Here’s the story…
My boss/buddy Jack had ridden some growing up, not a lot…finally got the OK from the wife to get a bike. Took delivery yesterday of his 1993 Harley Softtail with about 13k miles on it…thing was MINT (…was).
I made sure my bike was charged and ready to go so i could ride with him…this being my first ride of the year too. I got to his house and told him to take it easy, and to go as slow as he needed to and i’d pace behind him the whole time so as to never get ahead of him or make him feel like he had to keep up.
After going around on his side streets a bit, and a bunch of left and right turns, stops and go’s, etc…he felt comfy leaving his neighborhood and venturing into some nice open backroads for a bit. We figured it was a better idea than going up or down transit since it was rush hour and transit’s full of lights and traffic.
Well, all is going well…my buddy bryan coincidentally picked up his first bike yesterday too and was riding with us. We’re cruisin right at the 45mph speed limit and approach a long, wide swooping turn that appeared no big deal to me at all…so gradual that there wasn’t even a need to slow down, nor a yellow speed limit sign indicating we should slow down at all for this turn.
Well, Jack must have not paid complete attention or felt entirely comfortable leaning the bike…because he went a bit wide on the turn…and got dangerously close to the shoulder…then, hit the shoulder, full of gravel, and it was all over from there. Bike wobbled violently, went sideways, and he was in a ditch at around 45-50mph.
I’m 20 feet behind him and see nothing more than a cloud/explosion of water and mud and gravel/dust at this point…and through that cloud, i see the 630 lb bike rocket 10 feet in the air, and go end over end 3 times. I thought for sure it landed on him and i’d be dragging a bloody motionless Jack out of that ditch…
Locked up my rear tire braking, tore off my jacket and helmet while running over to him…only to see him already on his feet trying to get the bike out!? I told him to let go of the bike and try walking a bit, breathing, making sure nothing was broken, etc…worry about health first, bike later. He said his ankle hurt…but other than that…no blood at all. Apparently when i came running over, i was ghost white and looked like i was gonna throw up…this i don’t remember, but i don’t doubt.
The neighbors came running out, and this whole street rode…one house was the brother of the other, was the cousin of the other, was related by marriage to the other…all were Harley guys, all worked on bikes too. They helped us out of the ditch, straightened out the front fork to make sure it was ride-able again, pulled the fenders away from the tires because both were pushed in and rubbing…and even took the bike for a rip up and down the street to make sure it was safe to ride for Jack. Then, offered us a beer saying “what’s the worst that can happen? you crash?”
Amazing guys…i’ve never experienced such hospitality. They spent 45 minutes getting muddy trying to straighten this bike out best they could. It’s still trashed…but at least it still rides straight. He’ll need a new front and rear fender, handlebars, seat, turn signals, and a whole new paint job. These guys even offered to do all the labor for him in exchange for the beer they’d drink while working on it…lol.
An hour after the crash, i paced behind him as we limped it home (were only like 4 miles from his house), and luckily…the wife wasn’t home when we got there. I made sure to leave before she got home.
Some side notes:
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If jack had gone into the ditch 5 feet sooner…he would have face planted into a fire hydrant.
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If jack had gone into the ditch 10 feet later, he would have been tossed into a bunch of trees.
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Went to see an orthopedic surgeon today, might need pins…broke his fibula (sp?)…the thinner of the two shin bones, sits at the back of your leg. The doctor said that to break it how and where he did, with such a clean snap, the ONLY way to have broken it like that would be for his toes to have touched his shin…think about that…fucking gross.
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Lucky for jack, he hated the handle bars and seat on the bike…and already bought new ones. So, the insurance check for those items is just going to be extra money for him. Also, the new leather jacket, gloves, and helmet he ordered…hadn’t come in yet. So all the riding gear he trashed was old stuff.
The guy walked away from a crash so horrific looking i was ready to pull a body out of a ditch, seriously scary shit. Be careful out there guys…the season’s just starting and i’ve already had a wake-up call.
