Ducati Monster Forum

This thread is devoted to analyzing our crashes.  No one wants to go boom, but it happens.  Let's try to learn from one another to prevent any future pavement surfing.  The intent here is to analyze, not criticize.

Here's a format for posting:

Brief summary of the crash

What you did right

What you did wrong

How could it have been avoided

Brief summary of the crash - What you should NOT do on a cold track day, writing off a S4Rs

What you did right - Used tyre warmers before each morning session especially as it was 0 degrees C in the morning.

What you did wrong - Didn´t use tyre warmers before the first free session and my tyres were worn but not worn out, I got a bit happy with the throttle on a fast uphill left hander with the consequence of being thrown off the bike and sliding many many yards along the asphalt whilst watching my beloved S4Rs flipping and bouncing and generally twisting itself into a "Streetfighter Special".

How could it have been avoided - Even though my tyres were cold I should have been gentle with the throttle and I probably would have had a wobble first couple of laps, then it would have been fine.

Brief summary of the crash
Riding with some friends on a pavement road with the pavement in good condition.  Warm fall day, tires were good and warm too.  Entered a left hander too hot, lowsided at around 95-100mph, bike slammed into a guardrail destroying it, I was luckier.  I was riding a GSXR 600 with the TRE mod.  As I hit the apex, at about full lean, I felt the rear start to slide, being about about 13,000RPM meant A LOT of power was going to the pavement so as I slid the rear spun up with a vengence.  I pretty much rode the bike to the pavement, never changing my inputs to the bars.  When my shoulder hit the pavement, I turn loose of the bike which saved me serious injury.

What you did right
Didn't freak when I realized I was going to go down.  Didn't try to change steering inputs, didn't apply brakes.  Turned bike loose once my shoulder hit the pavement

What you did wrong
Too much throttle, too fast for the road.  Could have saved it with better throttle control/form

How could it have been avoided
Slowing down, track days to understand how to control a sliding bike

JM

Recap of my crash

I am riding sweep with 6 other guys from the NYMMC forum. We're about 20 miles into a planned 350 mile ride. We get into the first section of twistys in a woody state park, and I'm doing quite well. However, I get to one uphill left-hand turn and it doesn't feel right. As I am repositioning for the turn I realize I am going way too fast. I'm probably doing 40 - 45 - or maybe more... In trying to slow down I straighten up the bike, but realize I'm headed for gravel and a drop off on the side of the road. I end up locking the front wheel while on the gravel which drops the bike to its left, and I go over the bars. I may have actually bailed off the bike, but I just can't remember. I hit the ground with my left hand and helmet. Here's a pic of the aftermath to my stuff. I'm fine - not a scratch, but I mildly sprained my wrist and I overall feel like a pro football lineman on Monday morning.

(http://www.mendhams.com/cars/thedamage.jpg)


Damage to the bike appears to be minimal. Broken headlamp, smashed left indicator, broken Dart flyscreen (which saved the instrument cluster from serious damage  wt: - but it was bent), bent bars, clutch filed down, scratched tank and rear cowl, bent shifter. The left side frame slider got nicely ground down, and I HOPE the frame and forks aren't bent. I am HOPEFUL that it's just jammed in gear because when I started it after the crash it made a miserable noise.  :'(  It was picked up by a local dealer from the crash site, and I should learn more this week. Also, the right side MIVV can was dented - and I'm bewildered by that... I'm actually happy about the indicator, because I have a full set of Rizoma LED Track indicators to install  wt: be::



What I did right:

1 - Wore full gear (dressed for the crash, not the ride). My new Helimot suit is soooo worth it. My helmet is already in the garbage. My Held gloves came through with flying colors. If I in fact DID bail, it saved me from falling downhill into rocks. I carried my AAA card, but learned a hard lesson - if you're in a state park, the towing company needs to have a special permit to come in and pick you up.

What I did wrong:

1 - I was riding at the very limits of my ability, and I got burned for it. I should have been going 10 - 15 mph slower throughout that stint.
2 - I didn't try to push through the turn, likely because I didn't...
3 - trust my abilities, my tires or the bike in general

How it could have been avoided:

Simple - going slower.

The irony:

I was using this ride as a warm up for the Lee Parks Total Control Advanced Riding Class on the 27th. Guess what I had to reschedule...  :bang

What I learned:

As much as I have advanced my skills as a motorcyclist, I'm still only in my second year of riding. I need to ride comfortably - and not push myself when it isn't necessary.

I really do need to take an advanced class like the ARC class or a track day because I need a controlled environment to learn the limits of my bike - not on public roads.

I also learned that walking through Grand Central Station in the middle of mid-town Manhattan is a wee bit embarrassing if you're wearing full leathers and carrying other gear  ;:|

I also learned that NYMMC is chock full of quality people. They waited with me for over an hour until the truck came to get me!

Let me know if you need any more details.

So I'm new and just getting into riding...

Seems like a LOT of accidents where people take turns too quickly though, area result of the way people respond to having too much speed...ie not using the throttle correctly, applying too much brake, standing the bike up, locking a wheel...

It appears that in a lot of these situations, the correct move would have been to trust the bike a bit more and try to take the turn with the proper lean/positioning. Obviously, there's also knowing how to apply brake and everything properly beforehand in order to shave off some speed, but at some point, it seems like it would be pretty hard to actually cause the bike to lowside simply by having too much speed. Thoughts? I don't know much, so let me know if I'm way off base here.

Question - based on recent low side avoiding an SUV grill

The most typical moto accident statistically speaking in traffic:
Moto going straight, car opposite in an intersection turns left in front of moto. This almost happens so often I lost count. More since I got a new bike with stock pipes.

The other day someone cut across both lanes in front of me, I swerved + braked, lost front end, went down in front of the car about to crush me, they stopped.
Minor damages.
I get the feeling that if I had just hit the breaks I would have been embedded in their door; If I'd just swerved, I would have found another car or storefront to run into.

Any opinions?

Sicne I didn't wee the accident, no opinion.

How are you?
The bike?

Summary: I was road racing through the country on a 2 lane paved road . It was about 50 degrees and clear around 3 in the afternoon. 3rd time out this Spring. Had been running  someplaces in the triple digits on the short straights. After about an hour of racing ,me against the road, I turned on to this road that I hadn't ridden this direction since last Fall. (Really not very familar with the part of the road I crashed on) but came up out of a low area and crested a hill only to be right on top of a hard left hander . I normally take curves at twice the posted speed but I was distracted by a bike and 2 people beside the road for just a moment as I hit the crest of the hill. I went into the curve to deep ( to close to the center line of the curve ) and by the time I tried to countersteer out of the curve I hit the ditch and hillside at a 45 degree angle an as I tried to ride it out my bike was sucked into the water and mud in the ditch and I was pummmeled 4 times extremly hard so much so that I knew each time I felt a concussive hit I had a pretty good idea what damage my body had sustained. I came to rest on my back about 15 feet from my bike ,both of us in the ditch. I was able to push with my feet to get out of the ditch and get to my feet and hit the kill switch since the bike was still running on it's side. At that time I figured I had broken my shoulder and punctured my right lung. I was taken by Squad immobilized to a Fiberglass board and received no pain medication for over an hour  1/2 in the ER while I had X-rays and CT Scans and then had to find a Radiologist to read them. What I did was broke 4 ribs on my right side, did puncture my right lung, dislocated my right shoulder, sprained both knees and ankles, and did alot of soft tissue damage. There were no marks on my body anywhere-just all on the inside !              What I did Right: I had on a Shoei X-11 Helmet, Ducati Corse Leather Jacket, BMW Back Protector, Held Phantom Gloves, Dainese Mekong leather pants, AlpineStars SMX Plus Racing boots, Oakley Radar Pitch Sunglasses.Silk Helmet Liner.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            What I did Wrong: I did many things wrong. 1st I shouldn't have been riding so fast at least on a road that I wasn't real familar with and so soon in the season after only having been out 3 times  since last Fall before Turkey Day w/ a new Full Termi Exhaust which really adds alot of extra power and not riding likke that. Also I think the pavement was probably still to cold for real good adhesion. 3, I shouldn't have allowed myself to be distracted at racing speeds.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          How could it have been avoided: Probably the best way would have been to not ride so fast this early in the season on a road that I wasn't real familar with with the Termi Full Exhaust and wait until the pavement gets lots warmer so that I have maximum adhesion. ( of course what I was doing was not legal but it's my style of riding but generally on familar roads) I don't endorse it nor advocate it for anyone else but I'm sure I'm not alone .   ps. I've had 2 surgeries and I'm still not out of the woods yet.   I forgot to mention while I was in the Emergency room a  [leo] came in , interviewed me after I was on pain meds and gave me a  $90 FTC Ticket. Last ticket I got was in 1992. As of 5 /23 my medical bills are $67,000.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

I know this scene well unfortunately :
+ 13 other riders in 2007 in the same 100 feet of road in Marin. Exact road same elements. No "turn ahead" sign. We put up a sign.

These are BAD:
Tired, dehydrated, distracted, unfamiliar, blind hill/curve + speed = crash


Good luck man.

Unfortunately, all cagers are out to get you.  I mean it.  I now cover the brake with my right hand and the horn with my left thumb in case cagers do not see me.

I can tell you that having the Stebel horn has SAVED my life several times. Cars are ALWAYS out to get you, and with a quick blow of the horn, i always notice the drivers that are about to hit me jerk their car back into their lane. A loud bike isnt enough, you need something that can grab someones attention if they are falling asleep at the wheel.

+ 1

Stebel Horn? Any details on that? I see many different types on e-bay.
Which is defining, bone shaking loud please?

Otherwise thinking of mounting missiles.

Depends on if you want to mount a relay.  If you do, then get the Nautilus (loudest on the market)--the dual tone sounds like a semi truck.  I didn't want to wire in a relay, so I got a single TM-80 Magnum--it sounds like a car horn.

Good cheap place: http://www.hornsplusauto.com/

 

Brief summary of the crash:
Making a pretty tight left hander, I hit some gravel and the rear tire starting coming out from under me.  I stood it back up and regained control, but I was going off the rode.  went down a ditch and hit a 12" culvert pipe head on.   Went over the bars, well actually my left leg was shattered by the handlebars (17 places) and landed on my back. the bike did a couple of cart wheels and landed on its wheels then fell over. Suprisingly no dent to the tank.

What you did right: I was wearing all the gear except leather pants. (boots, jacket, gloves, helmet, long pants/jeans).  Riding on the center to right side of the lane.

What you did wrong: Going a little to fast. Trying to get out of a lowside? (not really sure which would have been better)

How could it have been avoided: Slow down a little.  Lowside.

I posted this in the "Mile High Monsters" section, but thought that it might be helpful here as well. Sorry that it's a little long...

Well, as the saying goes "There are two types of motorcyclists, those who have crashed and those who will". I've now joined the first group and experienced what a crash is like, and while it could have been much worse I certainly hope to avoid experiencing it again, at least in the near future.   

What Happened:

I met up with my uncle and a friend in Colorado Springs (I'm from Denver) on Saturday morning for a day of riding. The weather was perfect - sunny with a few scattered clouds, and we decided to head out towards Bishop's Castle as I had never been out there. We took 115 south to Florence where we got on 67 south towards Wetmore. I was taking it fairly easy since I hadn't done much real riding since last year (riding around town not counting). We hit a nice short section of twisties on 67, and I started to pick up the pace. I was feeling pretty good - got a knee down in a couple of spots and was seeing my lines. I had headphones in and was listening to some music. The twisties ended pretty quickly, and as the road transitioned to some nice sweeping curves I began thinking back about the run and what I could do to improve my technique.

Well, in my great brilliance I neglected to pay attention to the road. After all, it wasn't a technical section and I could afford to be inattentive, right?   I was in the middle, with my uncle following close behind me. As we approached a long, sweeping left-hand turn I started to drift wide, and it wasn't until I was 3/4 of the way through the turn that I realized that my current course would send me into the ditch on the side of the road. I leaned the bike over a little further, but happened to hit a patch of sand and felt the back end start to slip. Instead of trusting my bike, getting a knee down, and turning my head and looking through the turn (which would likely have allowed me to complete the turn without anything worse than a little wiggle at the rear tire) I immediately began searching for a place where I could go off the road with as little damage as possible.

There was a gravel road that terminated in a barbed wire fence (ouch!)  and just past it a sandy section about 4-feet wide that bordered the road for about 20 feet. I decided to aim for the sand.  I knew better than to make any sudden steering or power changes while on the sand, but I thought that if I could slow the bike down enough I might be able to ride it out and then steer it back onto the road. At this point I stood the bike up and got on both brakes, with the idea of scrubbing off as much speed as possible before hitting the sand. Immediately before I went off the road I released the brakes, downshifted, and got back on the throttle very slowly.

I had probably gotten my speed down to around 35-40mph when I went off the road and hit the sand, and at first I thought that my idea might work. The back end started slipping around a bit, but nothing that I couldn't handle. Then IT happened.   Contrary to appearance the sand was actually 6-8 inches deep, and wet. My back tire immediately sunk deeply into the sand, and then bucked up and to the right. I held on for all I was worth, hoping against hope to be able stabilize it once it came back down. The back tire slammed back into the ground and then bucked once again, this time to the left. The bike came up to almost a 60-degree angle, launching me up over the handlebars and into the road. I let go at the very last minute and found myself doing a very poor superman imitation. 

I very distinctly remember four things going through my mind as I was flying through space: First I thought, “Hmm, my music is still playing. I can’t believe that I am listening to this right now (I was listening to the soundtrack from Casino Royale, and the track where Bond wrecks the Aston Martin had just come on  )”. Second, “You know, this would be kind of fun if it wasn’t for the impact I know is coming.” Third, “Impact? O, shoot, I’d better prepare myself!” Fourth, a brief prayer, “O, Lord, please don’t let this hurt too bad – and please let my bike be ok!”

I was already twisting as I flew through the air, and I did my best to tuck in my arms and head and prepare to roll once I hit the ground. I landed hard on my right hip, immediately tumbling onto my back and then my left side - wrenching my left shoulder, as I had been unable to get my left arm down in time. I came to a stop on my back, with my head and body from the waist-up in the road, my legs in the ditch. I did a quick assessment to make sure that I was actually stopped and that I could feel all my extremities, then rolled out of the road and looked back at my bike.

The bike had fallen on its right side about 20-feet from where I had stopped rolling. The right side of the handlebar had buried itself in the sand causing the throttle to stick wide open. This caused the bike to pivot around on the handlebar until the bike was facing the road - with the rear tire doing its best to propel the now horizontal bike back onto the road it had so recently left through contact with thin air alone. I slowly got to my feet and made my way back to the bike, hitting the kill switch and then turning the key off.

By this point my uncle and friend had circled back, parked their bikes, and assisted me in getting my beloved Ducati across the road to a flat spot where we could assess the damage. Other than the bent handlebar, a scratched bar-end mirror, and a bent rear brake lever the only damage was to my low-mount Termi exhaust. When the bike fell over it bent the right pipe in towards the rear wheel, splitting the seam at the base of the pipe where it attaches to the header. I plan to take the bike in to a shop that my uncle recommended and see if he can bend the exhaust back out and then weld a bead across the split. My frame-sliders performed admirably with no damage to the tank or the frame. 

For myself, I ended up with some broken blood vessels and a golf-ball-sized bruise on my right hip from the impact, and a sore left shoulder from overextension when I was tumbling. Gratefully I was wearing the proper gear: a black Alpinestars GP-Plus jacket (with a Dainese Wave G Back Protector insert), zipped to a pair of black Alpinestars track pants, Alpinestars SMX Plus boots, a Shoe X-11 helmet, and a pair of Held Steve gloves. The pants and jacket both are pretty scraped up but are definitely still serviceable. The helmet never contacted the ground – both based on my memory and a detailed visual inspection, so I plan to continue using it. I am certain that if I had not been wearing the proper gear I would be laying in a hospital bed having gravel scrubbed out of my flesh and very possibly had broken bones as well right now. Instead I am sitting in a coffee shop two days later with nothing more than a slightly stiff shoulder and a bruise on my hip that I only remember I have whenever I bump it. 

Lessons Learned:

-   Always wear proper gear. Up till now I have typically worn all my gear when I ride around town with the exception of the pants – I typically have worn jeans. This incident has motivated me to research protective pants that I can wear over my jeans/slacks when running errands.
-   Never lose focus. Even “easy” roads can quickly become dangerous if you are not paying attention.
-   Always look through your turn. I failed to do this and instead was contemplating the side of the road, which is precisely where I went. Your body naturally follows your eyes, so look where you want to go and never become fixated on distracting elements around you.
-   If, God forbid, I ever find myself ¾ the way through a turn and I have drifted wide, it is far better to lean the bike over hard and attempt to save the turn. The worst that could happen is that the back tire slides out and I low-side, as opposed to playing superman and being launched through the air.

Ride safe, and I hope to see you guys (and gals!) on the road! 

NateDog

Glad you came out of it as well as you did NateDog. :)

DE, you've had four wrecks that I recall (old board and this one) in roughly a year.

If you make it through this, and don't slow down in the very near future, you are going to kill yourself.



You have a "spare" S4Rs. You can probably afford a track day. Please, please consider this.

Brief summary of the crash: Group ride with a bunch of sportbike riders with more experience than me. Took an unfamiliar left-hander too fast and the bike ended up in the ditch with me log-rolling down the pavement. Shifter lever is bent, seat cowl (Sport Classic 1000) has some rash where it meets the seat, and the left clip-on rotated probably 10 or 15 degrees counter-clockwise. Otherwise the bike is pretty much fine. No tank ding, and nothing on the tank even made it through the clear coat.

Had all my gear on and it did its job. Jacket sleeves/shoulders/back are scuffed, and there's actually a hole worn through on the top of the left shoulder. Landed pretty squarely on my left side and the Cortech riding jeans I was wearing probably would have held up better if I hadn't had a cell phone in my pocket. They shredded right over the pocket, but the pocket material is still intact and nothing in the pocket itself took anything more than impact damage. All of the seams and material on the jeans held except over the left hip pocket. Hands were tucked into my chest, so my Olympia gloves are untouched. Sparx helmet has a couple of minor scrape/dings, one over my left eyebrow on the visor, the other on the left chin and bottom of the visor. As soon as I get a copy of the police report I'll be sending it in to take advantage of their crashed helmet policy.

I ended up with a sore shoulder, a bruise on my left thigh in the shape of my cell phone, and a scrape on my right knee about the size of a nickel. It'll cost more to replace my jacket and helmet than it will to fix my bike. Bike and body will both be 100% before my pride heals.

Full writeup is http://ducatimonsterworldwide.org/index.php?topic=2565.0;topicseen (http://ducatimonsterworldwide.org/index.php?topic=2565.0;topicseen)

What you did right: Wore all my gear. Didn't try to stay with the bike. Tucked my arms and rolled.

What you did wrong: Riding over my head, mostly. Entered the corner too fast on a road I wasn't familiar with. I still have chicken strips, so I probably had another 10-15 degrees of usable lean angle. When I thought I was going to run out of road I looked at the ditch where I thought I was going instead of at the road, where I wanted to go. When I looked at the ditch, I rolled off the throttle.

How could it have been avoided: I was riding way over my head. If my brain hadn't been fighting with my ego, I'd have just backed off and let them roll off into the distance. I also panicked when I thought I wasn't going to make it through the turn and I rolled off the gas. Additional countersteer and roll on the throttle and I'd have made that corner with room to spare.

Lesson learned, and it would have been cheap at twice the price.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Yea, you're right. Don't know if there will be any track days or riding for that matter...saw the Surgeon that did my Thoracotamy( since I ended up with a punctured lung from one of the 4 ribs that I broke but it didn't show up on the CT Scan in the Emergency Room the day of the crash)  on this past Thursday as a follow up to the 5/7 Surgery and he told me I wouldn't be riding anymore this year. At soon to be 59 I am pretty devasted since all I really live for is to ride. I was pretty much disabled before I crashed since I destroyed my shoulder, hip, and knee joints Body Buildng back in the '80's.  Now they are full of Osteo Arthritis . At least I could ride a bike.

Brief summary of the crash

Lowsided while making tight left turn. I was going about 30 to 35 mph when I spilled the bike.  The pavement was clear so operator error was solely to blame. 

What you did right

I was dressed for the wreck - full leathers - not even a scratch.

What you did wrong

I got a little sloppy with the throttle - I hadn't touched the brake so I think the front tire lost traction. I was pushing beyond my ability.

How could it have been avoided

Better throttle control and entering the turn at a lower speed.

That's rough man. I'm starting to feel a little less like superman as I get older as well. Riding has been a big part of my life since I was a small child. Now I'm finding the need for seriously mellowing out is no longer a choice but my reality. I was off the bike for almost all of 2007 healing. Time for reevaluation and the "changing of gears."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Old age Sucks !!! Especially when you think you have found your 3rd childhood. I started riding on the street in the 60's then to Motocross , then to Trails in the Wayne National Forest and riding the Ball+ Chain through South Eastern Ohio, then Crusin' until I got the BMW K1200S last Spring and also it was then I discover Ducati and got my 2 S4Rss and have been hooked on Cross County Road Racing and ordered a 1098 R and then the big "crash!" Even when I'm healed up I don't know how I can go back to riding like I was . It was such a "rush" but I kept pushing the envelope as I felt more comfortable with the speeds I was able to handle and I know me and I know the only thing that would draw the line would be when I hit the wall so to speak. All the protective gear you can buy can't save you everytime as I learned in this most recent crash. Can you "cruse" on a S4Rs or 1098R ??

Cruse - Maybe not on a 1098. But it doesn't have to be about pushing limits and hitting walls. I'm getting back out and just taking it easy. Its about picking perfect lines and elegant form, its about the swooping and zooming, not the racing. Not the triple digits, not the passing teenagers.

Having fun at my own pace.  [moto]
Just one more thing. When is the last time you saw a Ferrari race anyone? I never have. They got Schumacher for that. We got Troy Bayless and Stoner.  If you ride a Ducati, you don't have to prove anything IMHO, unless you're doing that for a living  ;)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          One of my minor crashes happened one day when I really didn't feel into "racing the road "so I thought I was sort of just " crusin'." What happenens to me when I'm not out there going hell bent for leather I tend to let my mind wonder and take in the sights and  smells and on the twisties that can meam missing lines or stuff in the road that I would normally catch when I'm " In the Zone." I suppoose I will just have to find a way to ride slower but still have that " zoned in"  concentration of the road.

I work out here in St. Helens, Or and I meet up with fellow riders in Scappose. He has been riding for about a year, I have been riding since Sept., and then his friend had bought his first bike the day before.(not the best combination of experince). We rode down HWY thirty and turned on to McNamme. I was in the middle of the two with the brand new rider behind. Everything was going good the guy in front took off and I wasn't even about to try and catch up with him but I did start to flow through the curve's pretty well. Now I was going down a short stretch and as I was just about to go into the turn I checked my mirror to see where the other rider was and I saw a headlight in the ditch. . That one second I had noticed that; I didn't even think about trying to make the turn, I just threw on my brakes and went in to the ditch. . I wasn't hurt , the other guy wasn't hurt. Which is the most important thing!

 But I feel ashamed of my choice's. 
1. If he was hurt , and I got hurt I wouldn't of been able to help!
2. I should've concetrated on the turn and followed through with it!
3. Shouldn't of taken a brand new rider up Mcnamee!
4. should of reacted calmly and looked through the turn!
5. I reacted with out thinking first!

The bike got messed up a bit. the triple's were make the beast with two backsed, yet the forks are straight which seems odd to me. Axle was bent but the wheel and hubs were in good shape. Bent the Handle bars, which is the second time I make the beast with two backsed up the bars. Scott Araujo, thank you he way for  helping me out the first time. I went ahead and purchased the oem clip-ons from the original owner that I bought the bike from. I got Triples/axle from m9hundo aka GIL, which worked perfectly and now are painted black. And I went ahead and bought me some bar-end mirrors.
I didn't take it to insurance cause I've had two speeding tickets in the last year( not while on the Bike ) and I didn't want a higher preminum.
All I can say is that if I had reacted more clearly and was more focused on where I was going, I would of been able to help if needed.
I now know not to react with out thinking and to be more focused and ready for the unexpected. Good lesson, I should known better the first time.

I witnessed a crash yesterday http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=5194.0
that was almost me in the middle as well.

Stopped at a light, a rider was hit from behind at 40MPH by a Ford EXCURSION. A vehicle with a curb weight of 7,190 lbs. (3.595 TONS)
He left the scene strapped to an ambulance, but alive. Sorry for the dramatic descriptions, but I did the stoppie of my life to miss the drunk blowing through the light that caused this.
He had full racing leathers on with serious back protector and a very good helmet/boots. Though he flew almost 45 feet, and landed unconscious, there was no blood at all. That’s an amazing example of good gear.

What I learned:

EYES in the backs of our heads guys.

At the front of the pack, between cars is good. Eyes in the rear view until its stacked up.

The first hero off the line is going to catch the red light runner.

FULL GEAR ALL THE TIME.

Rush hour sucks. Cagers are out of their minds and out to kill at 4PM. Listen to the sirens every afternoon.

 Well I lowsided today.  [bang] [bang] [bang]

Brief summary of the crash

Basically I was exiting Hwy 101 south onto Washington Blvd in Petaluma (an off ramp that is very well used and has a lot of oil and debris caked on it). The recommended speed is 20 I was probably doing 30. The rear wheel came loose on me, I tried to plant my right foot to get it back but it didn't work. The bike slid away from me spinning on he frame slider until it came to a stop. I wasn't on the ground for maybe a couple of seconds when I popped up, looked behind me for cars, ran over to the bike, picked it up and rolled it over to the side of the exit.

What you did right

I was wearing all the gear. I was wearing Alpinestars SMX Plus Boots, Draggin Jeans(with kevlar lining and knee pads) Forcefield Body Armor shorts underneath the jeans, Dianese Back protector), Alpinestars jacket with armor , Racer gauntlet gloves and a Shoei RF-1000 helmet.

I came out of it without a scratch but Im sure Ill be sore tomorrow.

What you did wrong

What I did wrong was underestimate how slick the exit was. It is one of the main streets in Petaluma. What I think happened was the exit is so well used that even 10 MPH over the recommended speed along with the heat of the day made the asphalt very slippery.

How could it have been avoided

Go the recommended speed on off ramps. They are all well used and can get very slick, especially during hot days.

The damage isnt too bad. Bent suburban-machinery handlebars, CRG bar end mirror gone, speedy moto frameslider did its job, rear brake lever bent and ground 1/2 way down, carbon fiber muffler heat shield ground 1/2 way off and slightly damaged carbon fiber Termignoni pipes.

It sucks but I am ok and the damage isnt too bad so all in all I fell very lucky, it could have been way worse.

Seems that frame slider has saved everyone's bike, but it is good to hear most everyone wears their gear too.  I cringe when I see shorts, tank tops, no gloves, and or flip flops...mostly GSXR guys.  I guess some frame sliders will be on order.

Hi!
Good you didn't hurt yourself and your bike!  [thumbsup]

Regarding frame sliders: as a newbie on a new Monster I also considered getting them but I heard/read that they can bend the frame.
Is this true at all or shall I get them without concerns? If yes which brand/type are best for S2R 1K?

That is a religious question around here!  I think CycleCat was the only company that touted a break-away bolt to minimize the change of damaging the frame/engine mount.  SInce they are no longer in business, most/all the remaining manufacturers prodece the non-break type.

1st of all, glad you are OK!!!   :-\

I did something stupid on an off-ramp yesterday. I was coming back from a pretty spirited ride, getting off the exit to my house from the highway. For some reason (adrenaline pumping I guess) I decided to drag knee through the off-ramp (it's a right-left sweeper) at about 70mph.  [roll]

Afterwards, I was like "Why the hell did I just do that?!?! It's such a frequently-used off-ramp, I KNOW there's sand + oil on it!!"  [bang]




^
Usually only if the bike is tipped over onto it at a standstill could this happen, due to the blunt lateral force on the frame. When (and if) you lowside, the bike is moving horizontally faster than it is vertically, so the force is distributed more effectively. At least that's what I've heard, don't quote me on that.

With the leg out I say you need a supermoto, and with the frame sliders I heard they twist frames. I'm happy you made it out clean and didn't get hurt tho. I repair bodies and let me tell you, a bike is easier to repair. +1 for wearing your gear.

venomousr1993 and slick slick I'd get the frame sliders, they most definitely work. Mine are from speedymoto.

Heres a link. https://secure.speedymoto.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=09-0201&Category_Code=FS

Another good thing is that when I replace em I only have to buy new pucks for $35.


Mmmm supermoto doh!! Sometime in the future I may have to buy one!

I've actually lowsided before on this bike and the framesliders did their job then as well (I was going about 15 MPH around an uphill hairpin and lost traction on the front wheel). The thing is if you hit the ground with enough force to bend the frame your bikes probably going to be toast anyway, so why not have em on the bike.

And about gear, I NEVER leave the house without wearing All my gear. After my 1st lowside my left nkee got pretty tore up from the road. I was wearing jeans. After that I bought some kevlar reinforced Draggin jeans w/kneepads and Forcefield Body Armour shorts to wear underneath. Wearing that and the rest of my gear saved my ass.

I was sore for a day afterwards and have a bruise the size of a quarter on the right side of my torso, thats it.

+11ty Mill about wearing all the gear. I cringe when I see people out there wearing anything less.

Thanks for the info, I will order the sliders then!

Brief summary of the crash: A new rider (1300 miles of experience) trying to ride within his limits was provided a wonderful learning opportunity.
 
Almost 90 degree left hand turn that rolls slightly away and downhill.  Back road route almost 2 miles from home at the end of a lightweight and fun Sunday ride.   
 
This turn's down and away nature helps to make it appear "blind" coming up on it because the downhill slope makes it difficult to see through the turn.  Survival responses worked in conjunction to introduce rider and bike to the gravel soft should and Mr. Guard Rail.  Based on some feedback, I am not the first nor probably won't be the last to have fallen victim to this particular turn.
 
 
What you did right: 
 - I bought potentially expensive Italian paperweight from Charles at Hattar Moto in San Rafael CA who must be rich in positive Karma.  Unbeknownst to me, Charles happened to be out on a ride same day, time and route and was the first rider on the scene to help me get home not 5 minutes after the accident in an area where I was getting no cell coverage.  Charles rocks.  If you have an opportunity to work with him, I would encourage it.
 - Good safety gear from helmet to my toes.
 - Took MSF, and read Total Control and Twist II so I could have the language here to describe how easy rookie riders can fall victim to survival responses.
 - Well insured with gap insurance to help zero out my loan if needed so not too financially hurt.
 - I felt like to was riding at 75% of my ability, but...
 
What you did wrong ( I may order these up on T-Shirts since the list never seems to change)
 - ....with only 1300 miles under my belt, it's hard to have positive automatic survival responses even though I thought I was riding at what I thought was a mature easy pace.
 - Ultimately I was in too fast for a turn that did not allow me to see all the way through for my skill level which contributed to the survival response.
 - Target fixation (guardrail) and general lack of looking through the turn
 - Ineffective steering survival response.  I was in the gravel early in the turn leading me to believe that my fixation and panic made steering near impossible enough to loose it into gravel soft shoulder.
 - Lack of faith in my contact patch that could have allowed me to continue to counter steer and look through the turn in the face of survival response.
 - I am still a little IZ_ on the final panic stricken details but I think I actually put my inside foot out like a dirt track rider.  But, I don't have any dirt track experience.  So, not sure how that became by autonomic response.
 - I probably tried to brake too late in the turn.
 
How could it have been avoided
 - Braking earlier
 - More vision practice seeing through the turn
 - More practice with left hand turns in a parking lot developing more comfort with the lean, push, counter steer to combat automatic survival responses.  My left side seems to be my worse side if some riders have turns that are harder than others.
 
The board now has another cliché post of rookie rider wrapping his brand new bike around a guard rail.  I felt personally I had the maturity to ride it well within my skill level.  I felt that the risk of getting hurt was for 25 year old hot doggers splitting traffic at 90 mph after having a few beers.  I don't drink, took the MSF was 2 books in and still put the shiny side down.  It's hard as a rookie rider to think it's going to happen to you with many of the stories about riders pushing to find their outer limits.  I felt like I was just enjoying my experience and not really pushing - but my experience was such that I was going to be at risk almost anywhere/anytime.
 
If there are only two types of riders, those who have been down and those who will, I have joined the list of riders who have been down without too much damage to self.  X-rays say nothing broken.  Just some bruises to self and ego. 
 
Ride safe.

johno

Excellent writeup, and hopefully a warning to other new riders who think it's merely a matter of just going easy on the throttle to stay safe.

 [popcorn] .....OK this came form another thread and I got onto reminicing about my first surprise crash.  Sooo I'll offer up this humbling experiance and invite others to share to see who has bragging rights ...

....now that clutch cover looks very similar to the one i saw on the brand new Honda 600 crb rr guy that slid 30 seconds in front of me for 100 ft ( I could see the frame slider marks on the ashphalt; frame slider was ground down 1 inch! they are good for something) on a hairpin .... luckly it was only the clutch cover that was scratched right through just like yours and an bit of road rash on his riding leathers ...  i hope your the damage was only to the bike & ego and U'er OK!.  The crash analysis on the honda was he either hit the rear break too hard or let out the clutch too agressivly going into the turn in first ... rubber side down is more fun and less expensive ....  we all fall off hopefully to tell the tale ....

That reminds me when .... I leart what a "high side" (or is lat low side) on a cold fall day early on a sunny sunday moring with a light 2 inch snowfall ;taking a corner on an oiled gravel hill as I goosed the throttal around a bend; heading towards the warm moring sun I had the back side sliding fine; kicking up snow and gravel on a TS 75 at 14 yrs old  ... FUN untill i saw the sunny spot; I knew it was going to happen but i couldnt do anything; the back wheel bit hard; much to my surprise, bike stood up straight at 90 degrees to the road; I high sided; and shot ...  20 ft down an embankment onto rocks; hit the handle bars with my chest, chin hit something; knocked the wind out of myself and the bike landed on my leg and I couldn't move for 2 minutes.  As I began to breath normally realised that no one would ever find me so I had to pull myself from under the bike; drag the bike up the hill; with very sore foot & ribs (it hurt to breath, today i realise that they were fractured, back then ...) .... after a couple of kicks started her up and continued on slowly with a bent shifter, sore ribs and foot .... misery loves company; that was all to make ya feel better ... cheers DD [moto] 

Brief summary of the crash

We'll backtrack to about noon Tuesday...  I don't know how, but a guy ate it.  Clocked out, released his mortal bounds.  Before the medics realized he was toast, the chopper landed on the runout of one of the larger turns below Mt. Wilson.  In attempting to save this unfortunate soul, the chopper blew pea sized gravel (asphalt) all over the road...
It's 330, and I decide, out of character, that i'll leather up, and leave my puter at home.  Head down the hill, spirited pace, but not the normal playtime pace.  all is well in the world!
I pass Nuke's, no worries!  Pass Wilson, all is well, and I'm looking forward to the ladybug turn!!  Above the ladybug, is a beautiful right hander with a large runout.  I run into it, i assume at around 65mph (spirited, not crazy) and about 2/3's through the turn I hit outlying gravel.  The bike slides, so I try to stand it up and run down speed before the rail and then cut in and finish the jobby...  I'm sliding, but the bike is trying to get up, then I see it, a stripe across the road, twenty feet wide of road colored gravel all the way across the road.
I'm humped...  with the bike still pretty sideways and sliding, the tyre hits a clear spot, and starts to slap, then hits gravel and goes down.  We part ways, the bike wedges right under the rail, I tumble.  Then I try to sit up, ends up I'm still sliding, I tumble some more, hitting my helmet on the ground.  when i'm pretty sure I've stopped, I wait a few seconds, then sit up, check to see if my limbs are still with me, then get up and check out the bike. 

What you did right

I wore my leathers.  This is a ride I normally do in fabric, but even at my fabric pace this likely woulda got my down. 
I never fixated, tried to ride it out, never jammed on the binders.

What you did wrong

Well, this is an interesting one.  I wasn't riding the PACE, or was I?  Before I lost it, I could have easily waved at passerby. 
Would I have still crashed had I not braked?  I would say definately!  And yet....  There's a very interesting article in Motorcyclist, I think this month by Kieth Code (may aliens take him wherever it is he thinks they are gonna) and he discusses how in his new video they flood the skidpad at Streets of Willow and drive through that at heavy lean, they do the same in pea gravel (been there) and his claim, if I understand him right, is that I may have got a little two wheel drift on but likely woulda regained traction and ridden it out had I not reacted at all.  The question becomes, 'How do I not react at all'?  I don't know the answer to that, but I'll be mindful of it in the future.

How could it have been avoided

Normally I stop at Nuke's on the way to school to say hallo to all and ask on road conditions.  It just so happens, one of my buddies was at Nuke's when I passed and headed down after me because he suspected I didn't know about the condition he'd seen earlier in the day after the big crash.  Stopping to ask those in the know about road conditions and police presence is always a good idea.  Not to mention they've got awesome Nachos!

Did I miss anything?  Any advise?

Brief summary of the crash:

Riding by myself in broad daylight on a VERY country road dotted with horse ranches with virtually no traffic.  Twisty roads, no speed limit posted.  Was riding about 20-25 mph when I ran off the road into aggregate rock and laid the bike down at about 10 mph.

What you did right:

Wore the right gear.  Had full gear on in 82 degree sunny weather.  The leather jacket is now broken in, but you cannot even see any scratches even though I landed on my left elbow.  Moto pants with knee armor; might have used it.  Sidi boots protected well when caught between rocks and my bike.  I don't even think my gloves hit the ground until I stopped.  Good to have frame sliders.  Otherwise damage to M696 could have been worse.

What you did wrong:

Brain fart.  Was enjoying beautiful scenery on unfamiliar scenic road.  The turn was a gentle left hander amongst similar curves.  I didn't think that I could negotiate turn at the slow speed I was going without laying it down so I stood the bike upright, applied the brakes, and figured that I would stop off the road.  The road had a small 6 inch shoulder that led into a level area with dry grass covered with aggregate rock that is about 1 inch square and is jagged.  Bike slid/fell down once I got off of the pavement. 

How could it have been avoided:

First thing that I should have done was pay attention to the road!  Second thing that could have prevented this fall would to have known if there was traffic behind me so that I could have just stopped on the road.  Need to pay attention.  Third option would be to trust the tires and take the turn.  Fourth, practice braking on dry grass/rocks?

What I learned: new cuss words.  Now I have to go cry and figure what I need to get my baby back up and running. :-[

Glad your okay.

It all happens eventually to us.

Glad to hear your gear protected you. [thumbsup]  Sorry about your bike, good luck with the repairs.

Well, this wasn't quite a crash, but rather a definite pucker moment

Situation - spirited group ride following a couple of rockets through some really great curves that I'd never been on before.  Thankfully the guy two bikes up was on a ZX-14 so he was crawling around in the curves until he hit the straightaways.  I remember we were going a bit slower than normal because I was getting kind of irked at the guy and would try and pass him coming out of corners, but he would just gun it and leave me only to catch up to him in the corner again.  Ok, I digress.

Midway through a medium sized sweeping curve there was a good sized pile (not patch, what the hell was it doing there?) of gravel that I just stared at after the guy in front of me pointed at it (I'm usually really good about ceasing target fixation.  I guess I really botched that one).  I hit it (right in the middle) and got a heavy duty case of the power wobbles.  I think the guy in front of me heard me hit it and turned around to check out what happened.  I just shook my head, gave him a nod, and we took off.

Things I did right:
- Though not through my own doing, keeping a decent pace on a little known road.
- I didn't panic, I kept the bike on a lean, and kept on the throttle.  It's amazing how easily the tiniest movement you make can upset the bike.

Things I did wrong:
- Target fixation.  Iirc I could have just stayed on my current line and it would have taken me just inside the patch and completely out of harms way
- Crept into the oncoming lane of traffic after hitting the gravel.  I don't think I could have swung this any other way due to the speed and the circumstances, it was just a case of luck combined with fairly deserted country roads. 

Overall I'm glad I didn't eat it, it was just one of those moments that shakes you up just enough to force you to respect your bike and the road that much more.  Definitely took a couple of days of easy riding to get back into the swing of things, but I hope to have enough of those types of injury/collision free moments through the tenure of my riding career to keep my (sometimes) cocky self in check.

Situation: 3:45ish leaving work headed down hill to the stop sign getting ready to turn left and head home (about 2 miles). While stopped at the bottom of the hill I scanned all the brake/reverse lights on the parked cars. Everybody pulls in to park and from FHE I know you can't see when backing out. Things were good so I left the stop sign and scanned the road to the next curve. A slow right hand sweep. Always have to check for tractors and wagons and general farm equipment and horse trailes, after checking the curve I brought my vision back to in front of me and there was an Infinity sitting in my lane turning left. She was looking to the right checking something (traffic) when applied the brakes (front only) and the front end tucked slid into her drivers door as I was rolling away.

Things I did right:  Helmet/gloves/boots

Things I did wrong: Didn't have on the leather pants that zip into my new AGV Sport Mirage suit.
May have fixated on the car but only had about ten feet to react
Brakeing skills may be lacking, although I've been told ten feet is to close to stop. I was doing maybe 10 mph

Er....you may wish to add not looking where I was going to "what you did wrong".

Okay. Good point !

Hope you're okay btw! (I don't know how I missed that last time)

Three riders...

single file staggered across the road.

No excessive speed, although we were speeding

Car pulls out from our right. I was second in line. The lead bike and I both swerved left and braked. He braked a lot harder than I thought was necessary under the circumstances. I hit his bike with my right bar end and as my clutch cover was tearing his rearset off my brake lever hit his back, forced my bars to a right lock, and locked my front wheel dropping me like a stone. The lead rider did not fall.

I didn't do much right other than not hit the car. I didn't die...that was a good thing, and I had ATG on...not a mark on me...just some bruised/broken ribs.

I made the stupid mistake of assuming the lead rider would see the danger and react the same as I did. Everyone reacts differently to danger. I should have spent more time braking/slowing and less time swerving. It would have worked out better.

The biggest message here is wear your gear folks...it could save your life.

Thanks to the red light story, I'm reminded of how a little advice can go a long way.  As for me:

1. First crash happened 3 seconds after the first time I let the clutch out of a motorcycle.
MORAL: Take the MSF course, don't be self-taught from reading the DMV book!

2. Second crash happened when I gassed a CBR and let out the clutch, thinking that a 600 would be less powerful than my [Nighthawk] 750!
MORAL: Remember that you are an idiot. Or at least consider that you might be one.

3. Next crash happened in the grocery store parking lot, trying to wheelie my maxi-scooter off a raised section of pavement.  A car came around the corner and I grabbed the front which immediately locked.
MORAL ONE: Never say "watch this" to friends before getting on your bike.
MORAL TWO: Parking lots are like demolition derbies...don't bring a knife (bike) to a gun (car) fight!

4. Another crash happened downtown in a major city.  About a minute into the first rain in several weeks, I touched the front brake and was immediately on the ground.
MORAL: Watch out for slick roads when the first rain touches down! Use the rear.

5. I never used to wear any gear besides a helmet. Now that I've bought all the gear, no accidents.
MORAL: Murphy was right. COROLLARY: I still wear all the gear and still ride like everyone's out to get me.

Ride safe, friends.  [beer]

1- riding WAY beyond my limit.
advice: dont ride beyond your limit.

2-Always be weary of the surface you are riding on
advice- good tires for the right condition. I slipped on a mix of rain and oil. nothing could of saved me. wear the right gear or end up with 3rd degree burns like me :(

3- lets hope i  dont go there.

 [thumbsup]

+1 on the grabbing the front brake. Ease it in, no matter what. I know, easier said than done, especially in a panic situation.

It's astonishing how fast the ground comes up to you when you grab the brake too hard. Blink of an eye...

For those that don't venture outside of the "General Monster Forum", there is a whole stickied thread on this subject in the "Riding Techniques" section.
Crash Analysis: learning from our mistakes  (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=119.0)

Crash: I was on a long(ish) solo ride around the Cabot Trail a few years ago and was feeling quite tired. My body was saying "stop and take a break" but my mind said "just keep going for a few minutes longer". This flashed through my mind several times. About 10 minutes later I came around a high-speed sweeper with a hidden lookoff on the right shoulder with a particularly nice view. I made a snap decision to stop and check it out. Grabbed a handful of front brake and locked the front tire when I transitioned from asphalt to loose gravel. The bike went down immediately with me half under it. Fortunately it was a slow-speed crash but it still resulted in some minor damage to the bike. I was fine since I was wearing all my gear. Kicked myself for knowing better and not listening to what my body was saying. I probably would have avoided such a silly accident if my wits had been sharper.

Advice: If you are feeling tired or weary, take a break. Pull over and get off your bike. Stand around for a few minutes. Eat something. Take a drink. Whatever it takes to get your senses sharp again. Listen to what your body tells you.

advice from my crashes:

1. don't ride way too fast on unfamiliar roads.

2. don't use too much front brake in the wet.

Consider all city streets as having compromised traction.
Avoid those manhole covers, they are secretly made of ice.

+1, please post your advice in Riding Techniques, best place for it.

+11tybillion

Hit a big patch of sand in a low speed corner out in the countryside.  It dropped me before I even knew what happened.  Moral of the story.  Pay attention to the road surface.  I didn't even know what hit me. 

That is probably the best advice ever. Sorry about your fall, but glad it wasn't worse. Today, my body just felt funky so I cut my ride short and went home. Luckily I did. As I parked my bike and turned the ignition off, a wave of pain shot right up my healing broken wrist as I sat upright. It's really swollen now and I have little grip strength. Most likely from over doing it. I just took a Motrin and Vicodin to make me happy again.

Yes, crazy!  Some people talk about stuff happening in slow motion, but each time for me, I was on my butt almost before I knew what happened.

What happened:

I am just back from what was supposed to be a 10 day ride up through the French Alps starting in Nice then up through the Col de Braus and to Swiz - Instead it was nearly 2 Months of Hell in France.
 
Three of us left from Boston Oct 1st - all amped up on 8 months of planing and fired up to build the legendary tales we would tell on our return. We arrived in Nice, it was a perfect day on the Cote D' Azure. The sun was shining, a fantastic day to start the trip. We headed straight to the bike shop and got kitted up. Went for a fast breakfast and hit the road.
 
The first leg was the Col de Braus, heading up to Sospel. It is a outstanding section of road with hairpin after hairpin and a few nice fast straights between each corner.
 
I was leading the pace. Feeling tired but confident. The Yamaha Fazer 600 wasn't nearly as torquey as my S2R 1000 but it managed. Some of the grades were so steep and turns so tight we had crawl around in 1st gear and then hammer up the grade.
 
After a good 40 minutes of climbing, we stopped for a photo opp and the chance to just take it all in. The backdrop was outstanding: Sheer cliffs, Caves carved into the rock, turn after turn after turn. This was just day 1! I blazed on. The road started to level off a bit, the climbing wasn't as sheer and there were some nice up and down sweepers followed by a few short straights.
 
I came off one of those straights and set up for what appeared to be a tight but smooth left hand turn that banked slightly down hill. I went into the turn an thought sh*t I over shot this....I got on the front brake hard but felt nothing. It didn't seem to grab - Or if it did it wasn't giving me what I needed. I grabbed hard on it again - Nothing. I tapped the rear and the bike started to stand up. Instinctively my brain went NO!!! I got off the rear fast and just set into the turn as hard as I could and working what front break I had. I dropped the bike and just slid. The front tire hit the guard rail hard (phone pole on it side) and just popped the bike up. I was still in the saddle so my leg was pinned between bike and
rail, it snapped immediately. The force of the impact sent me into the rail, the right side of my chest taking the hit almost at 90 degrees. In a flash, the recoil it snapped me straight back into the swing arm and the tire. The bike bounce off the rail and landed on its right side, throwing me onto my back. The whole time I kept thinking "keep you head up keep your head up". I did and ever lost consciousness. I lay there in the road trying to catch my breath thinking "this is day one". My right leg was numb, but I could move my left. I felt beat up but lucid. I took my helmet off (which in hindsight i know you are not supposed to do) and went for my cell phone. I called my Wife.
 
I read an article a long time ago about tank bags, how they all have a pocket for you cell phone, the reality is when you crash are not near your bike. It was in the pocket of my jacket. She was devastated but got on line right away and found the number for French roadside assistance. I couldn't believe we didn't have it.. I called for help and then bizarrely called my Boss .... No clue why. Maybe afraid I was going to be late for work. At that point both of my friends arrived and did sort of an under the arm dead mans carry - hefting me out of the middle of the road (again - what you are not supposed to do. But as we waited for medics at least 3 or 4 cars screamed around the turn... Nobody stopped) Help arrived and the work on me began. They loaded me into a helicopter and flew me to the trauma center in Nice. I had broken my 5th vertebrae, my right leg (snapping a titanium plate which was in there from a similar wreck 12 years earlier not 50 miles away in Monaco), 4 ribs (1 lower on the back and 3 upper on the chest), and crushed my right lung rupturing capillaries in the chest causing massive internal bleeding which required thoracic surgery....

I know my Ducati's Brembos would have grabbed and I could have adjusted, pretty sure I could have corrected or at least softened the impact. My gear, I'd like to think a bit of experience or quick thinking and the way the dice landed saved me. I was wearing mostly heavy armoured textile (Alpinestar ST-5 Dry Star pants, Vanson jacket, Sidi B2 boots, and Dainese "duel" gloves) with a full Dainese spine protector ("Back Shield 8 Air"). Should I have been wearing chest protection? Had I had it, it might have saved me from the surgery. I can say with 100% certainty the back protection is why I am walking today and why my liver didn't rupture. My lower right side was black and deep purple bruised. Looked like somebody had worked me over with a base ball bat. Ugly.

Hindsight is 20/20 - I got zero sleep on plan- we hit the road asap - new bike - new road - all pumped with adrenaline = Disaster. I spent 30 day in the hospital in Nice and another 20 cooped up in a hotel recovering. Only after they determined the lung was free of fluid, was I risk free to fly home.
 
An epic it was, though not what I had anticipated. The only person at fault was me. I think its safe to say I know where the mistake was made and getting some solid rest before setting out would have decreased the risk. My equipment was right, less having a chest plate. I am thankfull the dice landed as they did.

Lesson Learned:

I should have spent night 1 in Nice and just eased into the roads and the bike. Additionally, to not have had the emergency numbers on hand was a crucial error. I am incredibly lucky I had cell reception and my Wife was quick to find the number. I should have been wearing chest protection.....


Ride Safe.

Vin

 :o

Glad to have you back my friend, and that you're in one piece.  Ride Safe everyone!

Adam

As I said on the phone, good to have you back home bro... Ride Safe everyone!

Wow man! Glad you are okay dude! ATGATT! pics?

Hi all;

this my first post. I wish it would have been under a different topic :-(

I was reading this thread on Saturday to learn what not to do driving my new bike.

Brief summary of the crash:
Well, I totaled my first bike ever and lovely sweet red new m696!

I still can not comprehend what has happen. Warmed up the bike early Sunday morning to go for a short ride (practice) as I have done on Friday. This time the bike turned off few times. on third or forth try i pressed the ignition button and the bike snapped going at unbelievable speed and in less than half a second I hit the neighbors wall, I flew off straight into the wall, my head banged in the wall and my shoulder, then fell on my back on the ground and the bike fell on my right foot. People in the area rushed to help, push away the bike, took off my helmet and I managed to sit up till ambulance and police arrived, got transported  to ER at close hospital but left later same day with fractured shoulder bones and lots of bruises. The frame at front got broken and the front wheel/steering came off completely from rest of bike.

I am still in a state of shock

What did I do right:
Had the helmet on. otherwise I would have been dead by head impact.
had my backpack on. It sure absorbed the fall on the back.
Attend MSF course.

What did I do wrong:
- basically everything!
- i do not know what happen. My guess is that I started the bike while in gear without pulling the clutch (i feel like an idiot already). I do not think giving bike a little gas could have rushed at such a speed. this is basics in MSF!!!
- could not react at all due to short distance/time. neighbors fence wall is less than 12m
- no jacket. I received the jacket one day earlier but was small size and did not fit. That could have protected the shoulder.

How could it have been avoided:
- not sure when I will ride again if ever. very scary experience indeed.
- if I do ride again, I'll get a 125 engine bike and practice then practice more for long time.
- I am not that physically coordinated guy (brain vs limbs :-)). I never drove a car with stick/manual gear. this clutch thing is too much to master.
- not dream day and night about riding your M696. It was a nice dream but I have rushed  myself into a big bike (for me)
- the more gear the merrier

Sounds like it lurched forward and jerked your throttle hand straight which rolled the throttle open.  Always keep your wrist down when holding the throttle; wrist lower than fingers.  That and always start the bike when in neutral.  The same thing would have happened on a 125cc bike.  It isn't the bike but the technique.  May want to look into a private MSF session and practice practice practice until you get it.

Sorry to hear you had such a painful and scary first lesson. :(  Did you break your clavicle or your scapula?  Was your bike covered by insurance?

The bike should not have started if you had the clutch out, but I am guessing that you might have had it partway in, and accidentally let it out as it started.  I agree that the lurching may have jerked your throttle hand which would have made it worse.  It would be safer to get in the habit of starting it in neutral, and only putting it in gear when you are ready to go.

Although you could easily make the same mistake on a smaller bike, it would not have jerked forward with such violence, and you might have had time to react properly.  The first thing to do in such a situation would have been to pull in the clutch.

Take your time healing up and taking care of yourself.   If you do decide to ride again, I'd recommend re-taking MSF for review, and as you said, start with a smaller (and used) bike to learn on.

Ouch!  Sorry to hear.  As msincredible said, the bike should not have cranked without the clutch disengaged if the bike is in gear.  You might want to find out why it did this.  It is good practice to make sure the bike is in neutral anyway.  To ride again or not has to be your decision, riding is not for everyone.  There is a reason why they do the whole starting ritual in the MSF course.  Do keep in mind, you aren't the first guy to start a bike in gear and won't be the last.  I remember someone telling me about starting a dirt bike in gear with the choke on while standing next to it.  The bike hit the ground running, and spun itself around in a circle until a hole was worn through the gas tank.  Then came the flames.  The rider is a seasoned racer.

I am insured.

everyone is saying the bike couldn't have started while the clutch is out. Probably I did not pull the clutch all the way or I let go quickly!

Thanks for the advice and support.

Which 100 feet of road in Marin, pray tell?   ???  If it's Lucas Valley Rd just down from Big Rock, then add one more.  Me.  :(


Brief summary:

Entered decreasing radius turn with the WORST line ever.  New bike, too fast, wet corner, braked in turn.  Low sided into the ditch.  Bike is very messed up, but will be ok.  I'm basically fine - bruised.  Strained my foot lifting the bike out of the ditch.   [roll]

What I did right:

Let go of the bike when I hit the ground.  Rolled.  WORE GOOD GEAR.

What I did wrong:

Should have realized I was getting tired and hungry and taken a break for a snack up the road in Nicasio.  Should have remembered this corner.  I'm a road bicyclist and this corner eats bikes of all kinds.  I've seen several bike crashes in this corner.

How it could have been avoided:

Take a break when my body told me it needed one instead of just pushing through to home while tired and hungry.  Remember bad corner.  Slow BEFORE the turn - especially if the corner is bad or you don't know the road.

Brief summary of the crash:  Approaching a traffic light at or very near the speed limit (on my daily commute home) This is in one of those annoying sweepers that aren't a real turn at anything approaching a reasonable speed.  Light turned yellow while I was too near for my comfort to stop the bike  (I am a new rider on an S2R800).  The guy waiting to turn left (in my town, the left turn lights come after the straight green) moved as if to turn in front of me, and I grabbed too much front brake.  Shallow sweeper or no, the instant I decided to slow down I was on the ground and sliding across the intersection after my bike.  I didn't hit anything, the bike didn't hit anything, and I walked away.  Luckily some people who witnessed came and spoke reasonably at me to distract me from beating the guy in the car to a bloody pulp.

What you did right:  Jacket, helmet, gloves, really expensive boots, MSF course.

What you did wrong:  I forgot that at anything over 25 MPH, you are better at swerving than stopping.  I didn't practice braking on MY bike, just the silly little thing in the MSF basic course.  I didn't attempt to signal (flashing headlight, honking horn) the driver of the car.  Was wearing slacks.  cell phone saved me from horrible road rash, but isn't a replacement for actual armor

How could it have been avoided:  Not tried to run the yellow, practiced braking (which I did as soon as I had new bars and shifter) prior to riding in traffic.

The bike got fancy Rizoma handlebars and grips, a bunch of sliders, and new mirrors, but still has a couple of scars.  I got a new jacket, new boots, new helmet, and a pair of pants that I can shimmy into over my work slacks.

Remember you are invisible to cars. I wouldn't count on the horn being noticed, and they may interpret a flashing headlight as a signal to go, not stop.

Keep practicing-it's the first step  [thumbsup]

Was riding sunday with a friend of mine. He was on his Honda VTX and I was on the 696.

We had been out about 2 hrs and riding through a small local village when my friend went down and slid into the back of a small car. I was able to stop as I was following at a safe distant.

My analysis: He was riding on a sore backside, he had fallen a couple of weeks ago on the stairs and hurt his tail bone. He was shifting around alot trying to get comfortable and at the time was riding with legs back to get him off his tailbone. the car in front had come to a quick halt waiting to pass a parked van on a narrow street with cars coming towards us. my friend had just barely looked away to check mirrors i think. when he turned his attention forward, panicked and GRABBED the front brake locking it up. he starting sliding and decided to lay it down cause he didnt think he could stop before slamming into the car.

post crash: he was not wearing a leather or fabric jacket, just a sweat shirt cause his jacket zipper broke the day before. but he did have full face helmet, gloves (though not armored), high boots and jeans. his arm got some roadrash and his right hand got banged hard. his bike was rideable and i followed him home.

it was weird cause we were talking about full face vs half helmets which he normally wears. after looking at his helmet he decided no more halfhelmets. his shield was marked up.

how the day could have been different... he could have decided not to ride since he was hurt, but to his defense he didn't know it was as bad as it was. he locked up the front, not sure why, but had he not he had plenty of room to stop or swerve to the right to avoid oncoming traffic and the car (there was about 4 ft space to the right and about 30 ft extra. we were only doing about 30 mph so it could have worked)

what i learned. swerving techniques are important. paying attention at ALL times even when poking in town. careful application of front brakes. and riding is 100% commitment, riding hurt or distracted can bite you.

my friend has time to heal properly while the bike gets fixed. he's mad at himself, but alright.

UPDATE: bike was totalled by insurance. $9000 in damage. he's gonna buy it back and take the balance to fix it since it was a goal to always have one.

Brief summary of the crash :

Slowing down to pull into my driveway, neighbor's kid thought that it'd be funny to throw a frisbee at a motorcyclist.  I swear this kid should be in the olympics.  The frisbee managed to get between my braking front tire and the pavement.  The wheel slid left, I went right.  Face-planted right in front of my house.

What you did right

Wore all the gear.  My right knee pad took the brunt of the impact, followed by my right wrist and helmet face-shield.  Once I was on the ground, I had the presence of mind to look for oncoming traffic, shut off the bike, move it off of the roadway, and even cleaned up frisbee remanence so that future accidents could be avoided.

What you did wrong

I was almost home, and I dropped my guard for a microsecond.  I was looking at the debris in front of my driveway instead of the kids in my neighbor's yard.

How could it have been avoided

Good parenting?  ...seriously, I wish I hadn't assumed that a child knows better than to throw an object at a motorcyclist.  I've always dropped my speed coming into my neighborhood because I know there are kids around, but I didn't think they'd be stupid enough to throw something at me.  UGH.

I'm really glad I walked away, and that the frame and barend sliders did their job

~T

??? ??? ???

Damn, Takster, that sounds pretty much unavoidable, except that you now need to ensure that every child in the neighborhood fears you  [evil]
What's the result? Are the parents covering the damage?

No such luck... They're not too well off economically, have a bunch of kids, and I'm ok.  I'm going to deal with it on my end.  Sucks, but what can I really do?

Have the kid mow your lawn for the rest of forever.

The lawn gets mowed anyway, and I think the kid is way too young (and irresponsible) to be playing with anything with a motor.

It might be a karmic retribution for snow-blowing into their driveway all winter.

Then have the parents do whatever forever. 

Do you suggest that I take them to small claims court?  Waste of time IMO.  Should I go spank their kid?  Should I take a tire-iron to their '89 civic?  Anything I do isn't going to change who these people are.  Everybody is ok, damage is less than my deductible.  I can live with that.

Does it suck?  yeah. 

~T

i wouldnt do anything. it was a kid. i dont think the kid would of really understood what would happen if you ran over something cause they see a tire running over something and its not a big deal because cars do it all the time. i use to throw soda cans at the tires of big rigs as they passed just to see thigns get crushed.


glad it wasnt something big. [thumbsup]

Tasker, your much cooler about this then I would have been.  But I assume that they have homeowners insurance.  Wouldn't that cover stupid kid throws things into the road?

...not if they're renters.

as for being cool, I wasn't, but once I calmed down, it made more sense.

No.  I guess I should have put a winking smiley there.  You are the one with the first hand information.  I'm sure you made a good judgment call.  I've let similar and even worse slide in the past, and also not, just depends.

Wow.  I got a little unnecessarily defensive there... my bad.

Not really.  My post needed an emoticon.  It happens on the interweb.

symaptico!!!!!!  ......bygones......great attitude...it DOES come back to you!!!

Tak, I believe the way you handled this speaks volumes about your character. Glad you are OK and can't wait to see your new tank panels on!

...or I'm just quietly plotting my revenge  [evil]

If anybody is interested to see photos of the damage, I posted in NEMHA
here:

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=20729.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=20729.0)

This post could go in "I saved it!" and this thread, it's here because I went down.

Country road, blind left hand corner, dump truck in middle of the road. I had about 4 / 5 ft either side of the truck and I went right. Missed the truck (yay!) was *very* close to the edge of the road (broken asphalt & grassy ditch) and target fixated on the edge. Got it down to about 10 mph before I lost the front. It was a 30 zone, I was probably doing 35 to 40 (not exactly sure) and I was riding on the far right of the road anyway because it's a country lane. If I'd been in my car, even doing the speed limit, it would have been a head on because there was no room for a car to avoid that truck.

I'm ok, sore shoulder, sore neck & a bit of rash through my leathers on the left elbow - always wear gear!

Bike has seen better days, not many though because it's (was) make the beast with two backsing new. Left front turn signal is off. Most of the damage went to the engine case on the left side. A few scratches on the body work, nothing major. The shifter was pretty bent but I bent it back most of the way. Worst thing is that I think I clipped the tank with my boot on the way off the bike so there's a gouge all the way down to the metal on the right side and the bike never touched down on that side.

Didn't get the license plate, didn't chase them - that only goes down the wrong path - no, of course they didn't stop, don't ask. I have parts that I need to buy because I'm riding up to Americade on Thursday with friends. I have other things I'd like to buy and I'm probably going to have to get the tank painted.

I think it was a failure of imagination on my part in that I wasn't expecting a truck that big to be coming around that corner as fast as it was and in the middle of the road. I think I could have saved the bike but I target fixated on the edge of the road rather than looking where I wanted to go. The truck put me in emergency mode whereas other times that I've had people in my lane or swerve to hit me, I just avoid them and it's not an emergency so I react more thoughtfully, i.e. don't fixate or at least have the presence of mind to stop fixating if I do. This was more a life or death situation, if I didn't avoid that truck, there was a good chance I'd be dead.

Got to the dropzone (I was going there for a skydiving course) to find that my helmet, altimeter and audible altimeter (it beeps to tell you certain altitudes that you set) had been stolen.

What I did right:
Gear
Didn't hit the truck
Swore very loudly & with vigor
Didn't chase the truck in my enraged state
Riding in the far right of the road in preparation for someone on the corner

What I did wrong:
Failure of imagination - didn't prepare for that possibility
Target fixated on the edge of the road
Going a bit fast for the scenario that I hadn't considered
Didn't get the license plate of the truck (not that reporting them would actually do any good)

If you have the choice between hitting an oncoming vehicle and hitting the scenery, hit the scenery. Your closing speed on another oncoming vehicle is their speed plus yours, your closing speed with the stationary scenery is your speed only. It's all about speed differential, the lowest impact speed (if you can't get it stopped in time or avoid obviously) should be the aim.

Sorry to hear about the crash. :(  Glad you are relatively ok, thank god for gear.  [thumbsup] 
I hope it won't take too much to get your bike fixed up.


 [laugh] [laugh]

Thanks. To get the bike roadworthy again, all I really need is the front left turn signal. To get it looking like it was is going to require a lot more than that. Given that it's so new, I really don't want to be riding around for years with rashed up plastics (it's an '09 Daytona) so I'll have to figure out what's required there.

A dump truck straddling the center line certainly limits your options.  Glad you came out of it OK.  It should have been the thief who crashed, not you.

Thanks Howie.

There is no centerline, it was a narrow enough road that no one in a car could have got by this truck in a straight line without a lot of slowing down & moving over, let alone going fast around a blind corner in the middle of the road.

If anyone knows someone in the Accord area of NY who owns a burgundy dump truck, kick them in the nuts for me please.

posted on a separate thread but ducpainter said good idea to put it here.

Well a decreasing radius blind corner in the middle of the woods with a guard rail protecting a 50ft drop got me.

Here's the basic story, i'll edit the post http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=27302.msg475703#msg475703 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=27302.msg475703#msg475703) as i upload pictures.

Going down a new road at a decent pace. sign shows curves ahead... ok so i slow preparing for said curves.. take a few.. all nice, smooth nothing fancy. road is narrow two lane with ZERO room for error. guard rails are 12 inches off the road with no runoff road only wet dirt/leaves between the edge and the rail.

Anyway, come up to a blind left with a nice radius, little down hill, lean into and then as my eyes follow notice the decreasing radius and my increasing push to the outside. i trail brake with the throttle on, lean more lean more lean more... then i make the mistake of looking at the front wheel going toward the leaves... target fixation... i stay with it though still leaning as hard as i can... i was at the end of the corner but needed 6 inches too much. front goes into the leaves i go down, 5 feet i hit one rail support, 10 more feet nail the second support. i roll in the road for 5 more.

stand up and go back to the corner quick to slow the car behind me. he stops puts out a triangle and a moto guzzi rider stops (nice bike... took at picture of that too!). i assess my bike. pick it up (which was quite easy with the adrenaline) and move it off the road. Had to practically pick up and drag the front though.

Start checking the bike. Front rim shattered. two of the three spokes are broke off, the rim is cut in half. both front brakes are bent with about 3 bolts each missing. lower triple is at a wierd angle and the top triple is in 3 pieces. the light is smashed front and back and the aluminum is split in a couple of places. one mirror is gone... i mean gone, probably down the hill where i would have been without the rail. the other hanging. handlebar bent. left peg is cut in half, left rearset bent in. shifter bent. kickstand bent. passenger peg bent. slight scratches on seat cover, left exhaust can scratched, wierd dent in front exhaust pipe near the head. don't know about the main frame since there was a bit of paint off a weld at the head tube. could be bent.

good things. no tank damage, no engine damage or scratches, in fact bike was still running. pazzos good to go. ADAC if you are in germany get it. roadside assistance is awesome.

and me... bruised right foot, sore left shoulder (more previous injury i'm sure). my right boot almost got ripped off so i'm assuming whatever did that is what bruised it. all x-rays are neg for breaks. back protector saved some serious kidney damage cause it hit hard. leathers are scratched and ripped. i have one strawberry on the right knee where something tried to rip the leathers off, but i think more from the lining than anything getting through. i was leaned so far over that when i hit down, i touched elbow,forearm first so i didn't fall hard at all on the left side. but my right leg must have hit between the rail and bike or something.

lessons learned... be in a good mood before riding. know the road. i made a bad line choice... it was fine for a constant radius turn, but it sucked for allowing any correction for the decreasing radius. turn late, turn fast. i was in a slow, turning early line. DO NOT target fixate. SOOO glad i had all my equipment on. i would be seriously hurt without it.

Holy road-rash, Batman!  :o

Glad you're mostly okay! That sounds like a hell of a wreck.

New rider, inexperience type crash.  1 August, on ramp/entrance to Palisades Pkwy, exit 11 by New Hempstead.  It's one of those long, large radii of a curve to get on.  Started out wide on the outside to not cut my corner down.  Was going about 20-25 I suppose. Towards the end just before I'd get to the shoulder to enter traffic, I started to come out wide and knew I had to get more lean in and get to the right but just couldn't do it.  I guess at this point I panicked and was looking wear I was about to go as opposed to looking where I wanted to turn and lean and where I should be going.  Wound up hitting the curb where the grass ends for the Pkwy to meet the entrance shoulder and got thrown into traffic.  Jeep just avoided me, some knee rash and broken thumb.

Didn't do much right as I should've been leaning more and looking harder to the right.  Probably what I did do right was the way I went down and got into survival mode once I went down.  I train jiu jitsu and I'm used to being thrown and hitting the ground with force so my body didn't go into shock.  Got into a position and stayed still not to get hit.

After thinking back on it many times, I know I gotta get more lean in those types of turns and keep looking past the apex. 

Time to get back on and learn from this, which I definitely did/

Sorry to hear about your crash, hope you heal up quickly.

Was it a decreasing radius turn? (turn tightens up as you go through it?)

Thanks.   Thumb is healing, at least another two weeks in splint.  Knee still sore (had jeans on, not my Dakar pants, stupid). 

Yes it was but not one of those that sharply tighten up.  Even with my inexperience with these turns, I still shouldn't have gotten myself into this predicament.  Live and learn...

Its about 12:10am, and my head hurts a bit.

How it happened.

I went on a ride with Evil Steve, Cdawg, and Bones. I've been riding pretty hard this season (and probably not smart with my lane selection, or my choice to barrel down roads I've never been on) and Evil Steve made some notes that probably saved me from a lot of pain today.

We took 590 out near Bohemia PA. The road was sketchy. I dont think any of the guys knew the road at all. But we got through it pretty okay. I decided to ride behind Cdawg and just keep it calm. The road had some blind corners and the road itself was a bit sketchy. I couldnt put a finger on it.... Regardlss, we all pull over and we had a  20min discussion on proper lines for a safe and smooth ride, as well as keeping a safe distance, with Guest Speaker Evil Steve (whose name isnt even Steve btw lol). I asked To ride behind Evil Steve so i can follow his line.

About 5 mins into taking off, We hit a gentle series of twists with some straights. Evil Steve had his spidy sense on and was going very very conservatively. We were taking the turns at the posted speeds. At one particular straight, Evil Steve sticks his foot out and points down very vigoursly @ about 30mph. I see him and i bleed of some speed anticipating a pot hole or a dead rodent. Around 20mph (give or take), I suddenly loose the front end.

For some reason, PA thinks its smart to put those grooves in the roads that are suppose to wake you up on the highway, in the double yellow. Not only are they there, but they are massive. About a 7 inch long groove.

After losing the front, it gets caught in the grooves and my bike begins to tank slap a bit. From here on, im not quite sure what happened.

I was thrown off the bike and landed on my shoulder, then bounced my head and tumbled once or twice, then skidded  into a ditch. Bones was behind me, Evil Steve was in front. Both said the bike fixed it self up and rode into the storm drain like area and skidded across the dirt wall.

What I did right
I was wearing every piece of gear. Including my Carbon Fiber Nut Guard, which worked i guess since my family jewels are still okay.
I was riding slow (though this was more in part of Evil Steve being aware, not me)


What I did wrong
I was not attentive enough to notice the hundreds of gravel spots.
I was a bit close to the person ahead, if I had more distance i might of been able to react differently.


Lesson Learned?
Unless you've taken the road earlier in the day. Never consider it safe.

Damage:
Helmet is toast
My Koba Misano suit is partially damaged. the shoulder and below worked GREAT. Super thick leather in that area. The upper left theigh isnt. I havent taken a really close look at it yet, but the leather either riped, or the stitching gave out.
Dianese gloves worked great and saved my palm. Leather held up very nicely and the glove is still usable for city riding.
Bike has a hole in the left alternator case.

other wise minus a few scratches the bike never got laided out. Overall this was one of my better crashes.
 be safe out there guys.

He Man, glad to hear you are ok. 

From my perspective (looking in the mirrors), I saw the rear of the bike kick out to He Man's right and throw him off. The bike had a bit of a lean to the left as it straightened itself and so headed off to the left side of the road hitting the embankment. There was a rock embedded in the wall that put the hole in his case. The impact angle with the wall was very acute which resulted in a very soft impact (in addition to the slow speed we were doing). It was just bad luck that it happened to get the hole.

If I were to guess, I would say there was some input that He Man used that caused his bike to lose traction because it wasn't so slippery to throw me off but who knows.

The "repairs" that were made to that road are bordering on criminal IMO. It's shocking that the state considers this a viable solution to pot holes or subsidence under the road.  >:(

Have to give massive props to the locals that helped us get He Man's bike up & running. I know they don't read this forum but have to say thanks anyway.

I'm glad he had his gear on & I'm glad we were taking it very easy because it could have been a lot worse.

Traction in gravel is not terrible if one remains steady and does not chop the throttle.  Leading the way home, I also went through the same gravel bit at a good pace.  Both the front and rear did shimmy and lost traction, but the bike corrected itself.  I'm not a racer (big pucker moment re: the gravel), but everything I've read suggest gravel is similar to sliding during a turn in MotoGP racing and those guys are able to control their bikes consistently.

The problem was He Man was in a turn and hit the gravel patch. I don't know if he hit gravel and then slid into one of those rumble strip things or if the gravel was in the rumble strip thing, but he caught it either way in a turn, which is why his front end slid out under him. Luckily there were no oncoming cars.

That piece of road was a mess, one gravel patch after another.

The section of road where he went down was essentially straight. It was after a turn so he may have been recovering from the turn still (late apex would have helped, not that we were really going fast enough to worry about apexes though).

Best bet in gravel is to get loose & let the bike recover - no inputs if it can be helped. I'm not dirt rider though.

I'm just really glad he's ok, it could have been very ugly.

OK, so now I'm a bit confused.

When I saw He Man go down, I was about 20 feet behind him. I started slowing down immediately and stopped. I stayed in a straight line as I stopped because my left hand was up warning the guys behind to stop. When I stopped I was roughly where He Man started to wobble and was already in the oncoming lane. That's where the turn was. His bike went about 10-15 feet and ended up in the dirt on the other side of the road. I was concerned because we were now in the middle of two blind turns and people were driving fast that day.  That's why I went to the western portion of the road ahead of the turn to slow down cars while you guys worked to get the bike out of oncoming traffic.

So from what I believe I saw, He Man began to lose traction right after that turn

I marked the locations here

(http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt288/go_bones/SU%20outing/590.jpg?t=1253894343)

I don't know dude, I'm going from what I remember which is hardly an objective or perfect recollection. I will say that, for the rear of the bike to kick to the right (which is to the bottom of this picture) it would make more sense that he was either going straight or leaning to go left. For the bike to kick right going out of a right hander, it would need to transition from one side to the other. Obviously that's possible but didn't seem consistent with what I remember happening. From the picture you have there, I think he was in the straight section before your "directed traffic" marker because I remember actually indicating the evil gravel section in question before that right hander.

I'm dispatching a team to the scene now to investigate!  ;)

I just checked the box next to "thoroughly confused"

This is what i remember... but again, the dude who got his head rung up probably isnt the best one to give an accurate picture.

Evilsteve, Remember when i stopped the bike on the straight to pick up my left boot slider? That section was straight. the bike would of been ~20 feet behind where i picked that piece up.

so, what i remember was, @ 25mph, a very gentle left turn finishes, and begins a straight. You called out something and were giving a serious shake at the gravel with your right foot. I'm very sure i chopped the throttle now.. but at 25mph in 2nd gear, chopping the throttle produces very little engine braking.

From there, i know i slid the front and it tank slapped, and i know my rear kicked out. Everything else, im not quite sure. Those ridges were pretty deep too. So maybe i gassed it when i tanked slapped and that cause the rear to break. By the time i let go, the rear had caught and i think that motion had the power to throw me off the way it did.

Does that sound like a plausable reason?

Brief summary of the crash

Bought a 99' Yama R6. I was about three months into riding and thought that I was all that so I decided to push it 60 mph around a curvy road. Dumped the bike in a left hand turn to avoid ending up in a ditch. Slid across my back and watched my bike flip and roll. Thankfully I was wearing full gear (Fieldsheer Mesh Jacket, Alpine Stars gloves, Shift riding boots and an Arai Helmet). I stood up walked over to my bike, cursing myself the whole way, and picked it up off the road and stood there shaking my head until the police and ambulance came. All the people who saw it happened came running up to me screaming are you okay?! I shrugged and said i'm fine but pissed off at myself. Even worse than that, my mother watched the whole thing happen. She was about 3 cars behind me.

What you did right

Trusted my instincts and bailed when I needed to rather than riding it out. Wore all my safety gear. (The helmet doesn't even have a scratch on it, I still wear it today!)

What you did wrong

Got cocky and didn't take it easy as instructed by everyone I knew.

How could it have been avoided

Very simple, slowed down. It was not worth it. Although if you stand back I wouldn't be riding a Ducati Monster if I hadn't. Ha! But no, I am very lucky and fortunate to be standing here right now. Let this be a lesson to all the young reckless riding like me. It does happen.

 [beer]

I'm amazed you're here to tell the tale and also amazed you're still riding!  I'm guessing you kept your gear on for a while after the crash. [laugh]

Seriously, glad you made it fine and learned from it. [thumbsup]

This is a seriously great thread.   As a new rider every post here is valuable to me, either to introduce something new or reinforce what I already knew.

Very happy you're all alive to tell these tales. 

Well I kept the jacket on but I took the gloves and helmet off to assess the damage. It was totaled. Even worse no one would help me pick it up off the road to move it. With my adrenaline still running I picked the 400 pound damned thing with one arm and rolled it off the road. The cop felt so bad for me I didn't even get a ticket and my insurance reported it at a one time mistake and didn't penalize me for it. I walked away with no fines and a shot self esteem. However the insurance was killing me for a sports bike so Im glad I got rid of it. The Ducati insurance is much better!  ;D

Glad to be here. Ducati's are better anyways.

What's more slippery than a road carpeted with wet slimy leaves?

A wet Botts' Dot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botts%27_dots) hidden beneath those leaves.  Discovered while turning into my driveway. [bang] [bang]

Brief summary of the crash
Since the recent storm, our road has been covered with wet leaves, pine needles, twigs, rocks, and small pine cones.  The only clear parts are the left and right wheel tracks from the cars.  The DY line, center of the lane, and fog line are all covered with leaves.

I was headed home yesterday evening, slowed to turn left into my driveway, crossing the wet leaves.  All of a sudden my front went out and my bike slammed to the ground, on top of my leg.  Every other time I've been down my bike has basically just toppled over and I've been able to mostly get out of the way, but this was a lot quicker.

Looked up to make sure no traffic was coming, hit the kill switch and turned off the bike.  Tried to lift it but the road was too slippery.   I waited a few minutes until the first car came along and flagged them down to make sure she didn't drive into my bike (amazing how a black bike lying on its side blends into the road at dusk).   She was able to give me enough of a boost to lift the bike up and I was able to ride it up the driveway.  

I was questioning myself at first for how I could have misjudged the leaves that badly, but then realized when I went back out to walk the dogs and looked at the site that the reason I had slipped was the Botts' Dots hidden underneath the leaves.

Damage
Me: My left knee is a bit bruised and sore but that's it.  I am pretty sure that my knee/shin armor, boot, and frame slider protected my leg from worse injury.
Bike:
- Left footpeg snapped in half
- Gear shift rod a bit bent
- Sidestand nub a bit bent
- Minor scratches on the left mirror, clutch lever and turn signal
- Bar end slider is ground down
- The metal bar holding the frame slider is seriously tweaked now, I should replace it before I do the same on the other side or it will be permanently stuck. :P

What you did right
- Wore all my gear
- Had frame sliders
- Looked out for cars right after I landed, then hit the kill switch

What you did wrong
Because the Botts dots were hidden under the leaves I forgot to anticipate them being there.

How could it have been avoided
After the storm I should have cleaned out the leaves from the street in front of our driveway, not just our driveway.

I'll take some pictures later.  Here's a picture of what our road looks like (about a mile from our house) when there are no leaves on it.

(http://www.usdeafsports.org/2006cycling/images/rr/rsz_41.jpeg)


Edit: Pictures now posted on the next page:
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=119.msg535940#msg535940 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=119.msg535940#msg535940)

Glad you're ok somegirl.

Sorry to hear the Bott's Dot got you.  I hate those annoying anti motorcycle dots >:(  Though I would ignore my advice, get a doctor to look at that knee.

Glad to hear both you and the bike are basically OK.  Now, what be these Botts dots?



*edit*    Nevermind, I found the link     [bang]  ;D

that just stinks... i hope you feel better soon P  :)

Oh wow.  Sorry to here that P.!    :(

Glad it wasn't worse and that you're ok – but still bites. 

Sucks

Glad it was only a minor spill.

What, did you think you were on my bike?








 :-*

ohhhhhhh nooooo!
Sorry to hear. Hope your leg is ok.
Good thing the slider bar took the blow. Good design.

Its sucks that it was at your driveway, but its good that you were so close to home  [laugh]

Wednesday morning, on 3rd Ave going north.  Furthest right lane all to myself, doing about 20-25.  Minivan w/commercial plates decides to suddenly change lanes, no signal.  I was maybe about 10 feet off his bumper from my lane.  I go to quickstop, must have locked up or lost traction on our oh so smooth and perfect roads, start to slide and low side it.  Was fine as I got up quickly looking for him.  He hesitated long enough to see me get up and then took off.  One person asked if I was alright couldn't get his plate when I asked.  Bike damage is front right turn signal which I think I can have sodered back on, CRG mirror, frameslider, little bent brake pedal.  Rideable, rode to UN to work and parked it.  By time I got there, right hand swelling.  Later find out base of thumb broke, will have surgery Monday for pins.

What I did wrong: assume no one was going to be an asshole today, not have my overpants on as I was only going a mile.

What I did right:  Going slow enough.  Thought I did what I could, saw it in time but just lost the bike.  Had my full helmet and upper body protective gear.

How I could've avoided it:  Practice my quickstops more is the only thing I can think of.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. :)

Jason, sorry to hear about your getoff, hope your thumb heals up quickly. :-\

I mentioned pictures, here they are.

The road the next day, slightly less leaves.   The Botts' Dots are evenly distributed although there are sometimes missing ones (knocked off by a car).  You can see they are hard to see in front of the driveway.

(http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/bottsleaves.JPG)

And another part of the road with more wet leaves on although this is again more cleared than the day before.  In the worst parts the only clear part was just wider than a car tire.

(http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/bottsleaves2.JPG)

Bar end slider

(http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/bottsbarend.JPG)

Broken footpeg, bent gear shifter rod and bent sidestand nub

(http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/bottsfootpeg.JPG)

Bent frame slider bar (I put a straight wooden dowel next to it for comparison)

(http://paularickert.net/albums/userpics/bottsframeslider.JPG)

=/ hope you feel better.

Thanks somegirl, you too.

I've had a couple of accidents, what I did wrong both times it's simple... didn't think what I was doing and ridding fast in the rain and second time I miss calculated my skills turns out I'm not as agile as stoner

Sorry to hear about your spill MsIncredible/somegirl.  I had the same thing happen to me in November....wet leaves in the middle of my lane on a blind corner after dark.  I was less than 1/4 from home on my way from work and the lane was clear earlier that day.  I was down (hard) before I knew it.  I remember wondering why the road was so bumpy before realizing that I was sliding on the ground.  I ended up with a broken collar bone...discovered that one while picking up the bike.  The bike damage was almost identical to your pictures. 

I was wearing full gear which held up well....I'm still wearing it (except for my helmet which I had to replace).  On my end I should have appreciated that, although it was a rare sunny November day in Seattle, conditions change quickly in the fall/winter.  Had I been riding like I do when it rains ....slow down a bit, work on being as smooth as possible, and try to keep the bike as upright as possible...I would have been fine. 

Sorry about your crash Jetbrett, I hope your collarbone is all healed now.  I was very fortunate not to have injured myself.  I broke my collarbone many years ago in a bicycle accident and it was quite painful.

Thanks for the thoughts.  I'm 100% now.  I was in a sling for a month, but kept up with my cardio workouts and started lifting and rehab after 6 weeks.  I was fortunate that it was just the broken bone and that my shoulder joint was uninjured. 

After Reading the thread : Highsiding and countersteering - painful combination.   http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=37082.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=37082.0)

El Matador reply

El Matador make me think and analyse my first crash last year. I decided to share my experience, it was my second season and the first with the monster. 12k experienced in moto ridin and only 5k  on the monster at this time….

SUMMARY OF THE CRASH
It was a sunny beautiful saturday morning on  september five 2009, i was on my way to go working.
On oneway with  two lanes (city street),  i was on the right lane. The traffic flow was gently  accelerate  when the Streets lights changed as i came up to. I accelrated with the trafic to cross the intersection . When then i took  a look on the front left lane, looked in my Mirror behind left and engaged on the left lane . By the time i’d look back, there was a Subaru stopping in front, for double park.  :o Surprise i though to myself : no i will not flying over this car, keeped focusing on what was going on , i pulled my break pedal and pushed my brake lever, almost urgence breaking was done my monster skidded and gently layed down on it side (very slowly like in a movie) and stopped slidin on the Subaru’s back bumper with me still on  :-\ . In the fear of the trafic behind me i stood up quickly and got safer place to take look to myself and my injuries…..


WHAT I DID RIGHT
Not  panicing!!! Keep focusing on the right thing to do in this case : breaking.

WHAT I DID WRONG
Rush the break, maybe if i done it smoother it break more longer but not skidding maybe just a little bump on the car !!??!
And especially take a second look before engaging, this primary action could have avoid the crash i think.

Thank god i'm alive with a little scratch on my right elbow and knee. Like me, my monster had a minors scratchs : bent handlebars and brake pedal.  Some of you help me fix the rear break lever on the tech section (He Man and DaFoose, thanks again)

So i learn that we are never enough secur, be careful every time keeping an eye on everything  every time!!!

Goddam it - I put my baby on the ground today after just barely (and I mean barely) clipping my left bar end on a car as I tried to move right at a traffic light.  I was going through my normal routine for lane changes - check mirror, signal, turn head for visual - and as I looked forward after looking behind me I see the car in front of me had stopped faster/shorter than I expected.  I moved over as fast as I could and I *just* caught his trunk with my bar end - enough to jerk the handlebars hard enough to high-side me.

I don't remember flying through the air, but I remember landing and looking back at my bike on the ground and seeing the car behind me swerve quickly to avoid me and my bike (thank god!). 

I've been overseas for almost all of this year, so this is only the third time I've ridden my bike in 2010.  Over the winter I put on lane splitter bar end mirrors - HUGE improvement over the stock mirrors, but it takes some getting used to because the field of view is much wider and it's harder to judge distances.

I've high-sided before (13 years ago), but unlike then, this one was all my fault.  Thank god I was wearing all my gear.  I did manage to lose all the skin off my middle finger on my right hand (though no hole in my glove...strange - maybe the seam scraped it off?) but that's pretty much it for me.  My bike, on the other hand, had a severely bent front brake lever, a slightly bent rear brake lever, a real nice bevel worn into my right bar end, a bent left bar end (from smacking the car), a shattered right bar end mirror, a scratched up clutch cover and a broken right side panel.  My seat has scuff marks on it, I think maybe from my shoe as I launched (possibly also hit the side cover?).  Oh, and the clutch reservoir bracket was bent - I think I must have hit that on my way over as well. 

I was able to remove the front brake lever and pound it back with a rubber mallet on top of a cedar plank to a shape that is damn near exactly the same as before.  I bent the rear lever back into place with my hands, and the brake lights work like normal.  The bar ends I rotated and retightened, so they look OK for now.  I bent the reservoir bracket back in place by hand.  So now the only real problem is the shattered right bar end mirror.  I *could* just order the replacment glass for 13 bucks.  The bike would be 100% functional and only have minor bruising that would only be visible up close.  But make the beast with two backs That Noise^TM - my baby needs to be put back to perfect!!!  I'm using this as an excuse to drop some cash and upgrade to some new levers, an open clutch cover, a new pressure plate and springs, carbon fiber side panels, a new bar end mirror and new bar ends.  And I'm getting some frame sliders - thank god my tank didn't dent!

What I did right - Wearing helmet, gloves, jacket.

What I did wrong - I didn't appreciate how riding skill deteriorates without use and riding too fast in heavy traffic, taking my eyes off my path for too long at a time when there was a lot of dynamics to the surrounding traffic.  Changing the mirrors on my bike and not being fully used to them before riding at full speed. 

All right...sorry for the long post - I had to vent but I'll stop now.  Also, it hurts like a mofo everytime I type a comma, an "i", or a "k".

No need to apologize for the long post-hopefully it's a good lesson for other riders, and yourself.



It's also so nice to see someone admit they screwed up.  :D

Although the newest thread, this could be the oldest crash.

In 1988, age 18, bike GSX 550 ESD.

I took a passenger out for a quick blast on unfamiliar roads. I didn't go too fast but was sensible.
After a ride out I had noticed a nice straight going back out of a picturesque English village.

We turned around and on the straight I opened the bike up, quickly reaching 70 mph and popping my lid open to tell my passenger "she goes like that all the way".

He said "go on then", what a mistake...

NEVER LISTEN

When they recovered the bike it was in top gear, 110 + mph, is where I would have been when the vanishing point of the road came racing back toward me.

Choices, drop my beloved or ride the wall of death (an earth bank that flanked the road).

I rode the wall of death at 90 degrees to the road. The passenger, 16 stone, on deciding we were crashing, got off span through the air then a field, but walked away.

When 16 stone disappears from your bike the handling disappears with it.

From the marks on my leather jacket I had skipped, like a stone spun across a pond, down the road and embedded my head into the opposing bank on the opposite side of the road.

My helmet took such an impact that the jaw cracked. I broke my nose with the sun glasses I was wearing, and my back in three place. I lost 2 inches in height and gained a titanium box section around 9 thoracic vertebrae, my chest no longer expands as it is caged at the back.

What I did right... Nothing

What I did wrong... Listen to someone older than me, when I am in control of the vehicle

What would have prevented the accident... NEVER LISTEN to someone saying go faster

Please read all of the posts and count up how many say less speed could have made the difference.

To all that have suffered the pain, my thoughts are with you.

To those that have been to the darkest place (and you know where it is). Tell your story so that others can read and hopefully not go there.

PS when I got out of hospital a month later, wearing a neck to nuts plastic jacket, I went to see my bike. The frame was twisted... the 36mm forks were snapped... the front wheel was shattered and at 45 degrees to the frame. This made me cry, as did paying the bike off for the next two years.

Photo's to follow.

I am concerned that I'm seeing a lot of posts about how one could've braked better, or swerved better to say, avoid a car that stopped too quickly.


How about we lend some thought to not putting ourselves in that position in the first place? If the car in front of you coming to an emergemcy stop is enough to make you grab a handful of brake and end up on the ground, well, you're too close.

+1

Brief summary of the crash
After an awesome ride with friends in San Diego a young lady in a mini truck merged into me.  I was sent sliding head first into the curb on the other side of the intersection, knocking me the f**k out and giving me a pretty decent concussion.  I broke my thumb and had road rash all over, close to the bones on my knee causing some pretty nifty scars (left knee looks like Africa and the right looks like Australia).
Funny thing is it was one of the very few times I was doing the speed limit on this road.


What you did right
Actually couldn't tell ya as I don't remember anything...kinda lucky in that regard.

What you did wrong
From what my friends that were with me said I really should have just gotten passed her quicker as I was (i think) in her blind spot for a second too long.

How could it have been avoided
I should have either blipped past her or slowed a bit until there was room to either blip or change lanes. 

This is write up for my wifes wreck:

Brief summary of the crash
After a long day at work, after crossing a busy highway, a driver flipped a pregnant dog in front of me from going from the right shoulder to the other side of the street.  Having ridden classic Vespa scooters for years I didn't have enough faith in my brakes to stop in time.  I attempted to accelerate around the nose of the car and almost made it.  The bumper of the car caught me on the right thigh and threw me across the hood.  After sliding about 75-100 ft on my back I finally came to a stop in on coming traffic which luckily didn't squish me.  The accident got me a really neat scar where they put the titanium rod down my femur that was broken in 2 places.

What you did right
I was watching the driver and saw that he didn't look around to see if anyone was coming. 

What you did wrong
Should have trusted my motorcycles brakes and not tried to shoot around the nose of the car.

How could it have been avoided
I should have taken my BMW out and learned the bike.  I should have trusted my ABS brakes enough to stop me.

Both of those last two were a failure of the rider to be adequately aware of their surroundings.

First one, from the road rash sounds like improper gear-buy some. From the car merged into me bit-well, why weren't you watching them while passing? Or then passing them in an area where you had a cushion? Why were you riding in a blind spot?

Second one-emergency braking should be practiced so one knows what the machine is capable of. It was even stated they saw the driver not looking around, and what then....hoped they weren't going to move? Rider should have slowed down to allow for an increased cushion or additional time to brake.

Trusting the other drivers on the road to actually pay attention to anything other than their iphone will get you killed. Knock it off.

Down today.  [thumbsdown]

Brief summary: Bacon Junkie went out for a ride on our local twisties. I was on my new 900SS for its first hard flogging since I got her. After a good four hours or hard riding we were tired and nearing the end of the good roads. ended up behind some cars and that as pretty much it for the aggressive riding. we had an awesome day, we were tired and we were nearing the end of the good roads. The pushing it as over. After we passed the cars we maintained a reasonable pace. But just a few corners later I make the beast with two backsed up anyway.

The thing about the SS that is very different from the monster is that it tips into corners much much quicker. I was fighting a severe case of premature apexulation all day long. This time it bit me. I leaned into a corner much too early and ended up catching my front tire in a groove they put the road reflectors in. Not the first time I did that that day. But this time it made my front end wobble. The bike stood right up. I grabbed the brake and tried to wrench her back over. And I damn near made it.

But not quite. I found myself on the shoulder. So I eased off of the brake and straightened her up as I didn't want to wash out the front end in the gravel. The shoulder as only 2 feet wide. On my left as nice smooth pavement. On my right as a small berm and very steep 25 foot drop. No guard rail. I managed to get the bike settled on the gravel after about 30-40 yards. And of course once I got her under control I listened to the voice in my head that as screaming "HOLY  make the beast with two backs GET THE make the beast with two backs BACK ON THE make the beast with two backsING ROAD!!" So I tried. But I failed to notice the edge trap. The shoulder as 2 or 3 inches lower than the road. Bam, over I went. what as nearly my spectacular save ended up being my first real get off. I went into that corner at about 45-50mph and by the time I went down I as probably doing 25ish. I slide about

what I did right: Other than breaking and steering properly in the gravel to get her back under control, not much. The events that caused the accident ere all completely my fault. But I was completely geared up. I little rash on my leg where my leathers ripped and a swollen thumb here the clip on as pushed into me was all that happened.

what I did wrong: The thing I question the most is what I did when my front end wobbled. Did the bike stand up because of the wobble or because I tensed up and grabbed too much brake. Probably the latter. Had I simply road out the wobble and focused my effort on leaning to make it around the turn I probably could have avoided the shoulder altogether. As far as hitting the edge trap goes, I don't know that I ever would have been able to convince my brain not to get off of that gravel, away from the precipice and onto the pavement. But ideally I would have recognized the edge trap and brought the bike to a stop on the gravel shoulder. Not hitting the make the beast with two backsing groove in the first place would have been a good idea as well.

How it could have been avoided: Not being dumb would have helped. Otherwise I think I covered that above. For all of the high speed racer boy shit we did all day, I certainly wouldn't have guessed that a nice smooth corner at a moderate pace as here I would dump it. I should have been more familiar with my new bike before I took it out like that.

Please people, wear you gear. For me it made the difference between riding home on my bike and riding to the hospital in an ambulance. I have to mention the amazingly nice guy that stopped to help me out. After making sure I was okay he got out his tool kit and got my pipe back on and my clip on turned enough so that it as usable. And a big thanks to Bacon Junkie for noticing that my kick stand spring as gone and for cutting off his on shoelace to tie it up for me. Thank you my brother.


sac

Glad we got you back to your woman (and puppies)...  [thumbsup]

For a little perspective, the speed limit on that section of road is 55mph.

There are turnouts for slower traffic every 1/2 mile or so...  We passed the few vehicles after they pulled over for us.

I went through that corner ahead of Carl at about 40ish. 

Originally, Carl told me he thought he lost the front end in the gravel.  But, as I walked back to where he exited the tarmac, I could see his tire tracks curve off the road, through the gravel, and back towards the road.  He totally saved it.  [thumbsup]  But, unfortunately, the road surface was a few inches higher than the shoulder and the was enough to knock his front wheel back into the gravel.  :P

Thanks to another Ducatista, Rich Behrle, on his '83 Pantah 600 for chasing me down and letting me know Carl had a get-off...    [beer]
 




[bacon]

glad you're ok sac :)

did you check tire pressures before leaving?

Tosatapanes front tire does not hold air as well as the rear and the bike has a tendency to dive into corners when air pressure drops below 32psi. I've been told it's a combination of the front forks needing to be serviced and figuring out where her slow leak is coming from. The difference between 34 psi and 32 is kinda frightening.

DUUUUDE!!!!   Glad you are OK!!!  No wonder I didnt hear back from Ryann last night (I was worried and texted you this morning).  I effing hate those submerged reflectors on the 33.

Was it on the Ojai downhill side where the campgrounds are, bellow Rose Valley and above the tunnels?

Glad you are pretty much OK.

That sucks, SacDuc.  I hate to see a slab-sider fall down.  What's buggered up, and what's OK?  Is she salvageable?  Are you salvageable?  Do you have any idea what White Boy parts are worth these days in good condition....even after a get-off?!?  

I sure hope you're OK.  There's no preparing for crap like that edge trap, I think.  Shoulder to road surface transitions are unpredicatable at best, especially in rural areas.  Try not to beat yourself up over something you lived through without major injury.  Second guessing is easy, but analysis is more advantageous.

Since you followed Ryan for a while, can you tell us how Helga's ass looks at speed?

Cloner
ABQ, NM

Thanks 'Tini.   :)

Joel, tire pressure was checked that morning.

Robert, we were on the down hill side coming into Ojai but before the tunnels.

Thanks howie. I'm sore this morning but yeah, pretty much okay.

Cloner, The bike is in good shape. The left clip on took the brunt of it. Lots of other little bits dinged, but the engine case, frame and forks all look good. She will get a thorough inspection over the course of this week and I'll be making a 'parts needed' list. I'm doing okay too. Right thumb is very swollen and I have a little rash on my left leg. Not too bad. Helga's ass =  [thumbsup]  However Ryan's ass =  [thumbsdown]

One of the first things Ryan says to me hen he gets to the scene is "Hey, you got your knee down!"

 >:(


 [laugh]


sac

Always look on the bright side of life.........  (Monte Python's The Life of Brian)

Holler when you get a list together.  I may have a few of the bits you need that I'll part with cheap......like really cheap.  8)

Luckily, the paint guy sold him the wrong clear coat for his fairings, so when he applied it, it actually stripped the paint!  :P

If not for that, he would have had freshly painted fairings on the bike and the damage could have been much worse...  Also, there's a fairing stay down near the bottom of the bike that seems to have taken a bit of the force from the fall, and saved the side covers from some serious damage as well.




[bacon]

A quick note:

If that fairing stay (spacer) down near the bottom that screws into the head actually broke, make sure you get the right one.  The lefts and rights are different lengths, but can be put on backward and cause the upper screws to disengage.

Believe it or not, it didn't break!  Just the rubber came off the tip, and it's just a bit scuffed...

Seriously, the only thing we couldn't readily fix was the kickstand spring.  I cut the laces out of the inside of my A*s boot and tied the kickstand the footpeg.  [laugh]

He was very fortunate.   [thumbsup]




[bacon]

Brief summary of the crash: Was driving along the main road in my city, in a high traffic area. Got cut-off by a Honda Pilot, grabbed the front brake, locking it up. Went over the bars, bailed 'cause I was afraid the bike would fall on my leg and break it. Slid about 30 feet into the back of the pilot (I just slid under and my face stopped me against the tyre), bike slid into my legs, twisted an ankle. Damage to the bike was minimal, scratched the tank cover, bent the bar but bent it back in shape and broke a mirror and a peg.

What you did right: Follow the speed limit and pay attention to my surroundings.

What you did wrong: Panicked and grabbed too much front brake, locking it up. Turns out the front tyre was in an oil slick at the stop lights (lights were green, I was doing about 40km/h).

How could it have been avoided: Take notice more to the condition of the pavement. Ease on the brake in this type of situation, use both brakes.

were you in the center of the lane? (that's here the slippery stuff builds up at intersections)

was there the option to use no brakes and to use a evasive maneuver to go around instead?

And covering the front brake as I go through intersections is just habit for me now. I do it without thinking. Just two fingers on the lever as I approach any intersection, whether I see cars or not. Start practicing that so all your brain has to do is to remember to squeeze in a smooth manner. And practicing your panic stops in a clean parking lot will help make that motion natural for your brain as well.

Glad you are okay!   [thumbsup]

sac

I don't think I could have dodged it. Sidewalk on the right and traffic on the left. Can't remember if I was in the middle but I most likely was. One of the people at the scene of the accident had noticed the oil slick before I did. It was a legitimate slick and not just the usual pool of somewhat dry oil I usually see at the lights. It was faint but I think it helped the tire loose traction.

Once I get the bike out for the season again I'll make sure to hover the brakes when I cross intersections like that. Do it enough and it becomes habit.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=moncton+nb&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=42.056082,107.138672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Moncton,+Westmorland+County,+New+Brunswick&ll=46.093224,-64.761134&spn=0.005491,0.013078&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=46.093224,-64.761134&panoid=jzN3o7zZtwZ65K9yFO6Aog&cbp=12,58.15,,0,8.51 (http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=moncton+nb&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=42.056082,107.138672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Moncton,+Westmorland+County,+New+Brunswick&ll=46.093224,-64.761134&spn=0.005491,0.013078&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=46.093224,-64.761134&panoid=jzN3o7zZtwZ65K9yFO6Aog&cbp=12,58.15,,0,8.51)

This is where I went down. The oil slick was towards the lights and the truck came out that parking lot. She never even looked my way. As you guys can tell it's right in front of the mall, and people tend to hang out there and watch traffic go by. There was about ten to twenty people there when I went down so it was weird to see a bunch of people standing in the street helping me out. There was a guy who was a paramedic and a biker. They checked me out and I was fine. I was so disoriented I couldn't even lift my own bike, so one of them walked my bike to the Mike's parking lot and looked it over. He even helped me switch out the broken foot peg with my passenger one so I could drive home.

Hit a patch of gravel in a low speed corner out in the countryside rear end came out and I spun around and slid 10-12 ft.

Did right: had decent gear on, kavlar jeans, knee armor, armored leather jacket, gantlet gloves, 2/3 boots.

Did wrong: Had on kavlar jeans - cheap brand (Tecnik) tore open like butter, good thing I had knee armor on (good thing saved my joint from the impact). Let off the throttle when it started, might have made it though otherwise. Should have slowed more and seen the road, spring time in WA is bad as we use gravel for snow/ice and back-roads are often the last to get swept by the state/county.

Walked away with a sprain, some rash (though jacket) on shoulder. Bike had a cracked rear fairing, side tank fairing cracked to hell, bent rearset and pass pegs (rezoma), trashed mirror (hindsight), Speedymoto side slider was burnt up a bit, front axle slider was a little rubbed, brake master (front) was stripped out, AVS shorty F5 lever was gorged to hell and front fairing was toast.


Total cost for me to fix (drove home and didn't turn into insurance) was about 800 bucks (new pegs, helli Coil kit for master, shipped lever back for repair, used fairing kit (bought full kit in Matte black), new side slider, touch up clear on a small CF scratch on termis, new hindsight mirror).

Sliders saved te bike worse, bike looks like new now just need to double check front end for strightness.

I had a relatively low-speed, low slide slide out yesterday on the bike's left side and I cannot stop thinking about it.  I even dreamed about it all night long!  It happened at the Total Control Advanced Riding Clinic and admittedly I went there with the expressed goal of getting my knee down.  So, I know I was pushing a bit past my previous comfort level and not entirely surprised I went down, but am struggling to figure out what I did wrong. 

I realize it's very difficult to analyze a crash you can't see, but any thoughts/input would be appreciated.  I was working on repositioning my butt, hips, shoulders, head, feet into the cornering position and felt like I was in a pretty good position.  I was about 1/4 of the way through the turn and I'm pretty sure I relaxed a bit, the bike leaned a bit more (less than 1/4" left untouched on rubber) and I believe my knee touched briefly and then BAM... the bike was gone and I was sliding on my left side.  I don't know what I did wrong or what to focus on doing differently next time.  The pavement was wet. 

thanks!

Did you chop the throttle, touch the brakes, shift your weight, or ride across a painted line?  All these could have reduced the amount of traction available at the moment.

I'm honestly not sure and the instructors really couldn't tell me either, which I found pretty disappointing.  I know there was no painted lines, I figured out afterwards that I believe I had too much tire pressure (36F/38R) and I'm guessing my tires weren't warm enough on the edges, I didn't touch the brakes for sure, but it's possible I slightly shifted my weight as I know I was making an effort to relax my inside arm. 

I had a low-speed drop in the twisties this weekend.  A driver pulled into the travel lane from his driveway at a high speed, without stopping, and without checking traffic (he was turned facing his passenger). My choices were the oncoming lane, his tailgate, and the shoulder/ditch.  I managed to scrub most of my speed before leaving the blacktop and bumping through the gravel and dirt, then eventually lost the front end on bumpy grass and slid several feet.  I came to a stop with my helmet against a telephone pole, so things could have been much worse.

Things I did right:
Spotted the guy coming b/c I was scanning ahead.  I could have done a better job of this, but this probably kept things from being much uglier.
I didn't panic and lock it up right there – I used the available road to scrub speed until I had no other place to go.

Things I did wrong / could have done better:
I was running 15-20mph over the limit in the name of "fun"... I wouldn't have had to get off the road if I hadn't had to drop the extra MPH.
I was riding aggressively in an area with poor sight distances and very few “emergency exits.”  I was very lucky to not be in one of the densely forested areas, and this driver actually came out of one of the few visible driveways on this particular stretch.
It was late in my ride (+4hrs) and hot (97, 98), so I was tired mentally and physically.
I let my mind get about 6 or 7 miles ahead of me to the gas station…. Some A/C, some lemonade… I wasn’t as focused as I could have been.

All this particular lesson cost me was a bent shifter lever and a mashed blinker.  Standing up and finding out that big “thump” you felt on your helmet was a telephone pole is pretty sobering.  It’ll be a little while before I get after it in the hills again.

Brief summary of the crash:
First day on the bike.. I took out my 02' 750 to meet up with a friend for a little road trip. On my way to meet my buddy 20 miles into the ride I was behind a large box truck keeping my distance and going approx 30 mph. Suddenly someone pulled out of a parking lot in front of him causing him to lock his brakes and slide to a start. By the time I realized what was happening I was approx 30-50 feet from him and I panicked. Grabbed the front brake and then suddenly I was going down on my left side. I managed to get on my back and as the bike's sliding away from me I think $hit, I hope the car behind me is paying attention, I completely loosened my body and prepared for a deadly impact.  

What you did right:
Didn't let go of the bike until I was close the floor, I immediately got on my back, bent my knees and put my heels down. Wore a textile riding jacket. Wore a helmet. Kept my head off the pavement. Kept body loose in case of any impact.

What you did wrong:
I snowboard and am used to falling, when i fall I dig my board broadside into the snow with my knees bent to slow down/ stop. I also put my palms down, I wasn't wearing gloves and didn't feel the road eating my hands. I was also not wearing any impact protection or riding pants. This accident could have killed me. I was wearing an open face helmet.

I walked away with road rash on my palms which took 2 weeks to heal. Minor rash on my left leg and elbow.

How could it have been avoided:
I should have been paying more attention to the traffic ahead, I should have not grabbed the brakes and came to a gradual stop, I had plenty of room to stop.

I now have a full leather jacket, riding gloves, knee/shin protecters, riding denim w/ kevlar, riding shorts.

Bikes damage:
Bars bent into tank, Tank rash and huge dent, Left rearset shattered, Shifter bent, Clutch lever and master cylinder with severe rash, rear cowl rash, Headlight rash, engine cover rash.. In total $3,300 worth of damage according to the adjuster.

Glad you came out of that relatively well, makes me wonder if ABS would have helped you. For the record, I've got ABS on my bike and don't intend to by another bike without it.

Had a minor accident today, not sure what the hell happened. 

The setup: driving down a crowded thoroughfare in a popular section of town.  Speed limit is 25, lots of congestion, so it's not like speed was an issue.  I'm looking for a parking space and decide to go up a block and head back down the start of the street again.  I slow down to a crawl to take a slow right corner (90 degrees at a green light), and am maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the turn when all of a sudden I'm eating pavement.  Nobody around me, no gravel/sand/debris, the only thing of note I saw was the iron water meter cover, which was probably somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2" below the level of the pavement.  I wasn't far enough through the turn to roll on throttle, I didn't apply the brakes, and the turn felt fine right up until it wasn't - nothing I haven't done a thousand times or more before.  I thought I heard a tire bark when I went down, but I'm not completely sure.

What I did wrong: besides leaving the jacket at home, I'm really not sure.  Had the helmet, gloves, pants, and boots on, but just didn't feel like dealing with the jacket today.  I've got two very small scratches on my elbow for that.  Beyond that, I really don't know.

What I did right: Picked myself up, picked the bike up, and got out of the intersection.  Inspected damage (see below) and determined that I was fine to ride off.  Wore most of my gear (helmet, gloves, pants, boots)

Damage to the bike: bent the rear brake lever.  Decent rash on the bar-end mirror, minor rash on the front brake lever, frame slider puck, and right muffler.

Thoughts on what might have happened?  As best I can figure I lost traction when the wheel moved from pavement to the meter cover, but that's about it.  I

That sounds really weird. What bike were you riding? Did you have a momentary over-throttle through the turn? To have a loss of traction through an otherwise normal corner sounds really strange. Maybe something is off with your bike's suspension which cause the loss of stability?

Those water meter covers can be slippery, do you know if you actually hit it? If there was oil or water on it, I could see that causing you to slip.

  I'm riding a 2000 M750, which the local dealership says is running like a champ... had them look over it after I tore it down and rebuilt it last year, they gave me an all clear on it as well as a general tune-up.  I don't think I over-throttled it, but I may be wrong.  I wasn't even to the half-way point in the turn, which I clearly remember because I had to hurry to pick the bike up and get out of the street.  I was running so much on habit/training through that corner and it happened so fast that I don't recall specifically what was going on with the controls, but since I don't regularly wipe out my bike in low speed turns I don't think that was where I went wrong.  Might have been an ID10T error, though - I won't rule that one out.

I don't know if I actually hit it, unfortunately.  It was close to where my path was, but I can't say with absolute certainty whether I hit it or not - I'm leaning through the turn one second and laying on the pavement the next.  Too fast to analyze, unfortunately, and I wasn't about to go around asking people if they saw how I make the beast with two backsed that corner up... it was embarrassing enough as it was.

Mini-crash.  Tweedle dumb (me) decides to cut through a parking lot and gets to the cross street, half-ass looks to see if the oncoming traffic is clear, starts to go, sees it is not clear, brakes to stop < 1mph, but is stretched out too far and off balance, bike starts to slip sideways past the point of no return, controlish drop down with hands on the grab rail and clutch pulled in.  Couple scratches on the sliders and exhaust burned area on my left boot.  This was less than a mile from my home and I was in a rush.

First crash after about 5 years of riding. Slow left turn at a light, in the last 3/4 of the turn next thing I knew I was on the ground in the lane I turned in to. I vaguely remember feeling the rear tire: skid/catch/bounce then boom. I'm an idiot; I had a HUGE backpack PACKED with groceries. I'd never packed it that full. I'm assuming the weight bouncing around on my back was the primary culprit. It also kind of affected my "feel" of the clutch and throttle. I also had low tire pressure...28 in the rear.

Shockingly the bike has scraped pegs, scraped levers, slightly bent bar, and prob needs an alignment now, that's it. Knee is jacked up and bloody and I'm limping. More embarrassing than anything else. What really sucks is I now have zero confidence in my riding abilities.

Give it a few days and that confidence will come right back up!

Next time take the car or friend's/wife's/gf's/mom's car for groceries  [thumbsup]

This is a lesson to beware of a clear right lane when the left lane is backed up with cars waiting to turn left. I had the right lane all to myself and was cruising at about 35mph  [Dolph] left lane was backed up with at least 18 cars waiting to turn left. What I couldnt see due to all the cars bumper to bumper from my 9 o'clock to my 11 o'clock was there was a lady going the other way trying to make a left turn between these stopped cars so she could pull in her driveway which was coming up on my right. She claims she did a quick peek didnt see me and made her left as I was approaching. I saw her with about 2-3 car lengths to stop and started braking (2005 620 brakes suck BTW gotta upgrade to 4-pot calipers) to make matters worse she saw me too and panicked and slammed on her brakes (essentially blocking the lane I was in) instead of finishing her turn and getting the hell out  of the way. I wasnt able to fully stop but I was able to slow down to about 10-15mph before I hit her passenger door and flew over the handle bars and into her passenger window. I had on helmet, gloves, padded Dainese textile jacket and boots so I was fine. My bike was also fine (thank god for frame sliders) with no damage other than the rattlecan paint I had applied to my front fender now had an ugly crack in it from bending. Her car had a big ol dent in the door from my front tire. She pulled in to her driveway and her husband came out of the house and they started telling me how I was going too fast and it was all my fault (even though he didnt even witness the crash). I told them if I was going to fast I wouldnt be standing there chatting with them uninjured. Cops showed up  [leo] and cited her for failing to yield.  :-X Boy was she pissed. Now I'm repainting my front fender and cautious when the left lane is backed up with stopped cars realizing I cant see very well whats on the other side of those cars. - for what its worth.

I feel like a moron, and I'm so embarrassed. I crashed my M900 last Saturday. I guess there's three points to this thread: 1) to try to educate everyone else about the situation that led to my crash 2) to express my feelings about the event and 3) to list out everything I need to do to get back on the road and ask for advice.

The Crash
So, I was 6 hours away from home visiting a friend. We had spent all of Saturday riding some awesome roads, over 330 miles worth of them. I crashed 2 miles from his house on the way home. He was leading because he was navigating. We were coming into a great looking, sweeping bend in the road. In the middle of the bend there was another road you can turn onto. I was looking ahead of my buddy, down the road. I didnt notice that he was braking to turn onto the other road. When I finally noticed I slammed on the brakes locking up the rear tire. It started sliding and I released the rear brake. This snapped the bike back straight so fast that I high-sided before I knew what hit me. I think I probably hit the pavement around 40 mph. I believe the root cause of the accident is a combination of following too close and being too lazy to flick my eyes from his taillight to down the road and back. The rest of you are welcome to analyze it and give thoughts.

How I Feel
I have some roadrash on my hip and elbow but I was wearing boots, jeans, leather jacket, and helmet. My biggest injury is a separated shoulder. Recovery time looks like it will be around 6 weeks. I feel so lucky. When I hear of other accounts, such as the real recent thread about the guy ending up with a broken leg and multiple other complications, it makes me really count my blessings. Like his story, if you saw the helmet you would understand that it saved my life.
I know this is a dangerous hobby, but I love it, and I can't wait to get back on the bike.

What Should I Do Now?
All of the damage occurred on the left side of the bike. Damaged pieces are as follows:
Tank
Exhaust Can
Foot peg
Shift Lever
Handlebars
Mirror
Clutch Master
Clutch Lever
Left Hand Switch Module
Grip
Headlight Ring
Headlight Lens
Front Fender

The thoughts going through my head are things like - should I just get it running again so I can get back to riding? How much should I spend on replacement parts? Should I view this as a blessing and an opportunity to take the whole bike apart and repaint the frame, tank, and fenders the way I want them? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Cheers to being alive and able to ride again!  [beer]

If you have winter... I would get it running and ride it until you put it away due to snow/cold and tear it down at that point.

It gives you some time to really decide what you want to do, time to save up the money to do it, and you still get to ride this summer.

Yeah that's a definite possibility. I rode into December this past winter but it was unseasonably warm. I will hate riding around with a dented tank though...

Glad you made it. Speedy recovery.

Too add to your lessons

1) Biggest lesson I have learned riding with others is too not follow close.  That rule has saved me and riders in front of me.  I have seen about 5 riders in front of me crash and avoid them coz I maintained distance.  Of course I still managed to be clipped by a rider behind who despite follow from afar wasn't paying attention.  Now if rider behind me is close, I motion him/her to pass.  I make mistakes and may panic in a twisty road and can't afford a rider behind plough into me.

2)
I also know that in group ride if I can't make that turn the rider in front took where a route changed, make the beast with two backs it, i will miss that turn and turn back.  I know my limits and when I can and can't do it.  It ain't a competition.

This is what I wished I would have done. There was an oncoming car in the other lane so my only option was to go around my friend to the right of him, but still, I could have and it would have saved me. Hindsight is 20/20.

Also, I meant to say in my original thread. Go to an empty parking lot and practice this. Get up to speed, lean the bike over like you're in a turn, then stand it up straight and brake as hard as you can. Over and over until you're really good at it. Would have saved me.

How much of a factor is this? (disclaimer: I have not yet dropped a bike at speed)

Seems that releasing the rear may have contributed to throwing the bike around, especially if the front brake was still engaged. This is all subject to bike orientation at the time the brake was released... (and again, I've never gone thru this experience)... I'm just thinking about how I have more control trail braking in curves than I do when using the front, and wondering if this may be part of what happened.

For dropping the bike at 40mph, glad you fared as well as you did.

I've got a yellow front fender from a 1098. It fits my '04 620. Depending on your fork mount spacing, you can have it if you want it. Wish I had more spares for you, but I just got rid of some before we moved.

Most importantly, I'm glad you are okay.

Glad you're as well as you are. You've got 6 weeks of recoup time, if you've got the funds, get going on fixing and making it better than it was. As for parts, just keep trolling ebay looking for the parts and select used. You should be able to pick up most of the stock stuff reasonably.

Yeah I believe releasing the rear brake contributed heavily to the crash. I think the proper thing would have been more front brake and less rear brake. Again, it happened very very fast so a lot is speculative... but that's what makes sense to me.

Glad you are OK!  Never let off the year brake once it is locked in a panic stop, a high side will likely result. 

I have a dark fender, what year is your bike?

It's a 98. The front fender really isnt scratched up too bad, and I believe once I take the paint off, sand it down, and repaint it you won't be able to notice. I'm really starting to lean toward taking the bike apart and repainting it the way I want it.

I was in this exact situation, sitting in the bed of a pickup truck on the way to football practice.  Some moron let a woman through and she turned left directly in front of us with no time to react.  I was sitting back against the rear window, and I still remember my buddy flying at me at 30 mph before we both went through the window.  Luckily, no major injuries besides bruises and cuts.  Now, every time I encounter this type of traffic situation, I slow to a crawl and watch for vehicles cutting through the line.  Especially on my bikes!  Even when you're in a car, you may thing you are doing something nice by letting someone through the line when waiting in a left turn lane, but you're really setting them up.  Don't do it!

Summary:
Single vehicle accident due to entering a turn too fast (was passing a car) and under the line (right hand turn, started from middle of right lane vice left side of left lane on a significant downslope).  Went over an open drainage ditch, off the road and into a 15+ foot ravine. Guessing 55 - 65 KPH

What I did right:
Released throttle and (maybe) downshifted without locking up the brakes and risk losing control of the rear end before departing the road.  Passed only a few feet from the start of a guardrail and might have ended up hitting it with a swinging rear end.  Got enough separation from the bike not to land under it when it landed left side down.  I can't tell you how much that was as I don't actually remember but I didn't have to lift it off a broken leg.  

What I did wrong:
Riding to the edge of my ability with experienced riders and went beyond that ability as I tried to pass a car on a very curvy road.  This was caused by bad judgment and only luck allowed me to walk away uninjured.

How it could have been avoided:
I could have admitted the curves were too much for me to attempt to pass the car, reduced my speed and caught up with the pack at the next stop or straight portion of the ride.  I should have acknowledge my limits and stayed within them on this challenging and dangerous portion of road.



Long version below for those who are interested.  I find it therapeutic.  

I've been riding since 2008.  First road bike was a Kawaski Vulcan 900, riding all over SoCal.  When I moved to Oki in late 2012 I sold the Vulcan and wasn't going to buy a bike because of the slow speeds, weather, congestion, and traffic lights every 10 feet.  May of 2013 I found a 2000 M900 on Bookoo.com and it was on sale, so I bought it.  This was my first time laying a bike down let alone wrecking.

Out riding with a friend from work and about 150 of my closest Japanese friends.  For a small island I was astounded by the number of motorcycles and sup'd up scooters I saw.  One gas station stop had over 150 bikes parked and hanging out waiting for the "Cops all clear signal." All the roads are single lane.  Cars who can't keep up get passed on the right or left, sometimes both at the same time.  I've never shared the road with so many motorcycles at the same time.  That should have been clue #1.

As we waited for the all clear signal my buddy saw some locals he had ridden with before.  "I can only keep up with these guys on a good day."  Clue #2.  I can't keep up with Aaron on a great day and I should have either told him to go ahead and I'd catch up at the destination or turn around and start making my way home.  I will also note I was riding to the edge of my ability just following him for the three hours prior.

When the clear signal came our new friends were the first out of the station.  I was roughly #12 in a pack of over 75. 15 minutes later we were turning around because two sets of JP moto cops were escorting everyone through the turns with lights on at the speed limit.  On the way back we got held up by a slow car (doing the speed limit) on a particularly curvy portion of the road.  Even the experienced riders were only able to pass one or two at a time due to the curves.  When it was my turn I waited until I had a clear view ahead to ensure safe distance and I pushed it.  What I didn't take into account was just beyond the safe distance the road disappeared.

As I pulled next to the front bumper I noticed two things.  The car had sped up and was now even with me.  I can understand he's a bit pissed off at the dozen or so bikes that just passed him illegally on the curves.  The second thing I noticed was the reason the road disappeared was because it took a healthy downturn.  I should have let off the throttle, downshifted and gotten back behind him.  Instead I put on gas and pushed in front.  Then I saw it was not only a downgrade but a sharp right turn.  (Japan drives on the left side of the road.)

I enter the turn gate too fast by far and in the middle of the right lane instead of on the left side of the left lane.  I knew immediately I wasn't going to make the turn.  About 10 degrees into the turn is the start of a guardrail.  In my inexperienced mind my choices are attempt the turn with a probably low side riding into the guardrail or continue straight and go off the road before the guardrail starts.  If there is no guardrail it can't be too bad, right?  Additionally Japan rarely covers their gutters and drainage ditches. Both sides of the road have a cement lined open gutter about a foot across and two feet deep.  

I drop the throttle, think about down shifting (not sure if I did or not) and go straight.  After crossing the gutter somewhere above 45 degrees (required slight turn to the left) as to not catch the front wheel (but I still dinged the left side of the front rim) in the ditch and do a hard high side, I go airborne.  I had been hoping for a slight uphill if not a flat area but it was actually a pretty big drop.   If I had been the road engineer I might have pushed the guardrail north 10 meters or so.  The speed limit on the road was 40KPH.  Both the car and I were too fast to begin with and I had just passed him.  My days as a dirt bike rider came back and I though, "No rocks, minimal trees and branches (one of which I just broke with my front brake lever and right shoulder, and WTF just hit me in the face!?) lots of dirt but oh, it's so far down!"  As I went off the road my first thought was Thank God this isn't a cliff over the ocean and my second thought was that is really, really far.  Afterward, looking up I estimated it to be about 15 feet.

I distinctly remember deciding to push off the bike and get some separation.  When I picked myself up out of the dirt I did not have to lift the bike, which was on it's left side, to do so.  However, from the bruise on the inside of my left foot and the fact that my left peg was nowhere to be found I'm assuming I was still standing on the pegs when I landed.  It is all a bit hazy.

Bike landed on it's left side, front wheel about 3 inches from another cement lined open drainage ditch at the bottom of this ravine.  I was mostly to the right of the bike when I stood up but if I had been riding it all the way down and ended up under it I would have laid across that ditch somewhere between shoulder and lower rib level.  As I did my body inventory I was amazed to find no broken bones, bleeding or real pain.  Three Japanese riders, who I had probably passed in the proceeding 5 minutes, stopped and help me push the bike up a different path back to the road.  The one I had come down was so steep you had to slide down on your ass, walking wasn't an option.

The front brake level was gone.  The mounting bracket had snapped.  I found the lever near the bike.  The left side of the handlebar was bend well forward.  The left foot peg holder plate had snapped at both connection points, muffler still attached.  The rod connecting the shifter to the gearchange control lever was still attached and not bent (amazingly).  Rear left turn indicator was broken but still attached by cord.   Spring for side stand was gone but found in the leaves after.

As I was lifting the bike up and looking for bits and pieces I noticed an old road sign laying just uphill of where I landed.  The metal bracket that connected the sign to a post was sticking up about 18 inches looking like a jagged metal claw.  I was very lucky I hadn't slowed down any more before I went over the edge.  

Overall my aches and the minimal damage to the bike are dumb luck. I disconnected the rod from the gearchange lever and put the plate and muffler under my net bag on the back.  I jury-rigged a tie for the sidestand so it wouldn't drag and, since I was unable to shift gears and would have to deal with lots of traffic lights, manually put it in 2nd gear and then rode it 80 kilometers home after my insurance informed me I didn't have unlimited towing.  Riding with one hand is no big deal, and I could reach the clutch by leaning way forward at lights and other stops.  The hardest part was having no footpeg (boot on the casing which caused a bit of paint peeling) and the very loud left side sans muffler, especially going through the tunnels.  Wow.

As this is my first wreck I don't know if I'm as lucky as I feel or if this is just another day.  I kind of wish my first lay down was a low side going into a curve instead of launching down a ravine.  I was planning on going back to visit when I get the bike put back together but I don't think I can wait that long.  I feel like a noob and have to go back to remove that road sign before this becomes the ogre in my mental closet.  

Sorry for the long read, thanks for listening.  Pictures and parts numbers to follow shortly in another forum.

Here's a crash I had a few months ago on Mulholland Highway. I'm the first bike. Looks like a bump in the road jogged my suspension, slowed me down a bit, forced me to lean over just a bit further and caused me to scrape my peg. At that point my suspension was all out of whack along with my body position so I couldn't save it.

Lowside Crash - Ducati Monster &amp; Suzuki SV650 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQjgN8POF2w&list=UUvtfT-xYX4Q-jC2Mbsk3OUA#)

The good comments on youtube were pretty reasonable but I thought I'd share!

Any tips or insights are always appreciated!

It's downhill from here.

Incident Date: 9/16/2014

Lesson Learned: Always have my GoPro and ALWAYS REMEMBER CARS WANT TO KILL YOU

Video of entire incident will be up shortly.


(http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/280x200q90/745/xvQ3Bt.png)

 [popcorn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-LQmXGEXv8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-LQmXGEXv8)

Wow, you're way more patient than me. I tolerated 30 seconds of that womans drivel.

"That lady let me across so, what?" Arrrgh so fukn DUMB.

So how'd it play out? She cut you off, you went down, she's at fault.

I was just upset because I just got my bike serviced by Nick. What made me angry was that she LEFT! If you notice towards the end of the video I looked back and she was long gone.

She had dealer plates on so I am working with the CHP, the dealership and my insurance company to track her down.

As Buck said, clearly you had right of way.  I can't say about California, but, AFAIK, since your vehicle did not contact hers she might not be considered at fault.  Most important is you seem to not be injured.  Keep us posted

I don't know either. My insurance company said since she caused the unsafe situation and admitted fault she could be liable. On top of that she also left the scene of an accident she caused and she was being somewhat hostile towards myself and other drivers. This is all what my insurance company said but we will see.

This person's behavior literally sums up why I despise humans. Cognitive dissonance...if the truth is inconvenient in any way, come up with some ridiculous "logic" to debunk it. And her first impulse was to get defensive instead of demonstrate concern for the damage she caused to you and your bike. I can see why you were at a bit of a loss for words...where do you even begin with debating someone who thinks the earth is flat and the moon is made of cheese?

I was in almost the exact same type of accident and the police officer found the driver at fault because I had the right of way. She cant come in perpendicularly in the middle of a road and block your right of way like that. Additionally if she had looked properly before proceeding in to your lane she would've seen you coming so she was clearly negligent. I also encountered ignorance and defiance but the Police set that straight. I think what needs to be added to lessons learned from your video is:

Call Police ASAP
Exchange information with the other person asap. (Can you imagine if you didnt have your GoPro?)

Keep us posted on how this turns out with this ignorant woman. Glad you are ok.

I'm pretty disappointed that not a single person stopped to back you up as a witness and also make sure you were ok.

I think I was in shock that's why I wasn't thinking clearly afterwards. If you slow down the video after I pick up the bike you can clearly see a LAPD patrol car pass by. There was also a CHP officer in the same plaza she came out of. No one stopped because it's california and this lady scared off that guy in the blue civic. I'm going to The CHP office tomorrow

Did you notice the car coming out from the side of the road blocking a whole lane before it came into your lane? It sounds as though you rolled off a bit as you saw what was going on but it wasn't until the car came into your lane that you even reached for the clutch? You also seemed to be traveling a little faster than the average compared to the traffic I can see on the video? Most of us like to ride a little faster than traffic so I understand why that might be the case.

I'm not suggesting for a second that you're in the wrong but I'd have been on high alert, slowing down and ready for a panic stop if I'd been in that situation *AND* seen what *SEEMS* evident from the video.

Being in the right doesn't mean anything, unfortunately.

So this happened to me today...

I had a low speed drop today. I misjudged the speed of a car and had to brake too hard while already having entered the right turn. It was a total brain fart on my end. I should have gone into the turn (T intersection with the oncoming car approaching around a bend that was obscured) much slower and maybe even stopped anyway even though there is no sign at the intersection. I panic grabbed too much front brake and went over at about 2-3 mph (as I had more or less stopped). I'm fine, except for a bruised ego. Bike took a small 1/4" chunk off the frame slider and scratched up the front brake lever a bit.

My only concern is that when I had her righted and was getting ready to go on my not-so-merry-way again, I noticed the check engine light had come on. As I was only a few blocks from my house, I babied her home. When I got home and after a little bit of cussing myself out, I turned on the ignition again, and the light did not come back. Should I have her checked out anyway? (Monster 821, if you're wondering).

Thanks,
Tim

Found out that the CEL was the tip sensor. Lesson learned in more than one way, and I'm the better for it I hope.

I guess I need to hang out here more often  [popcorn]

So, any info on how it happened?

So there I was zipping along a quiet country road... a straight quiet country road... that I know quite well and all was fun.  I experienced a split second of the beginnings of a violent tank slapper....  what instigated it I do not know and what I did about it and all that followed is totally unknown to me. 

I was found unconscious by a kindly passer-by, about 20 metres away from the bike.  How long I was out, I dunno.  Can't have been long.  But I remember nothing between Happy Days [Dolph] and WTF Just Happened :-\

Returning to the scene some days later revealed that the road surface is in quite poor condition.... narrow (of course), lateral pot holes and broken up edges.  But there was nobody riding that bike but me, no other vehicles and no wayward animals.  So not sure what I learn from that mistake other than ... I made it.

Glad you did  [thumbsup]

Glad you're ok mate. Any front rim impact damage?

None.   Why do you ask?

In relation to the role of pot holes or road damage. If there was a tell tale mark on the rim (or tyre).

Bike not too bad?

Not a tank slapper, but scary head shake happened to me once when I wasn't able to avoid a pothole.  The pothole (not big by NYC standards was not the problem.  The loose single rock in the pothole did it.

To a speedy complete recovery Ung [beer]