Looks like I'm a little late to this post, but here goes. The most important thing to remember is not to become complacent. Always be vigilant and even though you are comfortable with who you are riding with and their abilities, DON'T FOLLOW TOO CLOSE. I learned this lesson very much the hard way. I ride with my buddy Vito often. He is okay for a Sprint ST guy. He likes to go fast and I often end up riding much faster with him than I would by myself. Because I trust him, I sometimes follow him a little closer than I normally would. Are you starting to get the picture. We are coming up on an intersection that is the one BEFORE we were supposed to turn. I looked to the right to make sure no one was coming out of that intersection when Vito turned. I ended up hitting the side of him and lost control of the front wheel. Despite my best efforts, I went down. Some pretty nasty road rash on my knee, but the Joe Rocket jacket, padded gloves and the full face helmet took the worst of it.
I have done almost 15,000 incident free miles in the last 2 years on Speedy, but one momentary lapse of concentration is what got me. In retrospect it could have been worse. I will not replace the clutch lever housing which is scratched a little. That will be a good reminder.
