a stupid idiot in a pickup pulled out in front of me without looking - I had my front light on so he has no excuse ... brakes slowed me down a bit but i went straight into him ... all i can remember is hitting the car then rolling on the road ... a lot of ppl gathered round ad i remember them fighting with the guy in the pickup coz he wanted to go ...

(unfortunately i was just in jeans and a tshirt)

so i have nasty road rash all over my arms and sides ... knees ... broken left thumb, nasty cut on my right thumb (7 stiches)

im selling (whats left of) my bike and buying a car. its just not worth the risk.

sorry to hear that m8, you might think differently once you've had time to reflect.
from what i've heard the driving isnt that great out in saudi, but the pros mostly outweigh the cons.
here's to a speedy recovery

Yeah sorry to hear that mate!

Heres to a speedy recovery.

Obviously you are in a bit of shock and I can understand you not wanting to go near a bike again but Let this be a leason to all of us thinking about riding in t-shirts you really should wear leathers with padding all the time they really do make a big difference including gloves

Sorry to hear Dragon. Don't be to hasty about selling the bike. I know when I had my off, my 2nd words were "I'm NEVER getting back on a bike again" my first being "Is the bike ok?"

You just have to remember that you were lucky, you got up and walked away from it, it could have been worse, but it wasn't.
As for the protective clothing, I only started wearing mine the day before my crash, and I will never ride without it because of that.
Hope u feel better soon mate

yes ESPECIALLY gloves - i was wearing gloves with no fingers - just to stop getting blisters on my hand, but theyre useless in an accident ... and im lucky i didnt hit my head on anything ..... i was looking at an alpinestars jacket i was gonna buy it at the end of the month when i have more money but i didnt plan on buying gloves ... now i see how important they are

and abt not going near a bike its not the bike i love riding, but like dp sed the driving conditions here are rubbish ppl dont look, dont give way, swerve into you coz they think its funny and other stuff (what do you expect from bedouins upgrading from camels to cadillacs?!) ... ill definitely buy a bike when i come back to UK but here in Kingdom of Camels errr i mean Kingdom of Saudi Arabia i think ill leave it for a while ... a shame really coz the winter here is lovely ... anyways my thumb is feeling a lot better today i dont think its as bad as i thought yesterday ... but the grazes on my wrists are annoying ...

anyways thanks a lot guys .... but really let this be a lesson, ive certainly learned mine ... i went out thinking "im just popping out to the corner shop i dont need my helmet ... nonsense ...

ALWAYS wear leathers and at least jeans (i got grazes on my knees through my jeans, but theyre mild) and GLOVES AND HELMET .... oh and dont wear an expensive watch while riding ... i loved my watch it was a really nice Pierre Cardin one ... i didnt realise it was missing at the time but after i left hospital i went back to the place and found it in abt 15 pieces ... obviously a few cars went over it ...

by the way the bike isnt in that bad shape i went back this morning and rode it back home it was perfect actually, engine, brakes, suspension all seem perfect... ill probably fix it myself all i need is:

- Front headlamp
- Front wheel (fairing?, mudguard?) whatever its called
- Mirrors (i might do something ive wanted to do for a while and fit GSX-R mirrors)
- Left faring needs paint - ill take off the fairings today and take it to a paint shop - i want to spray it black what do you think (heres what colour it is now) ?

thats all ... im relieved actually as ive been a bit short on money lately but i should manage this ...

Sorry to hear this but you did the right thing going back and riding it home.

Doesn't seem quite so bad now does it?



And no lecture on the right gear 'cos I think you've just sussed that one for yourself.

yeah u have a point ... maybe ill just cool off for a while ... leave it till its fixed (will take a week or so to get all the parts and have the fairings painted)

anyways thanks everyone

Hope your back to your best soon mate

I've had three accidents and only one of them was sort of my own doing, my 2nd
one was the worst so I say but I could have been a lot of worse than I was as I
pushed a bone on my left shoulder out of place which the doc told me not to worry
about getting sorted as it could lead to more problems later, so here I sit with the
tip of my shoulder blade about 20mm higher than normal, no pain just weird at
times when I run my ahnd over it.

The other two accidents were lucky escapes, no injuries cos I was wearing gear
VERY VERY important, T shirts are a no go on bikes, jeans mm only if they're really
strong ones but I would still get the right stuff, you dont ahve to get leathers as
there's new gear out now made of what ever they call it.

Morale of the story is you've been dealt a early blow on yer bike but it was a lucky
one put it under your belt and you'll see how it will aid you as you bike more and
that accident could have happened right here in the UK ok so we dont have Camels


Cheers

i wouldnt know what its like to ride over there, but they sound like real tossers. It wasnt your fault mate, if i were you i would stop riding until i was back in the UK, as long as it isnt too far away of course.

Keep the bike as it would be an investment, you would get more than £750 for it over here !

Good luck in repairing the damage, no bike deserves to be crashed.

Regards

Jaffa

Bad luck DN. it can't be easy for you guys in hot countries, when it comes to wearing protective gear. Give it a little time or even wait till you're back in the UK.

Sorry to hear your accident, now you can say you are a true biker... get well soon.

true biker??

NO! NO! NO!

DON'T start trying to say that you have to have an accident to be a true biker. Its rubbish, having an accident is nothing to be proud of - ask the people who've had them! Lot's of 'true bikers' ride for many years without having one. Accidents are caused by bad luck or more often stupidity - either the riders or as in DNs case, another road users.

And could you all stop having them now? There seems to have been a bit of an epidemic lately!

Sorry to hear that, but glad you are relatively ok.

Hope ur feeling better soon.

yes yes to bg here, having a prang does not a true biker make (said in a jokey yoda voice) seriously, in 22 years of riding i've only ever had 3 accidents, 1 was due to a car driver and the other 2 were purely down to me being a prat (read too fast into bends both times).
did i learn from these things? you bet
real sorry to hear about your off dragon but don't pack it in just yet take some time to think it over, yeah?

Accidents, a hell of a learning tool. I feel of quite a few times in my younger days (Read, when I was in the trenches). I have a bit more experience and a lot more mortality these days.

well ... i still live with my parents and after the accident im really being pressured to just "fix it and sell it" .... so ... ill see how it goes ... as my parents see it i was really lucky this time i might not be next time ... so i dont know what im gonna do ... it would be really selfish to keep the bike against their wishes just for my personal pleasure so ill see how it goes ....

and thanks everyone for everything .....

I don't see why, It's your life and your decision surely?

well,, they are my parents ... and they sacrificed so much for me ... the least I can do is sacrifice my biking for them ... it makes them worry about me and i dont want them to ...

... and theyre not ignorant about bikes ... my mum used to be a biker when she was younger and she is more against it ... so they know what theyre talking about ... actually after i first bought my bike its my mum who taught me all the basics ...