| Author | Message | ||
     Court |
If you came off a bike, your helmet is now a table lamp. The EPS liner is good for ONE trip over the bars. Like tossing a rock through a plate glass window....tossing it BACK through does not fix the window. NEVER wear a helmet that is not 100% Court | ||
| Aikigecko |
Court, That's a Snell thing as well if I remember right. My opinion on the foam in the Armor is the same way. I will also never carry my folding knife in my waistband again. My right hip is killing me where I rolled over it (funky looking bruise too). Took some photos of the bike today. Will post them on monday or tuesday when I have use of a neg scanner again. None of this means a whole hell of a lot since I just wanna ride and can't right now  . I kinda wish I remember more about my flight (away from the dying motorcycle) all I remember is the take off and the landing. C'est la vie. Looks like my camera gear is gonna get covered and I may come out a bit ahead on that though not by much (not that I care I just want my gear). | ||
| Pilk |
Today: I almost DIED! Old fellow in a pick-up, pulled to the right, signal and all, and as I was about 30 feet from him he did a U-turn right in front of me! Hard on the brakes, hard right push on the bars, in the ditch I went, did not dump the X-1 it's a pretty fair dirt bike! Thought I'd share the experience. There's a guy on another site that always says ride as though you are invisible for cagers think you are. BELIEVE IT! pilk | ||
| Pangalactic |
My brother messed hisself up pretty good today... I just sold him my Ninja- the bike my S3 replaced- and we drove it up to him last weekend in Kokomo(IN). He turn 19 in August, and this is his first street bike. (It's a Ninja 250- about the best beginner bike made at the time). I now HAVE to publicly call him an idiot, though. Ya see, he's got a MC permit, which in Indiana means you gots three stikes- no passengers, no night riding and no riding lidless. Today marks exactly one week that he's had it, and probably the third day that he's rode it with the weather being as it is. This afternoon he decides to run down to a friends house - " It's only a mile and a half away!" So he suits up- T-shirt, shorts, sneakers. Notice how I didn't mention leather, gloves, jeans, even socks, and most importantly a brain bucket. This will be important later. (Note the dramatic foreshadowing) Anyways, to make a long story short, some lady did a Kentucky Stop at one of those signs with the red and the 8-sides and crap, in front of the bro, who had a tailgater to boot. He tried to ride the back brake to stop, and when he realized that wasn't quite going to cut it, practiced his Kung-Fu grip action on the front brake. Fortunately, he's been around the block enogh on dirties to have the mental prowess to lay the bike down and bail in the right direction. The tailgater ran over his left ankle. Amazingly, there was no broken bones, no need for stitches, but some hellacious road rash, and probably a kid who will never ride without protective gear again. The third stroke of good luck was the uncanny number of witnesses. This is a residential area, and usually devoid of any humanoid traffic, but today they were out in droves. The woman that caused the accident, but wasn't actually hit had no choice but to accept responsibility, and the cops that showed up didn't even hassle hime about the lack of the lid. Lucky him. Evidently the bike is in decent shape, but probalby still totalled- the bike isn't worth $1K, and even minor damage will easily run that. But thats a nice down payment on a blast for a little 18 yr old kid. Sore, but probably deserved a lot worse... | ||
| Leeaw |
Pangalactic, HIS ANKLE HURTS AND WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! That will pay for a Blast and then some. Not that I come from money grubbers, but my wife has permanent damage in her shin as a passenger in an accident (before I met her)where she has numbness and a dent. Her attorney wanted her to go for more, but she took their settlement. $25,000 before legal fees, and she says it limits her from things like running, but you gotta love lawyers. | ||
| Jasonl |
Thanks for the stories guys. It's good to read this stuff and learn. | ||
| Pangalactic |
Now I'm pissed. It turns out that neither my bro or the bike actually hit the woman's car. We she finally saw him, she slammed on the brakes, and stopped, and the bike and my brother skidded in to the other lane, in front of her car. The prick cop decided that since she wasn't involved, she couldn't have caused the accident. Can you say lawsuit? | ||
| Blake |
PanGal: I'd say that the tailgater that actually ran over your bro is way more culpable. Get your bro to an MSF class asap. It may save his life. I'm amazed I didn't buy it as a teen biker. Can you say "Ride like you are invisible"? That's been rule #1 for moto riding safety long before the web was born (sheesh Pilk  ). | ||
| Fastback69 |
F****N' A I can't catch a break! I get my bike back after 2 months (crash damage) and 2 f*****n weeks later, some other dumb@ss tries to take me out. Why do I attract stupid people? I was riding a tricky corner going uphill (which I had done a few times before) when some idiot comes around in my lane going down hill. He swerved and I ran inside him but still lowsided. Lucky for them that they didn't stop, because I probably would've gone berserk all up on their ass. I've been through the basic MSF course and plan to take the advanced and track days later this year. I am very tempted to sell the bike when I get it fixed. The damage is purely cosmetic and the parts are brand-f****ng-new. I am so pissed off right now and it's been a week since it happened. Oh, I'm ok. I ruined a B-F-N pair of jeans, though. | ||
| Pangalactic |
fastback, you seem distressed...any reason? ( smile, it's f'n funny!) | ||
| Chuck |
Hey Philip...at least you're okay. Don't sell the bike. Just try to find something from the experience you can learn from...things will get better. | ||
| Brentx1 |
Well I knew it had to happen, and it finally did. I feel like an idiot. I was riding beyond my ability and highsided a long sweeper. I knew I blew the corner and instead of accelerating, I started to slow down. I ended up crossing lanes and driving into a field. It was either that or into some woods. Glad I had my protective gear on. Walked away with minor scratches. Bike has bent handlebars and a broken rear turn signal lens. Bars went into the grass and I went over the handlebars. Landed about 20 feet from bike. Sure glad to still be here to talk about it. I'll never ride without a helmet and leathers. | ||
| Dave |
Damn Brent. I'm glad to hear ya walked away from the fall man with minor damage to you and the Lightning. Maybe it's time for a new helmet? DAve | ||
| Mikej |
Crash report, I just got done typing in the whole report but lost an AOL connection and don't feel like typing it in again. Anyway, bottom line, I got rearended yesterday/Saturday around noon just south of Hoodsport Washington. I was stopped in traffic and a Ford Ranger pickup being driven by an 80 year old driver on heart medication rear-ended me with his tires squeeling at about 20mph. Bike went down on the right side and slid for 10-20 feet at least. I apparently landed on his hood and was deposited on the ground next to my bike. The bike is not ridable. My rear wheel dented his front bumper so I'm not about to trust the wheel or swingarm. I'm working with his Allstate insurance agent to arrange for shipping of my bike home and transportation for me to continue my now altered vacation. I still plan to be in Breckenridge on Thursday morning sometime. Anyway, I'll post a better full report once I'm back home next week. I got rear-ended, bike not ridable, I was able to walk away from the wreck. Relatives in the area were able to transport my bike to the Seattle area. And I took photos of the accident site which I'll be trying to get prints from tomorrow. Ride safe people. MikeJ (posting from a borrowed computer, off line again until next week) Bummed in Seattle/Renton. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!!!! Mike, That's not fair! Very glad to hear your ok. Hardware can be fixed/repaired. It's a bit harder with people. I know you aren't going to read this fo a while, but this really bums be out. Brad | ||
| Peter |
Mikej, Bad luck mate, but I'm glad to hear that you're not broken. That's how I got stuck in Amsterdam for a while. An errant Citroen driver took me out the same way at a red light. Gotta watch those mirrors. PPiA | ||
| Jima4media |
Mikej, Glad to hear you weren't seriously hurt. Too bad about the accident, right before the Colorado gathering. I haven't posted my accident report from Monday night yet, but I'll get to it soon. The story is over on sacborg.com for now. Jim X-2.5 | ||
| Jasonl |
Glad to hear you're alright Mike. Bikes can get repaired. | ||
| Aaron |
Ouch! VERY glad you're okay. Hope your plan pulls through and we see you in Breckenridge. AW | ||
| Blastin |
Mike, Glad your okay. Hopefully you got to find that peach tree before this. Please let me know if you need anything done on the Milwaukee end of things. I'll be more than glad to help out, and if you need a hand with anything when you get back just let me know. Jerry | ||
| Rocketman |
MikeJaybird : I hope you were wearing protection when the old guy rear ended you Good luck and stay safe...... Rocket in England | ||
| Pammy |
Mike, sorry to hear about your unfortunate accident, but glad to hear that you came out/off o.k.....you ARE o.k., right? Like the six million dollar man..."we can rebuild him...he'll be better than before" paraphrasing, of course. Better luck now, Pammy | ||
| Jima4media |
The reason I started this thread a couple of years ago was to learn from others accidents, mistakes and mishaps, and hope that other riders could learn something as well. When ever I go down I like to reflect on what happened, what I did right, what I might have done wrong, and what I'll be doing in the future. Next I'll post the story, and then the relevent observations. Jim X-2.5 | ||
| Jima4media |
I was traveling at a low rate of speed (10-15 mph) down a straight stretch of road and hit a small rock. I applied the front brake, and it immediately locked up and flipped the bike end over end with me on it. This is not the first time that one of my Nissin disc brakes have locked up on my Buell, in fact it is the fourth time it has happened. Three times on the rear brake, and this time with the front brake. One of the other times on the rear brake resulted in another accident, and damage to the bike and scratches to myself. I have driven over 34,000 miles on Buell X-1s, so I think I know pretty much how the brakes work under normal circumstances. This is my 15th motorcycle in my 40 years of riding, and I have never experiences this sort of problem on any bike before. I think there is some problem with the DOT 4 brake fluid in the 2000 Buell brake systems that when the pads get low, and the temperature of the brakes and rotor is high, causes the brakes to grab or lockup. I don't know if it is moisture in the system or what the cause of it is. I'm lucky to be alive at this point. My Buell Racing AGV helmet was badly damaged when I landed on my head and the bike landed on top of me. I have to express my amazement and satisfaction with the helmet, because nothing that I know of happened to my head or neck. One of my ribs could have easily punctured my heart as easily as it did my lung, and I wouldn't be here talking today either. The damage to the bike is mostly cosmetic, except for the bent aluminum tail section. Jim Armstrong X-2.5 | ||
| Jima4media |
What I learned from this was riding gear really can save your life. Earlier in the day I was riding the same road in the opposite direction with thin mechanics gloves, and Levi jeans. On this trip, I had my Hein Gericke Speedware slip-over leather pants, and Carbon Fiber and Kevlar gloves. My favorite saying is "You should not dress for the Summer, you should dress for the Fall" Think about it. Next, has anyone else experinced Nissin disc brakes locking up completely under any circumstances? I remember reading somewhere on badweb that someone had a front brake lockup also, and I did a search and couldn't find anything. Thanks, Jim | ||
| Peter |
Jim, I also had a funny thing with my front brake. It is a '00 model M2, so also uses Dot 4 fluid. I replaced the fluid before I went to Croix and also put new pads in both calipers. At the track, I asked Grizzly how I could go faster. "Braking" he said, "Anyone can go around corners fast, so out braking people is where you can win." I started doing my best to get the back wheel off the ground at 180kmh at the end of the straight as well as the slower corners. This meant my brakes were getting a REALLY hard time. The disc went blotchy within a few laps. This went on for three outings and then we went into town to get fuel. When we got back, it was time to go on the track again. As we had been riding, I figured my tyres were warm enough, and went as fast as possible down the straight so I could try another high speed stoppie attempt again. As I left the hairpin, I thought my bike was losing power. The next corner was slower and the one after I stopped because it was handling badly as well. When I tried to move the bike, I realised the front brake was jammed on. The wheel would only just turn, so I rode it to the pits and let it cool down. It freed up, so I took it back out and this time did a few laps building up the caliper temperature. Then I got hard on them at the end of the straight once more. No problem and it didn't happen again. The only thing I could think of was that the pistons expanded faster than the caliper body with the sudden heat. Next track day I will use some ceramic backed pads, and try it again. PPiA | ||
| Hans |
Nothing serious, but a warned man is worth two. Tipped the bike over. I am accustomed to shut the petcock before cutting the engine. Then the carburettor bowl is filled with fresh gas at next start after a few weeks. Starts first turn then. With sidestander out and running engine in neutral I snugged the bike into his corner. That rubber finger on the stander did his work, unnoticed by the shaking of the bike. I trusted the bike on his rest and there I stood suddenly with a bike heavy leaning in an impossible position hanging on my right hand. Good that nobody saw me, bad that nobody was there to help me out. Next stupid thing: If I could not get it upright then let it down as softly as possible on my left leg. Good for the bike, bad for my leg. Results: One day limping, one broken shifter peg. I still don`t know if I want to remove that rubber finger. It seems me superfluous with those two contact breakers as safety switches. Hans. | ||
| Sparky |
Jim, Sorry to hear of your misfortune. That's a chilling story. I had a similar incident with the front brake on my 98 S3 but it wasn't sudden - it gradually bound up to the point where the bike wouldn't coast. Story posted here and here. I believe that wet/cold & hot/dry conditions played a part in my incident. As a data point this model uses dot 5. Hope you get yours resolved satisfactorily. In any event, it's good to hear you reporting on the problem with an open mind. Sparky 96S1, 98S3 | ||
| Jima4media |
Peter and Sparky, Thanks for the data points. I should post this question on the GDB for a wider response, as well as on the ATC board. Jim X-2.5 | ||
| Rookie |
Seems like others are going through the same crap, I wiped about a week ago on my M2. Definitely my fault, riding beyond my abilities. Now I'm stuck with four screws in my arm, a busted rib, and a little roadrash. I'm glad I had a helmet on, it did it's job well. I'm actually more concerned with the bike, it runs fine but has some cosmetic damage. It will be needing a new muffler, left signals, widscreen, headlight, handlebars, left controls, mirror and gas tank. I'm afraid all the little stuff will end up totalling it out which would leave me in a bad spot with the insurance and all. Has anyone had to deal with this? The Insurance co. said as long as the damage isn't over 60%, I won't have any problems. Any info on this would be great. Thanks, Adam |
