So it happened… I was out for a scape with a couple of buddies – my best friend who started riding a couple years ago same as me, and his dad who has been riding for 40+ years, on a country road in the middle of no where and I was setting the pace. We just entered a stretch of road with half mile straights then turns with posted “30mph” recommended entry speeds. The first one, a right hander, I took at 50, no problem, just started scraping boards. The next, another right, I took at 55, again no problem, this time scraping exhaust. The next, a left, I took at 60… bike leaned all the way over, caught the side stand, levered the front tire off the ground and that’s all she wrote. I lowside and go sliding. From what my buddy behind me tells me, this is what transpired next: as the bike left the road on it’s side it hit a road marker and got airborne. On the side of the road was a little raised burn and then a 30 foot dirt embankment with a barbed fire fence at the bottom. The bike flipped through the air and down the embankment, tumbling and crashed through the fence, coming to a rest hanging sort of upside down in the barbed wire. I meanwhile, slid, hit the burm, got airborn but the bike flew OVER me so I then hit the embankment, tumbled and slide and came to a stop caught in the fence too about 15 feet away from the bike.

I checked to make sure everything was working and to my surprise, I seemed okay. My buddies ran down and got me out the fence and I made my way back up to the street. My only injuries are a sprained left foot from where the floorboards squeezed it against the bike with it went down, and a good sized rash on the right side of my body – when I hit the burm, my riding jacket got pulled up about 9 inches exposing my skin to the dirt and thistles in the embankment. Luckily, dirt does not scrape skin off with the efficiency of asphalt so the scrapes aren’t too deep. My jeans and helmet were totally unscathed – well, the helmet was really scratched up from the dirt and stuff but no impact marks. Even my jacket was pretty okay expect for the left arm with was ravaged around the cuff. My gloves had some scrapes on the knuckles, but all in all not much damage. I guess because I was in the air most of the trip. I’m still glad I had the gear on or it would have been much worse, I have no doubt – those scratches all over my visor on my helmet would have been all over my face.

So that left the BA trashed and tangled in the fence down the embankment. Luckily on the other side of the fence was a large, empty, flat field. We finally got the bike out and I said to my buddy’s dad “Now what?” His reply - “Now you ride this sumb**** outta here.” I’m like no way this bike is going to get me home. Every body panel is smashed, the forks have dents in them, the front tire was stuck in barbed wire, the bars are twisted down, there’s dirt and rocks pouring out of every opening, the mirrors and screen are scattered across the road, etc. So we right it, pull clutch in, hit the starter and the bike fires to life just like nothing ever happened! Holy cow – that is one tough bike! Are you kidding me?! So he hops on and rides it across the field to the opening in the fence, rides it up on the road and blasts down the road past me, turns it around, parks it and says “I think she’ll get you home.”

And so she did – it was without question the longest 2 hour ride of my life to get the 150 miles back home with the missing mirrors and lights and boards hanging limply; having to shift my bent up shifter with my injured foot. But she hung together just fine even at freeway speeds. In fact, I could probably just replace the lights and mirrors, get some new fork tubes, and paint her primer black and no one would know the difference. As is I’m thinking about doing just that and painting the skull and crossbones symbol on her tank from Stuntman Mike’s car in that movie “Deathproof”. Seems fitting.

What I take away from this? Well, #1 – when things start scraping, it means you’re getting near the bike’s limits, don’t keep pushing it. #2 – the street is not a racetrack and riding at 10/10ths is just a crash waiting to happen (see above). #3 – My gear saved my rear, so always wear it. I think I may invest in one of those aerostitch like riding suits because if my jacket hadn’t been pulled up, I would be in much better shape right now. #4 – Triumph makes a helluva tough bike; any thought I may have had about buying a different brand in the future is now gone. It’s only Triumph for me from here on out.