What's the most cringe worthy moment in your biking experience?

[Chad]

We've all done something we're not proud of, something funny or something painful; the following is mine- what's yours?
Many years ago me and a mate went for a run out on our bikes. My mate was on a borrowed Suzuki GT750 kettle. Whilst out, the throttle cable snapped. Being a helpful person I encouraged my mate to sacrifice his bootlace, which we tied to the carbs throttle linkage. The other end of the lace was then securely tied around my mates thumb on his right hand. The idea was simple; he could still grip the bars with both hands & when he wanted to accelerate, he simply moved his thumb forward, pulling the bootlace & thus, accelerate. Whilst stationary at the side of the road, this worked a treat. Ingenious in fact.  However as we got moving his thumb movement didn't quite have the gentle movement we had hoped for, which in turn caused this GT to take off like a rocket ship. Unfortunately, as he rapidly approached the first bend, his natural instinct to slow this beast down was to grab a handful of front brake..... And you probably guessed, to his horror,  a hand full of throttle as his thumb also gripped the bar. This didn't end well. Not only was this lovely bike all but destroyed as it bounced down the road; my poor mate was dragged thumb first behind it like a rag dol. Moral of the story, if you want some sturdy footware, get some Dr Martin Boots; the laces are virtually unbreakable ^-^

[richardbd]

That has to be one of the funniest things I've read for years!


:enjoying: :enjoying: :enjoying: :enjoying:

[guest2360]

Once owned an elderly R65. While not far from home it suddenly went to one cylinder. On inspection I discovered the right throttle cable has snapped at the twist grip. The fix was easy.  While sitting on the bike with my right foot on the peg I removed the cable sleeve and wrapped the inner round the top of my boot. All that was needed was to stick my knee out until the two cylinders were in sync. Off I went slowly home. On arrival I then discovered my right foot wouldn't quite reach the ground.  With wife on the back there was no time to swap to the left foot. She was not impressed.     

[Chad]

No I bet your wife wasn't impressed Rtman haha. The funniest thing that didn't involve damage or injury was leaving the Ferry at Hull a couple of years ago. One of the lads misplaced his neck scarf, so he decided to wear a pair of his boxer shorts- by pulling one leg over his head; When we got to the passport kiosk, he removed his helmet, AND inadvertently flicked off these boxer shorts, which landed perfectly positioned on the floor in front of him. As quick as it happened, the guy working in the kiosk said in his Hull accent "firkin ell, that's a trick & half ain't it pal..?" you couldn't write it!

[slowvet]

We moved to Beirut Lebanon back in '75. Being the bike crazed 15 yr old kid that I was, I met a Lebanese guy who had a gt380 who operated the the throttle by by pulling the throttle cable directly with his right hand. The housing was gone. So of course I happily hopped on the back (no helmets) and he took me to the best (and only) bike shops in Beirut...at mach 10, weaving in and around traffic and the occasional donkey pulled cart. Scaring the hell out of me in the process. Made it back unscathed. I didn't ride with him again. For me I think the most cringe worthy, sphincter tightening episode was when I ran over a full size mattress on my gsxr 1100 at around 70mph. Went right over it, no headshake or anything.

[Chad]

For me I think the most cringe worthy, sphincter tightening episode was when I ran over a full size mattress on my gsxr 1100 at around 70mph. Went right over it, no headshake or anything.

Haha- I have to ask... What the hell was a mattress doing in the road??

[slowvet]

Haha- I have to ask... What the hell was a mattress doing in the road??

Some knucklehead didn't secure his load. Ladders, buckets, lumber, tires, big rig tire treads, washers & dryers, ovens, luggage, ice chests, you name it and I've seen it on our roads. Always have to be on your toes. 

[Chad]

Sounds a bit like Middlesbrough in England... not

[slowvet]

Sounds a bit like Middlesbrough in England... not

Explain Chad, I take it your road debris cleaning crew is heaps better than ours. Whenever I see a precariously loaded pickup truck I cringe. Took this shot coming home from work the other day. This is what I was talking about.