I took the MSF course in 2005, then rode Vespas (one boring automatic and one shifter) before graduating to my T-100 last week. Apparently this is not enough training, however; last night I dropped my bike for the first time! I've been practicing in a local parking lot (conveniently walled-off so nobody sees me making an ass of myself) and doing a little riding on the fairly quiet residential streets in my neighborhood. While riding on the street, I noticed my right-hand turns from a stop were too wide, so I headed back to the parking lot to practice. On my first practice effort, I didn't give it enough throttle, stalled, and, as I was already leaning into the turn, found myself in a slow-motion fall to the right (mysteriously, it was my left leg that got caught under the bike--in my effort to keep the bike from falling, I somehow got my whole body over to the right side). It scared the bejeezus out of me, but all I have are a bruised leg and a sore back (at least now I know I can pick the bike up if need be
), and the poor bike was unharmed by my stupidity. Now I'm just hoping that this little f-up is all I'll have to endure to put me into "motorcyclists who've had a fall" category.
