D
daveo
Guest
not a road story per se, but at the least a street story........, sorry :roll: ....I was riding ('82 1166E) home from the auto parts store last night after picking up a thermostat for the car, it was rush hour, which has substantial traffic here, near Sacramento Cal... 2 lanes each way with a turning lane in the center (speed is generally around 90-100 mph....... or 0) Traffic was stopped for the usual 1/4 mi. due to traffic light cycles at upcoming intersections. Lane splitting is legal for MCs, so I'm rolling at 5-10mph up between the parked cars, ... to the light....then comes the GIVEAWAY WARNING!!!! van in left lane has car-length space in front of it....solid van..... can't see through the windows,...... leaving large spaces in front of any particular vehicle in stopped traffic is a common occurence, .....usually dependent on the age, nationality or experience of the driver, I wasn't able to determine which...... the car in right lane has no space in front of it.....so I'm not thinking of the ever-common 'left turn in front of you' scenario, but still watching the open space....turns out the van on the left was indeed making way for, and masking a PU, going in the opposite direction, turning left across my path....the car on the right moved up, and dude making the turn went across...I was watching the open space as I rolled, and saw his grill as he entered my path, so I locked up both wheels,clutch out, ....too close and happening too fast to get much brake modulation feel before skid, watched his rear quarter panel pass... I missed :lol: ......but really barely...... I must admit I fixated on the fender as it went by, instead of the clearspace behind it.... and could have swung farther left as I skid(kind of worried about sliding under vehicle to my left though too)..... I did do some, but could have done more...you really do go where you look, is my point. I Didn't go down, or really even close to it, most importantly ...I did miss..... but I did stall.....since I've mostly been riding the other bike which is heel/down to upshift,(rocker shifter) toe down to downshift, Suzi is toe up to downshift, toe down to upshift( reverse of usual).....so naturally ....I kicked her (toe down) right into 3rd, started it up, let out the clutch...and stalled again....hmmmm I thought...so I kicked her down again into (now) 4th,....... started up, let out clutch........and(surprise) stalled yet again!! :wink: Then my brain (barely functioning piece of $!## that it is) lumbered in....ummmmm different bike stupid.... I kicked it UP! 4 to 1st, started up, let out the clutch ...... and rode off....the spectators were all very polite and I didn't here a horn blow or anything,did do it fast though..... no-one missed a light. :lol: :lol: :lol:....But I lost the damn thermostat...even went back to look for it 
