" or had a "get off"; how much more could you have improved the situation by staying on the bike, in control, on the brakes and steering the bike around (even if into the ditch) the stopped cars (idiots) on the road? I ask this simply because in my over 300,000 miles of riding experience in the past 17 years I have faced many similar situations (just gotta love idiots in their cages!).
I am a big believer in rider training courses and in reading different riding strategy publications because from my own experiences the knowledge gained from those things has paid off more than I could have ever believed possible when I first started riding. |
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Tourer
Posts: 353
| Travelin' Man - 2008-06-21 7:51 AM
I do have one question though that I ask every time I hear that someone had to "dump their bike" or had a "get off"; how much more could you have improved the situation by staying on the bike, in control, on the brakes and steering the bike around (even if into the ditch) the stopped cars (idiots) on the road?
A big amen to that!
This from the DMV.org website: When faced with a potentially dangerous situation, it's generally best to remain upright on your bike. Remember, tire rubber has an immense amount of traction. However, plastic, steel, and chrome (the materials found on the side of the bike) offer almost no traction. When you stay on your motorcycle instead of letting it slide, you'll be better able to stop in time or swerve out of the way. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2027
Brighton, TN | Whew! that sounded almost like one of my own close calls with pavement, grass, sheetrock, etc. Glad to hear you had sense enough to get up and out of the way after "ADMIRING" your bike ride away without you. I know what it is like to be amazed at it. I have managed to do a little off roading on this bike at 60+ mph. All I can say is it handles the dirt and grass like it was meant to be there. Maybe mine was trying to live a little on the Wild Side and see what dirt was all about. I managed to go about 20 feet into the ditch and then bring it back on the road steadily rolling. What a ride! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 849
, FL United States | Where in Fl are you gonna be? Maybe some of us Fl Vision Riders can hook up w/ you while you're down here. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 271
Belding Michigan | Not that it is anything like you went thru but for the record I and the wifey were out last wekkend and I found myself looking around and enjoying the countryside. At that point I found myself running down a gravel road at 60 mph it was paved a minute ago and no notice that it was changing. The good news is that the bike did better than any I have ever ridden my wife did not know what was up till I got slowed down and then I said OH S**t in the headset she asked what was wrong and I said gravel and she asked where. I stopped turned around carefully and got back on the pavement. This is a testment to the Vision as my Wing would have been all over everywhere and maybe would not have surived the road surface. Arch |
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Cruiser
Posts: 102
Madison, AL | I'll be in Marianna, FLA. More like lower Alabama but it is home.
I have been to the Basic MSF course and work with a guy that is a motorcycle safety instructor. He even gave me some tips and things to work on, like turning the bike with handlebars in full lock left or right. I can't do it yet but he can. Like he said, driving a million paved miles in a straight line is easy, it's all the other stuff that happens inbetween that can make things hard.
Like some other post here I know that my M109R was horrible on anything but pavement (going to dad's house on some gravel roads was a nightmare). Same for other bikes I've owned over the years. Based on my limited familarity with the Vision and past experience with other bikes I didn't want to risk it, looking back I probably should have.
On my Suzuki I would lower the kick stand with the bike in 1st gear to stop and park since it would shut off. I have almost done that with my Vision twice and it doesn't work the same. Usually follow that up with the look around to see if anyone else saw me do that. It isn't that I don't know that but it was a habit formed after years of driving a bike I knew. I can take turns on my Victory that I couldn't have on my Suzuki and learning how superior it the Victory is over the handling of other bikes will take some time to sink in.
I've been looking for the night ride video for some time to show others and glad this post helped me find it.
The only thing that I am really mad about over the whole thing is that I won't have my Vision to ride for a little while. I asked the insurance guy if I could get a rental bike while I waited for mine to be repaired (they do that for cars) he laughed. It was worth a try.
Edited by david.terry 2008-06-24 12:21 AM
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 34
Pensacola, FL | David, glad you were able to write about the incident ! If you ever get over towards Pensacola, give me a shout, maybe we could get together for some refreshments ! Right now I'm in Ga. on business until approx. 15 JUL.
Steve. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 732
Western WA | David,
Really glad to hear that you weren't hurt, and as others have said, it is a good reminder for all of us. It's easy to get distracted, but the consequences can be horrible. I know there have been a couple of times that I've been fiddling with the gizmos only to look up and see traffic stopping. |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Rule #1. Don't fiddle with gizmo's in any traffic. I have a bad habit of talking to myself, so everyone ignore this, I was only saying this out loud so I could hear it. |
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Tourer
Posts: 320
Savannah, GA -Year round riding!! Yay! | Glad to hear that you are ok, and that the bike came out so well. I hear in your stories at least three important lessons learned in the MSF course... 1. ALWAYS wear your gear!! (I am often guilty of riding in less than I should....)  2. ALWAYS pay attention to the vehicles around you (I am often guilty of fiddling with the buttons and not paying attention)  3. ALWAYS kill the bike with the kill switch. (The one rule I generally follow 99% of the time.... except when I'm an idiot and think I've killed it and just stalls it out.....)  Thanks for the reminder of why it's ALWAYS inportant to follow safety guidelines.... this could have ended so much worse...
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Cruiser
Posts: 102
Madison, AL | I have my bike back and it rides just as good as ever. Thanks for all the post and great links. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 247
| david. glad you're back on the road. am i correct that you put the bike down on purpose when you realized you couldn't stop in time and staying with it could get you crunched? |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | david.terry - 2008-08-06 11:00 PM I have my bike back and it rides just as good as ever. Thanks for all the post and great links. |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | david.terry - 2008-08-06 11:00 PM I have my bike back and it rides just as good as ever. Thanks for all the post and great links. Great news! Thanks for the update and ride safe! (Instructions: Keep shiny side up at all times.)
Edited by varyder 2008-08-07 1:40 PM
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New user
Posts: 4
| David Terry:
Would you mind telling us what type of protective gear you had on? I'm starting to look around for some and am interested in what works.
Thanks. |
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Ah man
