So last night I decide to take my Monster 1100, which is just about to hit 600 miles, on a long ride through some of the rural roads around Portland. The night before, after reading about a serious accident on this board, I decided I needed to read up on the basics and pulled 'Twist of the wrist II' off my shelf and gave it another quick read. I decided that I was not practicing alot of what I had been taught, enjoying the thrill of my new bike rather than learning how to handle it properly. So the ride had a purpose.
It started out well, slow cornering, concentrating on choosing my lines, getting on the throttle, slow steady pull through the turns, looking where I'm going. I approach a sharp right turn at fairly low speed (10-15mph), get on the throttle, counter-steer into the turn and then about half way through the back tire starts to skitter. I did the exact opposite of what I had read the night before (and been taught in the MSF class). It happened slow enough that I knew precisely what went wrong. I just don't know why I reacted that way (lack of experience, of course). Here's a break down in slow motion:
smooth entry -- throttle on -- counter steer -- smooth -- smooth -- skitter -- skitter --
WTF? (turns head to look at bike) -- throttle off -- slide --
-- crash
I wish I could blame the gravel, or the fact that it was hidden in the shadows of the trees, but Keith Code clearly explains in his book what will happen if you go off the throttle on a turn. I have no one and nothing to blame but myself. My 'Survival Reaction' kicked in. I have no idea why I turned my head to look at the bike, as if I could will it back upright. An (expensive) lesson learned.
I ended up on my right side half-way into the on-coming lane. I instantly got up and pulled the bike off the ground (not considering any injuries I might have). I pushed it to the side of the road, 30 secs before a car came through the turn. This could have been much worse.
Damage:
Broken rear right turn signal, right foot peg and rear brake snapped off, clutch cover scraped and dented. Front brake level bent, bar end scraped off.
Injuries (Leather armored fieldsheer jacket, puma boots, jeans with strap on shin/knee guards, gloves)
Forearm: Minor scraps (right through the leather)
Right hip: Bruises & scrapes (right where armour pads would be on my leathers)
General soreness on my right side (from the 375 Italian beauty on my leg)
Ego: mangled beyond recognition
The only funny part of this is that on Monday the dealer calls me with 'your frame sliders are in'. 'See you on Friday when I hit 600' I say.
It started out well, slow cornering, concentrating on choosing my lines, getting on the throttle, slow steady pull through the turns, looking where I'm going. I approach a sharp right turn at fairly low speed (10-15mph), get on the throttle, counter-steer into the turn and then about half way through the back tire starts to skitter. I did the exact opposite of what I had read the night before (and been taught in the MSF class). It happened slow enough that I knew precisely what went wrong. I just don't know why I reacted that way (lack of experience, of course). Here's a break down in slow motion:
I wish I could blame the gravel, or the fact that it was hidden in the shadows of the trees, but Keith Code clearly explains in his book what will happen if you go off the throttle on a turn. I have no one and nothing to blame but myself. My 'Survival Reaction' kicked in. I have no idea why I turned my head to look at the bike, as if I could will it back upright. An (expensive) lesson learned.
I ended up on my right side half-way into the on-coming lane. I instantly got up and pulled the bike off the ground (not considering any injuries I might have). I pushed it to the side of the road, 30 secs before a car came through the turn. This could have been much worse.
Damage:
Broken rear right turn signal, right foot peg and rear brake snapped off, clutch cover scraped and dented. Front brake level bent, bar end scraped off.
Injuries (Leather armored fieldsheer jacket, puma boots, jeans with strap on shin/knee guards, gloves)
Forearm: Minor scraps (right through the leather)
Right hip: Bruises & scrapes (right where armour pads would be on my leathers)
General soreness on my right side (from the 375 Italian beauty on my leg)
Ego: mangled beyond recognition
The only funny part of this is that on Monday the dealer calls me with 'your frame sliders are in'. 'See you on Friday when I hit 600' I say.