First Lay Down Stories
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 965
Likes: 297
From: NoVa
Hmm, if we're not counting crashes on dirt bikes....
Had a girlfriend in college, nursing student. She was pretty, and infatuated with me, but I was not so...
Out riding past midnight in Pennsylvania farm country on my 1970 Honda CB350. I had been playing the bad boy, hoping she'd dump me so I wouldn't have to be the cruel one. Pretty sure there were intoxicants in my system.
The road looked like it went straight, but too late I realized in that dim 20W headlight (and dimmer brain) that what I thought was the road going straight was a dirt driveway and the paved road made a 90* (NINETY, as in RIGHT ANGLE) turn to the right. I made about 40 of the 90 degrees and went barrelling into a corn field.
Little nursing student just lay there in the corn. She thought she was paralyzed, because she knew "that's what happens when you crash on a motorcycle." That's what she said. LOL
Nobody actually hurt. I burnt my leg on a pipe and hurt my pride worse. We hauled the bike out of there, all 250 pounds of it. Bars were bent. Clutch lever was broken off. Sobered up quick and managed to get both of us home.
Funny thing, we ran into each other now almost 40 years later. Don't know if she remembers that evening or not.
Had a girlfriend in college, nursing student. She was pretty, and infatuated with me, but I was not so...
Out riding past midnight in Pennsylvania farm country on my 1970 Honda CB350. I had been playing the bad boy, hoping she'd dump me so I wouldn't have to be the cruel one. Pretty sure there were intoxicants in my system.
The road looked like it went straight, but too late I realized in that dim 20W headlight (and dimmer brain) that what I thought was the road going straight was a dirt driveway and the paved road made a 90* (NINETY, as in RIGHT ANGLE) turn to the right. I made about 40 of the 90 degrees and went barrelling into a corn field.
Little nursing student just lay there in the corn. She thought she was paralyzed, because she knew "that's what happens when you crash on a motorcycle." That's what she said. LOL
Nobody actually hurt. I burnt my leg on a pipe and hurt my pride worse. We hauled the bike out of there, all 250 pounds of it. Bars were bent. Clutch lever was broken off. Sobered up quick and managed to get both of us home.
Funny thing, we ran into each other now almost 40 years later. Don't know if she remembers that evening or not.
Last edited by AJ88V; Dec 27, 2018 at 08:40 PM.
I had to stop watching them. They were appealing to watch bikes go against drivers at first, and then after awhile I couldn't stomach watching them anymore. They gave me anxiety
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 7,323
Likes: 11,760
From: Omaha,NE
I was 18 and thought it would be cool to ride wheelies up my Dad's driveway on my Honda CM450 Custom. The last wheelie didn't land well. Self-induced wipe-out. Learned my lesson, never did it again.
Banned
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,688
Likes: 1,902
From: Depends on who wants to know.........and why.
First time on a motorcycle. I was on a 1975 Honda XR75 dirt bike and was given instructions on how to use the controls. I took off in the backyard and was moving along pretty good, then I got the clutch, brakes, shift all mixed up in my head and ran into a fence.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 618
Likes: 100
From: MA
I've been lucky to have all my crashes take place on the race track. Certainly a number of close calls mostly due to people not paying attention. Anyway my first crash was probably my most spectacular. Had a good old highside. Got a bit over confident in my skills at the time and I paid for it.
I managed to turn this bike with probably less then 100 miles on it
Into this in a matter of seconds.
I managed to turn this bike with probably less then 100 miles on it
Into this in a matter of seconds.
Last edited by union53; Dec 28, 2018 at 05:10 PM.
Got to my second bike before going down. After a long day of 250 miles worth of twisties, wheelies, and generally irresponsible riding - I figured I would stop at the local watering hole for a frosty beverage. Had one light beer so I maintain my sobriety at the time...
Went to go around a speed bump at about 5mph - felt like the front wheel just fell out from underneath me - went down on the exhaust side. Bent bars, scratched my mint supertrapp and my freshly-painted fairing, but more importantly bruised my ego. Still not entirely sure it happened, it happened so fast, yet so slowly...rode home pissed off knowing that if I had a crash bar there probably would have been no damage. Felt like an idiot.
I just bunny-hop speed bumps now...
Went to go around a speed bump at about 5mph - felt like the front wheel just fell out from underneath me - went down on the exhaust side. Bent bars, scratched my mint supertrapp and my freshly-painted fairing, but more importantly bruised my ego. Still not entirely sure it happened, it happened so fast, yet so slowly...rode home pissed off knowing that if I had a crash bar there probably would have been no damage. Felt like an idiot.
I just bunny-hop speed bumps now...
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,994
Likes: 4,531
From: Bismarck N.D.
Haven't really laid a bike down unless you count off road dirt bikes (never should've survived those days) but was damn near killed back in the the late 80's in Montana I was at a complete stop at a intersection yielding the right away to a pedestrian and a woman in a cage ran me over from behind at speed around 40 mph destroyed the bike and left me with a ton of road rash from being pushed about a third of a block by her car with me under the bike! Left me with a hitch in my walk for several years, I had just had about a months wages in paint and airbrush work done on that bike to but I guess that it could have been worse ! Tought me to really keep my head on a swivel
HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 3,046
Likes: 1,212
From: New Hampsha
Good advise! I always stay in first gear and keep an eye on the mirrors when stopped at an intersection. I was once the third car in a chain reaction. Pushed me into the middle of the intersection. I hate to think how it would have worked on a bike.