Batman
Heritage
I went back to the same location that I mentioned in my above post which is about 250 miles away from me. After only 20 minutes, my rear tire (metzeler roadtec sport tourting) started leaking air; I discovered it was leaking air on the valve, but tightening it didn't help, my bike uses tubes, so I had to replace the entire tube. That took 4 hours out of my day. On top of that, my chain was also in rough shape (and may have caused the issue indirectly, more on that later); but I was too cheap and I didn't have the common sense to call it a day, replace the chain, and head home the next day. Instead, I opted constantly lube it the chain, and intended to replace it when I got back home, and keep the speeds low. (I already had a hotel booked, and I'm stubborn sometimes for following through on plans no matter what).
On top of this, I was sleep deprived, stressed, and generally low mood. You know those days where everything seems off? Minor inconveniences, people treating you oddly, etc? This was one of those days. The mechanical issues on top of all this only served to lower my confidence further and cause more instability. I made it to the destination, and got to my hotel, but got maybe 2 hours of sleep despite being exhausted. I was so tired, I couldn't stay awake, but couldn't fully fall asleep either, how that's possible is beyond me.
The next day, I wake up and slam 2 coffees, two 5-hour energies, and reach the mountain roads that I showed above. I ended up taking the same route, same corners fairly quickly (though not nearly as fast as before) and during one corner I ended up doing a low side crash. Funny enough, this corner wasn't even sharp and I was going fairly slow (maybe 15-20mph), but it goes to show that speed isn't even the issue. For me, awareness of my mental state and immersion is critical for high performance riding, but, I was arrogant in thinking I could rely on adrenaline alone to get me through it (which worked for nearly 2 hours) but all it takes is ONE moment, maybe half a second, of inattentiveness and you can crash. Luckily, it wasn't a major crash, though it did rip my saddlebag off unfortunately. I hit the ground hard enough that my spare fuel bottle was actually flattened on one side, which is scary. I was wearing full heavy duty gear, and had 4 contact points upon impact; a sprained knee, sprained ankle, a mild abrasion on my elbow, and blunt force impact on my palm (which is dark purple now). Not gonna bother seeing a doctor, i'm quite sure i'll be okay within a week or so. I rolled on the ground 2-3x upon crashing, which is good because it means I was able to disperse the kinetic energy rather than hitting a rail or something. Don't think it caused a concussion or anything, I had no symptoms.
Anyway, I was 6 hours from home. So, I pulled off into a safe area and checked the bike, stowed the ruined saddlebag, and decided to just call it a day and head home on country highways on a slow pace. On the way back, the drivetrain starts sputtering more b/c of the crappy chain, and and even though I oiled it about four times, it only gets worse as I go. So, I take it even slower, and never exceed 60, 65mph. At only 75 miles from home, I hear a sudden noise, and pull over and find out I'm leaking oil. I had a "hairline" crack in the crankshaft, over the alternator/stator (not sure exactly). It doesn't leak super quickly, but, I decide enough is enough. If I was truly stubborn, I would have tried to top off the oil every 15 minutes for the remaining 75 miles, but I'm 99% sure the chain caused this (or maybe the crash; hard to know) and I didn't want to cause further issues. So I had it towed home for $560. The tow truck driver was a solid dude, very sharp, and kind, and he secured it really well and offered me a lift home, so I tipped him $50 which brought it to $610 (would've liked to tip $100, but man). So now I'm gonna get it fixed up, I don't think I'll have to replace the entire crankshaft, just part of the engine cover, then replace the chain, and get it looked over. Then I'm selling it. It's at 16k miles which is insane for a sumo/dualsport. It's been my only form of transportation for the last 2 years since I bought it, but I think issues like this are going to keep happening if I want to take longer rides.
Anyway, moral of the story is, trust your gut, and if the world is giving you a clear sign that you're on the wrong path, listen. I had numerous obstacles that I should have heeded. Furthermore, something I never see discussed is having the self-awareness to recognize your mental state and not disregarding it. If you're sleep deprived, stressed, low mood, etc, maybe don't ride or certainly don't ride far or do anything challenging. And it goes without saying, maintain your bike and don't gamble on repairs to save time or money, if it means ending a trip or being inconvenienced, so be it.
On top of this, I was sleep deprived, stressed, and generally low mood. You know those days where everything seems off? Minor inconveniences, people treating you oddly, etc? This was one of those days. The mechanical issues on top of all this only served to lower my confidence further and cause more instability. I made it to the destination, and got to my hotel, but got maybe 2 hours of sleep despite being exhausted. I was so tired, I couldn't stay awake, but couldn't fully fall asleep either, how that's possible is beyond me.
The next day, I wake up and slam 2 coffees, two 5-hour energies, and reach the mountain roads that I showed above. I ended up taking the same route, same corners fairly quickly (though not nearly as fast as before) and during one corner I ended up doing a low side crash. Funny enough, this corner wasn't even sharp and I was going fairly slow (maybe 15-20mph), but it goes to show that speed isn't even the issue. For me, awareness of my mental state and immersion is critical for high performance riding, but, I was arrogant in thinking I could rely on adrenaline alone to get me through it (which worked for nearly 2 hours) but all it takes is ONE moment, maybe half a second, of inattentiveness and you can crash. Luckily, it wasn't a major crash, though it did rip my saddlebag off unfortunately. I hit the ground hard enough that my spare fuel bottle was actually flattened on one side, which is scary. I was wearing full heavy duty gear, and had 4 contact points upon impact; a sprained knee, sprained ankle, a mild abrasion on my elbow, and blunt force impact on my palm (which is dark purple now). Not gonna bother seeing a doctor, i'm quite sure i'll be okay within a week or so. I rolled on the ground 2-3x upon crashing, which is good because it means I was able to disperse the kinetic energy rather than hitting a rail or something. Don't think it caused a concussion or anything, I had no symptoms.
Anyway, I was 6 hours from home. So, I pulled off into a safe area and checked the bike, stowed the ruined saddlebag, and decided to just call it a day and head home on country highways on a slow pace. On the way back, the drivetrain starts sputtering more b/c of the crappy chain, and and even though I oiled it about four times, it only gets worse as I go. So, I take it even slower, and never exceed 60, 65mph. At only 75 miles from home, I hear a sudden noise, and pull over and find out I'm leaking oil. I had a "hairline" crack in the crankshaft, over the alternator/stator (not sure exactly). It doesn't leak super quickly, but, I decide enough is enough. If I was truly stubborn, I would have tried to top off the oil every 15 minutes for the remaining 75 miles, but I'm 99% sure the chain caused this (or maybe the crash; hard to know) and I didn't want to cause further issues. So I had it towed home for $560. The tow truck driver was a solid dude, very sharp, and kind, and he secured it really well and offered me a lift home, so I tipped him $50 which brought it to $610 (would've liked to tip $100, but man). So now I'm gonna get it fixed up, I don't think I'll have to replace the entire crankshaft, just part of the engine cover, then replace the chain, and get it looked over. Then I'm selling it. It's at 16k miles which is insane for a sumo/dualsport. It's been my only form of transportation for the last 2 years since I bought it, but I think issues like this are going to keep happening if I want to take longer rides.
Anyway, moral of the story is, trust your gut, and if the world is giving you a clear sign that you're on the wrong path, listen. I had numerous obstacles that I should have heeded. Furthermore, something I never see discussed is having the self-awareness to recognize your mental state and not disregarding it. If you're sleep deprived, stressed, low mood, etc, maybe don't ride or certainly don't ride far or do anything challenging. And it goes without saying, maintain your bike and don't gamble on repairs to save time or money, if it means ending a trip or being inconvenienced, so be it.
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