Mishaps

There are two types of riders: Those who haven't had an accident and those who will.

Just because you've made it into the second category doesn't mean you won't have another accident.

As an inexperienced rider, I am far more likely to bend my bike than someone with a lot of experience. It sucks, but it is true. I just hope that I won't suffer any mishap that really hurts me. To avoid complacency, I am keeping this page as a record of the things I do that hurt my bike or myself and the mileage that they occur.

• Mile 1, January 14th, 2006: Bike tips over while posing for photos and bends front brake handle and scuffs engine case at the crank. No injuries to self. Lesson learned: Watch the slope and don't do stupid things just for a picture.

• Mile 10, January 15th, 2006: Drive bike into road hazard and crash. I banged up my right leg but didn't break any bones. Hurts like hell though. It took a while to get back up. Damage to bike: Bent front rim and cracked cowl around the instrument cluster. Lesson learned: Target fixation is very, very bad. Also I went into full braking when I panicked. I probably would not have crashed if I rode over the hazard and stood up on the pegs a bit. The bike is now at the dealer to replace the wheel and inspect for other damage as a safety check. I did note a small indentation in the fuel tank where my left knee grips it. I believe my landing was what is referred to as a "highside". I was able to ride the bike home, slowly, on the flat front tire. The mileage here is what was on the odometer when I got home. Riding on a flat front tire sucks.

• Mile 647, March 15th, 2006: At the bottom of a very steep driveway, my bike starts to tip over to the right. Why is it always to the right? Because of the slope, I am unable to stop the bike from going over and I end up with it lying on my right foot. I can see the right brake lever is bent again and the wheel is in full lock to the left. It took me a few minutes to get my foot out from under the bike. Did I mention I had a full tank of gas? It took some more effort to get the bike on its wheels again. Then it wouldn't start. Then I noticed that the shift lever was vertical. I can only surmize that my right foot got under it somehow and pulled it up during the fall. I pulled in the clutch and coasted the bike to the bottom of the hill where there was a convenient parking lot. There I learned how to adjust the shift lever. I also figured out an impromptu way to straighten out the link arm (or whatever it is called. It connects the shift lever to the clamp that goes over the spline on the transmission). Once I got things back together I was able to get the bike into neutral and eventually start it. After that, I rode home in a very sour mood. My confidence has been completely shattered. It also looks like the foot brake lever is bent more. I think it ought to be replaced now. I may have to put off the first service for a week while I get the parts ordered.

• I am beginning to wonder if I am cursed. OK, the following situation did not cause an actual crash or drop. I did, however, put a healthy gouge in the foot peg stud that tells you you're leaning over as far as you should go. It got gouged on the roadway along with the toe of my right boot. I didn't record the exact mileage for this one. On Saturday, 2006-03-25 my bike went to the Honda dealer for its initial service with 882 miles on the clock. I did some riding to Atco, NJ to participate in an autocross event, driving a friends RX8 (sweet car!). On Monday morning, I had just over 1000 miles on the clock. During my commute to work that day, I had a slip. That is, the bike fell into the turn. I recovered without an actual crash, drop, or even stopping. But I was quite startled. So what happened? I'm not really sure. What I do know is that the front wheel scrubbed. After a query on rec.motorcycles, I was told that new tires have a coating on them that has to be scrubbed off. The edges where this compound has not yet been scrubbed off is referred to as a chicken strip. Right now I'm tempted to call this the worst possible place to have a frictionless surface on a tire. Check out this photo. It links to the full size image if you want more detail:

• Mile 1225, Tuesday 20060404: This one gets its own page.

After wrecking my beloved 599, I bought a replacement or "do over" bike. It's another 599 of course. The first one sits in the corner of my garage, waiting for the day that I repair it. It is not a write off. I just didn't have full comprehensive insurance on it. I wasn't going to make that mistake with the replacement bike. Full insurance is really expensive though. It sure doesn't take too many years worth of premiums to add up to a whole new bike.

Well, life continues (for now) and so do the mishaps.

• Mile 1859, Monday 20060925: This one also gets it's own page.

My second year has gone a heck of a lot better. I'm still a novice as far as I'm concerned. But so far, I've only had one tip over. You can see that here. No harm done. The second bike now has over 8000 miles on it.