Readers digest version:

First time down about 2 weeks ago. Happens fast. No injury. Bike has minor scuffing on guards, very minor paint damage (most will buff out, some may require touch up, wet sand, buff, and polish). My wife didn't even notice the damage at first. Very fortunate and lesson learned.



Not-so-Readers Digest version:

I was running a short 2 day trip with others through Tennessee, the Cherohala Skyway and parts of North Carolina on mostly back roads. On the second day we made it through the Skyway and started on some sharper winding roads towards Cherokee, NC.

We had be running sharp turns for awhile, and I was getting very comfortable moving body weight pushing through turns a little quicker as the day progressed. As many of you know, a little over confidence can bite quickly on an 800 lb cruiser.

We ran one left hand curve, like many others, and I started to hear/feel the footboard scrape. No big deal - off the throttle, move more weight off the bike, look through the turn, etc... same as the last several dozen turns. I'm not sure, but I would guess the speed was maybe 25-30 MPH. However, not long after the board scraped, I could hear the nasty sound of the bracket scraping. Then before I could adjust further, I was on my side sliding while the bike slide away. Worst feeling in the world.

After I stopped sliding, I didn't feel or notice any pain so I immediately got up to check the bike. It had slid into a embankment, down into the ditch, rolled up the embankment about 1/4 roll, and then back down into the ditch. We get it up, I take a quick inventory and do not see anything broken off or missing. I notice immediately how soft the dirt is in the embankment - almost like the consistency of moss.

I fire it up with no hiccup and ride it out of the ditch. Everything sounds fine. I take another quick inventory when it's back on the road. Again, nothing noticeable broken, dented, leaking, missing, etc. We call it temporarily ride worthy and take it slow until we find a pull off to inspect it further.

To the pull off, the bike road fine. No bad sounds, vibrations, bad shifts, etc. Everything seemingly functions as normal. At the pull off, I notice only deep scuffs where I would obviously expect - footboard bracket, engine guard, and saddle bag guard. No dents or cracks anywhere. Only damage to paint was very minor scuffing with a few shallow scratches on the bags and rear fender. The tank, side panels, and front fender looked untouched. Same for the exhaust, primary, and motor. Wow.

Those behind me said it looked like the bike was sliding solely on the footboard bracket. From the gouges I left in the road, I would say that's probably right. They also said it looked a lot worse when it happened, but I don't think it ever looks "good" watching any bike and rider go down.

I was able to finish the ride, which was another 150 miles or so. The bike behaved as usual and didn't miss a beat. I looked it over again when I got home and still didn't see anything I might have missed on the first inspections.

I told my wife what happened while still on the road. First question from her was how bad was the bike (thanks honey, I'm OK... ). When I got home, she didn't even want to look at it until I made her. When she finally saw it, she looked it over and was as surprised as I was that it still looked that good.

I haven't been able to clean it up since the slide because of the holiday schedule and weather not permitting. I'm 95% sure I can clean the paint up to a point where you wouldn't see anything. The heavy scuffing on the guards and bracket are on the underside and not noticeable. Eventually I'll replace them though. Assuming I won't have to replace any painted parts, I think this lesson learned won't be as costly as it could have been. Extremely blessed for sure.

I do have footboard extensions that move the footboard and the bracket out one inch. Still no excuse for over confidence, but obviously it didn't help either. I have to remind myself that the main reason I bought the bike is to ride comfortably, not to carve twisties. I need to slow down a bit and enjoy the ride.

No pics of the bike immediately after, but a couple pics from one of the guys I was with will give you an idea of the gouges left in the road. If you look at the road itself, you'll notice small scrape marks that follow the curve from others who have scraped their boards through the same turn. After I get the bike washed up to clean up the paint, I'll try to take some before and after pictures.

As for me, I have no injury whatsoever. No road rash because I was in heavier gear that day due to the temps (high 40s to low 50s). If it was summer, I might have gotten some rash on the left arm but the jeans still would have took the brunt of it. Again, extremely blessed.

Stay safe out there.

 

When it happens, you are right. It happens fast. Glad that you and the bike are both OK.

 

Sounds like its gonna be all good.

 

Glad all is good. Lesson learned. Now get out there and put some more miles on it.

 

Glad you're ok!!!!!

 

Ouch. Glad you and the bike (mostly) are ok.

 

Glad to hear you and the bike are ok! Did the accident seem to happen real fast or in slow motion? I know after I hit a deer on my Fatboy everything seemed to be in slow motion.

 

glad you and the bike made it out OK....

I am never aggressive on turns..or aggressive in general..no matter how confident I am....I have been riding for 43 years and I used to ride aggressive..not any more.....now with the guys I ride with....want to be aggressive,,,that's fine.....I ride my own ride.....and I will meet them....

 

This was a good post with knowledge shared many of us need to hear. Anytime anything scrapes the pavement when you are going through a turn means you are too far over. Once that footboard bracket hits then the rear wheel starts to unload from the pavement and your traction starts to disappear. I see people posting all the time about how hard they ride the bike and scraping footboards like its a badge of honor.

 

Aces, I'm glad you are ok, the bike can be buffed a lot more easily than broken bones can heal!

I noticed you said you were shifting your weight while in the turn, I don't know if you tried moving your body towards the apex (left off the seat in a left hand turn) or not. Moving yourself towards the apex will actually stand the bike up a little bit more yet help carve the corner without scraping. If you can practice it in a controlled environment, it may save you from that situation in the future if you need it as an emergency avoidance maneuver.

Again, I am very happy that you were not injured and the bike was mostly undamaged.

Ride Often, Have Fun, Repeat,

Scoop