David Leckie, 41, was giving evidence following the death of fellow biker Andrew Jowett, who struck a car on the road at Luss.
He said that he and his group had been largely “cruising” on the trip north at 70-80mph.
Sarah Landt, 36, of Baileyfield Road, Edinburgh, is on trial for causing the death of Mr Jowett, from Paisley, by careless driving on June 13, 2023.
She is accused of failing to react to the sound of the engine of an approaching motorbike, failing to give way and driving into the carriageway when it was unsafe to do so.
Mrs Landt denies the charge.
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The jury at Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard how Mr Jowett, 37, Mr Leckie and Stuart Berrie had known each other since school and met that day at the Tesco petrol station in Linwood.
They planned a 56-mile trip to Inveraray over the Erskine Bridge, through Dumbarton and past Loch Lomond.
The court heard they passed a lorry heading towards Luss.
Mr Jowett, who had the least amount of experience as a rider, was on a blue Suzuki at the front, followed by Mr Leckie and Mr Berrie third.
Mr Berrie, 42, said: “I spent a couple of years trying to forget.”
He told the court as he approached the northern junction with the slip road from Luss, he saw a white Skoda Scala “rolling out” onto the A82. He saw Mr Leckie in front of him slowing down.
“I remember seeing the car, then debris,” he said. He pulled to the side and jumped off the bike and “started running” towards his friend.
“At that point, I could not compute what to do. At that point, I thought ‘where’s Andy?’ He was just a little bit further.
Andrew Jowett (Image: Andrew Jowett)
“We both went towards him. I remember checking for vitals.”
Mr Berrie said when passing other vehicles, they were “possibly on the throttle”.
Defence advocate Andrew Crosbie reminded the witness he had described overtaking as “spirited”. But he insisted it was not “risky”.
Questioned about evidence led on the first day of the trial that the three motorbikes were in the opposite lane parallel to each other for a stretch before the crash, Mr Berrie said they may have been “close-ish”.
He accepted it was “possible” they passed a lorry at about 80mph on the 60mph road.
“There was nothing in front of us,” Mr Berrie said. “100% clear.”
Questioned by the sheriff, he said Mr Jowett’s bike was modified to “make it look nice” as well as a “loud exhaust”.
Warehouse manager David Leckie, 41, told the court he was over the speed limit.
“If overtaking, you’re obviously speeding up,” he said. He said he would “probably try to keep under” 100mph.
Fiscal depute Harry Findlay asked: “Were you ever doing 100 this trip?”
“It’s possible,” replied the witness. “As a cruising speed, probably 70-80mph.”
He rolled off the throttle when he saw the car pulling out at Luss.
“Being experienced, if I see cars at any junction, I tend to pull off because they tend to pull out without looking,” he said.
Mr Jowett was in front of him, but he told the court he was not aware of his friend’s reactions to the car pulling out.
After the collision, he realised it had been into the back left corner of the car.
“I remember braking and swerving through the debris,” he said. “I think I went past the car and parked to the left.
“I don’t recall what the car was doing.
“I went straight up to Andy. I spoke to him to see if he was okay. He never said anything. He was breathing but never woke up.”
His original statement to police on the day of the collision was put to him. He had told officers: “He started to react and it looked like he was braking. I seen him up over the handlebars and in my experience, braking heavy.”
Mr Leckie told the court: “I forgot I said that.”
The trial with Sheriff Maxwell Hendry continues.
