Dear all, a long time since I visited here and nice to see nothing has really changed :-) However, being an Isle of Man fanatic, this year SWMBO and I decided to go the old fogies route of doing the IoM coatal path in July. Having done the IoM stuff previously with gloriously powerful bikes, we decided instead of messing about with public transport that we would take No1 sons CG125 in the back of our van and do a transport juggle each day as the walk progressed. After day three (using public tranport after all!) we decided to take the 125 into Douglas and have a run on the electric railway up to Ramsey. All went well until the return journey back to Glen Lough on the bike. Just by the railway station in Douglas I had to slow at the lights for someone just off the ferry and then as I crossed the junction I can't remember anything after changing into second gear (except something involving a computer game on a bike simulator :-/) until waking up in hospital. SWMBO had a shoulder injury which she is still recovering from and I had a bad head, and a black little toe, for a couple of weeks (although head still not perfect - but I am told this is normal). Other than that we were unscathed. (But you should have seen the guy covered in blood and with a broken arm who was admitted after us - he was riding a 30cc mini moto on a mates drive wearing tee shirt, shorts and trainers...) The bike had a broken indicator and bent footpeg but was otherwise unscathed. Apparently in my more delirious moments in hospital I kept asking after the welfare of the bike and was reassured countless times that it really would be ok by the side of the road all night and would still be there in the morning. I was sceptical. However, on returning to collect it with the van in the morning (SWMBO wouldn't let me ride it) there it was! Not only that but some kind soul had even collected the bits of broken indicator and put them in a neat pile on the wall by the bike! Only on the Isle of Man. So why did it happen? It was all at low speed (15mph?). No slippiness on the road. Bike in good condition No hard acceleration (it was a 125 after all with two middle aged and middle weight persons on board) Well those of you who know the IoM will know the traffic lights I mean. Leaving Douglas you are going uphill and the other road is also on a gradient down to the left. Therefore as you cross the lights you are going effectively diagonally across a two-way incline. This has never been a problem before so I looked at the bike... I was actually quite surprised to find that, at anything remotely uphill, the pillion's centre of gravity is over a point BEHIND the rear axle. This means the front end becomes light. The heavier the pillion, the lighter the front. Any acceleration will also exacerbate the lightness of the front wheel. This is why I my last memory before hitting the ground is of the front end skipping from side to side before I lost it. Is this a design fault? Can I sue Mr Honda for pain and suffering? What does the team think? Chris D PS. Obviously this, and Mr Mini Motos experience, prove the old adage that 'Small Bikes is DANGEROUS!'
