Have you ever watched your bike slide down the road...

[shinyribs]

...after you've came off of it?

Its an interesting mixture of sad and funny.

Low side at 50 MPH in loose gravel due to being crowded by a minivan or suv, I'm not sure which. Seems me and my trusty CB slid together for about 50' until my foot finally wiggled out from under the bike. Then she slid, bounced and skidded another 75 feet or so. Sounded horrible!

One scratched bar end mirror, one scratched / bent kick stand and one busted ignition cover full of gravel.

Alpinestars saved my feet,anlkes and lower legs. Firstgear saved my hands. HJC saved my noggin. My jacket really saved my left elbow when I felt it slam in to the ground. I have a bit of rash still, but I really think it from the backside of a snap that is on my jacket sleeves for adjustment purposes. That will be removed and sewn now.

I always wondered what crashing at speed on pavement felt like. Not as bad as I thought. More surreal than scary. But I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, too. Not even sore.

Folks, listen : Gear. Buy it. Wear it. Period.

[free2ride]

glad to see you came out of it (mostly) OK.

I guess the van/SUV kept right on going.

[TOOLS1]

Another friend of mine has been in the hospital for over a month now because he was crowded off the road by an ice cream truck. Glad you fared better. And yes I have watched my bike slide down the road before. If you are going to crash, the low side is the side to take.
TOOLS

[Truck]

Glad to hear your ok.  Years ago I had to lay down a friends R6 to keep from t-boning a semi. I remeber getting up afterwards and not being able to stop shaking for 20 minutes.  Guess its truw what they say about bikers - there are 2 kinds, ones who have laid down their bikes, and those that will lay down their bikes.

[rich]

I'm glad you are okay and the damage to the bike is minimal. Great reminder to dress for the fall and not the ride.

[Re-run]

Well, never down a road! Plenty of dirt though.

[shinyribs]

Thanks guys. Yes, the van / suv never stopped. Which is best. I doubt I'd been very friendly to them. When I saw them on my side of the road I knew I was going to have to cross over a foot-wide path of gravel to avoid eating their fender. I was optimistic for a miracle, but the rear never straightened out. It kept fishtailing. I thought to myself "I ain't letting this sob Buck me on a high side off this bank." So I just grabbed the left side handle bar and laid it down before it flipped highside on me.

Glad I was turning left. My pipes are on the other side.lol

Whole left side is as sore as a longtailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Funny how it takes a day for that to sink in.

[sgtslag]

If you can find one, an engine guard bar can be a leg/life saver:  the bike will slide on the guard bar, not your foot, and the bike will not drag you down the road, by your leg!  They will also protect the bike's engine a bit.

I've had four low-sides in my life, thus far.  Two were on my Honda.  Two resulted in pulling nearly every muscle in my body -- got narcotic pain killers both times.  Last time was the fastest:  ~40 MPH.  I slid with the bike for some distance, then I realized I'd better let go.  The bike sailed away from me, and went quite a distance after I stopped.

Even the inexpensive gear will save you.  My son was my passenger, wearing an $80 armored jacket from Leatherup.com.  He ground through the sleeve, and halfway through the foam armor pad, but his elbow was untouched.  He had road rash on both thighs, and buttocls (wearing blue jeans only).  My chaps protected me, as well as my armored jacket -- I had a small scratch on one knuckle, which was my only injury.

Chaps get a lot of bad press (I've seen the gay guy wearing chaps, and nothing else, please don't post it, or any such -- Thank You!), but they work, and they are very inexpensive ($70-$80 for a basic pair).

I would rather be laughed at, than cried over.  YMMV.  Cheers!

[free2ride]

sgtslag wrote

I would rather be laughed at, than cried over.  

I like this one!

haven't had the "pleasure" . . . but my son was cut off by a gas truck that crossed the highway in front of him, and down he went.

broken bike [totaled], broken ankle, broken ego . . . we count it fortunate that this was all.

[shultz_1978]

Wow Drop in to see what is up and this. Good to read you walked away Shiny, The bike is fixable.
The big thing is that you did not get any major damage and rolled away on your own two feet,  

[shinyribs]

Thanks Shultz! I just wanna make the bike run again now.

[LukeM]

I am very glad you are OK.  Any fall on a motorcycle is not fun, even if you're not moving.  All The Gear, All The Time.  You never know when it'll happen.

You were going to replace/upgrade all those broken bits anyhow, weren't you?  

I think I wanted to take the crash bars off of my bike, but I think I'll leave them on.

Hope and pray you heal up, and get back on the saddle again.
Luke M

[shinyribs]

Thanks Luke. And thanks for the prayers too,bud. I always say a little one when I throw a leg over my bike.

I was visiting my Mom recently and she saw the lil spot of road rash I have. I had already decided she didn't need to know about this since she hates the idea of bikes. But...she asked point blank if it was road rash.

Me- "Um...what? hahaha *nervous laugh*"
Ma- "You know I am married to your father...I know what road rash looks like."
Me- " Try not to worry about it. OK?"
Ma-

[Hellbilly429]

Glad you're alright Ribs

[shinyribs]

Thanks buddy. How's your bike coming along?

[Hellbilly429]

Just updated thread last night, still waiting on my regulator rectifier to come back from warranty