Kickstand wrote:
roadking wrote:
After I saw a gold wing accident (a story I don't want to share) I was never a fan of those bikes.
Well, you got me curious... but I won't ask... but I want to.
2 sheets with feet sticking out of them, a gold wing upside down on its bars and seat, a debris field 50 feet long, clothes all over the place.
I was traveling south from salt lake city into nevada at night alone. I saw a couple on a wing, man and woman leave the gas station/cafe right as I pulled in, we waved to each other.
I stopped gassed up got some thing hot to eat and then left. As I got into NV, the road was being worked on. The Slow lane had been repaved and the fast lane was rough surface ready to be paved. There was a 3" difference in the 2 surface heights. I had to pass a car as I went from the smooth surface of the slow lane into the fast lane I dropped down 3 inches, kinda caught me off guard and pulled the bars a little. After I passed I went to get back into the slow lane because it was so smooth vs. the roughed up fast lane. As I went up the edge the bike almost went over at 80+mph. I caught it and learned a lesson. I was pretty shaken up thinking about what would have happen if I lost it... Just then, I come up on an accident scene... Fire trucks, ambulances, highway patrol cars, flares - the whole enchilada...
My bike has a low center of gravity, No massive storage boxes up above my seat. If it had, I would have lost it when I reentered the slow lane. The bike jumped over the ridge in the lanes and almost high sided me. I'm thinking that Gold wing did the same thing I did but because of the massiveness of the bike and top heavy nature of the seat compartment added with the weight of a passenger those poor people had no chance.
Once you see something like that, it stays with you. Every time I see a wing now thats what I'm reminded of. And why I don't like to talk about it. But maybe by me telling what happened you guys will have a heads up if in case you find yourselves in that situation.
Similar thing happened to me on the way to Nashville one time. I was on the I-81 south in Tennessee. Tooling along at about 70+MPH. All of a sudden w/out warning the road dropped about 6 inchs to dirt/gravel. It was startlesome but I live on a dirt road so I didn't panic. According to driver safety stuff the best way recommended to get back on the right side and back to paved was to force manuever back over the ridge...no way was that happening so I just road out the mile or so of dirt gravel. FYI when hitting the dirt I didn't accelerate or brake. I just road it out down to a safer MPH.
I bet there had to be some casualities on that. I hope at some point somone placed a caution sign. Negligent on someones part.