[Budd]

It was 6:30pm on 12/26/08. I was on my motorcycle going southbound in the left lane. A car exits a parking lot on my right to make a left hand turn and head northbound. He doesn’t see me and I don’t see him until it is too late. I swerve into the turning lane while increasing my throttle to try and avoid impact. I almost succeed. The car catches the very rear of the bike causing it to lose traction as the rear is pushed to the left. Suddenly the wheel grabs the asphalt and I am slung through the air off the bike. The next thing I am aware of is my body sliding across the ground.

As I got up, I checked myself for damage. I came up with a sore knee, a hurt wrist, a sore palm (the whole palm of the glove had ripped away), and a busted bike. I checked my helmet for damage and didn’t see anything. Amazingly, my head had not touched the ground after being thrown off of a bike at forty miles an hour.

What I did wrong: I wasn’t as aware of my surroundings as I could have been. I should have seen the car before it was too late. Speed might have helped but better attention would have been a better bet. Unless, of course, this car just didn’t stop at all when approaching the road. I don’t know, the guy didn’t stop.

Damages: The insurance company totaled the bike. My jacket, pants, gloves, and boots were a total loss. One broken wrist, a sore knee, and a scratch from where the bike slid up on my leg.

Progressive has been great, I can’t say enough good things about them. My gear saved my skin; literally.

My wife is gun shy about me riding. Knowing it wasn’t my fault is making it worse.

No bike an bills that will need the insurance money means no bike for a while.

My gear

[Munch]

OUCH!!!…sorry to hear that bud. The great thing is that your alive and kicking.
Guess your gonna have to slowly work on the wife to get back up in the saddle huh? Hope to hear that you will.
Luckily it was only 40 and not 60+ and thankfully the lil one wasn’t on there too. Its things like this that is a constant reminder for me about 2 things… 1 I hate riding residential/business areas. 2 I always try to keep my head in the ride at all times.
I hate that this happened to you but am glad to hear you got away with no more damage then a broken wrist. Did the guy stop after the incident?

[Budd]

nope, hit and run. The area I was in has a lot of illegals and they are usually uninsured and hardly ever stop at accidents due to our police being able to run their imigration status and deport them.

It is a reaaly busy area with a bunch of places entering the road at different spots. I was just paying attention to the wrong ones. Day after Christmas probably wasn’t the smartest time to ride.

Once the wrist heals I will be out on the wife’s scooter.

I swear, the interstate is the safest place to ride.

[Clay Dowling]

I go past a Honda dealer on the way to and from work every day, but I absolutely hate stopping in there. It’s four lanes of heavy traffic, and they are some of the least with-it drivers I have seen. I’ve stopped there on my bike once, and it was a pretty awful experience to make a left hand turn out of there even at non-peak hours. Now I mostly refuse to ride through that stretch. I’ll detour a dozen miles out of my way to avoid that patch of road on my bike.

[RobM]

I’m glad to hear that you came out with mostly bumps and bruises. Bummer about your bike. I have that same Cortech jacket in yellow to match my Ninja 250. How did it do will sliding down the street? If something like this ever happens to me, I know that my wife will be very resistant to me getting back on a bike.

[eon]

Shit, sorry to hear about this Budd. Like the others I am glad you managed to walk away with only minor injuries. It really sucks that the guy did not stop, that would piss me off more than anything I think.

Thanks for posting about this. I think it helps the rest of us to remember to keep up our guard (and if the wife rides a scooter she can hardly complain about you getting another bike when the finances allow!)

[Budd]

All the cortech jacket needed was a patch on the elbow and it would have looked good as new, almost. My arms and back didn’t have a mark on them. my shoulder was stiff the next day where I rolled, but I didn’t have any bruises.

My wife has a scooter and has ridden it on occasion, but she has no love for riding.

[Budd]

a guy at work is also trying to sell me on a harley. The sportster xr1200 argument is really a good one. That is a beautiful bike.

[megaspaz]

Sorry about your get off. I’m glad to see the gear worked for you and you made it pretty unscathed injury-wise. Heal up and worry about the bike later.

[Sangria7]

Man thats tough. Glad that youre alive though.

[kirk]

Hey Budd, sorry to hear about the accident but glad you are okay. Quick question. What kind of boots did you have and where can I get some? They look great for riding. Thanks

[Jim]

Ahhhh man Budd that sucks. I am glad you walked away relatively unhurt. I’m sad your Ninja has seen the end of its day.

[Budd]

the are military issue cold weather boots. They were great on and off the bike.

[Budd]

my poor ninja, I miss her so.

[Loki]

Glad to hear your OK, you should press charges against that guy for cutting you off. Make him (or she) pay for it. So why cant you get a bike for awhile? I also use progressive.

[Author]

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