i wrecked my bike also...

[tory]

saturday, my first official ride on the kat. me and a friend were riding from ellicott city to baltimore. we actually rode through town for about 20 miles and the bike was doing great, and i was very excited. fast forward to baltimore, i got up to a stop sign, my buddy went ahead cuz i was following (i dont know baltimore all that well) and a taxi cab went through the intersection, and i proceeded through. i almost stalled the bike, and in that instant pulled the clutch and grabbed some throttle... theory in that being that either one of those actions would keep the bike from stalling. i think in my mind i decided too late to go with the gas, and went to let the clutch back out as i hadn't pulled it in all the way, and the bike kicked up in the front, and from more lack of riding experienced as the front end of the bike shot up in the air, i believe i pulled even more on the throttle, and the bike broke out from under me. i dont remember exactly how i landed, i dont remember where i was in position to the bike when i got up. i was wearing a cortech textile jacket and shoei helmet and gloves... the jacket itself has leather on the back of the arms and back, as well as shoulder, elbow and back padding. i had a few scratches on my right elbow (of the jacket), i scuffed up my right knee a little bit, and my helmet has the tiniest chip missing out of the direct back. i'll take pictures of the gear and my little rashes and post them later, but there is almost 0 damage to my gear. my bike however is another story. i broke the right and bottom fairings, and damaged the left side fairings as well. also something on the right side cracked and broke off that caused oil to leak all over the place.

here is my problem. it's not that i'm scared or anything, honestly i would have gotten back out and ridden again if the bike hadn't been so badly damaged. now though i think the bike has way too much power for me at this moment in accordance to my skill levels and experience. my wife really doesnt want me riding anymore, and while she will accept my decision she has made it known wrecking on my first official ride was not calming her mind. my brother in law thinks the bike can be fixed for about 200-300$ asuming i can find good deals on the lower and right fairing, and the left is repairable. he thinks i should just stick w/it. i think i'd make my wife a little more at ease if i got a little ninja 250 or something and i think i'd be way more comfortable w/that also, but i can't really afford that unless i sell the kat. i've had a few problems w/the kat so far, some of which were my fault, some of which were sold to me with, and some of which i think are just cropping up naturally. what should i do? i think my brother would be upset if i sold the bike right after he fixed it up for me, but i can't get value for it broken. i also can't make my wife happy on a bike i've had for less than a year that i've already had fixed a few times...

[ChattKat]

your in a tough spot. first of all, glad your okay, sorry that the bike is not. As far as your wife/brother, thats the tough problem. I would go with keeping the wife happy. If your scared of the bike it might not be a bad idea to learn some skills on something else whether your sell the Kat or not. Did you take the safety class? I wish you luck on your decision and getting your bike fixed. Take care

[ZukiFred]

I am a firm believer in starting on a smaller displacement bike, But if you can't aford to replace this one I can think of 2 options, 1. find someone with a 250 that is ready to move up to a biger bike and willing to trade with you, or 2. spend alot more time practicing with the one you have before you take it to the street again.

That is just my two cents worth though.

[Flip]

Dang, sorry to hear about the accident, but glad you are ok.

I think you can handle your Kat, you just need more practice in easier situations. City riding is hard, probably the hardest... I would fix up your bike and practice around your suburbs and empty parking lots. It all just takes time and a few scares later you'll be riding safe and sound.

I understand about the wife, mine also is hesitant every time i go out on my bike. She wants you to be happy, too, though, so maybe she is willing to let you have another crack at it if you promise to take it slower. Tell your friend to quit pushing you so hard, leading you through the city was retarded.

[Flip]

Also, every new rider has issues with starting from a stop, that is very normal. My advice is to say, screw you to the idiots who will honk. Meaning, if you find yourself stalling again, pull the clutch and BRAKE! If you are out in the middle of a 4 way stop you will of course get honked at, but take your time and get a good start. Safety first.

I was teaching a buddy to ride and he would stall at every stop light. Freaking maniac assholes behind us would always lay on the horn as he frantically would try again, only causing him to stall again in the panic. Once, i turned my bike off, got off of it, and went right up to the car behind us and told them to chill the fuck out or go around us.

[tory]

i did take the class. the instructor told me if i didnt finish best in the class he'd be surprised... for the past 2 weeks or so i've been practicing in an empty lot next to my development. the kat is getting fixed no doubt about it, i wont get any value for it if i have to sell it broken. i dont want to sell it because i've already invested so much time and $ into the whole process, but now i realize i should've started out on a 250. i still can, but the problems are 1. i dont want to sell the kat, and 2. i dont want to upset my brother. i'd like to keep the kat and just get a 250. i dont know if i should get a used one... i dont want someone elses problems, which is kinda what i think i got when i bought the kat. i didnt know enough about bikes to look for certain things y'know? i still dont think i know enough... anyways, here are the pictures of my gear.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f103/tory_parker/bike%20and%20cars/helmetchip.jpg

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f103/tory_parker/bike%20and%20cars/jacketscratches.jpg

i'm doing links because my pictures keep coming out ginormous...

seeing as it was from a stop sign to about through the intersection i wasn't going that fast to do alot of damage... the worst part about the whole thing is in baltimore there are lots of bars and lots of people, of course everyone thought i was doing it on purpose, and when i wrecked i got lots of laughing, and lots of "nice one asshole" yells at me. i had two girls ask me if they could buy me a beer and i had one guy offer me a few dollars... to be honest i never would've guessed i'd have wrecked my bike by doing an accidental wheelie. i've prided myself in safe driving, for so many years, and i've been working so hard doing the same for the bike. i'm constantly reading safety articles in magazines, and books, and always doing everything i can to be safe... then this happens, it's not like i had an ego to be damaged, but here i am thinking i'm doing everything i can to keep stuff like this from happening, and i realized, i still havent done enough.

[tory]

in defense of my friend, we rode around the suburbs here for about 20 miles, and we stopped at a gas station, he asked me how i felt, and i said great. i hadn't had this much fun in forever... he said he had to go into the city which i knew he had, and asked me what i wanted to do? if i said i want to go home, he woulda rode back with me, before he went. i made the choice to go on because i wanted to keep riding. we didnt even speed the entire trip or anything. i should've said that from the start, i just didnt want to make a 50 paragraph post.

[SKNL2]

If jerking the throttle on a take-off and launching the bike out from under you is the worst crash you ever have, you will be just fine. If you did the same thing on a 250 in first gear, the result would be the exact same thing.

I say stick with it. You come across as a consciencious rider and have put a lot of thinking-power into the idea of riding a bike. You seem to be what the sport needs, someone that cares about safety from the onset.

The ding in your helmet is super minor. The scratch on your leather is character, not imperfection. As for the people laughing, they're sitting in a bar, spending money on a headache. Don't worry about them. You have your fun.

Fix that bike and ride safe! Remember, pull BOTH levers when a situation like this arises. Stalling a bike doesn't damage a bike.

[Yellow2002Kat]

Glad to hear you made it out OK.

I say fix the Kat and keep it. I wouldn't downsize to a 250 now. I started on a Ninja 250 and I've recommended it to so many people I should get one for free, but I don't think the size of the bike is your problem.

By the description of your accident, I think you would have had the same results on the 250. Unless you're very heavy, the Ninja 250 is no scooter and has plenty of pep. IMO, enough to give you the same result if faced with the same situation again. You lost control of the bike - it happens.

As far as the bike is concerned, get it back into running form and forget about the cosmetics for now. Then practice a bit more as you have been, but get some practice riding in traffic also when you feel ready. I don't think I've ever ridden in anything but traffic so I find it very easy. You'll get the hang of it, but practicing in a parking lot won't give you the traffic practice you seem to need.

Also, keep in mind that following someone if you don't know where you're going is always a PITA even if you're in a car. You tend to concentrate on who you're following and not what you're doing. That in itself can spell trouble.

Once you think you've gotten your riding skills back up to par, repair the cosmetics on your bike. I just think a 250 isn't going to solve your problem. Also, if you switch to a 250 and start riding better you're gonna want to upgrade again - it's inevitable. You'll grow out of the 250 so no point in taking a step back now.

If you could afford both the 250 and the Kat I'd say go for it if it makes you feel better in the short term. However, it doesn't seem like you're in that position so I say stick with the Kat.

If you feel it will help, go take the BRC course again or take private lessons on your own bike. I know private lessons are offered where I took my courses, perhaps they're available in your area also. They're not cheap though...

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[tory]

yeah, i'm not upset about the damage to the gear, i tried to take a picture of my knee, but the stupid flash makes the yellow bruising disappear, and kinda bleeds out the rash, so it's pretty small stuff. i'm pretty sure my wife thinks the bikes cursed, or a lemon... i told her i caused some of the problems but that's not changing her mind. i've started and stopped the bike in practice a lot of times... i think when i was put in the pressure of traffic is when i started having problems. i think if i had stayed out of the city, i would've been fine. i had full confidence in my bud that he wouldnt leave me behind. actually at a light earlier in the ride he made it and i stopped... and he waited, he didnt get too far ahead, i think i was just rushing myself to get back up w/him as he waited ahead. well, after i get it fixed i think i'll practice some more in the parking lot on my stopping and starting skills. then i'll only focus on riding in traffic during the wee hours of saturday and sunday morning, like i had originally planned to do. in the end of it all i'm glad i went riding w/someone cuz if that had happened and i was just by myself i wouldnt have known what to do, and i dont know how i would've reacted. the one calming part about the whole ordeal was, it's okay, i got someone here w/me who's been through things like this before...

it's not like i really care what the other people thought about me, or what had happened, it's just a reall kick in the pants knowing i made the mistake to let this happen. i'm hard enough on myself as it is, normally my friends and family tell me i'm too hard on myself, but that's how i get motivated to get better at anything i do. hearing other people bash me for no better reason than drunken fun really made me want to yell at'em after the adrenaline wore off. at the time it was just stuff i heard and i didnt give it no mind.

btw i'm 6 foot w/shoes on, and i'm about 145 lbs...

[Flip]

I remember when i convinced my wife to let me get a bike she was pretty upset over the continued costs... something we both didnt expect. "The bike is only $XXXX, my bonus can cover it."...

The bike itself was cheap, but then there was tax, helmet, gear, boots, need to fix this, insurance time, want that to look better, oops i scuffed it here, county inspection, oil changes, new tires, etc, etc... she came to resent the thing purely on how much of a money suck it ended up being.

I hope you and the wife dont get into it with the financial issues about it all, it isnt pretty!

[PTYP]

Hey Tory, if you need some help rebuilding that thing, Im just down the road. I went down on the left side back in March and rebuilt it myself. Was actually pretty easy. Send me a pm if you want.

[onthedot]

Take the MSF course! You'll walk away with a) confidence to ride the bike, and b) enough lack of confidence to be more careful.

[Flip]

Take the MSF course! You'll walk away with a) confidence to ride the bike, and b) enough lack of confidence to be more careful.

Does anyone actually read anything before they post? HE TOOK THE CLASS!

[seypea]

Take the MSF course! You'll walk away with a) confidence to ride the bike, and b) enough lack of confidence to be more careful.

Does anyone actually read anything before they post? HE TOOK THE CLASS!

retaking the class is not a bad idea. practice practice practice. Good to hear your okay, if you seem to have a problem of almost stalling, me thinks more practice is needed prior to any serious city driving. reactions are what we count on to survive out there on the roads and the only way to improve on our reactions is through training and practice. we've all gone through these types of learning experiences, just try to control the environment that they happen in. safe riding !