This will be short, as I'm not very comfortable typing just now. I'll also thank everyone in advance for best-wishes and other comments-- I'll read them, but don't plan on answering for a few days. Thank you for understanding!
At a roundabout in Franklin, TN on Saturday afternoon a cager looked me directly in the eyes, then pulled out right in front of me so close that my only real choice was a heavy brake application. I went down at about 25 MPH, but did not hit him. The results are a separated shoulder (which responded well to treatment) and a broken ankle (which still hurts like the devil as I type this). Before I was ambulanced away, the cage driver (who was a gentleman; he did all he could for me at the scene and claimed to be a rider himself) told me that he hadn't seen me at first, He _did_ stop, but by the time he did I was already in the act of going down. His car was almost a full vehicle-length past his "yield" sign, and I ended up lying less than ten feet from his fender. He was going faster than he should've, to be negotiating such a complex intersection, as well. (I had the right-of-way, no question.) The police officer who did the report, when I asked, told me that fault could not be assigned to him as it was my word against his. I _presume_ this is because I didn't actually hit his vehicle. Yet, there is no doubt in my mind (and I really am pretty honest about such things) that the accident was totally the other driver's fault. I'm worried about this because, while my insurance is good, I really don't want the claim on my record. And, I'm gonna lose some wages for sure. Nothing catastrophic (and I'm not hurting financially), but I feel that I shouldn't hafta be responsible. I don't wanna win the "lawsuit lottery"; that's not my style. But... darnit, it _was_ the other guy's fault, so far as I can see! Can anyone offer me advice or insight or even just comforting words on this?
Anyway...
I was wearing my helmet, jacket, gloves, and proper boots. (My ankle broke because the bike landed on it.) The only road-rash I have is a spot nearly the size of a fried egg on my left knee; all of my gear did its job. Because my shoulder was so painful at the time, I never really got a look at my bike, and still have no idea what the damage to it is like, except that the windshield is shattered. I bet it's just scuffed tupperware, though. Interestingly, the automatic tipover engine cut-off switch failed to function. This caused no problems, however.
The message I'll send out here is that it happens just exactly as quickly as you've always imagined. One minute I was on my way to a friend's for dinner, the next I was waiting for an ambulance. In truth, I've gone back over the incident time and again, and the only thing I can see that might conceivably have kept me from going down that was within _my_ control is that I braked too hard. (Under the circumstances, with a car pulling out in front of me, I find it very hard to fault myself much even for this. But, I _did_ go down, so...) I don't clearly recall if the front wheel locked or not, but suspect it did. I've always recognized the value of ABS on a bike; if the 400 had offered it, I'd have bought it. But, it simply wasn't available.
I'm the biggest 400 fan in the world. I _love_ this bike, and don't yearn for more power and weight and increased fuel-usage. But, if the damage is worse than I think and I've gotta buy another one, I'll probably be looking closely at the Silverwing, the Executive, and maybe even a used Reflex with ABS. What a shame, that my fave bike lacks this feature, which now means more to me than ever.
At a roundabout in Franklin, TN on Saturday afternoon a cager looked me directly in the eyes, then pulled out right in front of me so close that my only real choice was a heavy brake application. I went down at about 25 MPH, but did not hit him. The results are a separated shoulder (which responded well to treatment) and a broken ankle (which still hurts like the devil as I type this). Before I was ambulanced away, the cage driver (who was a gentleman; he did all he could for me at the scene and claimed to be a rider himself) told me that he hadn't seen me at first, He _did_ stop, but by the time he did I was already in the act of going down. His car was almost a full vehicle-length past his "yield" sign, and I ended up lying less than ten feet from his fender. He was going faster than he should've, to be negotiating such a complex intersection, as well. (I had the right-of-way, no question.) The police officer who did the report, when I asked, told me that fault could not be assigned to him as it was my word against his. I _presume_ this is because I didn't actually hit his vehicle. Yet, there is no doubt in my mind (and I really am pretty honest about such things) that the accident was totally the other driver's fault. I'm worried about this because, while my insurance is good, I really don't want the claim on my record. And, I'm gonna lose some wages for sure. Nothing catastrophic (and I'm not hurting financially), but I feel that I shouldn't hafta be responsible. I don't wanna win the "lawsuit lottery"; that's not my style. But... darnit, it _was_ the other guy's fault, so far as I can see! Can anyone offer me advice or insight or even just comforting words on this?
Anyway...
I was wearing my helmet, jacket, gloves, and proper boots. (My ankle broke because the bike landed on it.) The only road-rash I have is a spot nearly the size of a fried egg on my left knee; all of my gear did its job. Because my shoulder was so painful at the time, I never really got a look at my bike, and still have no idea what the damage to it is like, except that the windshield is shattered. I bet it's just scuffed tupperware, though. Interestingly, the automatic tipover engine cut-off switch failed to function. This caused no problems, however.
The message I'll send out here is that it happens just exactly as quickly as you've always imagined. One minute I was on my way to a friend's for dinner, the next I was waiting for an ambulance. In truth, I've gone back over the incident time and again, and the only thing I can see that might conceivably have kept me from going down that was within _my_ control is that I braked too hard. (Under the circumstances, with a car pulling out in front of me, I find it very hard to fault myself much even for this. But, I _did_ go down, so...) I don't clearly recall if the front wheel locked or not, but suspect it did. I've always recognized the value of ABS on a bike; if the 400 had offered it, I'd have bought it. But, it simply wasn't available.
I'm the biggest 400 fan in the world. I _love_ this bike, and don't yearn for more power and weight and increased fuel-usage. But, if the damage is worse than I think and I've gotta buy another one, I'll probably be looking closely at the Silverwing, the Executive, and maybe even a used Reflex with ABS. What a shame, that my fave bike lacks this feature, which now means more to me than ever.
