yea..and as i am sure someone has already said, or you have already read somewhere that there are only two kinds of riders...those that have wrecked and those that will...look at it asgetting it out of the way early

 

well sounds like you learned an important lesson in humility. not everyone can hop on a motorcycle and be fine @ it, but that doesnt mean you should give up either. keep at it and you'll be doing great. ake the motorcycle class offered in yoru area and that will build your confidence back up.

btw i love how you say your buddy was an idiot for letting you ride his bike. he was trying to help you out and im probably the only person so far that thinks you should pay the full amount. if i ever let anyone ride my bike they understand that they will pay to fix any damage they cause.

also why is he reporting it to his insurance . if the damage isnt that much why not try and get the replacment parts through a private party, that way he wont have a claim on his record and you will probably get away with paying less then the 700 to fix it.

 

something else i forgot to mention about the MSF course... they supply the bikes, so if you fall, it's not yours or a friend's bike, and i don't believe they make you pay for damages as long as you're following their instructions. the course here is $150, i'm pretty sure that's the cost anywhere that it's offered. not sure about other states, but here in Texas, if you have a certificate from the safety course, you can get your license without having to take the riding test. the written test is easy, so don't sweat it because most of the questions there require just a little bit of common sense. sign up for a motorcycle safety course and they'll teach you all the things you would have otherwise had to learn the hard way (wrecking your friend's bike at low speed isn't nearly as bad as it could have been... had you gotten too confident, you could be in the hospital or the morgue right now).