SLKids First Wreck

Start off by saying,
It coulda been worse
I'm just so PISSED! RAR!
0% chance of rain. I went to my moms house to fix my bros scooter and then met my GF at starbucks. Started raining... HARD. Waited for it to slow down, then headed home. Pulled out of the parking lot at the first stop sign and <b>FWAP!</b> Hit the ground!!!!!!
HOLY CRAP!
Some old lady lifted the bike up just far enough for me to get my leg out and I went all superhulk on the bike to get her upright.
Tank is JACKED.. Gotta re-paint tomorrow... %$#@# Exhaust is scratched...... and it moved the brake lever back.
Thats it...
Sprained ankle and hurt knee, but thats all..
Damage list minimal but im so angry i could just break walls right now!! RAR!!!!!
coulda been worse I guess..
-Christoph

 

Dude!! Glad you're alright.

Now, want me to come up there and smack you about the head?

Good used parts are, as always, available..........

 

Kid! Man! Glad your awright! That wet pavement can be real nasty! Bike can be fixed - bodies don't always mend that well. Be careful out there man!

 

How did it happen? just slick road? Paint line?

 

Oil on the road? sounds like a front wheel skid (try it black ice... real quick)

I ride in the rain often, usually no issues ( broke my new tires in during a week of rain, no slippage, Bridgestone Spitfires big thumbs up!!)

 

From how he explained it im guessing that he went riding right after the downpour only after a short storm. At the time when the oil in the road in brought to the surface by the sudden rain....the most dangerous time to ride.........i just glad your ok man just heal up and get the bike back on the road.

 

Yeah I'm good. Just so embarassing.... Gr..
Lol, thanks Chacal! She's fine, but still gonna need those fork parts next week! Continuing with my usual projects.
My probelm was, i've decided, was too much front brake. I was pulling up to the stop sign and wasnt slowing down enough and think I jsut pulled to hard on my front brake, instead of pushing down with my foot on the back. And I think it just sucked me to the ground.
So.... lesson learned. Now I'm cooled off, Raining= Ride slow, breath slow, back break over front, less leaning, and focus more on the road...
RArrrrah..
-Chris Allen

 

Sounds like a good excuse to have GF put you up until the roads dry. Always try to make something good out of a bad situation. :wink:

 

The bad thing about riding bikes in today's world is.....other people. People on cellphones, soccer mom's with 8 kids in mini-vans, you know what I mean. I dumped my CB750 but only on my left leg and it never hit the ground thankfully. That's almost a 450 pound bike. Glad you're not seriously hurt, except for your pride which will heal.
Always be super careful in the rain man, I try to avoid wet city streets all together.
Hey look on the bright side, most football teams are in training camp. Now you time to check in on your favorite for a little while!

 

Been there done that KID, when I did it I was like Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura, " Hi Im looking for Ray Finkel ( shot gun comes out the door) and a clean pair of shorts"! :lol: yep just about soiled them.
Glad you ok man.

 

Finkel is Einhorn! Einhorn is Finkel!

 

Einhorn's a MAN!!!!!

 

Glad you're o.k.! I have been lucky, only time I dropped the bike was (kind of) intentional, where the bike wasn't my main concern. My '81 Seca, saw my buddy on his Honda Hawk go down BAD behind me, hit the kill switch, literally dropped the bike and ran back to my buddy. We were only doing between 25 and 30, he had hit some loose gravel on a 90 degree turn in the road (also very treacherous!) and was leaning hard. He walked away, the bike was fixed, but it looked a LOT worse than it actually was. As much as it's scary being in an accident, it's almost scarier seeing someone else (especially a friend) go down! That_guy is totally right, a fast heavy down poor brings out the oil in the pavement but doesn't rain long enough to wash it away, you may have learned a hard lesson for a lot of us! Just glad you're o.k., paint it up, get healed and un-bruised, and keep ridin'!

 

Add "twist the throttle SLOWLY" to the list of important things to remember.

It's a little bit cool to break the rear wheel loose at 50 mph but it's not easy to keep it upright

 

very glad your ok man, I ride in the rain a lot, just slower and with less lean and more concentration, but I too have dropped a bike down shifting without slowing adequetly, ass end slid out from under me, was only doing 30 but it was enough to bend the front forks dent the tank and my pride. Sprained ankle and knee but was ok other than that so I count my blessing as a lesson learned

 

So glad to hear you're OK kid. This is truly a dangerous business we're in.

I did have to laugh a little though.... Some old lady lifted the bike up just far enough for me to get my leg out.....

Hehehe! Thank God for old ladies!

Loren

 

Hmmmm too much front brake can do it , especially if the front wheel turned on ya a bit...

Rain tips....
Lots of focus, concentrate on smooth shifts, smooth braking and gentle inputs on the bars, try to avoid sudden moves if ya can....
Overall slower than usual speeds
You know , basically ride the way we should all the time

 

I had my first drop the other day... I was u-turning on a slight incline and lack of momentum caused the bike to stall and I was tired... yadda yadda yadda

No damage to me and the bike, laid it on its side gently while I moved my leg outa the way. My pride was damaged pretty good though :S

 

I did the exact same thing at a stop sign after a rain storm. Only difference was a friend of mine was riding on the back cause I was showing off my new bike in the middle of the day. Major hit to my pride, but hey, at least my gf wasn't on the back....

 

Lol yeah that was my favorite part.
She waddles over, "Oh my goodness!" Starts trying to lift it. "Ooooh my sheees heavy!" I push her up hard and yank my leg out then flip her upright in seconds, "Thank you ma'am" "Would you like to sit down? Have some Candy young man?" "No Ma'am. I must get home" Sad Face "Dont do that again now!" "I wont ma'am" And she waddles back to her car lol.
At least that part is funny.
Thanks for the support guys. I just felt reeeeal dumb and REEEAAL mad at myself.. Oh well, tank is prepped for painting already. Gonna go buy some sandpaper and some Semi Gloss and go at it again. Tired of Flat Black.
-D.C.A.

 

Did she really ask you if you wanted any candy?.............lol at least we can grasp some humor out of this.

 

1st glad your ok!!

I too have road on more wet roads this year than I have in my life. MI weather, just wait 10 minutes and it will change!! I've also used too much front brake on 2 different occasions scary $hit, was able to pretty much kick the ground the first time and kept him upright the secound I was trying to stop under an overpass in a downpour and slid the front from wet to dry the only thing that saved me was hitting the dry pavement or I'd of been laying side down on a four laner.

Remember also, after waiting for oils to wash down ride in the center of the lane. Its usually the highest spot of the lane and less likely to have puddles in it.

 

Disagree slightly on that... the center is where all the oil and other slippery fluids drip off of all the leaky cars, and rain can't wash it all away. The best place to ride in the rain is in the tire tracks of the car in front of you; their tires have already done most of the work of moving water off the road for you. If there is no car in front of you, then I'd say closer to the middle of the lane, but definitely not on the centerline.

 

Glad you are ok. Riding in the rain can be tricky. I prefer to use about 60% rear to about 40% front brake in the rain. I'd much rather lose the arss than the nose.

Just remember this...there are three types of riders
1. Those that have been down
2. Those that will go down
3. Those that will go down again.

Personally, I'm in the #3 category. I've been down 3x, once bad, once really embarassing, and once pushing too hard. You learn. I hope to heck I never go down again. My baby has way too much money into her, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the way I ride....

 

be well Kid, and relax, it's part of the game. you knew that when you bought the damn thing, can't be surprised at the inevitable. yes i have a long history of falling from racing background, just trying to help w/ the thought process

 

Oh and watch out if a gas station has a car wash where the soapy water flows down the parking lot to the street. My first crash was just such an occation. I was younger and inexperianced, rolled thru it slowly and then jumped on the gas. The rear tire cut loose, the bike went sideways and then I got high sided at 15mph. Not fun lol. But I learned. I bent the bars, broke a turn signal and broke my clutch handle and perch I walked away with some bruises.