My first season with the C50 will come to a close soon so I've been out on the bike everyday during these bonus days in Minnesota (60's and sunny in November is a absolute gift). On the way home tonight, I entered a freeway on-ramp I've traveled many times and before I knew what was happening I was sliding along the pavement on my left side with sparks flying in my face. Luckily there was no traffic until a good samaritan in a pickup stopped to help me get the bike up and off to the side. When we started to lift, we slipped and slid like a curling team. The whole ramp was coated in an oderless greasy substance that reminded me of Crisco. One side of my pants and jacket are coated in the stuff. The on-ramp is near a livestock and meat backing district and I can only image that a rendering truck or something was leaking and all the following traffic spread it all out nice and evenly. Gawkers that slowed down to watch ended up spinning their wheels to get moving again. I was a little stunned and dazed for a few minutes. I suffered only a few square inches of strawberry patch on hip and forearm thank God. I called the highway department to get maintenance to come out and do something about it. The bike survived except for a clipped clutch lever tip, slightly bent handlebar end and a smashed/collapsed foot board which probably saved the rest of the bike from more damage (that and my leg between the engine and the ground). Was able to limp home on the bike and will go over the damage this weekend in the light of day to get it back on the road.
Not sure if i would've avoided this miushap if the lighting was better (it was near dusk) or if I'm too aggressive in picking a line and getting though the gears to reach highway speed and don't pay enough attention to road surface. Hopefully the experience will make me a better rider. The don't cover situations like this in the MSF course but now I know if you don't anticipate the unexpected, you could be 'shortening' your life.
(Odd as this seems, it's all true. If I were going to make it up, I'd have featured a different slippery substance to make it a butter story.)
Not sure if i would've avoided this miushap if the lighting was better (it was near dusk) or if I'm too aggressive in picking a line and getting though the gears to reach highway speed and don't pay enough attention to road surface. Hopefully the experience will make me a better rider. The don't cover situations like this in the MSF course but now I know if you don't anticipate the unexpected, you could be 'shortening' your life.
(Odd as this seems, it's all true. If I were going to make it up, I'd have featured a different slippery substance to make it a butter story.)