Topic: This is gonna suck.

[ASCSurveyor]

So I went on a little ride yesterday, around 100 miles on the SV.  It was good.  Hot, but good.  I had contemplated weather to fully gear up before I left, or just do the jeans, mesh jacket, gloves, helmet deal.  I'm glad I fully geared.

The corner.


The skid (bike was down at this point, the front tire just skidded on the pavement as I slid on the left side)




Bike hit the sign, I missed it, somehow.


The bike.










Me.


I take the corner every day as I come home from work, but for some reason, it got me this time.  Probably going to fast.  The bike just slammed down on me.  Very violent and no warning.  I estimate speed around 50 or so.  Maybe faster.  I wasn't exactly looking at the speedometer, just know how fast I was going into the corner.

For the most part I'm ok.  Rash on the left wrist, obviously.  My right side has the brunt of it, since that's where I landed in the ditch.  Arm, shoulder, chest, neck, and head all ached this morning.  Got rid of the headache, but the rest still hurts.

No major marks on the helmet, so I don't think I had a major blow to the head.  My visor was up though, so I got a mouth full of dirt.

Gear fair quite well.  Pants are a little torn.  Jacket's skuffed up and gloves might be toast.  Boots are ok too.

Just thought I'd share and remind people to always wear gear.  If I'd been squidding it up in a t-shirt and shorts, like I see so many sport riders do, I'd be alot worse off.

[dusterdude]

man that sucks,glad you`re ok and were wearing all that gear.

[Raul CB750K1]

First of all, let me say I'm glad you are OK and thanks for reminding us to wear the right gear.

Do you know what was the reason for the spill? I dare to say that, as there is a gravel road going into the main road, it is very common that cars put loose gravel into the main road. I'm always on the look for those treacherous traps.


I found a link the other day at a very interesting site: www.ride2die.com. It is full of good advice and riding tips, but as the author says, "I didn't get much hits until I decided to put some pictures of road rash and accidents. Then the visits skyrocketed. Seems that is the human nature, the same that makes us slow down when passing by an accident. In any case, if it serves to make the people ride safe and wear the gear, it will be worth it"

So check it out. If you see what the asphalt can make to unprotected skin you will probably think twice before going to your next ride without protective gear. You can enter the page without concern; there are many pictures or rashed members but nothing fully disgusting, at least not in my opinion. Something like this




Raul

[dusterdude]

is that dude wearing sweat pants?

[boatsdickson]

If he was, he deserved the self reminder..... ouch, he'll be itchin that 4 a while

[dusterdude]

yea

[ronlarimer]

Ouch!  I always hate seeing someone I "know" go down. 

BTW I am the same ronlarimer from the SV board on to older projects.  Before buying the CB I ran into donniej on an XL forum discussing ironheads.

[Bob Wessner]

I expect he may prefer standing for a while.

[ASCSurveyor]

nice to see another SV'er on here, ron.   

there wasn't any gravel on the road (from what I could see at the time it happened).  They installed a new sewer force main approx. 6 months ago, and when they repaved the road, the stopped in the apex of the turn.    It was several months before the pavement was "safe" enough that I was comfortable going through it with any kind of lean on the bike.

If you look at the second pic, you can see that the bike went down near where that pavement begins/ends.  There is a bump/pothole there was well, I noticed as i was standing there, trying to call anyone to come and get me.

I'm not sure if any of that had anything to do with it.  All I know is, I was probably going too fast for the corner, plain and simple.  Nobody to blame but myself, and that hurts almost as much as my right side. 

Didn't sleep well last night.  Kept thinking about going into the corner, the bike slamming down and me staring at the tank/seat thinking "Oh, s***, i'm still moving pretty fast!", then hitting the ditch.  It keeps playing back and I just can't think of anything that sticks out that made it go down so quick and violent  other than me being a complete retard.

[Bob Wessner]

You survived though, that's what counts. Hope you recover quickly.

[Uncle Ernie]

That's NOT all that counts.  Low-siding from hitting something (on the bike, or otherwise) or losing traction is one thing, but you were in a skid.

 Figure out what happened (and how to prevent it), or it will happen again.

[techy5025]

This all sounds very familiar, but in my case it was about half the speed and straight ahead. As I wrote in "my" crash thread, you will be lucky to remember exactly what happened. Don't discount the overuse of brake....that's what got me. 

I still have a little rash three weeks later, but the soreness in the shoulder seems to be the worst. Without the gear on, it would have been a lot worse.

I'm sure once you got up and all the body parts moved you realized that mechanical parts are a lot easier to replace than body (as in human) parts. I sure was. Anyway, glad you are OK.....so to speak!

Jim

[ASCSurveyor]

Ok, the skid mark you see in the photo isn't from braking, it's from the front tire sliding sideways on the pavement after I went down.  I don't remember using any brake in the corner.  Before it, yes, but not while cornering.  That's a no-no.

[boatsdickson]

ASC - Too bad about your spill, glad your still here though. Its always a humbling reminder of the down side to our passions.

Raul - Good link. Nice to see someone promoting safety along with the pictures supplied. Guess it makes a person think deeper when theres a little background along with the carnage. Also nice diagram on the percentages of damage taken on the helmet. Makes me rethink my modular. I stole the following phrase from that site. And with that, I'll quit hijacking your topic.


IF YOU CHOOSE TO RIDE, REMEMBER: ATGATT- ALL THE GEAR ALL THE TIME

DRESS FOR THE FALL, NOT FOR THE RIDE !

It will not always prevent injury or death, but sure makes a difference when you go down.

[masonryman]

Ok, the skid mark you see in the photo isn't from braking, it's from the front tire sliding sideways on the pavement after I went down.  I don't remember using any brake in the corner.  Before it, yes, but not while cornering.  That's a no-no.

I am glad your O.K. losing the front is always a heavy hit, on the street or dirt.

Let me start off with the disclaimer, I am no riding instructor, but if you were coming into the corner "HOTTER" than you thought and braked hard in, then suddenly let off the brake, this would unload the front wheel and lessen it's bite.

 If you are coming into a corner and don't have a chance to set up for a good lean, or are just not comfortable doing so. I will front brake heavy in easing off threw the corner, this will load the front wheel and help the bike pivot around the front wheel, no rear brake once you set up for the corner. I would rather lose the back than the front.

JMHO
Mark

[ASCSurveyor]

I've gone over the corner 50 times in my head, or so it seems.  I came in quick, but not absurdly fast.  Brake a little, shift (body position, not gear), lean, lean more... then bam. 

By the looks of my left boot, it was the first to touch/go down.


The way the bike slid, it was almost perpendicular to the centerline of the road (front tire facing the center line).  One of the reasons the tail section hit the sign, and not the whole bike.  This would make me think that to get the bike in that position, the front tire would have to hold, and the rear tire would have to break.  No?   

I'm just trying to make sense of it all.  I know I didn't break at all, or don't remember it.  My foot is never on the rear brake, so I know that wasn't an issue.  A riding friend who came over to see me last night said she stopped by and walked on the road.  Where the new/old asphalt line is seems rather slick, since it's been in the high-90's down here.  I guess that could have been it, but I don't want to place the blame somewhere else if it's clearly my fault. 

I'll figure it out at some point.   

[Ingrid]

OK here goes.
I applaud you for being so honest to yourself on your "road behaviour" but do not lose sight of different circumstance that might have added to the situation. They might crop up again somewhere and you can learn for this past experience.
My question to you is, have you been on a bike again yet? This might help contemplate the whole thing and put your mind at easy somewhat..
Grtz.
Ingrid

[ASCSurveyor]

OK here goes.
I applaud you for being so honest to yourself on your "road behaviour" but do not lose sight of different circumstance that might have added to the situation. They might crop up again somewhere and you can learn for this past experience.
My question to you is, have you been on a bike again yet? This might help contemplate the whole thing and put your mind at easy somewhat..
Grtz.
Ingrid

I'm so sore now, I don't think I could ride.  The bike is running, but without the rear turn signals, brake light, and license plate, I won't take it out on the road anyway.  I'd like for it to be legal, since I'm not having the best of luck lately.   

After my first lowside (last year) I was able to ride the bike home.  I was upright the whole time, but I rode it home.  That lowside was due to a bald front tire and we weather conditions.  Again my fault. 

If I could get back on the bike and ride, I would.  However my physical limitations at this point coupled with the condition of the bike won't let me.  Rest assured, I'll be riding when it's fixed.  Will I be more cautious?  You betcha.   It took me a while after my last lowside before I would push the bike, and I'm guessing this will set me back again, but I guess it's all just one big learning experience.   

[Bob Wessner]

I'm so sore now,..

Think Ibuprofen.

[xtalon]

The way the bike slid, it was almost perpendicular to the centerline of the road (front tire facing the center line).  One of the reasons the tail section hit the sign, and not the whole bike.  This would make me think that to get the bike in that position, the front tire would have to hold, and the rear tire would have to break.  No?   

First off, I'm glad your okay and were wearing gear.

In your above statement, that isn't always the case.  Depending on how the bike lands and what parts catch the pavement, the bike can pivot around the front wheel after the bike is down, so this is really irrelavant.

The moment of truth is the attitude of the bike when traction intially lost and the crash begins.  Did it go down in a straight line or was the rear coming around then? Hard to remember I'm sure.

Another question is was this one of the first or only corner?  I've lost traction many times front and rear because my tires were not up to temperature and by this, I mean the sides of the tire and not the center.  If your riding along straight up for a hundred miles, the sides of the tire are not up to optimal temperature even though the center is.

Good luck trying to figure it out.  My first thought was that you either touched your rear brake or stayed too long on the front brake, but you seem to have already ruled those out. My only other guesses would be the pavement irregularity was bad enough and/or the tires were cold.

--xTalon

[ASCSurveyor]

I'm on "Ranger Candy", so I'm taking enough anti-inflamitory to choke a donkey.

Good to know about the pivoting of the bike, talon.  Not sure when traction was lost.  It just went down hard, suddenly.

It wasn't the first corner.  I'd just gotten back from about 100 miles of riding.  Had made 4 runs on a favorite road 40 miles before with no problems.  No hint of the tires acting funny either. 

This was the only road irregularity that I could find.  It might just be enough.  And as you can see, the skid/scrapes start right after.


I dunno.     Maybe I'm just making excuses.  I don't remember hitting the brakes, since I try not to mid-corner, but maybe I did.  Maybe my peg touched and caught on the lip of the pavement.  Dunno.  I'm just always anal about finding the source of a problem when something goes wrong, and it drives me nuts sometimes...

[xtalon]

Good to know about the pivoting of the bike, talon.  Not sure when traction was lost.  It just went down hard, suddenly.

Down hard suddenly definitely sounds like the front.

Also, looking at that picture you just posted, it looks like that one line of the pavement irregularity parallels your bike path and almost lines up perfectly with the skid mark.  Just guessing here, but perhaps your front was tracking and then fell off the edge of that irregularity and washed out.

I would put money on the front losing traction.  Exactly why, could be any number of things though.

--xTalon

[xtalon]

It wasn't the first corner.  I'd just gotten back from about 100 miles of riding.  Had made 4 runs on a favorite road 40 miles before with no problems.  No hint of the tires acting funny either. 

Also, corners 40 miles before have no relevance because the sides of the tires would have cooled by then and need to have heat put back in them before pushing hard again.  Don't ask how I know.   

--xTalon

[ASCSurveyor]

Also, corners 40 miles before have no relevance because the sides of the tires would have cooled by then and need to have heat put back in them before pushing hard again.  Don't ask how I know.   

--xTalon

Yeah, realized that sounded bad when I posted it.     What I meant was, the tires were probably still warm.  Had been riding twisty roads all day, so the tires probably weren't too cold.  Not any more so than the turns I took 40 miles before.  That's what I meant to say.   

I'll get it right one of these times.   

[TwoTired]

How old are the tires?
Racers replace tires regularly.  A hot tire out gases which hardens the compound.  A tire that has been subject to high stress and heat cycles loses some of it's tractive qualities.

If you have a tire that you've regularly been pushing close to its traction limits, you may have expected traction that it can no longer provide due to it changing its own compound overtime and temperature cycles.

just a thought...

Cheers,