I laid it down! *quiet sobbing*

[nike_soccer]

Gravel is now my biggest enemy. I hit the turn and felt the back tire slide out and I fell on the right side. The only damage is on the clutch starter cover, which cracked and leaked out all my oil, and the front brake fluid reservoir, which has a little nick that slowly loses fluid now. All easily repairable. I had all the fairings off to my benifit, they were being painted at the time.

Anyway, here's the surgeons report:

My left wrist hurts, and I got a little bit of rash on my back. Luckly I had jeans, boots, and my jacket on (and helmet of course, but I didn't hit my head at all) So I did something right.

I'm sure this is nothing new though, it's part of biking. It just comes as a little shock to me since this is my first "wreck." Atleast now I will be even more conciencious of sand and gravel than I was.

I was having a blast all day too. It's ok, because in about 2 weeks and some matinence I'll be back on the roads!

Happy trails!

[jmillheiser]

Consider it a learning experience. Good to hear you didn't get banged up too bad.

Be thankful that this happened while your project bike is in the "before" stage and not after you finished it.

[Ninja Geoff]

Good thing you're okay. Do a really really thorough check on the frame and engine for any small cracks, it'd suck if there was one and you found it the hard way. Pics of damage?

[Mag7C]

Don't think of it as your first wreck. Think of it as your last!

I ate it on gravel too, but mine was really embarassing because I was going in a straight line... and now I have a nice purple scar on my knee to remind me.

You might already know this, but I'll throw it out here anyway: slowing down on bad surfaces (rain, gravel, anything that isn't normal) don't use the front brake unless it's absolutely necessary, and don't make any sudden moves. Treat it like walking barefoot on glass. Hate the stuff but give it respect.

Good that you're not letting the wreck put you off riding!

[Mustang]

Agree with mag7c, everyone has to lay down their bike at some point, so lets consider this as getting your out of the way.

Glad to hear that you came out relatively okay and the bike didn't get too banged up.

[Lion_Lady]

I "lost it" on my little f650CS turning around in a stupid driveway!!! It was coated in wet sand. It was sooo surprising. I turned in, easy as you please, and then the bike went sideways and down. Learned a healthy respect for sand/grit with THAT.

I was fine (wearing full gear, this was last February, I think), just dumbfounded. Trapped my boot under the passenger peg. But the guy and his son behind me in a pickup truck helped me get upright again.

Bent the beJESUS outta the shifter and snapped off the end of the clutch lever. But we were able to unbend the shifter and I had enough lever to actually shift. Limped to the dealer and got it fixed.

P

[nike_soccer]

I ate it on gravel too, but mine was really embarassing because I was going in a straight line... and now I have a nice purple scar on my knee to remind me.

Mine was rather embarrassing too. I was riding with no one in sight all day, then I wiped out in front of a family in their front yard!

[cruisinflatout]

Glad to hear you came out ok...better a low side around a corner than a t-bone...

[scan]

Too bad that had to happen. Good it wasn't worse, but sorry it was as bad as it was.

I was going to say "Happens to everyone", but someone is bound to argue that point and share the tale of someone who has been riding since motorcycles were invented, and the oldest man alive, and he never got in an accident, and oh yeah he's the guys uncle, and he also has never had a wreck. So I'll drop back to - happens to a lot of us and sometimes a good shock works wonders for building skills.

I've had a few gravel slips (without the fall) and wet road slips (also luckly for me, no fall), and many slow speed, moving my bike around drops. Once you have those feeling of "damn -or- damn that was close" you've trained a new piece of brain that could have only been touched by this action. Best way to build the skills is to ride ride ride, but short of that, the school of hard knocks is a reasonably common teacher.

Good luck and don't let it get you down. You now have experiance to build on your knowledge.

[nike_soccer]

Thanks comrades!