Triumphrat

RT

Put the bike down this morning. Could have be much worse than it was. Escaped with broken parabellum shield and a banged up shoulder.

Was going into a curve when I realize was coming out to quick and was going to swing wide off pavement. Made the snap decision to straighten the bike up and hit the brakes. Decision was based on open area outside the pavement vs coming out of turn to wide meant running into direction signs and a ditch. Choose the open area. Somehow managed to keep the bike up across a patch a gravel than onto wet grass. Almost got it stopped when I hit mud that grabbed the front tire and tossed me off the bike to the left side. Landed on my shoulder, very sore but have full movement. I got up and thought the worse of the bike. Only pushed the headlight bracket a little to the right and broke the shield. Was less than a mile from my dealer so my buddy rode up to get help since the bike wouldn't start. They showed up with their truck, loaded the bike up and took it in. Washed the bike. Checked it all over, straightened the headlight bracket. Test rode the bike, etc., made sure everything was ok and safe.
No Charge.......needless to say was very grateful and told the owner so.

Feel the MSF course paid off because the first thought was get the bike upright before braking hard. Also wearing full gear helped to protect me from further damage. All in all I feel lucky in a situation that could have been much worse.

Now I just got to tell my wife when she gets home!!!!!!!!!

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Confused and Prone to Wander

Normandy

Wow, you were luckey and skilled enough to get away with a freebee. Right on RT. Downside is I think the wife is going to spank you.

meatwagon

Well you did the right thing and it probably saved you from much worse injury and bike damage.You kinda had 3 choices of action and about .5 seconds to choose.1 Apply brakes while leaned over...not good ,you would still go off the road and have a spectacular wipeout,cartwheeling into the trees.2 Lean over further to tighten the turn radius and ride it out.Very few of us have the instinct to use this as a first option;this takes guts and experience.Great if it works,but there is still the possibility of running out of road and having an even more spectacular crash as you highside off into the unknown.3 Straighten up and brake hard and hope for the best..slowing down will minimize any crash damage ,being upright will help keep balance and minimize rider panic(you won't just bail out).I had to do ths very thing on July 4th on a dirt road.Minimal damage.
Thanks for posting,glad you are OK and SLOW DOWN next time!
:-D

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Get it on,get it up,keep the beat
and RIDE WITH ZEKE
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BIR #132
TonUp Club San Diego

Nightwatchman

Glad you were Ok! But in the future, you just need to keep your head up, lean more and look through the turn. Even a relatively low-tech bike like a Bonneville has more ground clearance than you think. You may want to look into a track day somewhere.....it will really change your riding a lot!

dazco

Anytime you go down at anything more than walking speed and come out as you and your bike did, it's time to get on your knees and thank the man up stairs ! Glad things weren't worse. On the bright side, i firmly believe that the more times you end up on the pavement the better and more vigilent rider you become. It's the crashes that teach you what to look out for more than anything else. So if you get thru them w/o serious damage to you and your bike, consider it a valuable lesson that will help you become a safer rider. I look back at all the times when i was young where i hit the deck and i can tell you w/o the slightest doubt that w/o those experiences i'd be a much less safer rider than i am now because i'm intimatly familiar with how things go wrong and i avoid them like the plague. (excepting when i went on the newcombs ride where i had to keep up with that crazy meatwagon ! :-D )

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2005 Speedmaster, Neon Blue, Thunderbike pipes, snorkel removed, UNI filter, drilled airbox, 130 mains, TBS needles.(2 shims) And speaking of Speedmasters, HERE'S MINE

rodburner

Why?

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" A man is only as old as the women he feels" G Marx

RT

Well rodburner the first thing the wife said when she got home "what happen to the windshield"

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Confused and Prone to Wander

DanR

Glad you're ok. That's the important thing. Looks like the bike made out pretty well also.

Would you care to tell us which dealer took such great care of you?

Thanks,

Dan

mecscc

Glad it wasn't worse. Its said that there are two kinds of riders: those who have been down and those who will be. The key, of course, is to learn from it, but then you already know that. Heal quickly.

Monte

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Monte

"The Old Ohio Preacher Man"

doctorjay

Glad your OK...Shoulder injuries can creep up on you...If not 100% in a few day's ...get checked. Separated shoulders like your injury occur frequently in football with no more than what you did...When in doubt..just like your bike did...get checked by a Doc...Good Luck

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TOR's, AI removal, Polaris bellmouth, K&N air filter, 118 jets, Hagon progressive fork springs, sissy bar, summer wind screen, union jack brake resevoir