Well, I went down today. I was real lucky and everything turned out as well as it could. Went for a ride with a group riding:
Suzuki SV650
Suzuki SV650S
Blast
XB9R
Myself on the X1
Riding on a rough road I came out of a corner fast while trying to keep up with a faster rider (mistake #1, #2 being I was riding too close). Right out of the corner I spotted a big ass pot hole, so I swerved. I needed to have been on the brakes at about the same time as I reached the hole, and lining up for the next turn. Instead, I was forced to put off braking to swerve, which lead to a poor entry position. So, After getting on the brakes, I stayed on them too long (mistake #3) and was not able to get the bike into a lean. I was forced to go off the road on the outside (1 lane, 2 direction road, empty road) up a small embankment. At that point, I already knew that I was stuck going up the hill, so I choose to try and ride it as if I was on a dirt bike, and come smoothly (in a manner of speaking) back down to the pavement. My front tire lost traction about half way through this, and slide straight down. I was pitched forward off of the bike, which is good because it threw me from the bike. The bike went up and over the front where it dropped, rear wheel up, rotated, and came down facing the other direction on its right side. I landed about 5 feet in front of it, on my back. I got up immediately to kill the bike, but it shut itself down before I got on my feet, which is also good because the oil filter was opened, so the engine lost oil pressure.
I smacked my ankle on the shifter linkage as I was launched, that is the only injury I can find. My head slid a little on the dirt embankment, along with the rest of my body when I landed on my back. I was wearing my one piece suit, full face helmet, and leather boots. I can not find any damage, nothing notable on the helmet. I am going to inspect it again after I clean it up to be sure.
The bike wasn't ridable because of the oil filter, but all else appears to be okay enough that I could have ridden it out of the area. I need to do some more inspecting, so this list is not conclusive, but here is what I have found that needs to be replaced:
Rear brake pedal
Wind screen
Front left turn signal
Tail section
Speedo
Dash
Rear brake light
I am going to pull the wheels to make sure they are still straight. I coasted it down a hill a short distance, all felt good. It was smooth, tracked straight, and responded to my inputs properly. Though not a thorough test, it is a good indicator.
About 30 seconds after going down, the Firebolt rider pulled up. At that point I had already picked the bike up, an had it on the stand. The person I was following (SV 650) realized fast that I wasn't there, stopped and waited, then turned around. He was back to me within the same minute. The two other riders were there about 30 seconds later. After being sure I was okay and talking for a while, we agreed that two would go on and bring back the Firebolt riders truck, while the two others stayed with me. After about an hour and a half, they returned with the pick up and ramp. That is when I coasted down to where they were parked and we loaded up the bike.
We headed back into town and stopped at a pizza joint for lunch. Stopped back at the house of the Firebolt and Blast riders (husband and wife) to talk bikes for a while. Then headed to my house to drop me and the bike off. Wife was glad I was okay, not to upset over all.
Until that point it was a wonderful ride, and it continued to be a beautiful day. It could have been a lot worse. I came out fine, the bike will live to ride again (though it will be at least a few months until I can scrounge up the money for parts).
Now for a little humor and firsts. Yesterday afternoon, myself and a couple other guys went for a ride and stopped for a swim. Pulled under some shady trees, put the kickstand down and viola, the bike laid down on the asphalt.
