My Mistake

My new (used) motorcycle is named "Boule" (Bully). I love that rascal! It's smooth, fun to operate, peppy when I want it to be, and quite user friendly. I'm hoping Boule and I have a long friendship.

My driveway is on a slight uphill slant. When riding Boule onto the street, I start in first, look left and right, and shift into second just as I enter the street while making a left turn. I have time to shift to third before I come to the stop sign at the end of the street. Then I usually ease it back into second (a rolling stop) and ride down the street making as little noise as possible.

The gears on the motorcycle are in this order: first, neutral, second, third, fourth, and fifth. They are controlled by a shift lever. You lift the lever up with you foot to change gears for speed and you press down on the lever to change gears as you reduce speed.

Whenever you are making a turn on a motorcycle, you must be applying some acceleration. The worst position to be in is to be making a turn and losing too much speed. The motorcycle will become unstable and will just lean right over on it's side.

The other day I was coming out of the driveway and shifted into second just as I hit the street all while making a left turn. One big problem, the motorcycle shifted from first to neutral. I rolled the throttle. Boule didn't respond but came to an unplanned stop. And you guessed it. Boule assumed an undignified prone position laying on his left side with my leg underneath. I got my leg out and found I could not lift 650 pounds of machinery by myself.

A neighbor, there are only four of us on the street, saw me and came over to help right the cycle. I almost cried. After getting Boule upright, I noticed two obvious areas of damage. The clutch lever now has an end curled outward which really doesn't look that bad. The left rear turn signal which is all plastic broke. I've been able to do a temporary fix on the turn signal using plastic glue and very clear packing tape. The signal still works and the repair is not really noticeable from a distance of just a few feet.

Now those acquainted with motorcycles know that a green light shows up when the cycle is in neutral. It shows on mine too, but with a full face helmet, I cannot see my speedometer and the associated warning lights without looking down. It's difficult to look down when you are watching for traffic from two directions. Still, it is my mistake and I don't ever want to make the same error again.

The metal clutch lever costs about $18. The plastic turn signal costs $68! I've ordered both and hope to erase the obvious damage soon. In the meantime, Boule and I are still friends eagerly exploring the world around us.