New Buddy Owner Story - Needs Help (Long Post)

ervine13 · Post by **ervine13** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:46 am

Hi everyone! I'm a new member. I've had my buddy for about 90 miles now (3 weeks) and I love it. This is my way of introducing myself.

So my Buddy and I went over a friends house to do some riding and take a few pictures here and there. This is a golf course near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

We decide to leave and go somewhere else.

And we ended up here.

It was the perfect weather to be riding. A couple of other of scooter friends called and wanted to ride too. So we all decide to go to a local mall.

It seemed like nothing could go wrong.

BUT on the ride home, which I was the trailer of our group of 4, I took my first fall. Some lady coming into the road took a wider turn than she should have, coming into our lane (the left most lane). My reaction was to brake and swerve causing me to lose control and crash. Luckily the lady did not hit me. There were dozens of witnesses, one of which was an off-duty officer!

Here is where I need help. I need words of wisdom. I was a little scared going into the 2-wheeled world as it was. Now I am terrified. I need convincing not to sell my buddy 3-week old buddy.

I apologize for the lengthy post. I apologize if I am being over dramatic. I love my buddy, but I'm kinda scared to keep riding her.

Thanks again!

ScooterMcGee · Post by **ScooterMcGee** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:51 am

Everyone drops it....just got to pick yourself off that the god or gods of your choosing that it wasnt worse and just take it slow.

ScootLemont · Post by **ScootLemont** » Tue May 13, 2008 5:20 am

Pretty much everyone on two wheels lays it down sooner or later in their life - be glad you got it out of the way & it was not that bad (it sounds like)
I laid down a motor cycle about 20 years ago, so I hope that still counts for me, & Karma wont expect me to lay down my scooter.

You have a great scooter - dont make it an orphan - I am sure you have many miles & smile to come

brimstone · Post by **brimstone** » Tue May 13, 2008 5:21 am

glad to hear you weren't seriously hurt. oh welcome and congrats by the way...hehehe. anyway, i think you'd be doing yourself an injustice by not getting back on. it wasn't anything you did that made you dump it....it was the other lady. if your nervous...just cruise around your neighborhood or down the street to the store or something. and take a MSF as soon as you can. they have motorcycle or scooter specific classes. i suggest taking the motorcycle one, their basically the same and you'll get your motorcycle liscence to boot.

anyway, just take it easy and scoot around the neighbor hood to build up your confidence. you'll be great. don't worry, be happy.

Post by **ericalm** » Tue May 13, 2008 5:48 am

Swerving and dodging cars is, unfortunately, a frequently used skill. Your accident was probably a product of simple inexperience. Braking and swerving at the same time is always a recipe for disaster. Rather than giving up, you should take it easy, get some more practice in. Unfortunately, all the parking lot and side street practice in the world does little to prepare for that type of situation. But taking the MSF will help.

I understand that fear that comes after even a minor incident. It happened to me when I'd first started riding. But the only way to gain confidence is to keep riding and developing your skills. It's not something that you can just wake up one day and do with any kind of expertise—it takes a while to get the hang of it.

Meanwhile, I'm very curious about the custom brown Buddy. Is that your friend's? Tell him/her to join MB and post some pics! It looks great!

StL_Stadtroller · Post by **StL_Stadtroller** » Tue May 13, 2008 2:37 pm

yep, braking + swerving = crash.
One or the other.
never both at the same time.

Been there, done that, have the tattered Aerostich Roadcrafter to prove it.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Tue May 13, 2008 3:37 pm

Ride on the side of the road that is away from on coming traffic. If I'm in a small road with only 2 lanes, I ride on the right to stay away from traffic right on the left of me. If I ride on a large street with a turn lane, I ride on the left of my lane, because cars going in the same direction as me will also be driving in the right lane (dont want to be hit by a car's mirror)

Just go back out and ride, it isnt like you'll fall again just by going out. I'd also recommend taking the MSF class, they teach you to swerve properly and how to avoid these situations, very helpful class.

BadBrains · Post by **BadBrains** » Tue May 13, 2008 3:38 pm

ericalm and StL_Stadtroller are right. One of the things they reeeeeally stressed to us in the MSF course was the importance of braking before or after a swerve, but never at the same time. You always want to make sure that you're in a straight line whenever you brake; even a wide non-emergency turn requires that you brake before entering the turn and then accelerate out of it.

I can't recommend the MSF course enough. It will give you a huge confidence boost that's tempered with a healthy respect for the road and your ride.

KRUSTYburger · Post by **KRUSTYburger** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:01 pm

I had a swerve/break accident on my bud125 when I only had 50 miles on the odometer! I was scared for a couple days, but I had to keep riding since my scoot is my only vehicle... You will expect and imagine more things to go wrong, but that will make you more alert and prepared. It gets fun again TRUST ME! I wouldn't trade my scoot for anything!

Kurzer · Post by **Kurzer** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:33 pm

Welcome! You just gotta get back in the saddle. I've been run off road into a drainage ditch with a similer situation as you faced but the car that ran wide for me was on coming and I was doing close to 100

I can say with 100% confidence that the reason the bike stayed up and I was able to get back on the road and continue riding was what I learned in the MSF course.

So don't let this detur you too much, soon you'll have radar for this stuff and it won't even bother you anymore

DennisD · Post by **DennisD** » Tue May 13, 2008 4:59 pm

You've gained valuable experience. You are already more prepared to deal with the traffic than you realize. Take the MSF course as recommended by so many. Keep riding. You will be so glad you did.
Good Luck.
Dennis

ervine13 · Post by **ervine13** » Tue May 13, 2008 5:54 pm

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all of your comments. I have been and still on the wait list for the msf course.

ericalm wrote:
Meanwhile, I'm very curious about the custom brown Buddy. Is that your friend's? Tell him/her to join MB and post some pics! It looks great!

The black one is mine. The brown buddy belongs to my friend. It used the be the Italia until we painted it last weekend. He is already on MB, he should be posting the whole process tonight.

ScooterNewbie · Post by **ScooterNewbie** » Tue May 13, 2008 6:12 pm

I was the friend that was scooting with him. The day was amazing! We had a great scoot around Pasadena. Eventually, we met up with 2 friends who have vinos and scooted to the new outdoor shopping area in Glendale called the Americana

On the way back is when the "incident" happened. Horrible way to end the day, but glad everything turned out as well as it could be. The crazy lady tried to just drive off too!

His buddy got a little beat up. The new chrome fender and headset. ouch.

Sucks that it was the first time we've ever gotten a nice little crew of scoots together in Pasadena and this happens. Don't let this end the Pasadena Scooter Mafia! (anybody wanna scoot pasadena with us?)

Post by **ericalm** » Tue May 13, 2008 6:16 pm

Kurzer wrote:So don't let this detur you too much, soon you'll have radar for this stuff and it won't even bother you anymore

This is what I like to call "scooter sense." After a time, you can really begin to read traffic and tell when a car's going to move into your lane (whether or not they signal) and so on. Of course, it's not 100% reliable, but it sure helps.

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Tue May 13, 2008 10:42 pm

I was reading your story glad you didn’t get hurt, sorry your scoot got scratched up.
Are you still scared?
Many riders have crashed on 2 wheelers and many just pick up and go again, no problem.
But, if you are terrified; I would definitely sit back and re-evaluate. You should ride with respect but to ride scared and terrified is not a good thing.
Oh yea; I like your pictures.

ryder1 · Post by **ryder1** » Wed May 14, 2008 1:08 am

Thanks for posting....glad you weren't hurt.

Try riding in large open and empty parking lot to gain your confidence back.

Post by **ericalm** » Wed May 14, 2008 8:57 am

ScooterNewbie wrote:I was the friend that was scooting with him. The day was amazing! We had a great scoot around Pasadena. Eventually, we met up with 2 friends who have vinos and scooted to the new outdoor shopping area in Glendale called the Americana

On the way back is when the "incident" happened. Horrible way to end the day, but glad everything turned out as well as it could be. The crazy lady tried to just drive off too! His buddy got a little beat up. The new chrome fender and headset. ouch.

Sucks that it was the first time we've ever gotten a nice little crew of scoots together in Pasadena and this happens. Don't let this end the Pasadena Scooter Mafia! (anybody wanna scoot pasadena with us?)

I love riding to and around Pasadena. New scooter club, anyone?

ervine13 · Post by **ervine13** » Wed May 14, 2008 7:55 pm

ericalm wrote: I love riding to and around Pasadena. New scooter club, anyone?

Yes please

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Thu May 15, 2008 3:16 pm

Like many things, what starts out as very difficult becomes easier and routine with practice. You need some knowledge (MSF and the Hough books are a good idea), and you need to put some practice into the head knowledge. A road I ride several times a week now scared me sh**less the first time I rode it right after getting my Buddy. Four lanes with merges and exits and 50mph speed limit. Now it doesn't even raise my heart rate.

Others have already told you what probably went wrong (brake and swerve together). With experience you'll easily avoid most of those sorts of drivers in the future with no more than an epithet or two, and forget about them before you go to sleep that night.

The real issue here is fear versus a healthy respect for the risks of riding. If you're really terrified still, you could find yourself in a panic situation while riding and that wouldn't be cool. If you've got a new found appreciation for reality but you can face it head on, sweet.

I suggest you find yourself a nice quiet parking lot and ride around a little, graduate slowly to quiet back roads if you're not terrified.

So, to sum up. Persistent terror is a sign that two wheels aren't for you. Awareness of the road and the risk is healthy and good.

If you decide to keep riding, find out the walk in policy at your local MSF course. People often don't show since they schedule it so far in advance.

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Thu May 15, 2008 4:32 pm

So, to sum up. Persistent terror is a sign that two wheels aren't for you. Awareness of the road and the risk is healthy and good.

Nice summary. When questions like this arise I find it very difficult to give advice but lobsterman's post echoes my thinking. It's easy to just say "get back on the horse" but I don't have any real clue about how you really feel. And since I've pondered giving up riding in the past and, in fact, have given up riding for a time, I never tell people to get back on the horse. Only you can make that decision. I can tell you that I decided to ride again because the fun overcame the dread and I'll continue riding as long as it's fun. It's a fact though that riding isn't for everyone and it's best to know that before a trip to the emergency room.

It doesn't help matters that you don't yet have the skill set to ride safely under all circumstances but that only comes with practice. And some, like me, would argue that you're always learning, even after 10, 20 or 30 years of riding. So lobsterman's advice regarding finding a nice quiet place to start practicing is excellent. If you feel that you still want to ride, get out and start practicing. The MSF class will help a lot so take it when you can. The main thing is to ride though.

If memory serves, the Hurt report found that most moto accidents happened with beginners in the saddle, so your experience is not uncommon. It's also not uncommon for folks to get through that first year or two and then gain a false sense of confidence. I seem to remember something in the Hurt report about rider risk going up in the 4th or 5th year of riding because you feel you're more skilled than you really are. So, it's really important to keep reminding yourself to be smart and not take risks in that 4th year that you wouldn't have taken in your first year. I've been riding on and off since the late '60's and I still find myself doing dumb things every now and then, taking chances I wouldn't have taken at other points in my life. When that happens I pull over, shut down, and think long and hard about the consequences. I don't advise others to do this, but for me, it works.

madtolive · Post by **madtolive** » Thu May 15, 2008 6:57 pm

i took a little ride to campus right now, to gauge how shaken up i feel after my spill this morning. and i have to say that i was much more stressed out on this ride than i've been since i got my scoot. i guess thats normal, but i hate to think that this spill has made me not enjoy riding. i've re-read this thread, and

1. i'm thankful that it was a pretty easy fall and Ines and i weren't hurt badly

and

2. i think i'm gonna go back to square one and chill out on taking high traffic streets for a little while.

i'm sad.

ervine13 · Post by **ervine13** » Thu May 15, 2008 7:09 pm

Thanks everyone. I'm have begun to put things in perspective with everyone's comments. I guess I may have used the wrong words to describe how I was feeling. I am not "terrified" to ride again. I was trying to figure out if I am willing to take the "risk".

As an over thinker/analyzer, I did some homework. I looked at motorcycle accidents statistics and I learned a lot. Many of the severe accidents involved "errors" from the motorcycle rider (over breaking, etc). Stats even showed that a big percentage of the severe accidents involved new and/or unlicensed riders. Which tells me that experience has a lot to do with safety, as all of you have commented.

I'm not selling. Thanks again!

brimstone · Post by **brimstone** » Thu May 15, 2008 9:56 pm

good job, i think you've made the right choice.

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Thu May 15, 2008 11:40 pm

Wheeew; thought we lost one.

sargelee71 · Post by **sargelee71** » Thu May 15, 2008 11:48 pm

Madtolive, sorry to hear about the spill. Glad you're OK--and that Ines is OK, too. What happened, if you don't mind me asking, as I am also a new owner of two weeks.