Got rear-ended today

[malber]

Like the thread title says, got rear-ended today. This is my first collision. Time was about 3:30 PM bright sunny day. I was making a right turn after signaling. I down-shifted and was leaning into the turn when I felt a sudden acceleration with a tire squeal and felt pushed forward in the seat with my head popping back. I thought that my left hand had slipped off and I popped the clutch. I've had sudden acceleration before back when I was learning the feel of the bike and this felt a lot like it. My foot hit the pavement, but somehow the bike righted itself. Because I was at the point where I missed the turn I kept going through. I had an errand to run about a block over, dropping a video off at a drop box. So I did that and went on my way. As I was going I noticed a buzzing that sounded like an RC plane. Funny thing was that it would increase and decrease with my speed. So I figured I might have broken something when I "popped the clutch." So I stopped in a Dunkin's parking lot and leaned forward to look at my front wheel. Seeing nothing there, I kicked the sidestand and got off. Looking over the rear wheel, a thought occured to me: "Where is my license plate?" The rear fender was folded up under itself over the rear tire. The buzzing? The license plate rubbing on the tire! It was then I realized that the incident with the acceleration was really a collision. I really wasn't as mad about someone hitting me as I was mad at myself for not realizing that I had been hit. Of all the accidents I could have had I never thought it would be a rear-ender. I've been driving a car for nearly 20 years and I've never been rear ended. Then I thought of all the possibilities that could have happened and how there really was no way for me to prevent this (still thinking about this). I had the reflector plate bolts and one survived but one was smashed and couldn't be taken off. So I was able to take one off, move the plate over and limp back home sitting on the tank and standing on the footpegs. I should have taken a picture of the mangled fender but I didn't have the heart too. I took it off and was able to bend it back. The bike is ridable, but the plate lights are smashed. Fortunately there was no frame or wheel damage. And no apparent damage to me, though I think I may have some soreness tomorrow. I'm now in the market for a new rear fender and license plate bracket for a 81 special.

I'm still mad at myself for not stopping and filing a police report. There's someone out there who doesn't know to look out for motorcycles and that scares me. Probably some dippy on a cellphone. So I think my lesson of the day is: always check my mirrors.

[TopCatGr58]

Glad you're OKAY! Could have been a whole lot worse! Don't forget to inspect you rear tire closely for gashes from the license plate!

The bright sunlight day is probably partially what contributed to the problem, cause the tail light isn't that bright in the sun, and neither are the turn signals. Might want to look into getting a brighter or extra tail/brake light setup? But yeah, watching your mirrors while slowing is a common practice for bikers!
T.C.

[79XS11F]

Also glad your OK but I must ask ... Do you not have rear view mirrors on your bike??
Part of biking and living to talk about it involves being VERY AWARE of what's going on around you. I can't even begin to understand how you could get hit from behind and do that much damage and not even be aware of what happened?
Sorry to be harsh but you really got a pay attention when out biking
Rob

[wingnut]

Close one!

Thanks for the heads up and I'm happy you were not hurt. Wish I had some parts that would help you out but the 79 parts are not even close to the 81. I had not thought about being rear ended to much but I'll be watching my mirrors better from now on.

Dave

[malber]

Thanks TC. That was my first thought once I saw the condition of the rear fender. I was especially concerned because I just put a NEW Dunlop 404 on the back three weeks ago. I inspected it fully when I replaced the mangled fender. It appears that there is enough new tread that the rubbing didn't do any damage. I'll be sure to check the pressure before the next time I ride. I'm still a bit spooked so it may be a little while.

[malber]

Originally posted by 79XS11F
Also glad your OK but I must ask ... Do you not have rear view mirrors on your bike??
Part of biking and living to talk about it involves being VERY AWARE of what's going on around you. I can't even begin to understand how you could get hit from behind and do that much damage and not even be aware of what happened?
Sorry to be harsh but you really got a pay attention when out biking
Rob

I'll definitely be checking my rears a lot more next time I ride. Still, not sure I could have done anything to prevent being hit. I was doing all the standard things you do when making a right, like looking into the turn.

wingnut: Thanks for the offer. There's a guy up in Belmont, NH that is selling Special front and rear fenders for $10 each. The downside is that he doesn't have the license plate brackets, so I'll have to reshape the one I have. Don't know what I'm gonna do about getting the plate lights working.

[oldbiker648]

Malber,
Of all of the ways I have been hit by inattentive cagers over the past 37 years, none of them ever sneaked up from behind. As a guy who has survived a lot of years of riding, let me offer you just one piece of advice, when you leave your home on your bike, do so with the tacit assumtion that everyone you encounter on your ride is there for the specific purpose of testing your survival skills. I am a self-described "aggresive-defensive" rider who will power out of any potentially dangerous situation in a heartbeat, but who also has a swivel head whenever I ride, and constantly knows who is in front, alongside and behind me, and will take whatever measures are required to maintain "space". Your mantra must be an understanding that you will lose any situation resulting in contact betwen your XS and anyone's vehicle, no matter how much you may be in "the right". A good lawyer may get you a settlement, but did you ever really want to ride a trike anyway? Don't make it easier on the dumb*sses than you have to. Just my 2 cents after having seen the asphalt 3 times compliments of bad drivers.
Shiny side up and eyes wide open,
John

[DeanR]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 79XS11F
Also glad your OK but I must ask ... Do you not have rear view mirrors on your bike??
Part of biking and living to talk about it involves being VERY AWARE of what's going on around you. I can't even begin to understand how you could get hit from behind and do that much damage and not even be aware of what happened?
Sorry to be harsh but you really got a pay attention when out biking
Rob

Sorry Malber but these were my thoughts exactly.

[malber]

I knew something happened, but I thought that thing was something else. There was no *crunch* sound you hear with most collisions. I know now that I should have known how close the car was behind me, but I'm not sure I could have done anything since it happened so fast. I was already committed to the turn. I don't even know how I maintained control of the bike, unless the lack of input allowed the bike to right itself. A car can be a perfectly safe distance behind you, but if they don't have the attention to apply the brakes then it doesn't really matter if they're one second or two seconds behind you. When I went back to the scene there were no skid marks, so there was no application of brakes by the person who hit me.

I know the old saying about being right and being dead. That's been going through my mind all night and there is really no excuse. Whenever I've read crash stories I've always played devil's advocate and tried to see both sides. It seems to me that in rear collisions you don't really have a lot of options. You slow down for a red light and someone's about to plow into you. You can't really take off with traffic coming from either side, and it's likely a bad idea to make a sudden steering correction while applying brakes.

I feel like I'm a very cautious rider. Every time I approach an intersection with cars stopped I always assume that they're gonna pull out in front of me and prepare my mind for that eventuality. I'll be damn sure to check that rear cushion too next time I'm out there.

[Ken Talbot]

The scariest mirror view I've ever had was during one SWMBO'sand my earlier trips south into Montana. We were on a piece of straight two-lane highway somewhere south of Kalispell. We stopped for a vehicle in front of us who wanted to turn left off the highway, but had to wait for opposing traffic to clear. Looking in the left mirror, I could see a semi coming up from quite a ways back. I kept an eye on the guy ahead and how much more oncoming traffic he had to wait for, and kept glancing towards the semi who didn't seem to be slowing. Once I saw smoke coming off of all 18 wheels of the semi, I decided it was time to nail it, dump the clutch, and get the h3ll out of the way by passing on the right regardless of how much or how little shoulder there was. Since then, I keep a real close eye on the mirrors, especially when stopped, and I have absolutely no hesitation about passing on the right.

Glad you got off as lucky as you did.

Drop me a PM, I think I may have a spare tail light/plate holder unit from a Special for you.

[DiverRay]

malber,
My #1 law of riding is "I am invisible"
My #2 law of riding is "Nobody can see me"
My #3 law of riding is "I am invisible"
If you learn to ride according to these laws, you will ride a long time, with less chance of going down. It isn't a perfect law, but it will help a LOT in keeping the rubber side down.

[oseaghdha]

I always thought Rule #1 was:
"Everyone is trying to kill me, including me."
There is no Rule #2.

At any rate, you are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn an important lesson without having to pay the price of getting thrashed. Too bad about the fender though.

Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result. -Winston Churchill

Maybe Winston didn't ride.

[Bud Manley]

Think about he poor guy in the car. "Jeez I accidentally hit him and he just took off."

You should still call the cops and let em know what happened. maybe they stopped and called.
Glad to hear your ok. I got rear ended in my jeep once. If I had my seat belt on I'd be paralyzed from the waist down right now. My seat folded over the rear seat that was folded up.
I'm paranoid about taking one in the rear now.

[acof911]

I'm paranoid about taking one in the rear now.

...most guys are.
sorry, had to do it.

malber, glad you weren't hurt.


Andy

[dale_1]

Malber, glad you are OK

Funny but relevant story......

I stopped at a light a few yrs back and was looking all around and in the mirror... only a left one on my bike.... has been since I got it.

My head is always moving.... I spotted a cop on one side coming through the intersection, I continued my constant eyeballing of everything....

My light changes and I go straight through. Next thing I know there's a cop on my rear with lights and siren. He comes up to me and asks me for my paperwork etc etc. then when I asked him what was wrong he had the balls to tell me I looked suspicious with all the constant looking around. I gave him a short lesson in stoplight survival and he apologized and let me go. He thought I was doing something I shouldn't.

And of course now everytime I stop and am looking around and searching for the next "bullet" when I see a cop I start to worry and get paranoid. Then I think maybe I shouldn't be head swiveling.... but I do it anyway out of survival. It get's kinda silly. They always stare at me though. Maybe I just look like a thug!