| Author | Message | ||
     Indybuell |
On my way to work. I had made it 24 of 26 miles. I was turning left from a stop sign onto another small country two lane road. As I was turning left, I guess I was pulling a little on the throttle during the turn and went too wide. I went off the road, and into a field. Started to pull in clutch, but stupidly pulled front brake as well. Almost had it saved, but then I hit a decent size dip in the field, and laid it down on the left side. Broke my turn signal, Shifer peg was bent, and cranked straight down. Lots of dirt on the tranny. Flyscreen support bracket crumbled on the left side, headlight bolt sheared. I cut my right leg, about 12 inches long, about a milimeter deep if that, and jammed my right thumb pretty well. I'll live to ride again. The great part of the story was that there was a car directly behind me making the same turn. He saw the whole thing happen and pulled off the road. He was a biker back in the day himself. He actually helped me up, helped me get to a gas station. He then took his car home, and got his truck and trailer, and gave me a free haul to the buell dealer about 15 miles away. I couldn't believe it. I tried to give him some dough for the desiel he had used, but he wouldn't take anything. Pretty amazing. | ||
| Johnnymac |
Holy smokes! So glad you are ok. You are very lucky! Isn't it awesome when you encounter a good Samaritan like that? People like that make the world a better place to live in. Blessings to him and to you on your safety. Sounds like the bike will be back in shape with little work and little money. Consider it a lesson learned and climb back on that horse. It's good to hear you won't let it affect your willingness to continue riding. Was this your first accident on a bike? | ||
| Ezblast |
Next time ride it through, add more lean, and stay on the throttle - when you saw you where going into the corner a bit faster than you realized, you backed off on the throttle and that put you into the corner wide starting all the rest of the errors - just been rereading Twist of the Wrist 2 by Keith Code - a great book - I read both once a year to try and avoid any bad habits I might be developing. Now that you have that out of your system the rest of your riding experiences should be good to go and the Blast can take that kind of punishment easily, freshen her up and she'll be as good as new and give you years of good service. EZ | ||
| Indybuell |
EZ, It seems like when I add throttle in a turn from a very slow speed or a stop the bikes wants more room to turn. Am I not leaning it enough? When I figured I wouldn't make the turn I actually straightened it up, and the wreck was really in the field do to poor stopping of the bike on my part. I do have problems making turns from a stop sign it seams. At a stop light, where there is much more room, I seem to do fine. I picked up Twist of the Wrist 1 yesterday, and Proficient Motorcycling. Looks like I will have plenty of time on my hands to get some reading in. | ||
| Mytripb |
Glad to hear you're ok! This is why it's better to buy a used bike when first starting out! Did you sign up for a MSF course? It will definitely help you improve your slow speed maneuverability (including the tight turns from a stop)! | ||
| Ezblast |
Enjoy the books - they'll give you a great idea on all of it - and they are easy quick reads! EZ | ||
| Indybuell |
My class isn't until 10/3. I'll probably try to ride to work again as soon as I get my bike fixed. What do you guys think fixing the shifter would cost? It dug pretty well into the group, and the peg was down to about 7 o'clock if you looked at the tranny. It did shift, as I was able to put it in neutral, and 1st, to ride it to the gas station. Is it just a spline bolt that they back out and reset? | ||
| Ezblast |
Simple 10 minute fix, if they have to replace - depending if it is really bent - 20 min fix - should not cost much - period - be careful - ride your own ride, and enjoy the ride - repeat after me - rubber side down - damn it! EZ | ||
| Indybuell |
Well, the tree in my front yard isn't oak, (Its a National Peach). I did some laps around it last night, that must have jinxed me. | ||
| Ezblast |
Ahhhh - definitely the true source of your troubles, but now that your karma is paid, should be smooth sailing ahead - EZ | ||
| Swampy |
INDYBUELL IS A FRICKEN LIAR! There is no such thing as a Buell dealer within 15 miles of anywhere in the Midwest! JK! Glad you are OK, get that training class and they will teach you throttle control. Knowledge is Power! A throttle is a terrible thing to waste! | ||
| Swampy |
By the way check your front fender direction.... Then find an OAK tree for goodness sake! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Glad to hear you're 'okay'. Get thee to a parking lot and practice, practice, practice. "A Twist of the Wrist" is a bit over your head if your crashing from taking off at a stop sign. Get back to the basics and dont overcomplicate it. Please dont spend all your time reading about the fastest way to get through a turn. David Hough has probably taught more people than anyone! His book and name are very well known in the motorcycling world. | ||
| Reuel |
EZ spellt dammit wrong! If you have a maple tree, it can work sometimes, but you must do the dance at least 2 nights in a row. Yup, when making a turn, you could have saved yourself if you had just tried to fall over into your turn completely, with a good dose of throttle. I did it once, ran over my left foot, as I went a way past the peg-scrape point, and the Blast went through the turn perfectly. (It wasn't exactly running over my left foot, but my left foot got squished a little between the Blast and the road as the peg was folding up.) My first crash was a lot like yours, but fortunately for me, there was a snow bank to catch me. It was my second day on the Blast, and I think I had 17 miles on it or so. My first collision with the ground was when I was parking in front of my motorhome at a park. There was a single piece of gravel on the pavement, which just happened to be where I was putting my front tire. That's when I discovered that you can't shift gears when it's not running. I was still within the 500 mile break-in period. My first real crash involved dirt and grass, bruises, but no cuts. Glad you had such good fortune after your crash. Maybe it would have gone much worse if you hadn't done the dance. Tree type may not be nearly as much a factor as the other aspects of the dance, such as 3 times, naked, etc. Is it clockwise around the tree? | ||
| Fast1075 |
Thank goodness for cushy dirt, low sides and helpful people  At least you didn't hook it into a highside on a barbwire fence...or tree...or wall...or car. Glad you are "ok". Get some QUALITY rider ED...learn and practice countersteer...(it is not instinctive)you must practice until you develop muscle memory...the fact is if you are running wide in a left hander and try to turn the bars left (above maybe 15mph)the bike will sharply sit up and go right...yeah, it's not intuitive...another thing that gets you is target fixation...you see you are not going the right way and look at where you are headed you will go there (for a lack of better words)look where you need to be going. For a REALLY interesting ride...try a 400hp dragbike on a 10" slick and bars..if one of those gets out of shape...it's a whole 'nother world..how do you steer it with the front wheel 4" in the air?? The rear tire, the wheelie bar wheels and lots of backwards body english  | ||
| Berkshire |
Glad you're OK! How did you get insurance and MC license endorsement without the MSF class? When I figured I wouldn't make the turn I actually straightened it up yeah, that'll do it - the old self-fulfilling prophecy syndrome! I once dropped my bike trying to make a dirt bike style fishtailing u-turn on a gravel road, and in my MSF class 2 people wrecked - I think they both just froze up and forgot how to turn and/or stop. Weird... - BUT - Aside from those blunders, all the other bike wrecks that I have witnessed or been in or personally know of were caused by the same thing - Failure To Lean. Some were fast, some were slow, some were easy curves that anybody should have been able to negotiate, some were at higher speeds that required a bit of experience, but they all happen the same way: Entering turn, rider thinks turn is too sharp and/or bike is moving too fast, can't make the turn. Rider sees a place at the edge of the road and "knows" that's where the bike is going to run off the road. Rider straightens up, possible attempt at braking, and rides right off the road. Once off, rider will either use front brake and eat dirt, or use rear brake and maybe keep it up. MSF calls it target fixation, and it really does work like that - you go where you look, so DON'T look at the shoulder, look on up ahead around the curve, countersteer and LEAN that biyatch. You have to get it in your head - with street tires, going off-road at speed on a corner is not an option. The Blast, and most other bikes, can take corners that will amaze you - you just have to trust your tires! | ||
| Indybuell |
Thanks guys for the advice. Berk - I just have my permit. You don't even need that to insure/plate a bike in Indiana. Unfortunately I have to wait for the next MSF class on 10/3.  | ||
| Zane |
Indybuell, Sorry to hear you were in a accident but glad to hear you weren't hurt badly. | ||
| Berkshire |
Seems like a long wait! Is that a "riders edge" class, or a regular MSF class at community college or metric bike dealer? | ||
| P3_pilot |
Okay Kids, well I went down 2 days ago and i just got out of bed to finally write to the rest of you. The blast is the strongest bike I have ever hit the pavement on. I"m glad Eric built it strong but like an idiot I was riding home from work and it was such a nice day I thought I would go sans jacket. IDIOT! I know better and am paying for it with a road rash from wrist to elbow. Bruised my hip pretty bad but the only thing that would have helped that would have been padded leathers. Lesson here is wear all your gear all the time, even at 35 mph you are gonna hurt, and oh yeah my full face helmet is the only reason I have skin on the left side of my face. I would have looked like a batman villian if I had not. Guess we will have to postpone our little ride ERIK let you guys know when the bike is all fixed and i aint limping anymore. Until then keep the rubber down not your ass! | ||
| Ezblast |
Yes - rubber side down - damn it! EZ | ||
| P3_pilot |
nd I get to buy new stuff for the bike.oh well EZ, we have to be reminded from time to time how mortal we are, I am lucky and I know it could have been worse. At least now I have a daily reminder of what happens when my had is up my tail pipe. | ||
| P3_pilot |
Eww bad spelling, I meant to say head. Must be the crash still messing up my spelling. | ||
| Reuel |
Looks like your had is still up your tail pipe! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Sorry, to hear about your 'mishap' and that you missed Sunday's ride and I'm glad that your mostly 'okay'. SO, what happened? Going too fast? Car cut you off? Sand? Deer? Left turned? Do you remember? Not sure if you're joking, but a head injury CAN mess up your spelling. I know Ever try to look up a word in a dictionary and not have a clue where to start? | ||
| P3_pilot |
Head is fine I just have my left arm wrapped up so even typing is hard. Basically I was following 2 cars on a narrow 2 lane road and and on coming truck swerved into our lane and the guy in the front car freaked out and slammed on his breaks, so the car in back of him did the same and neither of them skid they just stopped dead. I had no where to swerve since I had a guard rail to my right and truck to my left so choice C was lay the bike down or run into car coming at 35 mph in front of me so I laid my poor scratchless little girl down. Demolished the Buell over sized windshield which I was not liking so much anyway but it did absorb most of the impact. Tank cover has some scratching and i need new turn signals on the left but other than that were good. Foot pegs really took care of the frame. I have to say again that the bike absorbs a crash well. Anyway I have a bruised hip with a purple leg and ass to show off and some nice technicolor road rash tattoos on my left arm from not wearing my jacket ( dumb, dumb, dumb!) I will be up and riding again as soon as I can lift my leg over bike. Will keep you all posted. Be safe and have fun on the ride for me. | ||
| Ezblast |
Its tricky - God knows I know - but - Rubber side down folks! Get well and heal well - EZ | ||
| Reuel |
That oversized Buell windshield makes an excellent bumper! | ||
| P3_pilot |
Yeah I guess the motorcycle gods didn't like the look of it on my bike so we will go with something much smaller. I saw the GIVI and it's okay. Would like to go with more of a cafe race type fairing. well see. Get to sand out some scratches and do a little touch up paint today, whoooweee. Love that spray paint. Was going to send you all picks of my black and blue leg and hip but I thought I wouldn't want to scare you guys away before I meet any of you. | ||
| Ezblast |
Cafe's look nice on the Blast - see the picture section - in it is a separate cafe section and some nice bikes. EZ |
