I've become a Statistic

[grepper]

They say that most motorcycle accidents happen to riders within their first year and within 5 miles of their home. That would be me!

Preface: Since I was a kid I've wanted a motorcycle. My mother, being a nurse, always said No Motorcycles! Being a good son, I respected her wishes while I was still under her roof. Then as a young adult I got married and my wife repeated my mother, No Motorcycles! Now, I found myself in my mid-thirties, divorced and no one my life saying it to me. So, what the heck, I'm going to do this thing. Not wanting to blow a lot of money on a new hobby, I decided to buy a bike from a co-worker last fall for $450, an 1980 XS650. It had been sitting outside for a couple of years after it saw a minor crash. I have been tinkering with the thing all winter fixing it up. My plan was to read all about riding, practice in the High School parking lot in my neighborhood and take the written and road test for my cycle endorsement without the class. Not that I was against the class, I just wanted to get started before the classes start in June.

Last weekend I had just replaced the weak coil with a new one from Mike's XS. I decided to take the bike around the block for a test ride. WOW, what a difference that new coil made. Because I was just going around the block, I didn't bother with my riding jacket and boots. Well.. At the end of my block, about 6 houses down from mine, I rounded the corner a little too fast and before I knew it I was sliding on my side. It all happened so fast, I have no idea how I lost control. Was it loose gravel, was I grabbing the front break.. I have no idea. The bike came down on my ankle and sprained it pretty bad. My light jacket and jeans ripped wide open, giving me some serious road-rash and busing. All and all, a very humbling experience. The only serious injury was to my pride. Luckily the bike fared pretty well, a bent gear-shift lever, knocked off turn signal, and minor scraping on the stand, mirror, and headlight bucket.

My first thoughts were, "Motorcycles are not for me". After calming down and resting up for a day, I evaluated my situation. For one thing, I'm not going to get the $ out of the bike that I put in. An other, I'm not a quitter! One little setback has never stopped me from achieving anything in my life before. Monday morning I signed up for a class that starts in June. I just have to take it easy. If I go my first year without ever taking the thing of 40mph, that's fine with me.

Ride On and be Safe.

[G Man]

Well, I'm very sorry to hear about your mishap and really hope your are physically o.k.. I also hope you are o.k. attitude wise about riding and it sounds like you are. At least you have gotten the first one out of the way! I'm sure from here on in it will be smooth sailing for you. The classes really do help out a lot.

As far as the actual spill goes, make sure the tires aren't old and hard. That could be some of the issue. The other being early season riding and loose gravel/dirt on the corners.(If that applies where you are from)

Chin up and keep at it!

Talk to you soon,
G Man

[grepper]

>"At least you have gotten the first one out of the way!"

I hope it's the last one! It's been two weeks now and my ankle is still sore. The from what I know, the tires are pretty new, but I'll get them checked out.

[angus67]

ouch!! I rode dirt bikes growing up, and crashed alot. I had a span of about 15 years without riding. I decided to get a street bike, signed up for the class, I had my scoot before the classes started and was just really carefull untill then. I stayed off the freeways and interstates. But the part that prolly alarmed me the most and still does, is waitng to turn left, I meen, Im practically standing in the middle of the busy-est intersection in the area with 600lbs of machine between my legs! It still freaks me out some times. But any ways, "Its not a matter of if, Its a matter of when." You just got yours out of the way. I'm still waitng. I havent been wearing my chapps lately, and you have reminded my why I need to wear them all the time, evereytime. Hope your better soon. dont worry about the money thing. A tleast you still with us.

[japbikesforlife]

Its a good thing your ok man. my first spill was not very bad at all. i was riding my first bike, a su zuki 550. i was riding on a gravel road behind my high school when an oncomin van turned left in front of me without signaling. my rear tire locked up due to the gravel road and i started sliding sideways. i wasnt hurt surprisingly( i was only wearing jeans and a sweater) but the bike was spraying oil all the way home from a hole in the left side cover.

[richard]

Sorry you laid you bike down but on the bright side every crash that you survive you learn from. Sprang ankles can be pretty painful. Motorcycle riding is inherently dangerous but it is also a lot of fun. I have had at least one or two bikes most of my life. I think having a little bit of fear when riding them is healthy. It helps to make you a defensive driver.

I have crashed a few times but never had a broken bone so I consider myself lucky. The biggest issue for me has been avoiding cars that can’t see me. An old biker once told me that “Loud pipe save lives” his point was if your bike is loud people will notice you even when they can’t see you. They will hear the noise and look for it before they pull out into the intersection. Now I should say I hate those really loud obnoxious bikes but he did have a good point and since then I have always had mufflers on my bikes that could be heard from a distance. Not too loud but loud enough that a cars could hear them with the windows rolled up. With this change fewer cars were cutting me off turning, stopped and pulling out in front of me at intersections. The other advice I can give you is never ride without a helmet and always wear gloves and a good leather jacket. You would be amazed how well that stuff can protect you from injury.

I once hit a dog with my Sportster going 60MPH. I came away with only a few scratches and a banged up knee. Wearing the right gear made a big difference. High speed wobble was a factor in losing control after hitting the dog, so I have had a fork braces on every one of my bikes since then, plus now I look out for dogs.