Topic: Only 86 miles...... (now w/ crash pics)

[Pecantree]

Only 86 miles.


Friday morning, had coffee with some friends and put a few more miles on the bike.  The engine was purring, It was starting to run cooler. Hitting the hills on the west side of town, trying to give the engine a good break-in. Was feeling real proud of my rebuild.
Riding south in the right hand lane of S. Lamar. This road is a major arterial into Austin with 4 lanes and a chicken lane.
A black Bronco was in the left lane about 10 paces ahead of me. Another car behind him about 20 feet. And a car behind me at about 30 feet.
I was close to home and close to a good taco shop. Thinking about how hungry I was.
A women in a northbound Altima decides she can make a left across our lanes and beat the Bronco. She beats the Bronco.
I thought about swerving  but was blocked by the bronco and didn't want to get run over by the following traffic.
I hit the right rear quarter panel going about 30. I don't know if I hit at the tire or behind the tire. I hope it was behind the tire. I was braking but I didn't lock up the bike.
A passing nurse and and ER doc got to me right after i pulled my helmet off. She grabbed my head and wouldn't let go. Told me "NOT TO MOVE", I was so addlepated I couldn't argue.
Fire and EMS were there real quick. Thanks Austin EMS!
ER docs thought I had a ruptured diaphragm, Doc called it "several standard deviations" from the left side to the right side. Just where a good contusion was.
Did a laproscopy, turned out to be a false alarm. My brother told the doc it's cause he used to drop me when I was a baby .
Wearing full helmet, padded jacket, jeans, boots and leather gloves. Ended up with lots of bruises, sore body, swollen hands and a good scrape on my right leg.
All in all I feel VERY lucky!

When APD interviewed me in the emergency room he told me the guys from Horespower Farm had been at the site within a few moments and had taken my bike to their shop.
They are only about 200 feet from the accident site, don't know if they saw it or what. But I had consulted with them during the rebuild and was planning on taking the bike by to show them how it came out.  I like them, They are one of the sponsors of the Harvest Classic out in Luckenbach.
So at this point don't know what the bike looks like. I'm hoping it's just the front end and not the frame. When the shop opens on Tuesday I'll go by and take some pics.

A few thoughts. I was boxed in coming up to the intersection. And when the car turned in front of me I fixated on it.
I don't think there was room to go to the left.
That's about it. Anybody have any suggestions for dealing with insurance company's.

Thanks
Steve

[thrutheframe]

I'm glad you're ok and able to deal with insurance companies.

[brandEn]

Glad your OK! Bikes can be rebuilt.

[754]

 that sucks, hope the bike is not too bad. and that you bounce back quicly..
 In the pic is that a Gilbert & Barker behind the bike ?

[DH]

Protect yourself. Hire a lawyer and don't answer any questions. Let your lawyer do that. Sooner the better. He can help detemine who/
what was at fault in your situation, and will negotiate any settlements with any insurance companies. The entire process can take a while.
Be patient and let the attorney work for you. Been there and done that
in a car accident years ago. The lawyer got 1/3 of settlement at the end, but for me it was worth it. Good that you're ok. Hope your 750 will live again too. One last thing, your lawyer may be able to help manage the medical bills you'll be getting soon. Hang in there.

[Spanner 1]

A scary story. Bruises will heal and bikes can be rebuilt... could have been a much worse outcome. Glad your able to relate the story..... best of luck with your recovery......

[andy750]

Thanks for posting this and glad you are able to walk away from it. This sort of info helps us all. Good luck with your recovery and good luck getting it all sorted out.
cheers
Andy

[70CB750]

Glad you OK!

[CycleRanger]

Only 86 miles.
That's about it. Anybody have any suggestions for dealing with insurance company's.

Thanks
Steve

Glad you're ok.
Yes, contact an attorney.  You may need one even to deal with your insurance company.
Was anyone involved cited for the accident?

[tortelvis]

GET A LAWYER! Glad you are ok but I rate insurance companies amongst the lowest of the low. I have been down this road before, three times sadly and in every case it took a minimum of three years to even get an interim payment despite overwhelming evidence of the other driver's fault. Insurance companies will do their damnedest to screw you EVERY time. Let the lawyer deal with the scum.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Get a copy of the police report once it is available and lawyer up.
I got hosed on my last accident because of a lazy cop that decided I was in the travelling lane when I told him I was not when he took my statement. Tin-eared cops can screw you.

[Pecantree]

Thanks everybody.
Lawyer sounds good. I don't have the energy to deal with anything right now.

that sucks, hope the bike is not too bad. and that you bounce back quicly..
 In the pic is that a Gilbert & Barker behind the bike ?

754: Here's a larger picture.

A friend has a small town set up west of Austin. He buys old buildings and moves them to his property. He has a pretty good business renting it out for weddings and corporate events.
http://www.starhillranch.com/
I've also rented tons of stuff from him for dressing film sets.

[754]

 very cool, I would love to work on something like that,,the petro end.. I have the right curved signs for that pump, real ones..a pair that match the globe..

[Stev-o]

Wow........sorry to hear. Was looking forward to riding with you this weekend.
Let me know if I can help out in any way.

[PrsCustom22j]

sorry to hear that steve...hope everything turns out ok. 

[heffay]

Sorry to hear of your crash, so glad you made it.

DO NOT TALK TO THE INSURANCE COMPANIES (I've been screwed out of ample sums of money, based on their leading questions)... say all you remember is her turning directly in front of you.  Let the lawyer do the rest.  Make sure its a motorcycle lawyer.  If you want to sue, do it!  Do it for all of us that never had the money or brains to do it!

Such a shame.

[heffay]

what was on your mind is of no consequence, and don't let that get into your head.  you were minding your own business, abiding by traffic laws, and were not given proper reaction time.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Yeah, from the sounds of it she turned into YOU, not the other way around.
Don't second guess yourself here, you probably did what any other rider would have done in that kind of situation.

Obtain a good legal leech and let him work his legal magic.

[Pecantree]

Thanks for all the good words. I'll be allright and it's only a bike.
I'm trying to walk more and work out the kinks. Walked down to the shop this morning to see the bike and take some pictures. The closer I got to the shop the more my stomach churned.
Well, about what I expected. The front end is destroyed, The frame looks okay. The steering lock tab on the front tube is bent up. Tank has some dents on right front. Look's like the wheel jerked to the right. Thank goodness for highway bars. A minor ting on the alternator cover from the crash bar foot peg and no scratches on the new exhausts.
My major concern was breaks in the welds or bent frame. There's a picture I'll comment on down the line.


I like my mirrors down low

A little week knee'd!



More in the next post.

[heffay]

mirrors are a tell tale sign, you went over the bars ... go buy a lottery ticket before that lucky streak runs out!

[Pecantree]

Okay, a few more. The next two are of the right and left side of the headstock. There might be a hairline crack on the right side. But it looks rusty, which means old.

You can also see the bent locking tang in this pic.

The bike was laying on this side, amazingly unscathed .


A shoot of the trip meter with total miles on this build.


Thanks everybody
Steve

[Gordon]

Glad to hear you're mostly unhurt, but take it easy.  Many injuries can take some time to really show themselves.  It really is amazing how little damage these bikes will take when they go down on the side.  The foot peg mounts tend to take most of the hit, and with those highway bars you saved the stator cover.  Hopefully most of the damage was absorbed by the front end and the frame is okay. 

[heffay]

Glad to hear you're mostly unhurt, but take it easy.  Many injuries can take some time to really show themselves. 

In my first (and hopefully last) street bike crash, I had a douchebag do a U-turn in front of me... I got a $400 settlement for pain in my knee, that bothers me to this day, 18 years later.

[Stev-o]

Glad you are ok. 


We can rebuild it...

[heffay]

that bothers me to this day, 18 years later.

the knee AND the measly $400 settlement 

[Don R]

As soon as they hear lawyer they stop paying, thats OK.

My daughter was T boned in her lumina at an intersection where she had no stop sign, they delayed paying the doctor bills and made her sign a release before doing so. Don't fall for that. She still has neck problems.
 They also tried to low ball us on the value of the car. Be firm with them. It is a restored collector bike after all. I mentioned that someone with a personal injury should be treated better than that and all of a sudden they realized the Z34 lumina had a higher resale value in our area.

[VTCBike750]

Steve just read up on your crash. Sorry to hear about it man. The bike looked great too, but like everyone's saying, it can be rebuilt. I t-boned a car who failed to yield to me on my bicycle a few years ago. Don't second guess your reaction, you did what you could and what most of us probably would have done.  Hope your healing well.

[Stev-o]

Steve - have you installed the new front end yet? Looking forward to seeing how it looks. Have a couple pair of handlebars if you still want to borrow for a mock up.

[faux fiddy]

I t-boned a car who failed to yield to me on my bicycle a few years ago. Don't second guess your reaction, you did what you could and what most of us probably would have done.

Back in the day, I would spend several hours a day on a bicycle, probably did a half dozen incidents with people turning left or right in front of me, or rolling a stop sign. 

Once I was on a track hub bike and rolled across a hood of a car. I remember seeing it go airborn, wheel and pedals still spinning. It landed about 50 ft down the road. I've ben pretty lucky, had a helmet but wasn't religeous about wearing it.

My best instinct  was to always go over the car  rather than under.

[Bootlegger56]

Glad your ok!  Hurts my feelings to see the banged up bike.  I'm sure it does yours as well.  Lawyer up!!! No matter what don't talk to the insurance company or answer any questions about anything except the name of your attorney.  I learned my lesson the hard way!       

[azuredesign]

Sorry to hear about your crash, and awful to look at the damage post crash. I hope you're able to get enough money out of the deal to make the bike even better than it was originally.

Good luck!
Ben

[GammaFlat]

A few thoughts. I was boxed in coming up to the intersection. And when the car turned in front of me I fixated on it.
I don't think there was room to go to the left.

Even though this was by no means your fault, you may have fallen victim to what most all of us do in a bad spot.  We fixate on the "problem".  When trying to avoid something, I've been instructed (not sure if I could actually pull it off) to look where I want to go and not at the obstruction/danger. 

Good luck with your bike.  I'm just now putting my K6 back together - thankfully not because of a crash. 

[Retro Rocket]

A few thoughts. I was boxed in coming up to the intersection. And when the car turned in front of me I fixated on it.
I don't think there was room to go to the left.

Even though this was by no means your fault, you may have fallen victim to what most all of us do in a bad spot.  We fixate on the "problem".  When trying to avoid something, I've been instructed (not sure if I could actually pull it off) to look where I want to go and not at the obstruction/danger. 

Good luck with your bike.  I'm just now putting my K6 back together - thankfully not because of a crash.

I agree Gamma, in soccer, when shooting for goal, if you look at the keeper, 9 times out of ten you'll find him instead of the net...

[Sparked]

A few thoughts. I was boxed in coming up to the intersection. And when the car turned in front of me I fixated on it.
I don't think there was room to go to the left.

Even though this was by no means your fault, you may have fallen victim to what most all of us do in a bad spot.  We fixate on the "problem".  When trying to avoid something, I've been instructed (not sure if I could actually pull it off) to look where I want to go and not at the obstruction/danger. 

Good luck with your bike.  I'm just now putting my K6 back together - thankfully not because of a crash.

I agree. Going through a corner and you look at the manhole cover you'll go over it everytime. Look 6" to the side of the manhole cover and you will miss it for sure.

Sent from my Atari