So I just joined the "people that have crashed" side.
Cruising up Ortega highway (California) today, in second, slowing down and doing about 40mph. Coming up to a turn, traffic is slowing, getting ready to stop. Hit the curve and traffic is STOPPED. Only doing about 30mph but I'm too close, way too close. Next thing I know I'm flying off the bike saying "Oh sh&*(t on the way into the ditch on the right. I slide for a bit but not after hitting the asphalt hard with my right knee, elbow and shoulder. She hits hard too, but misses the car in front, slides on her right side on the asphalt next to the car. She stops before I do by about 10 feet.
So whats the damage? Well the Motovation frame sliders SAVED her from serious damage, as did the swing arm sliders. Mirrors and bar ends where not so lucky and I snapped the right peg in half. Scrapped the crap out of the brake levers, reservoir and a bit off the handlebar where the bar end bent back. And the small bit that keeps the handle bars from hitting the tank, pushed back, cracking the outer cover (and maybe the fuel cell, gotta look at that tmrw). Next was my leather, brand new, waited four freaking months for, Dainese leather... Scrapped the elbow down to the armor. I've had this thing for two months... Some scrapes on my gloves and boots. And I cant tell if I hit my head or not. Lots of scrapes on the helmet but no apparent impact, still... Cant be sure so I think I'm getting a new one to be safe.
What about me? So on my way out the door I decided to NOT wear my leg armor and took my Icon pants instead. They survived with no real evidence that I was sliding down the road. But I think they made the knee injury worse. So now I have swollen knee with large chunks missing. But I can still walk and I did ride home. Shoulder hurts too but otherwise I'm good.
So what are the lessons?
Pay freaking attention!! Wear ALL your armor! Can't really tell you what I did wrong, I simply dont remember. Cant even tell if I fell to the right or over the handle bars. From the looks of the damage, I must have fallen to the right, getting thrown from the bike. How? I really dont know. I did not lock up the brakes but there was some gravel on the road. I must have braked and the rear slid out. Not sure how I managed to maneuver the bike to the right, avoiding the car in front but that probably saved me from something more serious than a swollen, bloody knee.
Some pics for your viewing pleasure. Jacket and helmet make this an expensive lesson in paying attention but I'm still here...
How she normally looks
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq269/scossio/Crash%20030809/IMG_0721-2009-04-06at18-26-55.jpg)
Handle bar damage, not that half the bar end slider is still there, it got twisted back and jammed in there. Some of the handle bar and grip got scrapped off. The reservoir got the worse of it I think
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq269/scossio/Crash%20030809/IMG_0730-2009-04-08at14-37-12.jpg)
Frame and swing arm sliders doing their thing. Shaved about 1/2 off the frame slider
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq269/scossio/Crash%20030809/IMG_0731-2009-04-08at14-37-24.jpg)
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq269/scossio/Crash%20030809/IMG_0732-2009-04-08at14-37-34.jpg)
Tank cover damage - have to check the tank under in the morning but it did smell like fuel more than usual :'(
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq269/scossio/Crash%20030809/IMG_0735-2009-04-08at14-38-23.jpg)
The leather, wish I could fix it, I really like that jacket
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq269/scossio/Crash%20030809/IMG_0740-2009-04-08at14-44-56.jpg)
Mirror, foot peg and a bar end
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq269/scossio/Crash%20030809/IMG_0741-2009-04-08at14-45-36.jpg)
:'(
Sorry to hear about your accident. Looks like no "major" damage to the bike except for maybe the tank once you get it apart.
Question on what happened though. You say you were in second did you ever get down to first gear?
Right now would be an excellent time to buy the book Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough and read the sections that will teach you how to avoid getting into this type of accident. The book starts covering relevant issues from the first chapter. I've read the book several times and am in the process of reading it again. That book has done more to make me a safe rider than any other of the many riding books that I've read.
It looks like you came out pretty good in the damage department, at least as far as your motorcycle is concerned. Maybe you can serve as an example to others about what is proper riding gear and how you never can tell when you'll be needing good protective gear. It's a reminder to me that too often I don't wear my leather riding pants when I should.
When riding on twisty roads you have to expect stopped traffic around EVERY curve and ride so that you'll be able to identify it and avoid it. It might only be one curve in a thousand where there is actually a hazard, but if you take enough curves, you'll eventually encounter it and if you're not riding in anticipation of things like that you'll crash because of it.
I hope you heal up soon and don't have too big of a wait on parts to get your bike back in riding condition.
Quote from: ScottRNelson on March 09, 2009, 06:04:22 AMRight now would be an excellent time to buy the book Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough and read the sections that will teach you how to avoid getting into this type of accident. The book starts covering relevant issues from the first chapter. I've read the book several times and am in the process of reading it again. That book has done more to make me a safe rider than any other of the many riding books that I've read.
+1
More Proficient Motorcycling by the same author is also an excellent book.
Quote from: duclvr on March 09, 2009, 04:55:35 AM
Question on what happened though. You say you were in second did you ever get down to first gear?
No, she was still in second and running when I got up. Finally got to use the big shiny red kill switch :)
Quote from: EvilSteve on March 09, 2009, 06:10:06 AM
+1
More Proficient Motorcycling by the same author is also an excellent book.
Like the knee armor that I decided not to wear, I actually have this book but have not read it. [bang] [bang] [bang] I'll be doing that now...
Thanks for the advice and positive comments!
the last time i rode was the first time riding without my armored pants. felt naked. i ordered knee icon knee armor to be able to wear jeans sometimes. can i use you as a reason to justify the cost to my wife?
Quote from: Raux on March 09, 2009, 10:17:42 AM
can i use you as a reason to justify the cost to my wife?
Oh great idea. [clap]
Quote from: Raux on March 09, 2009, 10:17:42 AM
the last time i rode was the first time riding without my armored pants. felt naked. i ordered knee icon knee armor to be able to wear jeans sometimes. can i use you as a reason to justify the cost to my wife?
Yes and if you want, I can send you a nasty pic of my knee. If I had worn the armor, I would only have a sore shoulder to complain about (probably landed on it but hit the armor so no damage). Instead I have to figure out how to keep it elevated to keep the swelling down. AND I cant really ride for the next week or so! :'(
finally got a chance to look at your pics. i doubt you cracked your fuel tank. you probably had fuel overflow due to the tip over. the area crushed on your tank cover is near the air box.
oh and now i see the point of the sliders. wow, i can't believe so little damage.
my friends Honday VTX went over 30mph. 8000 dollars of damage.
gotta get me sliders now. more $$$
good to hear you are pretty much ok. could have ended up under a car too.
one thing: BUY A NEW HELMET.
and get back on that horse as soon as you can.
Glad you are ok and not much damage to your ride.
Quote from: Raux on March 09, 2009, 01:57:36 PM
finally got a chance to look at your pics. i doubt you cracked your fuel tank. you probably had fuel overflow due to the tip over. the area crushed on your tank cover is near the air box.
oh and now i see the point of the sliders. wow, i can't believe so little damage.
my friends Honday VTX went over 30mph. 8000 dollars of damage.
gotta get me sliders now. more $$$
+1 Yea, I'm sure you just had some overflow. If the skin held off then your tank should be fine. But it doesn't hurt to check [thumbsup]
+1 on the Motovation sliders. I have the same set up.
I see you have fork sliders as well, was there any damage done to them?
Man sorry to hear that. My repair bill came out to $4100 and the damage incurred to my bike was about the same, except it was on the left side. Insurance took care of it. If you scratched your cans at all(or "get them scratched"), you can get those replaced with Termis, which is what I did. A single stock can costs about 1200 dollars. So I worked it out with the dealership to get Termis put in instead. And I got to keep the stock cans for emissions purposes(in 2012). They also replaced my frame sliders, bar ends, and fork sliders. Overall, my bill came out to $82 out of what was supposed to be a $500 deductible. Thanks to GP Motorcycles for that.
The parts took about 2 weeks to arrive and it was repaired in a day. the reason mine took a whole month was because crappy Geico took forever to appraise the damage and hand GP the check. I hope the shop you take it to hooks you up like they did me.
Good luck!
cooool are those the Ducati Monster shorty gloves? those rock.
Quote from: Sleeper_I on March 09, 2009, 03:36:17 PM
I see you have fork sliders as well, was there any damage done to them?
The right fork slider has a tiny scrape, cant even tell until you reach down and look. The handlebars/bar end sliders took the damage.
Quote from: hunduc on March 09, 2009, 03:07:09 PM
good to hear you are pretty much ok. could have ended up under a car too.
one thing: BUY A NEW HELMET.
and get back on that horse as soon as you can.
I totally could have ended up under or over the car, not sure how I didnt to be honest. Like to think it was my mad skills but I think I was just lucky.
+1 on the new helmet, already on it's way
I was back on the horse for the way home, about 45 min of twisties and slab. A bit shaken and nervous, no mirrors made me worry about the squids that always come up fast and pass on curves and johnny law pulling me over. Soon as I get the mirrors back on and my knee gets to the point I can bend, I'll be back on her, guaranteed [moto]
My damage bill is about $250, new foot peg, bar end sliders, replacement swing arm and frame sliders and some paint - going to sand down those mirrors and paint them, same with the lever and brake coffin. The small part missing on the grip is tolerable and wont be as noticeable once the bar ends and mirrors go back on. It wont be show room material but still sexier than any of the big four.
I do have a small scrape on the cans, nothing I can justify replacing them for, it's less than a 1/2inch scrape and did not go all the way to the metal (I had them PCed a few months back.
It's already cost me more to replace the helmet and I'll be looking to see if the leather can be repaired.
Total bill for me not paying attention - about $1000.
Quote from: Raux on March 09, 2009, 10:43:00 PM
cooool are those the Ducati Monster shorty gloves? those rock.
No, these are the Dainese version of the Ducati Motard gloves. Which are the same thing. They are a bit more expensive but I could not find the monster ones when I was looking. Check them out here http://www.dainese.com/us_en/motorbike/guanto-blaster.html?cat=5 (http://www.dainese.com/us_en/motorbike/guanto-blaster.html?cat=5). They run big, normally get medium/large, these fit really snug at small but have stretch and now they fit really good.
+1 on the tank overflow. No damage underneath! I'm going to see if I can fix the crack, might be time to put some black reflective stripes on it while I get a new tank panel. ;D
Mouseman is working on a new style tank cover. it's gonna use the middle front cover and then a single piece wraparound for the rest. might want to wait til he's done to check it out.
Sorry to hear of your crash and the damages, glad it was not worse cause it could have been. You always have to be alert, expect the unexpected around every corner, watch for danger at every intersection, even in the straights you gotta be wary of a deer taking you out. Riding a bike takes full concentration, and that being so involved is the fun of it too.
that make the beast with two backsing sucks.
good to read it sounds like you are in good spirits. [thumbsup]
plus whatever everyone else said about being careful and blah blah
Quote from: zLoki on March 10, 2009, 12:56:57 AM
Total bill for me not paying attention - about $1000.
It could be a much more costing lesson if it wasn't for the helmet, leathers, and sliders [thumbsup]
man.. i should really order some make the beast with two backsing sliders.
great call on the sliders. A guys at work was giving me looks when i told him i was getting some. Not that i would be pressured not too, just funny he would do that. No that i have seen they work amazingly, i will get some. Totally worth the "weird" look than the "F'ed up" look. Fronts did nothing? hmmm
"And I got to keep the stock cans for emissions purposes(in 2012). "
Cali?????
also, great call on the new helmet. think of it as karma
glad to hear your both fine. [thumbsup]
dang man! sorry to hear that. i know you've put a ton of time and money into your baby. that really sucks! makes me think i might just keep my motovation frame sliders. how is your insurnce company handling it?
well, the good thing is your here to ride another day...
Quote from: zLoki on March 09, 2009, 07:52:50 AM
No, she was still in second and running when I got up. Finally got to use the big shiny red kill switch :)
agreed on the frame sliders mrplease, thats why i was thinking of getting yours for cheap! ha! may look dumb, but your gonna look dumber with a messed up bike.
i'm getting mine once the wallet flow is in order...
Quote from: ducatitorrey on March 23, 2009, 07:54:09 AM
agreed on the frame sliders mrplease, thats why i was thinking of getting yours for cheap! ha! may look dumb, but your gonna look dumber with a messed up bike.
i'm getting mine once the wallet flow is in order...
well i'm still kind of on the fence about it. i have a $250 deductible and my insurance covers all my mods and what not. i've already had to deal with a similar thing to a really modded out car and my agent/insurance handled every thing just as i could have hoped. so i'm not to worried about my insurance co. screwing me. i just am not seeing the big deal on having the insurance co. fixing it or just totaling it?!? if someone knows which is better i'd love to hear...
Quote from: zLoki on March 09, 2009, 01:37:49 AM
The leather, wish I could fix it, I really like that jacket
(http://i454.photobucket.com/albums/qq269/scossio/Crash%20030809/IMG_0740-2009-04-08at14-44-56.jpg)
Sorry to hear about your crash but glad you're ok and she's also fine considering the potential damage w/out the frame sliders!!! Quick q: which gloves are these? They look very cool and been after a pair matching those colors on yours :)
thanks
the gloves look to be Dainese, the same ones they make for Ducati to rebrand.
http://www.ducati.com/shop/product.jsp?catid=catimp02022&prodid=prodImp981433 (http://www.ducati.com/shop/product.jsp?catid=catimp02022&prodid=prodImp981433)
i believe i heard they are cheaper as ducati gloves.
Quote from: ducatitorrey on March 23, 2009, 03:25:38 PM
the gloves look to be Dainese, the same ones they make for Ducati to rebrand.
http://www.ducati.com/shop/product.jsp?catid=catimp02022&prodid=prodImp981433 (http://www.ducati.com/shop/product.jsp?catid=catimp02022&prodid=prodImp981433)
i believe i heard they are cheaper as ducati gloves.
thanks!!
Glad you weren't seriously hurt..
Seeing as how the bike has been dropped.. its now absolutely worthless... I'll get a Nigerian friend of mine to send you a check for $100 bucks to cover the costs and troubles of shipping it to me. You can keep $50 and send the other $50 back to me with the bike
Sorry to hear about your crash.
It's interesting that where you did the right thing, it pretty much paid off (jacket, frame sliders).
Where you didn't, you got bit (leg protection).
Sorry about your jacket, but better than your unprotected elbow, that's for sure.
Not wishing the make light of the damage, but that scratch on the tank looks kinda cool - like a godzilla gash, which suits your dark monster (which looks great, btw).
Mend soon: rider and bike.