WS6
03-27-2007, 04:34 PM
Well, I see two posts all excited about motorcycles on here so I thought I would post the antithesis to that. Crashing sucks!!!!!!!!
I low sided my bike today because I forgot I had new tires on there. I know it sounds dumb. It is. For those that don't know, motorcycle tires do not grip when new. They must be worn in progressively or else you face plant in the middle of a turn at 7am like I did. Worst part is I had only been on maybe 7 minutes, and when leaving the neighborhood, I was weaving side to side to wear the tires in.
I quickly forgot that though because I was approaching an intersection that has a nice turn, all i could think about was these new tires are going to have great lean in and be very linear for roll over. So I went into. Had the throttle steady going through and rolled into it exiting. It would've been sweeeeeeet, but no as soon as I put any power down, slip and the bike comes out from under me. Next thing I know I'm sliding face down yelling f**k and looking at pretty sparks coming off my stainless steel can(that would be scooter speak for muffler) as it grinds into the ground. I slide one lane the bike goes two into the on coming traffic turn lane. Luckily, 7am is pretty quiet in Athens and no one was really around. Couple people watched me and checked that I was ok once they saw me get up. Everything happened so quick. I had no warning that the bike was gonna let go. I even walked back to the turn to make sure I didn't slip in something. It was that sudden. Nope, nothing there it was just the new tires not holding.
So in the end my bike is still fine really. I was only going maybe 25. It goes into the shop on thursday to have the front end checked. It feels funny right now, but nothing bad. I am betting they will just reset the forks or I may need new handlebars. My bike is naked so no fancy plastic covers to replace. Actually, the body and frame had no damage. I'd like to thank Suzuki for making frame sliders as they work great. My favorite pair of jeans now has a split knee and I have road rash on my knee. My textile jacket took a beating on the arm and chest. I'd like to thank Tour Master for making a really cool jacket. It works great too. My helmet needs a new visor as I slid on the right foward side. It's old though, so no big deal there.
All in all my day sucked, but it could have been worse. I got up walked over and picked the bike up and rode over to a parking lot right there. I double checked everything I could see in the street light and rode on to my destination. I even made the bus on time too.
The moral of the story, always wear and use the safety gear. This goes for anything, not just riding a bike. Be thankful if you never have to use it. It's never a waste of money. I'm going to get riding pants now. I don't want to trash another pair of good jeans.
I low sided my bike today because I forgot I had new tires on there. I know it sounds dumb. It is. For those that don't know, motorcycle tires do not grip when new. They must be worn in progressively or else you face plant in the middle of a turn at 7am like I did. Worst part is I had only been on maybe 7 minutes, and when leaving the neighborhood, I was weaving side to side to wear the tires in.
I quickly forgot that though because I was approaching an intersection that has a nice turn, all i could think about was these new tires are going to have great lean in and be very linear for roll over. So I went into. Had the throttle steady going through and rolled into it exiting. It would've been sweeeeeeet, but no as soon as I put any power down, slip and the bike comes out from under me. Next thing I know I'm sliding face down yelling f**k and looking at pretty sparks coming off my stainless steel can(that would be scooter speak for muffler) as it grinds into the ground. I slide one lane the bike goes two into the on coming traffic turn lane. Luckily, 7am is pretty quiet in Athens and no one was really around. Couple people watched me and checked that I was ok once they saw me get up. Everything happened so quick. I had no warning that the bike was gonna let go. I even walked back to the turn to make sure I didn't slip in something. It was that sudden. Nope, nothing there it was just the new tires not holding.
So in the end my bike is still fine really. I was only going maybe 25. It goes into the shop on thursday to have the front end checked. It feels funny right now, but nothing bad. I am betting they will just reset the forks or I may need new handlebars. My bike is naked so no fancy plastic covers to replace. Actually, the body and frame had no damage. I'd like to thank Suzuki for making frame sliders as they work great. My favorite pair of jeans now has a split knee and I have road rash on my knee. My textile jacket took a beating on the arm and chest. I'd like to thank Tour Master for making a really cool jacket. It works great too. My helmet needs a new visor as I slid on the right foward side. It's old though, so no big deal there.
All in all my day sucked, but it could have been worse. I got up walked over and picked the bike up and rode over to a parking lot right there. I double checked everything I could see in the street light and rode on to my destination. I even made the bus on time too.
The moral of the story, always wear and use the safety gear. This goes for anything, not just riding a bike. Be thankful if you never have to use it. It's never a waste of money. I'm going to get riding pants now. I don't want to trash another pair of good jeans.