I’m doing a lot of Motorcycle Shit® recently, and even though I’m in the MIDDLE of writing a whole post about my bike situation, I think this would be a good storytime post. I wrote an account of my crash on the 110 back in 2016, and I don’t think i’d ever written it anywhere before, so here is that post, just pasted to Clapboard.
It was a pretty straightforward low-side, caused by yours truly overbraking the front wheel combined with a real bald front tire. I was in traffic and was looking for a way around a truck I couldn’t see past and impatience got the best of me, I guess.
from this post on StarBike Forums.
The handlebars managed to bounce both ways as i slid, so I have annoying matching dents on both sides of the bike, which is the last part I need to replace, but I’m effing broke, so a $650 tank is going to have to wait. I had shitty saddlebags on the bike at the time that I kept intending to replace, but they saved the entire left side of the bike, so I’m thankful I hadn’t replaced them yet – both flimsy-ass indicator lights survived 100% intact, even. The right side of the bike was fine except i hit the trailer hitch of the truck in front of me RIGHT at the end of my slide. Bent the peg and brake pedal. Pickup driver was a real nice guy, crash was totally not his fault. He didn’t even know I hit him, nor was there any damage to his trailer hitch.
I wheeled it off to the center lanes, where a cop stopped almost immediately. (I guess sometimes they ARE available when you need them?) By this time, I’d managed to re-start the bike and was looking at the damage and generally trying to shed my massive adrenaline rush and make sure I wasn’t damaged (scraped, sore, embarrassed), and everything looked mostly fine, so, with cop behind me making space, I edged across the road and up to the next exit. Talked to cop and pickup driver a bit more and then drove the bike home. Both pedals were smooshed in and the pegs were bent upwards, but it was generally rideable. Worst part was that I’d snapped the clutch lever in half, so it was a fingerbuster trying to shift, but the VStar is forgiving that way, so I just didn’t shift much.
I intended to get parts and get it fixed immediately, but one thing led to another and a gig came through and then another and then, poof – it’s 2020. Yeesh. The rebuilt carbs were from the sitting, and the fuel pump was just from bad luck/probably sitting. I still need to replace the tank, but that’s going to wait till i find out if there are still going to be rock shows when all this is over and if there are, whether I find anyone who needs me on one. So let’s call it safely 2021 before I worry about the tank. It’ll just be a daily reminder to be careful.
Unrelated to all this (but probably to something I did while working on the bike), the speedometer sort of stopped working on my inaugural ride yesterday, so I’m going to have to see what I can do to fix that. I’m hoping it’s an easy fix because I’m kind of over playing amateur mechanic for awhile. I just wanna ride.
Sorry for the wall o’text, but it was story time and I’m loquacious.
Ride safe out there!
