Another Buell Down

[jackpotology101]

Well, it finally happened. It'd been almost 10 years to the day since my first motorcycling accident - and two nights ago, I earned my broken wings for the second time.

A cager in a Mini Cooper changed lanes into me at about 25mph. I had already begun to pass him on the right when he made the abrupt lane change and put his passenger door right into me. Before I knew what happened, my head was skipping off the pavement and my beloved Velvet Meatball was sliding down the lane.

It could have been MUCH worse, but both my hands and wrists are pretty banged up. Took a massive shot to my left hip as well. Initial X-rays were negative, but the ER said it was tough to make an accurate assessment given all the swelling and they said the damage to my hands could be permanent. My girlfriend is beside herself...it's going to be tough convincing her to let me back in the saddle anytime soon.

My helmet is toast but it did its job. My bike is in surprisingly good shape...the left side frame puck and rear axle slider took most of the damage. My bar-end mirror snapped off, but the handle bars appear to be fine, as does the clutch lever. Lost the toe shifter, but pegs, turn signals, and body work all appear to be intact. The frame sliders really work!

Suffice it to say, I am miserable at home, unable to work and unable to ride. I'm sad but not entirely mad at the driver - it was an honest mistake that any of us could have made. He said he "just didn't see me" and didn't even realize he'd hit me till I was down. I'm just thankful neither of us were going very fast.

Just goes to show you...you never know when it WILL happen. Godspeed all, and watch out for each other out there.

 

[rrbuell]

Glad to hear you are ok. Accidents do happen and we on two wheels sometimes take the brunt of it.

 

[1badtitan90]

glad to hear that you are ok.. and that the bike is fixable... if your wife loves you she will know that riding is something that you do and she should let you.. mine has finally understood that its my life...

 

[Gloomshadow]

yeah I went down on that side also but at about 50mph.. your side is gonna get black and kill you for a few days .. you will barely be able to move maybe. Glad you had a helmet on... I had a full set of armor and I walked away from it.. didn't even go to the hospital. Hitting the ground isn't that bad.. its the SLIDE that gets you.. if you don't have the right shit on, you get pretty fucked up.

 

[Dave A]

Glad your still here to write about it.

 

[dec03001]

Pictures?

 

[50dro]

Glad you made it OK and your bike isn't damaged too bad either...Speedy recovery to you! [up]

 

[Restlessrustler]

i got some black bar end mirrors

 

[djs2k2]

I think your taking it a little to easy on the driver, but with that being said I am glad that you live to tell your story. Now how about some pics?

 

[s0dhi]

Glad to hear you're okay. Get well soon.

 

[Enemy Zero]

Glad to see you are doing ok and hope you have a quick and painless recovery. Hopefully the bike can be back to its original condition quickly and easily as well.

 

[thrstrmech]

[up]you're ok

My girlfriend is beside herself...it's going to be tough convincing her to let me back in the saddle anytime soon.

been there with my wife, but she understands that motorcycles are a huge part of who I am just as my passion for aviation. it will just take some time like everything else in life, she'll come around and also never let you forget what happened

 

[08herobolt]

Glad to hear you're ok. I have bar end mirrors also. I bought them from an XB.com brother for pretty cheap. PM me when you are ready to do some repairs.

 

[go cytocis]

Glad you're OK; that's the most important part! [up]

I had already begun to pass him on the right when he made the abrupt lane change and put his passenger door right into me.

There might be a lesson for us in ^this^. Certainly in some parts, traffic seems to flow in a free-for-all pattern where it's customary to pass on whatever side there's a free lane on. Perhaps you also live in one of these areas.

Not suggesting it was a factor in your crash, but in many jurisdictions it's illegal to pass on the right.  Illegal or not, I don't like doing it because it introduces one more variable into the traffic flow. Sure some jackasses park themselves under the speed limit in the left lane, leaving us no choice but to pass on the right, and definitely none of this excuses the Mini driver in your case from shoulder-checking, but I really feel vulnerable passing on the right, an I try not to do it.

A tip I recently learned: when passing a car keep its front wheel in your peripheral vision. This will give you an early warning if it's about to change lanes abruptly.

Not trying to be an armchair critic...and again, glad you're OK! 

 

[OldGeezer]

Glad to hear you and the bike are OK. Passing cagers on the right is always an iffy proposition…
Definitely helps to be wearing the right gear if/when you go down.

Hope you're back in the saddle soon.

 

[jackpotology101]

I hear you on the right-side passing thing, but it was stop and go, rush hour traffic on a four-lane, semi-residential street - the right lane was moving only slightly faster (again, I was doing maybe 25 at MOST) so it wasn't a conscious "I'm gonna pass this guy" thing. And yes, my last conscious memory before going down was indeed seeing his front right tire begin to turn - alerting me to impending disaster - but even seeing that, the rest happened so quickly that well...you know what happened. Just be prepared and ride as safely as possible peeps!

 

[chelch]

Hope you heal up fast. Could have been worse

 

[nikfleisch]

Glad to hear you're ok and kicking, bikes can bikes can be replaced, you can not. Hope you have a quick recovery! When you know for sure what parts you need throw up a thread and I'll see what I can throw your way.

 

[jackpotology101]

Thanks guys. Again, bike is in shockingly good shape...looks like the only replacement parts I'll need are the shift lever and oil cooler scoop. Maybe a new left side frame protector. Definitely a new helmet!