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Thread: Did we never make a motorcycle thread?

  1. #1021
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    Quote Originally Posted by Freude am Fahren View Post
    Better bikes have been doing what Harley's do for 1/3 the price for decades.
    Totally agree - its their image (lifestyle!) that sells the bikes and makes a decent profit.
    And thats why Im confused as to how an electric bike will fit in. Its so different and almost the antithesis of what they currently offer.

  2. #1022
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    I love it because it’s so subversive.

    But you’re right. They won’t sell many. It looks ugly and it doesn’t go ‘potato-potato’ like an ICU Harley does.

    If a manufacturer wants to have some success with electric bikes, they either need to make an inner-city commuter like a scooter (the Prius option), or a high-end technology-leading sports weapon like a Ducati or something. I know of the Lightning electric motorcycle, but that company is too niche, and the bike too expensive to make a point of itself.

    But… give the subject another five years and we will see.

  3. #1023
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    Actually, the perfect electric bike is the KTM Freeride. They’ve been on the market for a while now.

    https://youtu.be/2_J8pS2THMs

  4. #1024
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    I'm not entirely sure what happened to Alta and their electrics. They seemed to be doing well and then just up and vanished. Though it was pretty much right after whatever their deal with HD was going to be fell through.

    Disappointing though, they seemed to be very well liked by anyone who seemed to test it. Plus they'd just offered up a new more powerful model as the shut down.


    FWIW, on another board a guy says his local HD Dealer has 3 preorders already for the Livewire. I just hope this pricing doesn't show up when they bring out that Streetfighter they have shown.

  5. #1025
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    I posted this last week on a motorcycle forum.

    Quote Originally Posted by neanderthal
    Minding my business on the way home from work. One mile odd from home, light is red, and I have to turn left. It turns green, but not for the controlled left. I wait. I'm the only one waiting to turn left, in the right of two left turn lanes.

    It turns green, and before I even have an opportunity to turn the throttle I get rear ended. I wear ear plugs, but didn't hear anything (brakes/ tires screeching) until I felt the impact. The first sensation was of my bike shooting out from under me. The impact. Being on the ground. The car seemingly not stopping for aeions. Me wondering if I'd then get run over by its wheels. "Why are they still driving godammit, didnt they feel the impact. Oh god they better stop. They better have insurance . Why are they still driving!! STOP!!!!"

    Then. Lying on my side. Forever. On my left. Facing the traffic. Nobody moving, nobody getting out of their car, no hazard lights, no nothing. Just a vacuum of silence. Then the pain. It came like a freight train out of nowhere. Its everywhere. Ears ringing. My heads pounding. Tears streaming down my face. Struggling to breathe. Everything hurts. A voice, female "Oh my God are you ok?" Feet appear in the hazy fog. I'm still trying to breathe. "Please say something. Are you ok? I'm so sorry. Are you ok."

    All I can do is groan and moan. Finally my lungs are working. Everything still hurts. That same voice "can you move? Oh my God, are you OK?"" Through the fog of pain and tears I can hear other people saying things, although I can't make out what's being said except "Don't move him." Thank you I say internally. I'm still struggling to breathe. My sinuses are completely blocking my nose. I'm trying to mentally do a self examination: can you feel your toes, wriggle your toes, can you feel your hands, wriggle your fingers, I'm trying to catch my breath, is there any pain that's clearly head and shoulders above the rest, announcing its paramount to all others.

    Non board certified assessment done I try to relax. I'm still struggling to breathe. Lying down isn't helping. I want to get up. I want to open up my lungs and clear my airways. I'll feel better being able to breathe easier. I put my arm up and ask if i can be helped to sit up. "No, you have to stay still" im told. We discuss the recovery position in rugby: its like the foetal position, it prevents choking, vomit going down the airway etc and im almost in that position already. "Don't move" makes sense. I give up on wanting to sit up. Try to normalise your breathing i say. I can hear my heartbeat. It's damn loud in among the noise of concerned bystanders giving directions and instruction to 911. I can hear / feel a ringing in my ears still, although it's waning.

    There's a gentleman crouched in front of me asking me questions. I try to tell him I'm wearing earplugs and can't "hear him" without reading his lips. He backs up so I can see his face. Asks if im ok. I don't know, I think so. But my nose is stuffed so I don't know what that sounded like. He says something illegible. I saw "wha..." as clearly as I can and he repeats it. I still can't quite make out what he's saying although the din from my heartbeat is dissipating. "Huh?" It's easier to say that as there is no T sound that'll temporarily block the airway. I'm still struggling to breathe. I remove the glove from my right hand, I need to call my mum. "Can I pray for you?" is what he's saying.

    Go ahead I say. I'm trying to find my mums phone number through the fog of tears . I'm not quite able to dial it, as he's uttering words to the deities of his choice. Lying prone with a mist descending from the heavens, and seemingly looking directly into the headlights of cars and street lights it's hard to see. Then there's tears flowing ceaselessly too. I do the "call mum" thing but I guess with my nose blocked Google doesn't understand me. Someone, mercifully, props up my head a little bit with something and breathing is a little easier. I see my call log and punch my sisters number. He's still praying I say "my sister" and give him the phone.

    He immediately starts talking to whoever picked up.

    The pain has receded a little. EMS folks are now here. Asking me my name, age, the date etc. I'm still struggling to breathe. Can I feel this, can I wriggle that? No, nothing hurts the most, but it's better than ages ago. Actually my back hurts more than anything else. In the background, amidst all the shadowy figures, I see my brother in law. "My brother" I point. Thank God I was one minute from home.

    They continue to assess. They tie me up like a hog, put me on a board, remove my jacket (ATGMTT) and helmet, wheel me into the bus and take me to the hospital. Cut my clothes off, including a bloody nice windbreaker I bought at Rugby School when I went to England for world Cup Rugby. They had asked "can I cut off your jacket?" Go ahead, I responded, I have three of them. I thought they meant my motorcycle jacket, but I realise now it'd been taken off me in the process of putting me on the stretcher. I vaguely remember the discomfort of trying to take my arm out of the sleeve. My shirt was a 50th anniversary Polo for my rugby club. It's a mess of rags now.

    The hospital is another story.

    What could I have done to prevent it? Run the red light into the no man's land of the intersection and hope there was no one on my right going straight.

    I just got home an hour ago and I'm just writing this because I can't sleep (sinusitis) and I need to remember it.

    No rain but it was precipitating, not enough to call it drizzle though. More like a mist. Open sight lines. 7:40ish pm.

    Don't know what's happened to my bike. It's been towed somewhere. I hope she has good insurance.

    'O=00=O'
    BMW 2002. long live the legend

  6. #1026
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    No major injuries. No broken bones. Just "soft tissue injuries" from the whiplash; my neck and lower back. There's supposed to be a hairline fracture in my orbital something something. I need to go see a specialist, but i'm so wracked with pain that I dread the thought of going. Gotta man up I guess.

    On the police report she confessed to looking down at her phone. Fortunately she has good insurance (USAA.) Everything points to a speedy resolution of this in my favor, but insurance companies will insurance company try to fuck you over when its time for them to pay.

    I've submitted a list and approximate pricing of my clothes that were cut off me and my motorcycle gear. Helmets are functionally obsolete after one crash as you all know. I emailed Scorpion to ask if it was the same for their jackets. Mine looks perfect. They said it's integrity could be compromised so it would be wise to replace it. I forwarded the email to her insurance and a price for a comparable jacket.

    I expect them, at a minimum, to cover my bike, the items that were trashed/ cut off me/ damaged, my medical, and lost wages. If they cover that i'm not hard done by them. Haven't been to work this whole week, nor will I be there this coming week. I end up being in a lot of pain after being upright for a few hours. The ER doc had only prescribed me three days of pain meds, but ten days of sinus meds. Thankfully the facility I am going to for therapy has a doctor who comes once a day. He's got me sorted on that front. Friday was excruciating when I was out of the Tylenol with codeine that was prescribed. OTC meds weren't cutting it. And I was using ibuprofen from England (higher dose than our OTC stuff here.)

    I don't know what they will thrown in for pain and suffering, but i saved them a pretty penny by being ATTGATT.


    I'm keeping a pain/ activity/ medication log, in case I retain a lawyer. I shouldn't have to, since it's pretty cut and dried, but insurance companies will insurance company.

    Taking advice from the cheap seats so opine to your hearts content if you have any experience in this arena (Tyler) or legal expertise.

    Cheers

  7. #1027
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    Oh man - Im so sorry. Glad that its not too serious, and Im not saying that to take away from how bad it is.
    Hope for a full and speedy recovery and that the insurance doesnt turn into a nightmare.

  8. #1028
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    Quote Originally Posted by neanderthal View Post
    What could I have done to prevent it?
    Im not sure there is anything you could do to definitively prevent this - it is 100% the other party's fault.

    There are a few things you could do to help prevent or lessen the impact. Again none of this is shifting blame - its more about going above and beyond for your own safety.

    - when stopped keep an eye on your mirrors, be aware of people coming up behind. What to do? That depends on the situation, probably not much margin to avoid them and you can run the risk of causing an accident if they try to avoid you at the last moment.
    - possibly pulse brakes to "flash" (probably doesnt help if they arent looking!)
    - use rear brake only when stopped. this makes a big difference on how the bike reacts when rear-ended. Front brakes will cause the bike to drop quickly, more energy into pushing you and the fallen bike along. More impact with road. Rear brakes should help keep the bike upright and it can slide, energy into rear tyre. No brakes = pool/snooker - you can fly off!
    Obviously if hit hard enough none of these will stop you getting hurt, but they can help to reduce the severity of the impact and in low speed crashes could turn a nasty drop with possibly limb injuries into bike upright and no injuries. The longer you are on the bike, the better it is.
    - if cars in front of you, leave room in front, so you dont get crushed between and also possibly have room to escape via lane split
    - be extra vigilant if you are the first vehicle. Its amazing how many people "look for cars" and see a bike but it doesnt register as a vehicle.

    Its a big ask to always "look backwards" and I know I dont always do it. But there are some intersections where I always do it, I just know its a risk due to bad visibility or confusing lane structure. I watch until a car is stopped behind me - then I cant see much and assume that the car behind is now my safety barrier.

    sum up - look backwards, rear brake only, prepare for impact (head down, bent limbs, firm grip)

  9. #1029
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dicknose View Post
    Im not sure there is anything you could do to definitively prevent this - it is 100% the other party's fault.

    There are a few things you could do to help prevent or lessen the impact. Again none of this is shifting blame - its more about going above and beyond for your own safety.

    - when stopped keep an eye on your mirrors, be aware of people coming up behind. What to do? That depends on the situation, probably not much margin to avoid them and you can run the risk of causing an accident if they try to avoid you at the last moment.
    - possibly pulse brakes to "flash" (probably doesnt help if they arent looking!)
    - use rear brake only when stopped. this makes a big difference on how the bike reacts when rear-ended. Front brakes will cause the bike to drop quickly, more energy into pushing you and the fallen bike along. More impact with road. Rear brakes should help keep the bike upright and it can slide, energy into rear tyre. No brakes = pool/snooker - you can fly off!
    Obviously if hit hard enough none of these will stop you getting hurt, but they can help to reduce the severity of the impact and in low speed crashes could turn a nasty drop with possibly limb injuries into bike upright and no injuries. The longer you are on the bike, the better it is.
    - if cars in front of you, leave room in front, so you dont get crushed between and also possibly have room to escape via lane split
    - be extra vigilant if you are the first vehicle. Its amazing how many people "look for cars" and see a bike but it doesnt register as a vehicle.

    Its a big ask to always "look backwards" and I know I dont always do it. But there are some intersections where I always do it, I just know its a risk due to bad visibility or confusing lane structure. I watch until a car is stopped behind me - then I cant see much and assume that the car behind is now my safety barrier.

    sum up - look backwards, rear brake only, prepare for impact (head down, bent limbs, firm grip)
    Thing is, i'm paranoid about being struck from the rear. I was alone in the turn lanes and I didn't see her coming until the split second before I got hit.

    My theory is that she looked down at her phone and drifted from the straight ahead lanes. She estimated her speed at 40MPH. And that is not a speed you go around a 90 degree corner in the wet.

  10. #1030
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    I'm very sorry to see this. To this day I have no memories of my accident

    You won't be reimbursed for your gear. I tried my ass off, and I had 2k+ in gear when I went down. I hope you don't have any road rash, that's one area I completely avoided by the use of gear. I hear it's worse than a broken bone, and judging by my knowledge of anatomy, it should.

    Stay ahead of your pain meds. Don't go for zero pain, go for tolerable. Eat a fuck ton of fiber, like 40+ grams a day. OIC, or opiod induced constipation, is worse than I can explain. Take it easy for the next few days. Do PT with an actual therapist, and push. You know what hurts from regular physical activity, it will be similar but much more intense. Don't create sharp pain.

    Let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to help in whatever way I can, I am glad you are still among the mobile and cognizant.

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