Coming to a hard stop on my scoot (it’s basically a toilet strapped to a 125cc engine). Scoot slid out from underneath me and skidded for about 10 feet. I’m lucky that I landed on my feet before tumbling to a stop. Twisted my ankle pretty badly but the hospital offered me some awesome painkillers (WooT). Ankle looks like a racket ball and I hobble around like Quasimoto.
Word to the wise:
-wear a helmet (I wasn’t)
-If you’re a heavy (fat) bastard like myself be sure to have installed a better braking system
-avoid braking on or close to those painted white lines in the street.
Hope you’re alright dude. Those zebra crossing lines are nuts. They are like ice some days when it’s a bit damp out.
You’d think they could incorporate some substance into them that would help with traction…but no.
Coming to a hard stop on my scoot (it’s basically a toilet strapped to a 125cc engine). Scoot slid out from underneath me and skidded for about 10 feet. I’m lucky that I landed on my feet before tumbling to a stop. Twisted my ankle pretty badly but the hospital offered me some awesome painkillers (WooT). Ankle looks like a racket ball and I hobble around like Quasimoto.
Word to the wise:
-wear a helmet (I wasn’t)
-If you’re a heavy (fat) bastard like myself be sure to have installed a better braking system
-avoid braking on or close to those painted white lines in the street.[/quote]Sorry to hear about that, Monster. Glad that things didn’t turn out any worse, and hope your foot’s better soon.
Good points you make. About the brakes: on most scooters, just getting them overhauled and in as-new condition will make a big difference. I’m appalled by the state of the brakes on a lot of the scooters people ride here. It’s easy, quick, and cheap to get them renovated. And it could save lives.
And that’s a useful warning about the white lines. I don’t think that the road markings here are made with the non-slip paint that’s used in some other countries. As you found out, the markings here can be pretty slippery.
Let’s start a campaign (seriously!) to complain about the slick white material they use. I’ve seen several scooters wipe out on it, and I’ve nearly lost it a couple times myself. I can’t imagine why they couldn’t add some quartz grit to it, or something like that. :taz: And having one of our ‘mosan buddies injured is just one straw too much. (I think good ol’ Bobepine might have wiped out one one earlier, too…)
The phone number for the Taipei city government (general complaints and concerns, in Chinese) is 1999, then when you hear the recording giving extension options, press zero. If you only speak English, you can try calling the International Community Service Hotline at 0800 024 111. I called both just now. Or write letters to the city government and/or the newspapers. I’ll do that later this week.
I’m very serious about this – let’s please each take some action to complain about this, and get the problem fixed!
-wear a helmet (I wasn’t)
-If you’re a heavy (fat) bastard like myself be sure to have installed a better braking system
-avoid braking on or close to those painted white lines in the street.[/quote]
Excellent advice.
Glad the MONSTER is awroight!
Watch out for humidity. Winter conditions in Taiwan can often throw off normal expectations for most systems in a motor vehicle. Esp. The breaks.
Drive Safe,
And Please For the Love Of Your Loved Ones: WEAR A FUGGIN HELMET!!!
& this ? goes out to all you forumosafunkers:
Sense & Reason VS Emotion & Instant Gratification.
Which side are you on, brother?
Or sister?
With the long term in mind, that is.
More like catshit on ice, or snot on a doorknob. They should put some nonskid particles into the paint, just like they do on the decks of boats; believe me, it ain’t that hard to do. I also fail to understand the local enthusiam for tiled pavements, walkways, and steps here. WTF are they thinking?
[quote=“M0NSTER”]
-wear a helmet (I wasn’t)
-If you’re a heavy (fat) bastard like myself be sure to have installed a better braking system
-avoid braking on or close to those painted white lines in the street.[/quote]
WTF weren’t you wearing a helmet? Considering some of the topics here regarding head injury (some of which you’ve commented on) I’m surprised you were out without something on your noggin.
About 14 years ago, a friend I knew called me and let me know that his best friend had his front tire taken out by a LEAF and had broken his neck. Paralyzed from the neck down. It doesn’t take much, and white lines are only part of the problem. The white line issue certainly isn’t limited to Taiwan.
After living here for 20 years and seeing so many of the foreign community get utterly f*cked up on motorcycles, I’m astounded that anyone would even venture out there without one. Attend a foreign gathering sometime in the summer and look around you. It’s like a who’s who of accident victims…scars, healed broken bones, burns, etc. At the Hoping Peace festival I was shocked by the number of healed injuries I saw. I was hard pressed to see someone who wasn’t scarred up somehow.
It was damn depressing…Then, during the middle of the show, one of our more infamous Taoyuan county residents fell while riding drunk and wasted his leg. It never ends.
Lets be careful out there…please. My uncle was killed on a Harley in a 20mph crash when a pickup backed onto the road in front of him. I’ve come off at 110kph with shorts and sandals (and yes, this idiot wasn’t wearing a helmet either) and walked off with simply a dislocated shoulder. With motorcycle accidents, you just never know.
Glad you walked/hobbled away with nothing more than a swollen ankle…
The white line crashes…and the guy who got taken out by a leaf incidents probably would have been avoided with proper riding techniques. And that being when slowing to a stop lay off on the front brake and go harder on the rear. The rear tire is much more unlikely to slide out. That doesn’t mean you should only use the rear brake because the vast majority of stopping power comes from the front brake…but I’m referring to just before the bike comes to a stop at lower speeds.
And lest you think I’m being preachy. My front tire was taken out by an empty pack of cigs in front of my favorite bike shop.
dragonbone wrote:
“Let’s start a campaign (seriously!) to complain about the slick white material they use…”
I am in touch with a local bike magazine, I will drop them a line about it, hopefully they can put some pressure on the right authorities here. Will let you know what they say.
I’m always scared of those lines, the whole bike sways like a drunken camel when I have to cross them or to follow one.
Be safe.
I’ve never had a problem on the hornet… maybe a little slip, but that’s it… on the scoot tho… it’s a different story~
I think tires play a big role in this too… my old scooter was fairly ok… that was with a stuffed up front fork… but this new scoot seems to be really affected by them, and I think it’s the tires. When they finally wear down (they seem to be holding out real well), I will try something else and let ya know… Considering Pirelli’s scooter offerings.
but back when i was a courier (that’s messenger rider for americans) it was the white lines nine times out of ten. slippery little suckers.
hey, i got paid per delivery, and if i did not fall off once a month, i was obviously not riding hard enough.
but there are ways to brake to minimise it, and that is something very important to learn here in taiwan where it is raining so often. mordeth is right: switch anchors as you come to a stop, especially in the wet. you can slide for hundreds of metres with a locked back wheel (on a flat road), until the tyre goes pop. not so easy on a locked front tyre.
[quote=“x08”]I’ve never had a problem on the hornet… maybe a little slip, but that’s it… on the scoot tho… it’s a different story~
I think tires play a big role in this too… my old scooter was fairly ok… that was with a stuffed up front fork… but this new scoot seems to be really affected by them, and I think it’s the tires. When they finally wear down (they seem to be holding out real well), I will try something else and let ya know… Considering Pirelli’s scooter offerings.[/quote]Maxxis (at least the more expensive ones) are fine. I’ve had them on all my bikes. Don’t just believe me; read Plasmatron’s comments on Maxxis too.
I’ve been making a habit of aiming for the space between the white lines on the ped xings when riding, ever since I nearly went down on one on a rainy day last year. Hopefully someday when I have to panic stop on top of one in the future, this habit will have me right on the space when it happens.
Please do take a minute to write to the papers or call the gov’t to complain, folks!
[quote=“joesax”][quote=“x08”]I’ve never had a problem on the hornet… maybe a little slip, but that’s it… on the scoot tho… it’s a different story~
I think tires play a big role in this too… my old scooter was fairly ok… that was with a stuffed up front fork… but this new scoot seems to be really affected by them, and I think it’s the tires. When they finally wear down (they seem to be holding out real well), I will try something else and let ya know… Considering Pirelli’s scooter offerings.[/quote]Maxxis (at least the more expensive ones) are fine. I’ve had them on all my bikes. Don’t just believe me; read Plasmatron’s comments on Maxxis too.[/quote]
I haven’t owned maxxis before myself, but I have a UK scooter mag and they rated them dead last in comparison to about 10 other brands.
[quote=“Mordeth”][quote=“joesax”][quote=“x08”]I’ve never had a problem on the hornet… maybe a little slip, but that’s it… on the scoot tho… it’s a different story~
I think tires play a big role in this too… my old scooter was fairly ok… that was with a stuffed up front fork… but this new scoot seems to be really affected by them, and I think it’s the tires. When they finally wear down (they seem to be holding out real well), I will try something else and let ya know… Considering Pirelli’s scooter offerings.[/quote]Maxxis (at least the more expensive ones) are fine. I’ve had them on all my bikes. Don’t just believe me; read Plasmatron’s comments on Maxxis too.[/quote]
I haven’t owned maxxis before myself, but I have a UK scooter mag and they rated them dead last in comparison to about 10 other brands.[/quote]Is that Twist and Go magazine? Let me guess – the tires made by their advertisers mysteriously came out on top. Search a bit further – you’ll find plenty of good stuff about Maxxis.