There was some luck involved though. The bike went down in about a two and a half foot ditch which was full of dry leaves and soft earth. We pulled the bike out to find that the only damage was a bent clutch handle, and a few scrapes on the tank and seat. The cases and pegs were fine, even the turn signals were unscathed, but most importantly, he was only scraped and bruised.
Just then, some guy comes by in an old minivan and asked if we were okay. We said yes, then he gave us some of his ****ty wisdom:
"You know, there's only two kinds of people in this world; those who have laid one down, and those who have only yet to do so. You'll be alright." Then he drove off.
The bike started right up and we drove slowly back to the park's lodge so he could clean up. Like we hadn't experienced enough for the day, on the way home we were stopped abruptly by about 7-10 deer crossing the road while we were at about 55mph. We made it back safely though.
One very screwed up thing about the crash was the fact that we were both wearing leather, gloves, and we were both wearing HJC helmets. The full-face kind that flip up in the front. When he hit the ground the front of his helmet popped open exposing his face which is how he got cut up. Now I know that these helmets are DOT approved, but not Snell approved because of the "possibility" of the front flipping open during an accident. I like the convenience of the flip-up front, but after today I am seriously thinking of going with a regular Snell and DOT approved full-face helmet.
I felt terrible because it was my idea to ride into and through the state park and I was leading. Not to mention that this nice looking bike was a whole two hours old before it went into the ditch. i keep kicking myself in the ass for not recommending that he get familiar with the bike in a parking lot before riding hills and twists, even if we weren't going fast. I just didn't think about it because I assumed he had more experience than he showed today.
Anyway, we're both okay and the scratches can be buffed out. That's really all that matters. We agreed to go on a ride less eventful in the future, which I will, but I'm going to make sure he's comfortable on the bike first.
What a day...
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