Hmm... Dragonr takes a Bite!

[Anarchy]

So yea I dumped my bike over the weekend of the Dragon trip. Not hurt to get that out of the way. I came into a decreasing downhill radius turn kind of hot and ended up left of center in the ditch. I would have made the turn but still being new to riding I didn't give it any gas through the turn to sharpen my line. So I sorta coasted/leaned over enough that i was scraping into the ditch. I didn't slide across the road at all which was fortunate.

Bike is fine, road it all the way home that Sunday. Now that finals are over I had a chance to rip it apart. As you can see in the picture the post that holds that front fairing on is bent. Not sure how I'm going to straighten that yet. You can also see the hole in the back plate of the headlight where that screw would have been. I think the pictures make the damage look worse than it really is, mostly paint and plastic. For now i'll put the fairing back on but I'm pretty sure I'm going to change the color and go street fighter.

Steve has some more pictures he took that weekend too, along with a picture of my arm which is completely healed.

 

[bushboarder]

Good to hear you came out of it ok. That's some ugly roadrash on your baby.

 

[Anarchy]

Good to hear you came out of it ok. That's some ugly roadrash on your baby.

Yeah, I think it is mostly because I was sliding through a ditch with small rocks and dirt and stuff. It was everywhere for a while too. It still isn't totally clean yet.

 

[necrotimus]

We were all really glad you were ok. Hopefully next year we will be accident free. Looking forward to seeing your future streetfighter progress.

 

[FZ1inNH]

There... you've had that first get off... the monkey is off the back.

Glad you are OK and the damage is minimal! :steve:

How about another one with the FZ1N conversion? That one is a clean conversion and looks awesome!

 

[MarinaFazer]

I'm glad you're okay! Enjoy repairing!

 

[Bates121]

Good to hear your all in one piece :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[PAULED]

Glad your ok man.:thumbup: Bike can be repaired no worries.

Take it easy.

 

[shaggystyle]

I know I've already said it a dozen times, but seeing you go down scared the crap out of me. I'm really gald you didn't get hurt. Post up picks of the repairs.

 

[bmccrary]

Good to hear you came out ok. Bike damage doesnt appear too bad considering the situation. Best of luck on the repair.

Not to change the subject, but has anyone heard from Dominic?

-bryan

 

[wrightme43]

Here are some more pics, and pics of Gary and his Dad

 

[wrightme43]

Good to hear you came out ok. Bike damage doesnt appear too bad considering the situation. Best of luck on the repair.

Not to change the subject, but has anyone heard from Dominic?

-bryan

Yes

Broke both bones in his arm, some in his hand, three ribs, and has pnumonia.

 

[Steph]

Yes

Broke both bones in his arm, some in his hand, three ribs, and has pnumonia.

Holy Crap! This is the guy that didn't go to the hospital at the meet?! Hope he heals up ok!

 

[ant_mb]

That would be him

 

[wrightme43]

Holy Crap! This is the guy that didn't go to the hospital at the meet?! Hope he heals up ok!

Yep. Them crazy doctors in NC was just a gonna sacrifice a chicken anyway. LOL LOL

 

[Stumbles06]

Bike is fine, road it all the way home that Sunday.

along with a picture of my arm which is completely healed.

Good to see you made it through ok. As was said, you've had your off, (you know the saying, 2 types of riders, those that have fallen, and those that will) and with only paint and plastics damage, you've done well.

:rockon:

p.s...Hope Dominic pulls through ok.

 

[bmccrary]

Yes

Broke both bones in his arm, some in his hand, three ribs, and has pnumonia.

Yes, I had heard that a little bit ago. Just wondering if anyone has got an update on his status.

-bryan

 

[DefyInertia]

Glad you're ok! Could have been much worse for you or someone else. I crashed there too as a newb and it was total rider error.

If bending the front stay back fails, you can buy a replacement rather easily (not much $$$ either).

You can ignore my questions if you want, but here they are anyway:

Left or Right hand turn? Sounds like a R that you crossed the yellow on and ended up on the opposite side of the road?

How did your arm get like that? It looks like there is a riding jacket in one of the pics.

How did you arrive at this conclusion?

I would have made the turn but still being new to riding I didn't give it any gas through the turn to sharpen my line.

Gas to sharpen? In my experience, when sharpening my line, I always have to lean more OR slow down (front brake or engine braking as required). I finish my corners and drive out into a straight line by adding throttle AND ruducing lean.

Were you in gear or were you truly "coasting"?

I also use the throttle to hold a line in longer high-speed turns.

 

[lonesoldier84]

congrats on being alive.

tips that have helped me:

1) LOOK where you want to go. seriously, make a concious effort to look AWAY from what you are avoiding. it will seriously save your skin. seriously. it wards off panic mode too in those "in too hot" scenarios

2) get your a55 OFF the seat and move your bodyweight INTO the lean. dont shift your weight around in the corner. make all movements before beginning the steering action.

3) HOLD steady on the gas or GENTLY roll onto it when "in too hot" (because 95% of the time you arent actually in too hot for the bike itself...only for your panic responses). the reason you are holding steady or rolling gently onto the throttle is you DO NOT want to shift weight FORWARD on your bike when in a fairly high speed corner when already leaned over.
[obviously if you need to slow down for obstacles or whatever you will need to brake or whatever. but short of that you dont want to pitch the bike forward. if there is any debris on the road or if the road surface is uneven....a) you will lowside immediately or b) your suspension will be compressed to begin with and unable to deal effectively with the road surface.]

 

[lonesoldier84]

P.S. Defy is right when he says you cant "sharpen" your line by rolling on or holding throttle but my point is that if you arent cornering properly you will be better able to sharpen your corners from actually knowing how to corner properly than by letting off throttle mid turn and pitching the weight of the bike forward. (on a downhill decreasing radius turn like the one you spilled on any extra suspension compression would not have been too nice)

but also note:

the best way to learn to corner properly and quickly is to start SLOW. work on being 100% smooth and always ride at 60% of your ability. speed comes with time. the roots of speed are in smoothness. if you are smooth and slower you always know exactly what happened and are never just hanging on for the ride.

as the years go by you will get faster and faster and faster. you cant push past that learning curve by riding over 70% of your comfort level. that only slows how long it will take you to learn in the long run.

plus its better to have more fun over 20 years and gradually get more pro as time goes on than be a short-lived hot-shot thats not really all that much of a hot-shot.

be well~