Falling Off My Motorbike Was A Painful Reminder Of Inexperience

I dropped my new CBR500R last week because of inexperience and complacency...
Falling Off My Motorbike Was A Painful Reminder Of Inexperience

I’ve been riding a Honda CBR500R for a few weeks. It’s light, nimble, great to look at and super economical, with the two-cylinder, 47bhp 500cc motor averaging 84mpg. Best of all for me, though, is the fact that I can almost flat foot when stationary, which helps stay stable. Except when you screw up like I did…

Picture the scene: Jack (aka the bloke who got pushed sideways by a Royal Mail lorry late last year) called me to tell me he’d broken down in a new car we’d bought for a video, so muggins here suited up in my bike gear (including my new Spidi Air DPS airbag jacket) and went on a rescue mission.

My Spidi airbag jacket cushioned my landing nicely. The CO2 canister inside can be swapped out, meaning it's not a one-use airbag jacket
My Spidi airbag jacket cushioned my landing nicely. The CO2 canister…

After spotting Jack stranded on the side of the road, I attempted to get behind the stricken car on a slightly raised section of road (maybe an inch higher, so I thought…).

Turns out I was wrong; the kerb was bigger than expected, and upon mounting it at a 45 degree angle, the front wheel slid out, throwing me off the bike. At this point, two things happened: My airbag jacket (which is tethered to the bike) exploded, and people in the surrounding area gasped loudly.

Falling Off My Motorbike Was A Painful Reminder Of Inexperience

The damage? The end of the clutch lever had snapped, the gear linkage was bent and the paint was scratched. I was mostly fine, just frustrated that I’d let inexperience get the better of me.

The lesson? Avoid kerbs, always wear decent protective gear, and never get complacent. I only ticked off one of these things, and landed on my ass, so learn from my mistakes.

Falling Off My Motorbike Was A Painful Reminder Of Inexperience

I’ve since been given another CBR500R (black in colour this time), which you can see above. I’ll let you know properly what it’s like as a daily rider at a later date, but initial thoughts are that it’s all the bike you’d ever need!

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Comments

Anonymous

Good for you… At last rich people get punished for something. XD

03/19/2020 - 16:58 |
2 | 12
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

1: Frick you he could have gotten hurt
2:he isn’t even “rich”
3:rich people do get punished too, don’t know we’re you got that idea from

03/19/2020 - 19:03 |
2 | 2
Ali Mahfooz

Congratulations on joining the club! :P

03/19/2020 - 17:17 |
2 | 1

I just hope you’ve washed yourself after limping back because of the whole virus situation. Not being an alarmist but its best to ensure your health and safety is prioritized over your bike. :)

03/19/2020 - 17:19 |
1 | 1
Olivier (CT's grammar commie)

In reply to by Ali Mahfooz

Which club lol, owning a motorcycle or dropping your bike

03/20/2020 - 00:48 |
3 | 2
Anonymous

you’ve been a motorcyclist for like 2 months and you’ve already got a cb500?
how does that work?

03/19/2020 - 17:47 |
1 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I’ve been a biker for a month and have a 100hp Yamaha fz6n. Whats wrong with a cb500?

03/19/2020 - 19:02 |
0 | 3
sammaz

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Started with a CBR500 too. It’s easy to ride and still fast enough to keep up with bigger bikes.

03/19/2020 - 23:37 |
1 | 1
Anonymous

About the CBR500R being all the bike you’d ever need… While this is probably true (realistically), I’m pretty sure you will end up wanting more - you have 2 years at most. :)

03/19/2020 - 18:09 |
5 | 0
sammaz

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I’m currently riding a 2018 CBR500R and making my full license in July. Probably getting a CBR650R or the new Aprilia RS 660 next year.

03/19/2020 - 23:35 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I passed my test last month and have a yamaha fz6n, it’s scarily fast. Praying if i have an accident and its a relatively tame one like yours.

03/19/2020 - 19:01 |
0 | 2
Anonymous

Glad your okay Alex!

03/20/2020 - 16:32 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Hey Alex! Don’t beat yourself up about it. There are two kinds of riders, those who have dropped their bikes and those who will. I own a CB500X and slid out the day before my test on dirt and sufficiently munted the brake pedal a few hundred kms from home, but you’ll always find a way home (carry a ring spanner for bending purposes).

03/21/2020 - 02:03 |
0 | 0
Kenji (Oldsmobile Fan) (GoldWing Enthusiast) (wheel nut)

at least that bike wont render you paralyzed like mine will, i dropped it a few times while moving it (the grass was wet and i kept slipping) and bout nearly crushed my legs

04/15/2020 - 16:33 |
0 | 0