mikeofaustin
Bronze Member
Any motorcyclists want to share their 'close calls'? (the importance of helments
I was recently asked about mine;
About 25 years ago, I road a older model goldwing (81). I loved that bike. It had 4 carbs and a point ignition and I loved tuning the dwell on, etc. I could even stand on the seat and surf it down the street if I pulled the choke out to get a decent idle from it. I painted the bike an Aqua Blue Pearl. A beautiful color as it has many colors in various lights (as pearl does). I kept that bike up kept so well, you could eat off the engine block.
One day, I was following traffic on a 2 lane road when I heard a siren behind me. I turned around and saw it was about 1/2 mile back. When I turn back around, the truck right in front of me was stopped directly in front of me and I had no time to react but to leave my bike (as it landed into the back of his truck) and my fast thinking made me kick myself up and found myself pushing myself off the top of his cab so I wouldn't hit it, and then sliding along his hood before I hit the ground in front of the truck. I hit the ground and because my bike loved me so much, it seemed to find me again because it laid on top of me, pinning me between it and the pavement as we slide along before we came to a stop. All I can remember (it happened in flashes) was trying to push this big bike off of me as we slide along.
I stood up and the first thing that came to mind was to identify anything that was broken, so I moved every muscle I could think of, looking for any ailment, considering the accident that had just happened. It looked like a little 'break dance' routine right after a big accident, right in the middle of the road. Crazy. Adrenaline was flowing through me and I felt no pain at the time, so I picked up what was left of my bike and it's parts and hauled it to the side, as I didn't want to be a cause of a traffic jam.
Low and behold, that same ambulance behind me pulled up to treat me. They made me sign a waiver saying I wouldn't go with them, but they did tell me that I needed many stitches in my scalp.
Long story short (trust me, there's a lot more to this story), I ended up limping for about 3 months. The helmet that I wore looked like it went through a cheese grater from grinding along the pavement.
I was recently asked about mine;
About 25 years ago, I road a older model goldwing (81). I loved that bike. It had 4 carbs and a point ignition and I loved tuning the dwell on, etc. I could even stand on the seat and surf it down the street if I pulled the choke out to get a decent idle from it. I painted the bike an Aqua Blue Pearl. A beautiful color as it has many colors in various lights (as pearl does). I kept that bike up kept so well, you could eat off the engine block.
One day, I was following traffic on a 2 lane road when I heard a siren behind me. I turned around and saw it was about 1/2 mile back. When I turn back around, the truck right in front of me was stopped directly in front of me and I had no time to react but to leave my bike (as it landed into the back of his truck) and my fast thinking made me kick myself up and found myself pushing myself off the top of his cab so I wouldn't hit it, and then sliding along his hood before I hit the ground in front of the truck. I hit the ground and because my bike loved me so much, it seemed to find me again because it laid on top of me, pinning me between it and the pavement as we slide along before we came to a stop. All I can remember (it happened in flashes) was trying to push this big bike off of me as we slide along.
I stood up and the first thing that came to mind was to identify anything that was broken, so I moved every muscle I could think of, looking for any ailment, considering the accident that had just happened. It looked like a little 'break dance' routine right after a big accident, right in the middle of the road. Crazy. Adrenaline was flowing through me and I felt no pain at the time, so I picked up what was left of my bike and it's parts and hauled it to the side, as I didn't want to be a cause of a traffic jam.
Low and behold, that same ambulance behind me pulled up to treat me. They made me sign a waiver saying I wouldn't go with them, but they did tell me that I needed many stitches in my scalp.
Long story short (trust me, there's a lot more to this story), I ended up limping for about 3 months. The helmet that I wore looked like it went through a cheese grater from grinding along the pavement.
