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Crashed. Let the mocking commence.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hovmod
  • Start date Start date
You mentioned that it was your "First time on the street", so I safely assumed the beginner status. Nevertheless, no matter how long you've been riding,

? Have an escape out. Take path of least resistance.
? Space on all four sides, but always in front.
 
Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I look forward to your tales from Norway so don't disapear. I hope you and the bike recover fully by next riding season, if not sooner. Cheers.

Charlie G
 
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Glad to see you're mostly OK and same with the bike

You can get most of the parts you need from members - 86turbodiesel is parting out a 78 and he'll have much of what you need - i just bought a few things from him

I found a perfect skunk tail on Ebay a few years ago for a great price -keep shopping. The tail is made of ABS and you can glue it back together with ABS plumbing cement

At least you didn't damage the fuel tank!

A word - ditch the points and get a Dyna S
 
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glad to see your mostly ok, you survived and some parts and work will set it right. the full face was a very good choice.
 
Thanks for all the well wishing.
Today I awoke with high fever and a throat infection.
I am adding budding fever to the causes of the crash.
I was following my buddy, but not super close. Two seconds, maybe more.
However, I was in the roundabout, and that caused me to spread my attention somewhat.
When my buddy suddenly braked, this was unexpected. I had already processed his position and direction and so on, so when he stopped suddenly, I was unprepared.
However, my front wheel locked up.

While I take full blame for this crash, I do not agree that my position relative my buddy and my attention to my surroundings were the only factors.
I wasn't trying to panic brake at all, and locking the wheel was unintended and unexpected.

Explanations for this could include:

-Tyres, which, although good looking and with good treads, were three years old. Not three seasons of hard riding, but three years eats rubber. I should have prioritized rubber.

-Just a couple of kilometers earlier, we were on a road with brand new asphalt, which may (or indeed may not) have altered the traction of the tyres somewhat. I thought about this while riding on the new road, and slowed down there, but did not think about it at the time of the crash.

-There has been more accidents at this spot. It is not a genius piece of city planning... When I picked up my pieces, I found pieces from other vehicles as well. It is possible that the road was more slippery because of spills from recent previous accidents.

-Unfamiliarity with the bike. Clearly. I have not ridden very much on it at all, and this was the first ride in months.

-Rusty technique. I have not ridden much this season at all.

-Speed. I wasn't going stupid fast, but a little slower and I might not have crashed. I do not expect to learn from this. Fixing the two points above will fix this. :)

-Attention and mental acuity. This is where my feeble excuse of the budding fever comes in, and also that I did NOT expect the pedestrian that caused my buddy to stop. I had navigated the roundabout to the point where just when he stopped, I was ready to accelerate.

All these factors, and probably more worked together so when I braked, my wheel slid away.


Lessons learned?
Hm. More space, sure. I always try to give myself sufficient space, and I try to look for options. This happened fast, but maybe I could have avoided it by letting one more car go through the roundabout. :?:

Most of all I'm very happy with how my safety gear kept me from further injuries, and that I (just) did not pose a threat to anyone else.

I hope this doesn't read as a list of bad excuses. I was at fault. I'm just not ready to blame it all on one cause.
 
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Also, my buddy and ALL passers-by were helpful, friendly, concerned and happy to see me OK. :)
 
Good that you are ok, and enlightening to see your self analysis of what contributed to the accident. I too find sudden and unexpected hard stops to be challenging when riding with another motorcyclist, both when in the lead or following. Your comments remind me to keep focused on riding and surroundings, and try to anticipate even less likely events. I still have lots to learn, both from direct experience and others, even when that involves unfortunate outcomes. Heal well and fast.
 
Thanks for all the well wishing.
Today I awoke with high fever and a throat infection.
I am adding budding fever to the causes of the crash.
I was following my buddy, but not super close. Two seconds, maybe more.
However, I was in the roundabout, and that caused me to spread my attention somewhat.
When my buddy suddenly braked, this was unexpected. I had already processed his position and direction and so on, so when he stopped suddenly, I was unprepared.
However, my front wheel locked up.

While I take full blame for this crash, I do not agree that my position relative my buddy and my attention to my surroundings were the only factors.
I wasn't trying to panic brake at all, and locking the wheel was unintended and unexpected.

Explanations for this could include:

-Tyres, which, although good looking and with good treads, were three years old. Not three seasons of hard riding, but three years eats rubber. I should have prioritized rubber.


Tire age has very little to do with the installation date.
Tires begin to age right after they leave the factory.

It is possible that your tires were in dealer stock for two years before you got them.

The manufacturing date (which is marked on the sidewall) is most important, but even though the bike has (apparently) spent most of its time parked, how/where the tire and bike have been stored can make a significant difference to tread hardening, with outdoor storage in open sunlight probably being the top of the list.




-Just a couple of kilometers earlier, we were on a road with brand new asphalt, which may (or indeed may not) have altered the traction of the tyres somewhat. I thought about this while riding on the new road, and slowed down there, but did not think about it at the time of the crash.

-There has been more accidents at this spot. It is not a genius piece of city planning... When I picked up my pieces, I found pieces from other vehicles as well. It is possible that the road was more slippery because of spills from recent previous accidents.

-Unfamiliarity with the bike. Clearly. I have not ridden very much on it at all, and this was the first ride in months.

-Rusty technique. I have not ridden much this season at all.


Either of those things makes you a less safe rider, but together they can become problematic, and very often do, for many riders.

All of us have to adjust to riding after a winter of down time, and even longer off the road means the skill level drops a bit more.

This is the main reason so many riders go down in Spring.

It is also the reason I hate and love my first ride of the season: I know I do not have the sharpness that was there last Fall, but the temptation is there.....:rolleyes:...and it is SO easy to go too far, too soon.




-Speed. I wasn't going stupid fast, but a little slower and I might not have crashed. I do not expect to learn from this. Fixing the two points above will fix this. :)



That is just, plain, bad.

Notwithstanding your comments below, which do not appear to have a lot of weight, if you have stopped yourself from learning, you are in great danger, and no matter that you got your licence in 1985, you really need to adjust your thinking, because EVERY incident should give a lesson, and it should be accepted.


-Attention and mental acuity. This is where my feeble excuse of the budding fever comes in, and also that I did NOT expect the pedestrian that caused my buddy to stop. I had navigated the roundabout to the point where just when he stopped, I was ready to accelerate.

All these factors, and probably more worked together so when I braked, my wheel slid away.


Lessons learned?
Hm. More space, sure. I always try to give myself sufficient space, and I try to look for options. This happened fast, but maybe I could have avoided it by letting one more car go through the roundabout. :?:

Most of all I'm very happy with how my safety gear kept me from further injuries, and that I (just) did not pose a threat to anyone else.

I hope this doesn't read as a list of bad excuses. I was at fault. I'm just not ready to blame it all on one cause.



Get well, soon.
 
Sorry, but if that was what you got from what I wrote about speed, you obviously read it with the wrong glasses on.
If I weren't interested in learning from this I wouldn't have bothered even THINKING about this, much less write it down as honestly as I can and ponder out loud in a place like this.

What I meant was that I was not IN ANY WAY going faster than I would normally consider perfectly safe, and also well within the speed limit, btw. If I had gone 5 kph I wouldn't have crashed. If I had taken the tram I wouldn't have crashed. Any other day, in the same location, even in the future, I won't go slower. Speed was only a factor because of all the other factors, and like I said: I plan to do something about those factors.

Thanks
 
I'm happy to hear you're more annoyed than injured. Good trade off! hehe
If the front wheel locks up in a turn, the only solution I know of to keep the bike from going down is to release the front brake. The problem is the trip down is so instant there may not be time to release the brake before you're on the ground. I escaped that predicament that way once, but it was more luck than skill or planning. LOL
 
Well, I would say you've thoroughly analyzed the incident, now you can put it behind you and enjoy the process of bringing a bike back to it's former glory, and I'm sure you'll find some little upgrade or 2 to throw on there as well. "You know, as long as it's in the shop I might as well_______." You get the idea ;)

Glad to hear you're doing OK. Now get out there and start fixing it because isn't there only like 2 more weeks of summer left in Norway????
 
I have two months with my right arm in a cast to look forward to, which means this season is over. Can't wrench, can't ride.
But I am already thinking about what to do with it, of course.

I will ride next season.
On fresh rubber and after doing braking exercises.
 
I have two months with my right arm in a cast to look forward to, which means this season is over. Can't wrench, can't ride.
But I am already thinking about what to do with it, of course.

I will ride next season.
On fresh rubber and after doing braking exercises.

Well crap! I didn't realize you were in a cast.
 
Sorry for your off, I hope it doesn't hurt too much, and it all heals up quickly.
Does this pedestrian leaping/emerging out of the hole in the hedge cause all the accidents?
I wouldn't beat yourself up about it too much, far better to have a low speed off than the other kind, and those front wheel lock ups can happen really fast especially when there is a little bit of loose surface to start it off.
I'm in favour of the the engine type bars they can save a lot in these low speed prangs.
 
Pictures of the cast, or it didn't happen :)

Time to start buying parts and getting them shipped to you
 
Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Sometimes unfortunate things just happen. Glad you was wearing full face helmet. You just convinced me on my next purchase. Hope you have a good recovery. After therapy you still have next season. But let your body heal and don't push it.
 
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