Originally Posted by tbonetony06

I have to be honest even if it is not the smartest thing to do. 1, I don't wear a helmet. I never have and I hope I never have too. I am 100% sure you have a much better chance of surviving an accident with one on then without one. I just feel so "cramped" when I wear one. I can't see or hear as well with one on. I have always lived in states, with 1 exception, that did not have a mandatory helmet law. I also do not wear my leather unless it is cold out. I couldn't bare the heat with one on in the summer taking much of the fun out of riding when roasting with leather on and yes, I have been riding nearly 40 years and have never gone down, knock on wood. I assume every car out there has me in their sites and I ride like every single one of them can take me out in a flash. I just feel like I have lost much of my freedom when wearing all that gear. Now that I have explained why I don't use that gear when riding, let the azz jumping begin and pile on me for my choices. It is what it is.

Originally Posted by Benway

Good or bad I've locked the rear wheel up several time when the guy in front of me made a sudden move I wasn't ready for. It happens so damn fast you're just looking for the ditch. I try to leave plenty of room between me and them, but a car always jump in that space.

What I fine when you rely on the rear break so much is it really doesn't have that much stopping power. A good controlled, strong use of the front brake with the rear makes all the difference. Something you have to learn to do in a panic stop.

Originally Posted by Zanotti

This is exactly why ABS on motorcycles is so critical. Its hard to modulate the rear in a panic. Why not pay for a computer to do it for you?

Originally Posted by tbonetony06

I have to be honest even if it is not the smartest thing to do. 1, I don't wear a helmet. I never have and I hope I never have too. I am 100% sure you have a much better chance of surviving an accident with one on then without one. I just feel so "cramped" when I wear one. I can't see or hear as well with one on. I have always lived in states, with 1 exception, that did not have a mandatory helmet law. I also do not wear my leather unless it is cold out. I couldn't bare the heat with one on in the summer taking much of the fun out of riding when roasting with leather on and yes, I have been riding nearly 40 years and have never gone down, knock on wood. I assume every car out there has me in their sites and I ride like every single one of them can take me out in a flash. I just feel like I have lost much of my freedom when wearing all that gear. Now that I have explained why I don't use that gear when riding, let the azz jumping begin and pile on me for my choices. It is what it is.

Originally Posted by Zanotti

This is exactly why ABS on motorcycles is so critical. Its hard to modulate the rear in a panic. Why not pay for a computer to do it for you?

Originally Posted by Zanotti

This is exactly why ABS on motorcycles is so critical. Its hard to modulate the rear in a panic. Why not pay for a computer to do it for you?

Originally Posted by Cammer

anti-locks are too often used as a crutch for lack of skill.

Originally Posted by Cammer

So I'm in the left hand turn lane approaching an intersection. I'm going slow, probably less than 10 mph since I had just started to ease off the clutch, when a guy in a car decided he needed to turn left. So he jumped in front of me, maybe I'm three feet off his rear bumper, and he hits the brakes because the light turned yellow just then. I probably hit the brakes too hard and locked up the rear tire. Of course I went down fast. I look up just in time to see the jackass running the red light after coming to a complete stop at the yellow.

I pulled myself out from under the bike and lifted that 800 lb Fatboy back onto it's stand by myself. I guess a little adrenaline goes a long way. I checked to see if there was any terminal damage and restarted the bike. I went on through the intersection and parked it to assess the damage.

Aside from the obvious multiple sites of cosmetic damage, the thing that worries me is the handlebars are no long straight. The bars themselves seem undamaged, but they are no longer straight on the forks. The whole front end is tweaked. I'll attach a picture that shows where the bend occurs.

So anyhow, I'm okay. I was wearing a brand new Harley branded jacket that got badly scuffed up, my right boot and gloves got ate up a bit too. I didn't hit my head so I guess I didn't put my helmet to use, but I'm glad I was wearing all my gear or I'd be bleeding from some mild to moderate road rash.

I got a call back from the Progressive adjuster. I'll be able to get the bike up to the dealership on Wednesday morning so the claims guy can look at it all and figure out what the damage is. It's pretty extensive.

Can any of you guys tell me what might be involved in the front end damage? I'm sure that the dealership will be able to tell me. I'm just still pissed off about the situation and need to talk it out. The picture is taken from the right side of the bike. You can see that the bars were pushed back. They should be straight up.