Almost rear ended someone in traffic today!

[AlbatrossCafe]

Was in traffic on the way home today and passed a police officer. I was a bit nervous as my license plate is definitely not mounted "correctly" and I don't like to hang in front of them if I can avoid it. After I passed him, I look in my mirror to see if the officer has a change of pace.

 

Well, as I do this, traffic comes to a dead stop in front of me. By the time I look up and have only about a second to react. A combination of sheer luck and 60,000 miles/10 years of commuting by motorcycle got me out of trouble. My front tire was equal with the back of his rear tire. If I had gone just a few inches further, the front left of my bike would have hit his rear bumper. I was going about 25-30mph.

 

Nothing like a close call like this to ground you back to reality... I'll definitely have to pay more attention in areas like this from now on! 😨

 

 

Side note: I'm SO I did that suspension upgrade a few months ago to stiffen everything up. If I had the stock FZ-07 suspension, there is no way I would have been able to stop little ol' 230lb me with the level of nose dive that came with it...

[blackout]

6 hours ago, AlbatrossCafe said:

Was in traffic on the way home today and passed a police officer. I was a bit nervous as my license plate is definitely not mounted "correctly" and I don't like to hang in front of them if I can avoid it. After I passed him, I look in my mirror to see if the officer has a change of pace.

 

Well, as I do this, traffic comes to a dead stop in front of me. By the time I look up and have only about a second to react. A combination of sheer luck and 60,000 miles/10 years of commuting by motorcycle got me out of trouble. My front tire was equal with the back of his rear tire. If I had gone just a few inches further, the front left of my bike would have hit his rear bumper. I was going about 25-30mph.

 

Nothing like a close call like this to ground you back to reality... I'll definitely have to pay more attention in areas like this from now on! 😨

 

 

Side note: I'm SO I did that suspension upgrade a few months ago to stiffen everything up. If I had the stock FZ-07 suspension, there is no way I would have been able to stop little ol' 230lb me with the level of nose dive that came with it...

Yup, had a couple close calls myself for that same reason.  I try to keep as much space as possible in front of me.  The state troopers here in NY give tickets out like candy.  But the county cops are super nice.  Last summer, I got out of a state trooper, no inspection ticket, by just showing up to court.  

[Redstang4]

BAD @AlbatrossCafe!!  

 

Seriously though I appreciate your sharing, I feel most wouldnt share an experiance such as this out of embarassment or shame.  This is a fantastic reminder to ALL that no matter the level of comfort or experience it only takes a second for something to happen. I dont want to say it is good but,.. It is good for us "more experianced" riders to have these moments as we get complacent; sometimes we need that reminder to always stay vigilent- and not just of the POPO 

 

Glad it all worked out, especially in front of the cop like that. 

[derekfz]

I hit a car the same way on mine a few months ago lucky me it didn’t do any noticeable damage but bend my brake lever and bruise my toe and the driver didn’t care so we just went our separate ways.  But I hit the left back bumper. I was almost dead stop like you before stopping but I bumped. Lol gotta pay attention.

[Beemer]

Good to see you didn't get hurt but it looked like you could've got on your brakes a little harder.

[AlbatrossCafe]

1 hour ago, Beemer said:

Good to see you didn't get hurt but it looked like you could've got on your brakes a little harder.

Yeah, you are right. For the first half the braking I remember thinking "wow I'm not going to make it" and then got on it a little harder for the last half. Finished with a nose wheelie 😎

 

I've always wondered about ABS on motorcycles. I've never tried it... for some reason I am afraid that the ABS "chatter" will make the bike unstable, but that can't be the case as it is so widely used.

[DewMan]

27 minutes ago, AlbatrossCafe said:

I've always wondered about ABS on motorcycles. I've never tried it... for some reason I am afraid that the ABS "chatter" will make the bike unstable, but that can't be the case as it is so widely used.

The ABS chatter was bad way back on 1st generation ABS systems. Today's current systems cycle the braking so much quicker that the chatter is felt lightly but it's not going to make the bike unstable.

 

That being said you still want to brake properly and not just slam on the brakes so hard that the ABS has to react. That sudden weight shift is what will unsettle the bike just as it does without ABS.

 

Glad you were able to avoid the collision. ✌️

[mt7fan]

Happened to me also while glancing at a hot girl walking by. Had just a small stoppie.

[r1limited]

@AlbatrossCafe Absolutly agree to share this is pretty freakin cool, Great reminder on how a splt second glance can cause a world of hurt.  Totally understand the glimps back to the cop, but two things?

1. If you did not have to worry about the plate video would not had occured
2. Keeping your head in the game even with a split second glimps

WA Trooper too and you was on 5 near what 92?  I know that stretch

[Beemer]

Don't be afraid to do the emergency braking they taught you in your MSF class. Maybe if you found a safe place to do it, go out and do some quick stops so you get the feel for it better and feel accustomed to it.