So, to start this story off, I decided that today was the day to put a few more mods on my bike. Black ISO Kury grips (With throttle boss) and the "Guardian Bell" that I got for my birthday were on the list. I spent a little time putting them on, and had a good time of it. My friend and fellow rider Lance showed up on his '10 Phantom for moral support. All was good, the mods got on, and good times were had by all. So, we decided to go out for a ride. To test the grips, and just cause it was a bright sunny day.
A few hours later we are cruising back into town (Im leading) and we finally catch back up to traffic. It was about 4pm by this point. On a four lane road, with a concrete median, an Old man (with my oh so loved wheelchair license plate) decides to pull out in front of me when Im cresting a hill at about 45mph. I was already watching this guy (as he was camped out in between the medians in mid afternoon traffic) so it only came as a moderate heart attack when he did. Out of instinct (as I dont remember thinking to do any of these things, they just kinda happened) I start breaking hard, Pull in the clutch, and start making my pipes yell at him (On a side note, still need a non dinky horn). He appears to take no notice as I fishtail for a good half block and bounce off the right rear of his bumper. I get the bike back under control and stop at the next light (less than a block away) to start getting my heart rate under control. Luckily said friend Lance decides to go up to bat for me and pull up on the passenger side of the car to "kindly" ask him to pull the *uck over. I also seem to remember a bystander car also causing alot of noise and yelling, quite heartily, at him to pull over. To cut what becomes a long drama short, his bumper has a cool tire mark on it and my bike is fine. (Found this out after going to the dealership later). We trade info and he promises to cover the damage. (New back tire, and the install).
So Lance and I split ways, He heads home while I aim for my faithful dealership. My original plan for the day was to go riding out with one of my other friends Robert on a few nice back roads I found recently. After I find out that my bike is fine, and calm down, I decide that its still a good idea. ****, I needed to blow out the cobwebs at that point anyway. So out we go....
A couple hours late, driving into the sun I might add, Robert goes down on a hard left that he couldnt see properly. He went into the ditch (by a matter of a foot or so missing a bent sign post that was aimed right at the road) and got away with a few bruises, cuts and mostly cosmetic damage to his bike. He was able to ride it home (thank god, cause we were in BFE Arkansas) and we will work on repairs in the up comming weeks.
TLDR: Got to put on parts, have a fender bender, then help with a bloodied friend to recover from a crash.
Today was a bad day to ride in Arkansas. I think Im still the only one registered out of this mud hole, but to those of you thinking of visiting or driving through.... wait a few days, bad Juju's be in da air mon. :-\
A few hours later we are cruising back into town (Im leading) and we finally catch back up to traffic. It was about 4pm by this point. On a four lane road, with a concrete median, an Old man (with my oh so loved wheelchair license plate) decides to pull out in front of me when Im cresting a hill at about 45mph. I was already watching this guy (as he was camped out in between the medians in mid afternoon traffic) so it only came as a moderate heart attack when he did. Out of instinct (as I dont remember thinking to do any of these things, they just kinda happened) I start breaking hard, Pull in the clutch, and start making my pipes yell at him (On a side note, still need a non dinky horn). He appears to take no notice as I fishtail for a good half block and bounce off the right rear of his bumper. I get the bike back under control and stop at the next light (less than a block away) to start getting my heart rate under control. Luckily said friend Lance decides to go up to bat for me and pull up on the passenger side of the car to "kindly" ask him to pull the *uck over. I also seem to remember a bystander car also causing alot of noise and yelling, quite heartily, at him to pull over. To cut what becomes a long drama short, his bumper has a cool tire mark on it and my bike is fine. (Found this out after going to the dealership later). We trade info and he promises to cover the damage. (New back tire, and the install).
So Lance and I split ways, He heads home while I aim for my faithful dealership. My original plan for the day was to go riding out with one of my other friends Robert on a few nice back roads I found recently. After I find out that my bike is fine, and calm down, I decide that its still a good idea. ****, I needed to blow out the cobwebs at that point anyway. So out we go....
A couple hours late, driving into the sun I might add, Robert goes down on a hard left that he couldnt see properly. He went into the ditch (by a matter of a foot or so missing a bent sign post that was aimed right at the road) and got away with a few bruises, cuts and mostly cosmetic damage to his bike. He was able to ride it home (thank god, cause we were in BFE Arkansas) and we will work on repairs in the up comming weeks.
TLDR: Got to put on parts, have a fender bender, then help with a bloodied friend to recover from a crash.
Today was a bad day to ride in Arkansas. I think Im still the only one registered out of this mud hole, but to those of you thinking of visiting or driving through.... wait a few days, bad Juju's be in da air mon. :-\
