I got my new throttle cables last Thursday. When I got home from work I got them installed and all adjusted via the instructions in the Clymers manual. Before installing the new cables I didn't have the "push" cable, only the "pull" cable, so riding my bike was kinda annoying since it didn't rev down when I let off the gas and I either had to reach down and shut the TBs by hand or let the gear drag the idle down before pulling in the clutch while stopping. Shifting was hard too - like shifting without letting the throttle out.
Anyway, I got the new cables on and took it for a test drive. I threw on my helmet and coat and took off. The bike rode really nice now - much easier to drive and shift than before. I was pretty excited. I decided to ride a little ways down the road before turning around and coming back, since it was a nice day.
Shortly before the side road I was going to turn around on, a lady in a Durango flew up on my ass. The speed limit was 35, and had been for some time. I was doing 40 and she came up out of nowhere. The road had straightened out for a while, so there was ample room to pass me. I turned my blinker on to turn right on to the side road, and rather than go around me, she continued to ride me.
I was paying attention more to her than the road, and I slowed WAY down to make the turn. In doing so I failed to notice the loose gravel that was on the corner there. I hit the gravel doing literally 3-4 miles an hour and the bike slid out from under me. The woman went around my fallen bike and kept driving.
I got up - the wind was knocked out of me. I hit my head and my shoulder. My shoulder hurt, but my head was ok. There was a woman on the side road waiting to turn left. Thankfully I wasn't going fast enough for my bike to hit her. I got up and tried to walk around. It was hard to breathe. The lady in the car kept asking me if I was ok, and telling me that she had a cell phone in case I needed to call anyone. I tried to reply but I couldn't. She asked me if the wind was knocked out of me, and I nodded. She asked if I needed her help and I shook my head.
I turned around and noticed my bike (sideways) was leaking as out of the top of the fuel tank, so I picked it up and put the kickstand up. Keep in mind that I'm 5'8" and around 200 lbs, so I'm not very big, and the CB750 is a 500lb bike.
It was heavy, and my shoulder hurt like crazy.
A guy on a Goldwing stopped and made sure I was alright. He asked me if I was ok to ride home, and I told him yes, and that I only lived a little ways up the road. He ended up being really cool and following me home.
When I got home I parked my bike and looked at the damage - just the front turn signal plastic was broken and the rear signal was bent a little. No big deal. My shoulder really hurt though.
I decided to go in and lay down to see if the pain would go away. It didn't. Eventually I ended up trying to get up. It hurt REALLY bad to try, and my shoulder was killing me at this point. I decided to go to the hospital. My wife drove me.
This was the result - a broken calvicle:
I'd never broken anything before. Of all the screwing around I've done on jetskiis, quads, dirtbikes, etc. I've never broken anything, and now I break my collar bone in a 3-4mph turn. I couldn't believe it.
I'm wearing a clavicle strap now and I'm on vicodin to help the pain. It's hard to sleep at night since I have to sleep on my back. I'm just now starting to do things with my right arm, but it's hard. Stupid little things that you don't think about - brushing teeth, putting pants on, putting shrits on (which I still can't do without help), etc. etc.
I've only had my bike for a few weeks, and this is a crappy start to what I hoped would be a fun hobby. I'm not going to give up though - what doesn't kill me will make me stronger. I learned a long time ago to respect machines like this - I guess now I just have to worry about where I'm going more than what someone whose BEHIND me might do.
