Idiot cager almost killed me, had a broken clutch cable, and almost hit bambie.

[dj]

My weekend on the GS1000 started out really nice, got really shitty, but it ended okay.  :o

I was on a camping trip with a bunch of the New England/Canadian guys from the GS forum that I am a member of (for the other bike).  We were camping up in a small town just north of Greenville ME.  The ride up on Friday was beautiful and the camp site was great. ;D  On Saturday we had a group of about 12 guys the were heading out for a 300 mile loop that would take us through the scenic northwoods of Maine.  8)

I am one of the slower guys :-[ so Ed and myself were hanging in the back of the pack with one other guy directly in front of us.  Ernie (the guy in front of me) passed a SUV, and I was about 6 seconds back from the SUV with Ed about 4 seconds behind me.  The cager started to pull off to the right, looking like he was going to let us go by him.  I get ready to start accelerating (about 4 seconds back at this point), when all of a sudden the idiot is right back in front of me and barely moving.  THERE WAS NO WORKING BRAKE LIGHTS ON THE VEHICLE!  >:( :o >:(

I hit the brakes hard!  The back wheel locks up so I let up on the rear brake and then reapply pressure (and it locks up again).  At this point I am heading straight at the middle of his bumper and he is stoped in the road (still no brake lights).  I know there is no way that I can stop in time so I let off the brakes and accelerate as I swerve around him.  I get back in my lane and then I see him turn left (no blinkers being used either).  Ed catches up with me and we travel another 20 miles down the road to meet the rest of the group.  As soon as I get off the bike at the next stop Ed comes running up to me and asks me if I am all right and I say I am fine.  Pissed off, but fine.  Ed was  about ready to chase the guy down and get his plate number, but he wanted to stick with me to make sure that I was okay.

After about 10 minutes we headed out again and about 20 miles down the road my clutch cable snaps.  >:( This pissed me off more then the cager because it is a brand new clutch cable.  less then 200 miles on it (and that is counting the riding that I did to get to Greenville and the 75 miles that I had put on it that day!).  Ed catches up with the speed demons in the lead group which is already 15 miles ahead of us and brings back 2 other guys that had a spare cable that fit my bike.  10 minutes later we were back on the road and having a blast.  Made it back to the campsite without incident and got some food in us.  I had to head back into town to call the wife (just to check in).  It is a nice 10 mile ride back into town, and about 5 miles into it a deer comes walking out into the road right in front of me.  :o It sees my head lights and bolts back into the woods.  At this point I am like someone up there is telling me to stop riding for the day, but I made it into town and back to the campsite without any more problems.

Packed my gear on the bike the next morning and had a really fun ride the 58 miles back to the house.

All in all it was a great trip with a great bunch of guys.  Lots of beverages being had at the campground, and no one got hurt.  ;D

Morale of the story:  Watch out for idiot cagers, always bring spare parts (even if you just put new parts on the bike), and watch out for "Bambie".  Things can go wrong in a hurry, but remember that if it ends well then everything is okay.

[Serendipity]

My goodness what a day!!! OK, I'm going to count you as the "third"...what with Hilary's and PS2's mishaps I figured a third was coming and now I'm terrified I'll be the one....but I'm going to tell my little superstitious brain that you were it. LOL

So glad you are ok!!

Btw, and I'm not questioning you, I'm just asking a newbie question here: I thought I was told that if the rear brake locks up you continue to hold it, do not release it as releasing the rear brake when it is locked will cause you to high-side.....it's the front brake that you release and try again if it locks up. Do i have things confused??? I thought i read in your story that your rear brake locked up twice before you swerved around the truck. Whose driver ought to be beaten severely by the way. Just trying to understand in case I ever (when) I find find myself in that situation.

Patti

[dj]

The thing with the high side is if the rear wheel is not in alignment with the front wheel when you release it during the skid.  If both wheels are in line you can release the rear or front brake without incident.  This was something that we practiced in the MSF course that I took.  We did both front and rear wheel lock ups and how to handle it.  It is still a scary situation even when you know how to handle it.

[ps2/bikevision]

dude i hate cages. i had to drive one monday for a funeral and it really sucked. i was so glad to get back on the bike till the battery fried. but yea cagers suck. ive almost rear ended 2 this year one at highway speeds, he didnt have any tail lights either. but now he has a very nice dent in the side of his truck and a broken mirror as i had to swerve around him. 

glad to hear you didnt go down.