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OH &^%$#&(! OUCH (VERY long)

5954 Views 17 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  CajunBass, 
C
Coming home from work Thursday morning, a car, two cars in front of me stopped in the middle of the road. The car in front of me slammed on it's brakes. I got on my brakes, but realized I wasn't going to stop in time. It seems to me but I can't swear to it that I checked right, and there was a car there. I do know there was a dump truck left. I realized I had a choice of hitting the car, or going down. I went down.

I was running about 40, when I started braking. I'm not sure how fast I was going when I hit the ground. I remember thing "colorful words" and bouncing once HARD, then bounced again. Then I was in the road thinking "Oh......"

I heard a car door slam, and a woman's voice screaming in near panic. "ARE YOU OK?" and she was standing next to me. By this time I was about half up, on one knee. I went to stand up the rest of the way, and my left leg collapsed under me. There was no pain, it just didn't work. I realized I was shaking like a leaf, and had the breath knocked out me. Still no real pain.

The lady asked me again if I was ok, but between my full face helmet, and having the wind knocked out, I couldn't answer her. I felt sorry for her because she was more scared than I was. I held my hand up in a "wait a minute" motion, opened my face shield, took a couple of deep breaths, and tried again to get my legs under me. This time they worked.

I said, "I think I'm ok. Are you?" She replied that she was fine, she was just worried about me. I assured her I was fine, then looked for my Majesty. She told me "I felt a little bump, looked in my mirror and didn't see anyone, then I remembered, OH MY GOD, THERE WAS A MOTORCYLE BEHIND ME! Then I saw you laying on the road and I though you were dead." I really felt sorry for her. I scared her half to death I think.

The bike was a few feet behind her car, on it's side of course. I was surprised it was more or less intact. I went over, picked it up, and tried to start it. No go. Someone said 911 had been called. The lady, and I agreed to pull our vehicles off into a parking lot. I had to push my bike since it wouldn't start.

We looked over the bike and the car. I've got some scratches on the tupperware, and some of it is out of place, the lady's car has a couple of spots of silver paint on it so apparently the bike did hit her, but did no real damage. I wack the tupperware more or less back into place, and think "I can ride this thing."

The cops get there, take a report, no tickets, but they indicate that I'm at fault. No problem, I can't dispute that, I was, and since there's no damage to anybody but myself, it's not a problem anyway. I borrow the lady's cell phone, call my wife, and the dealership. I'm thinking maybe there is a kill switch on the fuel pump like a lot of cars have. No, no cutoff switch, the plug is probably fouled. A few minutes later I try again, and the bike starts. Everything works.

My wife and the resuce squad get there. The EMT's check me over, and I've got all the parts and pieces I started with. I refuse transport, because I know I'm not "hurt". I hurt, but I'm not injured anyway. One of the EMT's who responded asks me about my bike. I laugh and tell him all about it.

I tell my wife I'm going to ride the bike home she asks if I'm sure? I tell her "You gotta ride the horse that throws you." She says she's going to pick up something to eat and will meet me there. I ride home with no trouble. There might be a slight vibration but I'm not sure. I'll ride it a little more before I take it to the shop to have them look at it.

So, I've got my first and I pray my last real crash behind me. I have read somewhere that if it's going to happen, it will happen about 5,000 miles. I have just over 5000 miles on my bike.

Primary cause. I was distracted by the dump truck as it passed me, and looked over at it. When I looked back, the car in front of me was STOPPED. The car in front of her had stalled out or something. It was not her fault. I may have been following her too close, but I don't really think so. She had panic stopped, and left black marks so she stopped suddenly, but she didn't have much choice. Those couple seconds of distraction made the difference. I do think I chose the lesser of two evils by going down. I think I'd have been hurt much worse had I slammed into her.

I had on steel toed work boots, jeans, a First Gear armored jacket, and a Bell full faced helmet. The road ate the right boot down to the steel toe, and my jacket has a small tear on the right sleeve at the forarm. I hit first on my right side, then my left. My helmet doesn't have a scratch on it, so apparently I never hit my head on anything. Still mighty glad I had it on.

I have a couple spots of road rash on my right knee, but my jeans didn't get torn. I guess friction against the denim. Both of my shoulders hurt, but I didn't think anything was broken, so I didn't go to the ER.

I'm still sore this morning, and probably will be for a couple more days. I haven't ridden the bike or even looked at it since I got it home, but hope to today after church.

I thought someone might find this interesting. (1) wear your gear. (2) PAY ATTENTION! (3) These bikes are mighty tough. (4) Old fat guys are not as tough.

The original car that stopped in the road? They drove off and left. Didn't say a word to anybody that I know of.

A number of well meaning people have told me "You gotta sell that bike now." BS, pardon my language. Had I been driving an automobile, the accident would have probably still happened except I would have slammed into her car with a lot heavier vehicle, and we'd have two badly damaged cars, and she and I both might have been hurt. What happened was not the fault of the bike. It was my fault.

Mostly I want to thank the Lord for keeping his angels around me, and protecting me. Without them, I'd have been in real trouble.
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G
glad to hear that you are ok.

this should stress the point of always wearing good quality gear when riding at all times.

if you had been wearing a t-shirt and shorts, imaging what the out come might have been ?

and i agree, that these machines are tougher than they first appear.
i had mine droppde (it rolled off the stand) and fell over. no major damage at all. a few minor scuff marks and a scratch on the back of one of the mirrors.

once again, glad that you survived this incident ok.

jason.
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Willy Mo
God Bless You, my friend. I just said a prayer for you.

:wink:
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aa6vh
I am very glad to hear you are OK. Especially since I am still trying to recover from my recent accident (I was hit by an unlicensed driver changing lanes into me, and my resultant slide caught my ankle under the bike and broke it).

In another newsgroup I belong too, they are insistent that it is better to panic stop rather than go down. I am not trying to be critical here, but I was wondering what you think in retrospect?

Supposedly, when one goes down, one will slide a farther distance than one would travel in a panic stop. Knowing how far I slid at 25mph when I went down, I do beleive I definately could have stopped in a shorter distance (of course braking was not an option for me, since I was knocked down).

And yes, that protective gear really does work, doesn't it!

Dave
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C
Dave, What do they mean by a "panic stop?" My option was to go down, or hit the back of a stopped car. I actually had gotten slowed down quite a bit, but could tell I wasn't going to make it before I went over the roof of the Toyota, so I went down before impact. Considering the releative lack of damage to both me and the bike I think it was the right decision.

Replaying it in my mind hasn't really come up with anything else, other than to swerve to the right, and I really can't remember if there was anything in that lane or not. I want to say it was, but I can't swear to it.

And yes. Praise the Lord for boots, jeans, jackets, gloves, and helmets.

:D
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L
Glad to hear you survived...that armored gear is worth every penny...I know.

My crash came in the rain at a slower speed...it was either hit the drunk pedestrian in the road, or go down. Everything survived...the bike took a while to start, but did.

A few scratches all around, and we ride again...
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aa6vh
A panic stop is also known as a quick stop. Its where you apply maximum braking effort to stop in the shortest distance possible. The quick stop/panic stop is taught in the MSF class.

This is something that needs practice. I regularly go to an empty parking lot and practice stopping quickly. I also will sometimes practice this if I am alone on the road, and I come to a stop sign. I have learned just how much brake effort I can do without locking up the wheels (and on the Majesty, its a lot more braking available than on a traditional bike, because of the scooter's weight distribution).

My comment is that I found I can stop in less distance than I would slide if I go down (which I confirmed when I actually did go down and slid).

Anyway, I am just parroting what I have heard in the MSF class and the Safety newsgroup I also read ( http://www.msgroup.org/TIPS.asp ). I am curious to see if the theory holds water!

So, when you slid, did you and/or the bike collide with the vehicle or stop before?

One more week until I get my cast off. Then I can see about fixing the broken tupperware on my bike. There is quite a bit of tupperware damage where the car actually struck me (which was on the rear).
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C
I don't think I hit the car. The bike apparently did, but it couldn't have been very hard. The lady said she felt a slight bump, and there were three small flecks of silver paint on her bumper, the largest of which was about an inch long.

I don't think anything is broken on the tupperware. I rode it home but haven't looked at it since. I'm going out in a little while and do so.
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T
Glad you are okay. Glad the scoot is okay.

The exact same thing happened to me when I first started riding (about 18 years ago). I hit the rear when I failed to realize the car was stopped in the road ... it was dark and early in the morning ... just didn't notice. I ended up on the hood of the car, but besides a smack to the shin, unscathed. The bike, a Kawasaki KL250, bent the forks about 30 degrees, but I was able to hobble it home. Luckily, I have paid more attention ever since.
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C
I checked the bike over, and took it out for a ride yesterday. The only thing I can find broken is the "V" at the base of t he windshield, and three of the four pins that hold the windshield in place are broken. That apparently is where most if not all of the vibration is coming from. I've got it pinned down best I can for now with duct tape.

I rode the bike to work this morning, 78 miles, and it ran like a champ. Good thing too. We don't have but one car, and my wife has to work her job all week so I really NEED the bike. I'll see about getting it into the shop the first of next week to let them look it over, but I feel perfectly safe riding it right now.

I can't believe how tough this thing must be. I didn't even break a mirror.
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Blexcroid
Praise the Lord that you are OK!! I can affirm that there is a "tilt" switch of some sort on the Majesty. When I had my accident in December, it took about 30 minutes for the bike to be able to start. I was told that there was some sort of sensor that can tell when the bike is on it's side and will prevent it from starting. It seems to take a while for it to clear.

PLEASE check and double check your helmet for ANY scratches or abrasions. If you find any, please, please buy a new one and retire the damaged one. Even if you keep the damaged one as a reminder, please cut the straps off of it. This way someone does not try to use it at a later date. I was surprised to find that what seems like a minour bump to most of us will substantially damage the protective layers inside the helmet, rendering it useless. I took my helmet and cut it with a bandsaw to see if it was true and was shocked at the permanent compression of the protective foams deep inside.

I don't plan to risk my safety over a $500 helmet. Besides, a brain is a terrible thing to waste! :thumbleft:

Looks like your Guardian Angel :angel5: got a workout too.
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C
My wife and I have both checked the helmet over. Can't find a scratch on it. Apparently I never hit my head on anything. Playing the incident back, over and over in my mind, and looking at the physical evidence, like the scratches on the bike, the damage or lack of damage actually,to the automobile, and the condition of my gear, I don't believe I was going very fast when I went down. I might have almost stopped actually.

Praise the Lord for that.

When I called the dealership, they said the plugs had probably fouled out. I don't know about that, I suspect it may have flooded or something. I dumped the bike once before when I was learning to ride it and the engine keept running that time, I had to shut it off with the kill switch.
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Blexcroid
CajunBass said:
I checked the bike over, and took it out for a ride yesterday. The only thing I can find broken is the "V" at the base of t he windshield, and three of the four pins that hold the windshield in place are broken. That apparently is where most if not all of the vibration is coming from. I've got it pinned down best I can for now with duct tape.
Click to expand...
Next time you get a chance, check under the tuperware in the front. The "bar" on which the horn is mounted is attached to a piece for the frame in the front. Two people I know who have had their bikes go down have snapped the piece off the frame where the bar mounts. One was fixed with JB weld, the other chose to buy a new frame. Surprised to learn JB Weld works so well on aluminum.
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G
Glad to hear you're o'tay. Earlier this week, a similar situation happened to me. I was distracted momentarily by an attractive gal. :shock: In less than a second, there was an impact delivered to the back of my head from better half in back seat, no I wasn't wearing my helmet. We should all pay more attention to our driving while driving... :lol:
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C
Thought y'all might be interested in an update on this accident.

I finally took my bike by the dealers for an estimate. I've been riding it since the accident, with no problems other than a loose windshield that creates an annoying rattle. It's held in place for now with all purpose duct tape which seems to do a good job, but I thought I'd find out what it will cost to get it fixed back to "before crash condition."

According to the dealers rough estimate, parts only, the bill is $2332.14 including tax. He said they will need some time to pull the bodywork to see if there is any internal damage.

He's found scratches, and some cracks in the bodywork that I hadn't paid any attention to or even noticed.

I guess I'll talk to my insurance in a couple of days.
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D
Way back in 1962 I was in the Air Force stationed at North Bend, Oregon. I bought a Vespa scooter from a fellow airman on the AF Site and was learning to ride it. At the time my friend and I were drinking beer so on the scooter we went and rode down the mountain to the main highway.

I remember neither of us had helmets on but that didn't deter us. I remember swinging too wide on the highway at the bottom of the mountain and hit a curb, throwing both of us on the grass.

My friend had the wind knocked out of him and he lay there doubled up, gasping for breath, I rolled around holding my banged shin which was hurting like crazy. Meanwhile, the scooter was going full throttle in a circle, making neat "O"s in the grass.

Cars began to stop, the last thing I wanted was an audience. One nice lady stopped and she was absolutely hysterical! "Oh Lord!" she screamed.... "This one's dead!!!!"

All I could think of was here I am 3/4 drunk, with NO drivers license and I've probably killed my buddy! I don't need to deal with any Police! But soon Richard painfully staggered to his feet.

He had mud in his eyes, ears and his hair was matted together. We must have looked a sight !!

Wanting to get away before the police arrived, we manhandled the scooter and got it back on the highway. The handle bars were bent 90 degrees as I remember but we had to vamoose before the cops arrived.

You can ride one in this configuration, I learned, but it wasn't so easy.

So away we went, back up the mountain with grass and mud all over us as well as the Vespa. We had "escaped" not only a ticket but much more importantly, with our lives.

Today I look back on some of the foolishness I've done and wonder how I could have survived.

But I get just as excited today when I get on my Scooter as I did then, but today I approach my scooter with a reverence unknown by me in 1962.

DougThompson
Pikeville, Kentucky
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Blexcroid
Now that it's a month later, have most of your soreness and bruises gone away?? Heavenly Father has a wonderful way of placing his hand beneath us just at the right time to protect us from most of the damage. :)
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C
Pretty much. I'm still sore across my shoulders at times but I'm not sure if that's from the accident, or from just being old. :D
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