We all make mistakes. What's your most recent?

[bradzdotcom]

after reading a couple of threads on here from people asking for riding tips, it occurred to me that maybe that question is a little vague.

besides, there's so many veterans on this forum that the tips could go on forever.

so here's the flip side, especially for you/us/me old guys who have been riding since roads were invented:

What's the most recent mistake you've made riding?

here's mine (martin's traffic light photo reminded me):

the traffic lights in my town are often referred to as "calendar lights" because it seems like it takes days for them to turn green.
last week i just missed a green and resigned myself to the long wait.

don't know where i went (mentally) or what i did, but when i checked back in as the other road got their yellow lights, i realized that there were two cars and a truck sitting behind me.

never saw or heard a single one of them creep up.
definite mistake.

sidenote: rapidog is excluded from contributing to this discussion because...well...i've never seen him make a mistake. (although i have not seen him wear these so-called "ass chaps" he refers to, and if i did...well, that would certainly qualify and de or un exclude him. like, totally.)

as far as the rest of you...what's your most recent mistake?

(if you can't come up with one, ask your riding buddies. i'm sure they'd be eager to help).

[ckcarr]

Most common mistake had got to be a momentary lapse of focus and concentration. That will get even the best rider. Because all it takes is one split second.

Another that I've done is misjudge speed when passing someone, on one of those wierd dips where a car suddenly surfaces in front of you...
(that will pucker you up)

[SergioK]

This morning... I didn't tag the mirror on the Prius driving 5mph slower than the rest of the traffic in the #1 lane. I jest... I jest... I rarely tag Prius mirrors. Then again, is it my fault they line up perfectly with my handguards?

Last week, on the highway, transition (nice sweeper) from the 110S to the 10W... which is 3 lanes wide mind you, a school bus in the #2 just came right into the #1, RIGHT in front of me. Mistake... I should have passed him before the turn.

I made it a point to tell the school bus driver that I thought he was #1 in my book.

[dlong]

So I'm on a rental Harley about 20 minutes into my ride. I had already determined that braking performance was not even close to my RT or BCR. No ABS. And very little experience other than BMW and Ducati.

But I'm heading east on AZ 260 out of Camp Verde and approaching a very sweet climb up to the Mogollon Rim and Payson for breakfast. Ahead are three pickups traveling just below the speed limit. I see a chance for a legal pass and bunch up a bit waiting to make my move. And then its all brake lights, grinding metal on pavement, and me wondering why I can't stand up without help.

I refused the ambulance ride and waited for support from the Eagle Rider rental guy. About six feet of skid marks just before the pavement scratches tell the tale...locked front wheel from panic braking. I didn't hit anything but pavement.

A few days later when I still had difficulty walking, an MRI revealed a pelvic fracture and shoulder separation.

I would like to think that I could have avoided the wreck if I had been on the RT. Maybe a more experienced Harley rider could have slowed or stopped safely.

What did I do right? ATGATT. Severe damage to my Arai was especially scary.

What did I do wrong? Plenty. Seduced by the lure of an open road, I forgot I was riding a bike unfamiliar to me with vastly different braking and handling characteristics, left no margin for safety between me and the pickup ahead, failed to see that the lead pickup was slowing for an unsignaled R turn, and underestimated the extent of my injury, probably out of hubris and embarrassment. For starters.

And after nearly 40 years of street riding.

So top that.

[R1100S2000]

Originally Posted by dlong

So I'm on a rental Harley...

That's all I need to know. JK

[wiggledbits]

Originally Posted by ckcarr

most common mistake had got to be a momentary lapse of focus and concentration. That will get even the best rider. Because all it takes is one split second.

+1

[SergioK]

Wow, an RT/BCR to a 1000# pig... talk about absolute night and day difference. Heck, it takes me up to an hour to get used to the 'vast' difference between my GS & HP2S when switching bikes.

[SteelerBike]

can't talk about riding mistake 'cause I NEVER partake in such!!!

a non-riding co-worker of mine asked what I feared most while riding. I replied, "not paying attention after a while and zoning out." That's the biggest thing I see that could cause mistakes/mishaps.

[shreddr]

more Harley bashing!!

[SergioK]

Originally Posted by ckcarr

Sergio, they are only 890 lbs..
Don't exaggerate!

Does that include the mandated wench on the back? Ah, I didn't think so!

[Drews323i]

Recently went into a sweeper I'd rode into a thousand times. So I took the bike in deep and fast. Just at the apex there's a nice big area of patch and seal. Trying to choke down the R11S deep into the corner was a challange I wasn't prepared for. Rear broke loose but I kept it on the road. Thank goodness there was no one coming the other way. I took up the entire road and then some.

[BoxerFanatic]

Originally Posted by ckcarr

Most common mistake had got to be a momentary lapse of focus and concentration. That will get even the best rider. Because all it takes is one split second.

That one has gotten me recently in my car, and I am still overly cautious since.

[sgoodwin]

I picked up the keys to the wrong bike & had to go back in & change them today.

[KerQ]

This hadn't happened to me in years.

Two nights ago I'd split lanes coming up to a red light. It changed while I was a car length away, so I decided to roll on the throttle a little while everyone was sitting still. (I USUALLY prefer to stop splitting and merge with the traffic as it begins to start up, BUT....) Evidently my action pissed off one of the sedans, which began to follow me closely. I kept rolling on the throttle to ease a little distance between us but the car pursued, flying by at high speed - a virtual "shoulder bump" - when I went to take an off ramp a minute later.

I then realized how angry the car driver had been, and that my accelerating probably escalated it. Since it was a two lane road, I could have tucked in behind some slower traffic and let him by. Even if he'd wanted to engage in road-rage tailgating, it would have been at a lower and safer speed.




Other than that:

Most common mistake had got to be a momentary lapse of focus and concentration.

+1!

[VictoriaR1100S]

how about rounding a corner in yellowstone national park in the evening at high speed to nearly collide with a ton of buffalo. no contact was made, as we both got out of the way in different directions.

[SergioK]

Ralf & I had to cross paths with some buffalo a couple years ago. We were definitely out riding out high beams that's for sure.

[ckcarr]

Originally Posted by SergioK

Ralf & I had to cross paths with some buffalo a couple years ago...

Is this thread about dating experiences too?

[sgoodwin]

Originally Posted by ckcarr

Is this thread about dating experiences too?

That would certainly bring that Harley over 1000 lbs!

[SergioK]

Touché.

[bradzdotcom]

buffalo?
amateurs!

eons ago, i'm working at motorcyclist, living in simi valley, riding with ken vreeke on our trek to the LA office.
going down the main drag on the outskirts of town, the fog is exceptionally thick. hard to see.
tooling along at a moderate 50, i see not one, not two but probably five elephants start to appear from the fog.
they're mostly on the shoulder, but still taking up a few feet of the lane.
at first your brain goes: "naahhh..elephants? come on. no way."
then you get to "holy flock those really are elephants!"
definitely a "wtf?" moment.
ken and i both got hard on the brakes and at the same time, look at each other, shake our heads and start laughing.
before we even dove into the first set of twisties, we had to stop and giggle about it.

so...i am absolutely no longer surprised by the fact that we share the pavement with lots of other living creatures...great and small....everything from the run-overable (sorry dude) to the frame-benders (again, sorry dude, but you DID roach my bike...you deserved what you got. if you friggin' deer would wear helmets.....)

you just never know what creatures you'll encounter on the road.

and as far as lapse in concentration, if we think we're bad...well...let's just all keep in mind what is actually going on inside the cars we're surrounded by: