Crash! And I think the Falcon's hurt as bad as me.

[Roostabunny]

Post-crash bike and gear pics

Post-crash bike and gear pics

Hey Fellas,

Got some full-sized pics up here. Seems to be mostly turn signals and ignition parts that are messed up. Also put up a couple of pics of my helmet and jacket.

I'm working on the description of the crash itself - hoping myself and others can learn more by sharing the experience. It's just taking me a while cause I'm thinking about it as I go.

Let me know if the link doesn't work - thanks!

Link to pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joshua....authkey=Gv1sRgCOjlpaPd6MDkkQE&feat=directlink

 

[Macguyver]

Hey Fellas,

Got some full-sized pics up here. Seems to be mostly turn signals and ignition parts that are messed up. Also put up a couple of pics of my helmet and jacket.

OUCH!

I hope your recovery is quick and complete.

I have a set of the same rectangular signals that are from the rear of my 81 650G, I believe they are all the same excepting the mounting brackets.

One is sun-discoloured though, but the other looks quite good. I figure one of them has to match the good one on the left side of your bike. I will also freshen up the sockets and solder fresh wiring onto them.

Just let me know if you want them and they are yours.

 

[Roostabunny]

Crash data

Crash data

Hey all, here's the data on my crash.

******************************************************
Highway pothole in the left-hand lane at between 65-70mph set off a bad shimmy, controlled stop was complicated by rumble strips & debris in left-side breakdown lane, grabbed harder at the front brake to avoid angling into center barrier, locked up front wheel and went down.

Divine protection saved me from high-siding (getting thrown), riding gear minimized the damage.
******************************************************

That's the short version. I'm giving the detailed version here on GSR in the hopes that someone might learn something from it. I know others here have done the same, and I found it valuable, so if my relatively minor crash can help someone avoid theirs (or even deal with the fear of a crash they've never had), then great.

The description above is after a days worth of thinking about it and then looking at the bike. At first I thought that maybe touching the cement barrier tipped me over, but the more I thought about it the less likely that seemed. Then when I saw the bike later that day I looked for scratches or scuffs on the left side and could find none.

So, a wide pothole in a 65-70mph right-hand sweeper upsets the bike, and thinking I'm going to lose control, I decide to straighten up and head into the super-wide left-hand breakdown lane, planning a straight-line emergency stop. The thing was wall-to-wall runble strips, however, so I kept more speed than I had planned as kept the straight line on a shallow angle across the breakdown lane. Right before the crash (in the mental "slow-motion" zone) I remember thinking "can't hit the barrier!", and "more front brake" was my brain's response.

Since the next image I remember is sideways highway and a shattering windscreen, I'm just assuming that "more front brake" on those rumble strips resulted in locking the front wheel and a low-side crash.

I didn't slide very far, and once I stopped I was mad, because I knew my medical insurance would start up in a couple of weeks (long story for another time). I could move my right leg, but it was still slightly stuck, so looking at the gas dripping from the gas cap I gave a yell and yanked myself free (as I said, mad, not smart, though I do think I saved my calf from a worse burn).

I stood up and observed my helmet visor on the ground a couple of feet away and thought "crap, I can't ride the rest of the way to work without a visor". Then I looked further down the road and saw a pickup truck driver jogging towards me talking on his cell phone while watching me intently. At that point I realized I probably wasn't going to finish my ride to work.

When I got up the wheels of the bike (which was still on its side, still parallel to the road) were inches from the barrier, so I was right there after crossing the whole 10ft+ wide breakdown lane. The pickup truck guy was asking me if I was ok, and I was saying "yes" while removing my helmet and earplugs so I could hear.

Another guy came up and asked, and I said I was OK then he helped me stand the bike up. The pickup truck guy starts telling me I ought to sit down. About then I started to feel like I was blacking out, so I agreed and settled down slowly against the barrier. I think the EMT's showed up just a few second after that.

I was thinking about expenses the whole time, and my emergency med training told me they were going to backboard me, take me to the ER in an ambulance, and xray/scan me. I decided to let them. I knew I was too disoriented to make a decision otherwise, and I might be gambling with my spinal cord. I figured a few grand would be worth it if spinal precautions kept me able to walk in the end. In the end, my spine was fine, but I don't regret playing it safe after having already made the decision to ride without medical insurance.

My gear's nothing special, but it worked! I had on jeans, a snug leather jacket (no armor), leather gloves, boots and a basic full-face HJC CS-12. I impacted the hinge on the helmet, and that broke, sending the visor flying. The helmet otherwise did the job of giving its life to save mine, and doesn't look bad considering that it's now trash. The jacket's got road rash from the outer forearm to the front of the shoulder - minimal seam damage, might be repairable. I got a couple of abrasions through my gloves and a barely noticeable "burn" on my right forearm. My jeans were intact, and I'm surprised at how little road rash I got through them.

I'll tell more of the post-crash story later - this seemed like the important thing to get up here. Please let me know what comment or questions you have. I'm trying to move past "how it could have been worse" to "what can I learn from it?"

Thanks!

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Josh,

Thanks for your story. Your bike doesn't look bad at all, no major damage except to the ignition cover and associated parts lying beneath. I hope you are healing up well. You're probably in a lot of pain. It will feel better when it quits hurting.

You did well to relax and let the folks around you take care of you. The kindness of strangers is a blessing.

Did the pothole start some kind of oscillation, like a tank-slapper? Were you trying to get somewhere out of the way with more room to slow down and regain control? If you would've grabbed less front brake, do you think you could have come to a controlled stop without hitting the barrier? Looking back, what, if anything, would you have done differently? What would Keith Code do in this situation?

My most recent crash would have been easy to avoid if I had simply focused on the solution (the line trough the curve) instead of the problem (a rockslide in my way). But your situation is different. What's the best way to try to regain control when your bike gets unstable at speed? In a curve? In a straight? I'd appreciate hearing from those of you with more advanced riding techniques.

Thanks again for sharing Josh. I'll keep you in my prayers.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Roostabunny]

Perfect thanks, Cliff! This is the kind of clarification I need help with. I'm going to respond in blue in the quote below...

Hi Josh,

Thanks for your story. You're bike doesn't look bad at all, no major damage except to the ignition cover and associated parts lying beneath. I hope you are healing up well. You're probably in a lot of pain. It will feel better when it quits hurting.
Appreciate that - just don't make me laugh, man. Yeah, upon closer inspection it seems like the bike will be ready to ride before I will.

You did well to relax and let the folks around you take care of you. It was my emergency medical experience, oddly enough. I knew I couldn't fully trust my own assessment of the accident or my injuries with all that adrenalin.

The kindness of strangers is a blessing. Amen to that.

Did the pothole start some kind of oscillation, like a tank-slapper? Oscillation, yes, but... I had to look up tank-slapper, and it was nothing that extreme. I felt like the shimmy might have increased to something I really couldn't control if I didn't ease off and let the bike (and me) collect itself.

Were you trying to get somewhere out of the way with more room to slow down and regain control?
Exactly, the left-hand shoulder has a wide breakdown lane. I didn't realize the surface was all rumble strips till I was already committed, though.

If you would've grabbed less front brake, do you think you could have come to a controlled stop without hitting the barrier?
I didn't hit the barrier, but I think that's only because I went down. To put it another way, I grabbed more front brake in a last ditch effort to avoid hitting the barrier. And it worked, just not the way I'd hoped.

Looking back, what, if anything, would you have done differently?
I had room to move when I went down. The thing I keep wondering about is this: At the slower speed, could I have steered the bike away from the barrier? I see two possible things that would have prevented me 1.) "Target fixation" on the barrier. 2.) Training that said keep the bike upright in emergency braking and marginal traction (of which I had both).

What would Keith Code do in this situation? Haven't read that one - I'm reading Lee Parks' book - maybe I can find what Lee would've done.

My most recent crash would have been easy to avoid if I had simply focused on the solution (the line trough the curve) instead of the problem (a rockslide in my way). But your situation is different. What's the best way to try to regain control when your bike gets unstable at speed? In a curve? In a straight? I'd appreciate hearing from those of you with more advanced riding techniques.

Thanks again for sharing Josh. I'll keep you in my prayers.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Roostabunny]

Update

Update

I'm healing well and been off the Codine for the ribs for a few days now, and my small amount of road rash through the jeans is almost healed up. It still hurts to sneeze, but when I feel the "nose burn" I try to clamp my right elbow down over the area and that helps a little.

I've got the bike down off the trailer finally and ready to get tinkering, so I've just sent out some PM's regarding parts offers.

My plan is to replace the electrics and advancer, get her running, then move on to the rest. Part of "the rest" is going to be the suspension work that I think might have prevented the wreck.

Here's the breakdown.

Suspension: Progressive front springs/fork rebuild and probably some progressive rears to replace the MDI's who's worn out bushings are the prime suspect in the wobble that led to the wreck.

Controls/Signals: Fix the front right turn signal and replace that right mirror.

While I'm at it: May replace the stock handle bar with a daytona or superbike bar. I had rotated my stock bars lower, but it pushes me about 2/3 of the way back on the seat. Anyway, those with more experience please let me know if I should wait on that bar swap until I've had a chance to ride the bike gently and check for changes in handling? I mean, I don't think I bent anything major, but how do I know?

 

[Roostabunny]

Thanks again, Cliff

Thanks again, Cliff

By the way, a quick look at the pictures in Basscliff's Progressive form springs rebuild documentation reminds me again why he totally deserves his recent Member of the Year honors!