Crashed on the I-5 today in SoCal (pics)

[shamoo]

My first crash (outside of a minor track spill back in 1998ish on a 2-stroke 250cc bike).  Happened this morning at about 7:00am on the I-5 freeway on the way to work.  Traffic was moving well at ~40-50mph.

There was one of those metal trucks that looked like this going with the flow of traffic in the left/fast lane.



The SUV behind him, gives me room to pass, so I throw up my left hand to thank him.  That was a mistake.  The truck in front suddenly slams on his brakes.  Which is fine since I always have an escape route.  But you know how some people turn at the end of a hard brake?  Well, that's where I was headed.  If I didn't give a thank you wave to the SUV behind him, I probably could have stopped in time.  I hit the rear right corner of his truck.

I distinctly remember my left mirror just snap off and hit me in the shoulder.  It ended up 2 lanes to the right on the ground.  My inside elbow caught the metal corner of the truck and turned the handlebar and then it was all over.  This was at ~25mph.  I flipped over the right/front side of the bike and flew for maybe 5-6 feet into the lane to the right.

I also remember the handlebar digging into my lower stomach quite hard as I went over.  It still hurts now.  I landed on my hands and they also hurt.  No impact to the helmet at all.  I rolled over to the side and remember chuckling to myself as the truck I hit just drove off lulz.  I looked up and the Acura TL in the next lane stopped with plenty of room.

At this point, I think adrenaline kicked in and it was a jumble of thoughts, probably in this order.
"I hope my bike is okay, I hope my bike is okay."
"Why is the bike so hard to lift up?"
"I need to tell my friends in NJ"
"How am I going to hold the bike and get to the other side and put the kickstand down?"  (I was standing on the right side of the bike).
"Why is everyone looking at me?"
"I can't see, my visor is all fogged up."
"Where's my mirror?"
"I hope my bike is okay."

I'm not sure how long it was, but I eventually walked it over to the left shoulder and just put the kickstand down and took a few breaths.  Took off my gloves and looked at my hands, wondering why they hurt so much.  Took a quick look at the bike and only saw some scratches.  Couldn't hang out too long on this small shoulder, so I made sure everything was rideable and then continued on my way to work.

Might not have been a great idea to keep riding because I certainly wasn't concentrating on the ride at all.  Kept thinking about the crash.  It took way longer this time to finish the ride to work.

If anything, it was my fault.  But I'm glad I'm okay, the bike is okay, and I didn't hit a "nice" car.  Apparently it was a work truck and he didn't care.  I'm sure he knew because it was a pretty loud impact.

Got to the work parking deck and took some pics.

Pulled to side of the freeway initially.  I straightened up the bike a minute later.  Was pretty embarassing to be standing there while bumper to bumper traffic drives by you staring. 



Didn't notice this at first.  But during the rest of the ride to work, I noticed a lot of pain in my finger.



Glad I decided to get these Speedymoto frame sliders.  It saved the bike.  Nothing on the body was touched at all.  I was shocked.



Brake was bent (I think) and scraped up.



Half a brake lever.



Left side mirror gone.  I had to pick it up off the freeway 2 lanes over. 



Handlebar has a slight wobble (not the fork).  There is usually a gap there, but now it moves a bit.  Worried about this.  Gonna bring it to the shop after work today.



Glad I was wearing my jacket, or this woulda ripped apart my arm.  This is where it impacted the corner of the metal truck.



Be safe out there guys.

[Bones]

hollllyyy shiiiiit. glad you;re ok. by now you're probably feeling pretty damn sore.  I had a highway spill myself and went flying over the trunk of a car, so I empathize.

when you are more mobile, check around the motor mounts on the engine to make sure the case isn't cracked at all.   that's what happened to my bike. frame sliders took most of the force and cracked the engine case a bit. had to take out engine and have it welded.

heal up!

[RC Fan]

Glad you made it out OK!  Your sliders appeared to have worked really well.

[MikeZ]

Glad you are OK.
Could have been a lot worse.

[dark_duc]

Dang!  Could have been much worse...glad you got through it OK

[Howie]

WOW!  Glad you are pretty much OK.

[SDkid]

+1 for the reasons to wear your gear.  Advil, ice, and rest go a long way on days like this.  Glad you weren't hurt worse.  The 5 is a brutal place sometimes.

[Ducatamount]

Live and learn.Glad you were not run over.

[jaxduc]

Those mirrors were ugly anyway! now gives you a chance to swap them out for some sweet bar ends . don't forget. the one on the right is reverse threads (if I'm not mistaken). sell that one on ebay for beer money.
Thanks for the write up, and as everyone else here, glad you are still with us!
Now I'm gonna think twice about giving people "the wave"

[glbrto]

Thanks for sharing and good to hear you're no worse for the wear. 

[philsu]

Glad to hear you are okay, but since you reported being hit in the torso, it might not be a bad idea to have your physician take a look at you. I wish you a speedy recovery.

[monstermick58]

Man, I'm so glad you came out of that OK

   A couple of inches either way and it could have been a different story.

      Thanks for sharing.







                                       Mmick

[monster monkey]

Very glad to hear you are ok. Thanks for posting too, since we all need reminders that things can change in an instant based on our decisions.
I prescribe a couple of these 

[peppeducati]

Wow. These stories always put a knot in my stomach! Thank God you were able to get up and walk away. Hope everything works out for you in regards to getting the bike fixed. I usually wave to thank someone for letting me in but after reading this I'm gonna think twice!

[Le Pirate]

Glad to hear you are okay, but since you reported being hit in the torso, it might not be a bad idea to have your physician take a look at you. I wish you a speedy recovery.

+1

go get a a quick check to make sure you're okay. Chances are you're fine, but it's that .001% that gets you.

Also...master the low wave...keeps your hand closer to the bar 


glad you walked away, man! and not too much damage....just a little more character