Mike,
You remembered correctly. I decided not to post and let the thread die down, however, as I thought our little misfortune was nothing in comparison to Larry's passing.
I did ride down with my mechanic buddy and we picked up the bike. He treated me to a CSI-like reconstruction of the accident based on the tracks still visible on the road and the telltale signs he (alone) saw on my bike.
Here's how it went down. Some fine grit lay on the roadway past the apex of the right-hand bend and it was all but invisible in the shadow of the trees. I entered the bend at a reasonable lean angle and was pro'lly doing 25mph. When I had my line, I opened up some and thereby unloaded the front wheel. Enter grit patch and suddenly my front tire floats.
Handlebars shake in my hands and I roll off the gas. Front tire regains some grip but I'm kind of traversed on the road and I can't hold her up.
We go down hard on the RH side, wife flies off and I'm momentarily caught under the Feejer, Moko slider bends and drags and almost shears off. We careen together across the opposite lane and the rear tire karate-chops and dislodges an old-fashioned granite milestone (see it in the foreground in the first pic). Bike flips and slides down the hillside and I somehow land on top of her (mmh...those headers are hot!). For some reason my Shoei helmet shows a hard hit on the
left side and a patch of resin, paint an clearcoat has exploded off it on the opposite side (probably as the helmet returned to its shape after the impact). My own recollections only begin again now, as I scramble up the hillside.
One of our guys rides down to the next village and enlists the help of a local guy with a winch-equipped 4x4. Within 15 minutes of hard work (they had to keep me away from the scene at gunpoint), the Feejer regains the surface. My wife Chris is standing on the road's edge (all dressed in black, white shirt collar) and still does not know her right hand is busted.
Bike now stands on the side of the road and the damage is clear. Fairing's a mess on the RH side, metal frame inside is also FUBAR, mirrors, sliders -- everything must go. We're in a for a complete respray as the dry timber scratched the bike all around. But the initial verdict on the frame and fork is positive.
This afternoon I'm gonna hobble down to the garage and start removing the fairing parts and hope to find no further surprises...
Stef
So glad you and your bride are for the most part okay! Sounds like the Feejer is a pretty tuff beast as well. Thanks so much for the detailed report.....particularly about your safety gear!!! God bless and speed for your recovery.
