Xoulrath
July 17th, 2011, 08:15 PM
Well, I didn't drop it so much as I put it in a controlled fall. I am strong enough that I could have pulled it back up, but I'd prefer to not separate tendon from bone for a second time in my life.
I was riding with my wife and a friend, and we came up to a stop where my wife got my attention and told me to pull into the parking lot of the school I work at, as it was a 1/4 mile down the road from the stop we were at.
Well, I pull in and make a nice, tight 180 and look to my left to see my wife and friend going into the parking lot. I had already cut throttle and pulled in the clutch ready to stop. Well, I was looking too far to the left and I turned the wheel to the left anticipating I might just do a full circle, but again I had already committed myself to stop and, well the gyroscopic effect of the bike was gone, I was on a sideways incline (with the slope such that the kickstand side was the low side).
Next thing I knew I was holding the bike up at a 45 degree angle. I decided against muscling it for the reason mentioned, and decided to guide it to the ground. The drop doesn't even bother me as much as the fact that I got caught off-guard like that. Had I kept the throttle a bit open, I would have been able to avoid that. That's what irritates me the most: I practice the slow speed stuff all the time. I'm constantly making tight u-turns and 180 and 270 circle turns. I creep the bike along in bumper to bumper traffic.
Oh well, life happens, I guess. Everything lined up to work against me at that moment. But I did give the friend riding with me earlier grief about his little off-road encounter a couple months back. Karma is a bitch I guess. I look on the bright side, though, as the bike is fine and I am fine, and I'd rather have an off-balance drop in a parking lot, than to lose control in a corner.
Oh, the reason my wife had me pull over in the first place was because she had a hornet fly up her jacket! It stung her, left the stinger, and by the looks of the bruise, deposited ALL of the poison into her arm. She said it is hurting like hell.
I was riding with my wife and a friend, and we came up to a stop where my wife got my attention and told me to pull into the parking lot of the school I work at, as it was a 1/4 mile down the road from the stop we were at.
Well, I pull in and make a nice, tight 180 and look to my left to see my wife and friend going into the parking lot. I had already cut throttle and pulled in the clutch ready to stop. Well, I was looking too far to the left and I turned the wheel to the left anticipating I might just do a full circle, but again I had already committed myself to stop and, well the gyroscopic effect of the bike was gone, I was on a sideways incline (with the slope such that the kickstand side was the low side).
Next thing I knew I was holding the bike up at a 45 degree angle. I decided against muscling it for the reason mentioned, and decided to guide it to the ground. The drop doesn't even bother me as much as the fact that I got caught off-guard like that. Had I kept the throttle a bit open, I would have been able to avoid that. That's what irritates me the most: I practice the slow speed stuff all the time. I'm constantly making tight u-turns and 180 and 270 circle turns. I creep the bike along in bumper to bumper traffic.
Oh well, life happens, I guess. Everything lined up to work against me at that moment. But I did give the friend riding with me earlier grief about his little off-road encounter a couple months back. Karma is a bitch I guess. I look on the bright side, though, as the bike is fine and I am fine, and I'd rather have an off-balance drop in a parking lot, than to lose control in a corner.
Oh, the reason my wife had me pull over in the first place was because she had a hornet fly up her jacket! It stung her, left the stinger, and by the looks of the bruise, deposited ALL of the poison into her arm. She said it is hurting like hell.