Rough day for the dog and I

bryant1609

Active Member
Honestly,these bikes are not something a new rider should be learning on. No disrespect here at all. Glad your ok. A smaller bike that handles a little easier would be the answer to learn on. Even if just for a season.

Learning on a Big Dog is no different then the guys who go and buy a Suzuki GSXR750 for their first bike. We've lost two 20-somethings at work over the last 10 years who did exactly that. Both lost control and were killed.

For most, the temptation is too great to get the nicer looking bike. When my sister wanted to ride, and get her own Harley, I signed her up for the 6 week riding course, and found her a Suzuki 650 savage (1/2 a harley) to ride for two seasons. Then I rode with her every time she went out. Once she got to where she knew what she was doing, I took her to the Harley shop and we picked out the bike she wanted.

She sold the 650 savage for the same price she paid, to a guy who wanted to learn to ride. Just my two cents.
Just what I was saying.:2thumbs:
 

Tattooedirish1

The Wicked Irishman
I would have to disappear with your statement here. Think about it, how many times have we ridden over painted lines and letters without even think about it? (Unless thier wet) With more ridding exp certain things become second nature to us, and this he does not have at this time. A bike isn't that easy to just get on and ride, unless you have some kind of death wish. It's a learning exp which we have learned over the years. I'm sure if we took a poll, most would say that a Big Dog wasn't there first bike. And it takes some getting use to also.
I see your point, but I think KraZJ73 would probably tell you it was rider error and emotions that caused the 1st crash. He was probably thinking OH Sh*t whats going on here? so he pulled over hastily and lost it at a near stand still (speculating) Then, when he got going again he never really checked the bike over functionality wise ( as he said he didn't know he had no rear brake).

All I'm really saying is that I dont think it mattered what bike he was on, 883, blvd 650, vespa or Huffy lol. He would have had the same mental and physical mistakes.

Think about the guys that have been riding for years that have layed down while pulling to the side of the road, or even dropped a scoot by putting the kickstand down and assuming it was good

Just my opinion, I'm not trying to cause any tension or force my view. :cheers:
 

nine lives

Active Member
Get some more seat time before getting on a dog! These bikes ARE NOT for for beginners! Riding a cycle on the road is dangerous enough. A high performance bike and a newbie, are a dangerous combination. I have always thought that beginners should start on the dirt as I did, guess that is not always possible but that's a great way to learn how to handle a bike. Glad your still around to ride another day.
 

zipsman03

Active Member
Glad to hear you are in ok shape, I would not go for a smaller bike I would just chalk it up as a lesson learned, been there done that with the front brake on gravel luckily only 5 MPH:bang:. But soon as she was fixed I went lookin for gravel. So just like when you were a kid get back on and ride it:2thumbs:. Just be careful and think before you act, like me you will never touch that front brake on wet paint again. Remember, in life "we pay for the teaching, the learning is free".
 

bryant1609

Active Member
Glad to hear you are in ok shape, I would not go for a smaller bike I would just chalk it up as a lesson learned, been there done that with the front brake on gravel luckily only 5 MPH:bang:. But soon as she was fixed I went lookin for gravel. So just like when you were a kid get back on and ride it:2thumbs:. Just be careful and think before you act, like me you will never touch that front brake on wet paint again. Remember, in life "we pay for the teaching, the learning is free".
This is why he should get a smaller and cheaper bike. A Big Dog cost to much to be learning from your mistakes:spank:
 

shooter

Active Member
Glad to hear you are in ok shape, I would not go for a smaller bike I would just chalk it up as a lesson learned, been there done that with the front brake on gravel luckily only 5 MPH:bang:. But soon as she was fixed I went lookin for gravel. So just like when you were a kid get back on and ride it:2thumbs:. Just be careful and think before you act, like me you will never touch that front brake on wet paint again. Remember, in life "we pay for the teaching, the learning is free".
:iagree: Glad you are ok, the dog can be fixed or replaced.
 

KraZJ73

Member
I see your point, but I think KraZJ73 would probably tell you it was rider error and emotions that caused the 1st crash. He was probably thinking OH Sh*t whats going on here? so he pulled over hastily and lost it at a near stand still (speculating) Then, when he got going again he never really checked the bike over functionality wise ( as he said he didn't know he had no rear brake).

All I'm really saying is that I dont think it mattered what bike he was on, 883, blvd 650, vespa or Huffy lol. He would have had the same mental and physical mistakes.

Think about the guys that have been riding for years that have layed down while pulling to the side of the road, or even dropped a scoot by putting the kickstand down and assuming it was good

Just my opinion, I'm not trying to cause any tension or force my view. :cheers:
I agree that the bike is pretty scary for my first one and I should have gotten some more seat time before taking it out on the highway. When it gets fixed, I am definitely going to respect it (any bike for that matter) much more. The first drop was me trying to get off the road quickly. Even there there was only about a 3-4 inch shoulder, my option up ahead was a bridge and guard rail with no shoulder. It was 100% inexperience and thinking she would coast right up the tiny lip into the grass. I was very shaken and needed to get off that highway quickly as cars were having to go around me and the bike partially in the right lane. I temporarily put the air filter back on, started it right up and went to the next exit to so that I could get somewhere safe. The second one was that same inexperience of applying the front brake too hard on the painted surface when I realized my rear brake was not functioning. It really scared the sh$t out of me. I do agree with people saying this is a big bike for such a new rider, but hind site is 20/20. I would be lying if I said that I am not really nervous about ever riding again, but I know I learned two lessons that will stay with me for life. I know when I do get back on, it will be slow. Local neighborhood rides only, trying to ride with my more experienced friends so that they can watch over me and help with real life tips, etc. This could have definitely have ended up much worse and I am thankful that it only ended with a bruised up body, banged up bike, and a giant hit to the pride. I appreciate everyone's advice and well wishes.
 

KraZJ73

Member
When he finally picked the bike up from being on the ground it dropped the other way cause he slipped on the wet ground.....
That is almost exactly what I said. I was picking up the bike up to get it out of traffic not realizing my hand was hurt as bad as it was and it fell over the other way onto the curb damaging that side.
 

Moespeeds

Well-Known Member
Don't tell them you wrecked it twice.

Below is a quote from another post I made a few months ago. Make sure you are prepared when they come, and have prices for every damaged part.

Here is what I did:

When I wrecked last year I had to go through this. My bike was very customized, raked neck, springer front end, custom built bars, etc etc. I didn't trust a shop to properly do the estimate, so I did it myself. I went over the entire bike, and every part that was damaged I either got a price from Big Dog, or printed a catalog page from Custom Chrome or wherever with a picture of the part and a retail price. I got an esitmate from the paint guy, I figured the man hours for repair, and wrote up an invoice for labor, paying myself a shop rate to repair the bike. In the end, the bill was just below the "total" threshhold. The kid who hit me was also denying responsibility, even though the #1 witness in the report was the cop who was driving behind me when it happened, and he wrote the whole thing in my favour. I went through my own insurance, but had a snag with the adjuster. The first adjuster looked at the bike and said he wasn't able to estimate it because it was too "custom". I called and bitched up a storm, and got another adjuster. He insisted that they total the bike, but in the end, I worked out a deal that they would pay out the maximum non total amount, as long as I agreed not to add anything else once the bike was torn down. My insurance company waived my deductible because the accident report was so blatantly in my favour - the kid made a right from the far left lane, cutting hard across 2 lanes of traffic and right into me. Luckily there was a cop in an unmarked car right behind me who saw everything. So anyway, goto the shop where the bike is, personally document all the damage, call your insurance co and find out where the total threshold is, then start digging around for prices on everything. It's fine to let the shop do this, but stupid not to check their work. Have it all printed in color nice and neat for the adjuster so he can walk around the bike, look at the damaged part, verify the picture and price from the catalog, and document it. If the shop is gonna do the labour, make sure they don't throw anything extra in there once it's apart. My damages came to $11,500, just below the $11,900 total threshold.
 

Corey

Member
So what you saying is your biked locked up causing you to looses control and highsided and flipped - Thats all they need to know. It happened so fast you didn't even know it happened till you were picking yourself off the ground.
 

Ray

Well-Known Member
Glad you are ok ... Agrees with everyone else tell em about one incident and don't say anymore than you need to to get it fixed. "Like I hit the paint and then I hit the road". You probably shouldn't try to explain all that other stuff. Get the running issues fixed while they are fixing!

I droped mine about 3 weeks after I got it barely rolling. Headlight and broken heart

Ray
 

Brew

Troop Supporter
Wow, glad that you're ok. You defiantly have to respect these scoots. The speed and power can really put you in a pickle if you're not on top of your game. One accident is all you need to say and definitely take notes on all the stuff that got messed up or is messed up and point it out to the adjuster. Again glad that you're still with us, this could have gone the other way while you were on the highway...
 

TimNY

Well-Known Member
KrazJ73
Glad to hear your OK ! A scary story.
I rode in the dirt for years. When I did start riding on the road I had a 750 tripleTriumph chopper. A big bike to learn on plus a hardtail. Was intemidating at first but I took it slow and soon became confident.
Get back on the horse that threw you . If it wasen't for the Dog loosing power you would have been fine.Don't let this experience discourage you. Ride on ...ride on.
Be safe
 

KraZJ73

Member
KrazJ73
Glad to hear your OK ! A scary story.
I rode in the dirt for years. When I did start riding on the road I had a 750 tripleTriumph chopper. A big bike to learn on plus a hardtail. Was intemidating at first but I took it slow and soon became confident.
Get back on the horse that threw you . If it wasen't for the Dog loosing power you would have been fine.Don't let this experience discourage you. Ride on ...ride on.
Be safe
Thanks for the encouragement. I will most definitely be taking it slow this time. I learned a valuable lesson that I hope will make me a much better rider. Everyone told me that it's not 'if' you lay it down, but 'when'. I hope this is my one and only 'when'.
 

Jersey Big Mike

100K mile club
Having witnessed a few bikes drop in front of me over the years, several of them wnet down on the right and bounced over to damage the left side as well -- not that uncommon to get both sides.
 

nine lives

Active Member
"Thanks for the encouragement. I will most definitely be taking it slow this time. I learned a valuable lesson that I hope will make me a much better rider. Everyone told me that it's not 'if' you lay it down, but 'when'. I hope this is my one and only 'when'."

Don't let anyone tell you "when". Learn everything you can, take it real easy for a long while, that "when" maybe the end on a cycle. I ride pretty agressivly sometimes but that comes from riding for like 35 years. I never ride thinking when will I crash, if I did I maynot even ride and I sure as hell would not be riding as fast as I do at times.

A couple of things I try to tell "newbies". These are just two examples of what I have seen are the most common mistakes. Everyone one may have an opnion this is just mine.
Don't be afraid to lean the bike in a turn, I've seen many new riders not lean and go off the road because there instinct is telling them not to lean. You'll be suprised how far you can lean a bike before you slide or lift the tire. Next stopping, if you find yourself looking at a beautiful woman walking down the street and the next thing you know your looking at the ass end of a car real close like, (done this) don't lock uip the brakes, you will not stop, try to go around the obstacle ( left side or right side). This is easy to say, and two examples of poential problems won't make not crash but may help. Those of us who have experienced those OH SHIT moments know what I'm saying.

Ride safe.
 
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