Well, after 413 days and nearly 7,000 miles of riding, I crashed yesterday. I was in Topenga Canyon riding in the twisties and I was just plain deceived by a turn. It really didn't look that bad from the entry, but it ended up tighter than I had originally thought and I went wide. My rear tire hit the sand at the side of the road and spun the bike 180 degrees while I pretty much kept going forward. I came down really hard on my left shoulder, bounced, came down hard on my right shoulder and bounced again before finally sliding to a stop. I was going about 35 when I went down.
My gear saved me from major injury. I was wearing my Rev'IT Infinity suit, Red Wing boots, Rev'IT Kelvin H2O gloves, and Icon Airframe helmet. I landed right on the shoulder pads of the suit and I'm pretty sure they helped mitigate the damage a lot. I didn't end up with a single scratch, just some big bruises and serious soreness. I spent the morning at the doctor's office getting x-rayed and all that, and I don't have anything broken. The suit even survived without any tears, it just got dirty from sliding through sand with me in it. Overall, I'd say the Infinity suit was totally worth the money.
The bike had the minimum amount of damage possible to make it not rideable. The crash bent the rearset on the left side so the peg interfered with the shifter. I was able to ride the bike to The Rock Store (a local motorcycle friendly cafe a half mile away from where I crashed) but had to get it towed home. The case was saved by some sweet Buddha case guards, but the engine bolts (that also hold the guards on) were bent pretty badly. I'll have to bug Buddha for the size of those bolts so I can get a new set. The guards themselves were totally fine, the powder coating was hardly even scratched. I also have some Buddha two weld bars on the bike and they didn't budge. My bar end mirror spun around as the bars impacted the tank, but the bars seem as straight as ever. Besides the rearset, the headlight was damaged (not stock, some random junkyard replacement that I was already thinking of ditching), the left side plastic was cracked (I have a spare right side plastic, but not left, grr), the left turn signal was broken (just some no name fake carbon fiber deal I already hated), the tank was dented yet another time and my license plate went missing. I have no idea where the plate went. My bike was given an uber fenderectomy by some PO and the license plate was held on by a couple of tabs screwed in to the remains of the fender. When the bike hit the ground, the plate must have gone flying. I looked around for it, but couldn't find it anywhere. The rearset perch on the frame was also bent a bit, but I'm hoping I can bend that out with a long bar and the careful application of some brute force...
While I was taking a breather at the side of the road and looking for my license plate, I found plastic at the side of the road from 5 or 6 other bikes. For whatever reason, that turn must be super deceptive and trick a lot of bikers into coming in too hot. It made me feel a little better to realize I was nowhere near the first person to wipe out on that very turn.
I know that there have been a lot of threads here lately complaining about Harley riders, but I have to say, this experience totally changed my opinion. As I was crashing, a group of 6 or 7 Harley riders was coming the opposite direction. When I went down, they pulled over. Some of them blocked the road while others made sure I was OK and helped me up and then picked my bike up for me. My bike was moved to a safe place at the side of the road and they waited with me until they were sure I was OK and the cops showed up. Overall the Harley riders were super nice and they made me feel a lot better. The CHP was on scene in no time because they patrol the area on the weekends to keep people from getting too stupid in the twisties...
In the end, I guess everything went as well as it could have, given that I crashed. I wasn't seriously injured and the bike was not damaged too heavily. I took the left rearset off my project bike to make the bike rideable again, so I'm not even really out of a bike at the moment. I was riding with a friend, and he took some pictures of the site and some of the damage. I'll post those photos as soon as I get them. I guess the lesson here is that you shouldn't underestimate strange looking turns and you really should wear all your gear. If I hadn't been wearing all my gear, I'd likely have broken bones and tons of road rash. With the gear, I was well enough to go home and start repairing the damage to my bike.
I guess it is time to go hit up the for sale section, but if anyone out there has a stock headlight, a left rearset or a left side plastic ('94 purple would be nice).
cool, you're breathing. post some pics of your gear wehn you get a chance, ok ?
ya, hd folks are generally just as numb skulled as we are, and the bmw guys are too, they just don't know it ;)
Glad you're OK.
Good to hear you're OK. Good gear saved your hide.
Good to hear you are still fully functional. Sounds like the good gear saved your ass. Crashes suck, but at least you learn something and you got to walk away and the financial hit doesn't sound too bad. Let us know how you feel in a few days. Sometimes you don't recognize how bad a crash has messed you up, but 35 mph is not too bad.
Enjoy the ride, but dress for the crash. All the gear all the time - it doesn't do miracles, but it sure does help.
Glad to hear you are OK, at least other than the bruises. Bikes can be fixed, or even replaced, depending....
good thing you had your gear!
wow man. glad you're ok. every crash that doesn't kill you makes you a better rider right?
I saw a bad bad aftermath of a crash today....totaled a big harley.....chopper was landing as we went by. Scary.
Glad to hear your ok.
+1 on gear...learned the second day I had my first bike that riding in khakis is a poor idea. Glad you're still with us. We've had 7 or 8 folks killed by cagers the last two weeks around here, glad you made it out.
I did something similiar years ago in a T intersection. Helmet but no other gear. Hands, knees paid for it. With just riding again and all the advice and particularily from Mary I have been getting riding. Armored riding jacket, helmet and I already had a pair of above the ankle boots that work perfectly. Pants are next. Will get a mesh armor jacket for summer.
The spinning and banging around is surreal while its happening, then when your done with all that the real sets in. Glad your safe and riding again. I've learned not to categorize riders by their bikes choices. Best friend in service was a Harley rider, ex-bandito from LA, Shrevesport area. Great rider and great friend.
Looking forward to pictures.
Wow, glad you had your gear on! Take it easy for a few days shouler injuries take a day or so to really rear their ugly heads. You know why I know!
+2 dress for the crash not the ride!
"With just riding again and all the advice and particularily from Mary I have been getting riding"
I am glad that my series of unfortunate events has helped somebody at least :cool:
Mary
Ahh sucks about the crash :(
Nice to hear the Inifinity suit held up well. Ive just bought one over here in the UK (have to mail order) it should be here in a couple of weeks! They get good write ups, did you go for black or gray? Whats it like in the heat?
Kaz
Quote from: Kasumi on April 28, 2009, 12:51:55 PM
Ahh sucks about the crash :(
Nice to hear the Inifinity suit held up well. Ive just bought one over here in the UK (have to mail order) it should be here in a couple of weeks! They get good write ups, did you go for black or gray? Whats it like in the heat?
Kaz
The Infinity suit is pretty awesome. It is super crazy waterproof, which is really really handy. I went for the gray one, I figured it was slightly more visible than the black. I wish the pockets were a little bigger, but other than that, I love it. It is so fast and easy to get on and off over street clothes. It is OK when it is warm out, but it hasn't really gotten hot here yet. I've ridden in 85F weather in it and it was starting to get a bit warm, so I'm not sure what it is going to be like when it goes over 100 here, which will be in a month or so. I'll do a post on it when it gets hot out.
Thanks Mary. You're totally right, the shoulder injury definitely is still evolving. I've got a boatload of naproxen to help make it feel better, and the doctor predicts I'll be OK in a week or two. I always dress for the crash, for sure. Most of my riding is commuting, so when I do finally get a chance to go on some fun rides (like I was doing when I crashed), not only do I wear all my gear, I take everything out of my pockets. I figure during my commute, the odds of crashing are not quite as high as they are when I'm riding on twisty roads for fun and I'd really rather not land on my keys...
Damn it - if we'd gotten you that rack by now, your plates wouldn't have gone flying away!
Seriously though, I'm glad you walked away from the crash. Here's to a speedy recovery, but take it easy for the next couple of weeks. :cheers:
Quote from: pronator on April 28, 2009, 02:08:52 PM
Damn it - if we'd gotten you that rack by now, your plates wouldn't have gone flying away!
Seriously though, I'm glad you walked away from the crash. Here's to a speedy recovery, but take it easy for the next couple of weeks. :cheers:
If you had gotten me the rack by now, I would have just destroyed it.
Thanks, I'm glad I walked away too. I don't think I could have been less injured from a crash at that speed...
glad you're OK.
and this is a great lesson for everyone, not only you, that they should wear all the gear all the time!!
heal quickly!!
As promised, here are some pictures of what happened (taken by my friend):
Here I am all happy to be out for a beautiful ride with all my gear on. Mohawks and helmet hair go together in an odd way sometimes, I didn't know he was taking a picture of me:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0118.JPG)
My GS and my friend's Speed Four before the crash:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0120.JPG)
Here's an idea of what the terrain was like:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0122.JPG)
Here is the best shot my friend got of the turn, notice the ominous bits of other bikes:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0136.JPG)
Here are more bits of other bikes. That oil stain in the upper left was caused by my bike. It lost a bit of oil when it was on its side. Fortunately, I was able to kill the engine as soon as I came to a stop by just kicking the rear wheel and stopping it from spinning:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0132.JPG)
Photo of the peg damage, check out all the sand on the swingarm. You can also see the new dent in the tank, just below the tank bag:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0126.JPG)
Another view of the peg, this is why I couldn't ride it home:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0124.JPG)
My bike with my suit draped over it. You can see the Buddha case guard bent into the case. Only the bolts bent, the guard itself was fine. You can also see the broken turn signal peeking out from behind the mirror that got spun around the bar. Also note the sweet sweet Indian I parked next to:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0128.JPG)
I know it is sideways, but you can see my suspicious lack of license plate:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0129.JPG)
Here is The Rock Store, where we ended up eating breakfast while waiting for the tow truck. You can see from the skid marks that it isn't only motorcycles who do stupid things here:
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0142.JPG)
Here I am unloading the bike from the tow truck. Notice how crooked the headlight is. You can also see the bent case guard to your right (my left):
(http://flavoroftheweak.com/stuff/090426-Mullholland_with_Fred/PICT0144.JPG)
You should look up the turn on google maps and post it! There are a few turns around the rock store on mullholland and latigo canyon that have almost gotten me. Glad your in once piece. We should go on a relaxed sunday ride when you get the bike back together. 8)
Quote from: respite on April 29, 2009, 12:22:29 AM
You should look up the turn on google maps and post it! There are a few turns around the rock store on mullholland and latigo canyon that have almost gotten me. Glad your in once piece. We should go on a relaxed sunday ride when you get the bike back together. 8)
Good point, here is the google map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Mulholland+Hwy&daddr=30354+Mulholland+Hwy,+Cornell,+CA+91301+(Rockstore)&hl=en&geocode=FROJCAIdInjr-A%3BCarmZmVafTXmFZl4CAIdzG_r-CGDgAAvpoz8MA&gl=us&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=34.111936,-118.783964&sspn=0.01606,0.017939&ie=UTF8&ll=34.113748,-118.785947&spn=0.001004,0.001121&t=h&z=20
I crashed on the right angle turn, then rode the bike to the rock store in first gear. The map doesn't do a great job of capturing the elevation change. From right to left on the map the road drops quite a bit. I was coming from the higher side and something about the layout of the turn made it seem less sharp than it was. Looking at it again, I guess the problem was that i couldn't see the whole turn from a position in which I could have slowed down more, so I assumed that the turn was constant radius when it isn't, which was a bad move.
We should go riding together. The bike is rideable again (the beauty of having two bikes is that you can scavenge parts from one to the other to make a rideable bike), but I think I'll take it easy for a week or two until my shoulders stop hurting so much...
Okay, Okay, I gotta ask. Did your Rapid Transit Recon 19 come off in the crash? Glad you're back up and riding!
Mary
Glad you're ok. I've got a rear set you can have for shipping, no peg though. PM me if you want it.
Last time I was at the rock store I seen a guy come limping in with his shirt all filthy rash on his arm and pants a bit cut up. after I finished eating I seen an R1 out sude from my view the bike was good walked around the otherside and :o that biek was gone no shifter or peg bent clip-on trashed fairing the list goes on. later i got a chance to talk to him he said he took the turn too hot and went wide. I think the only time I came close to the guard rails was on latigo canyon on a decreseing radious turn, i ended up haveing to use the brakes in a turn fighting to keep leaning and braking at the same time was not that easy but i managed. the tun you took I dont go to fast their I usually cruise to the store then twist back down to latigo then twist that too. a good sunday ride does sound good :thumb:
Quote from: Toogoofy317 on April 29, 2009, 02:10:57 AM
Okay, Okay, I gotta ask. Did your Rapid Transit Recon 19 come off in the crash? Glad you're back up and riding!
Mary
Yeah, it went flying. the nice Harley riders picked it up for me. Nothing got damaged, including my phone, which was in the phone pocket on top, so that was good. I guess if you hit it hard enough, it will come off...
That is the exact turn i was thinking of. Hard one right after the bar. Im still convinced it would have gotten me if i wasn't following someone else the first time i took it. Guy knew i was a new rider and kept me at a slow pace. Havent been out there in a while, but i remember the road is usually black with skid marks on that stretch.