to all who responed thank you for your kind words. it truely has been a wake up call for me. am still sore but not too bad. roadrash feels great when cleaned with alcohol(ouch). thank goodness my armoured riding jacket was safe at home, idiot me. i checked ouy my bike more today and am amazed that there is no major damage. rims are ok, some scuffing on sidewall of tire where i went up the curb. scrapped rear turn sig. too. the crashbar saved the bike. it bent back some but protected the tank and right side of the motor. left side of the rear swingarm has a small scrape and rear pully too but not too bad. guess the bike got that when i slid her down the curb. i am for sure going to put another crashbar on her!! i will check the wheel/tire alignment on my days off. if anyone has some stock levers, mirrors and grips they want to sell please let me know.

thanks again,

hoodrat

heres a pic prior to the crash of my roadie

pic too big not sure how to resize it sorry

Send me a PM and I'll give you my e-mail add. I can resize it for you.

Doc

Leave it to me to be different but there is no telling how many miles I've rode while drinking over the years and the only reason that I don't anymore is because I don't drink anymore with the exception of a few special occasions. Arkansas is full of little country highways and it's so hot around here in the summer that you have to drink something. Now days it's just water and I prefer it over anything else when it gets hot. Things have changed a lot over the years. There is way more traffic even on two lane country highways, way more DUI hawks, and way more deer.

Actually, the last time I rode after drinking was last year when riding home from a charity event by a local motorcycle gang called the swampriders. It's an all weekend event starting on Thur and ending on Sun, with several live bands who play outside on a little pavilian that sits on a hill, some bike contest(not for looks), and a wet t-shirt contest where there is always one or two who come out of everything! They have a club house set up like a bar with a long L shaped bar, tables, and pool tables. There is also some free food served as well as a carnival type hamburger stand that has the best burgers around.
The cover charge is only 20 bucks a head and all profits goes to Arkansas Children's Hospital.

I will check and get back as far as the time in case some of you might be interested in coming because all bikers are welcome and it's always a lot of fun. I don't recommend it unless you still drink beer because everybody else will be. The swampriders are old style bikers but will provide plenty of security but I've yet to see any needed. Heck, even the ol lady likes to go and for the most part she detest drinking. Luckily for me the money goes to Children's Hospital where my daughter's type one dibetes is treated.

(Even you "has beens" are welcome and it's only about an hour from Hot Springs)

heres a resized pic. (thanks doc) 15 min prior to my accident. i took a friend to see where i crashed today. he mentioned to me, and i did not even realize it, the curve is all fresh asphalt. maybe a week old. he thinks maybe this played a part in my not being able to turn. im not sure. any thoughts?

hoodrat

Hoodrat, sounds like you have an understanding friend but you still took the curve too fast. Fresh asphalt can be more slippery especially after a rain or a very hot day but not enough to make you wreck unless you were already going too fast. We've all taken a curve too fast before but some of us were more lucky and I have little doubt that you'll be a safer driver for it. (LOL, that crash bar was worth every penney wasn't it?)

I've had a number of bikes over the years and I was on my third one before I really got the needed respect for curves. I was going about sixty and thought for sure I was going to cross over and hit a car in the oncoming lane. Whew! I have never forgotten it and never will.(hondamatic 400) Then there was the time I hit a rabbit (suzuki 750). I once hit a pot hole a a suzuki 120 and did a hand stand on the handlebars. There is no telling how many people have pulled out in front of me and a oouple of summers ago I was coming up beside a lady in a pickup in a four lane when she forced me onto the median. It was either that or get down hard on the brakes and risk being run over from behind. Anyway my point is that experiance is the best teacher.

On a final note, there is one thing that can cause you to bust it on good pavement even at a reasonable speed and that's a NEW tire. I have heard that the molds are sprayed with silicone and it gets in the rubber. Not sure about that but you can "bust it" on one just pulling out onto the highway if you aren't careful. I don't trust the sides of the tire until I get about five hundred miles on them.