thomez Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 So I went down today. First time. Slow speed, maybe 30 tops. Here's the MS Paint map of how it went down.I was traveling behind this old lady in a BMW that wasn't going the speed limit. I was probably following a touch too close, but not really that close. She was going slower than the speed limit (35) and I wanted to get around her. I had my lunch in my backpack, and I was hungry. So I check my mirror and see a tow truck to my left. I turned my head to see how close it was and it was pretty tight but I could have got through. I countersteer the bike a little bit as I'm turning my head around and this wonderful old lady ahead of me has slammed on her brakes (no turn signal) to turn into a closed coffee shop. A fucking empty building of all things. So I instinctively grab for my front brake and as soon as I touch it (since my bike wasn't quite straight up) it slides the front end out from under me. Middle of fucking Kent Ohio, right across the street from Kent StateI slide across the ground, hop up, grab my bike and stand it up, hop on it and it starts fine so I'm gone. Seriously I bet from the beginning to the end it was less than 20 seconds and I was back on the bike. A kid was running towards me to assist but I waved him off and was on the way back to work.Couple things I would say I learned from this1) Keep more distance between the bike and old people2) Swerve first, brake later. It was just all done without thinking though, just instinct. I'd probably do it again, honestly. 3) Jeans offer very little crash protection. I need some pants to ride in, not really for a daily basis but if I'm doing any kind of sporty riding, jeans won't cut it.4) Carrying keys in your jeans is asking for the pain of a thousand bee stings. I have a sizable welt on my left leg from this.5) Even the stupidest short trips (2 miles round trip for lunch with a max speed of 40mph) can be dangerous. I'm glad I always wear my helmet.6) Gloves at all times, I don't care how hot it is. They saved my hands from serious rash today.Alright, so here are the pics. The bike didn't get too much damage except for breaking the front fairing around the light. I didn't really like it anyways, and it was already beat up and missing some paint. I'll have to decide if I want to go with a single headlight and no fairing or replace that one.fairing rashfairing crack on opposite sidebroken turn signalAdded some scrape to the engine caseAnd a touch of damage to the chrome on the Kawi logoGloves saved my hands from serious rash (the other one was scraped on the back of my hand)I don't even remember my face scraping the pavement, but it obviously did. It wasn't hard though because the paint is barely off.ZEE JEANS, ZEY DO NUTHING!lol @ rasberry on my thigha key poked the fuck out of my leg - it also scraped up a few of the keys and melted a hole in my Giant Eagle advantage card this is pretty much how my leg looked when I slid into home on pavement while playing kickball as a kid - 30mph slide in jeans for the loseMy left wrist is also sore as hell, not broken or anything, but sprained pretty good. It hurts to turn a door knob or pick up something/squeeze. So, I guess there's a first time for everything. I was so proud of having never been down too Oh, and the moral of the story = NAKED BIKES RULE!Such a stupid fall would surely have cost me a lot more on a supersport, I would think. I'm glad I'm cheap as fuck and ride a beater nakie.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FocusDave01 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 ouch man..glad your ok and it wasnt worse...now thats the 3rd O.R. to go yesterday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomez Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 ya I was fortunate, that's for sure just a stupid mistake and (hopefully) a lesson learned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrjess0815 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Glad you're ok... Sucks man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagr Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Glad you're not to beat up. Time to streetfighter that bike. Rattle can it flat black. And terrorize old Beemer bitches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armin922 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 damn glad ur ok. This happened to me within my first yr of riding. I was also riding a tad close to this car, they suddenly hit their brakes we were only going about 10 mph because of traffic and when i grabbed the front brake the handlebars turn and i go down. There was freaking oil or whatever the hell it was under my front tire when i went to brake. And i went down, had some scrapes, fairings were cracked and thats it. Got up and just rode away. It happened so fast. Point of the story, DONT RIDE TO CLOSE! Give plenty of distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomez Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Glad you're not to beat up. Time to streetfighter that bike. Rattle can it flat black. And terrorize old Beemer bitches. I wanted to paint it anyways, or maybe go to a round headlight ... hell for now I might just fix the turn signal and ride it like that, I don't really care much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harb67 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Sorry to hear that man... Was this on Main St? Coulda been a lot worse if it was in heavier traffic out there, glad you survived mostly in tact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomez Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 damn glad ur ok. This happened to me within my first yr of riding. I was also riding a tad close to this car, they suddenly hit their brakes we were only going about 10 mph because of traffic and when i grabbed the front brake the handlebars turn and i go down. There was freaking oil or whatever the hell it was under my front tire when i went to brake. And i went down, had some scrapes, fairings were cracked and thats it. Got up and just rode away. It happened so fast. Point of the story, DONT RIDE TO CLOSE! Give plenty of distance.ya it all happened in the second I was looking over my shoulder ... and when I looked back I probably could have swerved around the car but it was pretty close and gut instinct just grabbed for the brakes... and down she went it really is amazing how fast it happens.... it was like .... vrrooooom...... oh shit, brakes, sliding..... stand up, pick bike up (500lbs has never and will never again feel so light in my life) hop on, start, ride away .... maybe 15 seconds even, it was like a pit stop in Nascar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawi kid Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 geez thats three Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomez Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Sorry to hear that man... Was this on Main St? Coulda been a lot worse if it was in heavier traffic out there, glad you survived mostly in tact Ya, route 59 across from campus, between Taco Bell and Burger King I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaNick Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Glad your ok thomez.I figured the keys would hurt in the pocket. I thought about that a few years back and decided to never take my keys anywhere with me. Looks like I've been proven right. I always thought they'd get impaled in my leg though and that was my fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchmuckGirl Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 oH MAN, sorry to hear about the mishap but glad you're not too banged up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleCock Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 ouch. that sucks & good luck with repairs+1 for maintaining assured clear distance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomez Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Glad your ok thomez.I figured the keys would hurt in the pocket. I thought about that a few years back and decided to never take my keys anywhere with me. Looks like I've been proven right. I always thought they'd get impaled in my leg though and that was my fear.Ya, typically I keep the shit in my underseat storage but yesterday I was just running down the road real quick and never thought about that.... I was lucky.... damage to my leg could have been much worse.... and I had my phone and ipod touch on the other side and they weren't damaged at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disclaimer Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Jeez. Craziness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomez Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 I still feel like a dumbass - the damage to my pride was probably the most significant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaNick Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Well, now you know what it's like and luckily got your cherry busted with light damage. <---Just a way of saying to smile now, it's over, and be glad you're just fine. Many happy decades ahead man...many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomez Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Does this mean I can buy a nice bike now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CbrGirl Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Glad you're okay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 sounds to me like people in BMW's didn't like bikes yesterday. I wanted to kick a woman's hood in on her bmw yesterday on the exit to polaris parkway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaNick Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 sounds to me like people in BMW's didn't like bikes yesterday. I wanted to kick a woman's hood in on her bmw yesterday on the exit to polaris parkway.Mine was a Camaro. I had to swerve hard and fast. I got right on her window, I could touch her, and rev'd the piss out of my bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Shitty bro, glad you're OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmo Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 oh....shit...I am glad to hear you are OK man......could be worse...send you a text.....heal up fast and take care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMax33 Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 There are too many of these as of late. Our own little trip could have ended badly if I didn't pay attention to my environment today. It only takes a second. Next weekend, no more wrecks. Let's start a chant: "No more wrecks. No more wrecks..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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