k_enn wrote:
Good advice on learning the basics. There is a lot you don't think about until it is called to your attention (e.g., how slippery painted road lines can be when wet, how to ride on open grated steel decks of bridges, etc.). That is why I always recommend getting some professional instruction. Just a couple of months ago, it saved my butt when some guy in a van coming the other way pulled a left turn right in front of me. Having learned proper braking and avoidance techniques, I just missed him by less than an inch. Without that knowledge, I would have hit him.
Yea, I did it backwards; I crashed, then took the course.
Here was my bike when I bought it:
And after crash:
I believe it hit the curb, flipped up and the tank hit the utility pole.
Also, how many people have bent the front fork this bad without hitting an object straight on?
List of damaged parts: alternator cover, tank, rear plastic, front fender, front fork, gauges, headlight, handlebar, clutch lever, mirror, front left directional, some other small items.
Bodily damage: 2 small scrapes, no bruising that I remember, and my helmet was scrapped. If I didn't have a full face helmet, I probably would've had a broken jaw.