Testimonials / Letters - Letter 23It was a lovely Saturday afternoon the weather was fantastic and the road conditions were quite good. Travelling at warp speed with a couple of mates, all of us pretending to be GP riders of some sought. I set myself up for the sweeping left hander, went down a cog or two ready to power through the new road I hadn't ridden on before when I realised I was in way too hot. The back end started to slide and that's when I knew it was either get on the gas and lean it over further or try to do a Houdini and get out of it. In that second which seemed like a lifetime I chose to get off the gas and that's when it all went horribly wrong. The bike immediately stood straight up an instead of going around the tightening sweeper I was now headed across the divisional white line, off the other side of the road and about to be a motor crosser... something the Duke wasn't designed for. I got off the seat and the brakes and tried very calmly to steer the bike to the left before it plunged down a ravine that I was headed for. I successfully managed to miss the ravine only for the front end to tuck under me and I bit the dust. Left handle bar hit the ground first, followed by my left elbow then left shoulder with the bike doing a forward somersault and me following in its path. I went over the bike and landed in a bush with a branch spearing under my visor into my nose and piercing the roof liner in my Arai, Arron Slight replica helmet. I broke my left shoulder, now home to a couple of stainless surgical pins, broke my nose, a finger or two and smashed my right knee that required an operation to fix the knee cap and the ligaments I had snapped. It could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for the Draggin Jeans and some body armour.The Draggin jeans, are actually still in fine shape! The bike was a right off but I still managed to ride the 65kms home on the Duke. "Legend eh" I don't ride anymore.the family has laid down some home rules!!! The love of my life, .... my Ducati 748R unfortunately is no longer here but luckily enough i am. Regards Quenten |
