Stray stone smashes into my CB350's engine: Crucial lessons learnt

I still wonder to this day what would've happened if someone else riding a lesser machine with no gear were in my exact same situation that day.

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(Not) An Intriguing Update:

On the 7th of May (Yes, it's been a while I know. Have been procrastinating quite a bit in posting this experience. Not proud of this), I was riding back home (Mogappair) from my workplace (Siruseri) and crossed the road leading from Vandalur Quarry at around 12 - 12.15pm with the Midday Sun in destructive mode all guns blazing. People who frequent the Kelambakkam - Vandalur road would probably recognize this area with all the stone dust covering one lane completely right after the quarry road merges with our road. I had been following a car (White Mahindra Xylo with a yellow board and some tinted windows) such that my bike was positioned exactly in the center of the car with plenty of braking distance. Right after we clear past the area filled with stone dust, the car starts moving away from the divider (without any indicators, obviously, since indicators are for idiots & he thinks he's not one) into the left lane. I had been following the car with my brain in autopilot mode and instantly started cursing this driver in my head as to why he would randomly move to the left with seemingly no traffic ahead or behind us for quite a stretch. However, almost instantly my brain autocorrected my thought process and made me follow the car away from the divider under the assumption that he probably sees something that I don't (and I had great visibility, or so I thought). The next thing I knew, I remember seeing a shadow on the ground and flying into the air. I landed back on the bike and it shuddered violently with a massive metal sound, with the front wheel wobbling for a split second and stabilizing itself. I was in a bit of a shock since I had no idea what just happened and as to how I was able to balance myself through all that turbulence.

I was doing somewhere between 60-80kmph and managed to bring my bike to a complete stop after traveling an approximate of 10-20metres. I got off my bike to check for damages and was greeted by two gentle folk in an Activa and a car who had also stopped to check on me. While I was completely oblivious to what had just happened, they let me know that from a distance, they saw me ride onto a stone, potentially dropped by an open truck that carried these stones out of the quarry. I looked back at the incident area only to find an empty & absolutely clean road with no obstacle in sight. I just assumed that my mighty H'ness pounded it to dust, or aliens abducted the stone. Back then, I wasn't in a frame of mind to click a picture of the culprit stone, so I didn't really walk back to find it. . Considering the fact that two vehicles actually stopped for me, I think this was probably scary to look at, from behind.

I quickly checked for leaks and saw that the engine protection plate was completely destroyed to pieces. I couldn't bend really low since I had my jacket on which prevented complete mobility. After visually inspecting the tyres, wheels and everything surrounding the engine, I started back and rode straight to BigWing Ambattur, which was almost 30kms from this spot. On arrival, I was met by a smile from Mr. Paul, the same person who supported throughout my wobbling ordeal. At first, after I narrated the incident, he estimated the bike to be in a usable condition since I had traveled 30kms & that he would replace the engine protection plate the next day. However, upon closer look, he found a crack in the engine case (PFB).

I started dreading the consequences, since my first love required a massive part change, an engine case replacement. He asked me to drop off my bike and informed me that it would take up to 15 days for the bike to be fully repaired. After reaching home, I had lunch & called up the service center to process it under an insurance claim. The service center took all the details and kindly let me know that an insurance request had to be raised by me and that it would be a reimbursement style one. This was my first time having to claim an insurance and the process was overall very smooth (however, delayed extremely since the guy from TATA-AIG processing my claim was on a long leave). It took more than a month for my bike to be returned back to me with a new engine case & a protection plate. I paid the complete bill & shared a copy with the insurance guy. After everything was said & done, I had to shell out near 10k from my pocket since all the consumables & the new protection plate (accessory) were not covered.

The bike rides like a gem & it's back to it's usual state after the repairs. Except, I now had a shiny new engine case. I've driven quite a bit after this & have found no discrepancies in the performance of Her H'ness. Kudos to the team as usual for their dedicated and professional approach.

Things I was reminded of again/learnt from this experience were,

Don't follow behind a car in it's center, car drivers usually avoid obstacles by driving around or such that they fall in between both wheel-sides. Since I frequently switch between a car & my bike, even though I've trained my subconscious mind to do this, it still wasn't enough at a time when it really mattered.

This car was tinted as well, so I couldn't really see the stone through it's windows, so, don't follow a tinted car or maintain quadruple the braking distance at your speed, I probably had around double the braking distance. The issue here is that this particular stone wasn't visible at all, I just remember glancing upon a weird shape on the ground which my brain processed as a shadow. So, even though you have traveled on the same route for over 15k kms, when your brain is slipping into autopilot, don't let it do that. Punch or pinch yourself but please try to stay completely and 100% attentive. However, I'm still quite unsure if this was an attention issue or a visibility issue, or a mix of both.

On the bright side, I feel like me & my bike were the champions that day. I didn't fall, I balanced myself quite well subconsciously & physically and my bike's traction control probably stopped the wheel from spinning and slipping.

I still wonder to this day what would've happened if someone else riding a lesser machine with no gear were in my exact same situation that day. Even If I had fallen down that day, I had my jacket, gloves, shoes & a solid helmet to protect me. My bike had strong ABS and Traction Control. I also have some decent riding experience which probably helped me bring down the turbulence. I'd like to think I was a savior that day and fate sent me in place of another potentially unsuspecting innocent soul. It also made sure that the road was empty, with no vehicles following closely behind me.

Henceforth, I have no way to conclude what I experienced or how I feel about this incident. As I finish this update, I think I've covered more or less everything that I experienced or felt.

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