Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge argh, man down!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Georgia. Got together with a couple of friends to head towards Helen in the North Georgia Mountains. Needless to say I was excited and loving my bike which got a set of Specialty Spare pipes just the day before (BTW thanks to chy and Triumph of North GA for the great job!).

So we headed to Helen and as expected, lots of riders out, lots of nice bikes and a beautiful setting, just perfect... until I got out of a right turn to find a very tight left turn immediately after the exit... wasn't able to fight to properly take the left turn or make an emergency stop... my only option was to head to the grass and hope for the best.

The bike slid on the grass and gravel while I tumbled a few times. Thanks to the gear I had on I was well protected, got right back on my feet and cursed like a drunken sailor for quite a while. My friend right behind me stopped and helped me get the bike back up... several other riders stopped to help as well. The bike started in the first try, took it out of the ditch and after a while we headed back home. I drove myself to the hospital since my left shoulder was hurting quite a bit, the xrays were negative and it seems that my shoulder is just swollen and bruised... I'm taking pain medications right now and movement to my shoulder is slowly coming back.

The bike is messed up and will take some serious cash to get it back to how she used to be... I know it is a hassle now but I'm ok the insurance will take care of repairs and as soon the bike is fixed and I'm 100% I'll hop back and ride again... I can't wait. Just another experience which will make me a better rider tomorrow.

Anyways I hope you'll had a better holiday weekend.

Man, hate to here that. Here's to a speedy recovery.
Mike

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Man, hate to here that. Here's to a speedy recovery.
Mike

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Let me second that. I had "chores" to do today, otherwise I would have been in Helen also. Beautiful day, sorry you had to go down.

Hang in there and let us know how your shoulder heals.

Paw

Well dang it man!.. we just had that sucker looking(and sounding) good too. Main thing is you walked away.. and even rode it home... both very good things.
Hoping for a rapid recovery for you and your machine...

That's a real bummer. Whilst you sound like you have dealt with it mentally cos after all it will be fixed, I just can't imagine how it would feel to see your pride and joy in a ditch all banged up. Thanks for sharing with us though cos we all understand how easy these things can happen.

Not wanting to steal you thunder but I was probably just lucky on my last ride not to do exactly the same thing. Couldn't take the corner cos of gravel from a road exit, so I decided to just go straight into the clearing. My rear brake just skidded so I hauled onto the front discs and pulled up just in time not to hit some trees. Scary business but no damage.

I'm hoping I learn from these near missus cos if I don't, eventually one will bite me.

Thanks again Angel. Maybe some pics if you can pick up the courage.

Gut wrenching experience for you buddy! Glad to hear that you have no serious damage.

When I recently hit the tarmac, thanks to an oncomming car, I got me and my bike patched up and rode around that left hander 3 times to get it out of the system.

Hope you are back on the road soon.

I always say if you can get back on and ride it home, it's a blessing and will only take a few £££££/$$$$$$ to sort it out, much better spending the ££££££/$$$$$$ on the bike rather than on yourself..

Speedy recovery

It's definitely an art to handle your bike through turns like that...You have to be VERY comfortable with your bike, know exactly how much rear and front brake to apply, and quick on the shift...I learned alot this weekend on the Cherohala, and I have over 30,000 miles in the seat. I suck up to the white line as much as possibe when encountering a turn to the right, and the yellow when turning to the left. I will occasionally go into the other lane in the twisties when I can see far up the road, which is probably a bad habit...And when in doubt, shut her down using tranny, front AND rear brakes sparingly...My bike responds well to my inputs, but I know the limits...

Ow! Kudos for being smart enough to gear up before riding, I'm glad to hear you came out intact with just some bruising (ego included) and a rideable bike. Time to get out the wrenches and replace those broken bits and get back on the road.

Glad you came out ok. Time to reflect and learn from the incident. Maybe a good time to customize the bike a little.

Talking about customising your bike, my next project is to get some engine protection bars and something for the rear too, cos unfortunatly I feel for some reason that it's only a matter of time before I too come unstuck. I just shudder to think what damage is done just by putting our bikes down and I want to restrict this as much as possible. I wonder if others feel the same way

You still have all your parts so in that respect its a good accident. Get well soon, sorry to hear that.

Sorry to hear that. Glad you weren't hurt. Ride safe guys!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments its very encouraging to have a place such as this with so many great people.

I have a picture of the bike but you really can't see the damage very well. It will cost quite a bit to get it fix but I know it will get fix right, chy, andy and the rest of the crew at Triumph North Georgia know their stuff and so far they have done nothing but quality work on my bike. Chy, get ready buddy there is a lot of work coming your way

That isn't the way to customize your bike, you are supposed to use wrenches and such! Glad you are OK.

Ouch...glad to hear you will be ok. Good to read that you wore all your gear.
Get well soon and hope you can ride your beauty again ASAP!!

I think I'm going to have bad news on the bike... insurance hasn't call me yet but the shop told me how much it will cost to repair it and it is quite a bit like I had feared... I love my bike, I don't want to see her go...

Maybe you could make a deal to buy it back and do the work yourself.

Sorry to hear this latest news, Angel.

I've always found it amazing how high those post-accident estimates can get, and how quickly it often seems the insurance companies tend to just "total" the bike.

Maybe you can do what Ian suggested?!

well, having almost bought in on just such a curve between Clemson and Dahlonega on the way to my 1st GA Rally, I can sympathize, luckily I stayed upright and stopped JUST shy of the guardrail over a steep drop and JUST got out of the way of the car in the oncoming lane (and I mean JUST just!!!!). Glad to hear that you walked away though and can fix her back up!!

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I just talked with the adjuster and he said that if I'm willing to live with the minor stuff we can work something out... I know that the back fender has a scratch but I can live with that until I can fix it on my own, I am more concerned with the major work. I just turned in a list of the accessories and upgrades so I hope that helps to bring the value of the bike up a little.

I did that too. A week after I got my bike (back in November), I decided to ride into work. It was a bit cold but I said what the heck. When I was turning onto the freeway onramp, my back tire hit some black ice and down I went. Scraped up my week old pipes, mirror and bar end. ARGH! So I know the feeling. :-)

One of the guys I do the Mod work for SH3 and SH4
just got hit by a cage while he was on a peddle bike!!
2 broken wrists!!!!
You are very lucky Mate!!
I get laughed at because I wear all my leathers
on a 80+ degree day.
But at speed?
I'm comfy.
And haveing been down more the once over the years?
I like my gear.
The Bikes can be fixed.
Sometimes we can be!!

Glad you are OK......

Two rules to live by if you ride:
1. There are two types of riders, those that've been down, those that're going down.
2. Leather is cheaper than skin grafts......

If I wasn't wearing my gear I would have been seriously hurt and my face would have been uglier than it is LOL, thank God it didn't happen on a cliff curve or I would have dropped a couple hundred feet down.

You know what? the toughest part of all of this is hearing the bikes passing by outside the house... sigh.

phew! What do you know! the insurance adjuster called today to inform me that after taking the list of accessories and upgrades into account they will go ahead and cover the repairs (minus deductible, of course) so you guys make sure you keep all of those accessories and upgrades receipts 'cause you never know when you'll need them.

Oh BTW they are also replacing my helmet, jacket and gloves.
Happy, happy joy, joy! I'll have my baby back!

Angel,

Just saw this. Glad that you are ok and that the bike is repairable.

Thom

Very cool, glad to hear of the happy ending.

She's finally back home!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snows_55/2634836791/