[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Today I had to admit that I am not yet ready.

I don't really agree with you on this buddy, especially in an era where people are learning to ride on 200 - 375cc motorbikes and some others are upgrading from '150cc 10 years ago' to 600cc - 3 cylinders!

With motorcycle riders, there are only two categories as some great man said.

1. Biker who has crashed.
2. Biker who is going to crash.

It's got nothing to do with ability or experience.

Get well soon, get the bike ready and get back on the saddle. A few jittery moments and your confidence will be back soon in all it's glory. Cheers.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Why did I fall? I still dont know and probably never will.

One of the photos does make it look as though the handle bar is bent, I didnt think it was in the morning but it certainly deserves a second look.

Today I had to admit that I am not yet ready.

Hey Neil,

Very sorry to read off the fall that you had. Am sure you would get smarter with this.

Why did you Fall?

Its very simple, the overnight rains would have brought up the oil content in the road. That makes it super slippery.

Please remember a golden rule..."avoid riding especially when it rains after a long time. A lot of vehicles would have left oil/resides which would not get absorbed into the tarmac. This will not get washed away after just one instance of showers. But will need atleast a good 3-4 showers before it becomes acceptable to ride". Even if you got to ride drop speeds more, rely on those rear bikes than the front with loads of engine breaking. The rear can step out of the line but a small tap with your foot should see you through. Very important not to lose that front end.

Have a look at the stopper on the steering triples as well when you are getting the handle bar sorted out.

You are ready mate, come on even the great Rossi has fallen off including the donkey fall

Have posted a video to lift your spirits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq-sTzvVXNc

PS: Hopefully the screen has not got scratched or broken, that would really hurt cause it was giving the bike a fantastic look

Good Readin : http://www.twowheelsblog.com/post/29...-donkey-helmet

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Sorry to read about the incident.

I'm not a regular rider myself and only follow your thread occasionally for updates- but can't help feeling that you are taking it too heavy on yourself. You should not judge yourself based on one mistake.

Also, may be a better bike / ABS / stickier tyres etc might have helped prevent the crash? So why think against an upgrade.

[sumithb]

Sorry to hear about your fall buddy. Hope you will be up and running soon, after-all you still have to report back on how awesome that windshield is

On a serious note, don't be too hard on yourself, experience is a harsh master!

[goandude]

Was so looking forward to meeting up with you and was sorry to hear about your mishap. Hope to see you up and about soon. Don't take it too hard on yourself this is part and parcel of the motorcycling experience.

[tharian]

Neil,
Falling is part and parcel of being a biker. Just like in life we have falls and learn from it, same with biking.

Honestly, if I hadn't had my quota of falls, I would have got over confident that nothing will ever happen which would have led to a bad crash somewhere down the line.

Glad that the damage to the bike and you are minimal. Take it easy.

[Sojogator]

Neil, you are putting too much thought into the fall. I was so looking forward to see the yellow beauty in the morning sunshine , till we got your message. Maybe not yesterday, as destiny would have it, but surely soon I will have the honor.

As @Added_flavor just told, a fall is not 'IF' and instead 'WHEN' we fall. You, as a responsible, rider had taken, almost, all the precautions and reason why you are in pretty good health today. A good helmet, gear on which you had invested a good amount on came to the rescue when it should have.

Well, I am sure you already know, riding after a first rain is like walking a tight rope,especially in the city. You would have muck, you would have oil patches, you would have lose grounds, you would have others on road who are also a threat, you have everything that would try and take the traction away from you.

Get well soon enough and
get those racing stripes on mate ! Can't wait to see how she looks after that.

[arulpeem]

Hi Neil,
Falling is part and parcel of a riders' life and one learns from the falls. I am sure you would be that much wiser after this. Therefore let this fall not deter you from going ahead with your plans for a larger bike. Hope the X rays were clean and you are recovering fast.

[B O V]

Neil,

Glad that you got away with minimal injuries, hope to see you back on the saddle again soon.

You shouldn't let it get to your head. Falls happen. Either due to own our faults or other uncontrollable outside factors.

I mean I've fallen a few times off my motorcycle while it was stationary due to my own pigheadedness, left me with a bruised ego. But learned valuable lessons .

I don't agree with the bit about not being ready for a bigger motorcycle. I mean consider if you were riding a cd-100 in that same situation, would it really have made any significant difference?

I suppose it was some kinda oil slick that you came across near the speed breaker.

Regards,

BOV

[Snehal Sekhar]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Completely agree Snehal, it is heartening to note that the company is doing all the right things in terms of customer engagement. Now they just need customers willing to engage with them in a healthy manner. Any updates from your friend after we put him on to the RE person?

At long last Sam (my friend in question) went to the RE service center today and contacted that gentleman who immediately called the manager at the showroom and asked him to check on the bike and do what ever was necessary to get it back in its original condition. They got the bike checked and agreed to change the rear mudguard and the saree guards on either side as well. The saree guard is fixed to the rear mudguard and the joints were all twisted due the last incident. They have to procure the stuff from the factory though and have asked him to wait for a week and have promised to call him once the parts arrived and replace them from free. Kudos to Neil and to RE for getting this issue resolved. RE will have a satisfied and happy customer in him for sure.
Neil, also got to know about your accident man and sorry to hear about it. Hope you're doing allright mate. Good that there was no major issues with both you and your bike. Just goes to show how important it is to be in ATGATT. Get well soon mate and catch up with you on our next ride.

[neil.jericho]

Before I start, I must first say thank you to each and everyone of you who have been kind enough to call, send messages on whatsapp and PMs and reply on this thread. I am a strong believer in the saying "It's the little things that matter in life" and the words of encouragement from each one of you have helped put a smile on my face and are helping me on my road to recovery.


Which brings me to my medical update, I went to a hospital on Monday to ensure there was no serious damage. My foot had swollen overnight and my back hurt quite a bit. After checking the X Rays, the doctor confirmed that there were no fractures but that I had suffered soft tissue damage that would necessitate a couple of weeks of bed rest.


I can walk around now though I dont put my full weight on my leg. The extreme pain from the muscle pull at the back is reducing but its made me aware than the bone behind the muscle is quite sore, I probably landed on it instead of my ample posterior. I cant bend my back or make any sudden movements. Which is terrible because Bangalore suddenly seems to be blessed with a new round of mosquitoes. Hailing from God's own country, I have one gene which makes me inherently dislike them and another one which causes my hands to move faster than normal anytime they get a chance to reduce the mosquito population. Now I have no option but to sit and watch them fly around while promising that I will have my revenge


I've been doing some thinking about the fall and ku69rd's theory on the oil content makes the most sense. A fellow forum member was telling me that he witnessed multiple skids / falls over the weekend because of the treacherous road conditions. After the passersby helped me up, I slowly walked towards the speedbreaker to see if I could rub my hands over the road surface to see if the culprit was sand but I realized that I was in no condition to kneel down and touch the road so I gave on playing Sherlock Holmes. Could I have fallen in the very same way had I been paying 100% attention to the road? Probably yes. It doesnt change the fact that I shouldnt have been carelessly checking the lights while riding.


The thing is, while the biking world does provide freedom, inspiration, solitude (in a group ride even), inner peace, good friends, excellent banter and most importantly, memories, it also does bring with it real risks. Yes, accidents can happen. Crashes can happen. Falls can happen. And when they do, some of them can be really painful. Every scar is a story waiting to be told. For the record, it was my fourth fall in 13 years


1. In June 2010, I pulled up behind a private bus that was waiting for passengers to board at a bus stop. In my RVMs, I noticed two homicidal bus drivers, desperately honking and trying to overtake each other in a bid to get to the bus stop first and inadvertently, potentially, run me over. The gearshift on my Pulsar 150 refused to shift from neutral to first as the buses got dangerous closer in my RVMs. I desperately kept stomping and the bike suddenly jumped into second, pulled a wheelie and my uncle (pillion) and I tumbled to the ground. Since I was wearing floaters, the bike's hot silencer (we'd been riding around for an hour) ensured that I badly burnt my ankle. The following month taught me about pain.


2. There was just a slow moped overloaded with plastic jugs in front of me to my left on an empty Bangalore road which in a moment of madness carelessly cut across to take a sudden U turn. Even the combination of the R15's sharp brakes and handling couldnt help me avoid one of the overhanging jugs. My bruised knee took 3 days to heal. As I sat on the road and held my knee in pain, I was grateful that it was me on the bike and not a lumbering bus instead that would've been unable to avoid fatally running him over.


3. Took the same dimly lit left turn I took every night on my way back home when the bike skid due to sand which had fallen from an overloaded lorry. I was left with a sore knee which took a couple of days to heal and unfortunately got my little sympathy.


All things considered, I got off lucky. Im ticked off about my carelessness which may or may not have contributed to the fall. Im happy that the physical toll was minimal and that it hasnt impacted my work. In my spare time, I keep humming this Willie Nelson classic as I research on my next helmet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBN86y30Ufc

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

With motorcycle riders, there are only two categories as some great man said.

1. Biker who has crashed.
2. Biker who is going to crash.

It's got nothing to do with ability or experience.

Get well soon, get the bike ready and get back on the saddle. A few jittery moments and your confidence will be back soon in all it's glory. Cheers.

Thanks Added_Flavour, I feel you should probably split it into
1. Biker who has crashed
1a. Once
1b. Quite a few times more
2. Biker who is going to crash.

Looking forward to getting back on two feet and more importantly two wheels!

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Its very simple, the overnight rains would have brought up the oil content in the road. That makes it super slippery.

Please remember a golden rule..."avoid riding especially when it rains after a long time. A lot of vehicles would have left oil/resides which would not get absorbed into the tarmac. This will not get washed away after just one instance of showers. But will need atleast a good 3-4 showers before it becomes acceptable to ride". Even if you got to ride drop speeds more, rely on those rear bikes than the front with loads of engine breaking. The rear can step out of the line but a small tap with your foot should see you through. Very important not to lose that front end.

Thanks for sharing that, ku69rd. It's the first time I've read about what sort of braking to use in such conditions and is definitely something I need to practice slowly so that it becomes second nature in case of an actual emergency. And yes, watching one of the all time greats slide and fall did help bring a smile. If it can happen to the best, what about the rest!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Sorry to read about the incident.

I'm not a regular rider myself and only follow your thread occasionally for updates- but can't help feeling that you are taking it too heavy on yourself. You should not judge yourself based on one mistake.

Also, may be a better bike / ABS / stickier tyres etc might have helped prevent the crash? So why think against an upgrade.

Thanks CrAzY dRiVeR, I was wondering whether ABS would actually have helped in such conditions. Any thoughts from more knowledgeable folks? I'm back to looking up bike reviews now though my research is starting from the smaller capacity bikes.

Originally Posted by sumithb

Sorry to hear about your fall buddy. Hope you will be up and running soon, after-all you still have to report back on how awesome that windshield is

On a serious note, don't be too hard on yourself, experience is a harsh master!

Thanks sumithb. I hope to be back in action by next weekend. Once the bike gets sorted out, I will provide my feedback on the windscreen. And yes, with pictures.

Originally Posted by goandude

Was so looking forward to meeting up with you and was sorry to hear about your mishap. Hope to see you up and about soon. Don't take it too hard on yourself this is part and parcel of the motorcycling experience.

Thanks goandude. After hearing all about the good time you guys had in my absence I am determined to make it to the earliest Sunday ride possible.

Originally Posted by tharian

Neil,
Falling is part and parcel of being a biker. Just like in life we have falls and learn from it, same with biking.

Honestly, if I hadn't had my quota of falls, I would have got over confident that nothing will ever happen which would have led to a bad crash somewhere down the line.

Glad that the damage to the bike and you are minimal. Take it easy.

Thanks Tharian, as the old saying goes "A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise one learns from the mistakes of others. " I hope my experience will help others as well.

Originally Posted by Sojogator

Neil, you are putting too much thought into the fall. I was so looking forward to see the yellow beauty in the morning sunshine , till we got your message. Maybe not yesterday, as destiny would have it, but surely soon I will have the honor.

As @Added_flavor just told, a fall is not 'IF' and instead 'WHEN' we fall. You, as a responsible, rider had taken, almost, all the precautions and reason why you are in pretty good health today. A good helmet, gear on which you had invested a good amount on came to the rescue when it should have.

Thanks Sojogator, I was looking forwarding to riding with all of you but alas it wasnt to be. Yes, the HJC took it like a champ, I'm tempted to go for another HJC now. I saw this at AutoQueen last week, let me see if they have it in my size.

Lorenzo 99

Originally Posted by arulpeem

Hi Neil,
Falling is part and parcel of a riders' life and one learns from the falls. I am sure you would be that much wiser after this. Therefore let this fall not deter you from going ahead with your plans for a larger bike. Hope the X rays were clean and you are recovering fast.

Thanks arulpeem, lesson learnt the hard way. Looking forward to more updates on your ownership thread.

Originally Posted by B O V

I mean I've fallen a few times off my motorcycle while it was stationary due to my own pigheadedness, left me with a bruised ego. But learned valuable lessons .

I don't agree with the bit about not being ready for a bigger motorcycle. I mean consider if you were riding a cd-100 in that same situation, would it really have made any significant difference?

Thanks BOV, I must hear about this story when we meet. You're right, on a CD 100 I probably would've taken the same fall. My annoyance was directed at my carelessness. And I missed replying to your earlier message, the only the stripe isnt on is because of my busy work schedule and my laziness. I can now add bed rest to my list of excuses

Originally Posted by Snehal Sekhar

They have to procure the stuff from the factory though and have asked him to wait for a week and have promised to call him once the parts arrived and replace them from free. Kudos to Neil and to RE for getting this issue resolved. RE will have a satisfied and happy customer in him for sure.

Neil, also got to know about your accident man and sorry to hear about it. Hope you're doing allright mate. Good that there was no major issues with both you and your bike. Just goes to show how important it is to be in ATGATT. Get well soon mate and catch up with you on our next ride.

That is just great to hear. At the risk of repeating myself, RE has really done the right thing here. Glad I could help your friend (I kept using the phrase your friend to avoid putting up him name earlier). And yes ATGATT.


Phew, long post! Ride safe guys.

[neil.jericho]

One thing I forgot to share earlier was that apparently there are some Triumph Bonnie owners who have replaced their stock rear shocks with that of the Continental GT and they are extremely happy with the end result. Now I havent seen this with my own eyes and I cant vouch for this information as I dont know any owner who has done it. Does anyone know of this modification or it is just an urban myth?


To get a true feel of how well my recovery was progressing, I took myself off the pain killers and a couple of days ago walked to the store just around to corner. Turns out I hadnt healed as well as I expected and will need another week of bed rest. On the bike front, I will call up the RE SVC tomorrow to see if they have all the necessary parts in stock and ask for them to order what they dont.


Meanwhile here are some more pictures.

Headlight ring (taken from FB)

[Sojogator]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

One thing I forgot to share earlier was that apparently there are some Triumph Bonnie owners who have replaced their stock rear shocks with that of the Continental GT and they are extremely happy with the end result. Now I havent seen this with my own eyes and I cant vouch for this information as I dont know any owner who has done it. Does anyone know of this modification or it is just an urban myth?

Yup they have. Seemingly it is a straight fit and makes the ride more comfy and allows handling of tougher terrains.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...r-sold-46.html

Also, that you had to walk to understand you were not healed completely shows your are, indeed, healing well

[neil.jericho]

After two weeks of house arrest, it was time to get off my backside and head to the SVC to get ensure the Captain was in tip top shape. Fortunately there werent too many bikes today when I arrived at 08:40. While inspecting the bike, the SA wasnt too sure if the handle bar came as a dual set or a single piece, so I was expecting a big bill. Once the mechanics slowly trickled in, my bike was wheeled in by 9:40 and they started pulling out the spares.


The gear shifter doesnt come as an individual unit and they showed me the whole assembly piece for which I gave the thumbs up. The handle bar fortunately is separate for left and right but it comes assembled with the clutch lever and switchgear as well. Apparently since it is a low volume model, RE has decided to group parts together which makes a lot of sense for them supply chain wise but leaves a bigger bill for customers. Honestly, between paying a few hundred rupees more for a readily available 'grouped' spare or having to wait for individual Continental GT spare parts that need to come from the factory / distributor, I will pick the former 8 days a week.


An hour later, the bike was ready to be handed over to me. The left RVM isnt in stock and should come in next week. Here is a breakup of the bill, I have listed it in the following order Description - Code - Rate - Tax - Total (in Rupees)


Parts
NR61 Gear Shifter Assembly - 585288/C - 763.32 - 110.68 - 874
NR61 Handle Bar Assembly LH - 585029/C - 2,512.66 - 364.34 - 2,877
Gear Lever Rubber EPDM - 550507/A - 16.59 - 2.41 - 19

Labour
Change Handle Bar - FR018 - 200 - 24.72 - 224.72
Gear Lever Replacement - EN075 - 40 - 4.94 - 44.94

Total Bill - Parts (3,770) + Labour (269.66) = Rs 4,040


Overall, another very positive experience with the SVC.


While waiting there, I was asking one of the staff about whether they had changed the opening time with the team slowly coming in today as compared to what I have seen earlier when they were there in full force by 9 - 9:15. He said that on the contrary they have started opening the SVC even earlier than before. He went on to explain that recently a customer had come to give the bike for service at 07:30 but found only the guard there (the SAs start taking the bikes from 08:30 onwards). Annoyed, he wrote an email to RE customer care stating that customers find it tough to come and give the bike at 08:30 and then head to work.


Based on this email, RE has decided that the SVC will have SAs an hour earlier than usual to ensure that RE customers are not inconvenienced and can reach office on time. To balance this they are closing earlier than before. I heard this and I thought to myself WOW! I must say that my experiences and those shared by gopalmg recently have left me very impressed by the big steps that RE has been taking recently to up its game to ensure a positive post sales experience.


This example also goes to show how powerful the voice of the customer is. Just ask him about people power (obscure wrestling reference that only I will get).

People Power

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

This example also goes to show how powerful the voice of the customer is.

Neil,

Was the windscreen scratched during the fall or is it safe?
Its a nice move from RE to have the complete set but for the customer it will be a tad expensive.