Left tire track in the left lane. And constantly scan the mirrors while staying out of blind spots. After over 100,000 miles of freeway riding alone, I can tell when a car is going to change lanes before they do.

There is always risk, but experience and defensive riding (always having an escape) minimizes the risk. Don't let yourself get boxed in by other cars.

thanks everyone for your posts. i may consider riding in the future, on a track or in a much safer environment.

how many miles have you put on bikes before the crash?

Good to hear that your ok. It could have been alot worse. Here's to a speedy recovery. oh and about the chick in the suv. The Pink Floyd song Money comes to mind.

9 thousand miles on bike before crash. after hanging out with moto buddies i want to ride again so hopefully will be fixing my bike soon. hope my body heals sooner rather than later.

Update:

My bike is now gone. The woman who hit me was found at fault. Her insurance company wanted too much for me to buy the bike back. It was nice having a Superhawk and I will miss it. I do not plan on getting another as I'm lusting for an Italian bike. And yes, I know they are costly. I'll post pics of my next bike. It will be a vtwin :]

At least you have some to blame (and pay for the bike) I had a VFR750 that was destroyed by a deer on a suicide mission.

Glad to hear it wasn't worse. Accidents happen, and the driver made a mistake. Don't make life more miserable for the lady than she pr'ly already feels...get what's reasonable and a little more and keep riding. If the result is a nice 1198 in your garage, I might consider that worth a broken finger.

Those poor suicidal deer. If only some of their fellow deer friends would have gotten them help. They would have been alive for us to shoot them instead.

I understand accidents happen. What is interesting is that she did not want to accept being at fault. Usually people feel guilty when they hit a bicyclist, ped, or motorcyclist (according to a claims adjuster I spoke with) but not her. What sucks is that my finger hurts a lot still and I haven't regained complete articulation. Hitting a dear would be rugged. Luckily they are pretty rare in San Diego. A buddy of mine almost hit a wild turkey though.

I've dodged deer, chickens, peacocks, ducks, down here in San Diego. Even saw a tarantula once.

I work in Mira Mesa, and we have deer running around in the street here after hours.

I was obviously not even remotely close to this accident, so I could be completely wrong on this, but this is my ASSumption. Most insurance companies tell you to never claim fault until police point the finger, maybe she thought she was doing what she thought was best? If she didn't care about you or the bike, and was more pissed about being late and her car damaged...well, then we can pour concrete up to her knees and throw her in the ocean.