May 2017 – Cilurni Rides

After 10 years and several thousand kilometers, I have to stop saying I never fell off the bike. Yes, I dropped it many times, I even landed on the floor myself; but I was going so slow that it didn’t have many consequences. Like this:

It happened the first day I could go on a trip this season. I decided to explore the area west from Hyvinkää. I guess I was too excited, because I fell on the first unpaved road I found, Kenkiäntie. Right here.

Fell off the bike in Kenkiäntie (Hyvinkää)

As you can see in the picture, the road is wide and with gentle curves and I probably didn’t account for the amount of loose gravel on it. I arrived to this curve too fast and I tried to break. Then it happened so fast that I don’t remember exactly, but my next mistake was probably touching the front brake. The front wheel slided and the bike landed on the left side. I fell face down and the bike and me slided out of the road.

At first I didn’t notice anything wrong in me, so I removed my helmet. It was full of sand and gravel, like the front of my clothes. I can’t understand how much sand got inside the anti-fog layer of the visor. It was a sad view of a brand-new helmet.

My motorcycle leaks fuel in the horizontal position, so I went into picking it. At first I couldn’t due to the uneven floor. I managed to drag it around by pulling from the rear and finally I was able to pick it. I’m relieved I always succeeded after learning the technique. I took some time to rest and calm down while I checked the status of the bike. The front fairing was broken and twisted; the left side full of dirt and scratches; the rear indicator twisted. I noticed I couldn’t turn the handlebar right because it was hitting the bar that holds the indicator. I fixed that by forcing it. I was able to start the bike and all the lights and dashboard were working.

As I relaxed and cooled down, I started noticing pain in my left hand. I considered calling for help but since the bike was working and I was able to ride it, I thought I better went on my own. As a precaution I avoided the motorway and drove rather slow. It took me a long hour to arrive home. I took a shower to get rid of the dirt and a friend took me to the Emergency Department of a hospital. X-ray showed that I had a partial fracture of the triquetal bone, so I got a plaster that I must wear for four weeks.

Fortunately, I have time to recover and fix the bike for my Iceland trip. I will try to fix the bike myself, it seems a matter of straightening some bars with a hammer and taping the fairing cracks. Now I understand why Boano’s Rally Fairing is so narrow. This could be a good excuse to get it, some day.

The biggest material loss is the helmet. Arai’s Tour-X 4 isn’t cheap, and it was the first time I used it. It’s not easy to tell wether it is still safe to use, but I’m not buying another unless one of my insurances covers it. My motorcycle insurance didn’t, so I extended it for the next time this happens. I wonder if expending so much in the helmet was a good idea.

At least, it did its job. By all means, always wear a full face helmet. The most vivid memory I have of the fall is hitting the ground with the front of my helmet and then dragging it on the floor. The dirt and scratches clearly showed that. If I had a 3/4 helmet, the consequences would be worse than a broken nose and bruised face. I have a friend in the Emergency Services that has seen a few broken jaws.

The psychological effects will last longer, but are probably good. I must admit that my long history without serious incidents made me overconfident. It is good that I got this reminder that things can happen and have consequences, while it didn’t spoil my trip plans.

I recently met someone that is about to get a motorcycle driving license, so it’s a good time to tell how I became interested in motorcycling. It was late and unexpected.

Until 2006, I really had no interest in motorbikes. I never had one, watched races or even knew the models in the market. I just decided to give it a try, so I searched for one that I could drive with my car’s license. I also wanted one with manual gears, to be prepared in case I wanted to take the exam. I was very lucky to find a bargain of Honda CG 125 bought by someone that also gave it a try but hardly used it.

At first, I felt very unsecure. I started driving it inside my building’s garage. Then I dared to go around in Sanchinarro (Madrid), the new area with wide streets and little traffic where I lived. And, finally, I started going to work and back. As I became experienced and confident, I enjoyed it more and more. It became my main mean of transportation. I used it to commute in Madrid’s rush traffic. I used it during the winter with near-zero temperatures and during the summer with 30 degrees Celsius. I used it when it rained heavily. I had a car but I didn’t miss a chance of riding the motorcycle.

The next summer I went to a driving school to prepare the exam, which for people with a car licence was a test with only questions related to motorcycles and a circuit of cones in a closed area. I passed the test easily and when I started training for the circuit I missed many cones but the teacher told me I was well prepared. The last day I did it all right every time. When I went to the examination circuit, I was surprised to see it was twice as ample as the replica in which I had been training, meaning it was easier and I passed it with no penalties. So I got my motorcycle licence, with a power limitation that got automatically removed after two years. Nowadays it’s way more difficult, one must drive in the traffic and after a while take another exam with a bigger motorbike to get rid of the power limitation.

I really take in easy in traffic, but it soon became evident that the CG 125 was underpowered for Madrid’s highways. I had a bad experience being tailgated by a truck that couldn’t overtake me, neither I could get away from it. I started looking for something better within the power limitation of my license.

The school’s driving and examination motorbike was a Suzuki TU250X, which I hated because it felt heavy, clumsy and ugly to me (that year’s model). Due to the good experience I had with the brand I looked for a Honda CBF 250, and again I got a good deal from someone that didn’t use it much.

I used to joke that the CG looked like an Asian chicken transporter. Compared to it, the CBF looked and felt like a real motorbike. I loved the looks and color, it had all the power I needed, it was still cheap to run and mantain… I couldn’t be happier. When the power limitation period ended I considered upgrading to a CBF 600, Yamaha FZ6, Suzuki Gladius, Yamaha XJ6, Kawasaki ER-6… but then I always decided that, as a city commuter, I didn’t need more. I drove it for more than 5 years and 20.000 kilometers until I had to sell it because I was moving to Finland. Unfortunatelly at the end it had an unusual problem with the gearbox and I sold it really cheap to a mechanic that could fix it.

What happened next, I told you in the post about Vacaburra.

Month: May 2017

My first fall off the bike

My beginnings on a motorcycle