The rearview mirror was just flipped, but why? Did the biker want more lane room?
It is very rewarding when our efforts and our readers help solve situations such as the one Brandon McGowen faced.
On October 3, he was heading home when a biker broke his right rear view mirror on purpose. While that story is still fresh, it seems people still did not realize Tesla vehicles have cameras. And that they eventually get caught. As did the biker that broke McGowen’s car wing mirror. That will probably be the case with this guy, as well. Coincidentally, with another Brandon.
Gallery: While One Biker Got Busted, Others Do Not Learn Teslas Have Cameras
Brandon Le said on Facebook that he had just read about McGowen’s story when the same happened to him. He was also coming back from work at State Route 57 Southbound, close to Cal State Fullerton, in California. All of a sudden, this biker in a Honda CBR appears and flips his right side mirror forward.
The motorcycle looks very much like a 2001 CBR 929 RR, but we could not tell for sure. We thought the Suzuki that hit the other Brandon was a GSX-R 600, but it ended up being a GSX-R 1000. This one below.
We have the full name of its owner, a veteran that fits the physical description of the rider that broke McGowen’s mirror, but we will not disclose it. Mostly because the DA and the CHP already have his name. And he is going to face a lot of charges. The Internet court, with its commenter’s jury, does not have to give a verdict on this one.
“I met with the officer to deliver the video footage yesterday. He said the final report showing all the charges should be finalized this week,” said McGowen. He will let us know all the accusations the biker will face.
Regarding the second biker, Le said he had no arguments or problems with the guy at all. “I did not even see him coming fast from way behind. I just heard a scary pop,” he told InsideEVs.
Le believes he intended to break, not to flip the right rearview mirror of his car. “You can see him try reaching out to my mirror from the video.”
The difference between this video and the last one is that the biker soon finds another Tesla, a Model X, right in front of Le’s EV. We have the impression there is a Tesla behind Le’s as well. Because Californa.
If the biker hated Teslas in general, he would have another victim just waiting. But he does not do anything to the electric SUV, which moves more to the left when he shows up.
Lane-splitting is legal in California since 2016. Our impression is that he was trying to lane-split and thought there was not enough room for him to do so with Le’s Tesla on the way. So he intentionally folded the mirror as if he wanted to say Le was not using it anyway.
The biker’s attitude confirms that. He does not flee but rather waves to Le as if he was asking the Tesla driver to see him pass. Wanting or not to break the mirror, the truth is that the biker was riding dangerously. He could have lost balance. He could have made Le crash by scaring him. Lots of things could have gone wrong.
The Honda’s license plate seems to be from California, but it is tough to read. We had the impression it had only six characters, but our colleagues at RideApart saw seven of them. The last ones do not get covered by the American flag the biker carries and appear to be 2237.
If you can help us find the rider, the comments are all yours. Despite apparently having no damages to his car – he is not sure about the internal components – Le counts on your help to find the man. “I’m just hoping at least he gets a ticket. I don’t want this to happen again to anyone. I could not even see his license plate. I was frozen for a good while.”