Originally Posted by voudoujoe

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

@hoetree, I am sorry to hear you weren't as lucky.

To clarify a couple of things:
- Don't have a gremlin bell. Maybe I ought to get one, and
- I didn't hit the van. Thankfully. I'm guessing it was maybe 20' in front of me when she pulled into the circle. I'm guessing I would have hit the driver's door or just behind it. In any event, the van was taller than me and I wasn't going over the top of it. I was headed straight for a wall of metal and glass and did not want that to happen.

There are a lot of traffic circles around here now - the volume of them is kind of new to this area. I think they use them because they are small and cheaper than the cloverleaf exits. I don't like them, especially on a bike. You've got cars behind you, in front of you, coming from the sides, nobody is stopping and everyone is going a different direction. I watch my speed and really pay attention going thru them and believe this is why I am not in the hospital right now!

My wife was against me getting the bike because she was afraid something like this would happen. So, after I hit the pavement and realized I wasn't headed for intensive care, I remember thinking two things (1) I hope this doesn't destroy my ankle (lacrosse season starts in 2 weeks) and (2) if I do, I will NEVER hear the end of it!

So, maybe I wan't thinking to clearly and made a couple post-accident mistakes. Here's a few lessons learned that might help others ...

1) I felt bad for the lady as she was so shaken up and I wan't hurt, so I didn't think to call the police. A bunch of people stopped to see if I was OK and we picked up the bike and rolled it to the center to get it out of traffic. My brother, a State Trooper said BAD IDEA. Call the police and don't move the bike until they get there.

2) After we moved the bike, the people that stopped left. Guess nobody wanted to get involved. I didn't immediately think to get names or license plates. No 3rd party witnesses. BAD IDEA. At a minimum, quick pics of the cars would have gotten license plates for the police to look people up, if needed.

3) I took pictures of the scene w/ my phone. GOOD IDEA. Captured the marks on the road where the bike fell, where I was in the circle to show distance and right-of-way and weather conditions (dry and clear, she should have seen me)

4) Took pics of the damage to the bike right there. No questions on whether this happened as a result of the accident or not. GOOD IDEA.

Originally Posted by voudoujoe

Nothing terribly interesting. The scrapes on the tank are pretty wild though. Looks like someone took a cheese grater to the steel. Ends up being just enough to keep the bike out of commission. The controls have a little damage and I think the risers and maybe the bars are bent.

Dealer told me a factory painted tank is the long pole in the tent. Could take many weeks to get one from HD but no local shop wants to try and match black denim. I'm afraid a newly painted tank won't match the fenders and it'll be off just enough to look strange. Dealer says there's no guarantee. So, I gotta try and get the insurance company to paint the fenders too.