How many miles before your first crash on the street?

[e30bradley]

just wondering what the title says. I made it 554.3 miles in 3 days on my kat and then crashed because I was being a dumbass. Please be careful out there and think twice before you try anything risky.
I have rode about 1000+ miles on other bikes (on the street) before I got the kat though so its really like ~1600 miles

[Kreylyn]

just wondering what the title says. I made it 554.3 miles in 3 days on my kat and then crashed because I was being a dumbass. Please be careful out there and think twice before you try anything risky.
I have rode about 1000+ miles on other bikes (on the street) before I got the kat though so its really like ~1600 miles

23k miles, 13th month of riding or so ... then the speedo got replaced due to the accident.


Target fixated on the old woman in the caddy who pulled half way into my lane from the right, but stopped at the last moment. Didn't see the car ahead I had been following at a very safe distance had stopped in the lane for a left hand turn just after that intersection, and was waiting on traffic.


Krey

[shpielers]

Made it about 5 months, probably ~2000 miles. Heading in to work early and locked up the front wheel, ended up laying it down. Guess who did LOTS of panic breaking practice after that on that bike...and on my Kat 1st thing when I got it. The Kat has only need down in the driveway. 2x. Damn wet leaves...

[rschlegel]

Could not say the miles. Started riding in California at 15 in 1983 and had my first crash in 1989 after many miles. A car turned left in front of me and t-boned it. Had another one in 1990 after running over a deep manhole cover at 120 and going into a tank slapper on a FZR600. Rode like an idiot back then and can't believe there were not more. Spent 15 years off and picked up my Kat in August 2013. Very mellow now and hope to keep the crash count at 2. I ride year round in Colorado and find myself in some interesting conditions that do raise the probability of falling due to road conditions. I try to keep well below speeds that would make road conditions a surprise.

[e30bradley]

how I crashed is a long story that I dont want to get into but I think anyone who rides as a group should write a list of group riding rules down and have everyone read and agree to them.. I seriously recommend using hand signals over blinkers.

[rk97]

I'm at 9 years crash-free on the street.

I crashed my F2 twice at the track (only 1 should really count though), and my 600RR tumbled through the grass at about 100mph after my ambition outweighed my talent in a race. I'd gone from 13th to 5th in two laps, then made all my work for nothing

On the XR100, I would guess I've crashed 15 times, but it's probably a lot more than that.

My worst crash injury was a sprained thumb, at 20 mph, on the XR100. After the 100mph getoff on the 600RR, I had a sore toe, and a bruised knuckle.

[elsueco]

About 7,000 miles / 17 months for me.

Took a while to fix it up and get back on, but it was the best decision I could have made.

[skjeflo]

Damnitall, you guys are doing nothing but scaring me.

Zero is the number I'm at and wanting to stay there. Sitting at right around 9,000 miles and going into month 14 of street riding (Kat was/is street bike #1), with just an infinitesimally small touch of dirt many, many moons ago.

[e30bradley]

55 views and 6 answers. Looks the only ones who are answering are those who went a while before crashing.

[rschlegel]

Damnitall, you guys are doing nothing but scaring me.

Zero is the number I'm at and wanting to stay there. Sitting at right around 9,000 miles and going into month 14 of street riding (Kat was/is street bike #1), with just an infinitesimally small touch of dirt many, many moons ago.

Don't be too scared. Just mindful of what is happening around you. Most crashes could have been avoided. The two I had were within two years of each other and after many, many miles. The first was someone turning left in front of me. I actually slowed down because I thought they were going to turn and then they came to a stop. Now for my mistake. Because they stopped I assumed they saw me. I sped up, they turned and I spent 5 days in the ICU.
The second was me being an idiot. Over 100 in a 45 zone separated from oncoming lanes, hit deep manhole, tank slapper and down at over 100mph and broken wrist. If you don't get cocky or complacent your chances of going down drop significantly.

[ernie]

Not the best history

I honestly can't remember how many miles it was but mine was 18 months after passing my test.....a cold wet and icy english morning, hit black ice on a round about, a sprained arm and 2 weeks to repair the bike then back on the road......for half a mile until I hit another patch of black ice

Just got to keep getting up and back on, for the first several years I was averaging an off once a year, but thats what happens when you ride in all conditions, ice/snow/torrential rain.

[rk97]

Damnitall, you guys are doing nothing but scaring me.

Zero is the number I'm at and wanting to stay there. Sitting at right around 9,000 miles and going into month 14 of street riding (Kat was/is street bike #1), with just an infinitesimally small touch of dirt many, many moons ago.

lots of people go many years and tens of thousands of miles without crashing. Some things you can control, and some you can't.

All you can do is improve your own skills, and then be as aware as possible of the factors you can't control.

Like I said, I've never crashed on the street, but even being at the point where I have so many track crashes, I can no longer count them, I've never gotten up and thought "I have no idea why that happened." It's always been something I could have prevented - and I do when I'm on my street bike.

[gsxkat1100]

I have rode several thousand miles on the road and have only really been down in a driveway...going almost nothing MPH...... long story...I'm a dumbass.


Dirt? I get dumb in the dirt and mud. Probably been down 50+ times. Only 2 or 3 bad ones though. I have had several concussions and last count was 11 broken bones.

[maniac1886]

I had my Kat for 2 or 3 years, probably about 7 or 8K miles before i dumped it in a gas station parking lot. The PO thought it would be fun to fold up a master cylinder diaphragm (from what looked like a car) into fours, then cram it into the rear master cylinder. Needless to say I was riding around with only front brakes until the oem diaphragm and some new brake pads came in the mail. Locked up my front tire @ under 10 mph, hopped off the bike and nursed it down. That was me being stupid. What surprised me in hindsight, is that the stupid car diaphragm they put in lasted as long as it did. The second time I dropped it was the next spring. I was tooling up and down my neighborhood road in March and I was doing a u-turn in the intersection. At idle speed, both feet on the ground, using just enough clutch that i didnt have to push the bike and walked over black ice. The bike fell out from underneath me and I almost busted my ass slipping on the ice. Also, rather stupid.

[skjeflo]

In my bit over a year of riding I have ridden in most conditions, but snow or ice generally makes me grab the car. Now if I had a small dual sport it might be a different story, at least to go out and have some fun.

Not to say I didn't ride some ice a couple times when the weather changed while I was at work...years of mountain biking experience on loose trails, snow, ice, mud, etc. delivered me through nicely though. Kept it straight, relaxed, even on the throttle and loose on the bars, just sailed on through the icy patches.