So, who has fallen foul of the weather and has come off their scooter? My g/f has fallen off twice in 2 days! (and she still wont let me drive her dads car!!!)
Not yet . . . . nor for quite awhile. Peh peh peh!
HG
in weather such as this, i choose to drive my car 
the scoot just gets wheeled in and out of the garage everyday
haven’t fallen off the scooter yet - just don’t go so fast
tell your woman to slow down a little 
it’s no racetrack…or is it? :?
I miss my scooter 
but not in weather like this 
. My scooter falls all occurred on bright sunny days, though. I rode like a granny (ALMOST complete with outriggers) in the rain 
.
I hate riding in this kind of weather, as my ride isn’t a scooter and doesn’t have the protection from puddle splashes, so I take the MRT most of the time these days.
I haven’t been on my bike since CNY when it started raining. Don’t mind the cold, but I HATE being cold and wet. Someone nicked my rain cape too, and I can’t find another one that fits.
Offtopic: Why the HELL is Size XXXL in rainsuits considered suitable for people 180cms and up, according to the package info? I know lots of Taiwanese that are 180cms and over - is triple extra large really an apt sizing method? By this standard, I need at least a XXXXL rain cape. *^&&^&^^^*(*%%$%$$#$@
I have the dubious distinction of being one of surely very few people to have dropped their bike due to ICE on the road in Taiwan.
It was on my recent trip round north-central and north Taiwan (which, incidentally, completed an achievement I’m rather more pleased with; having been round basically the whole of Taiwan by motorbike). My friend on his bike, and my mother and I on mine, were just starting to descend the east side of Hehuanshan. We came to a line of cars and then a strip of ice across the road. Mum dismounted and walked; I eased the bike over the ice with the help of my friend and some friendly bystanders. The traffic coming the other direction was maybe about 100 metres further down the road. I discovered why - another strip of ice across the road. It didn’t look too bad, and as some nutcases were periodically throwing their cars and SUVs up the ice I thought I’d try it on my own and get out of the danger zone quickly. I was keeping my feet down and things were going OK until about half-way across, when I slowly, gracefully dropped the bike and myself onto the ice. The FZ seems a bit top-heavy anyway, and the tank bag, top box and panniers were all full.
Mum worried when she saw this happening, of course, but my excellent protective clothing meant I didn’t feel a thing, and the bike was fine as well.
Shortly after this we saw an SUV go charging up to the ice. When all four wheels were on the ice, it started to slip backwards, then actually spun 180 degrees and went back down the mountain about 50 metres in a semi-controlled fashion. It was quite spectacular. People don’t understand that four-wheel drive doesn’t make any difference if none of the wheels has any traction!
Didn’t have too many scooters in the late 60’s. I had a 90cc Honda with a tuned straight pipe. It would run 75 MPH and I weighed 180 pounds. We had a motorcycle club in Tainan that would do Hare and Hound races up in the hills every weekend. Almost everone would crash and burn at least once. Never broke anything except my bike. Occasionally we would do a Pikes Peak type hillclimb up to Kwan-Tzu-Ling (sp?). That was a dirt road back then. We had a lot of fun.
Going slow sometimes doesn’t evn help. I had my worst accident int he rain doing 30. A car cut right in front of me and I tried to swerve - slip! That was really bad. I try to avoid riding int he rain as much as possible. Walking, buses, taxis or jsut staying home, are all preferable to that again.
Also check your tires have got good tread.
Brian
I almost came off this am at the end of the Bitan bridge going into the bend much too fast. Bike is a big heavy fucker, too. Just started sliding out on the footpeg, across three lanes of traffic but caught it in time. Ground about a quarter inch of metal off the peg though.
Sure wakes you up better than the strongest espresso!
It’s a pity that SUV didn’t slide off the side of the road and plunge to well-deserved destruction. Every one of those infernal machines and moronic drivers taken off the roads is a cause for celebration.
My worst ever slide came a few years ago when I was riding a motorbike across an old wooden suspension bridge out in the sticks. It had been raining for days and the bridge was covered in a layer of slime. The bike went down in an instant, and as we slid on over the planks for what seemed like ages, heading straight towards the chicken-wire side of the bridge, I was sure we’d burst through and plunge to our deaths in the ravine below. Luckily it proved strong enough to hold us, and neither I nor the girl on the back got hurt. Afterwards, I always felt nervous when crossing that bridge, and did so only at snail’s pace with my feet touching down on either side just in case. Now they’ve blocked all vehicular access to the bridge with concrete barriers, which is probably just as well.
I traded in my two-year-old scooter for a new one last month, but much as I’d like to be putting the shiny little darling through her paces, I’ve only been able to take her out once in almost three weeks.
It’s a pity that SUV didn’t slide off the side of the road and plunge to well-deserved destruction. Every one of those infernal machines and moronic drivers taken off the roads is a cause for celebration.
My worst ever slide came a few years ago when I was riding a motorbike across an old wooden suspension bridge out in the sticks. It had been raining for days and the bridge was covered in a layer of slime. The bike went down in an instant, and as we slid on over the planks for what seemed like ages, heading straight towards the chicken-wire side of the bridge, I was sure we’d burst through and plunge to our deaths in the ravine below. Luckily it proved strong enough to hold us, and neither I nor the girl on the back got hurt. Afterwards, I always felt nervous when crossing that bridge, and did so only at snail’s pace with my feet touching down on either side just in case. Now they’ve blocked all vehicular access to the bridge with concrete barriers, which is probably just as well.
I traded in my two-year-old scooter for a new one last month, but much as I’d like to be putting the shiny little darling through her paces, I’ve only been able to take her out once in almost three weeks.[/quote]
I find the juxtaposition of your sweeping damnation of all SUV drivers as morons followed by your description of your own moronic driving which endangered your own & your g/f life rather ironic. But maybe thats because I sometimes drive an SUV. I have seen significantly more moronic driving on 2 wheels than I have on 4 (or 4X4). I have a scooter too so this is not some “I despise all scooter drivers” observation. I have not had an accident or hit anything or driven anyone off the road , but I get hit (while stationary) on an almost weekly basis by sccoter drivers who appear to have no visual/spacial ability. Unless of course they do it on purpose in which case I would despise them…
Ah, Scuba, but how do you read my words to infer that all SUV drivers are morons? Such an inference wouldn’t stand up in a court of law, you know. 
Of course, there are some SUV drivers who are not morons, and who don’t drive in a way that threatens the lives of other road users and destroys the environment. I only wish ill to the ones that fit that description, as I’m sure you don’t, but as the one described by Joesax clearly does.
My riding on the bridge was not in any way reckless (if I were a reckless rider, I would not have a record of never having hurt anyone or caused any damage while riding more than 200,000 km. on motorbikes and scooters in Taiwan), and definitely not moronic, but enjoy whatever irony you can find in it anyway. 
It was the “Every one of those infernal machines and moronic drivers taken off the roads is a cause for celebration.” piece that made me jump to that crazy conclusion.
Congratulations on your driving record. That is impressive particularly in Taiwan.
I am not totally innocent of moronic riding having wiped myself out a few times on my mountain bike. Fortunately, only injuring myself.
hmm…i have the feeling i’m in for it sooner or later. i’ve had my scooter for over a year now and not a single fall/accident even though, at times, i drive like an a local asshole. once i was hit from behind. not too hard. not hard enough to throw me off, but hard enough for the guy who hit me to wipe out. i didn’t even have enough time to ask him if he was okay - by the time i flipped my helmet plexi-glass thing up, he had already dusted himself off, re-adjusted his mirrors, and taken off.
another time i braked really quickly because i was cut off and the scooter behind me took a big fall (after slightly knicking the side of mine)… traffic was moving and i didn’t stop. i was later told that it was good that i didn’t becuase if i had stopped it might have given the impression that is was my fault.??
anyway, how long did you guys go before getting into your first accident/experiencing your first wipe out? any tips on what to do in the middle of a wipe out? do they all lead to broken bones?! 
First day, but it was 1965 and there were about 2000 bicycles per square meter on the roads( and I mean right smack dab in the middle). The bicycle traffic would not move over untill they were blasted by air horns. So I installed air horns on my 90cc Honda. They would blow for about 5 seconds before the battery would be drained. However, it worked!
Unless you are wearing full leathers, you can kiss the skin on your ankles, knees, elbows, and palms goodbye. You do wear a brainbucket don’t you?
Never had a broken bone (knock on wood) but received permanent spinal cord damage when I started to to stop for a stop light in the US and forgot to check my mirror for traffic behind me and the big black Buick behind didn’t stop. OUCH!!
Regarding motorbike helmets see here;
forumosa.com/3/viewtopic.php?p=108830#108830
and this thread;
forumosa.com/3/viewtopic.php?t=3010
Leather isn’t the only abrasion-resistant material. There are lightweight ventilated abrasion-proof jackets and pants available. Many of them come with CE-approved impact-resistant armour.
forumosa.com/3/viewtopic.php?p=129929#129929
My Triumph Raptor Cordura mesh jacket has done a good job protecting me on more than one occasion.
Not only cordura mesh (whatever that is) but also corduroy, That stuff never wears out.
I remember many years ago falling off my Honda trial bike (wet road , passing clevage, too much front brake …it was unavoidable). I was wearing a very stylish (ahem) corduroy jacket. The elbows of the jacket emerged completely unscathed while my elbows underneath were completely skinned…bizarre…They should coat the next generation of space shuttles with corduroy…
Not sure about that. By your logic, the shuttle itself would be fine but not the people inside!
[quote=“Scuba”]Not only cordura mesh[/quote]Cordura is one of several abrasion-resistant artificial fabrics that are available. Mesh means it has small holes in that let air in and out for ventilation. My jacket can be a bit hot at stoplights, but when moving at all the ventilation is great. It is not as abrasion-resistant as the kind of leather that is used in proper bike jackets (as opposed to the very soft, thin leather used in ‘fashion’ leather jackets which are rubbish for biking). But it is very much better than most fabrics, and I think much cooler than all leather jackets, including perforated ones.
Got my scoot in May of last year… had my first accident on January 15. Crossing the intersection on my way to school when I was hit by a “blue truck” running the light. The impact threw both myself and the scoot completely across the intersection into the oncoming traffic. I can’t believe that the scoot and myself landed as a unit! Strangely enough my clothing all remained intact although I was really banged up. Thank God I was wearing a helmet as the only damage to my face was two fractured teeth. Spent a night in the hospital, was pretty beaten up looking but within a week was able to walk the dogs again.
The scooter, on the other hand, received an entire new front end and flooring as well as a new front wheel. Cost so far( I haven’t had my teeth fixed yet) is about 15,000 NT. Of course, as the Bastard never even stopped and no-one “saw” him, I bear the entire cost. To add insult to injury, my employer (I’ll save that rant for another time) has consistantly refused to process my insurance! :x :x
Back on the scooter now, but very wary!