[ST] Need info ASAP! Down and out :-(

["Scott" <98-VFR800@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy,

	I had a great weekend. Unfortunately, my bike did not. I am now
in the position of trying to get my bike fixed in time for a long trip
to the four corners area in two weeks. It went down on the right side,
cracked the crankcase cover, trashed the upper and right fairings, and
goobered the foot brake pedal. The left side was virtually untouched
except where I was dragging everything for all I was worth trying to
make the corner before leaving the pavement and riding the offroad
tankslapper form hell. According to the third bike behind me, I
levitated over the heaving beast for the duration of the ride. In the
end I was sitting on the left side of the bike, completely unscathed.
The only dirt came from getting up off the bike and going over and
sitting down in the ditch to collect me wits!
	The second bike fixated on me and used his expensive Italian
body parts to excavate the road side in an empathy crash. It made me
feel much better to not be the only one to have gone down hehe. What a
great friend! He was not hurt either, just some bruises. Fortunately
for him, his bike could continue and he got to ride another 600 miles
before the weekend was over. I rode my wife's SV650S (with her on the
back) back to the hotel to grab the truck and trailer. The ride back to
the hotel was a blast, even two up. She really has lots of trust in me
;-) The following day, I took the SV out with the rest of the group and
she went shopping. We did the Talimena Skyway loop from Hot Springs,
Arkansas to Talihena, Oklahoma and back. It was fantastic. The weather
was incredible all weekend.
	So now, do I try to trade in for a new 2001? The parts alone
will likely be around $2000, even with the list discount from AZ or
HOM. The labor will kill me. I can do the body stuff but that is about
it. The front end came out untouched, not even a scratch on the right
fork or brake rotor. The right Heli bar and the Throttlemeister were
both toasted. By the way, GIVI luggage makes excellent frame sliders!
The luggage hardly even looks scratched! It kept the rear of the bike
off the ground. I was wanting to refrain from making a claim on the
insurance, but this is going to cost too much. My bike is a 98 with 30K
miles on it. I was thinking maybe the dealer would take it in trade for
a new 2001. They could fix it for far less that it would cost me since
they could get the parts at their cost and would not have to pay the
$50 per hour labor. The kicker is that I still owe $5770 on it. I'd
probably have to take a loss because I doubt they'll give me that for
trade unless I pay FULL price for the new bike. Suggestions? 
	Here's the pop on the accident. You need to look where you want
to go. The converse of that is thay you go where you look! I am at full
left lean, dragging everything including the centerstand. At that point
I realize I 'm not going to make it, see the gravel at the edge of the
pavement right as I'm going off, stand it up and try to ride it out,
right at the exit of the turn. Just another inch or two of pavement and
I would have made it. Then the tankslapping commences. Having just
watched Troy Bayliss win his first race recently even with several near
highsides, I do what I saw him do, I stand up on the pegs and try to
let the bike settle down under me. But at this point, I start looking
down at the handle bars in amazement (hard to see where you are going
if you are looking down!!). At that point the bike comes back on the
pavement and highsides right out from under me. I land on the left side
of the bike, profanities spewing into my bike-to-bike communcator, the
bike spins in a 180 on it's right side across tons of loose rocks and
gravel and grinds to a halt in the ditch. I stand up and look back into
the curve just in time to see the Duc coming into the ditch right
behind me in a sliding low side. We both made the classic mistake, not
looking where you want to go.
	The other riders make the corner easily and pull off. Everyone
is fine. I am quite serene about it. The crazy thing is that as I was
going down and sliding around, I was not thinking how bad this was
going to hurt, I was thinking SH**, this is going to cost me a
fortune!! My life did not even flash in front of my eyes hehe. We spend
a few minutes picking up the bikes and assessing the damage. I ride the
VFR a mile or so back down the road to a convenience store. The owner
is nice enough to let me put it in a locked garage so no one would mess
with it while we go for the truck.
	In reality, the accident started long before the actual ride. A
series of things led up to it. We got into Hot Springs around 2:00am.
We got up for the ride about 7:30am. Mistake one. I was not feeling up
to par. I ignored it and we left. On the way out of town, we stopped
for gas. At this point I was really feeling pretty bad but went anyway.
Mistake two. The group decided to do a long (350-400 miles) route
rather than the shorter Talimena Skyway route. Mistake three. We should
have done the shorter and less demanding route the first day, kind of a
warm up ride. Then do the long ride the second day. Even after
commenting to another rider at the first gas stop about how these roads
can suck you in and how we need to go slow and be extra cautious, I
entered a tight left handed switchback about 10mph faster than I
probably should have. Mistake four. I did not look all the way through
the corner to set my lean angle properly and started the lean far too
late. Mistake five. At that point, I distinctly remember repeating over
and over in my head, "Look, Lean, Believe!!" I leaned farther than I
ever have before, but it simply was not enough. Once I left the road, I
quit looking at all!! Mistake six. I was really pissed at myself
because I was not even trying to hot dog or goof off, I just blew it.
All morning long my concentration was off and I was having trouble
holding my lines. 
	I should have stayed back at the hotel until I was feeling
better. But the weather was sooo nice and I had been waiting for this
for soooo long. So I ignored all the signs and kept going. now I have a
wrecked bike. I want to find the stickers that say, "crashing sucks"
and "stupid hurts", put them on the trashed right fairing and hang it
here in my at home office so I will have a daily reminder. The worst
thing is that I ride year round, so I can't even use the, "I'm rusty
from not riding all winter," excuse! Oh well. It's only a bike, it's
insured, and I am completely uninjured. Much like my website says on
the intro, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be
glad in it." I wrecked early on in the first day of riding and still
had a great weekend, made new friends and even managed to get in some
excellent riding after the accident. I managed 41K miles before my
first accident. This was a good lesson and I got off real easy. It's
all a matter of perspective ;-)

Adios,


Scott Friday
98-VFR800@xxxxxxxxxxxx
1998 Honda VFR 800 Fi
1999 Triumph Legend 900
2001 Suzuki SV 650 S
http://sfriday.com/



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