Grootseun
Race Dog
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2006
- Messages
- 4,555
- Reaction score
- 282
- Location
- The bottom... and digging
- Bike
- BMW F800GSA
On Friday afternoon, I left a work function I attended, at around 4pm.After the most impressive highveld Thunderstorm (something to witness from the 6th floor overlooking JHB). I negated the taxis and successfully made it into Braamfontein. Headed towards Jan Smuts, where I turned left into Empire road. I cleared the traffic, and decided to not travel through Auckland Park, as the mellville traffic did not appeal to me. So I took the LH split at Milpark Hospital, towards Berry Hertzog, passing the Glass Auto & General Building, I experience something exactly as on the Video of the wheelie-ing KTM rider, that inexplicably lost it in the corner. As I pushed on the handlebars to negate the corner, the next thing I knew, I was on the tar, watching stofdonkie in an impressive array of sparks, slide away from me, we were doing about 70km/h before the slip. I stopped sliding on the Left hand side of the Road just before the concrete Barriers of the bridge; my bike was about 10 to 15 meters in front of me on its right hand side.
As I was sliding, approaching the barrier, I saw a white merc pass by with hazards flashing and stopped just in front of the bike, 2 very worried looking gentlemen got out of the car to assist. I was on my feet already; I took my helmet off, walking towards the bike. The guys asked me if I was all right?.considering what I just went through?great, ?Look at my Bike??they asked again??are you sure you are all right???.my bike?.?maybe you should sit down?, I explained to them that I was fine?I had a look at where it hurt, my knee was sore, and my elbow, both right hand side of my body. It was just some bruising of the initial impact. I really was fine?woooohooo!!!!
The guys helped me pick my bike up, amazingly, the Foot peg, and pillion peg shielded the bike from major damage, I started Stofdonkie up, she fired first time..Good girl?after one last enquiry to me being all right, and not needing any other assistance, the gentleman, was on their way.
I got on the bike, and made my way home, feeling more than rattled, my jacket looked a bit worse for wear, the reflective patch on the LH arm dangling amongst the dust and dirt of the semi-wet sand and dirt I slid into. I got home and checked myself out; I have a small patch of road rash on my RH Elbow, with a matching hole in the jacked where the tar got the better of the cordura. Most of my board less luge was done with my LH shoulder, and the re-enforced cordura took a serious beating, but held up amazingly well.
Confession time. I did not wear my riding pats, I wore denim pants, I just attended a function, and I did not feel like going through the Schlep of changing into my riding pants. I was sooooo unfknblvbly lucky, there is a small hole, about the size of a 5c piece in the RH leg of my denim on the outer thigh?and nothing else?my boots (luckily I was wearing those) look a bit worse for wear? seriously abrazed leather along with some nicely scraped plastic parts. I don?t know how it happened, looking at my jacket and pants together; it does not look as if they were in close proximity at the time of the accident. Luck she smiled upon me? there goes my chance to win the lottery?
In retrospect, there are a couple of things I realized. I could have shaken off 15-20 km/h, and I would have been home earlier, with no damage to myself, my kit or the bike. I was not completely into the corner, I literally just started in the corner when the back went out, I was not accelerating, nor braking, which made me think of those multi-coloured diesel patches I see on the wet roads just after the rain. It could have been a cause; it could have been oil, aggravated by wet tires. It mostly was speed, although I have done more in similar conditions and never even felt a wobble on the rear rubber. The bottom line is, after the fact, I thought I should have taken the corner slower?I have learnt my lesson the hard way.
Damage to the bike as follows:
RH Side Handlebar weight retaining bolt ? the head is completely ?grinded? off.
Handlebar weight ? some abrasion, still very usable.
RH Side Foot peg ? Serious abrasion still usable
RH Side pillion peg ? Serious abrasion, needs to be replaced. The rubber housing is gone, and it flaps around wildly.
RHS Aluminium Heat shield, some abrasion ? not too bad
RHS Rear body panel, slight scratches.
The corner of the plastic tank has some scratches on.
The whole thing looked bad from a rider?s perspective, I though the damage would be severe, but it is just cosmetic, and not even so bad.
Damage to rider:
RH calf- bruised on the outer side, tinge of purple.
RH Knee ? ?carpet burn? caused by my knee rubbing against my denim upon impact
RH side ribs just below my arm a bruise the size of my hand, cant touch the skin, hurts like flippin hell.
RH Outer thigh and hip, deep purple, with some red and green shades, hurts like hell when I get dressed, cant put anything in my pocket ? hurts too much.
Embarrassment factor ? HUGE, I feel like an incompetent blundering idiot ? I was worried about koos se klim..Meanwile I cant even go around a corner on the road?dumbass.
All I can say is, take it easy on the roads?wear All The Gear All The Time ? don?t compromise, it?s the difference between pain and suffering, and huge medical bills, or just suffering from a bruised ego, and damaged bike. Do as I say? not as I do.
My name is Grootseun and I can do the horizontal tar shuffle.
Will post pics of the bike as soon as I retrieve my cable( for the phone) from the office
As I was sliding, approaching the barrier, I saw a white merc pass by with hazards flashing and stopped just in front of the bike, 2 very worried looking gentlemen got out of the car to assist. I was on my feet already; I took my helmet off, walking towards the bike. The guys asked me if I was all right?.considering what I just went through?great, ?Look at my Bike??they asked again??are you sure you are all right???.my bike?.?maybe you should sit down?, I explained to them that I was fine?I had a look at where it hurt, my knee was sore, and my elbow, both right hand side of my body. It was just some bruising of the initial impact. I really was fine?woooohooo!!!!
The guys helped me pick my bike up, amazingly, the Foot peg, and pillion peg shielded the bike from major damage, I started Stofdonkie up, she fired first time..Good girl?after one last enquiry to me being all right, and not needing any other assistance, the gentleman, was on their way.
I got on the bike, and made my way home, feeling more than rattled, my jacket looked a bit worse for wear, the reflective patch on the LH arm dangling amongst the dust and dirt of the semi-wet sand and dirt I slid into. I got home and checked myself out; I have a small patch of road rash on my RH Elbow, with a matching hole in the jacked where the tar got the better of the cordura. Most of my board less luge was done with my LH shoulder, and the re-enforced cordura took a serious beating, but held up amazingly well.
Confession time. I did not wear my riding pats, I wore denim pants, I just attended a function, and I did not feel like going through the Schlep of changing into my riding pants. I was sooooo unfknblvbly lucky, there is a small hole, about the size of a 5c piece in the RH leg of my denim on the outer thigh?and nothing else?my boots (luckily I was wearing those) look a bit worse for wear? seriously abrazed leather along with some nicely scraped plastic parts. I don?t know how it happened, looking at my jacket and pants together; it does not look as if they were in close proximity at the time of the accident. Luck she smiled upon me? there goes my chance to win the lottery?
In retrospect, there are a couple of things I realized. I could have shaken off 15-20 km/h, and I would have been home earlier, with no damage to myself, my kit or the bike. I was not completely into the corner, I literally just started in the corner when the back went out, I was not accelerating, nor braking, which made me think of those multi-coloured diesel patches I see on the wet roads just after the rain. It could have been a cause; it could have been oil, aggravated by wet tires. It mostly was speed, although I have done more in similar conditions and never even felt a wobble on the rear rubber. The bottom line is, after the fact, I thought I should have taken the corner slower?I have learnt my lesson the hard way.
Damage to the bike as follows:
RH Side Handlebar weight retaining bolt ? the head is completely ?grinded? off.
Handlebar weight ? some abrasion, still very usable.
RH Side Foot peg ? Serious abrasion still usable
RH Side pillion peg ? Serious abrasion, needs to be replaced. The rubber housing is gone, and it flaps around wildly.
RHS Aluminium Heat shield, some abrasion ? not too bad
RHS Rear body panel, slight scratches.
The corner of the plastic tank has some scratches on.
The whole thing looked bad from a rider?s perspective, I though the damage would be severe, but it is just cosmetic, and not even so bad.
Damage to rider:
RH calf- bruised on the outer side, tinge of purple.
RH Knee ? ?carpet burn? caused by my knee rubbing against my denim upon impact
RH side ribs just below my arm a bruise the size of my hand, cant touch the skin, hurts like flippin hell.
RH Outer thigh and hip, deep purple, with some red and green shades, hurts like hell when I get dressed, cant put anything in my pocket ? hurts too much.
Embarrassment factor ? HUGE, I feel like an incompetent blundering idiot ? I was worried about koos se klim..Meanwile I cant even go around a corner on the road?dumbass.
All I can say is, take it easy on the roads?wear All The Gear All The Time ? don?t compromise, it?s the difference between pain and suffering, and huge medical bills, or just suffering from a bruised ego, and damaged bike. Do as I say? not as I do.
My name is Grootseun and I can do the horizontal tar shuffle.
Will post pics of the bike as soon as I retrieve my cable( for the phone) from the office
