I've come close to eating it several times. The dumbest, and scariest one was due to my inattention. I was on the Honda Rebel, which is significantly wider than the Ninja. I had plenty of following distance from the vehicle in front of me. Speed was 45 mph on a two lane highway on the outskirts of town. The foot and a half wide shoulder wasn't paved and led into a ditch (typical older Louisiana state highway). Ironically, less than a half mile further, the road has paved shoulders as wide as the travel lanes. I guess it was cheaper to purchase the right-of-way where there were fewer houses.
Anyway, I took my eyes off the vehicle to admire the scenery. When I looked up, the vehicle was stopped in the road ahead talking to a vehicle stopped in the oncoming lane.
That's the first time I realized
none of his brake lights worked! He was probably slowing down when I last saw him, but with no brake lights and still enough distance, I didn't realize it. I initiated a quick stop and quickly realized I couldn't stop in time. Running into the ditch didn't seem like as good an option as trying to slip between the stopped vehicles, which is what I did. Made it through with little space on either side of the bars but fortunately no contact. Immediately pulled over at the first opportunity. I was badly shaken by what just happened and was mentally kicking myself for my stupidity in allowing it to get to that point.
Not sure how long I sat in that parking lot, but it was long enough to get my head on straight and continue to my destination.