is there something wrong with me or my bike?

Evening all. First time poster. Just looking for a sounding board really.

Had my licence / sv650s for 7 months now and laid it down in the ice outside my office entrance last week. About 20mph on its right side.

I would think more a result of poor judgement (riding in minus 4) than inability to ride properly. The bike was dead upright and just hit the deck.

Needs a little fixing, fairing damage, indicator, bent rear brake lever. But im taking this as an opportunity to add led mirrors, flush indicators and various other treats for the bike/me.

The only issue is, I feel like a stranger to the bike now. I feel wobbly and lacking in confidence. I wonder if this is nerves or an actual mechanical problem. I love riding and I love my sv but I feel very disjointed from it. Almost like it's let me down. Ridiculous I know.

Any thoughts? Should I take it in? I thought maybe the rear brake was sticking but the light doesn't come on and it seems eeasy enough to push. The forks don't look bent or damaged although the very edge at the bottom is scraped along with the edge of the front wheel.

I should note I don't have a car so I ride nearly everyday and have never really had an issue with rain or moderately bad weather.

[maviczap]

Its quite normal to feel this after a fall

Get your light fixed, especially if its the brake light.

[Bibio]

its only natural that you should feel a bit wobbly after a fall, it wont last long and you will be back in the swing again soon. seasoned bikers dont use their pride and joy in the winter and instead buy a cheep hack to do the job.

dont bother with upgrading the broken parts just replace like for like and get the bike fixed as its still winter and you might do the same again.

Cheers. The light actually operates correctly, which I guess means my brakes aren't sticking. thanks for the warm welcome. I imagine 0 or below is when most bikers decide to leave it in the garage?

[Jayneflakes]

We have all been there, the feeling of fear after a fall is natural because you have a new understanding of the processes involved and even if this is not a fully concious thought, you will still be processing it and trying not to repeat it.

I had a really horrible crash while racing my mountain bike down hill several years ago, the accident left me in hospital and with a bike that was bent in the middle. Once I was recovered and had sorted the bike, I went out for a ride and had a melt down because I was too afraid to ride. It took some time to over come this but in the end I was a better rider because I was less carefree and chose my lines better. Experience never comes easy!

Black ice will always be a danger for the rider, you will have no grip, no control and even trying to stop on it will lead to a slide. Maybe it is the time to consider taking the bus?

[Red ones]

I dropped my mountain bike on ice a couple of weeks ago. (I have huge amounts of cycling experience) it shook my confidence on the SV for the week (and I have about 250,000 miles experience on them too)

It reminds you how hard Tarmac is.

I guess it's natural. I was concerned I might have knackered something on the bike but probably it's me being on edge that's making the bike feel odd! I guess I'll get it up on the ABBA stand and give it a good look over at the weekend as I wont be riding if it's icy.

[Red ones]

Doesn't take much to make you worry.
I had two new tyres fitted this morning, and I've been riding like a wuss all day because I'm not used to it wanting to fall in to corners!

What did you go for? I'm on the originals 4.5k miles. Thinking of changing in a month or 2. Metzeler 7rrs look good to me

Pilot road 4 is the best tyre I've ever had, give it a go.

As far as bad weather riding goes, if the road is white, go back to bed. If not, carry on as normal.