Another "I've just had my first accident" post :(

[gse123]

Earlier on today, taking a short journey to visit a friend... A route I've done many times. On a relatively quiet single carriage way A road, I took a corner either too quickly, or lost concentration - or both. One minute I was cruising along absolutely fine, then the next thing I knew I was on the very outside of a corner about to go on to the grass verge. I couldn't stop myself from going on the grass by this point, and as soon as I did and tried to brake the bike slid onto it's side and slid about 20ft forward, with my helmet scraping along for the duration.

When it stopped, I got up and assessed the damage to myself and the bike! Luckily I felt ok - my helmet suffered quite deep scratches all down one side though, and my jacket has a few holes, so no big deal. The PCX is not looking so great... A few of the panels have cracked, snapped and broken off, the key won't now turn in the ignition, and the front wheel to steering alignment is now of... I.e. if the grips are straight, the front wheel is at a slight turn. The rear light section is also at a funny angle and has been twisted. (Sorry I don't have any photos at the moment)

I will see how much a local motorcycle garage would quote to fix it before I godown the insurance route, as my premium would sky rocket! I just feel lucky that I am ok.... And frustrated and angry with myself for allowing this to happen in the first place. But it hasn't put me off at all - in fact I can't wait to get the bike fixed so I can continue to be mobile!

[Indyglow]

Glad you're okay, also glad it didn't make you afraid to get back on and ride again!

[philvb]

The scooter can always be fixed, fortunately you made it out ok.

[badaveil]

gse123

Most unfortunat e, I'm sure not rider wants an accident. Looking back, considering it was a quiet, single road, what actually caused you to hit the grass verge? Was the road slippery? What speed were you 'cruising' at? Do you think it was the angle you took the corner? Share with us so we may avoid what you went through.

[gse123]

gse123

Most unfortunat e, I'm sure not rider wants an accident. Looking back, considering it was a quiet, single road, what actually caused you to hit the grass verge? Was the road slippery? What speed were you 'cruising' at? Do you think it was the angle you took the corner? Share with us so we may avoid what you went through.

I'm still trying to figure that exactly out for myself to be honest. One minute everything was fine, then in the blink of en eye I was just really wide into a corner. Probably a combination of taking it too fast and loss of concentration... But I do have another theory:

The last dozen or so I've been out on the bike has been commuting to and from work, in the dark, rain, fog etc, where I am naturally over cautious being a new rider, and taking it really easy. When I came off the bike, it was broad daylight, light traffic and quite a nice day - I can only think that I allowed myself to relax a little too much and wasn't focused at all times.

[PCX-rider]

Sorry by your accident! I did the same this summer and my wife was passenger! Wrote a post about it! Still my skin on left foot isn`t healed yet. My Honda dealer got me new sidepanels left side for a nice price!

Happy new year!

[JGC]

Sorry to hear of your accident. At least you got out of it relatively unscathed. Bikes can be repaired or replaced, bodies cannot.
Sounds like you went a touch to fast into the bend, in your panic your vision became 'locked' on the grass verge, so that is where you went with the bike! If you had looked at the road vanishing point, yes you would still have brown pant moment but you just might have stayed on the road and upright. I had a similar experience on my Deauville (Approached L/H bend a bit too fast) when I first started riding 'big' bikes, I managed to stay focused on the vanishing point, put more lean into the bike and managed to get round the corner. Failure in that instance would have meant a collision with a stone wall with a big drop into the valley on the other side!!
Your helmet will need replacing now as a matter of course, it's done it's job to protect your head!

[WhiteNoise]

ouuu....that was scary, I bet! How are you feeling Now? Have you gotten to take any pics yet? As far as what happened...I'm in agreement with JGC. You already know you went to fast into the turn, you got nervous, & at that same moment you focused away from your turn Not where you wanted to go. Head should not be looking down or focusing on objects, or you Will end up there. Rule is to Look Where You Want to Go. Turn your head. Tighter the turn....tighter (more) head turn. By No means am I a pro, I have had my scares and few low speed falls, Not fun. Hope your bike fixings are worthy of a fix. Good luck gse123

[gse123]

I think you guys are right - I think I allowed my eyes to stop focussing on the road ahead and probably stared at the rapidly approaching grass verge which only made things worse!

Here are a few pics, not showing all the damage, but the main bits (lots more scratches, scuffing which I can put up with for the time being. Not sure if there is any structural / operational damage though until I can take it to a garage)

Also the whole back of the bike where the light assembly is was at an odd angle after the crash... I managed to re-set it back so it was straight, but now it doesn't look like it is sitting quite properly wit the rear panels (noticeable on last image)


Probably the worst single bit of panel damage






Small crack... depending on cost saving I may not even bother replacing this panel at the moment



Rear indicator light cover hanging off. I have tried t clip it back in but it is too damaged. I imagine a very easy fix on this one!

[Theboybilly]

Glad you're okay mate. It's very difficult not to focus on where you're going to end up when you find yourself in this situation...it's a natural reaction. It's amazing how a two wheeler can cope with extreme lean angles and in all probability if you'd left the brakes alone (hard, I know) and concentrated on getting around the curve you would, in all likelihood have made it. Modern tyres have amazing grip. That's not much use to you now but I do hope you get your PCX back to how it was and continue to enjoy your riding.

Bill

[gn2]

Shit happens.
Dust yourself off, learn the lessons, don't do it again.

[badaveil]

Rule is to Look Where You Want to Go

Hey, that's a rule I also follow too when driving and it is very obvious when I drive very fast along windy roads.I understand what you mean but I found it very difficult to put it to words because the point of view is dynamic to the horizon and forces me to adjust the steering proportionally if that means anything. Thanks, I will keep this in mind.

[gse123]

Shit happens.
Dust yourself off, learn the lessons, don't do it again.

Shit nearly did happen... In my trousers

[gn2]

At least it wasn't a Z1300 into a ditch at 60-ish mph on the Isle of Skye...

[maddiedog]

At least it wasn't a Z1300 into a ditch at 60-ish mph on the Isle of Skye...

Ouch. Bet you learned quite a lesson on that one.

Shit nearly did happen... In my trousers

Glad to hear you were ok. With the front wheel out of alignment and the rear that messed up (can't quite tell the full extent of the damage from the pics), I wouldn't be too surprised if it was totalled.

[djcat]

Hi there,

first and foremost: Happy you got away with it.

However I do see a disproportional high number of accidents in this forum, way more than I did see in the F800 rider forum. Given that there probably are a lot more new riders on here, I may understand that even the most basic rules of riding may have to be learned the hard way by some.

I am saying this as I just came home after my GF nearly put my car in a ditch! She is a learner driver and in addition to the many hours of driving school lessons, I am trying my best to teach her to be safe on the road (of course with L plates and insurance....). She grew up with plenty of efficient public transport, so driving is a completely new world to her.

Today, my beloved partner simply did not know where to look at when she hit a left hander and got scared with oncoming traffic! All I can say is that I am a very lucky man that there was s stretch of grass before the ditch!

Handling controls and knowing where to look at are skills that need to be learned. In a car I had the chance to tell her exactly what to do and to intervene, on a bike I would not be able to. Hence, I can only recommend to

1st) read a book about it (yes - a book!) like "How to be a better rider" or "Roadcraft - the Police book to riding" or "Proficient motorcycling" - they taught me exactly where to look! And yes, its useful theory put to practice on the road.

2nd) Do a Police bikesafe or IAM Advanced rider training.

Keep the shiny side up!

[JGC]

In principle I have to agree with djcat recomendation of reading material.
Now I don't know what the criteria for bike safe is, with regards to what size bike they recomend on to their courses. I have a feeling they need to be able to consistently travel at NSL and or motorway limits.
Certainly I don't think the courses are open to 'L' riders.
The same applies to the IAM course for definite. These courses are designed around riders seeking to gain further training/experience to enhance their own safety and that of others.
Herein lies the rub I guess. New riders can go out and buy a 125 scoot, do the basic course just to get them on the road. After that (as I see it) they either can go to a riding school and go for the riding test to get restricted full licence, or they just go out and riding with no further training at all (Think I'm right in saying if only a bike licence held then they need to pass test within two years. If a full car licence held then they can ride indefinitely on L plate?)
So it seems to me that there is a lack of opportunities for inexperienced riders training unless they are going for their test.
How do others see this?

[djcat]

The London Met BikeSafe had a ScooterSafe training, don't know about the other forces though. IAM should really have a program for the 125 riders, too, but I guess they do not. Some of the guys showing up for the monthly free assesment day with a full bike licence on a big bike were so out of confidence I would be faster on a 125 on a motorway... There must also be a few riding schools happy to give a lesson or two just to improve confidence on the road, at least the one in Wokingham my GF did her CBT with said they are happy to give "advanced" training.

It is not reasonable to let people ride motorized two wheelers for two years and then let them renew the CBT for another two years and not give them a chance to really learn to be a better rider. Learning by crashing is certainly not the best way of learning by doing...

[gse123]

In principle I have to agree with djcat recomendation of reading material.
Now I don't know what the criteria for bike safe is, with regards to what size bike they recomend on to their courses. I have a feeling they need to be able to consistently travel at NSL and or motorway limits.
Certainly I don't think the courses are open to 'L' riders.
The same applies to the IAM course for definite. These courses are designed around riders seeking to gain further training/experience to enhance their own safety and that of others.
Herein lies the rub I guess. New riders can go out and buy a 125 scoot, do the basic course just to get them on the road. After that (as I see it) they either can go to a riding school and go for the riding test to get restricted full licence, or they just go out and riding with no further training at all (Think I'm right in saying if only a bike licence held then they need to pass test within two years. If a full car licence held then they can ride indefinitely on L plate?)
So it seems to me that there is a lack of opportunities for inexperienced riders training unless they are going for their test.
How do others see this?

This is correct. When I did my CBT, I asked the instructor what additional training I could do to get me more confident on the road, and he basically said there was nothing official that was offered unless you had a full licence first... which at the moment I have absolutely no desire to get (more cost than anything).

[uploader]

For additional training while on L plates you could try to do a scooter safe day with the police
http://www.bikesafe.co.uk/Police-Forces ... rSafe.aspx