OK, it is my turn now. I knew it was just a matter of time. After almost two years, I dropped the C-14 for the first time. And not for any good reason either
Cross posting of:
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=11871.msg150497#msg150497This was going to be my coldest ride ever on a bike- 100 miles to visit mom and 100 back, I so pulled out ALL the stuff I have- acrylic long underwear, acrylic/wool socks, thick winter gloves, heated underjacket, helmet chin, heavy leather chaps, etc. (Man it is hard to move with all that stuff on). I made a CRITICAL mistake- I completely forgot to check traffic maps.
Sure enough, I was stopped by one of the typical, stupid, never-ending accidents at/near the tunnel. The first several minutes were OK... then I realized I had a big problem- overheating. All the electric stuff was off, opened shield, unzipped main jacket, etc. But after 20..... 30.... 40 minutes, I was very uncomfortable and also wet. I was zoned out a bit and was trying to adjust jacket or something and the bike tipped just a tiny bit too much and me with my short legs simply could not stop it and it fell, slowly, but without much breaking from me, on the right side.
I was unhurt but quite upset... there had never been so much as a scratch anywhere on the bike. Traffic was still stopped on the interstate, anyway. I then tried do to the "face away from the bike and try to use legs to stand it up" thing- yeah right... not at chance. Before I could put too much effort into it, two guys jumped out of a truck and came over to help. One guy said "what happened?" I said "I honestly don't know, I just tipped over a bit too much" the other guy said "don't worry about it, I ride a Harley, this stuff happens." It was quickly righted. I was so wet and upset I knew the bike trip was out of the question, I used my emergency flashers and drove on the shoulder the 1.5 miles to the next exit and went home. Waited a while then took the car.
Today I got a better look at the damage. It is no surprise where it touched the two bars (see photos in sister cross-posting). But I am concerned that it did apparently touch the edge of the lower fairing- I don't think anyone has mentioned that before. Of course, if I didn't have the bars, the damage would have been far worse.
Now I have to deal with my stupid decision of getting chrome bars instead of painted. Maybe I can put a bit of clear paint or silver paint on the scuffed section to prevent any rust.