Who's Crashed? [Crash Reports]

Discussion of the Genuine Buddy, Hooligan, Black Jack and other topics, both scooter related and not

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Dooglas
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Location: Oregon City, OR

Post by Dooglas »

RoaringTodd wrote:Have to agree about the front brake - you didn't mention if you were braking at that time, but whenever there is gravel, wet leaves, or just a slippery condition, avoid the front brake. (experience speaking here).
If you mean, use only the rear when there are poor traction conditions - I have to disagree. Braking with only the rear brake on wet leaves is about the fastest way to go down I can think of. My advice would be to keep the front wheel straight ahead and brake lightly with both front and rear when on wet leaves, loose gravel, what have you.
BoulderBud
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Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 3:19 am
Location: Boulder, Colorado

Near accident

Post by BoulderBud »

I almost died today. I was kind of lucky. I hope this short story will help others stay alive.

I was making a left turn on a fairly heavily trafficked four lane street. The left turn light was green for me, it was a left turn only dedicated lane, and I was going faster than normal(15mph) to try and catch the light and save 90 seconds on the next cycle. So, I had my eye on the traffic signal in case it turned yellow. I slowed to about 5mph just prior to turning. It didn’t go yellow so I almost made the left. Just before turning my handlebar to the left, a car came speeding right through the red light about 40-45 mph and would have crushed me had I been 1-2 seconds earlier. My heart stopped. There was a car stopped at the red light in the right hand lane, but this guy came ripping through the red light in the left lane. I wasn’t even thinking of looking down the road of opposing traffic because they had the red and mine was totally green arrow.

So, lesson learned! I will put my safety above trying to save time by catching lights. And, I will always slow way down before making lefts and look at any potential oncoming traffic even when they have a red light. And, I will always assume that cars out there are trying to run me over. I must be super vigilant, especially when making left hand turns! Same goes for oncoming traffic turning left into me when I’m just going straight. I will slow down in case some idiot cage driver doesn’t see me or is just “trying to run me over�.

I hope this helps other riders out there avoid a collision in the future. I feel lucky to be alive. Seriously!
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scootdad
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Re: Who's Crashed? [Crash Reports]

Post by scootdad »

After finally determining that the 170i was my favorite and making the decision to sell the 150 Italia, I took both in for service and new tires (7 and 12 years of use respectively). Upon returning home, I took advantage of a clear day for a ride to the grocery about 6 miles away for some modest supplies.

On the return trip, I tried to negotiate a roundabout at the "normal" speed I usually used, only to find myself going down and sliding. I suffered limited road rash, some ribs at least bruised, and a possible fractured thumb. A full face helmet, Corazzo armored jacket, gloves, long denim jeans, and ankle covering boots were all a great help in limiting the physical damage.

The scooter fared worse. I think probably it slid directly into the concrete curb, leaving the fork and probably the frame bent, along with other damage from the slide. It ended up being totaled, and I received what I believe to be a fair settlement from the insurance (Allstate), after they factored in the upgrades and improvements.

I was looking for a used one, but the Oxford/British Racing Green 170i is not a common combination. I also had queried my "local" shop, Vespa Portland, about ordering a new 2021 scooter, but it would likely not arrive until sometime in November. Just as I was in the middle of e-mailing a guy selling a 2014 170i about 5 hours' drive away, a call came from a Vespa Portland staffer who recalled my saga, letting me know that another of their customers wanted to sell their almost new scooter. He connected us and the deal was done, I drove down the next day and collected my new ride, a 2020 170i in my favorite BR green with <500 miles. I am now in the midst of redoing the upgrades/tweaks that I had made to the 2013, and looking forward to completing the break-in to ride it like it was made to be ridden.

Shortly after the crash, I was in the local Yamaha shop buying tires for the Vino, and overheard the shop guy telling another customer that he needed to ride carefully on his new tires, they would not be as grippy as he was accustomed to for a bit. I followed up with him about that and he confirmed for me that new motorcycle/scooter tires need a bit of wearing to provide the optimum grip. The printed invoice from Vespa Portland included this bit of wisdom, but there had been no verbal reminder as I heard from the Yamaha shop. Some of you who ride a lot may already know this, but for those who are not as experienced, be cautious when riding on new tires.

While I would have preferred to skip the crash, I'm thankful to have learned this lesson without paying too high a price. The injuries will heal, the scooter has been suitably replaced, and my insurance premium wasn't increased on account of my record as both a safe driver and a long term customer. Not optimal, to be sure, but still a reasonably good outcome.
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Poor scooter sitting at Vespa Portland after the crash.
Poor scooter sitting at Vespa Portland after the crash.
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