Ducati Monster Forum

Well today i had my first real /incident/collision on a bike ever, well outside if dirt bikes and mtn bikes,While visiting my bro in PHX. I decided to bring down my bike down from canuckistan.

Anyways, While riding around this morning i had the guy in front of me pull over into the suicide lane to turn left, as i was getting closer to him he pulled back out (maybe 10 feet in front) and put his brakes on in front of me. Basically i rear-ended  his new mustangs bumper with my tire, i did not have time to swerve, it happened so darn fast and there was traffic all around(right off a light just through an intersection) Luckily, i have no idea how i managed to get slowed down from 25-30mph, rear tire kicked out a bit and smacked his bumper/muffler at maybe 5mph difference btw his car and my bike. Went into a wobble managed to get out of that and we both pulled over. Not a bit of damage to his mustang or my bike after we checked it all over. Sadly i managed to cut my tire on his muffler/bumper so it will need to be replaced(maybe, after further inspection it look sof be just a slice n the outer rubber, basically it peeled/rubbed off)but i noticed that after the fact when i pulled over to let the adrenaline wear off and grab something to drink.

My question is this, should i have the rim/forks looked at while getting a new tire?  Everything rides extremely smoothly i had to get back home which was 30-40 miles away i had up to speeds of 65 and not a shimmy or shake, it rides amazingly well.  I don't think it is necessary but it can't hurt to have done.

Sadly i was pretty shaken up and adrenaline was pumping i was so glad i was alrigh.  Unfortunately i didn't get and damn info from him or vice versa. Yes i know stupid, but to be honest i was so freaking happy i didn't go down and i was not hurt(a bit sore from tightening up and undies are ruined) it skipped my mind.  i wanted new tires anyways but would have preferred not to hit a car to get them.

Keep the comments and analysis out if it, just curious what everyones thoughts are in having it inspected i hit him at maybe 10mph max he was going maybe 5-10 when i kissed his bumper with my front tire.

Also where is a good spot to get tires in PHX. Looking for michelin pilot road3's (i live in the pnw), the closest Ducati spot to me is az superbike over by elliot and arizona road.

Thanks

Steve

Glad your not hurt.

Definitely get the wheel looked at before riding again.
You don't want doubt creeping into your mind at highway speeds. Not good for confidence.

You and me both, if i have time to get the tires changed here before i go back up north, I'll get it inspected.  She runs smooth though, a slight bit of warping and you would feel it in the ride, but like you said better safe then sorry.   Nt to worried about the forks they can take a hit well they can in mtn biking and dirt biking to many endo's to count

On a side note i went out in my truck and i got cut off again, haha, lets just say this has been a great trip to phoenix so far. Worst drivers ever, sadly worse then Vancouver, well i ts a close second, just to many darn people from all walks of life and overseas with no practical driving experience(should be mandatory to take driving lessons from an instructor not ones parents, i had to when i moved to phoenix back in 2005, written so i knew the rules of the road ).  Oh yeah my favorite part was the guys response ,i didn't see you (classic)followed up by my mustang is  alright, then are you fine.  Then proceeded to say he got cut off,  i really need a dash/helmet cam or something.

Glad you're alright. Wish I had seen this post Earlier.

Get your tire(s) at Cycle Gear on Country club and Southern.

Have it put on at Tom's Italian Tune & Service. He's on the web.  His place is on Southern and Val Vista.  It's just a few miles East of Cycle Gear.  He took care of my Monsters for almost 10 years.  The shop is always full of Ducs but he can most likely get you in and out faster than drive over there.  Tell him I said hi!

AZSBK won't be open on Monday.  Neither is the Duc shop in Scottsdale.   Btw..Cycle Gear also has insurance on their tires in case you hit a nail there. It's always good to get it if you're riding in the PHX area.   Just ask anyone on here..they know my bikes history.   :P

Aaen... I'm not sure how long you're gonna be in town, but there are a bunch of us who ride Ducatis pretty regularly together out here. We don't post much in the local board anymore though. PM me. If the weather warms up, maybe we can all get together for a ride or some grub.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Phoenix has the worst drivers... and about a quarter of them don't have a license... or insurance... or anything else. Be careful. No one looks for bikes, or uses their turn signals EVER!

Thanks for the offer,unfortunately i head back on wed morning. I may be back down again though in a few weeks time see what happens.  The brother is moving so i may come down to help pack.   

Cold you say?  Try grabbing the wrong jacket off the shelf and heading down to AZ.  I lived here for 3.5 years previously give or take so i new what the weather was like so i set out my gear etc. unfortunately I grabbed the wrong one damn air flow jackets. So i have been riding around in my soft shell in 35-45 degree weather brrr.

With regards to drivers here, yeah they are pretty bad you have to be on your toes and either going slow or fast to get away from them,  mind you i find they like to keep pace with the bikes and ride in your blind spots here more then most.  Meh go figure might be the Chandler area.

Sadly i found this all out this morning regarding the duc dealers, why do they close on Mondays?  So i hit up the one across the street from azsbk, nrn or something like that, my god they are a real keen bunch, haha!  The service manager sat on his damn phone texting for about five minutes and didn't say boo until i turned to walk out the door. Regardless, not a spot i think i want to do business, they wouldn't even sell me the tires they had on special because i couldn't have them installed today because they only work off apt only.

Never thought of cycleworld, i was just there the other day buying some chain lube.  i was going to buy the tires off the net and just have them shipped home where i can get my mechanic to install them as michelins up where i am are a small fortune compared to most other brands, still may just do this.

I'll swing by cyclegear tomorrow and see whats up with tires and if the have what I want.  If not i'll ship em home from the net.

Thanks

Steve

 .  quote author=IZ link=topic=61480.msg1135561#msg1135561 date=1358152009]
Glad you're alright. Wish I had seen this post Earlier.

Get your tire(s) at Cycle Gear on Country club and Southern.

Have it put on at Tom's Italian Tune & Service. He's on the web.  His place is on Southern and Val Vista.  It's just a few miles East of Cycle Gear.  He took care of my Monsters for almost 10 years.  The shop is always full of Ducs but he can most likely get you in and out faster than drive over there.  Tell him I said hi!

AZSBK won't be open on Monday.  Neither is the Duc shop in Scottsdale.   Btw..Cycle Gear also has insurance on their tires in case you hit a nail there. It's always good to get it if you're riding in the PHX area.   Just ask anyone on here..they know my bikes history.   :P
[/quote]

Cyclegear had the tires and Tom is going to install them and check out the wheel and bike o make sure it is all good! 

Thanks for the lead on him.

 [thumbsup]

Tom is a good guy. Lots of great bikes up on the shelf in his garage. That Guzzi Daytona is serial number #001, and that 944 2v Suberbike build is absolutely beautiful. Ask him about how he got the Moto Morino to the states. Interesting story.

Get in touch, next time you're in town!

The moto morino(sp?) he has is a work or art. How they got that one into the states with luggage and flights is truly interesting.

My draw dropped when i saw that bike, I'd seen one or two in pics but to have one sitting right there wow.  I may have gotten a bit if a chubby haha, i had to contain my excitement an not get all giddy.

On a side not Tom is a great guy, good prices and he knows his stuff, not that i have to tell any if you PHX guys this.

Forks and rim were good to go which i Suspected but that monkey on the shoulder needed to be silence. I also realize i need better ramps, the ones i have are garbage compared to his chute type. Damn time to sell those,it takes two people to load with mine, well unless i go power assisted with the motor but they are slippery and the back wheel gets skittish with a bit i acceleration or power on the ramp and at the time were all i could get in my area.

Anyways, Thanks for the advice on Tom, next time I am down, I have to stop in and say hello, great fella with good stories. Oh and I'll tru to meet up with you guys for a beverage/ride

 [thumbsup]

The Morini is cool!

He had a Desmosedici sitting in there one day.

Yes, lots of toys and a lot of stories. Ask him about his power washer next time.  [laugh]

 [roll]

Leaving in an hour or so to ride out to brooklyn to pick up some Seafoam and a printer.

(http://crs-america.smugmug.com/Other/SmugShots/i-6cmHn5n/0/M/smugshot_5352980-M.jpg)

I do miss January riding in Las Vegas, though.  [laugh]

Yeah... we had a "cold spell" here for a few days while aaen was in town. High temp was 50, lows in the high 20's. That's way too cold for Phoenix. Today it's supposed to go back up to 70.  [Dolph]

I remember riding in the winter in Baltimore. It'd get cold enought to make the temp guage read "Lo" while out here my oil temps were hovering around 290.

 [thumbsdown]

I rode in Flagstaff and Michigan all year around on my DR when I was in college. Fun but never again!  It was bad enough on those chilly New Years Day rides to Tortilla Flats.  These old bones can't take the cold temp rides anymore. 

Glad you are ok and bike.

PHX has crazy crazy drivers.  I saw some insane lane changing by insane drivers during my stay for almost a year.   Isn't PHX in the top list for high traffic accidents?

Yes, it seems like we had 3 or 4 of the Top 10 intersections for accidents in the country.  Drivers are worse here in Austin though.  Not enough roadway and too many cars.  A lot of drivers doing stupid things to get ahead on congested roads to move up one car length. At least there are plenty of roads and surface streets in PHX to get places.  Alternate routes are a great thing!

Yeah I'll vouch for bad drivers sin the phx area.  I the roughly three years i lived there i was rear ended in my truck 4 times, thank god i had left my hitch in not an issue with my truck, mind you two bmw's, accura and i think it was a honda all needed a new hood and headlight.  Ever since then i have left it in.  Oddly here in BC If you are caught with one in apparently you can face a fine as it cane cause undo damage to another persons car. I haven't verified that yet though. 

At the moment i am in Calgary and boy it is warmer here the it was in phx, light snow in the area, i am so tempted to take the bike out.  Haha, not gonna happen.

Only if they hit YOU...

IMO, it's because PHX, like Las Vegas, have too long of traffic lights. It encouraged people to run the yellows.

You were probably stopping at lights locals would run. :D
That happened do often to my cousin that no one would ride with her.

You obviously haven't lived in FL.  ;)   You want to talk about long lights. That's no exaggeration either. 

I've lived in And around PHX/AZ for about 20 years.  The lights aren't that long at all. There's really just a bunch of dumb shits on the road not paying attention and/or driving stupidly.  I've never seen so many red light runners (even with the old cameras) anywhere.  Also, when did it become acceptable to make a u-turn when one has a red arrow?!  This is a common occurrence there.  In front of me several times while taking off when I have the green and right of way!   [bang]

+1

Can't say I have spent much time in Florida, however I may be down in San Diego next week and bringing the bike with me. Gf's family get together.  So i bring my truck let her romp around in that and do her family thing and I take off and go exploring.  See what happens, I really need to get back to work though, this damn down turn in the construction industry is driving me nuts.  That and half the projects i get contracted out to are either getting delayed/canceled right before startup, grrr.. Sorry but of a rant there.

So what are the drivers like in San Diego?  If I remember correctly from the time I spent in cali going diving, the drivers were not all that bad, mind you though, I was just hauling ass from phx to san pedro to catch a boat.