Saturday Morning:
Wake up early Saturday to do my first oil change (early as in 10a which is usually reserved for fairly important appointments on a Saturday). Everything goes smoothly, my first time getting the bike on the centerstand without help from my little brother (thanks to the board's search function and everyone's previous posts), I also manage to tighten the rear suspension after a couple previous failed attempts. As soon as I finish all of this and a quick washing of the bike, it begins to poor rain. Uspet that I won't get to enjoy the fruits of my work, I use the cage for my errands.
Saturday Afternoon:
It stops raining and dries up some, so I take the bike out for a spin. Find some decent roads through a part of town I've never been in. It's cool outside because of the rain and not too many cars either. Perfect
Saturday Evening:
On the way back home after some good riding it starts to rain again, nothing too bad plus I'm almost home. I exit the freeway, enter a u-turn right around the corner from my house, but as I start to lean into the curve the bike completely slips from underneath me. My bike any I experience our first taste of asphault. We both slide a good 20 feet, the car behind me stops to make sure I'm ok. I pop right up, get the bike up with no problem. Have to choke it halfway to get it to start and make my way back home.
damage: less than a dime of what I would call carpet burn, but what I'm assuming is referred to as road rash, on my arm and another dime size piece on my thigh.
the bike: bent gear shifter and clutch lever (already ordered), and a bent handlebar (deciding whether I should take the opportunity to upgrade).
lesson learned: slippery when wet. After riding for 2+ hours I grew pretty comfortable with the wet roads, but I definately should've been more cautious going into that turn. Also underpasses seem to retain more water near the u-turn area so I'll be extra careful going through those in the future.
final note: everything happened just like I've read from others' posts on this board including being able to pick the bike up without much trouble and starting it back up with the choke. thanks :thumb:
final final note: I'll never post anything this long again
Glad youre ok, and glad you learned youre lesson,
The biggest problem with motorcycles is getting too comfortable too quickly, trust me , Ive learn my lessons too
EDIT: Hey would you be interested in going to Toledo bend on the last weekend of July
i saw some posts about that. probably won't make that trip, but i'll be on the look out for any rides in the fall. I'm staying with the parents for the summer and they still worry alot about me on the bike
Glad you're allright. Smooth transitions when wet. Gentle pressure when turning the handlebars. Slowly rolling on throttle.
Ouch man, glad it wasn't any worse. The rains in Houston were pretty bad this weekend, especially on Saturday (at least around the Columbus area). We missed the rain by the time we got into Houston, but it was a torrential downpoor at some points on the way there.
Slippery when wet indeed.