I know these bikes are 'designed' to be used off road but they also seem to be standing up to London commuting as well. About 2 months ago I had a car turn right on me as I was filtering past. I managed to swerve and only caught the side of the tank on the car mirror and I was able to polish the mark off (I think it stood up well due to the Ventura shiled protective film that was on the custom paintwork). Tonight I was as lucky, a cyclist turned straight across in front of me with no warning as I was doing about 30MPH. I hit the brakes really hard and moved over to the right but I was right on top of her when she turned. Luckily she was not to bad, bruised shoulder and grazed ankle, plus her helmet was split. I stayed on and kept the bike upright. I'd caught the front fork on her bike with my front mudguard and tyre, her bike (or her) hit the air intakes, screen and just left a few marks in the film and clearcoat on the carbon screen. The left indicator was broken but I had a spare at home luckily. Initially I thought the forks were bent, but it was just the rear part of the mud guard rubbing on the radiator which I was able to clip back in. So all in all pretty lucky, the cyclist was also ok although her bike was pretty bent up though, and hopefully she will remember to signal or look over her shoulder before turning right next time. She admitted it was completely her fault which was confirmed by another cyclist who was just behind her (but heading straight on). Anyone got a spare front mudguard? Otherwise I might get a carbon one before I get my painted up again.
Sounds like you and the others were really lucky! Good to hear the damage to your beloved was minor too! Commuting in London can be horrendous! Used to do it up and down the a40 daily on my Fazer! The number of times I have been cut up by people turning in front of me.....ah man.... The best was the bloke who simply changed lanes in front of me....after locking up the front wheel and an amazing stoppie including a rear wheel off the ground, bum in the air stunt I hit his rear fender, putting in a large dent/ imprint of a front wheel in his metal! Lets just say he deserved it! The worst are the que barges! You know the ones, where there is a long que on the slip road! Then some clever dick thinks he can go up to the top of the que and at the last minute turn left into a gap! Of course he doesn't find a gap, or a part of him hangs out into the lane, the other cars swerve to the right to avoid them, and bang they go for you! Nearly lost it twice like that....you can't really blame the folks that nearly hit you, they're just behaving instinctively....no its the twat that que barged in the first place! And as always not a policeman in sight! No seriously, I am really happy that you and your bike r ok!
It's certainly always lively! One good thing about this was I was riding so carefully this morning I avoided being caught by a police speed trap. I'm thinking of not bothering with insurance, I doubt the cyclist would have anything I could claim off, as I don't want to bump up my premiums really. At the end of the day I was just glad we were all OK, bikes can fixed up and riding in London you accept the odd mark and knock (mainly from scooters in the bike parking bays) We were both heading down the road towards the camera and she turned right into the side road, as you can see it was a wide, clear road Main damage to bike Damage and impact point on cyclist Worst damage to cyclist
I'm finding my commute into Oxford is little better. Suicidal cyclists, braindead students. On the upside however, I've got an Ilmberger carbon front guard sat here doing nowt, yours for a good price
I do feel a bit bad now. I drove past this yesterday. Brixton/Streatham hill area? I noticed you filtering past me in the car as I don't seen to many Multi's in my side of town. Shortly afterwards I saw your bike parked up and a twisted bicycle. It was one of those moments, do I stop or don't I?? There was already a car that pulled up in the middle of the road and I thought the car and the bicycle had a come together. I couldn't see any damaged to the Ducati so I thought all good. In hindsight I should have stopped and heard how if I could help a fellow Multi Rider. Sorry. Hope it doesn't cause to much insurance problems. One of my drivers took out a cyclist a few months back (his fault) and we got hit with personal injury claim although the girl just toppled over at very low speed.
Hein - don't feel bad and thanks for considering stopping. That was the right area, coming up from Clapham North tube towards Streatham. The other driver was coming out of the side road and parked to protect the cyclist as she was getting up. Wave next time you see me, that's my normal route.
When you have a collision which is obviously 100% the fault of some car driver/cyclist/pedestrian, they are immediately full of apologies, contrition, promises to pay for damages, etc. If you contact them a few days later, they have forgotten all that and don't want to know. And by the time you are making an actual claim against them, they have reached the stage of strenuously denying it was their fault at all and refusing to pay up - you have to prove it. The best thing to do at the scene is immediately take photos, takes notes, take down witness details, and as soon as you get home write down a fully detailed account of what happened. Include damage, dates, times, places, weather, witness details, registration numbers, make and colour of vehicles - everything. Keep it, and don't amend it later, even if some details seem to be inaccurate. You may or may not need it, but if you do it can make all the difference.
I have learned the hard way... NEVER leave an RTA scene until you have called the Police, get them to make a report and interview the other party, and have the corresponding Police file number. It is rarely contested if you follow this process. If it is just a minor infraction which both parties will not involve insurance, it is best to walk the guilty person to a cash machine and settle then and there.
How does knocking a girl off her pushbike* rate as a chat-up opener? Pretty good, pretty bad, somewhere in between? I want to know for future reference :wink: *Disclaimer: I understand she admitted liability - not a dig, honest! :smile:
I'd agree with that. I took details, photos, etc etc, but didn't call the Police. Witness did a runner when the police contacted him, and it took over 4 years to reach a settlement. We actually stepped into the court room! Anyway, if the police had been called, all the details, witnesses, etc would have been officially recorded, and settlement would have been quick. Sadly, leave the bike in the middle of the road, call the police, and get them to record everything! Obviously I'm talking about cases where you are in the right....
It's difficult, if I was being hard and claimed for every mark then it would probably be £750 in parts, realistically if I ask her for this then it's going to get lawyers and insurance sharks involved and the total bill will be thousands. We also didn't report it to the police (I said I was happy to but she said she wasn't bothered and didn't want all the aggravation of filling in the 32 page form you have to download and then take to the police station) so someone official will get arsey about that. To be honest I was probably going a bit too fast (I'd nipped through the lights between two turning busses as they went to amber), even though it's a wide open road, so there would probably be a speed camera installed 6 months later! I did photograph everything, got witness details (only one worthwhile), wrote up a report and had an ongoing dialogue with her to make sure she wasn't badly injured and I'm not going to get hit with a personal injury suite in 5 years time (which happened to me some years ago). At the end of the day hopefully she learnt a lesson and I will sort the bike out.... nobody got killed or seriously hurt and it's only money
I respect your point completely twin4me and would probably opt for the same un burocratic procedure myself! Let's just hope it goes well for you and doesn't come back and bite you in the proverbial! On the other hand if she had to bite you in the proverbial....that would be something a bit more pleasurable I am sure....:biggrin:
