Well, it finally happened. I banged my bike up a bit yesterday. Now, before you freak out, it was minor and I am fine, albeit a few scratches. Totally my fault this time. I went out on a late ride with my buddy Mark and we’d just left lunch at Alice’s. We were taking one of my favorite routes, Hwy 84 across to Hwy 1. It has a ton of different types of curves.
As usual I was spending too much time making sure the person behind me was keeping up and less attention on the road. I have an awful habit of doing that. Lesson learned. Anyway, I came around a curve a little out of balance. [1]The irony here was my buddy had just finished bragging about how well I handle curves. I figured since I was already going wide I’d just pull off onto the large shoulder. I assumed from the look that it was pavement. I was wrong! lol Turned out it was very soft gravel.
Since I was already coming out of a the curve the bike was moving too fast when I hit the gravel. Still having a bit of momentum from the turn, I knew as soon as I hit the gravel I was gonna loose it. Sure enough, the bike fishtailed and down on its side it (and I) went! The gravel was slippery but it was also soft, which turned out to be a good thing. I slid for about 20-30 yards before coming to a stop just shy of a guard rail. (Now that would have hurt!)
The fall/slide/crash was actually quite benign (luckily). I ended up with a few scratches and road rash and that’s it. I had all my gear on, as usual. My riding jacket/pants got all dirtied up but was none worse for wear. I didn’t even bang my helmet!
As you can see from the pics, my bike suffered some damage. Thankfully, I have sliders and the left one took the full brunt of the spill. It will need to be replaced as its bent now. I also broke the left foot-peg (below) completely off and scratched part of the engine casing. I’ll probably leave the casing for now but will eventually replace it. I don’t like it looking all banged up. That was about it! I was really (pleasantly) surprised at the lack of damage to my baby.
We spent some time looking over the bike before taking off again. All looked to be in good working order other than the foot-peg. I decided I’d just bend my leg back and up and prop it on the passenger peg. It worked like a charm. [2]Other than forcing me to lean way over on the tank and constantly push my balls into the tank. Thankfully, they were still in tack after the 40 miles home. There was one more surprise in store for me though. About 3 miles further on, the gear-shifter peg fell off. (The blue lever in the below image) They are made to break to prevent the frame from being damaged so it wasn’t surprising. However, this created a unique problem because I had no real way to shift gears now. The lever was still there and working fine but the little peg I catch my foot on was gone.
I originally decided to just start the bike in 3rd gear. This would have reduced the need to keep switching back and forth. It takes some timing to get the bike to take off in 3rd but it worked. Knowing I couldn’t ride all the way home in 3rd gear, I practiced using just the lever with my foot. After about 10-15 miles, I started getting the hang of it. I had to look but I was basically just sliding my foot high and tight under/over the lever to shift. I still had to look down for most of the trip but I managed and made it home w/o any other incidents.
The down side is my moto shop is closed on Monday’s so I have to wait till Tuesday to take it in to get the foot-peg and shifter replaced. I’ll get generic ones until they get some more of the shiny blue ones (that I just bought 3 months ago).
Well now you can relax I guess, since you've hit a right of passage, your first wipe-out. Luckily no real harm was done, thank goodness.
Will check out the marks first hand later.
@Ivan ~ well, first wipe-out on THIS particular bike. lol You better check it tonight cause tomorrow the baby is going in the shop for some TLC.
What a killer – nothing sucks like that first time you gravel-rash your baby.
That said, its good to hear you made it out unharmed. Sounds like a fairly decent stack you had.
The damage to your bike looks fairly minimal too, which is always handy.
Keep your eyes peeled for those gravel traps won't you.
Sorry to hear your baby got hurt. I'm surprised you didn't leave him behind since you were on 84.
@Gene ~ Who said I didn't? lol Actually, the irony was had I stuck to my M.O. I would have in all likely-hood avoided it all together. Serves me right for being a mother-hen.
Oh no!!! We just talked about this at starbucks too!! I'm glad ur ok.
Sooner or later all motorcycle riders know, it's not a matter of IF you're going to dump your bike, but WHEN.
I'm glad you're not hurt and your crotch rocket suffered only minor damage.
@RG ~ VERY true. I've dropped or "slid" every bike I've ever owned at least once. Hopefully, I've now met my quota on this one. heh heh
And after a couple accidents, bike riding still had an allure???
@Cb ~ Never understand that thought process. People have car accidents all the time and don't give up driving cars. But to answer your question, yes it still holds allure! :p
Glad your not too hurt.
Gosh I hate motorcycles just for the thought of an exposed accident. Glad you are ok Moby. How the hell have you been? Often wonder what you are up to. Gonna have to see if I can find some off time to scan some blogs of old buds! Hugs!
As Sissy would say in Sordid Lives, "If you are going to have affairs you have GOT to be more careful!"
Please be careful boo. These motor cycle accidents are scary to read about.
It's good to know you are not hurt too bad this time.
glad to hear you are ok!
THE REAL BRETTCAJUN:
[comment deleted by blog owner]
@eatme ~ wow dude, what a pussy you are to spam someone else's blog with such a pathetic attack. Grow a pair and take it up with him directly instead of whining on my blog. Sounds to me like you are just jealous.
Ouch, glad you weren't hurt!
This is why I could never have one – I'd kill myself w/in a week.
Glad you seem no worse for the wear, even if your bike is a bit.
Sorry about the damage of your bike but at least you are ok. It happens to everybody who rides often. Just hope that it does not cost too much to get it fixed.