Wreaked the bike!

So after all the work on my intakes and getting the bike to run right, I decided to go for a ride since I'll be laid up for 3 months recovering from surgery next month. Every thing was going well and having fun, then I turned down a rural road that I hadn't been down before. the road started to turn to the left down a steep hill and to my misfortune there was gravel at the bottom. I laid it over on the left side at about 35 mph.
As for me, I have road rash on the left forearm, deep cuts on the right elbow, bruised shoulders,knee and pride. :lol: It could have been worse.
As for the bike, the left forward foot control took most of the brunt. The shifter linkage was mangled and the handle bar is slightly bent.
10 miles away from home, I managed to get the bike up and started with the help of my son in law. I was able to force it into first and ride it home bleeding all the way. Hope the tranny's ok, but it'll be next year before I get a chance to fix it. I was surprised to find that the most scarred up part was myself. If gravel can do this much, I don't want to find out what pavement will do. 8O

 

sux

 

Man, it sounds like you might have got off easy as to say. Years ago I had a 750, 4 carb Honda that I worked on all winter to get it to run right (It had been modified considerably) and as soon as Spring came I just had to take a ride on it. Going out of our garage you go down a slight hill and on the side of it is grassed! I no sooner hit the throttle and before I even felt the torque of the engine I found myself and the bike down on the grass! That baby went right out from underneath me before I could even respond to it. The wet grass though didn't help much either but it showed me that no matter how much you know how to ride there is always that one time that your not prepared for or have the chance to prepare for it. Get well so my friend, their will always be another day for a far better ride out there. There was for me until I one day found myself on a 500cc Honda Dirt bike going down a hill on a dirt road in third gear. Thought I would give it the throttle just to see how much torque she had. Before I knew what was happening the front wheel was standing straight up in the air! I had to ride all the way down that hill that way, boy was I glad to get off of that thing and I never rode that one again. grunt007, 81XJ 750 Seca R, Mi.

 

sorry to hear your mis-fortune,you live to play another day, hope you heal up quick.

 

It's not just the Village People that need to wear leather.

 

Hrm... This all went really wrong, really fast... :?

Sorry to hear 'bout your misfortune man, hope you get back up and running soon!

 

Glad you're semi-OK! Hopefully not too much damage to your scooter!!!

skillet

 

ATGATT*! A mantra you can live by!

I know it's hard, especially in summer, especially when you finally get it running, especially when you are just going to the store, especially, especially, especially....., but it is necessary to stay in the game unscathed.

























*ATGATT All The Gear All The Time. It doesn't have to break the bank either. Perfectly serviceable gear from Jafrum.com and leatherup.com at very reasonable prices.



I wear Olympia all mesh gear with liners for winter/rain. Cool enough for around here in summer. Before Olympia I wore Leatherup gear. Worked just fine.

Loren

 

That is indeed the lesson to be learned here; I suspect the OP will become an ATGATT disciple going forward.

ACCIDENTS happen; often very close to home. Every time you get on the bike, even if it's to only run a half a mile away and back, you need to be "suited up." The potential outcome of doing otherwise is just too dangerous.

Simply gotta do it.

 

Orange, this is a test, what should you have done or what would you do if the same situation happens again ?
other than the gear, i see two things, maybe three

 

Thank's for all the reply's and well wishes. Down here gear is easy to wear except when its hotter than hell which is at least 5 months out of the year. I'll probably go shopping though.
Polock, One thing different would be going a lot slower, two would be staying on well known and traveled roads. But anything can happen, anytime, and anywhere. If I had been going slower, I would have had the time to stop or correct my angle when hitting the gravel.
Experience may be the best teacher, but it sure can suck! :wink:

 

i don't know how long you've been riding but when there's a bunch of gravel on a down hill and a turn t'boot that's time for a panic stop, practice them, i do on the road by my driveway, sometimes i end up in the yard.
should get comfortable locking the back wheel up in gravel too, as you found out, it's going to happen, when to let off the back brake is the tricky part

 

I started riding about 4 years ago after a long hiatus. I only had about 2 1/2 seconds before hitting the gravel. I was already braking and leaning in the curve when I spotted the gravel. I don't know if a panic stop would have worked in such a small time frame, but your right about practicing, certainly couldn't hurt. I think what did help was being close to the shoulder because I slid off the road into the gravel alongside the road. If I had remained on the road, I probably would have been a lot worse off.

 

Dress for the crash, not the ride. Blah, blah, blah! You get it. Wear the gear. There ain't time to put it on when you really need it. Glad you're OK.