- Joined
- Oct 2, 1998
- Messages
- 15,054
First off thanks for the well wishes. I'm not seriously hurt - my ego is a lot worse than my physical injuries.
For those who are curious as to what exactly happened, I went down going around a corner at about 15 mph during a light rain - on my way to work, naturally. I wasn't speeding, turning excessively or anything, the bike just went out from under me all of a sudden and I did my Superman impression. Thank god for full face helmets and that I was on the outside of a left turn, as I flew into a grassy area. The bike just lost traction, grabbed again, and pitched over, jettisoning me like a rocket and sliding into the grass. One second I was turning, the next I was flying through the air - I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was on my side in the grass. 2 cop cars, some construction workers, and some onlookers were on me like white on rice.
Some quick self examination told me I didn't need an ambulance as I could move everything. I managed to walk away with 2 sprained wrists, bruised feet, a scraped knee, ripped jeans, and an impressive amount of dirt on my helmet, handlebars, and rainjacket. If I hadn't been wearing a full face helmet, I'd have been a lot worse off.
No, it wasn't a Harley - my bike is a 99 Yamaha Road Star Silverado that I picked up about 5 weeks ago with only 2900 miles on it. 1600cc's of sewing machine at 100mph, with the jet kit, glide kit, big air kit, custom half windshield, stilleto seat, custom pipes, the sweetest sound and a gorgeous factory green two tone paint job that looks like something out of a mint. Damage to her is a large dent in the gas tank (and the attendant ruined paint - I loved that paint job), dented headlamp, screwed up windshield brackets, bent handlebars, and broken right tail light. Strangely enough, the custom chrome pipes and such weren't even touched - the gas tank and the handlebars took the worst, along with a nasty scrape on the right floorboard.
Honestly, I could care less about the damage to the bike, I'm just happy I didn't land in oncoming traffic, break a limb, or die. I could barely walk today, and trying to use my hands is a bitch, but I'll be back into work tomorrow. I just won't be moving fast.
Like I said before, thank god for the helmet. I'll never feel stupid for wearing it on a cruiser again. Now if only I could wear an exoskeleton covering the rest of me - because the only parts that got hurt were the joints.
Kevin
For those who are curious as to what exactly happened, I went down going around a corner at about 15 mph during a light rain - on my way to work, naturally. I wasn't speeding, turning excessively or anything, the bike just went out from under me all of a sudden and I did my Superman impression. Thank god for full face helmets and that I was on the outside of a left turn, as I flew into a grassy area. The bike just lost traction, grabbed again, and pitched over, jettisoning me like a rocket and sliding into the grass. One second I was turning, the next I was flying through the air - I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was on my side in the grass. 2 cop cars, some construction workers, and some onlookers were on me like white on rice.
Some quick self examination told me I didn't need an ambulance as I could move everything. I managed to walk away with 2 sprained wrists, bruised feet, a scraped knee, ripped jeans, and an impressive amount of dirt on my helmet, handlebars, and rainjacket. If I hadn't been wearing a full face helmet, I'd have been a lot worse off.
No, it wasn't a Harley - my bike is a 99 Yamaha Road Star Silverado that I picked up about 5 weeks ago with only 2900 miles on it. 1600cc's of sewing machine at 100mph, with the jet kit, glide kit, big air kit, custom half windshield, stilleto seat, custom pipes, the sweetest sound and a gorgeous factory green two tone paint job that looks like something out of a mint. Damage to her is a large dent in the gas tank (and the attendant ruined paint - I loved that paint job), dented headlamp, screwed up windshield brackets, bent handlebars, and broken right tail light. Strangely enough, the custom chrome pipes and such weren't even touched - the gas tank and the handlebars took the worst, along with a nasty scrape on the right floorboard.
Honestly, I could care less about the damage to the bike, I'm just happy I didn't land in oncoming traffic, break a limb, or die. I could barely walk today, and trying to use my hands is a bitch, but I'll be back into work tomorrow. I just won't be moving fast.
Like I said before, thank god for the helmet. I'll never feel stupid for wearing it on a cruiser again. Now if only I could wear an exoskeleton covering the rest of me - because the only parts that got hurt were the joints.
Kevin
