Crash Reports

Shift518 Automotive
1

Not sure if there is a thread like this on here already, but I figured it could be educational to all if those of us who have been down shared the experience.

Background:
I’ve been riding on and off for over 10 years. Last fall I picked up my Buell after not having ridden for a few years. I put about 400 miles on it in 3 weeks before the crash.

Story:
Towards the middle of November, I put it down during a short ride near my shop as I was warming up the engine for an oil change. As I was coming around an off camber left hand curve at about 45mph, I started sliding on some gravel that was across the road at the entrance to a gravel pit. Foolishly, I chopped the throttle which stood the bike up and sent me out onto the “shoulder” (it was about 1’ wide). I kept it upright for about 50’ before sliding into a 10’ wide rock lined drainage ditch which stopped the bike dead and sent me over the bars and tumbling through the ditch finally ending up on my back in a field adjacent to the ditch.

Surprisingly, I was able to stand up after a minute or two of laying there. I called my buddy to come pick me and the bike up, then went to the ER to get checked out. My hip was hurting pretty good, and I wasn’t sure if it was broken. A ton of x-rays later and they found no broken bones. I had minor scrapes on my right arm and right leg, some more serious ones to my waistline, and some major soft tissue trauma to my right upper thigh (handlebars?), a sprained right ankle, and of course a ton of bruising. For the first week or so, my right leg was swollen up about 1.5x the size it should have been. I could stand on it fine, but my thigh muscle was unable to lift my leg more than an inch or so off the ground.

I healed up fine as time went on, except for a large hematoma on my right hip. My doctor and I waited for 3 months before going in last week to drain it. They ended up taking 1 full liter of blood out of it, and even then it’s still visible today. I’m hoping the rest goes away without another surgery.

Gear I was wearing and how it held up:
-Joe Rocket Meteor 5.0 Textile Jacket – torn stitching on the right elbow
-Carhart double knee work pants (shop pants, wasn’t planning on riding) – no damage
-Buell Turbulent riding gloves – stitching torn on pinkie finger, got a cut on my knuckle
-AGV X-vent helmet – shield came off mid crash, gouges in top of helmet
-Columbia high top hiking boots – the laces on my right boot broke from my ankle twisting, two metal eyelets broken

What I’ve learned:
-I should have been more gentle on the controls. Its likely I would have made the corner even with the gravel there. Panic mode is a bitch.
-hiking/work boots don’t cut it. If my boots had a stiffer upper section, it would have kept my foot from twisting as bad as it did. I’m very lucky it didn’t break
-hip/thigh protection is a good idea to have.
-higher waisted pants or belt attachments would have kept my jacket from riding up which is how my waist got scraped up. If I went down on the pavement I would have had some pretty serious rash
-interesting fact: in NYS, your bike insurance doesn’t cover your medical fees. It goes on your medical insurance.

Bike damage:
-scraped flyscreen
-broken rightside pegs
-bent brake pedal
-bent handlebars
-broken headlight
-dented headers
-scraped up cam cover
all pretty easy fixes

2

So sorry to hear but glad that you are ok. Yeah, work boots are not riding boots, just like normal jeans are not riding jeans.

I alway took it super easy at the beginning of the season due to the fact that there are tons of shit left over, especially at intersections.

3

This was end of season, but still. I should have known because that corner always has gravel on it from that pit, and i drove by there all the time.

4

I like the thread idea.

Background:
I’ve been riding since 2006. I’ve put on around 50,000 miles between my bikes.

Story:
My first track day. I went with RocketPunch to New Hampshire speedway.

Day was overcast with light drizzle in the morning. I’ve put on fresh tires on the bike the day before and never got them scrubbed in.

As the day progressed, track dried up and everything was going good.

Then weather turned for the worse and it started to rain.

Was going into a left hand turn too hot for the now wet track AND up shifted mid corner which upset my suspension and rear wheel.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmnpqFpG_Bk[/ame]

Gear I was wearing and how it held up:
Back protector
A* one piece - was fine
A* gloves - was fine
Sidi Vertigo boots got scraped up a bit but overall fine
RF1000 Shoei - never hit IIRC

What I’ve learned:

  • I should have been more careful with the weather changes and reduced traction.

  • I shouldn’t have shifted mid corner

    Bike damage:
    Leaking oil
    Broken hand brake
    Stator cover grinded through
    Snapped shift lever IIRC
    Misc fairing damage.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q26/vovchandr/IMG_4399.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q26/vovchandr/IMG_4401.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q26/vovchandr/IMG_4398.jpg

Weather

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q26/vovchandr/IMG_4330.jpg

5

Background:
See above.

Story:
Early in 2011 season. I just got the Motard and it’s late February, early March IIRC. Going by the airport I decided to investigate where the pedestrian path goes (with the bridge over 155 behind the Hilton/Hampton).
I got on it by CBA and crested the hill at around 20/30. As I go over the hill I discover that there is still a ton of snow that didn’t melt off due to surrounding trees and obviously lack of plowing.

With no room to stop, I scrubbed as much speed as I could and then lowsided the second I hit snow.

Gear I was wearing and how it held up:

  • Shift leather jacket - no damage

  • Icon helmet - no damage

  • Jeans - ripped on the ass

  • Sidi Vertigo boots - no damage

  • A* gloves - no damage

    What I’ve learned:
    Street tires provide bad traction in the snow.

    Bike damage:
    It’s a Motard

6

Background:
Been on 2 wheels for about 6 years or so, on and off many different bikes, some mine some friends.

Story:
Coming home taking it easy from work to meet a friend, toss full gear on and rip the roads around the lake we always ride, entered a right hander around 45, a turn I have taken hundreds of times. Entered the turn, looking ahead saw gravel and not wanting to lowside it on the road and pick stone out of my ass/ankle/hip, I stood up and looked for a straight path up a driveway between 2 trees and wanted to send it out into this grassy front yard. On the brakes got it slowed down to about 30 maybe, would have been fine but the driveway had a 12" or so grassy rise from the pavement to the lawn, hit that, went over the bars, struck a tree upside down and across my back and side of my head. Took a heli ride to Albany Med. 4 broken ribs, spleen and kidney bleeding, lower back muscle damage, broken radius on my right arm, muscle and tendon damage on left leg and a concision, Couldnt lift my leg under its own weight for 4 weeks. Couldnt get up off the couch on my own for a week +. Worst pain was after shock and the meds from the heli ride wore off, and I was on a back board after initial CT and MRI’s, sitting there for 3+ hours not being able to move an inch, becasue they also had another 2 wheeled MVA come in, and the kid was in alot worse condition, who later passed away. :frowning:

Gear I was wearing and how it held up:
Like I said, i was putzing home from work, no gear like I usually ride for fun.

-A* leather jacket = mint wouldnt let them cut it off me.
-Casual Tims’s = mint until they cut the laces off to take them off me.
-Jeans = mint until they cut them off me.
-A* carbon gloves = mint, they just took them off me.
-HJC cabonfiber helmet = 4" crack (saved my life, will never own a cheap helmet ever again)

What I’ve learned:
-First and foremost, I love my family and friends, and I am sorry for the heartache I caused them.
-Somethings are out of your hands environmentally. Always look for an out (hopefully there is a better one than the one I took) while riding incase things get ugly.
-I have gone over, and traveled that turn many times since the crash, and there is really nothing I could have done to prevent it… other than not being there.
-Ride with your head. Not your right hand, thinking through your dick and balls, no need to show off uncontrollably and unnecessarily. Keep the aggressive riding to the tracks, or atleast roads you can map out to a T in your head. Keep in mind “get off points” incase it gets ugly, and always ride them with FULL gear. Lastly check said riding spot slowly one way, then come back and ride it a bit harder to make sure there isnt shit in the road waiting for you. The kid that died while I was in the ER, crashed at a high rate of speed, fucking around on the highway showing off, no gear.

Bike damage:
scratch on my muffler, bent handle bar. thats it.

7

Background:

It was my third season of riding, summer of 2010

Story:

I had been drinking, serriously thats all i remember, crashed on an on-ramp to 787 so they tell me, must ahve been a highside

Gear I was wearing and how it held up:

  • Icon mesh TiMax Jacket -I think it held up well, no road rash anyway, don’t think i slid much… they cut it off me.
  • Scorpion Helmet - large crack right on ear
  • kevlar Jeans - never saw them afterward, cut off
  • Nikes - no damage
  • Apline star gloves - frayed fabric in fingers

What I’ve learned:

don’t drink and operate a motorvehicle. believe it or not i didn’t really learn this till my next accident.f

Bike damage:
bent shifter,
bent bar end,
many fairing scratches,
front directional destroyed

8

This is a great thread idea allowing others to see that it can happen due to the most random circumstances to anybody at anytime and learn from them.

I’ll post a a few others Ive had later.

9

A agree Vlad. Maybe it will knock some sense into riders this season, and it could save a RIP thread.

Best advice I could have ever gotten from my uncle who has been on a bike 30+ years, ridden everything under the sun, all over and seen it all. YOU ride the bike, dont let it ride you.

Meaning, respect yourself and at the same time respect the machine. They are flashy looking, most sound sexy as hell running, and they are easy to get attention on. If you have the “look at me” mentality, or the “I am unstoppable” mentality you will go down and odds are against you that you wont get back up.

10

Good luck with that. I think 90% are bought as a status symbol/look at me mentality, which is why it’s impossible to rationalize to them that a super sport race replica makes a bad street bike, or suggest better options for the that don’t look at “cool”, even though some are just as fast if not faster, while being more comfortable and less twitchy.

11

Ancient History, but a story none the less…

Background:
I was 18 and had been riding a Yamaha RD 350 for almost 2 years (this was early fall 1975). I had ridden dirt bikes since I was 12.

Story:
Was riding North on Rt 9 in Malta with 2 other friends on our way to Saratoga Lake. This was way before the Rotary’s. Came up to the intersection of RT9 and Dunning St. I was riding on the left side of the right lane, my friends were on the right. The light was green and I went to make a nice sweeping right hand turn on to Dunning (Used to love to try to touch a peg). Suddenly, It felt like somebody pulled both wheels out from under me. I hit the ground and immediately sprang back on to my feet, basically running with my bike down Rt 9, much to the surprise of the guy waiting at the light on Dunning st…

Gear I was wearing and how it held up:

Gear? It was 1975! I had on a Bell Helmet, Denim Jacket, Jeans and sneakers.
Never hit my head so my helmet was OK. Ripped the right elbow out of my jacket and the right knee out of my jeans. I only hit the ground for a split second!

Had a scar on my right knee and elbow for years.

What I’ve learned:

I should have been paying more attention to the road, rather than trying to make an impressive corner. Some vehicle had dumped some oil on the road at the intersection. Both tires made some pretty neat marks sliding though it.

Bike damage:
Broken right signal lights, front and rear. That was it.

12

^ Ah the classic unpredictable elements of the road. Just like KK’s case. You can be the perfect safest rider and the road/others will still hurt you.

Should we list accidents of friends that we witnessed as well? Got quite a few of those too.

13

RD’s are badass. I had a kawi triple for a little while a few years ago, so fun

14

I think only if you have the full details

15

Subscribed. never even rode a street legal bike before, but i like stories.

16

Low sided a RC8R on the grass at Ohio T8 1st session 2nd or 3rd lap damp track, bike just had brand new tires mounted, literally off the shelf. Your typical not enough heat in tire crash.

Started with front end wobble at turn exit when I am on throttle, I actually saved it by standing the bike up and thinking I am just gonna cut through the wet grass. Everything was find and dandy until I realize how uneven the runoff is, try to slow down…bam! The only damage to the bike is one broken foot peg. No injuries, hopped on to another RC8 finished the whole track day without incident.

What I learned is don’t crash one if you actually own one, cause it is expensive…:rofl:rofl

17

i guess a quad accident counts, right?

riding an older yammerhammer warrior in the woods near my house. i thought i knew the trails like the back of my hand, but it rained hard as fuck for 2 or so days, making deep, sticky mud. i went out to get muddy, and i did, but that’s beside the point.

was blasting a straight section with a foot or so sharp drop off that i knew was there… what i didn’t know was there was the stump of a 2 inch wide sapling off in the underbrush. it stuck up about 3 or 4 inches. the mud made everything sloppy and i got a little loose coming out of the hard left directly before it, over corrected, went across the trail at an angle, off the drop crooked, into the underbrush. landed flat, not a problem, right? Wrong. the back axle caught the aforementioned stump, stopping the quad dead, i went over the bars, and fast. clipped my left side on a tree and smashed my head into another tree. damn lucky i’m somewhat safety conscious and don’t ride without a helmet, or i’d be very dead right now. i think i blacked out, because i went riding at like 3, and when i opened my eyes the sky was darker then i remembered it being.

GEAR - a Z1R (i think) brand cheapo MX helmet that had taken a few hard hits before.
an old chest protector, don’t know the brand
regular steel toed work boots
mechanic’s gloves

DAMAGE, VEHICLE - somehow, none. axle was as straight as before, fired right up. rode home.

DAMAGE, OPERATOR - don’t know if i was severely injured or not, never went to the hospital or doctors. hurt like hell to breathe for a couple hours though. my left arm hurt like a bitch for a month or so, and i had a nonstop migraine for a week. found a wrist brace in my closet, wore that for a month and a half because it hurt so badly i couldn’t move it without severe pain.

LESSONS LEARNED - A) buddy system applies to everything
- B) go slow before you go balls out.
- C) i’m a cheap fuck. tires aren’t as expensive as a hospital bill.

18

I crash a dirtbike or quad every time I am on them! lol

Worst ones I remember were drag racing a friend across a field in my YFZ450 race quad. top of 5th hit a 15" tall rise I didnt see until it was too late. leaned back as far as I could to absorb the ass end impact the best I could, front end took it like a champ and ass end bottomed out a bit. did a 50mph endo, stuck the front bumper like a spear into the ground and it sent me… at the last sec I pushed off to the right side becasue I knew it was coming. I hit the ground head and shoulder, curled up like a ball and rolled/rag dolled away. The machine flipped over and over next to me, I could hear the thump, thump, thump right next to me. Paced it out, something like 50 paces from the hump to the bumper impact, then another 60 something paces from where I and the machine came to rest! CRD on here saw the whole thing. When he was white as a ghost I knew it looked bad. I cracked the helmet, destroyed the sub frame, bent an A arm, broke a tie rod, bent the axle, bars and controls were toast, bent a rim (actually pushed the offset out flush to the bead!). got up and walked away… only to come 90% (see so many stars you cant see people and things, and everything slows down, get the cold sweats, know the feeling all too well) to passing out a few mins later from the concussion.

What else? Caught a tree with the left front on a trail, hooked me so hard I flew off like a bat outa hell. Caught the bars on the upper left thigh and I couldnt walk for a while after that.

Under jumped a big step up at a track, bottomed out my KTM so hard, I thought I broke my ankles, booted my feet over my head in a split second, and went over the bars hard! got up no big deal, but it musta looked good.

Some dick on a quad on practice day clipped my rear wheel (on the dirt bike this time) taking off the same step up, top of 4th to have a shot in clearing it, and it steps up about 10’, on top of a 8’ jump, about 45’ tip to tip… Instant Chad Reed Milleville highside off the jump, rolled the windows down mid air and pile drove the face of the step up with my feet, took the knees to the chest protector, face hit the dirt… Thought I was going to break my back and legs. Shook it off nothing hurt, picked the bike up and got in the face of the kid in the pits. he had no business running me like that, when he cant even jump half the shit on the track.

Under jumped a big triple, cased the rear tires (on the quad) and did another high speed endo, pinned the limiter, down the landing, across the track and off the track. I pooped my pants but didnt wreck. completed my lap and went to the pits! lol

I wrecked a ton of dirt toys over the years. I cant even remember half of them. Worst ones were high speed highsides on the dirtbike. One minute your on it crankin a trail or track, split second later there isnt shit underneeth you anymore and your hitting the ground, hard. Or loosing it at the top of a big hill climb or sand pit wall. We used to ride some climbs that you cant even walk up, or stay standing in the middle of them. The bikes were ok, but a quad would roll and usually get wadded up real good. as long as you didnt get hit by it, you were ok too.

19

Background: I have been ridding for 23 years (since I was 5), and been racing for 5 years.

Story: Well I guess I’ll start with my worst crash. All of these happened on my quad a 2005 YFZ450.

Back in 2010 I was racing flat track at the electric city riders track in Mariaville. I got a good jump off the line and going into the first turn I had one guy about half a quad ahead of me on the outside, he decided he wanted the inside line and cut down and clipped my front tire at this point we where doing about 50mph. This sent be back across the track and off the quad if flipped into the air landed on me and then rolled away. I stopped with the quad on it’s wheels and me laying next to it at the edge of the tack. Before I opened my eyes I wiggled my fingers and toes so I figured all was good. One of the other racers who was watching the race, ran over and helped me up. Luckily I had no broken bones just some missing skin and some big bruises. I did break my helmet, which is what the quad landed on from what I was told.

Gear I was wearing and how it held up:
Oneal Helmet, jersey, pants, gloves and padded shorts
ARC ridding boots
I did break the visor off the helmet and put a small crack in it, but it saved my head. I also tore the jersey and pants.

What I learned:
Get a better start

Bike damage:
Bent the left tie rod, bent the left steering knuckle, and bent the left shock.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-01T298Xrdgw/TGnfRC3ozYI/AAAAAAAABsc/YSTM3igbQ34/s300/DSC_0017crop.jpg

My wife got this pic then freaked out and tried to get onto the track

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DjOGquxLdGA/TGnfW3X-lCI/AAAAAAAABso/QWX6DcwDicg/s800/DSC_0022.jpg

Story:
Back in 2008 I was racing MX at Royal Mountain, I was coming around the finial corner to the checked flag and the racer in front of me almost spun out. There are two doubles before you get to the finish line so I tried to pass him before we got there, but when he took off from the second double he drifted into my lane. Just as I took off from that jump I turned slightly to the right to avoid him and when I landed, off the track, I slid into the flagger/scorers popup tent. Luckily I did not hit anyone just clipped one of the tent legs. As soon as my quad stopped the flagged came over and started yelling at me saying I should pay attention and learn to ride. After I rode back to my truck I walked back down there to talk to him and the people scoring to make sure everyone was ok, by that time he had cooled down and there where no hard feeling.

Story:
KrazyKid and I had built a small GNCC type track across the street from my mom’s house. One day I went for a quick ride and as I exited the sharp 1st gear corner I grabbed 2nd gear and wheeled right into a tree stump with my left tire. I let go of the bars before they where ripped out of my hands and when over the bars.

Bike damage:
Bent the left and right tie rod, and twisted all the splines on the bottom of the steering shaft about 1/8 inch. Even with the bars turned all the way to the right it still didn’t go straight.

Story:
On this same track I was racing KrazyKid and took one of the corners a little too sharp and clipped a tree. I bent the right tie rod and also screwed up my wrist. I never had it looked at but it took about a year before I had full movement back, and it still cracks when I move it now.

Story:
KrazyKid, myself and one other person when for a ride by the Sacandaga lake to the top of bald bluff. I was ridding a Yamaha wolverine at the time. At the beginning of the trail is a small sand pit that we had ridding in for years, and just recently was having sand removed from it again. So on the way back as it was getting dark I came into the sand pit first and forgot there was now a 3 foot ledge you had to ride around, and by the time I realized it was there it was too late. I went over the ledge and onto my face and the quad landed upside-down on top of me, with the rear rack in the middle of my back. I opened my eyes moved my hand and feet then KrazyKid all 120lbs of him lifted the quad off me.

Bike damage:
Bent the bars, broke the ignition switch (we had to completely destroy it to get the key back in), bent the rear rack

I know there’s more but I can’t remember them.

20

i was REALLY pissed when i found out they shut down EC, i loved it there.
it wasnt too small, wasnt too big, felt kinda like everybody knew everybody.