First evasive maneuver

[GL4435]

This past Sunday I experienced my first need to do a fast evasive maneuver on my FJR. My wife and I were taking advantage of the fantastic weather here in Michigan last weekend (a rare event of late) and were riding through the country back roads. I was behind a pickup that had something in the bed ... it was sticking out from the tailgate about three feet or so, which would make it about 10-12ft. in length. I was not following close, and I was wondering if this guy had his load tied down in there when I decided I would drop back even more just in case. I had just let up the throttle a bit, and glanced in my mirror at the same time to be sure someone was not on my ass. When I looked back toward the truck I saw this huge "thing" in mid-air. I had no idea what it was, but it landed accross my enitre lane and was sliding toward me. If I had time to think about it may have freaked me out a bit, but I had just looked in my mirror (no one behind me) and I was looking forward (no one coming at me), so I decided not to try and drive over it and the bike just did this fantastically sharp "S" swerve around the object. Scared the hell out of my wife though. The pick-up driver pulled over to retrieve his missing item. I stopped to let the guy know that I almost hit the thing ... he said it was only some closet shelving ... oh, ok in that case never mind ... whatever ... it needs to be tied down for shit sake! My wife and I continued on to dinner, and during the meal she said that I did pretty good at avoiding that obstacle ... I told her that I would have hit it on my cruser ... it was the FJR that made the difference.

 

[phil]

Good job! Glad to hear the bike responded as you needed. But of course it's 99% the brain connected to the bike that counts.

 

[DailyCommuter]

I learned never to follow behind any pick-up that doesn't have a cap on it, on my way to work I saw a full 4x8 sheet of sheetrock or plasterboard fly up like you described and explode into a white dust cloud, right in rush hour traffic. This morning I was riding in paired up with a guy on a Harley cruiser, we both had to brake hard because of a slow down in traffic, while his back tire skidded and squealed mine quickly slowed in a controlled manor! ABS rules! I always wanted to do a side by side comparison, just not like that. Oh well

 

[k7lvo]

I learned never to follow behind any pick-up that doesn't have a cap on it, on my way to work I saw a full 4x8 sheet of sheetrock or plasterboard fly up like you described and explode into a white dust cloud, right in rush hour traffic. This morning I was riding in paired up with a guy on a Harley cruiser, we both had to brake hard because of a slow down in traffic, while his back tire skidded and squealed mine quickly slowed in a controlled manor! ABS rules! I always wanted to do a side by slide comparison, just not like that. Oh well

Fixed it for ya! :winksmiley:

 

[03HiYoSilver]

GL,

Glad you avoided this possible impact with your great driving...along with the supreme flexibility of the FJR.

I was almost broadsided on Sunday myself. A young lady was turning right on red and did not even look as she turned into me... I quickly snapped the throttle and leaped away from her before impact.

I am almost sure if I did not have a FJR this would be another story and makes we wonder, how many motorcyclist lives could be saved or not injured if they had a bike that handles like the FJR.

Keep up the Great driving and many Happy miles to ya.

 

[zzzzip]

How about somebody giving the wife an "attaboy" for being able to say in the saddle?

B)

 

[wheatonFJR]

How about somebody giving the wife an "attaboy" for being able to say in the saddle?
B)

Yeah...what was she holding onto that she had such a good grip?

 

[Cdogman]

My wife does not hang on, almost ever... even in the twisties. She just says "Its not needed if you just let the bike move you"

I just asked here again. She said "There is just no reason to hang on. I'm not going anywhere"

Now, she does have a E52 to lean on most of the time. I usually run with side bags off and givi on

 

[Last Chance]

Driving along 880 near San Francisco on busy day I got a chance to see how a washing machine can be "knocked" around 6 lanes by high speed close quarter commute traffic. The fun comes from trying to decide which lane it would be in as I came on it. Fortunately, I was in a Semi, and it was in the next lane. You see the strangest things falling out of vehicles. One of the most dangerous is said to be mattresses.

I've learned to avoid even being behind a vehicle with an unsecured load while on my motorcycle!

LC.

 

[Pappy]

First time in 15 years I had a near death experience and for the second time in three years ABS saved my arse.

Here's the set-up:

• 40 mph 4-lane road.
• I'm in the right-most lane minding my own bidness.
• White Buick (WARNING!!! Buick's are disproportionately owned by, eh, old farts) sitting there, left signal on.
• Bright sunny day, day-glow yellow helmet, high-beams, man-horn-equipped '05 ABS.

You guessed it, he pulled out as if he's waiting until I got just close enough to hit!

Despite being lucky enough to have never had a serious conflict like this, thanks to 'Aftermath' and 'lessons-learned' stories I read here, I'm a very defensive, offensive, driver if that makes any sense. I attend MSF courses yearly, practice panic stops in parking lots, evasive manuevers, etc. All that paid off right there!

Having no where else to go, traffic to the left of me, curve to right...here I go...I grabbed a handfull of brakes and, having ABS, just smashed on 'em and let the computer figure it out.

It worked like a charm. The guy finally saw me, maybe it was those passive safety items that caught his eye - that god-aweful loud yellow helmet, or the man-horns tearing at his eardrums? He stopped right before our impact point. This was irrelevant though as I stopped before there as well.

I really like not having to modulate rear brake to prevent lockup. I was too busy trying not to die to have to simultaneously account for surface friction and max possible brake pressure (on two separate systems - front and rear).

ABS ROCKS!!! unk:

 

[canucklehead-biker]

Good Show!

My worst was doing an emergency swerve around a refrigerator box that fell out of a truck on the 101 near Thousand Oaks... not on an FJR, but it scared the living s*** out of me. I used the experience to justify spending some serious coin on an Aerostich suit, so I guess it wasn't that bad.

Griff

 

[palerider]

Good Show!
My worst was doing an emergency swerve around a refrigerator box that fell out of a truck on the 101 near Thousand Oaks... not on an FJR, but it scared the living s*** out of me. I used the experience to justify spending some serious coin on an Aerostich suit, so I guess it wasn't that bad.

Griff

In case anybody has any doubts about these impacts, I was in a rental car on the 101 Southbound from San Francisco in heavy traffic driving behind a lumber-yard delivery truck when a 14' truss came off the truck and slid perpendicularly across my lane. I couldn't get around it--cars on both sides--so I hit it full on. I went airborne, up and over and down; both front tires blew, and the front end was completely demolished. Frame was bent too. A bike would have disintegrated.