I just took my first spill

Well it was bound to happen. I took my first spill yesterday evening. I was in a turn and hit a patch of gravel that had washed out into the road. Down I went.

I'm OK. My knee hurts like a b*tch, I'm bruised all to hell, I can barely move and I have this strange puncture wound, either from something on my bike or on the road. Either way the doctor said I had to have a tetanus shot. (Yes I went to the local clinic because I was a paramedic, I know you can be seriously hurt and not know it.)

I was in full gear my new jacket held up well, my gloves are all scuffed up, and my face shield cracked. (glad it wasn't my face!)

My uncle brought my bike home on a trailer. The clutch lever snapped under the rubber boot. Upon closer inspection it broke right where it bolts on. I have a spare from my earlier trip to the salvage yard. My new chrome exhaust is scuffed up, and I have a tiny dent in the gas tank, and some scratches, a bad one right under the seat. Other than that it seems ok. (Tell me how to post pics in a thread and I'll show the damage)

The bike, of course, was in a nice puddle of gas, I couldn't pick it up by myself and it took a minute for my uncle to get to me. It doesn't want to start now, and I'm afraid to push the issue. I don't want to tear something up.

What do I do now? Is there any kind of procedure to do when you take a good fall off a bike?

 

Glad your okay and everything checked out. Internal damage can be hidden and deadly. I remember my first. Mostly damage to parts that hang off.

Don't know the speed, but check the bike over for bent items on the fall side. Also check all the controls for freedom of movement throughout their range as binding can occur because of bent stuff. As for not starting, how long has it been? Gas could have easily leaked into places it shouldn't be and cause poor starting, but a good airing out should clear it. Sounds silly, but if it was in a puddle of gas, does it still have any? Could the carbs have emptied while sitting on its side? If so, prime might help that situation.

Once again, glad your okay and were well protected. Imagine if you hadn't had a helmet on (not required in FL!).

 

Yeah. Heal thyself, heal thy bike and then get thee back into the saddle of it.

I'm glad you're ok Belle. I'd miss our debates over square headlights and the coolness factor. Beware blind curves, and all the debris that post-winter riding brings.

 

Wow glad you are relatively OK. Pic have to be 500x500 pixels.

If your face shield cracked you should probably replace your helmet - only meant for one bang.

Not starting could be back to where you were a few weeks ago - flooded. I would pull the plugs and clean, make sure there are no leaks anywhere from something you may have missed.

 

Count your lucky blessings!

Recently some movie starlet hit her head on SNOW while skiing, and 48 hours later was a goner.

Realizing just how seriously dangerous riding a bike is, even if it's just a "short spin around the block", is 99% of accident prevention, in my mind.

 

This happened yesterday evening. I wasn't going very fast... maybe 20mph or so. The bike was only on it's side for 3 or 4 min. Just long enough for my uncle to stop, run back and get the bike off me.

Yeah it has gas, didn't think of the gas coming out of the carbs. I was just chanting the mantra "it's not as bad as it seems, it's not as bad as it seems..."

I don't see anything bent, other than the clutch lever and the foot peg is bent a little bit. Highway peg is still there.

I was more worried about bike. Than me.

I'll get back to riding as soon as Ruby is back in shape... and I can bend my knee...

 

My future brother in law works at that ski resort in Montreal when it happened. (He works in the hotel)

And I know how dangerous it can be, I scraped plenty of crotch rocket idiots in flip flops, no shirts, and shorts off the pavement.

The armor in the jacket did what it was supposed to, I pulled all the plates out, they are just fine, but my jacket has a few spots of road rash lol. I will buy a new face shield, I just had some custom work done to my helmet by my cousin and I don't want to buy a whole new helmet

 

Just make sure it did not hit other than the face shield. One shot is all they are good for. It may be fine but safety first.

 

If it's a "name brand" helmet the company may offer a testing and "relining" service for it if it's less than a certain age. When I had my nasty wreck back in '82 I sent my Bell helmet to them (anybody remember Bell helmets) and they put a new foam inner shell in it for about half what a new helmet would have cost.

If not, custom or not, you should replace the helmet. Bill is right, they're only good for one "knock."

 

i know it wouldn't be keeping the bike from running but i'd check the oil for gas. if it sat on it's side for a bit and dumped fuel from the bowls. it might end up in the oil.

 

ugghh ok dad, I'll buy a new helmet...

I'm sure he can redo the airbrushing.

Yeah first thing I'm going to do when I get to the garage is change the oil... again.

They still make Bell helmets, it's what I have

 

Helmet, by God, new helmet. If you think it hit at all (and a cracked face sheild is a pretty good indicator that it did), then a new one is in order. They are designed for one wack (and it doesn't need to be hard). The foam internals can be damaged with no obvious showing of that and then another similar hit and its your head doing the absorbing.

Helmets are cheap compared to brains...

IMHO

 

That a girl - we worry about you

We just think your head is worth the effort....

But seriously it's a good investment. Like Fitz says you may be able to get it tested - depends on brand - contact the manufacturer

 

eh new Bell helmet at Wal-Mart is like 80 bucks. I had a rose airbrushed on the back the same color as my bike. Girlie but not TOO girlie

Like Kt said helmets are cheap compared to brains.

 

Ktcubed wrote "Glad your okay and everything checked out. Internal damage can be hidden and deadly. I remember my first. Mostly damage to parts that hang off".

Please tell me you are referring to parts that hang off as being clutch/brake levers handlebars, footpegs etc.

 

Ms. Belle, ye gads! Glad to hear you are essentially in one piece.
Replace the lid, they are one-time shot equipment. Not worth risking it not doing it's utmost if you should, heaven forbid, have another go at asphalt surfing. I trust you know that everything else is replaceable, your head isn't.
Sucks about the bike. Well, the bright side is that you will be completely comfortable tearing into the bike this time around.

 

edited to include quote

Yup. Only thing I got was scraped knee and palm. Very low speed drop. But the turn signals, pipes, barend and brake levers were scratched...that was the last time I rode some one without a thorough pre-ride. I had a buddy on the back that I assumed knew how to ride. (Keep your feet up, stay aligned with me, don't wiggle, etc.) He "stood up" in the middle of the lean of a hard right to "fix his wallet". Bike went squirrely and it was either going down or straight. Cars in opposite direction made it down. Went across pavement like superman with him on my back. SOB was un-touched. I kept saying "my bike, my bike". He kept saying, "your knee, your knee"...

Always do a pre-ride with passengers. Tell them what to do!

 

Sorry to hear about the crash, but like everyone else said at least the YOUR ok. The bike can always be fixed

 

Belle, sure glad to hear you're ok & minor bike damage. Raod rash & bruised egos will heal. Take care of your self, rest up, get your beauty fixed & ride.

 

im glad youre okay...

i wont harp on the helmet thing but i was told years ago even if you drop it you should replace it...

im glad youre uncle was there to help with the bike. when i got run off the road last july i was all by my lonesome for about 10 minutes. some other bikers happened by and they dragged my 750r up the embankment. it still ran so i rode it home with a torn ACL and torn medial meniscus...

i didnt know the full extent of the knee until i fell about 5 days later and broke my arm. i was done for the season...

 

I won't go any where with out my uncle. I have only had this bike since last spring, and started riding in late summer after I took my safety course. He lets me know when I'm doing something wrong or unsafe, and I let him know when he's unsafe (like riding in tennis shoes, shorts and no jacket)

I only take short trips around town until I'm more confident, and I don't ride at night. The furthest I've been from home was about 25 miles to Clinch mountain and back, and it was a straight shot up the highway.

I put the spare clutch lever on, changed the oil and set the petcock on prime. The bike fired right up like nothing happened. Except for the groovy scratches down the side it's all good. My uncle took it around the block and gave it a clean bill of health. So now I just have to wait on me to heal up. I've got a killer bruise on the inside of my right arm... no clue how it got there lol.

 

Getting her running may be as simple as leaving it on prime for 30 seconds or so to refill the carburetors. You'll want to watch for leaks from stuck floats.

I'd put the bike on the center stand. Set the front wheel straight ahead. Have someone get down on the ground (you're injured) and sight along the wheels. With them both pointed the same direction they should be parallel. They may not lie in the same plane (can be off by several inches) but if they tip toward or away from each other something is bent.

In other words THIS OK: ||

THIS NOT OK: / \ or \ /

Also check your handle bars to make sure they are still perpendicular to the direction of the front wheel. These triple trees twist very easily. I'd be willing to bet they're bent toward the side you went down on.

Glad you're not seriously injured.

 

Glad to hear you aren't too banged up. My bike still has rashed parts from a PO that I haven't got around to replacing yet. It doesn't hurt performance just looks. So don't let them parts be the reason you don't go out and enjoy the bike. I am down to just needing a turn signal lense, rear signal, left crank cover and a mirror to get ride of the evidence LOL! If you have a windows pc you can bring up the picture on the screen press the ctrl and print screen at the same time then go into paint click on the edit tab and paste it to paint. Then crop it down to what you want. go to the image tab or left click and resize until you have the pixels where you need them. you can click on the image tab and image attributes to check the size. then save and upload. Glad to hear she started right up for you the carbs probably just emptied out on ya. take care and get healed up and back on the road.

 

That's great advice MiCarl.

 

You got me thinking. So I called my dear uncle up, who just sighed and said "I checked that, it's fine go to bed." lol

He and my overly concerned now that I divorced him ex, checked all that out when they brought my bike home that night.

 

Glad you are OK and that it happened at low speed. While not pleasant, I am sure it is an experience that will save you from getting into similar situations in the future. And that is the most important thing to learn is how to avoid the dangers we face on a regular basis.

Count yourself well on your way to experienced.

 

Glad you are ok. We need all the female riders out there we can get... Nothing against you guys but I am a old sexist pig that thinks that even ugly girls are better looking than "pretty men"... I like my eye candy . If it makes you feel any better I think we have all went down on a bike at one time or another.... it's sorta a rite of passage....
I have had 1 almost and 2 hard downs.... Those were all on my old bike a 1979 KZ400. I wish I had never sold it.... that bike was cool.... had both kick and electric start. The one was just like yours.... making a left hand turn the bike was stopped to let some traffic by, accellerated and turned... patch of gravel in the center of the road... lost the front end... down I go. The other was a side swipe/ rear end collision that I was lucky to walk away from... Rainy at night, paused at a yield sign (right turn) to let some traffic through some moron came up behind me goin to fast, clipped me and I fell over to the right.... I walked away but had to cross three lanes of traffic to get my shoe out of the center median where his car had thrown it, and had to get my center foot peg WELDED back to the frame. The almost was coming up a on ramp here in florida at 2pm in the afternoon the sun had baked the ashpalt so hot it was melting... (ie. oil slick in the middle of road) lost the rear end, put the foot down (stupid I know) got my leg kicked back against the pipes, hurt like hell but finished the ride home with a adrenaline high. As I said a rite of passage.... makes you a better rider.