Don't do this

CAUTION: May not be appropriate for VFR lovers. Viewer discretion advised.

Trashed my 1 week old gen 5.

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I'll understand if you want to throw me off the board.


I was following a car that was following a Slow moving city street crew pick up. We were driving along a swell twisty bit of a suburban road AT THE SPEED LIMIT of 25 MPH. and I was bored to say the least.
but there was no safe pass....... so i followed along.
As we approached the intersection, I scanned to the right through trees to see traffic conditions that would be coming up.
at that exact moment, the pick up truck SLAMMED on his brakes maybe 5 or 6 car spaces back from the stop light.....he left a space to the next car of 100 - 150 feet.
The car in front of me did the WHAT THE F#&K! routine & dynamited the brakes.
I looked back from my leisurely glance to the right to see trunk, bumper & BRAKELIGHTS.
I grabbed a handful - frontwheel skid; flopped it down on the left side & slid to a stop just touching the rear bumper of the nice lady in front of me.

I spent about 4 months looking for this bike. 12,000 miles. extra fine condition.

Major bummer.

Here is my take on the whole deal.

1. EVEN if you are traveling at a slow rate of speed, ya still gotta pay attention. I was a safe distance back at a very slow rate of speed & still couldn't react to the abrupt stop for no reason in front of me. I was caught off guard. I'd rather be splitting lanes than following a moron at 20MPH.
2. I've taken 2 advanced riders courses - been a couple years - but i was very dissapointed in my collision avoidence. there was none. I passed the tests, but in real life......? something I need to address.

I'm sore & lost a bit of skin on my knee, but other than that, i'm de-Prided. Typically I'm MOTGU - Most Of The Gear Ususally - and that was the case here, Jacket, helmet, gloves, boots and.....ahem......jeans.

Any input appreciated.
Ride safe out there. & don't get in your own way.

 

Damn! So sorry about your mishap. Aside from the fairing, are there any more damage/s?

 

I think I would label this as just plain old "Shit Happens" your summary is pretty much dead on and your next move will be to call Service Honda for your fairing replacement...

 

We do what we can do yet even so sometimes we are the bug and sometimes we are the windshield. Nobody can be 100% vigilant every single minute we are on the road so don't beat yourself up too badly. You learned a valuable lesson and the cost wasn't too high because you are still able to remember it. Your bike can be fixed and you weren't seriously hurt. Pick up the pieces, get things fixed, remember the lesson, and move forward.

 

Glad to hear you are are right.Which is the main thing.I know EVERYONE will be saying that to you-but it`s true.
And I hope you can get your wheels the right way up quickly, and hopefully at not too much cost.
All the best.:thumbsup:

 

At least you're OK. :thumbsup:

 

I am sad for you.

 

Well from the pictures it looks like the damage is purely cosmetical. That isn't a huge deal you can just buy replacement plastics. now if you damaged the forks or the frames or anything else man that's gonna suck!

 

Hey your OK so that's all there is. Bummer about the bike. Don't feel bad it happens to all of us. I spent 6 months rebuilding my bike to what it is today. Only to have something similar happen to me three months later. A women pulled out at dusk, no lights right in to my path. Bam.

Look at it this way. "There are only two types of motorcyclists. Those that have gone down and those that are gonna." You've had your's now. Your done! Put it back together and ride.

 

Okie Dokie

I don't like when people tell me how to live my life but in this case I will go along with your demands and not do that.:thumbsup:Sorry about the bike but glad your ok.:thumbsup:

 

As as bonus (positive side of it) turn your bike into street fighter!!!Why spend 1k+ on plastics!!!
Strip away all plastic.Get a Street Triple headlights and you are done.Positive benefits your side Rads will get lot more air and the bike will run cooler and overall effect bad ass!!bike


or meaner


Just few ideas to play around!!

 

Hey, no lectures from me. Just several obvious points...
I am sorry to hear about your accident. Very much a bummer! We all feel that responsibility to keep our machinery in good shape. But, the main take-home messages I see are 1) always wear all the gear and 2) one cannot overestimate the potential for trouble when looking away for just an instant. I know we all have had numerous close calls by glancing away when riding, when driving a cage (and even when bicycling). There is so much going on around us all day long, whether in the city or in the country. It is normal to want to glance at the next pass opportunity, that cool bike, or a hot body. And we almost always can get away with it BUT in this day and age of tailgating traffic, the margin is very close. I have sensed this so much lately. I try to constantly refocus myself on the task at hand--riding.
And I have seen a fair bit of the "I grabbed too much front brake" accidents lately on three different forums lately. So, perhaps we all can focus on our emergency braking training in the next few weeks. Perhaps we can save a few bikes and injuries.
And my personal motto: jeans are for looking casual when on two legs. They are a liability on a bike. I also just added a new piece of gear under my Dianese leathers...the Dainese Pro shorts. They are made of mesh and have a combo of soft padding and hard armour around the hips and the tailbone. I feel more protected now (my only real accident involved lots of unpleasentness to my hips so I am tuned into that).
So, eyes forward and gear on. Now twist that thang!
Recover that mojo and fix that 5th gen!

 

Thanks for the "Well wishes" guys.....
and Rubo....um.....idunno.......probably not for me. but thanks!


At first look the replacement parts list is pretty numbing. what do insurance companies do with the bike "remains" when they give you cash for your bike?
Another Gen 5 rider locally got $6000 for his low milage 99 about a month ago...

Other thought fragments I've had include this.......[link below]

http://vfrworld.com/forums/general-vfr-discussions/23995-decisions-decisions.html

 

Were you wearing gear when this happened???

Rollin

 

pretty much.

Typically I'm MOTGU - Most Of The Gear Ususally - and that was the case here, Jacket, helmet, gloves, boots and.....ahem......jeans.

 

then you will be riding a bike that used to be cool now just the newest fad which will die of boredom..

 

major bummer! but at least your able to tell us about it and not read about your not coming home, heal up bro, shit just does happen, the bike is fixable and if not you can just send it to me! :thumbsup:

 

Yah, definitely a case of shit happens. Glad you're ok.

Just hit that thing was some duct tape and a little honda polish!

 

Rationalization #1

Not trying to dodge my responsibility here......guilty - i get it........

BUT.

I have been thinking about this for a while now & especially about the tires.

I have a Y2k VFR that I rode this last weekend & it just felt more planted than this new 99 felt to me.
The 99 (the crashed bike) had only 11,000 some miles on it.
10 years old.
I bet the tires were maybe 5 years old.

Do you think maybe the tires were a little ....um......Tired? maybe not as grippy as I was used to. maybe a little more prone to skid rather than stop?

Maybe just maybe there were some extenuating circumstances?
hmmmmm?....yer honor?
not guilty by reason of poor maintenance?

well.....JAT.........

 

Youre doing what I do ........youre over thinking it.