Ducati Monster Forum

I went down on the road for the first time Wednesday evening.

I made the trip to a local bike night with a co-worker on my Street Rod, about 30 miles from home. It was the last such event for the summer and I hadn't been to one, so figured it would be a good time with a lot of bikes. And it was.

We left after an hour and a half or so and headed home, just before sundown. My co-worker and I parted ways as we got close to town, and I began the last leg home. About three miles from home I came around a sweeping left-hand more or less right angle turn and there she was. A big doe, a wall of brown in my eyes casually walking across my lane with a companion just coming out of the ditch.

I aimed for her tail, knowing/hoping she wouldn't turn or that her partner would quickly follow in panic, got on the brakes hard and hoped for the best. I vaguely recall just missing her rump and I think I touched the edge of the shoulder as I veered back left and went down. I don't remember a thing from then and about three hours afterward until I woke up in the hospital.

As luck would have it a friend came on the scene probably a matter of seconds later, saw my bike on the oncoming lane on its side and me standing in the ditch on the other. He called it in the journey to the hospital began. Again, I remember nothing.

My Vanson textile jacket has some fairly substantial scuffs on each arm but only one small tear in the mesh; it's still usable. My helmet wasn't so lucky - it's shown here as a reminder to all to wear your gear. There is no doubt it saved my life.

As for me, I've got a concussion (still achy and dizzy as I type), a whopper of a shiner, some mild rash on my hands (lucky, as I had no gloves on - dumbass, I know) and some bruises on my arms and knees. Nothing is broken, miraculously. I haven't seen my bike yet (at my buddy's friend's, who lives a matter of a hundred feet or two from where I went down), but it sounds like just a matter of a clutch lever, a grip, footpeg, radiator cover, and a saddlebag on the left. I'll know more tomorrow when we haul it in to see what the real damages are.

I got lucky, folks. Wear your gear.

(http://i367.photobucket.com/albums/oo118/Speedbag/2009_0918Image0010.jpg)

Dang, dood, you posted this at the same time I posted my sorry tale.

Glad to hear you made it ok, for the most part. Sounds like you hit harder than I did. I didn't hit my head at all, just rash on my leg and bruises on my arms.

How is the bike?

Glad to hear you made it too. :)

I certainly feel like I went down hard.....especially my thick skull. Owee.

Bike damage is fairly minimal according to my buddy (see above), but I'll see myself first hand tomorrow. I hope it's as minor as he says....

There's the reason I wear a full-face helmet. Can't imagine not wearing one. This sucks to read about two crashes posted within minutes of each other. Sorry to hear about your incident. Get better.

so you crashed, got up standing around your friend comes to you, and you remember none of this?  did you talk to him at the time? and didn't remember any of the conversation?

damn that really was a bad hit to the head.

Glad you're okay.. Man, I feel naked without all my gear on even going a block away to get gas.

Helmet, jacket, gloves, back protector, knee/shin protection, boots..

Yes.

I vaguely recall seeing him, but that was it. Nothing else. I guess I was even relatively coherent when the sheriff arrived. He asked for my license, I found it and gave it to him. He asked for my proof of insurance, I started digging for it, stopped and asked him what I was looking for again. Then they sat me down.

I remember nothing.

wow that was a nasty hit to the head, glad it wasn't worse.

I'm glad you both made it.

Sounds like your bell got rung Dave.

Get it checked out.

That should be an ad for full faced helmets!  I am glad you are here to tell the tale!

Cheers,
Sterling

They gave me a full scan while I was there, I didn't escape from the hospital until late yesterday.

I feel pretty good, other than the headache/dizziness, which is getting better. I go back in on Tuesday to get a once-over.

I hate to hear another deer story, especially from one of us.

One of my best friends did not fair so well after hitting one north of Durango, Co.

Gear is subjective. Helmets should never be.

Just glad you are here with us tonight.   :)

Sorry to hear.  :(

My last thought that I remember was "do everything NOT to hit her, lay it down if you have to".

Glad you are relatively OK.

Damned tall rodents!!  Good to hear you are relatively OK.

wow, amazing. so glad you are ok with such a nasty helmet hit. the military is now doing a lot of study on THI (traumatic head injury) and you qualify!
When i had a ended up on my head one time, i went through mood swings, agoraphobia and other small issues. If you had such a serious hit that you don't remember so much, make sure you continue with followup care with a psychiatrist or neurologist. Took me a long time to get over it.

OMG...good to hear you guys are still kicking and not screaming too much.
I am riding with a Schuberth J1 open face helmet...
I did four or five track days with it too this year.
Normally I am all about protection and even wear my leather on a 2 mile trip to work.
Those pictures of your helmets give me the creeps...
I am going to get a full face for next spring...100%
Third hand lesson learned. :-\

Yet another reminder that full face helmets are the way to go.
Glad to hear that you are OK

 [thumbsup]

 :o

holy crapola


glad to hear things aint worse.


need anything?

Just for the headache to go away (it's getting better)....  :P

Going to go get the bike in a while to take it to the dealer so the insurance goons can get the lowdown Monday. Should be interesting to see it.

Glad it wasn't worse mate.  [thumbsup]

Sorry to hear, but I'm really glad your gear protected you.

Hope your head feels better soon. :-\

Thanks everybody.

The noggin is still aching pretty good today, but nowhere near what it was the past two. Probably mild hangover level.

Saw the bike yesterday when my buddy (the one who came on me afterward) and I hauled it to the dealer. Damage is cosmetic only, the tech fired it up and rode it inside once we got it into gear (shift peg and linkage dangling by one bolt). I always carry a high deductible on bikes for the obvious reasons, but I'm betting the damages don't exceed it by much.

Watch out for the tall rodents out there, 'tis the season....

Glad your doing better. Bow season opens here soon. I will do my part in keeping them off the road and on the dinner table.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOkYu04R_kQ

As shown the deer doesn't fair as well if you drive thru it like a cleaver.
It's a hard wired instinct to avoid anything in your way now you know. [bacon]
New helmet time.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with the Deer.

I quit riding after about an hour before Dusk.

Even so , I still see them sometimes at high noon.

I had 6 Wild Turkeys come out of the tall grass in front of me the last time out .

They were about 30 yards in front of me .

Good thing I was on a side road that I had never been on before so I was going pretty slow for me.

3 of them ran across the road and the other 3 took to flight.

There are many days that I don't ride because I'm just to hot with all my gear on ...but I refuse to ride without the best protection from head to toe .

Dolph      :)

Aw, man.  First Ross and now you, too!  Very glad to hear that you're recovering, amigo.   [thumbsup]

Mebbe you need to get a doe permit and 'thin out' the local population a little bit.   ;)

Glad you're alright. I know exactly what you're feeling...well more or less as my helmet and gear saved my life too.

For the millionth time, this is why people, why we insist on full face helmets.

Rest well and recoup as best you can.  [thumbsup]

+1

Getting back into deer hunting has been a thought.

That and a stock tank filled with antifreeze in the general area....

Glad to hear you're OK!  [thumbsup]

i just saw this, theres been a lot of crashes lately. Glad to hear your okay. That helmet looks like it really saved your life.

Look what I just found :

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.motorradonline.de%2Fde%2Fnews%2Frecht-und-verkehr%2Furteil-mangels-schutzkleidung-geringeres-schmerzensgeld%2F267835 (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.motorradonline.de%2Fde%2Fnews%2Frecht-und-verkehr%2Furteil-mangels-schutzkleidung-geringeres-schmerzensgeld%2F267835)

Thats the only way to get people to do it I believe...

As an addendum to this thread, I advise everyone to examine their moto insurance policies very carefully. I did not.

I added saddlebags to my bike shortly after buying it, one of which was completely destroyed in my accident (but probably played a part in lessening the damage to the bike). The insurance company says they were an accessory, which are not covered since I didn't call my agent to let them know they were added. Shame on me for not being completely anal on knowing the specifics of coverage. However, in the grand scheme of things I think it's pretty silly for them not to make an exception to cover a $300 pair of bags when I insure my house, three cars, a bike, and an ATV through them.....or at least I did.

FYI - most moto policies also do not cover any personal injury expenses either. This was also a bit of a surprise, although I have good coverage through work.

Hmm. When I crashed, I had to show them proof of purchase (receipts) for mods I had done that I wanted compensation for, obviously dated pre-accident. Wonder why yours wouldn't allow you to do the same. Its BS that you have to call when you make a minor change, like adding bags.

Any chance on calling a few more times to change their mind?

Already tried, the word I got today was that basically I was screwed. I bought the bags on eBay, so no receipt per se either.

 :P

Damn!

I need to contact my insurer and get everything documented. Also, need to inquire about GAP Insurance.

why wouldn't a photo of the bike prior to the accident suffice of proof.

but in reality i had the same situation. had to prove (after the guy had seen the bike at the shop WITH the parts damaged on the bike) what i paid for the parts and when i bought them... like i bought some... bent and scraped them up and put them on the bike after the accident to get new ones.  fricking stupid people

It's pretty obvious to me that the insurance company wants to get it over with and move on. I'm just waiting now to see what I'll get reimbursed for my jacket. A prorated amount to be sure.

All things considered with the insurance pricks, I'm almost wishing I had hit the deer and totaled the bike. That is, if my injury outcome had been the same in that scenario (which it probably wouldn't have been).  >:(

Which insurance company do you use for your bike, cars, and house?  I'm curious.  (shoot me a PM, if you don't want to post it publicly)

As an aside, I'm really glad you're healing up well.  The bike/bags/jacket are so much less important than your physical well-being.  [thumbsup]

I didn't see it mentioned in my skimming... how fast were you going?

Pete, PM sent. The material things are less important, to be sure.....but the insurance bit is really annoying. Especially considering I haven't had a claim of any kind for over a decade, and that was a pheasant strike to a car headlamp assembly. That particular insurance company covered it 100% without even dealing with the deductible....

I was probably slowed down to about 45-50 MPH when I went down.

I recently upgraded from a Fulmer Modus with the flip up chin bar to a full CF Joe Rocket exactly because I'm afraid of that kind of impact on the chin/face area of the helmet. The modular helmet had a plastic locking mechanism and there is no doubt in my mind that it would have failed above 25 mph. Glad that you're alright, considering the damage to your gear. TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) is no joke. I got a mild case as a result from two large explosions in Afghanistan. Some side effects for me are short term memory loss, apprehensiveness, jittery at times. Hope you fare better in the long run.