I've seen a lot of motorcycle fail and crash videos, but none of them were as surprising as this one you are about to watch. It also reminds me why I'm not using one of those ghetto cruise control thingies everyone has now.
So, we have this motorcyclist from New Zealand, and he's riding a Suzuki GSX-S1000 on some two-lane back roads one afternoon. At one point he has to turn left so he starts braking and downshifting to a much lower speed.
He starts leaning a bit into the turn but soon discovers the bike wants to push forward like it has a mind of its own, and, strangely, you can also hear it accelerating a bit. This made the rider panic, run extra wide on the grass and then he discovered the ground surface plummets into someone's backyard.
From here, more panic and some point fixation led to both the rider and the bike fall into the pit violently, where they got found by the house owners a few minutes later. Fortunately, the bike only got some cosmetic damage, and the rider suffered minor injuries.
But how the hell did this happen? The bike was barely going 10 mph at the moment it entered the turn, a speed at which even a beginner rider will manage to control it.
Both the rider and I guess it has to do with that cruise-control device mounted to the accelerator. You know, one of those rings that grip to the throttle and stick under the brake lever to prevent the gas from rolling back to idle.
It might seem useful on the highway, but I have always considered it a dangerous gadget, provided the fact that it can take you by surprise when you least expect it. Well, after seeing the video, I just found a solid argument sustaining my belief.
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