I have done many "Flying W" dismounts in the dirt, usually resulting in a knee striking a rock followed by several minutes of silent screaming...
I have only had 2 accidents on the street.
The first was on my 66 Bonneville, many years ago. A station wagon (remember those?) pulled out in front of me, saw me coming and.... stopped. I laid the bike down on the left side, slid into the guys front tire, and popped up across the hood of his car, pounding on his hood and windshield with my fists and calling him everything nasty I could think of. The bike had scuffs on the grips and pegs, but otherwise was ok. I had sore knees from hitting his fender, sore hands from pounding on his car, and full underwear from, well, enough about that...
The second time was early this summer. I was riding like an idiot, not speeding so much, but just too over-confident and not paying attention. I wanted to change lanes and as I looked over my shoulder, someone pulled out up ahead and the car directly in front of me slammed on his brakes. I was only going 20mph or so, but when I turned my head back, it was "wham" and I was laying on the road with a 500 lb. America on my left leg. 3 guys got out of their cars and lifted the bike off of me and helped me push it off the road. The guy I hit said don't worry about it. (Whew!) No real damage to his car. I had a sore ankle, a smushed finger, and some other bruises but no major damage. The bike had a busted front fender, a bent foot control bar, a broken mirror, and a tweaked light bar.
Now what you're really asking is should you ride again. We can't make that decision for you.... Stuff happens. You can only control you.
After my first encounter with the station wagon, I had no problem riding again. I was much younger then and the accident wasn't my fault. I was ok, the bike was ok, and I never even thought about not riding. I just became more cautious.
After this recent collision, I rode scared for awhile. It
was my fault. I got lucky. It could have been much worse. Somebody in the next lane could have easily been on a cell phone and run over my head while I was pinned under the bike.. I rode home thinking "you dumbazz.. you know better"...
That was about 3000 miles ago. While nowhere near as dramatic or traumatic as some of the other tales, any accident is a wakeup call.
You have to weigh the plusses and minuses in relation to your desire to ride. Then make your decision. You may be scared at first, but you'll be a better rider for it.
Now, if you want to talk about close calls.... nevermind. That would take several pages and I don't type that well...
