- Joined
- Oct 2, 2007
- Messages
- 1,650
- Reaction score
- 478
- Bike
- Triumph 800 XC
I considered putting this in ride reports, however it turns into more of a crash report, so here it is:-
I bought my daughter a Suzuki GN125 today to let her learn to ride. We spent an enjoyable afternoon riding in a circle in the complex, letting her get some throttle, brake and clutch co-ordination, which she caught onto rather quickly.
Enter my bride and mother of my daughter, who decides she too wants to learn. Both can now navigate our complex in first gear, including pulling away and stopping without stalling.
Oh, and staying upright..
Ja, I know! ATGATT.. I told her but my woman is more hard headed than an Arai helmet.. I think she'll not be doing that again after what happened next..
It was coming up 4:30pm, people start coming home so we call it a day for riding in the complex as it starts getting busy.
So then yours truly decides to take a ride down the road to my brother on the shiny new chopper.. I get stuck behind a taxi (What else?) who has stopped in the road for no apparent reason. I'm stopped in the road about 3 metres behind him, in his rear view mirror, as is my habit.
Next thing I see reverse lights. !!! I hoot repeatedly, but apparently taxi drivers use the hooter to say "Do you need a lift" and not to say "Hier kom groot k@k!" as is the norm in the rest of the universe. The oke keeps reversing an I realize he's going to hit me, so now I'm back pedalling furiously, bit sadly not fast enough. The back bumper rides up my front wheel, bike goes down on the left side and my right leg is graunched between the taxi's bumper and the GN125. Now a Toyota's bumper is almost as tough as a Suzuki GN125. A human's leg is a different story. It was kinda sore being pushed backwards on your side for about 1 metre, using my leg as a buffer between the bumper and the boney.
Now, while my hooting did nothing to deter the taxi driver from his mission of forkweetwat, the scraping of metal on tarmac and the screaming of a man with visions in his head of being ridden over by the Satan of Sesfikile surely did. He stopped and ran out to see what he had hit. Visibly shocked. Here I am, leg wedged between the bike and the taxi, yelling at him to stop and wait before moving forward and performing a roadside amputation. I managed to get my leg bent into a gap and lift the bike so he could drive forward without causing any more trauma to man or machine.
Amazingly I came out with some scraped skin, bruising and swelling. The GN125's forks were a bit twisted, but the only real damage was the front mudguard.
So I ask the oke what the hell was he reversing for, his reply was "I deeden't see you". So of course I tell him if he can't see behind himself, he shouldn't be reversing, especially in the middle of the road.
After some damage assessment between me and the bike I looked at him and told him "Just go". I think he was relieved..
I just realized that the hassle of getting the insurance, etc. simply wasn't worth it.
Let's hope he thinks twice before trying this again, however I'm not holding my breath.
I took the bike home with a heavy heart because I didn't want to show my daughter her brand new mangled front fender, but what to do? My kid and mrs. were so great about it. Daughter patched me up with antiseptic cream, anti-inflammatory tablets and a bandage to cover the scrape. Makes me realize I raised her right. Bless her. More concerned with her dad than her new toy..
So being of the old school, it's a smart idea to ride the horse that threw me. OK, so I took a bigger horse (My XR600R) and took a bit of a ride to settle the nerves. I turn left out the gat, down to the main street, left again, and what do I see??
You guessed it.. Another freaking taxi reversing up the main street in rush hour traffic!! :dousing:
I bought my daughter a Suzuki GN125 today to let her learn to ride. We spent an enjoyable afternoon riding in a circle in the complex, letting her get some throttle, brake and clutch co-ordination, which she caught onto rather quickly.
Enter my bride and mother of my daughter, who decides she too wants to learn. Both can now navigate our complex in first gear, including pulling away and stopping without stalling.
Oh, and staying upright..
Ja, I know! ATGATT.. I told her but my woman is more hard headed than an Arai helmet.. I think she'll not be doing that again after what happened next..
It was coming up 4:30pm, people start coming home so we call it a day for riding in the complex as it starts getting busy.
So then yours truly decides to take a ride down the road to my brother on the shiny new chopper.. I get stuck behind a taxi (What else?) who has stopped in the road for no apparent reason. I'm stopped in the road about 3 metres behind him, in his rear view mirror, as is my habit.
Next thing I see reverse lights. !!! I hoot repeatedly, but apparently taxi drivers use the hooter to say "Do you need a lift" and not to say "Hier kom groot k@k!" as is the norm in the rest of the universe. The oke keeps reversing an I realize he's going to hit me, so now I'm back pedalling furiously, bit sadly not fast enough. The back bumper rides up my front wheel, bike goes down on the left side and my right leg is graunched between the taxi's bumper and the GN125. Now a Toyota's bumper is almost as tough as a Suzuki GN125. A human's leg is a different story. It was kinda sore being pushed backwards on your side for about 1 metre, using my leg as a buffer between the bumper and the boney.
Now, while my hooting did nothing to deter the taxi driver from his mission of forkweetwat, the scraping of metal on tarmac and the screaming of a man with visions in his head of being ridden over by the Satan of Sesfikile surely did. He stopped and ran out to see what he had hit. Visibly shocked. Here I am, leg wedged between the bike and the taxi, yelling at him to stop and wait before moving forward and performing a roadside amputation. I managed to get my leg bent into a gap and lift the bike so he could drive forward without causing any more trauma to man or machine.
Amazingly I came out with some scraped skin, bruising and swelling. The GN125's forks were a bit twisted, but the only real damage was the front mudguard.
So I ask the oke what the hell was he reversing for, his reply was "I deeden't see you". So of course I tell him if he can't see behind himself, he shouldn't be reversing, especially in the middle of the road.
After some damage assessment between me and the bike I looked at him and told him "Just go". I think he was relieved..
I just realized that the hassle of getting the insurance, etc. simply wasn't worth it.
Let's hope he thinks twice before trying this again, however I'm not holding my breath.
I took the bike home with a heavy heart because I didn't want to show my daughter her brand new mangled front fender, but what to do? My kid and mrs. were so great about it. Daughter patched me up with antiseptic cream, anti-inflammatory tablets and a bandage to cover the scrape. Makes me realize I raised her right. Bless her. More concerned with her dad than her new toy..
So being of the old school, it's a smart idea to ride the horse that threw me. OK, so I took a bigger horse (My XR600R) and took a bit of a ride to settle the nerves. I turn left out the gat, down to the main street, left again, and what do I see??
You guessed it.. Another freaking taxi reversing up the main street in rush hour traffic!! :dousing:
