Bad Accident

[nhawk7504_imp]

Yeah I had not owned the bike very long. The car approaching me was plenty far away before I crossed the intersection, but she went through a yield sign without slowing a whisker. People line up in her lane every day to yield to my lane, five days a week, so a rider is used to seeing cars stopped (yielding), at a much closer distance. It was a holiday and her car was dark and had no headlights on.
I changed the tires after the crash. I could brake A LOT harder. Those tires were junk, by comparison, and I had the bike leaned over to make the left turn across traffic. I could not have looked at her longer because you turn left in a corner there. It's an odd left that crosses another lane. These days it would have a light by design. I just swapped to Michelin Pilot 2's on my CB500. Much better tires and they warn you what they are doing. As MotoGP riders say, some tires, like those Chinese ones, give no warning. 60,000 road miles. I've felt tires doing a lot of funny things. But every dog has his day. :-) - if not for light traffic on a holiday I would have been 5-10 mph slower too. - popped the shoulder back in and rode the rest of the way to work after I talked to the police and fire crew. Rode it to rehab too. - The kid that helped me up off the road said, "She didn't slow down at all." - checked for oil and coolant. None. It was the lean left that did it. I went back days later and stood there. You look right at the oncoming lane. Then cross left in a turn across that lane, with cars yielding. In your lane it's a corner, so you're not stopping. You back off a hair but on the 250 you have a steep hill coming so you're not going to slow to a crawl there. https://www.google.com/maps/search/powde...318996,18z - you're riding top to bottom and making a left. - and here are people yielding - https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4083751,...312!8i6656

In a mass of cars, HIGH VIZ definitely stands out more. One cannot assume to be seen, but certainly the odds are better. Harley guys with a black bike and black gear are almost invisible sometimes, especially to someone who has their destination on their mind and other distractions in their car. I had five people in the car one day and holy smoke it was hard to concentrate. Cover your brake when needed and when the light turns yellow, and no one us behind you, slam on the brakes once in a while. I've had my brakes on as hard as I can so I know what the tires will do. I went over the bars on my TU250. Chinese tires were just not up to the task. High side.

Sorry to hear of your accident; it's not the fault of the tires, one needs to learn the limits of the bike, regardless of what tires are fitted.

Also, never "slam on" the brakes and certainly not when coming to a stop at an intersection. Oil, grease, coolant are present. The place to practice is not in traffic.

Sorry to hear of your accident; it's not the fault of the tires, one needs to learn the limits of the bike, regardless of what tires are fitted.

Also, never "slam on" the brakes and certainly not when coming to a stop at an intersection. Oil, grease, coolant are present. The place to practice is not in traffic.