Author Topic: Tales of Idiocy  (Read 6399 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

jdrouin

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 961
  • Karma: 0
Reply #30 on: July 05, 2010, 05:42:41 am
Riding the Bullet home from work one day, I felt something graze my right leg on a narrow city street. A nervous-aggressive driver passed me in the bicycle lane on a short block, 15 mph zone, breaking the mirror of another car while his own mirror touched my leg and almost wiped my handlebar.

This was one of maybe three or four times in my life that I've ever lost my composure.

I followed him turning right onto Bergen St and stopped at the next light between him and a scooter. He was doing something on his cell phone when I banged my fist twice down on his window and yelled "What the f--- was that?!?!?" He looked up at me startled and just drove through the red light and turned left into traffic. Wish I'd gotten his license plate number instead.

Then there was the time I was waiting at a light on the West Side Highway, right near the USS Intrepid, when my front wheel starts slowly but steadily climbing toward the sky. "What the F---?!?!?," I thought to myself. Why is my bike doing a stationary wheelie? Did my clutch cable snap?

The bike went down on the left peg (thankfully no further), while some guy came running to my side asking frantically if I was OK. "Yeah, whatever, I'm fine. But something's really wrong with my bike." Turns out the dude in the SUV behind me didn't realize he was inching forward (read: he was texting). His bumper hooked my tail light and turned my back wheel into a lever for lifting up the front.

He was kind enough to stop traffic, help me to the side, help inspect my bike, take pictures of the bike and the intersection signs and email them to me, and pay for the damages no questions asked. Long story short, the broken light shorted the ignition circuit ten minutes later and killed the bike completely just inside the Battery Park Underpass tunnel, where there's no shoulder and evening rush hour had just begun. Took me 45 minutes to duckwalk the bike back out of the tunnel, into furious bus drivers, and onto a crosswalk, and I had to lock it up and come back the next day for more electrical troubleshooting. Would have been a lot faster if my bike had come with up to date electrical diagrams showing the fuse box under the seat, which I didn't notice until several hours into the frigid Winter day. Even Chuck D worked with me for a couple of hours in that blustery alley.

After the accident I had decided not to call the cops for a report, and boy was I lucky to have tangled with an honest person (another rider, actually). I won't ever do that again, though.

Jeff


Chasfield

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,583
  • Karma: 0
Reply #31 on: July 09, 2010, 06:51:03 pm
My tale is from the self-inflicted genre.

My dip beam blew on my Triumph twin (again). So I swivelled the head lamp down and rode around town on full beam, meaning all the time to buy another bulb...

Later that month I am blasting down some North Yorkshire back roads at 60MPH, 5 miles away from the nearest street light. Apart from the the output of my last remaining H4 filament, there is no other source of illumination. It is as dark as a dark-room.

Then the full beam blew out...

My speedometer bulb is also out. I hit the brakes and speed falls away. I think I have stopped and put my feet down, only to have them whisked away by the tarmac as it flows past. I do this two more times before finally stopping.

Undeservedly, I am still alive and chug along at walking pace for 5 miles by the light of the pilot bulb - which does still work.

I have been very conscientious about headlamp bulbs since then.


2001 500 Bullet Deluxe


r80rt

  • C5 Pilot
  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,986
  • Karma: 0
  • R.I.P Papa Juan, Uncle Ernie
Reply #32 on: July 09, 2010, 07:41:22 pm
Oh man does that bring back memories of a old BSA I had ! :D
On the eighth day God created the C5, and it was better looking than anything on the planet.
Iron Butt Association


HRAB

  • I should really edit this
  • Grease Monkey
  • ****
  • Posts: 389
  • Karma: 1
  • Been there, doin' more...God willing
Reply #33 on: July 12, 2010, 01:56:38 pm
I have enjoyed reading this thread but couldn't come up with anything I haven't already confessed to in this, or another forum ... Until Saturday.

Let me set the stage:
The safety course advice about the throttle snapping back when released. I always thought it as more of a guideline. So the K100 friction screw will hold the bike at highway speed when I release the throttle grip.

My garage has more than its share of "precious stuff".

Anyone see where this is going? So. I was in a hurry. (hold my beer and watch this) I put on the gear, helmut, jacket boots, and gloves and threw a leg over the bike. It didn't start on the usual first touch of the button and I ignored this important warning. So I kept trying, bike in 1st gear and clutch lever firmly in hand.

When It finally fired, it idled for, I'd guess, for about four revolutions.
Then the clutch cable broke. the bike lurched forward, my hand rolled on the throttle, the friction lock held it there  and the bike stuffed itself into the corner of  the garage with the front wheel on top of a chair, table saw, and a variety of the afore mentioned "precious stuff", tipped over on top of me and still running full throttle, rear wheel dancing and chirping on the conrete floor.

I managed to get to the kill switch with my foot and stop the dance. there I lay taking inventory of all my body parts when the nosey neighbor lady came running to my rescue wondering if I needed for  emergency services.

The worst part was realizing there now were witnesses.

jim
 
 
BMWMOA www.bmwmoa.com
Iron Butt Association www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm
(Formerly) CRA# 118N www.cra-mn.com (I got smarter in old age)
74 Honda XL350 'Scoot'
81 Honda CB650C
86 Gold Wing with California Sidecar
00 Honda ST1100 'Large Marge'


Vince

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,693
  • Karma: 0
Reply #34 on: July 12, 2010, 04:25:32 pm
     Last time I was in that much of a hurry I wound up with children.


Ducati Scotty

  • Grand Gearhead
  • *****
  • Posts: 7,038
  • Karma: 0
  • 2010 Teal C5
Reply #35 on: July 12, 2010, 06:06:00 pm
Awesom story Hrab :D


HRAB

  • I should really edit this
  • Grease Monkey
  • ****
  • Posts: 389
  • Karma: 1
  • Been there, doin' more...God willing
Reply #36 on: July 13, 2010, 02:11:39 pm
Awesom story Hrab :D
:D
Like preventing children, I'll now be more careful with the throttle lock!
BMWMOA www.bmwmoa.com
Iron Butt Association www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm
(Formerly) CRA# 118N www.cra-mn.com (I got smarter in old age)
74 Honda XL350 'Scoot'
81 Honda CB650C
86 Gold Wing with California Sidecar
00 Honda ST1100 'Large Marge'