Relsek
Registered
Brian's friend bought an old GS850 and tonight the three of us rode down to Bartow for a little ride. We rode all backroads the whole way and the last stretch was about 10 miles of open four lane with very little traffic. I was leading, Mike second and Brian bringing up the rear. We were just about to Bartow when I looked in my mirror and there were no bikes behind me. I pulled over and looked back to see a bike laying on it's side in the right lane, about that time a woman in a white SUV pulled up next to me and asked if she should call 911, we immediately went back to the scene to find Mike just getting up off the ground and Brian with him. Mike said that the rear wheel just locked up as if someone locked up the brake and the bike just went down. He had been doing about 50 when it happened because we were just slowind down as we were coming into town. The bike went right out from under him and he slid probably about 100 feet (just a guess). Mike was wearing riding pants that he got at the dealership, he was wearing a jacket and gloves. The pants were torn on the rear side below the butt, the jacket had a hole worn in the elbow and the gloves were scuffed on the palms, With no gear I'm sure he would have been skinned up pretty good. As it turns out, he came out with just a skinned elbow.
Now is where the fun begins. I checked out the bike and decided that there was no way that the brake just locked up. I had heard of shaft driven bikes locking up in the past and I think that is what happened here. The back wheel would not move an inch. We dragged the bike to a nearby driveway and left it there. I called my brother who just happens to live in Bartow, he agreed to let us use his truck to haul the bike back to Lakeland. I was going to be another hour until he would meet up with us so we rode into Bartow and waited at a local restaurant. Since I had the hump on the Busa, Mike had no choice but to ride Fag with Brian. (Does anyone else call it that?) after my brother arrived, he loaned us his truck and the three of us, Brian, Mike and I loaded the non-rolling bike into the back of the truck and brought it back to Lakeland which is not an easy task, that bike was heavy, getting it out wasn't easy either. We then took the truck back to Bartow, got on our bikes and came home.
We are all amazed at how well he came out of this mishap. We can think of so many scenarios that could have turned out so much worse, such as happening on a curve, or a two lane road with heavy traffic, rather than an open 4 lane with very little traffic and no curves in sight. I say God was watching out for Mike tonight. PTL we can just laugh about it now.
Kevin
Now is where the fun begins. I checked out the bike and decided that there was no way that the brake just locked up. I had heard of shaft driven bikes locking up in the past and I think that is what happened here. The back wheel would not move an inch. We dragged the bike to a nearby driveway and left it there. I called my brother who just happens to live in Bartow, he agreed to let us use his truck to haul the bike back to Lakeland. I was going to be another hour until he would meet up with us so we rode into Bartow and waited at a local restaurant. Since I had the hump on the Busa, Mike had no choice but to ride Fag with Brian. (Does anyone else call it that?) after my brother arrived, he loaned us his truck and the three of us, Brian, Mike and I loaded the non-rolling bike into the back of the truck and brought it back to Lakeland which is not an easy task, that bike was heavy, getting it out wasn't easy either. We then took the truck back to Bartow, got on our bikes and came home.
We are all amazed at how well he came out of this mishap. We can think of so many scenarios that could have turned out so much worse, such as happening on a curve, or a two lane road with heavy traffic, rather than an open 4 lane with very little traffic and no curves in sight. I say God was watching out for Mike tonight. PTL we can just laugh about it now.
Kevin
