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just had my first mishap on the street. I low sided pulling out in rt 20 in sturbridge about a quarter mile from where my brother's crash happened.
I had just put a new thermostat in this morning then went for an hour test ride to make sure everything was good went back home topped the coolant reservoir off after it cooled off. I did see a cpl of drips on the swingarm from the overflow.
So I had to get rv antifreeze from Wal-Mart so I can winterize my stepdads ski boat and the bike is always my 1st choice cause it uses way less gas then my truck. I took a nice scenic route with lots a nice twisty back roads, kept my eye on temp guauge and my nose on alert for antifreeze which neither appeared to be a problem. So I get to rt 20 from a side road, go to pull out in the left lane so I can be in the correct lane to make the turn to wal mart. As soon as I hit the gas it was like my back tire was on ice, I eased off slightly and it was still sliding at that point and I had no chance of saving it. So I got it upright and to the side of the road, luckily there wasn't much traffic not that I was that aware of what else was going on, it was an instant shock. another driver had stopped to check on me, I am fine except for a small spot of road rash on my right hip, but who know what else is gonna start hurting when the adrenaline wears off.
I'm still trying to figure out exactly what happened, there was a little bit of antifreeze on my swingarm area from the overflow but I don't think there was nearly enough for me to loose traction like that. The ground was sand free but I did notice a little bit of debris from a recent accident though the pavement didn't look stained. Not even 2 mins before that I had been taken off from another side road exactly the same as this had happened and there wasn't even the slightest hint of any loss of traction. I'm running pilot power 2ct about half worn and a bunch of years old but have always gripped like Velcro until today. As of right now I'm gonna do something to relocate my coolant over flow or maybe make a catch can for the overflow hose. Other than some bad paint scrapes on the right side and a dent in my gas tank from my handle bar the only damage is my right rearset broke and of course I have a spare for the left but not the right
Over all my pride is badly bruised but ill get over it and I wanna give a big thank you to the member I recently bought my 1 piece alpinstars leather I was wearing.
Sorry to hear about the off.
Coolant is extremely slippy. If it was on your swingarm there's a chance it was dripping elsewhere and at least contributed.
Glad to hear you are OK.
Also sorry to hear that, and also glad you're okay!
Think you'll get the rearset in time for next week's ride?
Go fast. Have fun. Repeat.
It sounds like you had antifreeze or some other lubricant on your tire if you say it came out like you were on ice
don- I'm really hoping to have it in time, there's a cpl on eBay but the estimated shipping date puts it really really close, I might just try to find someone set up to weld aluminum.
I've been Going over everything in my head I know there had to be antifreeze on my tire, I just find it extremely odd that I took off exactly the same less then 2 miles prior and I had 100% traction also when I come to a stop I'm heavy footed on my rear brake and there was no indication of a loss in traction. I can only describe how it felt as if forgetting to put the kick stand up, the way it just came out from under
me, I was turning right so I know it wasn't a kickstand to blame lol
So is anyone in central ma area set up to weld aluminum, if so please let me know, thank you
It's possible that antifreeze was pooled up somewhere and when you came to a stop, it spilled out.. don't rule out the possibility that this had nothing to do with your bike and there was just something on the road..
Similar situation happen to my buddy.. brand New R1 in. 04. Had 2k miles on it.. pulled into a gas station and fueled up. Pulled out to a set of lights.. took a left from a stop and the rear came around like it was on ice.. he wanted to blame the oem Dunlop tires cuz he had never been on dunlops before.. I laughed at him and told him that he clearly ran something over
Well thanks that makes me feel a whole lot better, cause my bikes almost 20 years old. This experience has convinced me to get frame sliders for when I get a much newer bike when I get my taxes back this year. I woulda been so mad if it was a new bike.
Ditto on the anti freeze. A few years ago I was on the way to work around 6 am. Long sweeping turn going to the left and half way through the revs just went up. I fortunately sat up and leaned forward enough keep the front end glued and rode it out. Broken hose almost ended my riding days. I believe you and I have been very fortunate. :-) ATGATT
also there just could have been shit in the road... might not have been your bike at all. We've all seen the 'People of Walmart' pics.. now imagine what their cars look like and what they are leaking.
Sucks, but could have been so much worse. Hope you feel better and get the bike sorted out soon.
glad to hear your OK. at least your first crash was minor and doesn't put you off.
I'm not familiar with the area but if it's a place where vehicles often stop (train tracks, stopsign, traffic light, left turn lane), you could have run over junk dropped on the road by someone else.
Glad your gear worked and no major damage.