Cliff's Notes @ the end.

Forewarning: THIS IS LOOOOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG. Lots of pictures and some video (none of actual wreck). These events are told through the eyes of a newb rider so while this may seem a bit trite and old-hat to you more experienced folks I'm hoping my perspective may shed a different light for us newer riders.

The Ride
So, this past Sunday the group of I guys I was supposed to ride with but ended up riding w/the wrong guys (http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=74188), were making the same run as they did the previous weekend where I was supposed to have tagged along except we were taking a few different roads this time around.

Met up @ 8:30am, left a little after 9am. One of the other riders said this was probably the biggest group they'd ever had w/14 bikes at the start. I was, again, the smallest bike with the next biggest being the next newest rider (1 year experience) riding a Suzuki GS500. I'm still a newb, riding since April and left the house with about 1150 miles on my odometer. At the end of the day I had right at 1500 miles.

The roads were great, still had an bunch of freakin' turtles on the road. This group of riders were a bit more organized with giving signals for debris, turns, slowing down, etc. Of course the faster riders took off and I was in the back with the 2 ladies in the group (not saying ladies are slow riders, just the fact they were back with me :)) Eventually one of them offered to let me follow her b/c they were both behind me every time and she thought I'd have a better time following. I agreed b/c they knew the roads so I could follow their lines and know how sharp the curves were. I was definitely doing better this week than the one before b/c I had someone to follow so I was better able to gauge entry speeds, braking zones, etc. I took some video (posted at the bottom) with my cheap-o eBay 5$ keychain camera.

Made our first stop off - mainly b/c the guys were waiting for us to catch up - where I made my first stupid mistake of the day: leaving my helmet just sitting on the passenger seat. I set it down long enough to just take a few photos of the group and in the 30 seconds it was there, a gust of wind blew it off. Luckily just a couple of scrapes, the guys took a look at it to make sure it didn't hit too hard and all agreed it should be safe to keep using.

First stop:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/458/groupa1.jpg

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/9276/groupa2.jpg

Hit the road again and ended up stopping off about 25 miles down the road for guys to top off their tanks, get a drink, and chat a bit more. A few the guys made sure to come down and make sure I'm doing okay and all of them were extremely friendly - more so than the guys I was with the prior weekend.

Gas stop:
http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/9291/groupb1.jpg

We lost a few riders after this stop, but a majority of us continued on for some more back roads. On our longest straight ride - about 60 miles or so - I finally started experiencing the butt-numbing discomfort of riding for so long and had a massive itching on my nose and cheek that was driving me nuts. I kept begging for a stop sign or something coming up to give me a chance to pop my visor and scratch it. The cicadas felt like rocks hitting me and they were really bad. Everyone was clearing their visors at every stop. Having a blast the entire time, I was feeling pretty good about the fact I was gaining more confidence in what I could do and how far I could lean the motorcycle - mind you I know I'm FAAAR from the limits of the bike and the stock IRCs - but just overall confidence that I can keep leaning and the bike will stick. I realized I have a bizarre fear of going down steep hills w/curves at the bottom. I just kept having to slow myself down unnecessarily before reaching the bottom. I had gotten off work early and unexpectedly on Friday so I took the chance to go ride some back roads for a couple of hours and practice cornering. On this ride, I was taking 35mph turns at about 45-50 (speedo indicated) and 45mph turns at about 60 (speedo indicated) and I knew the bike could go faster but it wasn't going to happen w/me in the seat. :D

After another stop off at a gas station, we eventually made it to a little hole-in-the-wall place for lunch named Lazy River Cafe in a camping town named Lesterville. Between our stop for gas and Lesterville we had a couple more peel off to head back so we were down to about half our original size by the time we stopped for lunch. Didn't talk much as I was the "outsider" but listened enthusiastically and enjoyed being regaled with good food and the stories these guys had to tell about each other. I could feel myself starting to tense up from sitting still too long. We eventually got ready to go. Ominously, one of the other riders jested "most wrecks happen after eating a big meal." If only I had known.

Stop for lunch:
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7071/groupc1.jpg

Headed for a more direct route back to the first gas stop which is the semi-official end-point for the ride. Heading through some beautifully smooth back roads and that's when it happened.

I'm just going to describe the accident, and go over my impressions/details further down...

Coming around a slight downhill left-hand curve which raised into an uphill through the curve to straighten, there was a guy in an older F-150 who was crowding the center line, left tires were on the line, which spooked me as I felt like my head was going to pass uncomfortably close to his bumper. My mind let me drift a bit off my line towards the side of the road but I looked at the side of the road to see where I was and I think the whole "go where you look" thing got me as I realized "oh sh*t" I'm gonna hit the gravel/grass, and right as I started to push the left bar more to try and pull it back from the side of the road I hit the grass/gravel and away I went... low-side. Was only on the pavement about a half second but it tore up my left glove and left knee and I tumbled through the grass. I felt myself rolling and had the cognitive awareness to ball my hands into fists to avoid breaking fingers or anything. It only took a few seconds but as anyone will tell you, it felt like a minute. I kept thinking "oh crap, I'm sliding towards the trees I'm gonna hit a tree or get impaled on a log or something, but never did of course. I stopped on my side, popped onto my knees and already saw that 3 of the riders who had hung back with me had stopped. The guy closest to me, I gave him the thumbs up and he returned it then passed it along to the other riders.

Where it stopped:
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/646/wreck1.jpg

The path less traveled... for a reason:
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/25/wreck2.jpg

The other 3 riders with me (the rest of the group were loooong gone), 2 of these guys should've been long gone w/the main group as they were much faster but one was having to go slow b/c his rear tire was about shot and the other guy, his girlfriend/wife was one of the girls I'd been following throughout the day so I guess he just wanted to hang back and ride with her a bit. At this point, they sprung into action which was great b/c I was a bit lost, not from disorientation of the wreck but just in that "what do I do now" unpreparedness. The girl sat me down and gave me a quick road-side first-aid test - "how many fingers," " what day is it," "what's your name," stuff like that, had me move all my extremities, raise my arms over my head, checked out my pupils. Physical damage to me was minor - road rash in my left knee, bruised right hand, a couple of minor scrapes on my arms. I tried to get up to help but she kept telling me to sit down, felt like my wife was there :D but I know she was doing it for my well being. The other 2 guys got my bike back up on the road and got to work assessing damage. Eventually got the bike running - tip-over sensor was the culprit they said - and the shift lever was badly bent but I was able to get my toes under it enough to upshift. Seemed like it is running fine. Nursed it about 25 miles back to the gas station where the rest of the group was still there and all gave me the "happens to all of us" pep talk and reassured that the bike looked okay, I looked okay, and to make sure to get it fixed and back out riding ASAP. Longer I waited the more frazzled I'd be when I did start riding again. As silly as it sounds everyone all gave me a resounding "well, it's about as good as a first wreck as you could hope for in terms of damages and injury."

Before leaving, I exchanged phone numbers with the one girl with us and she asked me to call her and let her know when I made it home. Everyone was still heading the same way I needed to go to get home so I went with them and took a slightly longer way home so I could stay with the group longer - really didn't want to ride alone for very long. I made it the last 45 miles or so home. On the ride home I felt like I'd reverted to my first day of MSF class where I just barely had a grasp on the basics of riding and was making silly mistakes on the ride home, grabbing the front brake instead of easing on braking power, I wasn't comfortable with holding up the weight of the bike and felt like I was going to drop it when stopped at traffic lights, stuff like that.

In a silly turn of events, I got home, wife and kids inside, unaware of what happened yet. I just got off the phone with the girl, letting her know I was home when my wife texted me asking me to let her know at my next stop where I was at so she knew if I'd be home for dinner. I replied back "I'm in the garage." She came out, I was facing perpendicular to her position in the doorway so she couldn't really see my torn up gear. I had a sheepish grin on my face and turned to face the rest of her and she could see my tattered clothing and immediately the smiles on her face were wiped clean by a look of terror as she just gasped "what happened" to me. Told her simply "I wrecked" and just got her to focus on the fact that I'm fine for the most part and started apologizing to her b/c I knew she was scared of something like this and the fact that I just cost us quite a bit of money. She didn't care about money/damages just then and was glad I was home. Told her, in more detail what happened and why it happened and she was accepting of the fact. I told her it was my fault and mine alone as I just don't want her switching to the "OMG, drivers are crazy, you're never riding again" mode and blaming the guy in the truck. Ultimately, I'm all good and went on about my evening sharing the photos/video w/my friends on Facebook so they can all share in my stupidity.

Right up until the wreck I was having an absolute blast, loving every curve, hating every turtle and patch of gravel. Had a dog run out at one point. Stumbled across the lurking stream of water running across the road - first time running through water (it's in one of the posted vids). Got pelted by bugs that felt like rocks hitting me in the chest. Good times!

Once again I was just amazed at the camaraderie of fellow bikers. After my wreck the other 3 jumped right in and started taking care of me, the situation, everything, flagging down passers-by to slow them down, letting them know we're all good. Of the very few cars that came by, all but 1 offered the use of a cell phone if needed. I honestly have to say I was deeply moved that 3 people, whom I'd never met before, were treating me like a close friend. I've already told them I owe each of them a round of drinks or 2 and they've dismissed me already but I don't intend on letting them. I owe them more than they know simply b/c they helped keep me calm in a completely foreign (to me) situation.

Damages to the bike:

Broken turn signal, scraped fairings, slider is scraped up and slider bracket is bent a bit. Clutch lever and bar end are scraped up pretty bad. Some of the scuffs on the fairings actually rubbed off, there was a black scuff on the tank from where my boot scuffed as I came off the bike that rubbed right off as well.
http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/1214/bike1u.jpg

Bent shift lever. REALLY bent.
http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/1870/bike2i.jpg

Bent left handlebar/clip-on/whatever. Kind of hard to see but you can see it when in-person.
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/1263/bike3q.jpg

I'll be posting up in the WTB section with a shopping list but if you have any of these parts and are willing to part with them please PM me with details.

Damages to gear:

Gloves; this kind of freaked me out b/c my left hand went down on the pavement for maybe a few feet. They did there job, my hand is unscathed save for some soreness but if I'd dragged for any longer I would've had some serious issues on my hand.
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/9029/glovesn.jpg

Jacket; it's hard to see in these pictures but the jacket is torn up pretty good on the front which is odd b/c it didn't hit the pavement so all the rips are just from rolling through the ditch. I have (had) 3 pockets and only 1 of them is still useable. The other 2 have holes in them. The elbow pad on my left arm shifted slightly in the fall and I got a couple of small abrasions on the inside of my left elbow. A few of the zippers are ruined. Not pictured are a few scuffs in the elbows from where it dragged. All-in-all I have to say the jacket held up where I needed it to so I was happy with that.

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/9998/jacket1i.jpg

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/2648/jacket2b.jpg

Pants; my left knee pad obviously shifted a bit and resulted in a good patch of road rash on my left knee, but I wonder if it wouldn't have been as bad if I hadn't removed the patches used to cover the mesh vents on the pants. It was in the 90s so I had them off for good reason. A bit disappointed that the knee pad shifted that much but it shows a good argument for why strap-on knee/shin protection is a good idea. I'll probably be looking into that in the near future. Other than that, the pants are in fine condition.

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/1498/pantsjd.jpg

Not pictured: Cracked glass screen on cell phone... there goes THAT warranty. :o At least it still works.

Oddly enough, my helmet was entirely unscathed. I guess my head was tucked up enough that I rolled around on my torso and legs. The boots were fine too except for a scuff on the left toe-slider where it dragged on the pavement.

One question I have is: Are the jacket/pants still safe to use? The pants I think may be questionable but the jacket seems fine, minus the holes in the front. I just can't use the pockets. I know I need new gloves for sure (with better palm protection) and my wife has already given me the okay to pull the trigger if I find a good deal on some used leathers - can't afford new. I've pretty much told her that I don't want to bother with buying new textile after seeing how it held up (or lack thereof) after sliding only a few feet on pavement.

Bodily injury:

Road-rash on my knee. Really doesn't hurt that bad any more except for right after a shower or if anything actually touches it - a bit painful going to work today wearing my dress pants.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4095/kneej.jpg
Wonder if I should take a new pic to show how much skin is gone. :p

Bruised fingers. Fingertips still feel a bit funny, very faint tingly feeling.. kind of the way your mouth/jaw feels when the anesthesia is juuussst about completely worn off after getting a filling or if you have a part of your body fall asleep and is tingly as it "wakes up" and isn't quite woken up yet.

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8026/img2814di.jpg

Videos
Here's a couple of videos - They're relatively BORING if you're a fast rider as you'll probably be yawning and mocking me about how you could've gone double the speed. ;) These are LOOOUUUDD so make sure to turn down the volume. Straight off the memory card - I have no editing software yet. Ignore the date/time, setting the date/time on the camera is cumbersome and pointless. In the first one, if you do decide to listen to it at full volume, you can hear me and the girl I was following talking for a moment where she offers to have me follow her, she said she was responsible for me so I teased her about someone telling her to be in charge of me (being the newb) and she explained that they are all in charge of watching out for the person behind them. It's hard to hear her talking but you can hear me responding.

I8TL8BTBWNw

yvv_VMMptTE


Why I wrecked:

First and foremost, lack of skill, inexperience, overconfidence, etc. I make no excuses. I was probably going too fast and my inexperience got to me when the truck spooked me and I didn't react properly. In hindsight, had I just held my line, the truck was probably several feet from me and I would've been just fine had held my line and passed by.

A major contributing factor was fatigue. This was the longest ride I'd ever done in one day. I had no business riding that many miles being so new. We took breaks but I just stood around. The stop off for lunch got to me as I could feel my self winding down mentally and my body stiffening up from just sitting there. Long story short, I just shouldn't have gone on such a long ride so soon. To add to my fatigue, I spent a couple of hours Friday night hunched over the engine of my car, removing the starter and then reinstalling it then up late hanging out w/the neighbors. Was up very early the next morning to get started on building a gigantic wood outdoor play set my parents had bought for my kids (I'll have a separate post in Off-Topic for that one in a day or so :D) and worked on it from about 9am to 8pm so I was sunburnt, very achy and then didn't get to sleep until after midnight. On Sunday, day of the ride, I was up at 7am so I wasn't very well rested and still achy and sunburnt from the day before. All in all, factors that I ignored when deciding to ride so far on Sunday. I probably should've cut it short like the others but I just wanted to go out and have some fun.

I don't think I'll be doing any windy back roads for awhile. I'm a bit lost on how to overcome the inevitable fear I'll have once I get back on my bike and start riding. I'm sure the "Search" button on Ninjette will be worn out by me over the next week or 2 while I hunt for parts and perhaps some new gear and looking for tips for getting back on the proverbial horse once you've been knocked off. Probably start slow, side roads, a little practice in the parking lot, etc. Go back to infant mode, learning to crawl before you walk, walk before you run, etc.

If you've made it this far, bravo to you. :D Again, sorry if this seems a bit dramatized or melodramatic. It was just an entirely different experience and I felt like I should share it in hopes that it enlightens someone.

Now for the Cliff's Notes:

If you're TL;DR.... I went for a ride, with the right group of guys but due to stupidity, inexperience I wrecked. But I'm mostly fine, the bike still runs. Bikers ROCK!

Glad to hear your alright. It seems like you are very aware of what happened and what caused you to crash which is a great thing. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and move on. Good luck with the repairs! :thumbup:

Sorry to hear this man!
I just was readin your WRONG group thread yesterday, and now this one today :(
Bike doesnt look to bad at all, glad your first down wasnt bad :)
You seem to have your head in a good spot, Ill see ya back on 2 wheels soon :thumbup:

Youch! Glad you're OK! I don't believe our ninjettes have a tip-over sensor, but carbureted bikes don't run so well on their sides, and it takes a few moments for the float bowls to fill up properly for the bike to get running normally again once upright again.

Oh, we have a thread you need to visit. (http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25913) :)

Thanks Alex. I just voted. :)

I do recall the guy giving it a bit of throttle when it did finally start up. We waited about 15 minutes after getting it upright and parked up on the road before we tried starting it, once it didn't we were working to disconnect the battery to thinking it would reset the sensor. Good to know that won't be necessary should it happen again.

No shame - it happens.... Glad you and the bike are alright for the most part.

Not target fixating in a turn and holding your line steady are two difficult skills to really learn. Glad to hear you're not injured!

If the jacket and pants don't seem to have any structural tears or rips, I'd keep riding with them unless insurance replaces them.

glad to hear you are alright. What type of jacket are you wearing?

glad your alright.

Jacket looks like Joe Rocket Atomic 4.0. I have the same jacket just all black.

Sorry to hear about that man. I've got a bent shift lever that you can have if you want it. Its been straightened out so its certainly not perfect but about a million times better than your current one. May work for you until you can find a suitable replacement.

Thanks for the reply about the riding gear, jstrain. No tears at any of the seams that I've found yet. Haven't really gone over all of it with a fine-toothed comb yet though. I won't be turning anything into insurance since it's all minor damage at this point. If that changes then I may have to turn it into insurance.

Liber, Mizono was right, it's a Joe Rocket Atomic 4.0 jacket; pants were JR Atomic pants, gloves were Alpinestars Alloy gloves.

Glad you came out of the experience relatively unscathed. It is good that you are 'getting back on the horse'. Don't get discouraged, it sounds like you have a good supportive group of riders there. :thumbup:

Sorry to hear about the crash, but very glad to hear it was minor damage to you and the bike.

Definitely go back to basics and get some parking lot practice. We can all benefit from that. Get back on those back roads. It's the only way to learn how to ride them. Don't think about, just do it. Take it easy, of course.

I would remind you to not fixate on the wreck. Analyze it (you did), learn what you did wrong (you did), think about how you could have saved the situation (you did). Replay it in your head over and over to the point you think it is stored in your hard-drive, ready for access in the future. I have been fortunate enough to only have a few scares, but I did the above for each one, and made sure not to think too much as I continued on after each mishap. Doing this definitely helped me. Maybe it will help you.

Glad your ok :thumbup:

You can always get more gear and another bike.

First things first don't beat yourself up over it, learn from it but let it go. As fir riding after, you are going to be a bit more timid in your riding, you wont lean as far as you were and you will go slower. This is how i was after i went down and then all most went into the side of the mountain when i rode the snake. Slowly you will build your confidence up again.

It is good to read that the people you were on the ride with took care of you, You have some good riding partners there remember to pay it forward. We all look out for each other.

Wow.. So sorry to hear this.. but very glad you are not hurt any worse.. ;)

Thanks for all the suggestions, comments, etc. I've been reminding myself it could've been worse and I'm glad I'm relatively unscathed. Unfortunately, it's just my mindset (I'm a pessimist) to keep thinking about the what-if's, and knowing how I am, I know I'll have a hard time with letting it go and not thinking about it when I get back on the bike. I am very lucky to have had a great group of guys with me, and on here to be honest. You guys are pretty damn cool and supportive despite not even knowing any of you face-to-face. :thumbup:

Only rough part about the repairs is replacing gear since all-in-all the gloves will be more expensive than the bike parts. I've pretty much decided I'm going to try and bend back the shift lever. I'm going to try and take a better photo of the handlebars and get your guys' opinions (in a new thread) as to whether or not the handlebar is a "must replace" thing or not. Turn signals are cheap so I can just pick one up. My pants and jacket should be okay to keep using albeit a bit less functional. :p Just NEED new gloves which I've been looking at today and right now I'm leaning towards the Teknic Lightning (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/37/34606/ITEM/Teknic-Lightning-Gloves.aspx) gloves for the protection you get for the price it looks like they're tough to beat. Difficulty will be talking my wife into it seeing as how I just pissed away $80 on the A* Alloy gloves in about 3 seconds, she may not be easy to talk into another $100 for just gloves when the cost of parts will easily be cheaper than the $100 for the gloves.

I crashed a plane once. Get back on the bike ASAP and correct your mistake a few times and it will restore your confidence. The wreck will become a teachable moment in your life, but not one that haunts you.

Yeah, it is definitely a good idea to be wearing full gauntlets at all times if possible. From just looking at the Teknic's I'm sure they will be fine. sportbiketrackgear.com (http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/StoreFront.bok) is very helpful for getting some hands-on reviews of gear. Check them out. Apparently Brian(sp?) Van crashes often. He has obviously lived to tell the tale with minor injuries at best. I think most importantly, he and his staff are testing this gear out in the most demanding of places (as far as speed): the track. Bad for him, but good for reviews of real protective gear.

Shifter is easy to straighten. Put a small Crescent wrench on the flat part, grip the head of the wrench with another larger Crescent wrench, and use the larger wrench to start bending. It's just mild steel, it bends pretty easy. With the first wrench you control twist, and the second you control bend.

Might check the frame where the slider attaches, it's probably bent there.

Don't forget to check fork, chain, and rear wheel alignment.

I discovered that grass has zero traction once as I was pulling off the freeway. Had to finish out the last 100+ miles after that one, head was back in the game by the end. Advice of getting back on ASAP is good advice. Don't get complacent, though.

Glad to hear you're all right.

I've got a left bar that you can have for the price of shipping. I don't have the bar-end anymore though.

Sorry to hear about the wreck but glad tou are OK.

Glad you're ok :thumbup: Gloves are cheaper than the roadrash scrub in the ER!

I've got a stock shifter and handlebar if that'll help things go over easier w/ the wife. They're both like brand new. They're off a black bike too, so your bike might even get a little faster :thumbup:

Thanks for the great report, and glad you're ok to give it... Good luck with your bike...:thumbup:

Thanks for the well wishes and parts offers. rockNroll & k-os, you both have PMs from me. k-os, I sent you a PM before seeing rockNroll's offer so, I'll probably take him up on his offers since it'll be cheaper for me with shipping and stuff, but I truly appreciate your offer for your left bar.

And frugal, thanks for giving me a whole new set of problems to worry about with the frame, fork, etc., etc. :o

Nice read - glad you're ok man.

Glad you are okay. I was thinking just like you when I had my first lowside. Took a long while to get completely over it, but I finally am getting closer to the confidence I used to ride with.

You may be surprised at how far a little rubbing compound will go in cleaning that fairing up. Give it a go!

After reading this, the first thing that popped in my mind is (I need new gloves)

Glad your ok. Way too long a read for me but I looked it over. Sounds like you just freaked out and lost it. Group ride are dangerous. The more riders the more dangerous. When I go on group rides I ALWAYS make sure I'm in the front (top three or four riders). The farther back the more dangerous.

Be careful and make sure you have a lot of experience and confidence before you ride with a big group. Smaller groups are more fun and much safer.

I like riding by myself best (even on the track). I would hate for someone else to take me out.

Not doubting you, but why do you think it's more riders = higher risk? Just curious is all.

We were a big group, but really, it was the fast 10 or 11 guys that were waaaaaay ahead of us and me and the couple of girls waaaaaaay behind so we were really our own little group. When I went down, it was the same way. Me & 3 others with no one really pushing the pace at all.

And yeah... you pretty much got the jist of it, I got spooked and had a case of target fixation on the side of the road and low-sided.

I wish I could find some people around here to ride with, just without the whole crashing thing. :o

Been there, done that, have the bruised ribs to prove it :D Glad you're ok!



I'm going to ask you the same thing a fellow rider / fellow Paramedic asked me after I wrecked:


Now that it's over and there's no serious injury, and the bike isn't badly damaged either... wasn't the fall kind of fun except for the whole "Oh crap I'm going to hit something" feeling? :p

ROFL... no, not really. ;)

Been there, done that, have the bruised ribs to prove it :D Glad you're ok!



I'm going to ask you the same thing a fellow rider / fellow Paramedic asked me after I wrecked:


Now that it's over and there's no serious injury, and the bike isn't badly damaged either... wasn't the fall kind of fun except for the whole "Oh crap I'm going to hit something" feeling? :p

Ha, thats a funny question. I would have to say yes. I was leaned all the way over in the turn so when I hit the ground it was not far to go. I did let out curse as was sliding on the pavement. I was pissed that I did not make the turn but I already knew why. When you drag hard parts they are not forgiving.


Glad to hear that you are generally OK. My ribs are starting to feel better from my lowside almost two weeks ago.

I think we should post the picture of your plastics in the thread "Frame Sliders- Do they work?" Again I will state that no, they do not work. Yes, if you drop your bike in your garage or in a parking lot they help...but isnt "slide" in the name. You bike looks a lot like mine now.

With a little persuasion you can bend your handle bar back into place with out having to remove anything. Get a big pipe large enough to fit over the hand grip. If you need have someone steady the bike (I did it on the the rear stand) and gently push/pull the bar back into place. :thumbup:

BTW, do you still have your turn signals? I was able to put one of mine back together again. They are really pretty ingenious as they are meant to "break away".

Yeah, I kept the one turn signal that broke off and it still does work, but the housing is deformed to the point I can't get the clear lens back on nor the bulb/reflector part either. I was able to hook up the wires to the back of the bulb/reflector and it still worked, just couldn't put it back in the actual housing or get the lens screwed on.

Thankfully, some fellow Ninjetters are helping me out with the replacement parts for the blinker, handlebar, and shift lever so I'll hopefully be up and running soon.

sorry to hear you took a tumble. one rule i try to live by on the street is to always allow room for opposing traffic, even if there is none that you can see. but like cc said, it sounds like you just got spooked. (has happened to me before)
from the sounds of it, though, the cost of the experience was about as cheap as you could have gotten. and the experience you gained from it will most definitely pay for the damages in the long run.
get back on asap, otherwise the bike will scare you more and more each day you stay away. from looking at your videos, you might want to do some research on apexes and what an early apex is and why its sometimes bad, and how it can leave you with no room for corrections. no shame in crashing, it happens to everyone sometime or another. good luck with the repairs. oh and checking alignment is cheap and easy... get some string. realigning wheels and forks is also fairly easy if they aren't bent. its a bent frame that's not so easy to straighten, but from the sounds of it you weren't going very fast and it didn't flip or anything catastrophic, so its not unlikely the bike is fine.

Thanks for the reply, Alex, and yep... I just spooked myself and there was plenty of room. Thanks for the constructive criticism on my riding, I appreciate any tips people can offer. I'm optimistic about the alignment and whatnot, and hopeful there's no frame issues. Luckily, the bike was due (and after all the miles from the ride, now overdue) to have the chain tension checked so I'll be checking the alignment at that time anyway along with some other maintenance.

Right now I'm just awaiting the replacement parts that have been offered up by some generous fellow Ninjette members and I'll be able to get back on the road.

Glad your okay!! Luckily it happened where it did with no cliff and more into the dirt! And most of all due to those conditions lucky you didn't nimble a tree!

Also the bike damage isn't insanely bad; quite a bit, but fixable =]
Take it slow and learn from it!

Not doubting you, but why do you think it's more riders = higher risk? Just curious is all.

We were a big group, but really, it was the fast 10 or 11 guys that were waaaaaay ahead of us and me and the couple of girls waaaaaaay behind so we were really our own little group. When I went down, it was the same way. Me & 3 others with no one really pushing the pace at all.

And yeah... you pretty much got the jist of it, I got spooked and had a case of target fixation on the side of the road and low-sided.


The more riders there are in the group, the more of a chance of someone crashing. When there is a group you have to not only worry about yourself, but also worry about someone else in the group hitting you. There is also the competitive spirit among riders (I'm faster than you) that creates more of a danger with larger groups. Then there is the accordian affect of the group (catch up, slow down).

When there are more variables there is a great chance of an accident.

To error is human. More humans means more errors.

Getting spooked don't always come from environmental hazards.

I was practicing good throttle control via (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joUdnwn3iEw) great couple of vids fyi. When coming into a corner hot, I spooked myself on the last down shift just before corner entry. It was a truly one of those "oh sh*t" moments for me. It seems all in slow motion as it occurred. MSF style break in curve (stand bike up and break), or trust the bike and tires are better than me? I choose the latter in that split second and it most likely saved my skin.

During practice runs on a close twisty road to my house. I find myself to close to the yellows often enough (n00b mistake on my part), but you can "roll off the throttle" just a hair to run the bike just a bit wide, get off the yellow line and further out of reach of traffic. Once a bit wide, you can get back on the gas and finish the turn. Much better than eating the grill or having your helmet meet the side mirror of the oncoming cage. As you know, it don't take long to go wide. :rolleyes:

You mentioned you where a bit "overconfident". Well, ride hard but save a little in your tank for surprises. I almost never try to work on my 100% skill, I am always working at my 80% skill. 80% of "Your Pace" on a group ride will allow you the extra 20% needed to handle anything that comes up. Maybe 80% is conservative, but I have only been sport riding for a few years now and still nowhere near the limits of the ninjette. I practice the 20% skills solo in an empty parking lot. Stopping quick, bumps over speed bumps, slow stuff. And thanks to the local concrete supplier, I have a nice lot with a lot of debris in it.

Thanks for your post and story. It reaffirms we all can learn from mistakes. Speaking of mistakes, if this is not the group your planned on riding with, maybe you need to add them to your list of friends to group with more often! Seems like a great bunch of riders.

Glad your ok, get well and good luck with your bike and future rides.

During practice runs on a close twisty road to my house. I find myself to close to the yellows often enough (n00b mistake on my part), but you can "roll off the throttle" just a hair to run the bike just a bit wide, get off the yellow line and further out of reach of traffic. Once a bit wide, you can get back on the gas and finish the turn. Much better than eating the grill or having your helmet meet the side mirror of the oncoming cage. As you know, it don't take long to go wide. :rolleyes:


I would suggest that you don't roll of the throttle in this situation. Stay with your smooth roll through the turn. Push a little bit on the outside bar to widen your turn and get you away from the center. Practice this :thumbup:

Glad you are okay and that you have already figured out your errors and seem pretty level headed about the whole situation. I agree with pretty much everything that everyone else has offered up as far as advice and criticism so I won't be redundant.

I would say though that the extra money you spend on good gear will benefit you down the road whether you crash or not. A cheap pair of replacement gloves obviously wouldn't be good if you do crash, but if they are not quality made they will fall apart with just daily wear and tear... i.e. seams coming apart or palm getting worn out by just being on the grips. Do yourself a favor and get a good pair and try not to think about the monetary cost.

Good Luck and ride safe :thumbup: