Desertwinds

Thanks everyone. Went back to work today, still a wee bit stiff, but I am on my way. Geico adjuster totalled out the bike, but did give me a fair market value which will allow me to pay it off and have a bit left over for hospital deductibles. The question of another bike is strictly a financial issue, will just have to wait and see where I am once all the bills come in. Have a wondrous day and ride safe! DW

Glad you were able to keep the bike up. I have previously locked the back wheel in hard braking situations and managed to steer out of it - just wasn't quite as lucky last week. I also live here in Vegas, and you are right, going through an empty intersection is an anomaly. As a youth pastor I remember fondly from the '70s used to say - "God takes care of his dumb kids" I know for sure that last week He was watching out for me with extra diligence.

I have had mine for a couple of years, and I like it! Especially since Nov. 1 when I went down and put some major scrapes on the helmet and face shield. If I had not changed to the helmet that morning, I have no doubt that there would have been some severe road rash on my face. (I had been wearing my HJC 3/4 helmet for the hot months here in Vegas.

Glad to hear you are recovering. Sorry that we never did get to meet. I totaled my 07 RSV this past Wednesday - see it's my turn. Some hospital time, but nothing like what you went through. I fortunately did have gap insurance as I still owed around 6,000.00 on the bike. Don't know what's going to be offered up by Geico yet, but so far things have gone very smoothly. Keep us posted on your recovery - DW

I agree with the brakes. The tires that were on it when I purchased it in March of 2015 had Pirellis that to me were pretty horrible. I put new Dunlop Elite IIIs on in June and felt like I had a completely new bike as far as the handling and braking. Yet, I was always careful with trying to keep equal pressure on front and rear when having to brake hard. I had previously owned a Burgman 650 and Goldwing 1800 that both had ABS. Don't think I would want another bike without it. However, there will probably be a lot of medical expenses to worry about before another bike is even a vague consideration. *sigh* But considering the speed and such, do feel very fortunate that the damage I incurred was pretty minimal. Dealing with the ribs has been the most difficult part so far.

Well, I have been riding these past 22 years without anything major happening beyond the dropping the bike in the parking lot once or twice. Last Wednesday, Nov. 1st, that certainly changed. Last Wednesday I was riding home from school on my beautiful blue '07RSV on 95N following behind an Excursion. He moved to the far right lane that would lead to the 215 exit, I could now see around him and there was a clean shot all the way to the exit about 1/2 mile down. I pulled over into the far right lane behind the Excursion where I had been cruising - both of us at 65 mph. Suddenly his brake lights go on and I'm wondering why, and then realize he's not just slowing down a little, he has slammed on his brakes and is slowing down a lot. I hit the brakes but still caught the left corner of the Excursion's bumper. I don't remember coming off the bike, but a about a milli-second before impacting the asphalt, I saw it rushing up and thought, 'here we go'. After I caught my breath and ascertained my neck was ok to move and I could lift my head and helmet a bit without discomfort, I managed to stand and limp over to the side of the road, leaned against the concrete wall and slid down to a sitting position. Hard to breathe cause I compressed the ribs on the left side of my body pretty well (along with everything else on my left side - which is how I evidently landed). Anyways, three drivers stopped including the young man in the Excursion. Seems another driver had cut in front of him and slammed on his brakes for no apparent reason. And thus the chain reaction. I did decline a ride in an ambulance at that point. After the bike was towed, Linda (my wife) drove me to Mt.View Hospital. They did a number of scans and Xrays and beyond the cut above the left eye, identified a broken left ankle, massive bruising on the left side, especially my arm and shoulder, a fair amount of road rash to my left hand and both knees, and a bruised pancreas. Because of the Pancreas I was transferred by ambulance to the Trauma center at Sun Rise Hospital for observation. That worked out ok because Jami (oldest daughter) is a charge nurse for Rehab which was located two floors under where I was. I was released Saturday afternoon to go home. I now have a walking cast and am now the proud owner of a walker I named Johnnie. ATTGATT - I am a believer, had literally changed from my 3/4 helmet to my full face helmet before leaving for school that morning. As per always, had on my Joe Rocket mesh jacket and shin high boots. As we used to say, 'God takes care of his dumb kids'. Helmet had quite a bit of road rash just above and down the face shield. I know the bike will be paid off (gap insurance) past that we shall see.

Happy Birthday Evan, have a wondrous day!

Hey Brake Pad. Glad to hear you are healing, sorry for all the hassle with the bike and trailer. Doesn't sound like you will be in need of storage in LV, but know we can accommodate you any time. Take care. DW

I can help, let me know. DW

Thanks for the tip and the other ideas for repairing gaps, my used '07 RSV came with a sizeable hole in the lower cowling cover, I am not sure how much it would cost to replace, but this gives me some ideas for what I can do for it in the meantime.

Glad you were able to walk away from it - that is the most important thing!