How long before your first off?

How long before your first off?

Author
Discussion

skahigh

Original Poster:

2,023 posts

130 months

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
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Sort of related to the 'riding without gear' thread and the outcomes of crashes got me thinking, how have other ph'ers faired since beginning their biking career.

How long were you riding before your first crash? How bad was it? Have you had many since? Have you never crashed?

I'm coming up to four years and probably around 20k miles at age 34 and thankfully not had any sort of accident yet, not even dropped the bike in the garage, long may it continue!

AdamIndy

1,661 posts

103 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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I’d been riding my 125 for about 12 months before my first off. Well, it wasn’t even off really, more me getting mullered by a cow. Yes, really. Early hours I was going to work down a country lane. A cow had escaped onto the road, she looked happy enough just munching grass off the verge so thought I’d just ride by slowly and all would be well. I misjudged just how evil those living beefburgers could be.

Just as I was approaching the cow it turned around and just charged at me. I ended up in a heap with the bike on top of me in the hedge. fked my knee up for a bit but other than that, I was alright.

My second was a proper off, literally a month after passing my test in about 2002. My best mate got his hands on an NC30 and was dying for me to have a go on it. Awesome little bike and I was loving riding it. I tipped into a right hander at a fair rate of knots, it just so happens a pug 205 was doing the same in the opposite direction. I tipped in, he came over the white line onto my side of the road. We were going to hit but I did my best to get the bike stood up as I fancied my chances with the hedge, not so much against a tonne of French steel. I got the bike up just enough that he hit the rear of the bike behind my leg and not me. I highsided and landed on my knees then my back, then hit a kerb with my shoulder. The in the 205 didn’t even stop. The bike was in bad nick, my knee had burst open(always wear leathers folks, I wasn’t) and I was in agony for months with my neck/shoulder. I tried many times to pay for the damage on his bike but he just wouldn’t take anything.

I’ve been lucky, I’ve seen pics of some ph members off’s, they were WAY worse than mine.

LarsG

991 posts

74 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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7th lesson 13 years ago, car overtook me on the exit of a roundabout and swiped me and pushed me off. Driver didn't stop and I was left with a bruised leg.

2ndclasscitizen

296 posts

116 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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Couple of weeks for the first fk up. Turning right into a carpark, misjudged a gap in the traffic and grabbed the front brake with a bit of lean on my GPX250 and down she went. Car pulled up fine but I must have dropped out of sight because the poor woman in passenger seat freaked out because she thought they'd run me over. No injuries other than to my pride. Bike got nicked a couple of days later.

First proper crash was about 9 months later on my Bandit 250V . Late May (Autumn here in Oz), heading west about 4pm. Came round a left which was followed by a right straight away. Copped the full sunset straight to the retinas. Instinctively shut my eyes and yanked on the front brake. Closed eyes meant I didn't see the corner strewn was in gravel. Straight on to the deck and slid in to a ditch. Had the adrenaline going and dragged the bike out of the ditch by the bars on its side with one arm which aggravated the fked rotator cuff I'd been nursing. Worst part about that one was I was heading from watching a few mates at a trackday, which was supposed to be my first trackday but I canned it because I was concerned about my shoulder strength and didn't want to crash because of it or re-injure it. Greeeeeeat. Bike was written off by insurance. Nothing was particularly damaged, but basically everything up one side managed to get scraped or dinged in someway, including the paint on the frame.

Jazoli

9,086 posts

249 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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It all depends on many things, you could be crap, you could be taken out by someone else (which could be because you are crap at observation and anticipation), you might make a mistake, it might be a silly random thing (like a deer jumping out of a hedge), the more miles you do the more likely you are to crash, although it doesn't mean you will, as you gain more experience and become more adept at not crashing (hopefully)

I crashed once on the road when I was 16 (and I'm still having medical treatment for it) and have been crash free for the last 30 years, I'd like to keep it that way as there are lots of solid objects to ruin your day on the roads.

I have also crashed on track but that doesn't count.


MotorsportTom

3,318 posts

160 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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First crash was 6 months in doing a trackday on a rented bike. Highsided it in the second session... Over-confident and under-experienced

Second crash was sliding on ice in a car park at 5mph approx a year after passing.

Third I highsided on the road due to over-inflated new tyres, cold temps and probably being a little to exuberent in my "checking if things are ok wiggle". About 3 years after passing IIRC

Fourth was leaving my sidestand down and the sidestand switch not cutting the bike out becaus eone of the bolts were missing meaning the SSS could pivot thus not cutting the ignition. 4.5 years after passing.

Now at 5 and a bit years and probably done 70K miles plus. All were my own fault but with a greater or lesser degree of luck.

Broke bones in all of them apart from the ice incident but only one that was what I'd consider bad.

marksx

5,052 posts

189 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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5 years. No off. Yet.

STe_rsv4

647 posts

97 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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Started riding at 21, fell off within first month. Hit a patch of diesel on a roundabout, bike and I slide along with me wondering what the fk just happened.
18 years later I've never had an "off" as such on the roads but plenty of those moments where you wake up at night with a cold sweat and think "that outcome could have been a lot worse"

WinstonWolf

72,857 posts

238 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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Within the first hour or so, but that's what happens when you learn to ride unsupervised on fields when you're about 13...

Dog Star

16,079 posts

167 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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I've been riding 34 years (AR50 at 16yo, passed test in April 91). First off was in August 2000 on my new R1 when filtering, the passenger in a car on the right flung his door open right in front of me, so I hit that and was pitched into the side of the car on the left (a mate of my mums in her five day old Clio). I actually was still on the bike upright, although every single panel including the tank, screen etc were mullered.

As it happens a copper drove past about ten seconds after the incident, he radioed a traffic copper who rocked up in his Volvo, pointed at the guy who had opened the door and said "nick him". Then a Police van turned up and took the passenger off to the police station, which I found astonishing.

This happened on a Saturday lunchtime. The car drivers insurers called me on the Monday morning and sorted everything, no hassle whatsoever.

I've had loads of crashes offroading but I don't think they really count. They generally involve mud.

Biker 1

7,693 posts

118 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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I came 'back to biking' 10 years ago & have been lucky so far, over about 60,000 miles. I've had several 'close' ones, usually involving cars pulling out on me....

black-k1

11,889 posts

228 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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I started at 16 - no training at all, and lasted 3 months before my first off. frown

poo at Paul's

14,116 posts

174 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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21 years no crashes on road, yet!

I save my crashing for the off road race tracks and do that LOTS

chris4652009

1,563 posts

83 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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I fell off on my CBT

skahigh

Original Poster:

2,023 posts

130 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
quotequote all
2ndclasscitizen said:
Couple of weeks for the first fk up. Turning right into a carpark, misjudged a gap in the traffic and grabbed the front brake with a bit of lean on my GPX250 and down she went. Car pulled up fine but I must have dropped out of sight because the poor woman in passenger seat freaked out because she thought they'd run me over. No injuries other than to my pride. Bike got nicked a couple of days later.

First proper crash was about 9 months later on my Bandit 250V . Late May (Autumn here in Oz), heading west about 4pm. Came round a left which was followed by a right straight away. Copped the full sunset straight to the retinas. Instinctively shut my eyes and yanked on the front brake. Closed eyes meant I didn't see the corner strewn was in gravel. Straight on to the deck and slid in to a ditch. Had the adrenaline going and dragged the bike out of the ditch by the bars on its side with one arm which aggravated the fked rotator cuff I'd been nursing. Worst part about that one was I was heading from watching a few mates at a trackday, which was supposed to be my first trackday but I canned it because I was concerned about my shoulder strength and didn't want to crash because of it or re-injure it. Greeeeeeat. Bike was written off by insurance. Nothing was particularly damaged, but basically everything up one side managed to get scraped or dinged in someway, including the paint on the frame.
This reminds me I did actually fall off on my first CBT doing something similar. Turning left into a side road about 100 yards from the riding school at the end of the day, a van was halfway across the road I was turning in to so, I suddenly wasn't going to make the turn without a collision. I panicked, grabbed the front brake and went down.

It didn't hurt at all but, I failed the CBT because of it (and consequently put off getting my license for a further 6 years) and had to pay £175 to fix the bike.

I suppose I don't count that because I hadn't really started yet. biggrin

RizzoTheRat

25,085 posts

191 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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Twice in 20 years.

First one was probably a couple of years after starting riding. Parked at the side of the road facing out in to the road, so as I pulled away I was turning fairly hard left. Managed to roll forward a couple of feet before the disclock hit the calliper and I hit the road...

Second one was a couple of years later, I lost the front end at about 5-10 mph approaching a roundabout. Managed to catch it the first time it went (thanks to have done some locking the front exercises with the BMW offroad guys at the BMF show) but had no room left the second time it locked and went down. Broke an indicator and scuffed the exhaust and side faring, but managed not to hit my helmet on the road.


sjg

7,444 posts

264 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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Passed 8 years ago, haven't yet - although I've never commuted by motorbike and the last few years have been quiet.

Closest I've had was about 15 minutes into the road part of the CBT, turning right at a roundabout, car either didn't see or didn't care and pulled straight out in front of me. Avoided collision by millimetres.

I like to think I did more than my fair share of falling off mountain bikes in my teens - on the road I'm pretty cautious and on trackdays I've just been enjoying myself within my limits not chasing down laptimes.

moanthebairns

17,918 posts

197 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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2 years after passing my test I had a car cross my path doing 60, after that I'm starting to loose count the amount of times on the track.

The only thing I've learnt is your first crash is a fairly big thing, you'll over think it, from then onward its a bit, well, meh. It also makes you utterly and totally unsympathetic when a colleague or friend (normally women) crash their euro st box and enthral you with their near death experience, cry and wonder why their life is now ruined. Don't try to console these people, you'll only make it worse.
You'll find yourself saying things like "could be worse, you could have hit me" at the scene of the accident followed by the young girl bursting into tears, or when seeing a new KIA upturned in a ditch and speaking to the driver "that'll be your 7 year warranty fked then" doesn't get treated with the gleeful humour its delivered in.


dern

14,055 posts

278 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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Got off my bike and forgot to put the sidestand down and the bike fell on me and pinned me to the ground. That count?

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

254 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
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WinstonWolf said:
Within the first hour or so, but that's what happens when you learn to ride unsupervised on fields when you're about 13...
I also tried to get all my 'offs' at a young age; grassy fields on a 125 are much more comfortable than tarmac roads and cars on a 1 litre bike.