Never overestimate the ability of a stray dog in crossing a road. I once did this mistake with my old Honda Dio when i was on my way back from college a few years back. A stray dog which was lying down on the footpath suddenly jumped onto the road right in front of me and came directly in contact with my front wheel, throwing me off the vehicle (fortunately it was a residential area and a cross road so there were no other vehicles around. I escaped with just a few bruises and a dislocated elbow). Reaction time was less than half a second so there was nothing much I could do to avoid it by braking/swerving to the side. The reason it did that sudden move was because it spotted another stray entering its 'territory' . I guess it got so worked up with the 'trespassers will be prosecuted' policy that it didn't notice what vehicles were on the road.

Lesson learnt - Be wary of stray dogs trying to cross the roads and (as in my case) even those on the footpath. Some of them cross roads smartly but most lose their cool in the middle of the road and start wandering around not knowing where to go. Slow down as soon as you see one trying to cross the road in front of you. If your bike comes in contact with one, the next minute you will be thrown off your seat and there's nothing much you can do about it.

P.S - The injury taught me to buy proper protective riding gear since there are many factors that can cause you to crash on the road- not just by you making mistakes. Better safe than sorry

Never let a 2-stroker go, as i did .

Always keep your fuel gauge calibrated , as was stuck on lone highway for 6 hrs from mid night that to in a wickedly smelling chemical factory in the vicinity

Always maintain pace near dumpsters as, was hit by a crow flying out from it straight in the face and left with a bleeding nose.(No helmet's compulsory @ then)

Always inspect all elements after pillion passenger has sat before leaving.

Always,Always keep your stock stuff as it is,esp when performance modding.

I made a mistake by chopping up my stock exhaust,removing my stock cam and trying some shit to make it a high lift one. etc etc. I really regret all that now.It was my madness back.

That must have sucked a big time!

thats why i ALWAYS keep my bike above reserve

i am riding and driving since i was 13 .... had 2 3 crashes [minor]

1. Never try to overtake from left .....

i was a kid [13,] a beginner and was on my hero puch turbo [it had alloy wheels] and one man was riding his scooty he was turning right and i was going straight and one cyclewala came from right side and he banged into me .... the mudguard went inside my thigh and got 9 stiches... hard to beleive but its true ....

2. never ever overtake vehicles following the vehicle which is in front of you ...... let the vehicle overtake first..... then you overtake if the view is clear.....i have heard many accidents due to this negligence .... the car which is in front will manage to overtake and if there is any vehicle coming from other side ..... you are gone ....

3. never show off your skills on road......

4. never ever drink and drive.

ride safe .....

always think that someone is waiting for you back home .

ALWAYS respect the sign boards (esp. speed limits and school zone), they are there for a reason and people who put those are not completely stupid

Never loose concentration on "familiar" roads just near your home. Most accidents happens on the last mile.

Never speed on roads that are sandy or have loose gravel.. Braking hard on such surfaces is really risky.. I have skidded twice on my Dio on such surfaces..

Never get into conversation with any of the guys working at petrol bunks when you're getting your vehicle refuled.. Always ensure amount & fuel readings on the petrol meter show 0.00 before they start putting in fuel.. They have a dozen tricks ALWAYS up their sleeves.. Have learnt it the hard way, more than once..

Nice Thread.

I have learnt a few things as well. Summarizing all my crashes till date:

1. Never ride with your head turned. This was my first crash at a speed of 15 kmph when i was staring at a hot girl with my head turned. My bike's handle hit the arm of a guy and i crashed. No injuries. I was very young then. Lesson learnt- There are more things to concentrate on the road than girls.
2. Always be alert and ready to dodge when u know that there are reckless riders around. My new bike P220 FI had not even completed a day after its delivery when a kid cornered on his HH Passion in a tight right corner at a high speed, got really really wide & hit me head on at over 70 kmph. My bike was stationary as i stopped immediately seeing that, so it had cosmetic damage then. His bike was torn apart. He luckily escaped unhurt..!! Lesson learnt- Stay alert and be ready to dodge if need arises.
3. Never ride very close to a big vehicle at high speeds. I was on my way to my college in my older bike CT100. Was doing speeds of around 85 kmph behind an Ambassdor Car. Suddenly all the traffic got cramped on the highway but were doing speeds of over 90 kmph. Then all of a sudden the Ambassdor guy braked hard. I quickly braked hard but still banged into its rear. Did not crash and shed all the speeds. Lesson learnt- Never do high speeds when behind big vehicles. They have got more tyres than us.
After these three incidents i felt the need to buy riding gear..
4. Never stop even close to the road. The public transport especially the Big heavily crowded buses may bang into u. I was on the side of the road just off it, when an RTC Bus came and the passengers hanging off the bus's footboard hit me and we all fell down. We were stationary then. Lesson learnt- Everytime made sure that iam really away from the road if the need to stop arises.
5. Make sure u dont whack open the throttle as soon as the big vehicle in front of u gives space. On the way to an xBhp ride i was behind a speeding Auto. The Auto was near to the road divider and road on the ledt side was pretty bad. So, i was honking from behind but from a pretty far distance doing speeds in excess of 80 kmph. As i sensed that the auto is giving way, i whacked open the throttle only to find a dog trying to cross the road. Then i was doing in excess of 100 kmph. I hardly had time of around 2 seconds before hitting the poor thing. Still my reflexes worked and i could manage to lower my speeds to around 70 kmph. The dog was dragged for about 2 seconds after i hit it and then i crashed. No major damage to bike. I only had a bruised knee and scratched fingers. Lesson learnt- Never be in a hurry to overtake when behind a big vehicle.
6. Never drive when upset or angry. U tend to lose all your senses then. I was riding after a small tiff with my gf. I still dont understand how i covered those 20kms. I came upon the cover of a manhole which was improperly fit and braked hard at the edge. The handle turned and Boom i crashed at about 40 kmph. No injuries. Indicator broken. Lesson learnt- Never ride when emotionally upset or angry.
7. Never discuss important things while riding. I was pillioning and my friend was riding. We were discussing something really important and were totally involved in it. We went over a speed breaker at about 40 kmph and hit a dog. We were so much involved in the discussion that we again started discussing after getting up. Lesson learnt- Never discuss important things when riding. Make sure to concentrate on the road.
After these 4 incidents i felt the need to wear the riding gear i bought.
PS- Worn only a helmet in the last 4 crashes. No other gear.

After all these crahses i have never blamed the surroundings or people or my mental state. I have blamed myself for not being alert enough. Iam still learning and i will keep on learning every second i ride my Motorcycle.

A tip for people running on worn out tyres:
Never exceed the traction limits of the tyres. U would crash for sure and blame it on the worn out tyres. Its your mistake, not the tyres.

Wisdom of 400 crashes:

• Do not do things on a bike you do not know how to do: wheelie, stoppie etc.
• Do not stunt on public roads, it is not worth it and that girl you are trying to impress will take you for a reckless fool.
• When you see small children, girls, splendor riding uncles or women drivers, keep your distance from them on the road. They are a traffic hazard.
• Do not think that the old guy or lady riding a two wheeler in front of you knows anything about braking or handling. Do your best to avoid.
• REMEMBER: No matter how many stunts you can pull, since you are a young fellow or have a high end Bike (Indian Context) you are an irresponsible rider in the public eye.
• Stay away from mirror studs, They can poke your eyes out Literally.
• Do not try to jump from heights of 5 to 6 feet with your bike. Trust me not worth it.
• Please wear a helmet, your skull is more important than drying your hair.
• Try not to ride in your shorts, knee bruises and ankle burns will be much worse.
• When a mech says that _____ (INSERT PART NAME) is still fine and will run for a few 100 more kilometers CHANGE IT.
• Put Engine oil in your bike in regular intervals, it costs less than spare parts.
• Disc brakes bite harder, be a bit prepared for that if you like your family jewels.
• Do not put Dalda cans on your bike, a sports bike it does not make.
• You are not doing your bike a favor by putting 3 people on a two seater, seriously.
• Do not show your anger through your bike, Bike is made of metal, you are made of flesh.
• Please do not drive unless you have a driving license.
• It is a really bad idea to criss cross in cross winds.
• Handle bars are for handling the bike not for carrying groceries.
• If you can go at 70 KPH comfortably, Do not push it to 80 or 90 just for the heck of it, first learn to handle 75.
• No matter what anyone says, traffic signals are not ornaments for the road, respect traffic rules.
• Loose gravel is fun, be careful though, falling down is not.
• READ MY LIPS: 4 wheels means bigger vehicle, means it can crush you, means be careful while overtaking, do not accelerate as soon as you see an opening.

More to come if needed.....................

Never let ur helmet rest on your tank while riding. Eventual i lost balance while turning and injured my finger big time. Never let the handle loose when u exit at a high speed from a jump. The impact was so bad that i literally rolled for about 150 meters and and bike went on for atleast 250 meters. They were sparks due to friction between the crash guard and the road and my tank was filled to the full.Luckily nothin happend!!

head on crash@128 n still alive,ll i hit 128 on a high traffic highway again? HELL NO

this happened 1.2 yrs back...
was comin back from HGB to bangalore via mysore-bangalore highway and saw this modded esteem, driven crazy by bunch of youths, overtake me almost 90...
dose were the days where i jus learnt to ride a two wheeler(thx to my gf for teachin me to ride ) n was god damn cocky n cant let ne one overtake me...

so started chasing them n at one it literally became a race wid esteem on the highway n that particular afternoon, the traffic was lil over the expected...

some where near Ramnagar, there comes an intersection jus to take u-turn...
an auto was taking u turn from the opposite lane... trust me guys, that guy took a skidding u-turn(a show-off i guess) and the auto stuck and stopped in the middle of the highway...
whereas me was doing 128 and the esteem was almost parallel to me...
me at left and the esteem was at rite...

frm that view i realized the esteem is going hit the auto at 130...
all of a sudden the auto started and moved 3-4 feet by rite and stopped again...
now its my turn to hit the auto...
i wasnt much experienced, as it was us 7 months since i started riding and didnt know much knowledge on breaking

also, it was jus 10-15ft frm the auto wen i was @ 128...

so tried to take a god damn left turn and thgt i wld make it between the left side median n the auto and the auto started again and moved left n stopped again...

baaaaaaaaang...
d very nxt moment i realized i was in air n flew for some 5-6ft n landed on gravel service road and rolled for another 10ft like the 80's heroes does wid heroine...

i was god damn lucky to be alive now... coz the injuries to me where jus scratches(though lil major)...
d moment after the crash, wen i stood up, felt lik god to have survived...

but now, evn after gainin much exp n knowledge, everytime wen i hit the highway and there are high traffic,
I luk at the sky and say myself "aint coming to u again"

cant jus say it was the auto guys mistake, but mine to for rash ridin n strt racing... wat if it wasnt an auto but some child?
our passion for speed should not be at the expense of a live

speed gives adrenaline which part of lyf...
but a crash can take the lyf...

ride safe \m/


PS: respect the auto too

I would like to add one thing here.

Never ride in the wrong way, even if it is for a short distance. If there is no other option, get off your bike and push it for the distance you have to cover.

I had a really bad experience which happened 2 years back. It was new years eve and I was roaming around at around midnight with my friend on my scooter. The cops had put barricades on the road and were checking each and every person who was crossing that road. I had a learners license then. I was afraid that they might catch me since I didn't have 'L' sticker on my scooter. Moreover, the RC, Insurance and PUC were also expired. So I decided to ride in the wrong way for a distance and take a different route. As I was riding in the wrong way, the ACP of Traffic Department was passing by. He immediately stopped his Tata Sumo and asked the cop over there to seize my scooter and take a strict action on me. Then, the ACP noted my vehicle number and informed it over wireless to other cops, incase I try to flee. The cop gave me a challan receipt of Rs. 500 and said me to go to the High Court and claim my scooter. I told him to take some bucks and let me go, but he said that he couldn't do that, since it is the orders of the ACP. He said that, I can collect my scooter from the Police station after 2 days by depositing the money at the Traffic compounding booth. Finally, I had to leave my scooter there and go home. I collected my scooter after two days from the Police station.

Had three crashes so far and learned one thing each from those incidences:

1) Always avoid oil patches on the road. Specially avoid any sharp turn, acceleration or deceleration. It was about 12yrs ago when I skidded over an oil patch on a turn in a may after noon. I skidded for about 20mtrs with the bike and both palms, knees got all the brunt and it took almost a month before those healed properly. And I had to appear in my exams in that condition. Though I wasn't the first one to skid at that point that day - I was the fifth one as near by shop owners told. They also helped me regaining my strength to ride back to home and then to hospital.

2) Always maintain a fair distance from a bigger vehicle in front of you and more than fair after a shower. I banged a bus from the behind, when I was behind at a slow speed but it was raining before that, so all roads were wet and muddy. Though I could apply the breaks in time but it skidded and banged to the rear bumper - led to a broken head light, indicator, a bent bumper and a sprained wrist.

3) Never look in another direction while riding for *anything*. I was moving at about 30kmph on an open road with just one bicycle moving ahead of me in the left. At the point of time I looked towards the right direction to bow my head for a temple for a split second, and here it comes - the bicycle guy took a sharp right turn in front of me. Even after applying full breaks, I hit him straight. There was a significant damage to the bicycle - luckily there were not much of public there o.w. I could have been a punching bag for them for riding irresponsibly. It's always bigger vehicle who is at fault even if that guy turned suddenly without any signal. This also happened about 10yrs back.

So now it seems I am a better rider after learning many things from these crashes and numerous near-crash escapes.

My share of mistakes.........

1] Most of the riders of the fairer sex gets stunned in case of an possibility of an accident and most often will grasp the handle bars as hard as they can or will completely let go of them in a defense mechanism to prepare for the worse. So this usually makes avoiding a collision with them inevitable. I wish there was a better way to handle such a situation but best word of advice will be to not startle them by trying to pull some smart moves around them. Can any seniors riders suggest some better way to handle such situation?

2] You should always mind stray animals and never honk your horn loudly in a way to scare them. I have noticed that many a times horns stun/scare these animals like goats, dogs, cows, buffalos and even kids playing in the street. Now stunning/scaring them might not be the best thing with these type of 'subjects' as usually this can lead to you or some other person on the road crashing into them or running over them. I personally had such a experience once when I was riding my p150 and ran over a stunned goat. (Luckily neither me nor the goat I ran over were hurt and I double checked that!)