Oh, yeah. Did I mention how much I don't miss motorcycle-commuting in Seattle during the winter? Yeah.
Ouch! I had an unlicensed, uninsured, old-lady driver pull out from a parallel-parking spot beside a 45-mph road directly in front of me once. Then she saw me and panicked, just stopped. I had to lay it down to avoid going over the roof. About the time I came to a stop, tires pretty much against the side of her car, she took off. Mind you, this took place right outside a biker bar in a bad part of St. Paul Minnesota (yes, they have bad parts). About half a dozen Harley guys hopped on their bob-jobs and chased her down. It was all to no avail, though, because the license and insurance info - even her car plate - was all lies. Wish the cops had shown up before she left.
It was my dad's old Honda 450 twin, a piece of crap, but after that it wasn't really usable any more. And I'd just wrecked my prized 150-hp racing bike, a Kawasaki H1 that was all blacked-out and maroon with unsilenced chambers and 15:1 compression, wouldn't idle below 3000 rpms. Dunstall fairing, single seat. H1R replica. Sigh. The dealer from whom I bought it knew the front brake had a problem but refused to replace it. Locked at over 80 mph. Scary stuff. No bike left after that. I was wearing a cast when I put down the Honda.
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Date: 2005-07-20 03:53 pm (UTC)Ouch! I had an unlicensed, uninsured, old-lady driver pull out from a parallel-parking spot beside a 45-mph road directly in front of me once. Then she saw me and panicked, just stopped. I had to lay it down to avoid going over the roof. About the time I came to a stop, tires pretty much against the side of her car, she took off. Mind you, this took place right outside a biker bar in a bad part of St. Paul Minnesota (yes, they have bad parts). About half a dozen Harley guys hopped on their bob-jobs and chased her down. It was all to no avail, though, because the license and insurance info - even her car plate - was all lies. Wish the cops had shown up before she left.
It was my dad's old Honda 450 twin, a piece of crap, but after that it wasn't really usable any more. And I'd just wrecked my prized 150-hp racing bike, a Kawasaki H1 that was all blacked-out and maroon with unsilenced chambers and 15:1 compression, wouldn't idle below 3000 rpms. Dunstall fairing, single seat. H1R replica. Sigh. The dealer from whom I bought it knew the front brake had a problem but refused to replace it. Locked at over 80 mph. Scary stuff. No bike left after that. I was wearing a cast when I put down the Honda.
Ah, the joys of motorcycling, eh?
Chris