Time Heals

I suppose enough time has passed...I may be able to talk about it now.
I really haven't dwelt on it much; but I suppose in the name of health I should get it out.

I crashed.

There. I said it. I crashed.

I have ridden tens of thousands of miles in scary traffic and at ludicrous speed. One morning in February, I went down in traffic.
Many conditions combined to make this crash happen, but it is mostly due to a stupid cager that JUST HAD to be in my lane in the spot that I was attempting to occupy.
It was at a red light on a 3 lane road. Morning rush hour. I had a clear line to the light in the far right lane, until a lady crossed all 3 lanes from the far left.

I tried to log to the right to avoid her but she left me no room. Cold, wet pavement and a well used rear tire contributed to poor traction.
I am very unclear of the exact details, but I ended up on my right side after a short slide directly behind the idiot at the light. Thankfully the light was red so the folks behind me were slowing down enough to not run me over.







Like I said, the details are unclear. I don't think I hit her, but there is damage to both sides of the front fairing. all of the lower damage is on the right side. I slid a bit on the right side. The entire front was bent to the left, I know I hit the ground pretty hard. Hard enough to blow out the knee on my armored textile pants.

I had barely a bruise. Gear saves injuries for sure. I crashed right in front of a hospital but did not even go in to get checked out.

I was so mad I threw parts of my bike at the lady. She somehow thought I was in the wrong for traveling in my lane. She was under the impression she could do whatever she wanted without regard to her surroundings.
She did ask if there was anything she could do. I told her, "Get away from me."
I picked up my bike. Made sure it started. Picked up my tank bag from the middle of the street. Waved to the guy behind me to thank him for not squashing me. Then continued on to work.
I did not look at the bike until I parked in the parking garage at work.

I was sad.

I called my insurance, Progressive. I was slightly disappointed that Flo did not personally take my call. I am sure she is pretty busy. The guy who did take my call was super helpful. I told him it was a single vehicle, non-injury accident. There was no police report. I explained the damage, and he ran the numbers. He said it was most probably totaled. I explained I wanted it fixed no matter what. I also explained there might be a problem getting a salvage title(the lien holder is dead, the bike is all paid for, but the widow is AWOL so I can't get it released).
I asked if I could have an adjuster come out and look at it to get a real estimate. He said the book value was about $3,500(not bad for a 13 year old bike). I told him I had a few extras on it and it might be valued higher which may make it fixable without salvaging it. He said he would send a guy out to look at it.
I took it to Musselman's Honda in Tucson, as it is the only Honda moto dealer in Tucson(I live there now). I told the adjuster to come look at it there so they could coordinate parts and repair costs.

I recalled VFRW had a member by the name of Nungboy who lived in Tucson. I sent him a message in the hopes of using his driveway to repair the bike myself in the event it wouldn't be covered by insurance. He not only offered to help, but offered full use of his shop at work. His boss is also a rider and fully agreed. Great guy, Nungboy. I owe him a drink when this is all over.

The adjuster called me back a few days later and gave me some good news. The farkles brought up the value, and "light marring" would be overlooked. It was going to be covered. They would even waive my deductible!

That was in February.

The shop ordered the parts and everything was available except for one side fairing bracket. They decided to not touch the bike until that part arrived, a week or so later. The part finally arrived an they began working on it.
I went by to look at her. Take her flowers. Let her know I care. Everything looked great(I'll add a list of all the new stuff when it's all over). But her front fairing was still off. I asked the shop manager where it was. He explained that some bonehead somewhere along the way opened the box it was in with a box cutter. Nice big cut all across the top of the fairing. He called Honda for another one. Not available. Ah the joys of owning an older bike.
He said he asked Honda if they would pay to have a body shop repair the part in hand. The answer took a few days, but they agreed. So off to the body shop it went. The painting took a week. Somewhere along the way they found that my windscreen was broken at the mounting points and could not be saved. A new one was ordered late in the game. I got a call yesterday saying everything was done except for the screen. They expect to have it completed by tomorrow. I am not holding my breath.

 

DAMN! That sucks man! It seems it's always some time when you least expect it that you go down. Not so much when you're going some ludacris speed or zooming thru traffic. Did you get her insurance info 'cause she should be liable for your accident?

 

Glad you're allright, hopefully you got up and gave her a proper throat punch.

 

Oh, and i take it you are all right? Sounds like your gear sacrificed itself for you.

 

Sorry to hear this drewl. Whenever I'm in traffic, my head is on a swivel. The upside is that the bike looks fixable and that you seem to be OK. You've got those things going for you.

 

Damned Drewl! Sure glad to hear you made it through this relatively good. I hope the damage to the bike is just cosmetic and repairable. That is a sweet ride you have there. So. What was the end result of the "accident'? And I use that word generously here. I did not get whether she stopped or not. And how the hell did you manage to damage both sides of the front of your bike?

I just cannot fathom how anyone does not see us riding our bikes which have lights on them. And as far as visibility goes, the only way Drewl would be more visible would be if his bike was painted Florescent Lime Yellow.

 

Sorry to hear bro, glad you are ok!! It's amazing and sad how blind the cagers can be to us!!! Sounds like she is unrideable at this time? How is the parts search going? I have my stock pipe and bars packed away somewhere if I can find them....

 

Just added a bunch to the story. Most of your questions are answered.
Thank you all. I am fine. not a scratch. The right knee of my pants blew out, minor scuff on my right elbow of my jacket. Minor scuff on the palm of my right glove.
I did not get her insurance info, I could not speak to her civilly enough to process that. I told her to go away, and I took care of it myself.

 

Oh!....And you speak to your comrades at R3 how?

 

unfortunately, its what we are taught since we were children. when kids go out to play they are told to watch for cars. since we were babies we were told to do what before we cross the street? look both ways FOR CARS. its programmed into our brains. some people will look directly at a motorcycle and pull right out in front of it cause it just doesnt register in their heads. their looking for cars! its like if their trying to stop themselves but they just cant help it.

i dont know this cat called drewl but, im glad ur okay dude. and glad that ur baby will be back up and running soon. count your blessings bruddah

 

Drewl is a long timer here.

 

Sorry to hear the bad news Drewl, glad you're still here with us and your ride is gettin back together tho!

 

That's a bummer, glad your ok! Well your a motorcyclist and motorcycle all over the place. You only have two wheels so it will be sooner or later for you to fall down some how. You know about cagers and some of them have driving on the bottom of their list when they get behind the wheel and everybody makes mistakes. Just because your good doesn't mean you won't go down.

It's a bitch when someone else causes you to. I feel for you. Though it gives you time to get more personal with your bike cause now you have to fix it. Just think if you were driving a tank she'd be the one bumming out. Happy thoughts from here on out, that's all you need.:boobies3:

 

If the shoe was on the other foot I would have called the police because of the accident. It would be a confusing scene... Motorcycle down...car with no damage.... rider has little to now scratches but the driver of the car seems to have suffered a traumatic injuries from contact with the steering wheel which is also wrapped around her neck.

Glad your ok Drewl... Thanks for sharing. Hope Ol' yellow recovers soon so you can enjoy her again.

 

That suck! More than a few of us have down. It happens to the best of us. I'm just glad you were wearing gear and are not hurt.

 

LOL 2 times. Fucking "A" Bubba Fucking "A".

 

Holy Crap drewl! I'm very glad you're OK; good riding gear goes a long way! I would have taken my anger out on the hood of her car; and the windshield, grill, headlights, tires, doors... Glad you have a better temperament then I do. The insurance looks to have taken care of you nicely. Make sure to post of pics of the finished product!

 

Doh, Doh, Doh!

Glad to hear you are OK and the bike is on the mend!

Sounds like you have some good neighbours in Tucson.

Looking forward to the "after" photos, real soon.


Take care...

 

Shop called yesterday to say she is ready. Of course I am 4 hours north until Monday.
They also said she needed a battery. Oh well, what's another hundred bucks? I had them put on a new Pilot Road 2ct as well.

 

ound::lol::vtr2::chaingun: