another dropped bike

["Jeff Jenkins" <jeff.jenkins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This weekend while at the Return to Shiloh rally at Pickwick Dam near
Savannah, TN I dropped the bike.  (99 Sprint ST)

Was helping some friends pack a truck and when it got dark I shone my
headlights on the area so as to see better.  Never occurred to me that it
would kill the battery so quickly, about 30-45 minutes.  When it was time to
leave the bike was too low batterywise to even turn over, much less start.
Some friendly passersby tried to help push start me to no avail so I started
walking the bike over to an RV where I had been offered a jumpstart...  And
I dropped the bike.  I don't know if I tripped over something or somebody
else pushing got me off balance or what, it was about halfway over before I
realized what was happening so I just tried to ease it down as gently as
possible, I've thrown my back out enough to know not to try and catch it
once it's on it's way.

Damage is minimal function wise, bent the handbrake lever a little but
nothing that I'm concerned about.  Snapped the right side footpeg in half,
that will have to be replaced.  Other than that it's all cosmetic - vertical
scrapes on the fairing upper and lowers and the right side bag is preety
scarred up.   A couple pits on the seat cowl and mirror.  It tore the right
side pannier off the frame, the only damage being the metal on the latch was
bent out - I bent it back and it appears okay, locks fine and appears as
sturdy as before.

My first thoughts were to not worry about it, just touch up the scars and
live with it.  On the ride back though I decided the bike is just too
perfect, only a month and a half old, to have banged up like that - will
check with the bodyshop next to the triumph dealer on getting it refinished.
If a set of bags is $750 I can only guess what the bodywork will be if I end
up replacing it.  OUCH!!!!

In the end though I count my blessings, I've been getting reckless with my
ridingstyle (i.e. SPEED) lately and this is just God's way of giving me a
wakeup call to be more alert to what I'm doing.  I kept it under 110mph on
the way back home....  :)



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