Took a spill today. God was watching over me.

aworkmon · May 25, 2006, 01:26:58 PM

Well I've only had the bike now for a month and a half and I just took my first spill. It was definately a beginners mistake. I was doing some twisties feeling really confident leaning and transitioning, when I come around a curve at what I thought was too fast (wasn't looking into the turn) so I hit the brake and locked up the rear. I did everything that I was taught not to do in the MSF course and let off of the brake after it locked (you can probably see where this is going). Well needless to say the bike realigned and I did a flip landed on my helmet and slid for about 75 feet. Luckily I was wearing all of my safety gear and managed to walk away with minor road rash a sore neck and a very sore hip. All of the cars that drove by were very helpful. Now, flashback to yesterday. I dropped my helmet and cracked it, but at first really thought nothing of it. Later in ther day something was telling me to go get a new helmet, which I believe to be God's way of telling me I was to get a wakeup call today. So I went to the bike shop and bought a beautiful new Arai Profile Carr, and after landing on my head I have to say it was definately worth the $500 that I paid for it. The morasl of the story are be safe, wear protective gear, don't brake in corners(and if you do and lock the rear ride it out), always look into the turns, just lean, and pray to God to protect you. As for the bike I'm not sure how much it's going to cost to fix it.

Andrew

aaronstj · May 25, 2006, 01:30:31 PM

D'oh. Glad to hear your OK. Too bad about the helmets, though. Motorcycling's gonna get awful expensive if you keep going through helmets like that.

aworkmon · May 25, 2006, 01:35:42 PM

True. Almost as expensive as going through parts when I had my STi. I think I gonna have to claim this on my insurance so I will get the credit for the helmet. Also, I this the motor may be seized so the bike may be kaput.

dawei213 · May 25, 2006, 01:36:45 PM

Quote from: aaronstj on May 25, 2006, 01:30:31 PM
D'oh. Glad to hear your OK. Too bad about the helmets, though. Motorcycling's gonna get awful expensive if you keep going through helmets like that.

Going helmets AND motorcycle can get expensive.

Seriously though, glad you are ok.

Mitch · May 25, 2006, 01:46:10 PM

Good to hear you're OK. I always hear gear more then pays for it's self on the first spill.

FearedGS500 · May 25, 2006, 01:48:05 PM

good to hear you made it threw. 500 for a helment yikes .... seeing how your new to riding you might want to find some guys to ride with (even if they are 600's + ) and just ride some twiste with them . let them know your new and your looking for the saddle time so that you can ride on your own . i normaly ride with 900-1000

its great there like damn dude you know how to ride that bike ! .. i can give some of the 900's a run for there money in the twistes

aworkmon · May 25, 2006, 01:49:46 PM

Sure does. I landed on the helmet so the $500 I paid for the helmet was certainly a reasonable price for my life. Just wish I would have had it for more that a day.

The Buddha · May 25, 2006, 02:02:45 PM

Oh ... well glad you're OK. I been running about with no gear ... but I ride like an old man ...
Cool.
Srinath.

aworkmon · May 25, 2006, 02:07:36 PM

How can I tell if the engine is seized?

3imo · May 25, 2006, 02:15:45 PM

assuming it wont turn over when you push the start button. and you can't have it on the center stand in gear to turn the engine.

remove the ignition pickup cover (right hand side of engine) you should be able to turn the engine with a 18mm (19mm) wrench on the pick up. be sure not to turn the smaller bolt.

if the engine turns freely it has not "siezed"

-----
Glad your ok. how bad was the bike damaged, that you think the engine siezed ?

daneilah · May 25, 2006, 02:18:01 PM

Glad to hear you walked away.... that was $500 well spent

What other gear were you wearing?

scratch · May 25, 2006, 02:22:15 PM

Glad you're allright. 19mm wrench on the crank, and it can be seized and still crank when cold, it's when it warms up that the cleanances are taken up by the scoring of the cylinder and piston.

aworkmon · May 25, 2006, 02:38:10 PM

I was wearing Joe Rocket leather gloves, AGV mesh jacket, over the ankle leather boots, and jeans. I will now have to replace everything except for the glove and boots. I am now considering investing in some good leathers and pants. Since I didn't spend a whole lot of time on my legs the asphalt didn't get a chance to tear up the jeans too much but where it did contact it disenigrated them.

blue05twin · May 25, 2006, 02:53:47 PM

Sorry about your accident but the good think is that you came out with almost no dmg to you. . thats the important part

DGBone · May 25, 2006, 02:54:35 PM

Glad to hear you are OK. Looking at the positives: You are OK, bike is insured, you are now a more experienced rider.
In that situation, just lean the bike some more, you are usually better off doing that than panicking and breaking. Worse scenario you will "low side" rather than "high side" with the later being a potentially more dangerous and painful proposition.
Cheers

aworkmon · May 25, 2006, 03:50:30 PM

Ok, so I can turn the nut backwards, but not forward

. If I turn it backward a little bit and try to crank it turns a little but get stuck right back where it was. Does this mean she dead?

corndog67 · May 25, 2006, 03:54:08 PM

The moral of the story is that if you flew 75 feet through the air, you need to slow your ass down until you get more experience.

scratch · May 25, 2006, 03:59:22 PM

It's meant to be rotated clockwise. Please don't rotate it the other way; bad. The tensioner is designed for one direction, and rotating it backwards messes with the slack and the timing of things, which could lead to other broken things.

Chances are that your motor is not seized. Maybe something else came loose, like a battery connection. Do you have lights?

Are the safety switches functioning?

Clutch safety switch?

Sidestand safety switch?

What else could have been damaged is the crash?

aworkmon · May 25, 2006, 04:02:36 PM

Whoa there chief. I learned my lesson. I was going around 20-30mph and I could have easily made the turn had I looked to the end of it and not been fixated on the gaurdrail and then just leaned instead of the no-no braking(that wasn't even as bad as the fact that I released the rear brake after it had locked up). Also, I didn't fly through the air I slid on the ground. It didn't help either that I was sliding downhill. So, I recognize what I did wrong and I know what I need to correct. It is more of an inexperience issue than a speed issue.

aworkmon · May 25, 2006, 04:03:36 PM

Alright then I believ she's spent.

News:

Took a spill today. God was watching over me.