Lowsided--scariest moment of my life

[armoredpig]

Today I was heading out on country roads on the outskirts of the Manassas battlefield (Bull Run).

On my way home, I hit a patch of gravel on a 35mph curve doing 35mph.  I lowsided and was flung into a pile of rocks (large gravel sized). 

Rash wise, there isn't much, but my gear protected me against the impact (and I thank god there was no guard rail there).

I remember the bike slipping out from under me, my head hit, and then getting up (I think I might've blacked out for a few seconds).  Two girls in a car stopped and waited until I managed to get my helmet off (I was stumbling).  A nice man stopped and waited until I was ok--afterwhich he gave me an apple to eat to calm my nerves..

In retrospect, I should have been sure my neck was not injured before removing my helmet..

Here are some pictures of the carnage:  (I'll post pics later when I return)







Btw, reusing my lid is a big no-no right?

[the mole]

Quote: "Btw, reusing my lid is a big no-no right?"

Only if you value your brain.

Sorry about your crash. You are OK and the bike is repairable. Life is good!

[mister]

That's right... reusing your helmet is a BIG "No No". Toss it and if you had insurance you'd have had a Replacement Helmet as part of it I assume - kinda standard as part of insurance down here in oz.

Now a question.... looking back at it now, do you See how you could have avoided it (what you did wrong)? Lesson learned, that kind of thing, that adds to your skill set and makes you a better rider. If so, please share.

One time I was making a right turn (as we ride on the left that means I had to cross the oncoming traffic. So for the US people it would be the same as making a left turn). There was a truck sticking its nose out from the side street I wanted to go into. So to give it maximum clearance I took the turn a little wider and later than I normally would. Into the turn the bike started to go out from under me, my foot came down onto the road by way of support, then traction caught and I made it through.

What had happened was, I had ridden into the debris area of the corner. The section of road where those going straight do not drive and those turning into the corner do no drive, nor those coming out of the corner - ALL intersections have them if you look carefully. That was certainly a lesson learned. Follow the trail the cars always make and if I cannot follow the usual line at the usual speed, slow down so I can without needing to go wider and a tad later.

Also, it happened so fast there was no time available so that *I* could have consciously made the decision to put my foot down. Either it was naturally instinctive to maintain balance - or - it came from all the foot down stuff I did from my dirt bike riding days.

Michael

[inexplicable718]

I am glad you are alright man. It happens. Dont get scared.

[armoredpig]

Thanks everyone!

I'll be retiring the helmet.  Lessons learned:  No target fixation; and slow down if needed to make a safe corner.

As for the bike--I should be glad I didn't break my neck; so instead of whining about the bike, I'll take my time fixing her up and take a few weeks break from riding  


Btw, does anyone know what the official name for the "gauge cups" are?  I am having no luck finding a replacement on ebay

[DoD#i]

Btw, does anyone know what the official name for the "gauge cups" are?  I am having no luck finding a replacement on ebay

Don't know about official - but official can usually be looked up on the bike bandit parts diagrams.

Here they are usually called gauge buckets. Post a WTB (in the forsale/wanted/trade section of this forum) if you haven't already - might do better than e*ay.

...and glad you're good, and were geared up.  

[armoredpig]

oh no!  I have discovered some frame damage..

Here are some cockpit shots with the bars at full lock left and right..  It seems the trapezoidal piece that controls the range of motion has shifted from impact.. 






Yeah, it definitely hasn't been my week =[

[Ed500]

you said target fixaton was to blame as well? what were you fixated at if I migh ask? the corner itself, another vehicle?
all the best, hope you get 'er fixed up asap.

[armoredpig]

I was fixating on the gravel--I think a million things were flying through my head when I was in that cornder..  I was riding beyond my skill, fixated on gravel, and the fear froze me up..

At least thats what I think--I hit my head hard enough to warrant a trip to the doc's 

[ohgood]

isn't that just a cable/whatever that's preventing the triple from moving all the way RIGHT ? looks like it's jammed between the steering stop and the triple's stop ?

you'll prolly want ot loosen up your triples and spin the fork tubes to make sure they aren't bent/damaged.

[Toogoofy317]

You can take the buckets off of these then sell the gauges on here  http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SUZUKI-GS500-1989-98-SPEEDOMETER-NICE-ITEM-MUST-SEE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem2a0192e716QQitemZ180415031062QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Glad your allright. I wouldn't take a few weeks off unless medically advised. I.E I tore three ligaments in my ankle so i had to take 6weeks off. But, the day (ahem yeah right was on a week before ) I was back on the bike. Many people if they take "time" off for "fear" they usually don't get back on. Heal up get a new helmet if insurance is paying for it a Shoei sounds GREAT LOL and get back in the saddle!

Mary

[tt_four]

Guard rails terrify me. They're just one more than that was completely and utterly designed for the benefit of cars, with no thought for motorcycles what so ever. One of my worst fears of riding is hitting some gravel, and having my body sliced in half by one of the posts. They really need to extend the actually guard section all the way down to the ground. I was out riding with someone once who went ride and hit some gravel. He was ok buy his bike hit the rail. The engine cracked open like an egg, and the bike managed to wedge under the lip of the guard rail, and the frame slider caught on the back, so the bike couldn't even be pulled back out.

[mister]

One of our bike mags wrote to the Armco Guard rail makers about motorcycle friendly guard rails. Their reply was.... don't hit them.

That about sums up their attitude.

The other one is those Cables that are sometimes used instead of guardrails.

Michael

[Gary856]

Above show the damages to my bike's ('01 GS) gauge cluster from my lowside (between 30-40mph) back in May. I also bent the handlebar and the steer stop tab, broke a Givi screen, and dented the tank pretty badly. Lower down, the engine guards took the brunt of the forces.

I looked for a replacement gauge buket for a while. Couldn't find one. Finally ordered a new one from MRCycles.com, $41.66 plus shipping. This plastic gauge bucket is the "cheaper" part in the gauge cluster. Officially they seem to call this bucket a "cover".  

Your pants look almost undamaged. My FirstGear overpants were shreaded in the butt area where I slid. 

[glynnd89]

"Don't Hit them." AAAAAAhahahahaahahhahaah, bad, but hilarious at the same time. LOL

[Rhandom]

A couple of months ago, I was coming down a hill making a right turn and I came up against about 15 cars at the stop sign that usually has 2 at the most. I  set the bike down and tucked and rolled. I was probably only going about 20mph and I got up with no visible scratches/wounds other than my busted bike and a really sore shoulder. I raced BMX and did freestyle when I was a kid so my instincts kicked in and saved me from the scrapes and head injury (didn't hit my head/helmet when I rolled). I bring this up because the damage on my bike looks exactly like your pictures and my shoulder which I should have had looked at is sore today (it's going to rain *grin*). My learning experience was that I panic'ed and I think locked my rear break. I remember looking at the oncoming traffic and the rear end of the car and the debris on the side of the road and realizing I was done.
On the bright side, my friend who was also a GS500 rider had an 07 he was trying unsuccessfully to sell brought it over for me to borrow until I get mine roadworthy again. We ended up trading my old subaru for it and I've been riding the rest of the season. I'm probably going to try to put my 98 GS back together and then try to decide which bike I want to sell come spring.

[Y2K6GS500F]

Glad your ok.