Sunday, 13 Apr 2003
Oilhead valve cover
R69S Valve Cover
‘stitch reflective flap
Marc says:
April has not been a good month for my valve covers. First there was a parking lot tip-over on the way to Death Valley story here where damage was done to the right valve cover of the R1150RT. Today, the R69S got a similar treatment.
Returning from breakfast I turned onto the 85 N entrance ramp from De Anza and oops…. low side. Laying in the roadway of a freeway on-ramp is not a good idea for man or motorcycle. I got up, righted the bike (a lot easier than lifting the R1150RT), and moved over to the sholder to assess damage.
- I’m fine.
- My gear is fine (slight tear in the reflective flap that covers the vent zipper on my ‘stitch).
- The bike slid on three points: front tire, rear tire, and valve cover. Nothing else seems to have hit the ground.
As I was checking out the bike Carl and Dave pulled up to see what the problem was. Dave and I walked over to where I dumped it and found the roadway very slippery, more so than just rain on pavement. Perhaps some diesel fuel? Don’t know.
I do know I was going slow (maybe 10 MPH), took a wide line because of the wet roadway, and didn’t touch the brakes nor downshift, having down shifted before the turn.
This is the third minor scratch I’ve put in a vehicle this month: both motorcycles have scratched up valve covers and the car has a scratch in the front skirt due to parking next to a very high curb. Maybe I should stay off the road the rest of the month!