First outing, went down.

Its a shame to say it, but yes, my first day out and I went to the asphalt.
I took the canadian equiv. of the MSF course in november, got my license and bought a brand new fz6.

finally had a nice enough day yesterday to go out with a friend. I had him break in my bike, and then we headed to an abandoned, gravelless MASSIVE church parking lot bright and early. About an hour into the go while practising stopping and starting I came to a stop. However, it was a slight slope to my left and when I put my left foot down it was too close to the bike. With the front brake on I realized it was starting to tip too far to the left. trying to muscle back to the right it just went too far. (which isnt very far over at all) and down I went.
Looking back I think if I had let go of the brake it would have been easier to pull to the right but who knows. I then learned to stick my left leg wayyyy out for more leverage (I can flat foot this bike on both sides)

My foot got crushed (was wearing all my gear but dont own boots yet) and is about the size of a purpley orange watermelon. My toes are HUGE and the base of my foot is black. Painful but nothing serious. Ice and elevation for the next while.
Moral of the story: BUY FRAME SLIDERS!

I put $10 T-rex sliders on before heading out, and they saved my baby. scratch on the mirror and a chip on the handle bar. thats it.
Very pleased.

Continued to ride the rest of the day, eventually heading out around the dead streets of the industrial park. LOVE the bike, smooth and very controllable especially under 8k.

We got 30cm of snow last night though, so I have time to buy some armored boots to avoid this ever happening again.
thought id share.
some pics from pre-drop

Well the pain sucks, and drop sucks but at least you got it overwith early. LOL

Glad she came out ok, and your going to heal up.

Sidi boots man, Sidi boots are the way to go. I like the B2 boot, great balance of protection vs I can wear them all day at work for 11 hours and then ride home too.

Good on you for starting out in a parking lot, I just got back from a long spirited ride then went and spent a half hour on parking lot practice myself. Its fun, but it just wears my arms out on the tight figure eights.

Glad for you that it was a slow off and not something out on the road at speed. Sorry to hear about the foot!

At least you got that first scratch out of the way as that is always the toughest one. Leave them there as a reminder and you'll not make that mistake again.

Thus, congrats on the bike and picking the right color! Heal fast, get them good boots and enjoy the riding!

:welcome: to the forum!

So sorry to hear about your drop, especially on your first ride on a brand new bike

Hope your foot heals quickly and you get to go for more rides soon; these really are great bikes.

Your new mission is to heal up and get back onto the bike. Good thinking to do it in a parking lot first. :thumbup:

I dropped my bike for the first time in a parking lot the same week I installed my frame sliders.

Smart move on the sliders. Best investment one can make in their bike.

Yep, as my friend said; "at least the pressure is off for that first drop"
rest of the day went off without a hitch, cant wait to get out again!

luckily my shoes are fairly tight and thats what kept my foot in check the rest of the day. once the shoe came off it swelled and thats when the pain started.
I definitely now realize why armor and a rigid shoe is needed. Gunna start reading some reviews and buy a good half boot.

As ive never tried one on before, do they have that side to side rigidity on most boots? they all talk about toe armor and steel shanks but what is the main part of a boot that will be saving my ankles and feet?

thanks guys! love the forum

My foot got crushed (was wearing all my gear but dont own boots yet) and is about the size of a purpley orange watermelon. My toes are HUGE and the base of my foot is black.

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That description will stay with me forever. Yuck.
I hope you feel better!!

1. Welcome!

2. Glad you're going to be okay!

3. And THANK YOU for not posting a pic of your foot!

I know where you were! Awesome, another Calgary rider man.

Had my baby out last three days, put her away too. Smart decision on the frame sliders. Best investment by far. Sorry about the drop though, hope you heal up good.

Well done for posting. :thumbup:

Those sliders are wise investment for just such a drop. Get better, get back on.

Glad you are alright!!

I dropped my bike last year it was my first year on a street bike and probably my first 500 miles(not my fz6). I pulled up in front of a friends house and the driveway was full, he was having a few guys over. So I went to back the bike up and didn't realize that my right foot was at the edge of the road and it dropped about 4 or 5 inches. I remember the feeling knowing I was going over and trying to slow the bikes descent, so funny how we protect these things over ourselves sometimes. Anyway must have jumped over the bike as it was falling because I was still holding both hand grips until we hit the ground but I wasn't under the bike. My shoulder hurt me for three weeks after that but I don't think it was from the fall. As soon as I hit the ground I was up again and I picked up the bike like it was 50 pounds and rolled it into the driveway between two cars. I think picking the bike up before my buddies saw me is what did the shoulder in, but it was worth it as all of you who have buddies will agree!! I got lucky that day too... only scratched up the mirror and bent the brake lever, I don't know how... it should have busted the plastic but it was only barley scuffed.

geetarhero said:

Yep, as my friend said; "at least the pressure is off for that first drop"
rest of the day went off without a hitch, cant wait to get out again!

luckily my shoes are fairly tight and thats what kept my foot in check the rest of the day. once the shoe came off it swelled and thats when the pain started.
I definitely now realize why armor and a rigid shoe is needed. Gunna start reading some reviews and buy a good half boot.

As ive never tried one on before, do they have that side to side rigidity on most boots? they all talk about toe armor and steel shanks but what is the main part of a boot that will be saving my ankles and feet?

thanks guys! love the forum

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Here this is important. Halfboots are not enough. The idea is to impart transfer the energy of impact over the largest surface area possible, and the full boot is what does that.

I understand at first tall boots seem overkill but they are what works.

The achilees tendon must be protected. Damage that and you will not walk, destroy it, and you will never walk again. The small bones of the foot must be protected, they do not heal well, and are almost impossible for doctors to repair. The ankle must be protected, it will grind away on the road first thing.

I have my sidi boots to thank for me crashing once and getting rearended once in the same day, and riding fine the next day. There are scars on boots that would of sent me to the hospital. Instead I rode back to the house.

Ask DefyInertia why you need full boots. Let me see if I can find the thread.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...54-minor-gore-ankle-protection-not-boots.html


Why you need boots

wrightme43 said:

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...54-minor-gore-ankle-protection-not-boots.html


Why you need boots

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I had a buddy go down on a ninja and his worst injuries were the ankles. He now has some extra metal hardware in there. Within a week of his crash I went online and bought a pair of real boots.

Thanks for posting!

:thumbup: on having those frame sliders!

:thumbup: going out on the parking lot first, if your going to fall down, better in a parking lot than the actual street with traffic.

One note: For a brand new bike, did you know that one of your headlights are not working?

har har har.

but seriously, im tempted to rock the high beams. did a test later that night with my friend, it seems the brights dont have the same effect car brights did, it did not blind me in my lowered VW at ALL.

the bd43 mod seems like too much work for me

Glad you're alright! I know that area, and it's a good spot to learn! I was dying to get my bike out on Saturday, but the snow and ice in our back alley is still way to deep (it's on the north side). There's no way I could get the bike out through that. Now, with the additional snow it feels like it'll be June before I can get out again!

I call the tipping point of, when you are able to save the fall and lift your
bike back up, and the tipping point of where you are unable to lift your bike back up, the "Point of No Return".
All bikes have this "Point of No Return", but they are different on different bikes. Learn yours, and don't go past the "Point of No Return"
Glad you have the frame sliders.
Sorry no boots however.
Keep the shiney side up......

Could have been worse. Kudos for practicing in a safe place away from traffic.

geetarhero said:

I definitely now realize why armor and a rigid shoe is needed. Gunna start reading some reviews and buy a good half boot.

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So are you going to wait until your next lower leg/foot injury to "realize" why a full-length riding boot should be your default footware on the bike? What is the point of choosing a half-boot over a full?