Spyder payed for itself today....

[Donzo]

A group of 7 motorcyles and my Spyder left this morning to go to Marleeville and go swimming in the hot springs there(this is near Lake Tahoe....so it's cold, even with the warm weather we have been enjoying)

Long story short we were having a great ride - got up in the mountains - pretty cold high 20's. We were on highway 89. I was # 3 in the group - we went over a bridge and I saw the leader go down hard...then the second in the group went down. I slid a little and easily stopped. I ran back to the beginning of the bridge and stopped the next riders from coming on the bridge....COVERED with black ice. The leader (Harry) got a spiral broken left leg and a dis-located left shoulder, second rider was fine other than scuffed leather and shaking hands. If I had been on my bike, I WOULD have gone down the patches of ice were so slick you could not walk on it and yet looking at the bridge....there was no sign of ice.
I am so glad to have the Spyder!

Side story - several CHPs and sherrifs showed up - when the questions were answered and Harry was in the ambulance - 4 of the officers came up to me and asked alot of questions they were all very interested in buying one and were going to start a discussion about having them as cruisers . With all the sand, gravel, black ice, rocks and animals...this could be a good choice for these mountain roads.

This spring my bike is definately for sale! Spyder saved my butt today

 

[BRPjunkie]

Your story confirms the posts in the "Why did you buy" thread. Greater stability and safety. When things go bad on two wheels, they go bad fast. Three cheers for three wheels.

 

[strats]

Sorry about your mates, good to hear stories like this though, chalk one up for 3 wheels.:thumbup:

 

[LDFIREWORKS]

3 :cheers: for the :spyder::b2b: glad you ok:2thumbs:

 

[Lamonster]

I hate to hear that about your Bro's but I'm glad to hear you diid good. :doorag:

 

[bjt]

Confirmation that many of us made the right choice in getting a Spyder. I'm sure the other 5 bikes in your convoy were very happy you had a Spyder and were in front of them.

 

[tatt2r]

me and a buddy of mine were down in ft lauderdale years back on harleys went out to eat didnt listen to weather report and got stuck driving threw hurricane irene .... didnt dump but sold bike a couple months later... scary experience ..... 3 wheels would have been better

 

[Donzo]

Thanks for the replies - the other bikers in the group have all been interested in the Spyder. This event opened their eyes to the safety factor. I have a feeling there will be more Spyders in this group in the near future.
Fortunately the guy that was the 4rth rider tends to go slower/falls back on twisty roads - often this is kind of annoying - but it allowed me time to get to the end of the bridge and stop the rest - what a mess it would have been if we had all been in a tight formation....

 

[bigdave18629]

Hey Donzo, great to hear you all made it ok, it could have been a lot worse. I may just keep my riding to the valley then until it warms up a bit.

 

[Director]

A group of 7 motorcyles and my Spyder left this morning to go to Marleeville and go swimming in the hot springs there(this is near Lake Tahoe....so it's cold, even with the warm weather we have been enjoying)

Long story short we were having a great ride - got up in the mountains - pretty cold high 20's. We were on highway 89. I was # 3 in the group - we went over a bridge and I saw the leader go down hard...then the second in the group went down. I slid a little and easily stopped. I ran back to the beginning of the bridge and stopped the next riders from coming on the bridge....COVERED with black ice. The leader (Harry) got a spiral broken left leg and a dis-located left shoulder, second rider was fine other than scuffed leather and shaking hands. If I had been on my bike, I WOULD have gone down the patches of ice were so slick you could not walk on it and yet looking at the bridge....there was no sign of ice.
I am so glad to have the Spyder!

Side story - several CHPs and sherrifs showed up - when the questions were answered and Harry was in the ambulance - 4 of the officers came up to me and asked alot of questions they were all very interested in buying one and were going to start a discussion about having them as cruisers . With all the sand, gravel, black ice, rocks and animals...this could be a good choice for these mountain roads.

This spring my bike is definately for sale! Spyder saved my butt today

Thirty-seven years ago, I had the same thing happen to me on my Triumph 500. Hit black ice on a wooden bridge and suddenly what was vertical became horizontal. It happened so quickly I had no chance to react and as you say, it was impossible to see. No injuries, fortunately, but I was a lot younger then and bounced better than I would now. You really can't overstate the value of the Spyder's inherent stability. I am sorry about your buddy; a spiral fracture is no joke.

Bruce

 

[NancysToy]

When I was in high school a couple of centuries ago, I had nothing but a motorcycle, so rode it almost daily, rain or shine, hot or cold. One morning during early winter it was pretty decent when I left the house...about 40 degrees. I figured it would be a good day to ride. While I was in school, an ice storm hit, then the temperature dropped like a rock. By 3:00 there was a quarter inch of ice on everything, and it was in the teens. I put out both Size 12 outriggers, and carefully rode as slowly as I could out of the parking lot. Made it to the second corner, and went horizontal so quickly that you couldn't have seen me fall if you blinked. Such a hard landing, and my head cracked the pavement hard enough to ring in my ears. I walked the bike home, and never ventured out on the streets when it was snowy or icy again, if I could help it. I doubt I would do so purposely now, even on a Spyder, but at least it's nice to know you have a fighting chance if the weather changes suddenly.

Ran through some long, deep slush bringing the Spyder home the first day, and all that suffered injury was my emotions. Your heart rises in your throat when you see slippery conditions ahead. The biker in me said "Ouch!", but the Spyder just slipped sideways, kicked in the traction control, and squirmed out of the nasty stuff. My smile said it all, the rest of the way home. Spinning out is much preferred to landing with a thud! Be sure and give your Spyder an extra little treat for saving your backside.
-Scotty

 

[AMTJIM]

Something similar just happened to some friends of mine. Went riding in the Phoenix area and stopped off at one of the lakes. The parking lot gravel was so deep it made a wake when the tires made contact. 2 of them just recently finished rebuilding their SV, it's the 3rd time down he same SV for one of them.