asphalt meetings & the gear that protected you.

[LeFox]

thought this would be a good way to share your 'bad experience', get some extra info the facts and to point out that protective gear can save your life.


so i'll start it off...[smirk]

hit some diesel fuel (oil/fuel mixture, slippery as hell) on a straight, when preparing for a rh corner and felt something wierd...when i looked left, i saw my rear wheel sliding next to me

this left me with 2 choices...
1. keep going straight, hit & fly over the rail and end up flat on my back in the middle the highway, which ran parallel with the road i was on.
2. hit the rear brake, lay it down and slide into a ditch.
...took option 2 and was left with bent handlebar, broken turnlight, peg, slight dent & scratch in the header and some scratches on my leathers.
at about 65mph, i don't regret the choice i made.

lifted my bruised, upside down lying, buell out of the ditch and rode home.

but that goes to show that sh!t can happen anytime, anywhere...if you think what can go wrong while doing it you have a big chance you'll end up making a mistake and get what you were thinking of.

you know what the funny part is, i actually went for a ride that day with my girlfriend that didn't ride yet that season, before leaving on a bike-weekend.

my gear...
hein gericke 2 piece leather suit & simpson helmet.

what limited the damage to the bike...
handlebar, swingarm sliders, frame-pucks & yes, my rh airscoop

 

[dave_xb12r]

wow Lefox, that sucks! It sounds like you handled it well though. No broken bones and just a few scratches means you went down like you do it for a living.

I think we all know what they say about motorcycle riders, "There's those that have been down, and those that are going down"

I know I still need full leathers. I guess I should be smart and spend my money on better gear first rather than exhaust, open airbox and a remap.

 

[mrdozer2you]

Glad your ok man [up] That must have been from a while ago before your mods....I thought you had ceramic coated micron headers? Is this why you switched

 

[LeFox]

like i always say...

if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
if it broke, improve it!

date of crash 17 July 2007...
but this a crash-story topic i opened due to a question burnteyes asked in the chicken-strips topic.

so if anyone else has some interesting stories, experiences, pros & cons concerning gear, etc...

helps people make several choices

 

[FIDOSOL]

I hit the gravel at 45 about 8-9 years ago(I was 12) , I was on a friends dirtbike, I was picking gravel out of my back for weeks after that and I don't ride without gear anymore..

 

[Thaloc]

When I first started riding street a couple years back, I rode with a friend out to buy/pick up a Yamaho FZR 600R, my first street bike. Now I rode dirt growing up but Id never been on a street bike. Rode it the 2hrs back to my city. Got back was about 1 mile from home was taking a left off a side street and some lady on a cellphone in a big black suburban was pulling up/stopping at the intersection, WAAYYYYY over into the lane I wanted to pull onto. So I have to take the corner wide....Well wide was closer to a gravel lot where they pressure wash nasty ass semi trailers. And in my in-experience riding street and with the bike I took it a bit too fast, back tire cought some gravel that got blasted onto the road and the bike slipped out from under me. Slid into what had to be the greasiest semi trailer. Hydrolic grease everywhere, shredded fairings. But I was smart enough to wear my gear first days so no injuries at all. So ya, first day on the street I laid her down, 800 clams later I was back on my horse and havnt gotten off. Always wear gloves! Whats the first thing you put down to break our fall?

 

[Fock347]

lets see i was going on my favorite s turn took the first right hand turn no problem , but the switch back thats where things got messy. ( let me set the area it was july humid as hell like by humid i mean sweatin ur toosh off standin still of course i decided not to wear my jacket or gloves i dont own a helmet) so im taking the switch back at about 90mph i usually take it around 115 120, and at the apex of the turn my tire blows out and it goes sideways and i end up sliding 2 lanes over and end up on the shoulder. Damage: left forearm skin graph, 10 staples on my dome peice and some road rash on my face(wich heald in a week) and a lil road rash on my right elbow and left leg oh and 2 chiped teeth, but no broken bones. as for the bike broken triple tree ,fairing stay bracket, broken shifter and linkage,bent clip on tube,front master bracket,and a passenger foot peg, frame pucks saved my frame.

 

[Thaloc]

You dont own a helmet?

 

[Buellysses]

Fock, since the digger have you purchased such items, or still ride without them?

 

[shilohsk8]

Fock347
i dont own a helmet

[confused]That was a typo right[confused]

 

[GatorBuell]

Was riding home from work a year ago last February. While riding down the street I noticed a gage light come on out of the corner of my eye. I looked down for a split second and saw it was my fuel reserve light come on. I looked up and the car in front of me had come to a complete stop. The problem was the car had no break lights or turn signals on so it took a second to compute. It was a old POS Mazda 280ZX and all I remember was seeing the back of the car lifting up do to hard breaking. I hit the breaks hard so I would not hit the car and the front break work like a charm slamming me to the ground. Thank god for the Shoei RF-1000 and my Icon retro Daytona leather jacket. No head injuries or road rash. The paramedics cut off my brand new Icon Jacket [mad] It was less than a week old. I landed on my left side but broke my right collar bone. Had to get it plated and then removed. I kept the plate and made a key ring out of It as a reminder.

Not much wrong with the bike. Replaced the tail section and seat. Right side passenger pegs, rider pegs and handle bar. Luckily I had the frame and swing arm sliders. Damages only totaled out to $1200 with labor.

 

[Fock347]

i own a jacket n gloves just never got around to buyin a helmet,i know there is no excuse for it , i just got REALLY LUCKY!!. by the way this was recent as in last month. you just never think it will happen to you but everyone meets the asphalt at least once in there life.

 

[burnteyes]

thx for this topic! Ive been debating on micron system or better crash protection for the bike and i. But I think the overtime at work might be picking up next month, and can aford a micron off 1 week of overtime, so i think ill go with crash protection![up]

 

[burnteyes]

i just found bpg crash a few years ago i cried just thinking about it bpg crash

 

[Thaloc]

Just upgraded to a Icon Timax 2 jacket. I really like it, cant wait to see how it holds up in the cold with the insulated liner.

 

[FIDOSOL]

I'm not really a Leather type of guy, but I wear Icon's gear....Icon Strongarm 13 Jacket was my first acquisition, and I'll be getting some of the Recon Pants next...Not sure after that. I wear my all leather boots when I ride..but they aren't riding boots. For gloves I wear HATCH hard knuckle gloves, the only reason I wear these instead of riding gloves is because a friend of mine caught a 9mm round right in the hard knuckle portion of his glove, he only had a 3 inch gash instead of possibly losing his hand.

 

[Ruski12ss]

I went down last year the second ride after i got my bike. Following my mates who were experienced riders,on an uphill left sweeper which tightened up quick. doing about 100 km/h froze part way through the bend,hit the binders bike stood up crossed the center line into the ditch and slid on the left and hit a bank.Bent the bars and dented the frame. Thank goodness the frame pucks cover the dent. Had draggin jeans on and all the rest of my gear so only suffered a bruised left ankle and knee. Thank god for good boots or would have no ankle bone left.It sure slowed me down alot and made me ride much more cautious. Always wear all your gear!

 

[RHYNOXB9R]

I would have to say my best getoff was during a race at Thunderhill Raceway in Northern California.Coming out of turn 2 at close to 100mph,the rear tire started to slide on me so I goosed the throtle to spin up the rear and have it come out at an angle I wanted.Bike had other ideas for me,highsided me and sent me sliding,unconscious,for about 125' The bike,a 2001 GSXR1000,went into a sprintcar roll and was totaled to the cost of $7000 to repair.I got to meet some very nice helicopter emt's and got my 2 right ribs and arm upgraded.Still raced after that,and still do track days,if your gonna play,ya gotta pay

 

[RHYNOXB9R]

By the way,I was wearing JoeRocket onepiece Speedmasters leathers,spinal protector,AlpineStar full boots,Shoie lid and JoeRocket carbon gloves.While on the street I wear a Icon Motorhead jacket,Shoie RF lid,and JoeRocket carbon gloves.

 

[matter]

Hadn't sorted my suspension on my new Buell Lightning yet, when on my Buddy's Aprilia Tuono's tail on a decreasing radius left hander at about 75-80 mph, hit a few stutter bumps setting the bike into a nasty pogo drifting toward the guardrail. I was on the chickenstrips, but had no choice other than ride it out, stay in the throttle and lean more. Bike got violent then and lowsided. I stayed with the bike and was saved by the sand berm left under the guardrail from sanding the mountain road in the wintertime. We drug the Buell from under the guardrail and it was full of sand and dirt, but after a basic cleanup, it was ready to go with minimal visable damage. Damage to my gear was slight scrape on helmet, a little drag on the left knee armor of my Cortech denim pants, and ground half through my left shoulder armor of my Fieldsheer textile jacket. Damage to the bike was left frame puck, mirror, handlebar slider, scraped up chin cowl and scratched seat stay on left side. Possibly a new pucker spot in the seat! Everone who was there including the people in the Jeep coming down in the opposite lane, couldn't believe how well the bike took the spill. Hindsite reveals too much preload and too little compression and rebound damping setting up the pogo.
Everyday in this hot weather I see a few riders in shorts, slip-ons and a t-shirt. Probably wouldn't have helmets if it weren't the law in this State.
All I can say is they have never had/seen an accident or are Poseur riders.
Matt