Just got back from an extended vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC and attended "Bike week". I stayed on an extra week to ride the roads out there with my friends, unfortunately the first day I was there I had an "offing" on my Speed Triple.
I was going around a sweeping roadway and turning onto a road that forked onto it when I happened upon a spilled 5-gallon patch of hydraulic oil. Down I went, I was 'leant' over going into this turn and I saw a patch that I assumed was water, fortunately I slowed down some when I noticed it but was still in a lean when I was on it and "whoosh" down I went. The damage was minor, I was maybe doing 35mph and because of the reduced friction on the road surface I just runined my brand new pair 'o camo pants and my track suit top but nothing bodily to speak of, no cuts, no buises, nada.
Thank god for crash sliders and giving me the wisdom to get some, they really did their job and saved the day, I just have a bent foot brake lever and a slightly ground clutch cover and mildly scratched belly pan out of it. Sliders saved everything else, no broken turn signal light or radiator damage to speak of.
Anyhow, after cussin' for a minute then picking the bike up very relieved to see that the damage wasnt as bad as it could have been I checked for bruises and such I gave her a thorough looking over to make sure all was okay visually then started her up to make sure all was well mechanically and every thing was all good.
After I got my bike to the side a truck came along about a minute or two later and hit that same patch of hydraulic oil and spun out doing greater then a 360, that was some scary sh*t to see but he was okay also. The bucket that contained the oil was sitting on it's side at the curb on the other side of the street and we called the local cops to tell them about the hazzard. We didnt hang around to see them arrive and take care of things but assume they did their duty.
Anyhoo here are pics of the damage area:
I went there to ride not take photo's so I have only a few non accident related. I carried both my bikes and allowed one of my closest friends to ride my Daytona 675 while there, he's a very experienced rider but a bit of a daredevil so he ended up spanking the daytona more than I have so far and he absolutely loved it but every time he got in a crowded area he wouldnt quit goosin' the throttle, he is such an extravert.
Oh and the Speed Triple was spectacular with a cute petite thong wearin' pillion on board :-D . (sorry, no pics.)
Of course beside my bikes, I only noticed one additional Triumph (a TT) in this sea of 'Busa's, Gixxers, Kawa 10's & 12's all stretched, lowered, chromed, painted and customized.
Other tear inducing accident that happened was that while loading the bikes on the trailer, this "friend" was shaking the speed triple to make sure it was securely strapped down not paying attention that the daytona wasnt quite strapped down yet and the Daytona fell over on it's right side onto the side rails of the trailer scratching the faring on the right side, it's minor but it was heart wrenching. I seem to have become really, really laidback because I didnt throw up and cancel the trip or demand a bike replacement or threaten to kill his kids or anything! Once upon a time I would've cut, gut and cleaned out his innards like fish for commiting such an unthinkable crime. I really didnt flip at all...I'm gettin' old.. I dont have pics of that scrached area but here are the rest of what I have, taken with my cell phone camera.
After it was all said and done I'm fortunate to be okay, I'm worn out from endless riding and cant wait to do it again next year. And it might be just me but does anybody in the south wear any safety gear whatsoever? The most consistent gear I saw worn were sunglasses, followed a very distant second to gloves. I must've seen maybe 20 helmets and 15 of those were open faced.
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