Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Went down for the first time today. I was braking for a left turn when an unseen patch of dirt and gravel caused the front tire to lock up. One second I'm riding along, the next I'm on the ground. The bike fell over onto it's left side and crushed my left foot under it (ow). Good thing I was wearing really good boots. Ripped my jeans up a bit, few cuts here and there but all my gear saved my ***. My brand new Shoei helmet (2nd time riding with it) has just a few tiny scratches in the paint, which is pretty amazing. Was also lucky cuz a stranger came running up, pulled me out of the road, then picked up my bike and parked it on the side of the road. I didn't know who he was but... thanks.

Anyway the bridge of my left foot was swelling up the size of a grapefruit by the time the fire department showed up with an ambulance. I had them put an air splint on my foot and I refused the ambulance, one cause they cost a lot of money and two, they would have towed my bike. I had my buddy come get me in his pickup. We loaded the bike into the truck and he took me into the hospital. By now I'm in some serious pain. Totally expecting to hear that I broke multiple bones in my foot but somehow there was nothing, not even a fracture. I'm truly shocked by this. Now I'm at home with a splint and I'm alright with some pain pills. Can't walk without crutches but I'm not complaining. I think I got really lucky today... I know my post says "Damn it" but I'm a really lucky guy... it could have been much worse... Guys always always wear your gear and ride safe. All it takes is one mistake. It had been raining last night and I didn't ride, then this morning it was bright and sunny, I thought hell what a nice day for a ride, but the rain had thrown a lot of dirt and gravel onto the roads. I'm usually a very attentive rider, but for some reason at the time I didn't pay enough attention to road conditions as I could have. In another situation, that could have been a fatal mistake, or I could have hurt someone else. That's something I need to think about and adjust my riding style accordingly. This is a wake up call for me.

As for the bike, well, it's rashed up a little bit and the signal and mirror is busted off, which is a bitch because I just replaced them (previous owner had dropped it at low speed). That round protusion from under the fairing on the left side (the oil cover? I don't know) is also pretty rashed up, and my rear cowl is cracked. Luckily I fell on the left side, and my new Two Bros exhaust is unscathed. Since I can't ride until I heal up anyway, I have even more time to repair and mod this baby back into shape

Speaking of which, anybody know where to get some REPSOL fairings (please don't say ebay) for an '04. Also, would the gas tank from an F4 fit on the F4i? My buddy has a spare orange tank sitting around. Anybody done the REPSOL conversion?

 

i'm happy to hear you're okay. Wise words...

 

good to hear man, I have had a couple of close calls myself but nothing like that yet. makes ya realize how happy you are to be alive huh. get that baby back on the road and yea I wannna do the repsol conversion but i'm broke as hell and why not ebay?

 

Damn bro that sucks big time. Had close calls like that good thing I'm a noob rider and wasn't going too fast. But what happened to you can happen to any of us we just have to do our best to avoid it, and letting our guard down for just a second can throw us off. But good to hear that you got away with minor injury. Get well and ready to ride :P, and i've never seen anyone else sell repsol themed fairings besides ebay, GL.

 

Yeah, despite going down I'm really happy right now (maybe these pain pills are helping hehe) that I'm alive and pretty much unhurt...

BTW I said don't say ebay cuz all the repsol kits on there are from China/HongKong and who knows the quality and how well they fit, and they charge $200+ dollars for shipping. What if I need to return it? If I buy it I'm basically putting all my trust in a seller to deliver me a good product I can't even see before I buy it. I'd much rather buy it from somewhere in the states, and save on shipping too. But who knows, if I can't find it anywhere else I guess I have no choice but fleabay [:-]

 

Just wait, i've seen some from the US, but they probably got it off the seller that sells from China :P

 

Gravel got me also, the front wheel skipped a little and the gravity took over. Sorry to hear about your foot. If Repsols are hard to find, look through some of the previousROTMs to get otherideas for graphics.

 

Glad to hear you are okay. That gravel business sucks, but is part of our risk when we ride. I have been lucky enough to stay upright around a couple gravel filled corners (knock on wood), but definately ruined my ability to concentrate the rest of the day, and I had to go home. Glad there are no breaks in your bones or your bike. Keep us posted.

 

Thst sucks dude, could have been worse, does this mean my turns and mirrors I sent you are junk? Oh man.

I don't think the F4 tank is the same cuse of non-fuel injection, But I cannot say for sure.

 

Well, the right side mirror and indicator is fine

The left side mirror snapped off cleanly at the base, I'm going to see if I can cold weld it back on.

Yeah about the tank -- I asked in another forum and the answer was that the tank will fit but the fuel pump will have to be retrofitted to the F4 tank -- might be more trouble than it's worth.