Well, I had my first accident today. I have had the bike for a little over a month now, and ended up on my right side in the dirt. The good news, no injuries other than some soreness and scratches, and a bad case of hurt pride. Since I know you are all on pins and needles now, heres the story.
I was not even 3 miles from home, on the way to the convenience store (really short trip but I was still wearing my helmet, armored jacket, and jeans) when some (really inconsiderate person) turns left, skipping the left lane for the one I was in. The following happened in about a 3 second period but has been re-constructed as best I can from memory. I clutched and applied max braking, but ended up a little heavy on my rear brake. My bike fishtailed right then left, regained control but left me turned slightly toward the curb, at some point before impact my handlebars slipped and bent downward, struck the curb, wheels locked in the dirt, and I was skidding on my right side. The bike only skid about 4-6 feet because the dirt was soft and my engine guard dug in really good. I was around another 4-10 feet further. I jumped up angrily and tore my gear off cussing the driver as I realized he wasn't going to stop to even check if I was ok.
Now for the damages:
Throttle cable severely damaged, bent around 90+ degrees
Deep scratches on the engine guard
Right mirror scratched but not hardly noticable
Missing some rubber inserts from my ISO grips
Brake master cylinder scratched
Right turn signal loose, scratched, and lense removed (but found)
Right sissybar mounting plate scratched
Rear turn signal scratched
Severe scratching on mufflers
Fuel tank dented and scratched up
Right side of front fork scratched up.
Very happy to be ok, and to finally remove the suspense of when I was going to end up dinging the bike. I think I will probably pass on the insurance this time. The only thing of pressing importance as far as repairs is to fix that throttle cable. Everything is mainly cosmetic. I will close by thanking the Fireman who stopped to help and the fellow biker on a Vstar, who stopped and made sure I wasn't injured, and helped me pick up my bike. Well, no riding this weekend, but I swear to have her up and running by next. I'm already ready to get back out there.
I was not even 3 miles from home, on the way to the convenience store (really short trip but I was still wearing my helmet, armored jacket, and jeans) when some (really inconsiderate person) turns left, skipping the left lane for the one I was in. The following happened in about a 3 second period but has been re-constructed as best I can from memory. I clutched and applied max braking, but ended up a little heavy on my rear brake. My bike fishtailed right then left, regained control but left me turned slightly toward the curb, at some point before impact my handlebars slipped and bent downward, struck the curb, wheels locked in the dirt, and I was skidding on my right side. The bike only skid about 4-6 feet because the dirt was soft and my engine guard dug in really good. I was around another 4-10 feet further. I jumped up angrily and tore my gear off cussing the driver as I realized he wasn't going to stop to even check if I was ok.
Now for the damages:
Throttle cable severely damaged, bent around 90+ degrees
Deep scratches on the engine guard
Right mirror scratched but not hardly noticable
Missing some rubber inserts from my ISO grips
Brake master cylinder scratched
Right turn signal loose, scratched, and lense removed (but found)
Right sissybar mounting plate scratched
Rear turn signal scratched
Severe scratching on mufflers
Fuel tank dented and scratched up
Right side of front fork scratched up.
Very happy to be ok, and to finally remove the suspense of when I was going to end up dinging the bike. I think I will probably pass on the insurance this time. The only thing of pressing importance as far as repairs is to fix that throttle cable. Everything is mainly cosmetic. I will close by thanking the Fireman who stopped to help and the fellow biker on a Vstar, who stopped and made sure I wasn't injured, and helped me pick up my bike. Well, no riding this weekend, but I swear to have her up and running by next. I'm already ready to get back out there.
