Ever forced to push your bike?

[Inhouse Bob]

In defense of the CB, it rolls better than some. My KLR weighs 100 lbs less but is much more difficult to roll around. Maybe the tires, maybe the bearings, maybe the low center of gravity, but I handle it much more easily. Uphill might be a different story.

[Kung Fu Joe_imp]

I did...

About 20 years ago I just bought a 1982 Magna V45... The bike had a low fuel warning light (which I came to find out, rarely worked)... I wanted to see how far I could go before running out of gas. I found out. LOL.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I "learned" how to ride when I was 18. My good friend Joe had a Honda 250 Enduro that he let me ride on occasion. I believe the extent of the instruction was: "This is the throttle. This is the brake (I didn't learn the bike had a rear brake until after the crash). This is the clutch. It's one down, five up. Shift when it revs high." No helmets. No gloves or boots. Just t-shirts, jeans, tennis shoes and too much testosterone and invincibility.

The day of the crash, Joe was on back, talking me through the ride. We were on surface streets going about 30mph. The light at the intersection was green. A van off to our right inexplicably decided to run the red light and turn left in front of us. Apparently, the van hadn't seen us approaching and the driver, a middle-aged woman with big hair, slammed on her brakes and stopped directly in front of our path. I am convinced that had she continued to run the light, I could have avoided the crash. But, with little training and even less skill, all I could do was grab a handful of front brake. I heard Joe behind me say, "Oh, sh*t!" then the bike and my head slammed into the side of the van.

When I woke up, I was lying in the street. Joe was still behind me and off to my right. The motorcycle was on its side. The engine off. Several people were gathered around us and a man was telling me that the lady in the van took off and that he got a partial plate. Apparently, upon impact, the back of the motorcycle swung around and actually popped the van's left rear tire. Still, the driver escaped and was never found. An ambulance took Joe to the hospital where he was treated for injuries to his knee and ribs. I declined treatment out of concern for the cost to my parents who didn't have much money. Other than a headache and road rash to my left shoulder (a scar that is still faintly visible to this day), I felt I was fine. Before Joe was taken to the hospital, he asked me to get his bike home and to tell his mom what happened.

And, hence, the pushing.

Luckily, Joe lived only about a mile, mile and a half, from the crash site and the path was flat to his home. Unfortunately, something had happened to the clutch and the front brake was dragging. After I was finally able to get the bike into neutral, I pushed it, bent bars and injured shoulder, to Joe's house. It was he**. All I could think about was Joe and I worried that his injuries were more than just his knee and ribs. I felt responsible. I felt reckless and guilty. I got the bike up his driveway and rang the doorbell. His mom answered the door. I don't remember what exactly I said or how it was that I explained to her that her son and I had just been in a motorcycle accident and that he was on his way to the hospital in an ambulance. When she panicked, something which for some unexplainable reason I wasn't expecting or prepared for, I started crying. That only made things worse as she must have taken that as a sign that Joe was even worse off than I had explained.

Turns out Joe's knee would be fine and his ribs were bruised, not broken. No other internal injuries. He made a full recovery. My parents later took me to the hospital and I remember the nurse scrubbing asphalt from my shoulder. An incredibly uncomfortable procedure that I highly recommend you avoid if at all possible. I've since learned a lot more about riding and although this crash wasn't my fault, I believe had I possessed more experience, I could have avoided it.

That was the only time I've ever had to push a motorcycle.

[the Ferret]

I think Joe probably used you as a human air bag to escape injuries. Can't understand how you weren't hurt worse though. Wow. Thankful for the relatively good outcome.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I think Joe probably used you as a human air bag to escape injuries. Can't understand how you weren't hurt worse though. Wow. Thankful for the relatively good outcome.

Ha! I suspect you're right. I also suspect that although we were heading into the intersection at around 30mph, that handful of front brake must have scrubbed off at least 10mph before the impact. That, coupled with my hard head, prevented more serious injury.

This is one of those times where bad luck and good luck combined to cancel each other out, leaving me relatively unharmed. I've had a couple of those experiences in my life. Had I possessed the cushioning I'm currently carrying around, I bet Joe would have simply bounced off my back and landed on his feet, no worse for wear.

[the Ferret]

[Cormanus]

You do tell a good story MG.

[HikerToo_imp]

I've never had to push a street bike very far...I did once get my Honda Sl70 dirtbike stuck in mud so deep I could not get it out, had to leave it and get my dad to help :-)

I bought a single speed bike (Cyclecross) this spring too, took a while to get the gearing setup ( 42/20) .

[redbirds_imp]

I was going to add my own "push the bike" story but after reading your offering MG mine does not seem interesting. Well done and glad you walked away from that one.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

You do tell a good story MG.

Thank you Cormanus! Your Australian adventures inspire me.

I was going to add my own "push the bike" story but after reading your offering MG mine does not seem interesting. Well done and glad you walked away from that one.

Thanks redbirds! But please don't let my ramblings deter you from sharing your story. I'm sure my buddy MTC is going to read my story, let out a sigh and reply, "So, you're saying, you crashed your buddy's bike and had to push it about a mile. Good story, MG."