BadNews
"Not properly socialized"
My ST, that is. Today was my first drop of a bike, ever. Here's how I got her in trouble...(pics below)
So I traded in my FJR for this new 2015 ST, and I get her farkled up with some Bumot cases, a Zumo 660 GPS (my first GPS) and a Sena 20s headset. Anxious to put everything to the test, I download Garmin's Basecamp, learn how to make a route, made up a test route with some township roads, get the route transferred to the Zumo, and off I go. Everything worked fine, I listened to some tunes from my iPhone, the Zumo told me where to turn. Yep, that Zumo told me to turn on exactly the road I had programmed in. The name of that road is, get this, "Bat Nest Road". I should have known by the name that this road is not your normal Ohio township road that is well graded and maintained so Soccer Moms can get their minivans full of kids home. That road was 1 mile of some of the worst ruts, whoop de doo's, and mudholes I have ever ridden on. But I made it through, no holes in the oil pan from the rocks and no flats. OK. Then I went down Stone Quarry Rd, another 1.2 miles. It was worse than Bat Nest. I had no idea that such poorly maintained public roads existed in Ohio. Anyway, Stone Quarry Road was where it happened. I didn't think to take a pic of it lying on its right side. This pic is looking up the hill after I picked it up, it rolled/slid down the hill enough to push the kickstand back up, and then rested on the left side Bumot case.
This pic is looking down the hill:
You all are probably familiar with how pictures don't always show how steep a hill really is, not to mention mostly off camber, with giant ruts, etc. but if you study on it a little you get the idea.
By this time I was HOT because I was moving so slowly, my heart was pumping hard and I was getting out of breath from the exertion, the cooling fan was coming on at regular intervals, so I decided to just stop for a few and rest up. Since I had no idea these roads were this difficult, and the GPS said this route was only a little over an hour, I hadn't taken any water with me. (Lesson learned!)
Well, like I said, I got me into this situation, no way I'm turning around or waiting for someone to come along and help (on that road??? Not likely!!). So after I had rested up a bit, I mounted up and forged ahead, managed not to drop her again, and finally made it to a better road. If I had known what these roads were like there is no way I would have started down them.
And now the damage assessment. With no skid plate and no crash bars, she faired surprisingly well! The right side factory engine guard has a minor scuff, as does the right side hand guard. The Bumot cases and racks showed only a scuff mark or two on the black plastic corner pieces, otherwise they held solid. My GPS mount was rock solid the whole way, no slippage. For myself, when I went down somehow my right shoulder got hurt, nothing major, feels like a pulled muscle. I'll be taking some aspirin before I hit the sack.
I learned a few things today. 1) Always take some water if you are planning on traveling some back roads that you are not familiar with. Probably a good idea just to take some water anyway. 2) If I come to a road like this again, I will turn around unless I have improved my skills, mounted some knobbies, and have a buddy with me.
Checked the odometer when I got home, only 421 total miles on her. After today, my confidence level in this bikes ability to take a beating has gone way up! And for me, this was a trial. It built my confidence in my ability to see myself out of a sticky situation.
Ride on!
So I traded in my FJR for this new 2015 ST, and I get her farkled up with some Bumot cases, a Zumo 660 GPS (my first GPS) and a Sena 20s headset. Anxious to put everything to the test, I download Garmin's Basecamp, learn how to make a route, made up a test route with some township roads, get the route transferred to the Zumo, and off I go. Everything worked fine, I listened to some tunes from my iPhone, the Zumo told me where to turn. Yep, that Zumo told me to turn on exactly the road I had programmed in. The name of that road is, get this, "Bat Nest Road". I should have known by the name that this road is not your normal Ohio township road that is well graded and maintained so Soccer Moms can get their minivans full of kids home. That road was 1 mile of some of the worst ruts, whoop de doo's, and mudholes I have ever ridden on. But I made it through, no holes in the oil pan from the rocks and no flats. OK. Then I went down Stone Quarry Rd, another 1.2 miles. It was worse than Bat Nest. I had no idea that such poorly maintained public roads existed in Ohio. Anyway, Stone Quarry Road was where it happened. I didn't think to take a pic of it lying on its right side. This pic is looking up the hill after I picked it up, it rolled/slid down the hill enough to push the kickstand back up, and then rested on the left side Bumot case.
This pic is looking down the hill:
You all are probably familiar with how pictures don't always show how steep a hill really is, not to mention mostly off camber, with giant ruts, etc. but if you study on it a little you get the idea.
By this time I was HOT because I was moving so slowly, my heart was pumping hard and I was getting out of breath from the exertion, the cooling fan was coming on at regular intervals, so I decided to just stop for a few and rest up. Since I had no idea these roads were this difficult, and the GPS said this route was only a little over an hour, I hadn't taken any water with me. (Lesson learned!)
Well, like I said, I got me into this situation, no way I'm turning around or waiting for someone to come along and help (on that road??? Not likely!!). So after I had rested up a bit, I mounted up and forged ahead, managed not to drop her again, and finally made it to a better road. If I had known what these roads were like there is no way I would have started down them.
And now the damage assessment. With no skid plate and no crash bars, she faired surprisingly well! The right side factory engine guard has a minor scuff, as does the right side hand guard. The Bumot cases and racks showed only a scuff mark or two on the black plastic corner pieces, otherwise they held solid. My GPS mount was rock solid the whole way, no slippage. For myself, when I went down somehow my right shoulder got hurt, nothing major, feels like a pulled muscle. I'll be taking some aspirin before I hit the sack.
I learned a few things today. 1) Always take some water if you are planning on traveling some back roads that you are not familiar with. Probably a good idea just to take some water anyway. 2) If I come to a road like this again, I will turn around unless I have improved my skills, mounted some knobbies, and have a buddy with me.
Checked the odometer when I got home, only 421 total miles on her. After today, my confidence level in this bikes ability to take a beating has gone way up! And for me, this was a trial. It built my confidence in my ability to see myself out of a sticky situation.
Ride on!
