May 1st, 2007-  A day that I'll remember forever.  The day that the combination of lack of skill, over confidence and a decision not to wear gear put me in a helicopter and my bike in a junk yard.  I believe I posted on here as soon as I re-grew finger prints, but I can't remember. 
       
     It was warm that Monday morning and I decided that a helmet, t-shirt, jeans and Pumas were enough for a quick ride behind my parents in their minivan to my Grandparents.  I had gotten really good at sit-down wheelies and had just recently began to attempt stand-ups.  I pulled up a few in second gear, and rode them a good while, but I didn't like how fast the engine was turning at BP.  I decided to try an up shift to third on the next one.  I was having to muscle the bike up a hill with a slight curve in it, so i should have just sat it down...  but thought I'd pull it off anyway.  As I topped the hill, I rolled off the gas and let the front drop below BP to keep from going too far back; I also kicked it into third.  Some how I got on it too hard, and slightly remember the sick feeling as I passed BP and the scraping sound of the tail hitting.  I was slammed into the ground and flipped and flopped, skidded and scraped, rolled and ground to a stop a about 100 yards from where I topped the hill.  My parents were a good ways in front of me because I had opened up a gap to have room to wheelie, But my Mom saw the whole thing in the mirrors.  I remember lying on the road, and realizing what had happened.  I lifted myself to my feet and started stumbling.  My 2006 GSX-R600 had tumbled further down the road and ended up in a ditch, crumbled into a ball.  Plastics were scattered everywhere.  My parents had turned around and stopped.  My Dad ran to my side, and got me to sit down.  Both he and my Mother are nurses.  Dad started checking me out and telling me that I was ok, just really beat up.  It was when I saw him crying and heard his voice trembling that I looked at my self, and instantly the pain set in.  I felt like I was on fire!  My Mom managed to find signal and call my Grandmother (also a nurse) and 911.  I was fading in and out from the pain and remember when my Grandmother got there and held my finger tips to keep my arms off the ground.  Everything was throbbing and bleeding.  After what seemed like a lifetime, the EMTs got there and not long after, the helicopter.  I was flown 50 miles to MCG hospital. I ended up not having any serious injures and spent a day in the trauma unit.   I would writhe in pain while my Mother would change my dressings 3 times a day, and how she cryed the whole time.  And the awful itching as the skin began to heal. I couldn't even use the restroom by myself for weeks, and didn't heal enough to work again for over 3 months. 
   
     I've since purchased a 2001 GSX-R1000 and put about 10,000 miles on it.  I still do sit-down wheelies, but only while wearing full gear.  I just want to remind everyone to wear gear,  and not ride outside their limits as I did.  Remember that you affect dozens of people when you are injured; not just your self.  Thank you for your time and if you care to see any photos of the aftermath, check my MySpace: www.myspace.com/andrewasaurus

Wheeling with no leathers or boots on , is my eyes is just asking for trouble , had u had all your gear on , u probley would have got up and walked away , im sorry if that sounds harsh , but if i try to wheelie , then i wear alll my gear

Damn, thanks for bringing up that it's been almost a year since my wreck.  Seems like you've made it out well and become a better rider for it.........things may seem bad at first but they may not always............ya know the story about the zen master...............

ugh get rid of that horrible music on your myspace    glad you are ok and sort of learned your lesson...but you are still doing wheelies

i did one the otehr day, ( accidentally) hit a false neutral, and almsot redline.  scared teh f%$k out of me

Yes, I still do whelies.  4th Gear sit down's on power mostly.  And I was doing about 90mph when I fliped.  It's hard not to wheelie, especially when trying to launch.  The first three gears are stupid.  You guys ever ridden a geared 1000?

yes, and it scares teh f%$k out of me, one false move on my part 

Not quite a liter superbike, but I rode an HM1100 recently and the damn thing just would not keep the front end on the ground.  Bastard came up on me shifting into 5th at 85mph.  Hell even my 750ss wants to come up shifting into 3rd.

well whadaya expect, its a motard 

Still think wheeliing with no gear , execept a Helmet is stupid , and i think 90 mph is a tad of a Porky , being u would have been like cheese on a grater ,

And i havent ridden a 1000 ,

I went from 70cc , to 125cc , to 500cc , to .. 675cc on my birthday , and i doubt ill be getting a litre for a while

Then agen , ive never come off a bike *touch wood *

well if you want it to be official, you got to KNOCK ON IT not touch it ( wood that is)

Nope never ridden a 1000, only 954cc's.

Yeah it'll wheelie on demand big deal. It's the lowest common denominator and takes almost no skill on a litre bike. Especially if you've geared it down to stunt.

FYI standups on the rear pegs are easier to balance and ride long distances

Personally it's a whole helluva lot more fun with both wheels on the ground, if it had been meent to be ridden on 1 wheel they would have made it a motorized unicycle not a motorized bicycle.

Quote from: bettingpython on May 04, 2008, 01:51:18 PM
Personally it's a whole helluva lot more fun with both wheels on the ground, if it had been meent to be ridden on 1 wheel they would have made it a motorized unicycle not a motorized bicycle.

I actually had this discussion with a sales guy at the local shop.  He said he felt safer stunting than getting a knee down.  I told him the only reason for that is a lack of riding skill and that any retard can wheelie a modern sport bike, it takes skill to grind knee pads down at 100+.

hahah terry

I'm not intentionally flaming you, but looking at your myspace, don't you think you should tone down your driving/riding?

A rolled over S-10 and a ruined bike.

I watched that whole slide show of your wounds, pretty intense. You still ride like that?

well....look on the bright side....you're still alive to tell us bout it...

Wow.  This is alot of mixxed replys.  I'll try to knock them all out with one...  First of all, doing wheelies isn't me trying to prove anything, or whatever else you guys might think.  I do them because I like them, plain and simple.  Sadly, I learned what not to do before learning what to do; the hard way.  And it has nothing to do with not being able to drag a knee.  I'm not sure if you were talking to me or not, but you shouldn't assume another riders skill.  And riding good BP wheelies is alot harder than some people think.  Their excuse is usually that they find it too dumb and don't want to waste time learning.  Quick question, what do Ben Spies, Mat Maladin, John Hopkins and most other racers do on the last strech crosing the finish line if the race isn't too close?  A BIG ASS stand-up wheelie.  Especially Hopkins. And yes, I've had my bad times on vehicles, skatebords, snowboards, watercraft and nearly an airplane.  Have I not admited fault enough in the thread its self?  I wasn't posting to show off my battle wounds, or brag about wheelies; I posted out of care for my felow riders.  It had come up on the 1 year mark, and I thought I'd post about it to share with some of the newer members...  To let them know that what I knew and ignored, is a harsh reality.  Thank you for replying, and no hard feelings.

If i put my hand in a fire , its going to get burned , however , if i wear a fireproof glove , i am not ,

If i wheelie and fall off in a t shirt , im sure id loose most of my tattoo , if i fall off in full gear , im sure ill get up with out a mark ,

Im just saying if ur gonna be doing something that makes riding even harder , and the chance to fall off even worst , id wear gear

Quote from: Jay_wolf on May 07, 2008, 04:29:02 PM
If i put my hand in a fire , its going to get burned , however , if i wear a fireproof glove , i am not ,

If i wheelie and fall off in a t shirt , im sure id loose most of my tattoo , if i fall off in full gear , im sure ill get up with out a mark ,

Im just saying if ur gonna be doing something that makes riding even harder , and the chance to fall off even worst , id wear gear

That pretty much echoed the intent of the whole post.  Thank you, maybe some'll pay atention to yours.