Falling Off My Motorbike Was A Painful Reminder Of Inexperience

I’ve been riding a Honda CBR500R for a few weeks. It’s light, nimble, great to look at and super economical, with the two-cylinder, 47bhp 500cc motor averaging 84mpg. Best of all for me, though, is the fact that I can almost flat foot when stationary, which helps stay stable. Except when you screw up like I did…

Picture the scene: Jack (aka the bloke who got pushed sideways by a Royal Mail lorry late last year) called me to tell me he’d broken down in a new car we’d bought for a video, so muggins here suited up in my bike gear (including my new Spidi Air DPS airbag jacket) and went on a rescue mission.

After spotting Jack stranded on the side of the road, I attempted to get behind the stricken car on a slightly raised section of road (maybe an inch higher, so I thought…).

Turns out I was wrong; the kerb was bigger than expected, and upon mounting it at a 45 degree angle, the front wheel slid out, throwing me off the bike. At this point, two things happened: My airbag jacket (which is tethered to the bike) exploded, and people in the surrounding area gasped loudly.

The damage? The end of the clutch lever had snapped, the gear linkage was bent and the paint was scratched. I was mostly fine, just frustrated that I’d let inexperience get the better of me.

The lesson? Avoid kerbs, always wear decent protective gear, and never get complacent. I only ticked off one of these things, and landed on my ass, so learn from my mistakes.

I’ve since been given another CBR500R (black in colour this time), which you can see above. I’ll let you know properly what it’s like as a daily rider at a later date, but initial thoughts are that it’s all the bike you’d ever need!