I went down on my road king riding out to Sturgis on Tuesday evening. I was just outside of the quad cities on I-80 right at dusk riding through a construction zone (one lane) when it turned pitch black and started raining buckets. I slowed down, but because there was fresh poured asphalt there were no lines in the road on the left shoulder with a 4 inch drop (could not see the drop). There were barrels marking the right, but you could not see if there was any drop on that side. When I was slowing down I fell off the left shoulder, and could not control the bike. I high sided over the left side and slid about 20 feet from where the bike stopped and did a couple of rolls. Since it was wet loose dirt the bike dug into the ground where it dumped me. I was not injured very bad, both elbows have road rash, and are bruised (it helped that it was wet and I slid in the grass).

The bike however was not so lucky, since it dug in the crash bars and handlebars took most of the impact. The frame was slightly tweaked where the front crash bar mounts to the frame. An adjuster came out (after a couple of days) and they are going to total the bike. The good news is that since the the frame is barely damaged at all, I am going to keep the bike with a slightly reduced payoff. The accessories on it are worth more then the reduced payoff. I plan on picking up another pair of handlebars tomorrow, straighten the front crash bar as best I can and finish my ride out to Sturgis. When I rode it today there was no wobble at all. When I get home I will start looking for a new bike.

I am very fortunate because I understand how this could have turned out much worse.

 

Sorry. But, glad you're ok. Keep on truckin!

 

Sorry for your misfortune. I live in the Quad City area and am leaving out Friday am early to Sturgis.

That rain was very heavy. Over the years I have been caught in rain at night and was able to pull over okay. But combine that with a construction area and it can only get worse.

Hope that when you get back on the bike the rest of the ride is uneventful.

 

That really makes for a shitty trip! Glad to hear you are doing ok. Ride Safe!

 

My hat is off to you for continuing on and appreciate your tenacity. Good luck with the new bike as well as your rebuild but seriously hope you consider a new engine guard.

 

Glad your going to be ok! Hang in there!! JR

 

Glad to hear you're ok.

The Forum Safety Committee will be along shortly to crucify you.

 

That sucks man

 

Well that sucks.

Hope the rest of the trip goes better.

 

Look at the bright side, there's probably nothing worse that can happen on your trip so it's all downhill from here.