The point is that with todays bikes producing the power they do, many are lucky to survive learning on them. Few, respect the power. You were one of the lucky ones.
This isn't my first rodeo but I took great care when I got my Tiger. It took me along time before I could really push the bike. Stayed behind the power curve until I new exactly what the Bike was doing and how it felt. Took a bunch of tumbles in the dirt and snow.
good to hear you come out of it all with not much more than a few 'character marks' on your bike It really sucks to get that first scar on a brand new bike - but after a wee while - you won't even bother, ride safe!
Little scratches don't take away from that damn good lookin scooter. Congrats on the purchase. I picked up a white roadie this time last year and love it. That black color sure is growing on me...
I can certainly attest to how goosey those Battlewings are on the Tiger 800XC right after you buy it. I was very very careful my first 100 miles.
Cheers for all the feedback and opinions, has pointed out things I didn't consider :) Well, a lot further down the line now and have had no more 'moments' like that first day thankfully. Just love the bike, few altercations/ adjustments with suspension tyre presure here and there has made it perfect for my needs... And the tiny cosmetic scratches have all but been forgotten :). The conclusion I came to, is a combination of my fault with coming off the throttle mid turn, bigger bike than use too, shiny new tyres and Im still sure I seen a banana peel ha.
Heh, just ambled over to this part of the site and take some comfort to see that someone did almost the exact same thing as I did the other night. Well, slightly different circumstances, but almost exactly the same damage. I bought my XC a couple weeks ago, but have hardly ridden it due to the weather. I rode it to my friend's place last weekend, and leaving his place I got a little overzealous hitting the on ramp to the freeway. The on ramp is a tricky turn, but could be a blast hitting it on the right line at speed. One of the things that makes it tricky is that there are a bunch of painted arrows and a crosswalk to go through right at the entrance of the turn. My friend had pointed out the paint danger before, but as I approached the turn, I saw a line that would miss all the paint, or at least the majority of it. I managed to hit that line and (over)confident in my ability, I rolled on the gas aggressively. The turn after the crosswalk was tighter than I remembered so I leaned harder, felt my pegs scrape, and next thing I knew the back end was gone and I was on the pavement, hearing the dreaded sound of metal on asphalt. Fortunately, I had on full gear and it was relatively late at night so there weren't many cars (though there was one right behind me when I went down, they didn't even bother to slow down, let alone stop). I got up as soon as the momentum stopped and went to pick up my bike--pointing the wrong way in the middle of the off ramp. I picked it up, walked it to the shoulder, took a deep breath, got on and rode home. I kept hoping it was a bad dream, but unfortunately, it was all too real. The extent of the damage was almost identical to OP's: scuffed mirror and hand guard, scuffed footpegs, slightly bent rear brake lever, and a broken signal. And of course, a bruised ego. Oh, and the steering is a little out of whack now too. I've dropped my other bike before on a few occasions, but those have been low speed/stand still incidents. I fully expected the Tiger to go down at some point, but on dirt. This was my first actual accident and I've been chewing on humble pie for the past few days. The cause of my accident was going faster than I should have, and on cold tires (my friend's place is half a mile, at most, from the freeway, and it was probably under 40 F that night). All in all, I know it could have been much worse, and the lesson has definitely been learned the hard way. I could have just as easily learned it on my cheap, 10 year old SV though, dangit.
That is the bike I want once I get more experience on my cheap bike. I rode one at the dealership after seeing it at the International Motorcycle show in November. The engine felt just like a sport bike, but I could tell the long gear set up was going to be good off road. Also, I could stay in 1st forever! That bike has some serious torque and OMG is it pretty! By the way most these riders are not going to understand what it feels like to be in a round about on a bike. (I lived in UK from 2003-2007, and it rained all the time. My royal enfield did okay over there because my riding was very conservative.) Envious of your bike. Have fun!
Ouch, Glad your ok. Felt exactly the same 'this has to be a dream, that didn't just happen' :S Freaky how similar. Think our bikes possibly suffer from Narcolepsy?, that or fear of motorways/freeways as the roundabout I dropped at was just before entering onto an on ramp as well ha :S
I'm a hundred miles into my brand, spankin' new Tiger 800XC, and I'm still intimidated. He's the biggest bike I've ever owned, but the more I ride him, the more I want to ride him. Can't wait until tomorrow! He's awful TALL, and I keep thinkin'....I'm gonna tip him over. I'm gettin' more comfortable each day, but.....any recommendations? I'm freakin' that I'm gonna tip him over. MAN....HE'S TALL (btw, I'm 6' tall and can touch the ground with both feet). What can you folks tell me?
Practice! Practice! Practice! Learn to flick it around in car parks where there aren't any other users. Get yourself so comfortable on it at slow and medium speed in a safe environment that you feel like you could ride an enduro on it. You'll gain roadcraft out on the road but getting confident on the bike can be done away from traffic and hazards. The more confident you are the more you can focus on roadcraft. If you haven't already, take an MSF course or equivalent for your area/country.
My dealer scrubs in the tires before delivery (somewhat, it's not like they put 100 miles on the bikes), but that didn't stop me from dropping my Tiger 800 5 miles down the road. I had picked it up in March last year (early in the NE season) and we were still getting some snow. It had snowed / rained a few days before. Anyway, I ended up making a wrong turn and ended up in a relatively residential area and was looking to get back to a main road when I see this steep hill off to the right at the next intersection. "Let's see how this pulls" I thought....right before I leaned into the turn and went right through the big patch of sand/salt/grit that had accumulated at the bottom of the hill. Just some scratches to the OEM crash bars I had installed, and bent the rear brake pedal. Oh, well.... it happens. BTW, I was re-taking the ERC a couple of weeks later on the new bike. Managed to drop it from a dead stop there in front of the whole class.
irvine_87, glad your OK & the bike faired well. Handsome as heck bike ya' got yer' self there! Be safe & enjoy
That's it, that's all the damage you have. Holy cow i'll bet you reduced the life expectancy of that bike by 4 or 5 seconds. you may want to sell it now! Don't drop it again!:eek1 Get out there and enjoy!
