Crashed (my first!): Pics of Gear/Bike

[Malatesta]

So ironically after commenting in this thread about how nice it is to read other people's experiences in crashes, no less than a week later I have my first   

Story

Was out riding around East on Long Island on Sunday, as is tradition around these parts.  Was out doing photography, just riding around and enjoying the autumn weather.  I was also testing some of my new gear to see how warm I could stay (it was in the 40's).

After about 4 hrs I was heading home on Rt 25A, which is pretty fun to ride (lots of twists) but at times can have heavy traffic.  Time was around 6-ish, which also meant it was just getting real dark.

Anyways, was doing about 40mph heading West when a red mini-van (heading East) decided to turn left, thereby crossing my path.  He claims he didn't see me and was obviously driving too fast/not looking.

From my end I'm cruising and all of a sudden I see the side of a mini-van right in my path.  This was near the bottom of a decline.  I grabbed my breaks, bike slid out and down we went..  I fell to the left and the bike slid out from under me, sparking every where.  Thankfully we both missed the mini-van. 

Results

So here is my gear:

Jacket: Hit Air EU (airbag jacket w/ CE armor)
Helmet: Icon Airframe (white for high visibility w/reflective tape)
Gloves: Joe Rocket Nitrogen
Boots: BMW Allround
Pants: HT Air Overpants 2.0 (w/CE armor)

Honestly, I did not have a single scratch on me.  My knee is a tad sore today, but more like I banged it on the table than taking a fall.  Other than that though, I'm perfectly fine.  The air bag jacked deployed--it propped up my neck and kept my upper body off the pavement.  The brunt of the fall was on my left forearm and left knee.  Thanks to the CE armor and the fact I was layered, I didn't feel a thing.

Even my gloves (first day using them!) are barely scratched.  Most the gear can be repaired with some patching.  The Hit Air jacked just needs a new CO2 canister, which cost like $20 and a patch and it should be good to go again.

Conclusion:  Highly recommend all my gear  Sure it's costly, but I walked away from a 40mph fall without a knick on me.  Air bag jackets, though costly, are just awesome.  My EU style is great for the fall/winter and I'm planning on getting one of the mesh ones for the summer.

Bike

2006 GS500f.  Just bought it off the lot 2 months ago 

It's my first bike and loves it.  Thankfully damage was minimal.  All cosmetic and even then, not too bad. Some things are a bit out of alignment (left peg) but nothing broke off--not even my blinkers or mirrors.

Falling on the left side obviously helped a lot as my kickstand acted as a kind of frame slider.  Combined with my bar-end weight, it kept most of the fairing off the ground but obviously as can be seen below, some damage was incurred.

Still, considering what happened I think this was probably the least damage I could have experienced, so no complaints.

End

The driver did pull over and he felt really bad.  We exchanged information and probably won't go through insurance.  He took responsiblity for the accident and (hopefully) will pay for some of the repair.

I know if I itemize everything, it'd be a ton of money.  So honestly, I probably will just get the bike checked out, realigned and have some minor work done on it.  We'll see.

Finally, can't stress enough how having the right gear can help a lot.  Sure it costs a bunch but I feel pretty secure now.  Although considering all the ways this accident could have ended, I certainly lucked out from the circumstances (I imagine broad siding the mini-van would result is far more damage to me and the bike).

Pics

                              

[cafeboy]

Dude, That suck.
Glad that you made it out good. 
Stay safe bro.
 

ps Ya know if you had your seat cowl on it  then it would not have happend. 

[Malatesta]

Dude, That suck.
Glad that you made it out good. 
Stay safe bro.
 

ps Ya know if you had your seat cowl on it  then it would not have happend. 

I was just thinking that!  Yeah, hopefully I'll get that cowl on this week if the weather warms a bit.  Can't wait!

[fred]

Glad to hear you're ok. Thanks for all the pictures of the gear, it is always good to see what the stuff looks like after it has met pavement. The airbag jacket sounds very interesting, I'll have to look into getting one...

[Bluesmudge]

Glad to hear it went so well. Are you sure you don't want to take it through insurance? It’s the other guy's fault and his insurance should pay for all your gear and repairs. Did you not lose your front blinker or mirror? Are you going to do anything about the scratched fairings?

I'm not really one to talk (considering I just crashed) but you might want to practice emergency braking, sound like you slammed the rear brake way too hard which caused the fall. That’s just what it sounds like to me. 

[ohgood]

ok, you're an amateur photographer, right ? would you please post several pictures of that jacket after the crash. i'd like to see how and where the bladders are, post crash.

the more the better.

thanks

oh, and glad you're ok thanks to your new fangled doo hickey air jacket.

[Malatesta]

ok, you're an amateur photographer, right ? would you please post several pictures of that jacket after the crash. i'd like to see how and where the bladders are, post crash.

the more the better.

thanks

oh, and glad you're ok thanks to your new fangled doo hickey air jacket.

Hmm...the before and after pics won't really look any different.

The jacket inflates in about 0.5 seconds and then deflates I think about 30-60 seconds afterwards.  The only bladders that I can see are the one around the neck which is a exposed partially and the one for the lower back, which is a flap the folds down when inflated. (for those who haven't seen it, here's a YouTube demo vid)

The front and rear airbags are internal, so you don't actually see them AFAIK.  The internal design looks like this:



Here's the neck bag...doesn't look like much, lol:



Update: Here are Two demo picks of the same jacket (different color) infalted:

 

Glad to hear it went so well. Are you sure you don't want to take it through insurance? It’s the other guy's fault and his insurance should pay for all your gear and repairs. Did you not lose your front blinker or mirror? Are you going to do anything about the scratched fairings?

I'm not really one to talk (considering I just crashed) but you might want to practice emergency braking, sound like you slammed the rear brake way too hard which caused the fall. That’s just what it sounds like to me. 

Valid point.  I'll see after I take it to the shop and talk to the guy.  He seemed to want to pay out of pocket instead of the insurance.  Though I agree this is probably not the smart thing to do, in the case...well I'm kinda a Taoist, so I don't let much in the material world bother me too much 

Didn't loose blinker or mirror (mirror has a minor scrape on the plastic, barely noticeable.) I think most the scuffed fairing is a simple mild sand + touch up paint job, unless I want to replace the whole side.

Re: the braking.  Yeah, I've practiced a bit and took the MSF intro course.  The rear brake analysis is probably accurate, although it all happened so fast, I don't really remember.

A mitigating factor was the fact I was going downhill at the time and had more acceleration and threw me off a bit, plus...lets be honest...I pretty much flinched!  Still, practice is always good.

[kml.krk]

glad to hear that fellow new yorker came out unscratched of this accident 

cheers
KaMeL

[drincruz]

air bag jacket....interesting. i'll look into that.

well from what it sounds and looks like, everything is ok and you'll still be riding.   

stay safe!

[Roadstergal]

sound like you slammed the rear brake way too hard which caused the fall

I was thinking it sounded like he tucked the front, but either way - yes, practicing emergency stops is good.  Progressive front brake.

However, practicing emergency swerves are at least as important if not more so.  I prefer swerving to stopping if an escape route is present, as it takes less time and distance to swerve than it does to stop from any decent road speed.  I've saved my behind swerving behind cars that have turned in front of me.

That is, unfortunately, the burden of motorcyclists who want to stay upright.  You are responsible for the cluelessness of others.  If a car is next to you, you have to assume that it will change lanes abruptly into you and be prepared for that.  If a car is in front of you, you have to assume it will brake abruptly with no good reason and be prepared to avoid.  If a car is waiting to exit a parking lot, you have to assume it will turn right in front of you and be prepared to evade.  If a car is coming the opposite direction, especially if it's slowing, you have to be ready for it to turn in front of you.

My first and only street crash was several years ago, when a woman made a fail-to-yield left and T-boned me.  My thought process - "She sees me - she won't hit..." *crunch*  Since then, I assume that any car will do the worst thing it can in any given circumstance, and that set of assumptions has served me very well.

[Malatesta]

Roadstergal: Yeah, I plan on taking the Advanced Rider Course in the Spring where they teach you those defensive riding techniques.

I generally ride like they can't see me (hence why I attempt to increase visibility with a white helmet, reflectors, etc.)--but this guy didn't even have a blinker on...just outta no where.  Still, I need to practice that braking and swerving.  Although in this case, with such little distance for braking and reaction, I'd be real curious to see how it could have played differently.  Too bad it wasn't recorded 


drincruz: oh yeah, rode home right after that and did some errands; rode the next night too, lol.  Honestly, with all my gear it felt more like I fell off a sled.  That's only 'cause there was no contact with the offender.

Highly recommend the airbag jacket.  Unfortunately, most are Japanese made/imported so they are expensive.  Try eBay in the Spring or on occasion--that's where I got mine.  Bikebone.com is the only "official" U.S. distributor (just got my replacement and spare CO2 from them), but they charge a lot.  There are quite a few styles and variations though.

kml.krk: 

BTW, the guy has called already to check up on me and he'll cover the costs of repairs (not much).

[beRto]

Glad you're ok - thanks for the post! 

[airnuts]

wow...good thing you had good gear.
I like the idea of the air-bag-jacket...
Might get one myself although im sure
that i would forget about the tether when
i get off ...poof

[fred]

Hmm, that airbag jacket is intriguing... I'm going to have to look into getting one of those.

[RyanClarke]

Where on Long Island were you?  Just curious...I'm currently awaiting shipment on my GS to my new home in Cutchogue (east of Riverhead, west of Greenport).  Glad to hear you're alright!

[LOUiE]

I assume that any car will do the worst thing it can in any given circumstance, and that set of assumptions has served me very well.

well put... this is my new MOTTO!! 

[wladziu]

I don't let much in the material world bother me too much 
[/quote]


Aren't YOU in the material world?  
How about that van that could have broken your neck?

I bet he sure learned his lesson, not to pull out in front of motorcyclists.  

[Bluehaze]

Thanks for the post. I am glad you are ok.  I am definitely have to look into that jacket. Very interesting.   Also i think its Australian dollar.. which means more discount for US buyers.. well for now anyway.. unless our economy keeps tanking.

[Y2K6GS500F]

Glad your ok, and that the guy stopped.

[Malatesta]

BTW I did get the total estimate if I were to fix everything.  Since they don't even attempt to touch up scuffs on fairings (they just order the whole darn thing) it comes to $1k with parts, labor and tax. 

But, lets be honest.  Who needs to pay labor rates to put on a fairing?  Seems easy enough as would be most of the replacements.  So I'll send him the bill and see what comes of it.  Either way, not too concerned.  I do have a bent left peg and the gear-shift is a bit bent, but it works just fine.  That is my first fix.

I also had a BackOff XP installed.  Wouldn't have mattered for this accident, but I still feel it's a good addon. 

Aren't YOU in the material world?  
How about that van that could have broken your neck?

I bet he sure learned his lesson, not to pull out in front of motorcyclists.  

Heh, yeah.  What I meant to say that having some superficial cosmetic damage doesn't keep me up at night and I don't really worry about it. 

Where on Long Island were you?  Just curious...I'm currently awaiting shipment on my GS to my new home in Cutchogue (east of Riverhead, west of Greenport).  Glad to hear you're alright!

This was in Smithtown.

East of Riverhead?  It's so low traffic out there, I wouldn't worry    I ride in the Huntington/Northport area which is much more dense.

My advice: just be real careful riding around between 4-8pm as people are racing to get home, the sun has gone down, etc.  That's generally the worse time.  Luckily I normally ride in mid-day and after 11pm, so I usually avoid those situations.

See my above about BackOff XP--definitely add that.  It's cheap and good to have on LI.

Thanks for the post. I am glad you are ok.  I am definitely have to look into that jacket. Very interesting.   Also i think its Australian dollar.. which means more discount for US buyers.. well for now anyway.. unless our economy keeps tanking.

Thanks.  And yeah, highly recommend the jacket.

I just added a Dainese Spine Guard (Back Space G2) which slides right into the the jacket.  Figured it'd give me a lil' extra protection. lol