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I do think a smaller bike would have helped. Not to contradict the other members or anything, but the weight of a V-Star 1100 trying to go sideways, or the weight of a 250 or something like that is a big difference! At 20 mph, I've slid my rear tire on gravel and still stayed up... granted, I saw the gravel and was anticipating it, I still wasn't expecting it to slide.

Now, perhaps any way you look at it, you might have dropped it in this situation because you didn't see the rocks... but I have to question the lean involved here for it to low-side through a slower turn like that. I personally think a lighter bike may not have lowsided at all. I've heard many reports of people on their ninja 250's saying that they travelled over rocks or gravel and started to slide but were able to recover due to the light weight. But every situation is different, so this might be one where there the only choice would have been to avoid the rocks.

I'm glad you posted this message, maybe some new riders will take this to heart when buying their first bike, if only to save money if they drop it. The cost to repair the damages on your bike is probably more than what I paid to purchase KZ650.

Sorry to hear you went down...always try to keep your eyes on the road ahead, ubt sometimes in a turn it's hard to do that... Im glad you're okay

Ditto about being glad you came out of your spill okay.

My hats off to you for coming on here and telling your story, and as honestly as you did. That certainly says a lot about who you are in itself.

Whats interesting is I wondered about my obsession for always wearing my gloves. I hate to ride without them (period) and thought maybe I was a little to obsessive about it. Being in South Florida I see a LOT of riders not wearing any.

Your story affirmed wearing them and certainly will never have any doubt again.

Question though, and this is just out of curiousity...did you see the rocks before you went into the turn? Wondering if you did and focused on them rather than looking ahead into the turn......not looking to blame, but I found the times Ive come close to hitting something in the road was from doing just this.

I actually never even saw them, which was because I was looking all the way around the corner... I wasn't looking at the corner itself which I now know was dumb...

And yes, I would completely recommend wearing gloves ALL THE TIME. Even if you are only riding a short distance...

Trust me, that asphalt doesn't respect your skin at all.

ATGATT

I always thought ifitwasnt scratched you just werent ridinghard enough. thats why i like to lay it down....

I would watch out for sewer grates too by the way. i was taking this left i take everyday, but i took it a bit wider and hit the manhole cover, instantly i was sliding along the pavement. the worst part is i broke the clutch all the way down to where it attaches. so i had to march my dumb *o-ring* home and get the half broken clutch from the last time i laid it down.

First accident- me being stupid idiot girlfriend standing by....
second accident- manhole cover... damn civilization and its undeground *poo* receptacles....

that would be the clutch lever im refering to not the clutch itself.

Kal wrote:My beloved was a first aid officer for a large shopping centre, I am more likely to get away with not wearing a helmet than I am not wearing gloves.

She has also put me off wearing rings when riding because of somehting called 'degloving' - where the flesh is peeled off of the bones in the hand/fingers....

I hate you for posting that, and myself for reading it.

Kal wrote:

*snips*

She has also put me off wearing rings when riding because of somehting called 'degloving' - where the flesh is peeled off of the bones in the hand/fingers....

My wife worked in an emergency room. And the many stories I've heard would make you never want to wear rings again. Or braclets. She has seen de-gloving injuries from all kinds of sources. Most often though, someone is pulling something and the hand slips, ring catches, skin peels. Ouch.