[YrfuneralMytrial]

Had a pretty rockin' get-off today guys. I'm okay...the Trident is a bit banged up (radiator side blasted off, rashed front fender, right can etc... I'm rashed, cut & swollen. But overall, it could've been much worse. What really sucks? Totally unnecessary crash. My friend and were riding out near the Jasper area. We were on one road (can't recall) with a lot of tight curves. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I've got sirens LOUD on me. I looked and see a vehicle bearing down on me. To be honest, it scared the holy ***** out of me. I thought I was holding up an emergency vehicle. I, and this is where I screwed up, tried to exit off the road on to a little country driveway. Boom...gravel, dirt, crash. It was a Forest Service guy looking to pull me over. When I got on my feet, we pretty much got into it. I accused him (and he knew it) that he got on me way inappropriately. He literally scared me off the road. Why? 70mph in a 55mph zone. F'ing ridiculous. My buddy came back. He didn't even ticket us. I told him I was mad at him because I thought he was frustratingly trying to get me out of the way...not pull me over. Another Forest guy came...talked to him and he kinda realized his buddy was overzealous. He'll, I'm sitting there post crash and they're not even offering a GD band-aid. Later, a sawed-off, chubby State guy rolled up. Called Coy & I idiots (thought I'd just crashed behaving squid-like) as if we weren't standing there. Then he says, "I ride a Harley and you guys (anything non-cruiser) pass me all the time and it burns my ass." ***? pal...I just crashed here because of this idiot. Oh well, the Trident needs repair but will ride again...same with me.

[ This message was edited by: YrfuneralMytrial on 2006-11-09 21:44 ]

 

[Archi]

*****! That just burns me up. I'm sorry, but I think I would have to report the officers involved for the safety of future bikers! File a complaint!
Glad you weren't hurt any worse than you were. Sure sorry about the bike too!
How friggin funny is that were a Hardley rider call a sport biker rider ANYTHING!

 

[YrfuneralMytrial]

The whole thing was unnecessary. 70 in a 55? Not worth getting "supercop" about. The second guy that rolled up was his superior and he basically said he wasn't getting in the middle. I could tell the guy that pulled me over was sufficiently worried...he was overly defensive. Hopefully, in the future, he'll adjust his technique...or better yet, realize he's not trained to pull people over.

 

[Guest]

First, glad you're okay!

Second, the guy was defensive 'cause you have a legit lawsuit on your hands. If they were calling you an idiot & not offering assistance after running you off the road, they ought to pay. Best way to make 'em pay is to sue, as the other ways tend to get you into trouble... :razz:

Hope you feel better soon, & good luck with the rebuild!

-Kit

 

[tealetm]

Sorry to hear that- glad you faired allright in it all.

Definately follow up. I'm not one for sueing all over the place, and I probably wouldn't here. But definately follow up with the correct offices/etc. to have it documented. Good luck

 

[YrfuneralMytrial]

I will follow up with an effort to document my side of the story. I don't think the guy was a heartless human being but I know for a fact he's not trained to pull over speeders. It was just an weird deal. I think he imagined stopping me and verbally ripping me a new one. When I crashed, it changed the situation because once on my feet, I called him on it. Hell, I was pissed and hurtin'. I'm pretty sure he was having an internal "holy *****" moment. The old state cop who called us idiots and bagged on "us" who routinely pass him...well, he was just a hayseed. An unfortunate part of living in Arkansas. He didn't know what happened.

 

[zippythehog]

Glad you are OK.

I would retain a lawyer. Seriously, that is inexcusable. You should be compensated for your loss (regardless of the magnitude). In fact, for the "next guy"'s sake you should get a lawyer.

I might be the "next guy."

zip

 

[Shaunlee]

Glad to hear you are alright. What a bunch of ***** though. Like we don't have enough to worry about with hay trucks left hand turners, deer, and the state boys now we have the Forest police! Hope you get the bike back together soon.

[ This message was edited by: Shaunlee on 2006-11-10 18:59 ]

 

[trypcil]

Yikes! I'm glad you're OK but feel your pain - Forest Police, what ever next - Hygiene inspectors ticketing us for not washing our hands after a bathroom visit!? :evil:

 

[LongRoadHome]

Glad you're OK; sorry about the bike.

 

[YrfuneralMytrial]

Thanks guys. Unless my leg is exposed, you'd never know I was hurt. The bike will likely need a new radiator, headlight bracket(s) and I think the forks are just twisted in the tubes a bit. Hopefully, it won't be too ($$$) painful.

 

[seumas]

Glad to see you're OK. Just the excuse you needed for some upgrades this winter.

 

[YrfuneralMytrial]

Yikes! $600 for a new radiator, $100 for the plastic end cover plus various seals. Plus, labor etc... I told 'em to give me a couple of days to scour eBay etc...

 

[Guest]

Checked with Baxter yet? If you can't find it on eBay, Baxter generally has used for half the price of new. 712-781-2351, ask for Kevin. You can find stuff cheaper on eBay if you've got the time to look, but you can't beat Baxter if you're in a hurry.

Cheers,
-Kit

 

[faffi]

I can understand that you are mad, but to be honest with you, you ***** up.

1) You failed to notice faster traffic coming up in time
2) You failed to notice an emergency vehicle coming up from behind in time
3) You failed to have a plan of what to do in the case of something unexpected
4) You allowed yourself to become startled and distracted and you paniced and fell off.

Put it up as a learning experience.

I have crashed a number of times, and it's easy to find excuses for them all. However, the world is full of idiots (and I'm one of them) and mistakes are made and we need to anticipate them. In the event of a prang, we are nearly always the one getting off worst. Injuries won't get away just because we find someone to blame.

I'm not sayin you can avoid everything, but this could easily have been avoided and was primarily a result of your own speeding and poor riding. Harsh words, but you know they are true :-D

 

[terrymc]

definately check e bay, last night I saw that someone had a 95 sprint that they were paritng out one of the salvage yards they probably have most of what you are looking for.

 

[YrfuneralMytrial]

Faffi- No sir. I aknowledged in my initial post that I panicked. And to that end, I am to blame. But, I very much hold the Forest Ranger to blame for his actions. You do not zero in on anyone and THEN hit your sirens and lights. You do not get right on their ass as if they were a fleeing murderer. There was no oncoming traffic as you describe. There was zero traffic. Also, these are blind curves...no passing. If someone needs by, you have to let them pass or they're not going anywhere. As far as speeding goes, it played no part before his presence. I can navigate a 70 in a 55 all day long. I do about 20k miles a year. This is my first get-off. One could argue that they would've rode it out but when someone (anyone) is that far up your tail, you move. Believe me, in hindsight, I'm mad at myself for my part. But, like I said, in the instant that you get that "Mack Truck" vibe...you move. Placing the blame squarely on me completley relieves him of proper protocol and training. And I can tell you that he knew he screwed up as well. When I crashed, he blew by me by at least another 50 yards before he slowed and turned around. Clearly, he was too close to me. I can assure you that had he sirened & blued me for a fair amount of time and at a fair distance, it never would've happened. Other than that, I'm 100% to blame. :wink:

 

[YrfuneralMytrial]

Thanks guys...I bit the bullet and went with a new radiator. I checked eBay (you guys have better eyes than me I guess) and didn't find anything promising. Called Baxter and a handful of other places...no luck. Also, there's two different radiators for the Trident 900 model (news to me). So, with my luck, I just said okay...let's get a new one. Other than that, I think the tubes are twisted a little (not bent) and I've got some rashing I can live with. Should have it on z road in no time. Luckily, I've got the TBird as well.

 

[faffi]

Hey, Y-M, I meant that a) you failed to notice a faster vehicle coming up and b) it was doubly bad because it seems to have had the blue lights going at the time. What if it was an amulance trying to get a critically ill to the nursery? You are supposed to check your mirrors every 5 seconds, which would have made it impossible for him to sneak up on you.

My guess is that he saw you for a reasonable period of time, flashing lights and all, and thought jeez what is this zombie on about, and then had to resort to sirens to move you out of the way.

You also broke the law. We all do that, but you broke the speed limit by about 25% just because you're comfortable with it. It's sort of like stealing just a little because they can afford the loss. I have gone 3 and four times the speed limit when it felt safe, but I'm also fully aware that I'm breaking the law and cannot expect any diploma for it if caught.

So basically, you failed to be aware of what was going on around you, you were speeding and you didn't have a backup plan if something unexpected should happen. This happens to everybody all the time - the reason it ends without drama is because the unexpected doesn't happen or we luck out.

I'm not saying that the forester acted wisely - he obviously didn't think much when he hit the horns that close to you - but it is better to take responsibility for your own actions than to try and look for others to blame. At least if you want to progress. If you hadn't sped and if you had used your mirrors frequently, you would have had plenty of time to notice the car coming up and could even have stopped safely to let him get past if you so desired :wink:

[ This message was edited by: faffi on 2006-11-15 12:59 ]

 

[YrfuneralMytrial]

Hey, Y-M, I meant that a) you failed to notice a faster vehicle coming up and b) it was doubly bad because it seems to have had the blue lights going at the time. What if it was an amulance trying to get a critically ill to the nursery?

-That's the scenario I briefly imagined. He wants by me NOW!
That and I'm about to get mowed over.

You are supposed to check your mirrors every 5 seconds, which would have made it impossible for him to sneak up on you.

-You know, I don't know where he originated. My guess is he was tucked in somewhere. Re checking my mirrors every 5 secs... well, I didn't and don't do that while riding out in the Ozarks. Not every 5 secs.

My guess is that he saw you for a reasonable period of time, flashing lights and all, and thought jeez what is this zombie on about, and then had to resort to sirens to move you out of the way.

-Nope. I'm telling you he ran up on me and blued/sirened me at the same time. On my arse. I called him on it. He didn't deny it. Just relied on my guilt as a speeder as his justification.

You also broke the law. We all do that, but you broke the speed limit by about 25% just because you're comfortable with it. It's sort of like stealing just a little because they can afford the loss. I have gone 3 and four times the speed limit when it felt safe, but I'm also fully aware that I'm breaking the law and cannot expect any diploma for it if caught.

-I conceded to speeding then & now. If I can't ride these beautiful Ozark roads in a moderately spirited way (70 in a 55), then the hell with it. He thought we were what most people refer to as squids. Young, inexperienced hotrods on our latest two-wheeled rockets.

So basically, you failed to be aware of what was going on around you, you were speeding and you didn't have a backup plan if something unexpected should happen. This happens to everybody all the time - the reason it ends without drama is because the unexpected doesn't happen or we luck out.

-okay.

I'm not saying that the forester acted wisely - he obviously didn't think much when he hit the horns that close to you - but it is better to take responsibility for your own actions than to try and look for others to blame. At least if you want to progress. If you hadn't sped and if you had used your mirrors frequently, you would have had plenty of time to notice the car coming up and could even have stopped safely to let him get past if you so desired

- Look man, I think I'm taking my blame. I'm just pointing out that the situation was created in part by an overzealous, under trained Forest Ranger. And I think they would do well to give these guys a clinic on how to pull people over. Period.
I know you mean well but let's call it quits here.

:wink: