smccrory Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 Well, it was my turn last weekend I left in the morning for the MSF Advanced Rider Course on my '85 Honda Nighthawk CB700SC with full gear except for just jeans because I didn't want to boil in the day's heat. In retrospect I wish I would have brought my armored, ballistic nylon riding pants and just shed them during the day as needed - they would have helped to absorb some of the impact... It was misting rain, but I had ridden several times in full-on rain on my V-Star without issues. I stopped by a McDonalds to drink a coffee and then headed out. Getting onto the highway, I slowed down to below normal entry speed using both front and rear brakes, but the rear tire locked up on oil and silt, and the rear slid our from under me in the turn, fell down on my right leg, slid off and spun around to face me. I had two cars behind me, which thankfully stopped, got out and helped me get the bike back up. I dusted myself off and assessed the damage. Remarkably, the bike just had some road scrapes on the right muffler and pressed the rear bake in towards the clutch plates. Everything was still operable, mirrors still OK, the whole bit. I felt OK except for a sore knee. I pulled up my jeans and had a raspberry on my knee (I'd call it bad jeans rash) and I could tell that I had been bruised as well, but I could move everything, put full pressure on my leg, etc. so I got back onto the road and completed a long day at the ARC. Coincidentally I found that it was really really easy to lock up my rear tire in the speed braking drills, and I'm positive that had something to do with my crash. Alas, it wasn't until this week did I realize how badly I had bruised my knee. 7 days later, it's healing, but it's ugly and pretty sore and I bet it'll be a few weeks before it's back to normal. And that was from just a 10-15 mph fall! Actually my whole back and hip areas are sore from overexertion after an indoor winter, but that's separate insult to injury. Primary factors of the crash? Old hard tires that had performed flawlessly on dry roads, and positive experiences in heavy rain on another bike which lead to overconfidence in the Honda. I was going to replace those tires, but I delayed my timing due to other financial surprises. I would have been a little better off in riding pants too - it's possible that the knee armor may have reduce the impact of the valve cover against my knee (I still shudder thinking about it). So, I'll be OK, and I'll certainly ride again, but not until my knee is feeling better and I've replaced those tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokey Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 Ah man glad you are OK, and kudos for the folks behind you helping. Yeah tires make a HUGE difference, and ABS really is your friend on wet and slick roads too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner75 Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 Glad your ok and your ride is still functional Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strictly Street Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 Good post.Tires are important and the start of a rain is worse than after it washes the crap off the road.Make sure to stay off the middle of the lane where the cars drip their fluids and stick to the tire tracks in bad conditions. Glad it was a cheap lesson as in more wounded pride than actual wounds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVTPilot Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 That you are reasonably healthy is certainly most important, and glad to hear you aren't much worse for wear. You have now crossed over from the "has yet to go down" side to the "gone down" side. There are only two, and you survived your transition. Live and learn as we all do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snot Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 Glad you OK and damage wasn't to bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gixxus Christ! Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Bad day for both of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuardRail-Mike Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Glad your ok man and it was a cheap"ish" learning lesson. Stay safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 With rear drums, I used to open them up every Spring and remove dust and debris. It seemed like a necessity to do that. Sometimes lightly sanding the glaze off the pads, even though sanding and messing with the pad material isn't recommended. It helped a lot with the function and feel of the rear brakes. Been down gently many times like that. It's a good idea to move the leg out of the way when it happens. Easy to say, hard to do. Yeah, I've bought a lot of rear brake levers. Eventually I'll buy two, keeping one as a spare. It seems to prevent needing to use it. That's fate. It's like carrying a band-aid, and you never cut yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfs81 Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Good to see ur ok! Something for me to learn and look out for... Key thing is that ur ok! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helmutt Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Hate hearing another rider down this season........glad you and the bike aren't severly damaged -- hope the knee feels better soon and sounds like you should get some new rubber on that Nighthawk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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