Crashed. Let the mocking commence.

[cowboyup3371]

I'm glad to hear you are okay. Heal up quick and do what you need to to get the bike up and running again.

[Hovmod]

Thanks!

[subid]

Don't you just love that helmet

[Cdnpt1]

Glad to hear you are alright and everything is fixable. I did the same thing at about 30 on a gravelly s curve, drove right off the side while i was too worried about the car coming the other direction. After ten years of riding. Luckily the bike landed on the back of my leg and spared me any serious repairs to it : ). It has given me more time to wrench as things heal up! Good luck with the hand.

[shirazdrum]

Glad you are OK, and sorry about your bike. No matter how bad the damage, you can always fix the bike but your limbs don't grow back.

Having your gear on at all time is a good thing, but preventing the accident always comes first.

I can't tell you why you exactly went down but I'm sure of one thing; you were riding too close to your buddy ahead of you. Always, always, and always leave enough space cushion all around you so you can maneuver when a situation like this presents itself. Don't look at the idiots who ride inches from each other in groups to look cool, always stay back.

In general, give yourself 3-4 second lead time in speeds lowers than 35mph, 4-6 seconds for 35-50mph, and 6-8 seconds or more above 55mph. If you are carrying load or passenger, double the figures.

Never roll on the throttle the second the car or motorcycle in front of you starts moving, count to three then start. This will give your distance from the guys ahead of you. If someone starts honking at you for doing that, get off the bike and shoot him in the head.

As a beginner, don't follow your buddy, always get in front. It's much easier for an experienced rider to avoid hitting you, rather than you trying to avoid hitting him. If your buddy is not a beginner, give him a good kick in the head as he should have known better.

And most importantly, take a motorcycle Safety Course from MSF; it will save your life one day.

Ride safe and don’t feel bad at all for going down, it was going to happen sooner or later.

Edit: I see that you are in the Viking country, so MSF won't be available to you but i'm sure you can find likewise courses where you are.

[Hovmod]

I took my MC license in 1985...

[GateKeeper]

just a few years of riding under your belt.....LOL

[shirazdrum]

You mentioned that it was your "First time on the street", so I safely assumed the beginner status. Nevertheless, no matter how long you've been riding,

• Have an escape out. Take path of least resistance.
• Space on all four sides, but always in front.

[Charlie G]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I look forward to your tales from Norway so don't disapear. I hope you and the bike recover fully by next riding season, if not sooner. Cheers.

Charlie G

[Big T]

Glad to see you're mostly OK and same with the bike

You can get most of the parts you need from members - 86turbodiesel is parting out a 78 and he'll have much of what you need - i just bought a few things from him

I found a perfect skunk tail on Ebay a few years ago for a great price -keep shopping. The tail is made of ABS and you can glue it back together with ABS plumbing cement

At least you didn't damage the fuel tank!

A word - ditch the points and get a Dyna S

[Steve]

Nice to see that you are not greatly injured.

No mocking necessary.

The build thread is hereby cancelled.

Looking forward to the RE-build thread.

.

[clancey g]

glad to see your mostly ok, you survived and some parts and work will set it right. the full face was a very good choice.

[Hovmod]

Thanks for all the well wishing.
Today I awoke with high fever and a throat infection.
I am adding budding fever to the causes of the crash.
I was following my buddy, but not super close. Two seconds, maybe more.
However, I was in the roundabout, and that caused me to spread my attention somewhat.
When my buddy suddenly braked, this was unexpected. I had already processed his position and direction and so on, so when he stopped suddenly, I was unprepared.
However, my front wheel locked up.

While I take full blame for this crash, I do not agree that my position relative my buddy and my attention to my surroundings were the only factors.
I wasn't trying to panic brake at all, and locking the wheel was unintended and unexpected.

Explanations for this could include:

-Tyres, which, although good looking and with good treads, were three years old. Not three seasons of hard riding, but three years eats rubber. I should have prioritized rubber.

-Just a couple of kilometers earlier, we were on a road with brand new asphalt, which may (or indeed may not) have altered the traction of the tyres somewhat. I thought about this while riding on the new road, and slowed down there, but did not think about it at the time of the crash.

-There has been more accidents at this spot. It is not a genius piece of city planning... When I picked up my pieces, I found pieces from other vehicles as well. It is possible that the road was more slippery because of spills from recent previous accidents.

-Unfamiliarity with the bike. Clearly. I have not ridden very much on it at all, and this was the first ride in months.

-Rusty technique. I have not ridden much this season at all.

-Speed. I wasn't going stupid fast, but a little slower and I might not have crashed. I do not expect to learn from this. Fixing the two points above will fix this.

-Attention and mental acuity. This is where my feeble excuse of the budding fever comes in, and also that I did NOT expect the pedestrian that caused my buddy to stop. I had navigated the roundabout to the point where just when he stopped, I was ready to accelerate.

All these factors, and probably more worked together so when I braked, my wheel slid away.


Lessons learned?
Hm. More space, sure. I always try to give myself sufficient space, and I try to look for options. This happened fast, but maybe I could have avoided it by letting one more car go through the roundabout.

Most of all I'm very happy with how my safety gear kept me from further injuries, and that I (just) did not pose a threat to anyone else.

I hope this doesn't read as a list of bad excuses. I was at fault. I'm just not ready to blame it all on one cause.

[Hovmod]

Also, my buddy and ALL passers-by were helpful, friendly, concerned and happy to see me OK.

[pmong]

Good that you are ok, and enlightening to see your self analysis of what contributed to the accident. I too find sudden and unexpected hard stops to be challenging when riding with another motorcyclist, both when in the lead or following. Your comments remind me to keep focused on riding and surroundings, and try to anticipate even less likely events. I still have lots to learn, both from direct experience and others, even when that involves unfortunate outcomes. Heal well and fast.