Well, it finally happened. I was involved in my first motorcycle accident today.

I was riding back from the gun range and pulled up to a red light. There were cars on all side of me. The driver in front of me decided to back up because he missed his turn. Well, guess who was on his left side right behind him?

Before I could hit my horn and move out of the way, he backed right into me. I bounced back a few feet before I grabbed the brake. Luckily I kept my balance and the bike never went down. About three people got out of their cars to ask if I was alright and luckily I was. The driver got out and you could clearly tell he was shaken up.

We took a few minutes to exchange information and assess the damage. My brake pedal was bent back almost 90 degrees and my front right turn signal is a bit scuffed. From the way it seems, my brake pedal took all of the impact.

I was going to call the police, but I decided to check out his I.D. and copy his information down and leave. I was able to ride home, which was only a few miles away. I am going to take the bike into on of the dealers that I enjoy going too. Due to the fact that it was not my fault and since my Slim only has 1300 miles on it, I am going to make sure the entire bike is checked out for any more damage.

My only concern is that since it looks like the brake pedal took all of the impact, there might be more damage than what I can see. I'll be dropping it off at the dealer tomorrow and I can only hope that the process doesn't take too long.

The good news: I'm not hurt.
The bad news: My Slim will be out of commission for a few weeks, if not more.

 

That sucks man, glad you are OK. I havent been back up into like that on my Harley but it has happened to me on my GSXR a few years back. At least your guy stopped immediately, the guy that backed into me took off. Only saving grace was it was witnessed by an off duty sheriff who followed him. I was lucky the only thing bruised was my shins and ego. He was taken in for hit and run, no licence, no insurance, passed due inspection and insurance.

 

Sorry to here about the bike but the important thing is that your ok.

 

Wow...sorry to hear. Happened to a buddy of mine years back. We were sitting at a light in his old column shift Falcon and he screwed up and put it in reverse and gave it the gas when the light turned green. He nailed the car behind him and he quickly jumped out to check on her and apologize for the mishap, but before he could, she was apologizing to him and asking him not to call the cops. There was no damage and he said "Sure Lady" and away we went. Hope the damage is minimal and glad you're ok.

 

Did you learn anything from this? Is there anything you could have done different to prevent what happened?

 

Accidents always suck. I personally would have called the police....not to be a D&^k but just to get a report. Who knows what he will say once you give him an estimate for the damages. Hopefully he's an up and up dude and pays up. I am just glad you are ok...thats the important thing!

 

Taken a different route to avoid city streets! Honestly, that is the only thing I could think of after I got home and thought about it. I feel that it could have been worse if he hit my front wheel. Between that possibly bouncing me off of the bike and dumping it, it could have caused more damage to the bike and myself. I was on the left half of the lane so he could see me in his driver side mirror and rear view mirror, but that wasn't enough to work in my favor.

I thought about calling the police, but after talking with the guy I decided not too. He seemed like a half-way decent guy who was just lost and in a hurry. He is a corrections officer and works a few miles from where I work. When I called his insurance agent, they already said that the guy called them to tell them the story. What they told me was the true story, so at least the guy is honest.

 

The important thing is that you didn't got hurt I am glad for that

 

You're okay and that's what counts. But you should have taken a header and hollered "whiplash!" At least they didn't hit and run and he has insurance and seems like a stand up guy.

Get your bike fixed and don't pull up so close the next time.

 

Glad you're okay!