Urgent advice no longer needed

Just make sure he has michael’'s number in case someone thinks it’s suspicious a bike is being thrown jnto a van! :smiley:

Guess I cannot join a recovery service at non-emergency rates then get them to do it?

You can - greenflag do this, but it’s £108 (according to their website). That is for a car mind, but I imagine it would be the same, if not cheaper.

Southampton Mag maybe helpful … don’t give out full location details in public but see what response you get

Member on here f650gal (Lisa) lives in southhampton but unsure if she has migrated to the new site at all.

NT, I am taking from your story that you regret riding on as you missed out on getting a free blanket to keep from the ambulance service.

TimR, I am not on Facebook but was able to contact them through their website and hoping to hear back from someone tomorrow who might be able to help.  So thanks for the suggestion.

nich, the Greenflag page seems to suggest to me that it is a standalone separate to membership or that would be perfect.  With a few people to call me back tomorrow I feel guilty to keep adding other options so will see what they say first otherwise will call them and see what they do.  When I first got the bike I taught myself gears and built my confidence riding around the block and slowly expanding out.  Even though I am now doing 200 mile trips it still feels like I am “practicing” so definitely a lesson that I need to join a recovery service and treat it like properly riding.

Wise, that would be great, recovery from there would not be so bad.  I will see what the other offers come back with first and let you know whether to ask.  The biking community has been so great I feel bad I may have to turn people down now.

It’s better you have many options than none

If you do get stuk pm me I’ll get onto Mike right away

True, Wise, but it has all worked out.  Thanks for the offer anyway, though.

Someone on the TMBF site recommended http://www.rwdispatch.com who moves their bikes. Turns out he had business in the area so said he could get it for £70, far less than I feared and gets it off the street as soon as possible.  Handed over the keys late this afternoon and he has it safe now and can come into town to deliver tomorrow as he has business here then.  Cheaper than taking the keys to someone to hold it locally, then going back again later to ride it home.

All’s well that ends well as they say.
However get breakdown cover soon - ok it may not cover accidents of this kind but there are all sorts of things that can go wrong that you will need them for one day
GWS for the finger

Will definitely be doing so, always meant to but never got around to it.

But also need to force myself to do training once I am back as I have been putting it off for a while.  I never really appreciated what reviews meant when they said the stock Chinese YBR tyres are awful and lack grip, but given all my accidents have been slipping on something I think they may have been a factor.  It is like when I had my bike serviced and was told I had a warped disc but had no idea.  As I have only had the one bike I just thought the brake was supposed to feel that way, and is kind-of weird now not feeling that feedback from it.  But over 11k miles is more than enough. I love the little thing, buts its drawbacks are becoming more obvious than worth just getting new tyres.

And thank you.  Should get a hand clinic appointment today.

That is a good price and a simple resolution. Heal fast and take it easy.  Road surface changes are a bit of a mare sometimes and you do get caught out.  I binned my Triumph at 2mph by braking on a puddle of oil that was from a car in front of me as he moved off… very annoying. Cost me a new front mudguard!


Will definitely be doing so, always meant to but never got around to it.
But also need to force myself to do training once I am back as I have been putting it off for a while.  I never really appreciated what reviews meant when they said the stock Chinese YBR tyres are awful and lack grip, but given all my accidents have been slipping on something I think they may have been a factor.  It is like when I had my bike serviced and was told I had a warped disc but had no idea.  As I have only had the one bike I just thought the brake was supposed to feel that way, and is kind-of weird now not feeling that feedback from it.  But over 11k miles is more than enough. I love the little thing, buts its drawbacks are becoming more obvious than worth just getting new tyres.
And thank you.  Should get a hand clinic appointment today.
Michael
Moving on to the bigger bike will be good once you get around it. So much more stable :)

Here is the video of the accident, obviously did not want to post it when the bike was still there.

I could have been wider of the cover, but was not wanting to be too close to the white lines . But now I am not sure I did slip onto the cover but think it was just that roundish patch of road surface around it?

It would make sense that you were over it. The camera angle makes it tricky to be 100% sure but a wet manhole cover, a touch of brakes (I thought i could see some braking or was it just engine braking?) and some not so great tyres would be definitely a winning combination for dropping the bike

The sounds and speedometer are definitely dropping just before the bike does :confused:

Wow, I’ve had some erm moments on manhole covers; but never such an instant drop. (I’m starting to think there’s something up with that bike!) Maybe you were on the edge between the cover and the tarmac and that produced a bit of sideways momentum against the slippery metal and initiated the slide.

How lose is your grip on the handlebars? 

Looks to me like brake is applied while riding over the metal?

Wet manhole cover, raining, applying brakes, (dodgy?) tyres. At 30mph I think something else is in play

I had just started braking for the red light before reaching the cover, just a little bit of both and no snatching or jamming.

Handlebar grip is reasonably loose.  I use all my fingers to brake and was only applying a little. My left hand was covering the clutch, but had the plastic visor wipe thingy on my finger and cannot grip too tightly with that on anyway.

The bike itself I am quite confident in, although had not yet got around to doing anything about replacing the chain and sprockets.  It has not been a problem, but was an MOT advisory that they would need doing soon.  The chain still looked normal afterwards though.

Although I never measured the tyre pressure (because when I do I always loose too much) I had checked and pumped a week ago, and they felt okay to a squeeze test before setting off.  Plenty of tread too.

And though I had the top box attached, all it contained was towel and a camera in a small bag, so hardly any weight.

In slow motion the front wheel definitely passes to the side of the cover.  (It might not show on Youtube so well, but the small gap between screen and speedo under the trip knob you only see road surface as I pass by the cover.)  And I was going in a straight line so cannot see how at that angle my rear wheel could have crossed it either.

The camera quality is not the best, but the road surface has a small semi-circular patch on that side of the cover where they would have manually laid it around the manhole, which looks like it may be smooth.  I think my front wheel crosses the right edge of that.  Which is why I think I may have instead slipped on that bit of uneven road.

Part of me still thinks that, such straight line braking (seemed gentle enough) even over a slightly slippery surface shouldn’t have caused the bike to drop like that. But I could wrong. I wonder if one of the instructors on here has any input.

I think it’s time to get some decent rubber on those rims.

I must also say respect to you for sticking at it. By the sounds of it you’ve had more than your fair share of biking mishaps but you’ve not given up, and seem to have remained positive - plenty of others would’ve given up by now.