|
SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> Savage sighting /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1532271307 Message started by oldNslow on 07/22/18 at 07:55:07 |
|
Title: Savage sighting Post by oldNslow on 07/22/18 at 07:55:07 I've had my 2006 S40 for almost seven years. In all that time I have never seen another one out on the road. Until yesterday afternoon. And I almost ran over the kid who was riding it. My wife and I were in the car on a local road that runs through a commercial/industrial area. This road has a forty mile per hour speed limit, has very few actual cross streets, but there are stop lights every three or four hundred yards or so, so people can exit the parking lots on either side of the road. I was approaching one of these intersections - I had the green light - , and saw three motorcycles coming the other way with their left turn blinkers on. Traffic was very light. Most of the businesses on this stretch of road are closed on weekends. As I approached the intersection the first of the three bikes turned left in front of me. That rider, on a little sport bike, had enough room to safely make the turn, but just barely. Something told me that the second bike was going to turn too, and I was already on the brakes when the front of my car got to the first of the two crosswalk lines. Sure enough, the rider on the second bike started to slow - I saw the forks compress - then did a little weave, and then turned right in front of me. I stood on the brakes and stopped about halfway into the intersection. The rider on that bike must have realised she wasn't going to make it, panicked, and stabbed the brakes right after initiating the turn. She stalled the bike right in the middle of my lane, probably two feet in front of my hood, dead center between my headlights. She looked at me with eyes as wide as dinner plates, pulled in the clutch and paddled the rest of the way across the lane. That's when I realised that the bike was a fairly new S40. :o The rider on the third bike had the presence of mid to stop in his lane with his left blinker on. Since I was already stopped. and there were no cars coming up behind me, I waved him through so he could turn into the parking lot and join his friends. Then I continued on my way. I remember my wife, who rarely swears, yelling "Holy Sh*t" sometime during this little drama. The girl on the Suzuki was very lucky I think. I believe that the only reason I even noticed those three riders was because I have been riding motorcycles myself for a long time, and I have trained myself to be very aware of what's going on on the road around me, even when I'm in my car and not on a bike. I hate to think about what might have happened had she - I'm almost positive the rider on the Suzuki was a girl - turned in front of someone who was daydreaming his/her way down the road, had the green, and was oblivious to what was going on. Which is unfortunately the way a lot of people drive. Hopefully the next Savage I encounter out on the road will just be cruising along and my interaction will be nothing more than a friendly wave. This one was a little too close for comfort. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by faffi on 07/22/18 at 08:34:48 We have a very stringent (and costly) education system here before you are allowed to ride on your own on public roads. The test before you get your license (car, bike or truck) is also quite involved. About 1/3 flunk the written test, and 1/3 the practical test. But while it may offend someone to spend all that time and money to get a license, it also means riders and drivers are less likely to make mistakes like that. Which is one of the reasons why we have the lowest number of killed on the road per mile in the world. Good on you for taking care of the lady on the LS650! |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by oldNslow on 07/22/18 at 09:49:06 Quote:
I completely agree with that. Even the MSF beginner rider class, which is voluntary, not mandatory, in the US, is geared more toward simply passing the test for a motorcycle endorsement, than it is toward training new riders to ride safely on the roads. The MSF class is better than no training at all, but it could be a lot better IMO. Unfortunately a stricter path to a license, or a tiered licensing system with multiple steps to a full, unrestricted license would be a very tough sell here. I think there may still be states that don't even require a motorcycle endorsement. When I bought my first street bike many many years ago I was 17, had only had a drivers license for about a year and lived in Virginia. At that time there was no such thing as a Virginia motorcycle license. I had ridden dirt bikes, so I knew how to operate the controls, but I had never ridden a motorcycle on the road until I picked up that first bike and rode it home from the dealer. Learning by doing is fine as long as you manage to survive your rookie mistakes and don't repeat them. Some people aren't that lucky. I made most of my mistakes on slower, much less congested roads than what we have today, with, for the most part, less aggressive, more attentive drivers. I also learned to ride on the street on a much smaller, lighter motorcycle - it was all I could afford on the earnings from an after school job - than some of the bikes that brand new riders buy nowadays. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by faffi on 07/22/18 at 12:59:15 Personally, I am more concerned about what the under-skilled can do to others in their vicinity than whether or not they hurt themselves - although no hurt for anybody is of course preferable! |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by jcstokes on 07/22/18 at 22:13:12 Savage/S40 is target marketed at new riders and women, remember the candy coloured paint job. Im my country they are learner approved motorcycles because of their 32 horsepower rating. So you will find learners and the inexperienced on them. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by engineer on 07/26/18 at 19:16:51 Getting back to the original statement about not seeing any Savages on the road I have to agree. I've had mine since 2011 and I haven't seen another one out being ridden, I only see them in the dealer's show room. They may be a "girl's bike" but I like them, light weight, decent torque, scoots around the county roads just fine, what's not to like. I have other bikes but the Savage is the one I ride most often. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by Dave on 07/27/18 at 04:34:28 I see the Savage pretty regularly in the northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area.....about 1 every 2 months. I see 3 in parking lots as their owners use them as commuters, another 1 I see parked in a driveway in the evenings or weekends, and then I see a few ride past me on the highway. I used to see the old style Honda Rebels being used as commuter bikes on a regular basis too - they have started to fade away. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by ohiomoto on 07/27/18 at 05:22:44 050205050A630 wrote:
Where? |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by jcstokes on 07/27/18 at 12:49:11 I see a few from time to time, as well as a "girls bike", they are very suited to the post male menopausal fifty plus age bracket, as evidenced by the membership of this forum, I love mine. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by batman on 07/30/18 at 17:14:38 I have to agree , I've owned 8 bikes ,7 of which were 4 cylinders an much more powerful than the Savage, but it is much more fun to ride a slow bike fast,than a fast bike slow, and it is the bike I now have on the road and ride every day ! |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by faffi on 07/30/18 at 23:05:13 23242523212338234C0 wrote:
Where? [/quote] Thank you for reminding me to update my profile, which is now done. I live in Norway. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by batman on 07/31/18 at 09:43:45 While it's true Norway has a low fatal accident rate ,is it because of the costly education or the fact that compared to other countries there just isn't enough vehicles to get into accidents? Population density of Norway is 34/sq/mi, USA 92.2/sq/mi registered vehicles- Norway about 16 million , USA about 286 million, Population of Norway 5.23 m, USA 323.13 m I'm sure the US with three times the pop. density ,68 times the pop. , and nearly 28 times the number of vehicles on the road are all factors leading to higher fatal accident rates. motorcycle riders die at a rate four times higher than car drivers here in the US (motorcycles don't have doors!) there are 164,000 motorcycles in Norway, 4 million in the US. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by LANCER on 07/31/18 at 12:55:47 Just 4 million total ? Are you sure ? That seems really low to me. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by stewmills on 07/31/18 at 13:33:40 According to IIHS for 2017: 8,392,682. 2002 was 4,189,088 |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by faffi on 07/31/18 at 23:24:18 2C2F3A232F207A764E0 wrote:
No matter how you look at it, be that the number of accidents per capita or per mile driven, Norway comes out at top. And it isn't due to us having good roads, either; we probably have the worst roads in Europe http://www.newsinenglish.no/2009/03/02/norways-roads-worst-in-europe/ The relatively low rate of people killed on the roads here are down to education, safer cars, very strict laws against driving under influence, and relatively low speed limits combined with big penalties for breaking them. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by IslandRoad on 08/06/18 at 13:43:11 What an interesting discussion. You got me looking up stats in Australia. I was surprised to read that 90% of riders here are over 40 year's old. And almost 90% are male. http://www.tac.vic.gov.au/road-safety/statistics/summaries/motorcycle-crash-data |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by faffi on 08/06/18 at 14:54:54 I think that has been a trend for a looong time, the riders are getting older. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by jcstokes on 08/07/18 at 01:24:02 As I said before, look at the age of members around here. |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by Dave on 08/07/18 at 04:37:15 78425D505F55635E5055310 wrote:
So....does that mean if I live in Australia and I am a 45 year old male - I am one of the 180% of riders? :-? |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by faffi on 08/07/18 at 10:00:34 And it's back to school for you, Dave ;D |
|
Title: Re: Savage sighting Post by IslandRoad on 08/08/18 at 02:26:13 545354545B320 wrote:
;D ;D ;D |
|
SuzukiSavage.com » Powered by YaBB 2.2! YaBB © 2000-2007. All Rights Reserved. |