Kawi2strokes.com Forum

I thought it might be fun to share our first crash accounts.

Mine; 1970, riding my '66 Yamaha YA6 125, I discovered wet leaves in a corner interfere with proper tire/pavement adhesion.

I ended up at Pazour Motor Sports to buy repair parts and was floored by the price of parts then the Kawasaki Triple in the showroom.

Three years later I began riding dirt bikes and subsequently began buying my brake and clutch levers in six-packs.

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Using a poorly conceived idea along with bad mechanical practice is not an upgrade but rather a recipe for disaster.

I was riding my H2 to the U of MD, looking in the mirror because I was concerned about a stopped cop I had just passed going a bit fast, looked up and there was a car stopped at the green light right in front of me, because of an ambulance crossing. I was doing about 40, and all I could do was shed as much of that as possible in about one car length. The bike was going down and I was coming off when we separately hit the back of the car. The crash bar on my H2 kept it from going under, and the engine didn't get a scratch. The fork tubes got bent and I lost the headlight and at least most of the turn signals. One of the fork sliders got dented as did the front fender, gas tank, and battery cover. The Toyota's back doors wouldn't close properly after the hit. My cousin's wife happened to be the insurance adjuster for the Toyota, and with the $700 payoff I think it was "totaled". I spend the afternoon in the hospital for X-rays, and because a kidney was bleeding a little, but nothing got broken. Walking and laughing was difficult for a while, and I still have a dent near my left hip bone.

The lesson about taking my attention away from what's going in ahead of me was learned well.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

1970, 14 years old Motobecane 49cc moped which was before owned by my mother who had the good idea to pass her driving license and to buy for around $100 a VW beetle dobble split window 1949 (will love she still had it).
stopped to a red light (traffic lights) on an intersection, was early morning and went to school , a guy came with this car behind me, didn't see me, he decided to don't respect the red line and one second after was on the air and the second after on my ass seating on the middle of intersection.
The insurance of the guy paid the rebuilt of the moped

......and that, JP, was the moment you decided to become a lawyer when you grew up

not really, at this time had hesitation between being world formula one champion and GP 500 world champion
was btw the last year had interest about cars

1968...Honda CL175. Slipped on oil in the middle of an intersection. Completely embarassed !

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Busy doing more riding than wrenching.......

I don't recall a specific incident but I'm sure it was in 1967, riding my old POS mini-bike, 3.5hp briggs motor and the crappy metal flap against the rear wheel we called a brake.

There were "jumps" in the fields behind our house and rutted trails. I remember crashing on them a lot back in the day.

Spectacular crashes abound over the years though on all kinds of bikes, now that I think about it there were several on the H2. The biggest one was probably in 1978, on 101 southbound right at Candlestick Park. Speed wobble in excess of 90mph folded the front end, flipped me over the handle bars as the bike went on top and over. I remember sliding on my butt down the fast lane watching my H2 bouncing and flipping with parts flying off all over. My wife was in a car behind me and saw the whole thing. Other than the worlds biggest road rash over most of my back, arms, legs etc I was ok Some bystanders helped me pick up what was left of the H2, picked up as many parts we could find and throw it in the trunk of our 66 Plymouth my wife was driving. Off to the hospital we went for some very painful scrubbing and pebble/rock removal from under my skin. I destroyed the motor in that one, broke the crank and rods, broke the casing and lost one of the cylinders completely.

There was another time - similar to Jims story - where I was going WAY to fast down El Camino in San Carlos, late at night very few cars but for some reason a Volvo in front moved into my lane and hit the brakes. My immediate instinct hit the rear brake and laid it down sliding under the Volvo. Other than some breakage on the H2 and a crushed ankle I was OK.

Another good one - actually one of my favorites was on 280 southbound to 92 east. Back in the early days the ramps were really tight, I remember really getting on the gas - HARD - on the curve and the back-end slide out and I was dirt-tracking on the shoulder weeds, hit the guard rail and flipped over it. More carnage on the H2 but other than a dislocated right shoulder (my third on that side) I was OK.

I won't EVEN talk about my off-road excursions - there's not enough ink in my keyboard for them

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This is true. Where I grew up the hills were so steep and long, when your ball rolled down the hill you just said "screw it"...

My first bike was a 1971 MT 75, I call it the Devil machine as all it took to crash that thing was a pebble............ I wouldn't even attempt to try and count the crashes I had on that thing...........

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Twist the throttle, tilt the horizon, and have a great time. What triples are all about...........

A 2003 zx6r that I had bought brand new less than 3 months prior. Looped it out while doing a wheelie .

You're either younger than I realized, or started riding late, or are highly skilled at accident avoidance.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.