An idiot at a stop sign waited until I was fifteen feet away from him before he decided to turn onto the road directly in front of me. My choices: (1) hit him and flip over the hood of his truck, (2) turn to avoid him and slam into the row of parked cars to my right or (3) lay the bike down and hope for the best.

Well, I laid the bike down, slid about 15 feet on the right side, and lived to ride another day. He took off never to be seen again. Nice guy.

My riding jacket with armor saved my elbow, but I got a little road rash as it slid up to my forearm. My thigh and hip got the worse of it and were sore for the better part of two weeks. My helmet was brand new, but not anymore.  My gas tank got a few scratches in it, my right front peg is bent to heck, and the front wheel is out of alignment. My wife, who didn't want me to get the bike ('96 LS 650) broke out a big old bag of - I told you so's!

Questions:  Where can I get another front right peg? I couldn't find one on ebay. I might be able to bang out the bend, but the rubber and chrome end cap are beyond repair.

How do I realign the front wheel? What do I loosen and is there a scientifc way to make sure that the handle bars and the wheel are spot on?  

Foot peg at RYCA. $15.00 shipped. They have a big slection of take off parts.

Glad you survived ok. I hope you get a new front peg soon. And a new wife...

JIMBO wrote on 10/31/12 at 16:32:11:

My choices: (1) hit him and flip over the hood of his truck,  

Sorry your bike and body got damaged and you got a told you so from the wife.  You probably took the best option.  Option (1) doesn't always work out to be a simple flip.  Following Newton's laws of motion you and your motorcycle will try to continue on their path, straight ahead, parallel to the pavement.  As your bike collides with the vehicle the forks and front wheel begin to buckle and your body continues onward.  First the "family jewels" slide over the fuel tank and filler cap, then you hit the handle bars and your upper body continues forward violently dragging your thighs around and over the handle bars, levers, mirrors etc.  After that brief but painful experience the energy of both bike and rider start to pick up some rotational velocity and only then does the flipping begin.

Now in the old days most people laid their bike down (your option 3), the brakes weren't very good then so it seemed like a good plan.  But option (1) was a temptation and was tried by many.  The idea was that we would stand on the pegs and launch ourselves into the air and over the vehicle and land without injury on the other side thus avoiding being run over by the car if we slid under it.  There are a couple problems with standing and flipping.  Your mind works very fast in the moments before an impending collision, you can actually think out these options as you now know.  But, your body doesn't have the time in which to do much so you slam into the other vehicle before you ever manage to stand up on the pegs.  Another problem with cruiser type bikes is that with the pegs and legs in a forward position it is hard to get up on those pegs.

So you did the best thing.  Glad you came through it without serious injuries or damage to your bike.

PS In my youth I tested all the options, more than once, using older domestic and English bikes.  Modern bikes have much better tires and brakes and that opens up another option, stopping or at least slowing down and reducing the energy that will be imparted to your body and bike.  Obviously every situation is different and in this case you made the right decision.

I'll probably upset someone, but...

I usually interpret "I had to lay it down" to mean "I stomped the brake pedal just as I would have done in my car, the rear wheel locked up and slid out from under me, and caused a low-side." The real blame here goes to the motorcycle manufacturers who do not equip their bikes with combined ABS brake systems.

Charon wrote on 11/02/12 at 06:26:01:


Actually, I'm not even sure that I applied the break. I'm not an experienced motorcycle rider, but I have years of riding dirt bikes under my belt. I laid the bike down like I was riding a dirt bike in soft dirt. Obviously, it didn't feel the same.

Im as guilty as anyone who ever had a crash that was avoidable. I only used the rear brake & totalled my Guzi. In my defense, I was feeling so bad I should never have left the house. I was supposed to be going to Tyler & was, instead, on a road to Lindale, I was really not well at all.

But,, I shoulda known better than get out. Bad Judgement, I wont do that again, I had no business driving anything that day.
Anyway, its good to get in a safe place, check the road surface for loose stuff & practice panic stops. Use the front brake.
If your rear locks up with 2 pounds on the lever, mod the shoes,