Modern Vespa

Well I quess it had to happen sometime but I was hoping it wouldn't...after 6000 km on my BV I went down!
I was just about to turn into my driveway and a fucking dog came out of nowhere...all I heard was the growling of the dog, didn't see it and I felt the bike going. I'm not sure but I think I kind of kept it from hitting too hard and I was able to keep it from pinning me under...I think I sort of jumped clear and tumbled, hands out in front to break my fall (damn wrist hurts like hell), came down on my knee and rolled. Somewhere in there I screamed but I came up cursing a blue streak!

No damage to the bike...she is one tough scooter!!! My knee is scraped/cut and swollen; wrist and fingers are tender but no broken bones. I am soooo glad I was wearing my very heavy leather jacket, leather gloves, my boots and of course my helmut.

I just hope the bike continues to work properly.

did you kick the shit out of the dog?

Glad that you are alright (apart from scrapes and the wrist), but sorry to learn of the fall. You are lucky that more damage wasn't done to the scooter. Now, go take care of that wrist!

oh nooooo!!! glad you're okay but +1 on harnadem's advice to look after your wrist - sprains and strains there can be really nasty and take ages to go away if you don't give them the proper TLC.

I just stay on course and use the horn. If the dog dosent move he gets hit. I wont lay a scooter down to save a dog, cat, rat, mouse, or bird.

Its s strange thing, you swerve to miss a dog and they run into you anyway. Hitting a dog is way better than a head on with a car.

I know all the dog lovers are gunna hate me but really if a Dogs life is more important than yours than by all means just ride off the clif to avoid hitting it.

Now if its a cow, that I might avoid. I do know someone who had a friend hit a buck on a Harley and was killed by its antlers poking through his eye and into his brain.

Lucky, I am a dog lover but not when it comes to them chasing me on the scoot. Then I side with exactly what you said. I was once a bus driver for the local school system and we were told to never ever swerve to avoid hitting dogs or cats.

I also avoid cows and deer. We have plenty of both right here on my street.

Scooternana, I am glad you are okay enough to be posting this. Take care of yourself by taking it easy and seeing the doc if you haven't already! Glad you're still with us!

Hey, sorry to hear you went down. Damn dogs.

Rest up, and get your scoot checked out later.

Sorry to hear of your spill Scooternana.
Hope the bruises and scrapes heal quickly.

Best wishes, Kia Kaha

Boulty

Glad you're mostly OK.

This thread, with almost 200 posts and 5300 views is sad: Lets see your "babies"

Thanks all...wrist is ok, just a bit stiff.
I wish I could say that I did see the dog and was trying to avoid it but I didn't see the little bugger til I got up off the road. Once I got the bike upright (with the help of my sweetie) I limped down the street to tell the dog's owner to keep the damn thing tied up.

So sorry to hear of your spill, glad to hear that you're relatively okay.

i dropped mine for the first time yesterday as well. the funny thing is i was sooooo drunk but i was at my house, i just walked outside later in the evening just to put it into the garage. sure enough it happened in slow motion. however i got lucky, it just scrapped around the plastic running board and a bag of mulch on the ground saved me from a new paint job.

lucky bastard knows the score.

idd rather kill a dog than have my scooter all scraped and me pasted all over the pavement. its the owners fault for not having it on a lead....

and by the way, i am a dog lover.

A dog can take you down....even a small one.

A really great rider once told me...."If you can eat it in one sitting run it over....otherwise avoid"....

Hope you feel better soon.....

Advil is your friend.

R

8)

scooterNana, take care of that knee, too. A few months ago, I tripped and fell on a concrete sidewalk, hitting my elbow and both knees hard. I now have a torn median miniscus in my right knee that is 75-80% involved, and there is not much that can be done. I've had one shot of Cortisone to reduce the swelling, etc., but can only have 1-2 more of those in a year due to the risk of causing more arthritis problems. The only thing they can do surgically is to use a laproscope, etc., to scrape out the ragged edges of the miniscus and send me on my way with a pair of crutches for 2-3 weeks.

This week, my left knee gave me some pain in the general area of the median miniscus, too. My days of long walks are over, and I will never be able to kneel down on anything again. I even had to buy a short utility stool so I could continue to change the oil on my Vespa.

If that swelling doesn't go down, get to an orthopedic surgeon right away for a CAT scan and get it taken care of soon. Good luck and best wishes.

jack ass

When I tell Laina about this I'm going to add in that when you dropped it, it took you down with it, then you threw up on it. And when J found you, she made you sleep in the garage with it.

So everyone. if my Doggie is in the street and you fear your life is in danger go ahead and crush him. I got him off of Craigslist for $45.00 anyway. I love Dogs and Cats but not at the expense of human life.

ScooterNana I hope your feeling better... Thor says Hi!

Wow, I could have happily lived the rest of my life w/o knowing that piece of information. Ugh, that's TERRIBLE.

In 1985, while riding a Kawasaki KZ-550, I hit a mid sized dog. I was going about 45 mph. The front wheel was punched into the engine, and therefore stopped turning more or less instantly. Doing as MSF advises, I made every attempt to keep the rubber side down, and was successful for a short distance. In the end, I went into the asphalt head first. The final result was a broken vertebra, crushed collar bone, 5 broken ribs, dislocated shoulder and abrasions on knees and hips. (and a dead dog) Helmet, boots and leather jacket kept it from being worse.

I don't think attempting to swerve to avoid an animal is a good idea, but hitting anything bigger than a house cat is very likely to put you flat on the road. Be careful.

I was just thinking.....the small front wheel of the scooter may be advantageous in hitting a larger animal. The main impact is likely to be to the fairing rather than the wheel. Interesting.

Lucky, I must say you win the prize for the most unexpected stories!

If only Jerry G. could read this now.... (to bad.. he is working, working, working) He hit a dog while riding his ET4, he has a story to tell...

Sorry for your drop Scooternana, and for all of your bumps and bruises. Take care of yourself and good for you for telling the owner like it is!!!

Valerie 8)

I broke my wrist on mothers day this May running over a groundhog. I saw him from a distance, motionless and completely flat to the groundI was sure he was dead, but went out about 5 feet from him anyway at about 30 mph.As I got across from it, he darted under my wheel so fast, I just saw a brown blur, I held the bike up when the front wheel went over, but the back wheel felt like I was trying to keep it centered over a giant, greasy lump(all over the place). I went down, had a terrible break, ended up with it being set, then two operations. I got back to riding very slowly in July and have gradually stepped it up to my normal riding. I bunged up my R leg and had issues walking for about a month(trouble getting up and down stairs, or walking for more than a few minutes)that is okay now too. I have hardware in my arm, but am thankful for my full face helmet(it hit the ground and grated paint off, instead of my face and skin), jacket boots, etc..if I had accelerated instead of braking, I might not have gone down though....Sally

Scooternana, any update on you and your bike? I hope you are much better now...do take care of yourself. Sally

Lucky is dead on, pardon the pun. I love a good dog and its a shame a poorly trained dog has to suffer the punishment the dumbass owner deserves.

Best thing you can do is ride by slowing or coasting a little just before. Set em up as it were. But make sure you're accelorating in an arrow straight line when you plaster through em. I hate to say it but its safer to attack a dog in the road in exactly the same way you would approach a large offroad jump. Stand off the seat and be prepared to plow straight through. You gotta ride it like a dirt bike because if you end up going over the dog/speed bump the bike is going to buck like a two dollar.. well the bike is going to throw you off its seat Violently.

Harv

I have a sharp scimitar fitted as a front mudguard ornament and I reckon this would just slice through a dog if I were to hit it at any speed. I know it works well on rabbits because you cannot avoid them around here.

.... uh, wait a minute - you're kidding, right?

Oh I'm fine thanks...the knee is better, still a bit tender and now looking quite disgusting in colour. The bike had no damage at all other than a little smudge on the front fender.

Thanks for the reality check, Sally. Glad to hear you're getting back into the swing of things.

--Deborah