- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
- Messages
- 1,362
I've been thinking of starting this topic for a few days now after reading the posts in the "Roadside Repairs" thread. Some of these are appearing in that thread but I still thought it best to keep the topic separate and hopefully illicit more memories in this vain. I'm hoping to avoid tragedies but rather touch on some of those near misses we all encounter at times. I'll start the ball rolling with a favorite of mine.
I was working for a pipefitting company at an annual shut down on an oil refinery. There was a private drive separate from the main entrance for the crew once you got on their property that consisted of a 1/4 mile straight with a slight up hill grade which then leveled off at the rear gate and then went into a beautiful 90' banked turn that even a simi tanker truck could take at 70 mph. (it was made for bikes).
The night before when I got home my brother informed me my boss had called and I needed to be at work an hour early tomorrow. OK I thought, I was in the middle of switching my front brakes and was short some parts but that was alright, I'd just stick it together without the discs and calipers just for the jaunt to work and back. The big headache was I'd have to get up at 5:30am in order to deglaze a badly sticking clutch. I got my bike mobil with no time to spare and booted off to work. It was going to be close whether I made it on time or not so I really opened it up on the private road :twisted: I just tapped it into 4th doing 85 - 90 mph as I reached the top of the straight and the road leveled off enough for me to see the 8' chain link fence gate closed dead ahead. With no front brake I started grabbing gears fast while basically standing on the rear brake lever and before I could blink I hit the gate! My handle bars bent and rotated forward, I went into a total vertical hand stand position still clutching my bent bars and my Norton followed suit in I'd guess about an 80' nose stand. Next the bike crashed back down and I followed landing back on the seat but arms a lot further forward than ever before. I'd broken both mirrors and the bars were toast but what helped me come around is when I saw the chain link fence. It had a perfect impression of a motorcycle front tire pushed 2' into it. It was one of the funniest things I ever saw. I managed to straighten the bars enough to get going again and ironicly no one else came early. My brother had boggled the message and they had wanted me at a different site! What I wouldn't give to have a photo of that chain link fence!
I was working for a pipefitting company at an annual shut down on an oil refinery. There was a private drive separate from the main entrance for the crew once you got on their property that consisted of a 1/4 mile straight with a slight up hill grade which then leveled off at the rear gate and then went into a beautiful 90' banked turn that even a simi tanker truck could take at 70 mph. (it was made for bikes).
The night before when I got home my brother informed me my boss had called and I needed to be at work an hour early tomorrow. OK I thought, I was in the middle of switching my front brakes and was short some parts but that was alright, I'd just stick it together without the discs and calipers just for the jaunt to work and back. The big headache was I'd have to get up at 5:30am in order to deglaze a badly sticking clutch. I got my bike mobil with no time to spare and booted off to work. It was going to be close whether I made it on time or not so I really opened it up on the private road :twisted: I just tapped it into 4th doing 85 - 90 mph as I reached the top of the straight and the road leveled off enough for me to see the 8' chain link fence gate closed dead ahead. With no front brake I started grabbing gears fast while basically standing on the rear brake lever and before I could blink I hit the gate! My handle bars bent and rotated forward, I went into a total vertical hand stand position still clutching my bent bars and my Norton followed suit in I'd guess about an 80' nose stand. Next the bike crashed back down and I followed landing back on the seat but arms a lot further forward than ever before. I'd broken both mirrors and the bars were toast but what helped me come around is when I saw the chain link fence. It had a perfect impression of a motorcycle front tire pushed 2' into it. It was one of the funniest things I ever saw. I managed to straighten the bars enough to get going again and ironicly no one else came early. My brother had boggled the message and they had wanted me at a different site! What I wouldn't give to have a photo of that chain link fence!