Hello Mr. Pavement, names Matt, nice to meet you

[afpreppie04]

So on my way to class this morning I had some free time so I decided to stop by Cycle Gear to pick up some new gloves, since my hands are always freezing when it is cold out. Of course there was construction blocking the main entrance so I had to detour around the back. I came up on a 4 way intersection where I was turning left. There was a broken sewer or something in the road I was turning in to (there was a manhole in the middle and water going out on both sides all the way across the road). I figure no biggy, I ride in rain/water all the time. I guess I thought it was warmer than it actually was, because when I got to the wet area it was actually ice Back wheel shoots out from under me and down I go I guess the back wheel caught on something on the way down because we ended up in the oncoming traffic lane.

I didn't get hurt, just a cut on my pinky finger and bruise on my hip. I slid on my left hip after coming off the bike. My head didn't hit anything so at least my 2 week old helmet is still ok.

On to the bike. The sliders did their job. I got a little scraping on the grab bar and rear pod. The tank and engine have zero damage. The worst damage came to the front fairing. The mirror is ok since it just bent out of the way, but the top left corner broke off so the windshield there is just sort of sticking out.

I made a little sketch of how it happened. The dotted line is where I was planning on going, the sad face is where I ended up.

 

[notjohndavid]

Yikes. Glad you're okay. Pretty scary ending up in the lane of oncoming traffic!

 

[FooFazer]

Glad you are ok, Shame about the bike though. Hope you get it sorted soon.:thumbup:

 

[afpreppie04]

Here are some pictures of the damage. Biggest hit was the front end, the sliders I had saved most of the expensive areas. The engine case cover got some scratches, but not too bad. Same with the rear area, but they are more noticeable since they were blue.

 

[antijoy]

Yikes, that sucks. At least there was no serious injury.

I'm afraid to take the bike if I think there's any chance of ice. Do you get much ice in New Mexico?

 

[afpreppie04]

Here are a couple pictures of the gear afterwards. I know I know, I should have been wearing pants (well motorcycle pants ) Its just kinda hard finding some that won't be a pain wearing all day in classes or whatnot while still protecting me, I tried those motorcycle jeans but they don't even have knee guards, just thicker denim there...

Anyway, aside from the pants I had full gear on, my helmet didn't take any impact or sliding. My gloves didn't take any damage either, I don't know how I got that cut on my finger, I didn't even know about it till I got home and found it bleeding a little.

As you can see I slid on my hip and lower leg on the left side. My sleeve got a little rash on the elbow but it was on the armored area so my arm is fine.

The pants will be moved to "work on the bike/car" clothes. My new Frank Thomas boots took a little scraping but better them than my foot. They should be fine, just have some love marks now.

 

[mabbott]

You made it through this well, it is good you were not seriously hurt. Ice and motorcycles don't mix, unless you have those metal studs in your tires!

Treat all standing water as very dangerous, you never know how deep it is!

Glad you are doing well, hope the bike is back in shape sooner versus later!

 

[fz6joker]

Sorry to hear about the damage to the fz, glad you made it out okay.

What kind of frame sliders do you have?

 

[Ryan T]

Glad to see/hear that you made it with minimul injury. Sorry about your bike. Hope you and the bike are back to normal ASAP.

Take care.

 

[afpreppie04]

Ending up on the wrong side of the street was pretty scary but fortunately the truck coming that way saw it happen and stopped far back. He was actually the only person that got out to help me. By the time he got to me I had already got the bike upright but he offered to help me get the bike in his pickup bed and give me a ride, which I thought was nice. Other people stopped in their cars but just to wait for me to get out of the road :disapprove:

Picking up the bike was a lot easier than I expected from people posting threads about it. I just grabbed near the bottom of the tank and up it came.
When I got it upright it didn't want to shift right away. Well I should say it went through the act of shifting but didn't really shift. I was in first when I went down but when I got it upright it would keep downshifting. Eventually it stopped like it should then I could put it in neutral. When I first got it upright the check engine light was on and the speedo was showing 030. Not exactly sure what that meant but I figured it was the tilt sensor thing. The bike wouldn't start up even though it was in neutral. I turned the ignition off then on again, check engine light was gone and she started right up, no more 030.

I declined the ride in the pickup as everyone says the best thing is to get back on the bike so as not to get a mental block about riding. So I rode it back, and there was definitely something mental going on, especially on left turns. It was about a 35 minute ride to get back home and by the end I was a little better, so at least I won't have to start from scratch.

Guess I'm another statistic though, everyone says 2nd year is the most likely to wreck...2nd of January was my anniversary with the bike.

We don't usually get much ice here in New Mexico, its actually been in the mid 50s lately. Thing is I had an early class today so it hadn't warmed up yet. On the way back from the wreck I drove by one of those bank signs with the temperature and it said 31 degrees, so I guess it was just cold enough

Needless to say, I missed the class and had the day off work to attend the class, so I've got a free day now. Guess its time to head to the Honda shop down the street, pick up some fork oil, and put on the R6 forks, brakes, and triples (if I can get them to work) along with the clipons I've got stashed under the bed :rockon:

EDIT: They were just cheap T-Rex Racing sliders, but they did the job. Only problem I ever had with them was the logos peeled off, but logos don't save bikes, sliders do. Time to pick up another set.

 

[jsw4178]

Sorry about your bike, but glad YOU survived :thumbup:

 

[Norm]

Treat all standing water as very dangerous, you never know how deep it is!

Good advice. Never really thought about that. Thank you.


afprep: glad you're OK. The bike can be fixed.

 

[grommit]

Sounds nasty, I am glad you are OK.

What make of slider do you have?

 

[Mississippi]

Glad to see you are not Hurt! Hope you get the bike right soon. Good Luck.

 

[LERecords]

sucks but at least your ok.. im sure you can find parts cheap to fix the bike..

oh and i didnt see you talking about pants.. how about some over pants??

 

[kkiser69]

and I've never been interested in the whole "slider mod".......hmmmmm, maybe a worthwhile investment for me to undertake.

Kevin

 

[AJ_rider]

Glad to hear that you're alright. +1 on the frame sliders doing their job. This should be everybody's first mod.

 

[Oscar54]

Sad to hear of your accident. Glad you are OK.

Hope you can find some replacement part cheap on Ebay and get her looking good again soon.

Lewis

 

[oogie]

Glad you had minimal damage to yourself and bike, scary stuff I know. I was in Madrid back in Sept. and saw an FZ parked in front of the Mineshaft...possibly you or a Fizzy rider in your area? I'm hoping to get back to Sante Fe this summer with the FZ to do a lil touring of NM.

 

[FZ1inNH]

Happy to see you here and posting after any type of accident! It's all fixable at least!