how long have you been riding and have you ever had a serious crash(es)?

[bradzdotcom]

agypsy~
sure, maybe it's not something to look forward to, but just keep an eye on it.
you know you've crashed too many times when:

1. you keep your eyes open the whole time so you can remember all the vivid details.
2. you can tell which parts are breaking off the bike by the sounds you hear coming from somewhere behind you.
3. before you stop sliding, you're wondering if you did in fact see the helmet/leather/boot/glove guy in the pits today so you can get new stuff.
4. in that split second after thinking "maybe i'll save it" and finally admitting defeat (and before you hit the ground), you clearly think "oh man, (insert name here) is really gonna be pissed this time!".
5. you get into a "scar/pin/plate/screw/rod" contest at a bar and now you know what it feels like to be one of those really cute girls, 'cause you're gona drink for FREE tonight!

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by Jeff Williams

I remember visiting the Midland Maffia in the UK and Blacking out for a couple of days Say Hi to the boys for me. British superbike looks good this year, are you going to help John with the Duc effort this year?
jeff

Hi Jeff

Johns down in Spain at the moment practiceing with the team,they have a full factory supplied 1098 Superbike,and 1098R Superstock bike for this year so it'll be entertaining,aside from trips to Le-mans 24hour,North West 200,and the WSB round at the Nurburgring,i do quite a bit of work for Ducati which includes the use of a bike,and i actually get paid as well!!

Chris

[agypsy]

LOL...soiunds like you have TOO much experience in this brad

[RC51DRAG]

Originally Posted by agypsy

hello folks,

since i got into my accident a couple of days ago (see my post "went down yesterday...") i've been wondering how many other experienced rider's have had a motorcycle accident. i've been riding for 25 years and this is my first serious crash and part of me thinks it was bound to happen at some point. there have been some really close calls though. i've known many people who've had some bad crashes and when i've told people that i've never been in one, i think to myself, will i be able to cheat it forever?

what are the stats for experienced riders going down?
what are the odds? are they against us?
do you think it's inevitable?

so please share your experience and knowledge or opinions which would be really appreciated. when was your first crash and how long had you been riding when it happened. or maybe you haven't ever had a crash. I'm not talking about racing or track days, I'm talking about the street.

thanks

I'm 39 this year and have been riding for 20 years. I average over 30,000 km per season. I've been driving for 17 years and average less than 8,000 km per season. In the 17 years driving and 20 years riding I've had one ticket for 15 over on my first "bike" a Honda 150 Elite scooter. I do at least 1-3 courses per year and do about 5 track days per season. This in no way makes me an expert but it does set the table insofar as me being an experienced rider.

In this time I've had two car accidents and two bike accidents. In all cases I was not at fault. I can say that in the legal sense and in terms of my own conscience. The car accidents involved a drunk driver hitting me head-on in a tunnel and someone running a stop sign. The bike accidents involved another stop sign runner as I pulled out of my driveway (RC51) and a guy, last summer, turning left in front of me, no signal and not seeing me despite 4 spotlights, in "on" mode, stock head, yellow bike (R12GS). reflective gear, and a clear day with the sun behind him. By his own admission he was distracted and owned up immediately to the police. With all of these accidents I've tried to learn something from them and in terms of motorcycling v. car the odds are better, for me, that I won't have an accident given the mileage I rack up. That said I have considered becoming a track day only rider after the last accident; I simply can't ignore the luck I've enjoyed in walking away from both accidents, with some long-term injuries but nothing life or lifestyle threatening.

I do not feel it is inevitable on the road but certainly more likely and I temper this belief by doing things to lower the occurrences. Due diligence has allowed me to avoid significantly greater injuries - rider training has allowed me to react properly, proper maintenance and choice of bike (i.e. models with abs, good visibility, less fatiguing) has allowed me to mitigate the damage, and safe riding practices on the road and self awareness of how tired or lacking in focus I am have definitely made the difference. I sold my ZX10R because it was simply too fast on the road and too easy to abuse. I've never been one to exceed the limits excessively but I found myself doing it without serious provocation by my right hand. The new super bikes hide the speeds attained quite well and are the first models I have ever felt take you for a ride. Even if I pick up the HP2 Sport or more importantly the 190 HP new BMW super bike I'm likely to use them more on the track than the road.

These days my riding is pretty safe. I do alto of off-roading with my HP2; about 300 km per day on the weekends and I rarely see another person, as well as trackdays. This is what keeps me free of the cottage country crowd (my last accident) and allows me to enjoy my motorcycling fully again.

[oyasin]

I have to winter-up, so every season I start with 2 or 3 shake down rides where I concentrate on what is likely to get me. Over confidence is my worst enemy. Near misses freak me but make me a better rider. Fear is a good friend. Not something to avoid, just recognized, understood, and considered.

[Jeff Williams]

i actually get paid as well!!

Chris[/QUOTE]

better than printing anyday.
dont get used to those 'flirty' italian bikes they will break your heart ,take your wallet, and name the kid after you.
hope to see you cya,
jeff

[Deans BMW]

Been riding over 50 years, last crash in '77 on a brand new R100RS up on Skyline in Nor Cal.

[kocook]

Originally Posted by Deans BMW

Been riding over 50 years, last crash in '77 on a brand new R100RS up on Skyline in Nor Cal.

Was that before or after mine?

[tim22]

Russ, guys,

So how do you get a bee into your helmet if you have your visor down (assuming a full-face helmet)? Often, in city limits, I ride with my visor open (I also wear glasses, so I have eye protection). But when I get going around 40mph or so I put down the visor.

Also makes me wonder how people can ride with open face helmets or no helmets at all. I've gotten hit by a bug in the cheek a few times at like 30 with my visor open and that hurts enough. Couldn't imagine getting hit by a bug at speed on the highway (without a helmet).

Tim

[throttlemeister]

Given that most riders without a helmet are on Harleys, please define "at speed".

[bradzdotcom]

"So how do you get a bee into your helmet if you have your visor down (assuming a full-face helmet)? "

it's not what you might think, most of the time.
the bees often hit you in the chest, sometimes getting stunned, and then they crawl upward. there's plenty of spaces in most helmets for them to get in there.
bees don't seem to usually come in directly through the eyeport. closing the visor isn't going to keep them out...i've done numerous track laps with a bee wandering around the inside of the visor, which was closed when leaving the pits.
if you have the patience to leave them alone, they're generally harmless but can be very distracting.
unless your Ricky Carmichael and allergic to bees. his mechanic had a full loaded needle in his bag of tricks at trackside during every race. there were a couple of times when RC actually stopped for a "boost" after a bee sting.

[Deans BMW]

Originally Posted by kocook

Was that before or after mine?

Kent, it before yours. Mine was on one of our first RS's at the dealership .

[ejfbmw]

My most recent latest crash was on Sept 30, 2007. Broke a collarbone, 7 ribs, thumb and big toe with a variety of bumbs and bruises. This was a low speed low side. All the usual suspects were present; ::familiar road::not paying 100% attention::Tired and Stressed::too much confidence::a tiny bit of gravel:: It's really been a learning lesson all around. All is well and have been riding for 25 years and at least 250K miles. I plan to take a little ride over the Blue Ridge today. Ride Safe !!

[agypsy]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

"So how do you get a bee into your helmet if you have your visor down (assuming a full-face helmet)? "

it's not what you might think, most of the time.
the bees often hit you in the chest, sometimes getting stunned, and then they crawl upward. there's plenty of spaces in most helmets for them to get in there.
bees don't seem to usually come in directly through the eyeport. closing the visor isn't going to keep them out...i've done numerous track laps with a bee wandering around the inside of the visor, which was closed when leaving the pits.
if you have the patience to leave them alone, they're generally harmless but can be very distracting.
unless your Ricky Carmichael and allergic to bees. his mechanic had a full loaded needle in his bag of tricks at trackside during every race. there were a couple of times when RC actually stopped for a "boost" after a bee sting.

thanks for sharing that brad, that's an interesting fact. something people wouldn't believe until it actually happens to them. like i said, it's the 1st time i crashed from one, but a bee has been in my helmet, with my visor closed, at least 8 other times. where i usually ride in the northeast like, harriman state park, Rt 9, taconic hwy, etc, there's an abundance of insect life all the time. maybe 3 times more than i've seen riding in Nor Cal. i couldn't imagine how distracting that would bee on the track!

[tim22]

Originally Posted by throttlemeister

Given that most riders without a helmet are on Harleys, please define "at speed".

Hi throttlemeister.

By "at speed" I mean just at highway speeds of around 55 to like 75mph. Getting hit in the face by a bug at that speed must hurt a lot!

[Wild Will]

Been riding since '65. First street crash was in a group ride on my new, black 06 KTM Adventure. Narrow back road, too fast into a hard right that "just appeared", so did the corner filled with gravel. Threw me down hard on left side, all I saw was white noise. I lay there a minute and felt my extremities as the redwoods cleared up again in my eyes; I was looking straight up.

Got up, left collarbone was making a sickening crunchy sound, but adrenaline kept the pain away for the moment. Picked up the bike, looked OK but for minor road rash, and still worked. Then I felt the three cracked ribs gat my attention. I was 45 minutes from a small, local hospital, and rode there, painfully. I took a Celebrex for inflammation. The ride there sucked. So did getting out of the Aerostich. They gave me a cheap sling, a scrip for Vicodin (never used it), and a bill for $500 for the X ray.

Next 3 weeks sucked. I still had to cut firewood and the window was closing on that, so I just did it and re-broke the clavicle, dammit, and lived with the stupid pain. The crash was stupidity. New bike, hyper powerful, world conquering confidence, you know the story.

Those KTM's crash pretty well, BTW! I wished I'd gotten the '07 with ABS and FI.
Sold it and am back in love with my 1100GS. I've crashed in the dirt too, trying to climb out of a foot deep rut. That one took a rib and two fingers. The ride "out" of the Nevada wilderness was quite an experience, but all in a day's ride.

I treat all blind corners differently now, especially since an aging, like me, pal took one and around the curve was a dead bike, right in his line. He plowed it with his new black Multistrada and broke his coccyx. He wore a couple of different containers for 6-9 months and his wedding tackle was inert. Hey, it's a flippin' miracle that we can ride these magnificent machines as hard as we do. Keep on shredding rubber!

[dannyleo]

That's pretty good Will! Since 65 and your first crash is with an '06 bike? Whew! Wish I could say that. Riding since 72 and the first crash was 'cause I was showin' off by taking an F750 SS Honda onto a motocross track and riding it in the opposite direction of normal. Did okay until I jumped the first jump and landed in the ruts that normally are left from everyone gunning it. Bike and passenger rotated around the front axle to enable my shoulder to take the brunt of it. Couldn't sleep for about 3 nights, but the young heal quickly.

Next big one was a GS1100 EX Suzuki, high speed wobble I thought I could power through and finally realized not when the bike literally left the ground . Bike was a half-mile from one of the marks and I was a quarter-mile. (The trooper said he used that mark cause he was tired of walking and figured that had proved I was in excess of 55 mph). Pronounced 'expectant' with more than 40 percent of my skin gone, got the last visits and everything. That was the last time I wore surgical scrubs as riding gear.

I was thinking about that incident many years later when the temp was over a 100 degrees and I was thinking whether to wear a heavy leather jacket or not on my XL 883 R Sportster. Finally decided that since I promised God the last time, I'd better wear it. Half way home a truck blew a stop sign and t-boned me. Still a miracle how I didn't lose my leg from the knee down as he backed off the bike after being on top of it. But I was laying there on that hot asphalt thinking how I was glad to have that leather jacket on!

High sided on the R1100S one night coming out of a gas station as it looked like somebody was blowing a light. I gunned it and the back end started coming around on me. I still don't know if it was oil/water or black ice, but I bungeed the saddle bag back on and went home to find I was so sore that I couldn't hardly walk up the garage steps.

[Beemuur]

Without counting crashes on dirt bikes or tip overs trying to get a fully loaded touring bike to that ultimate camp site on a mud road, my count is 3.

I won't go into details, but will relate lessons learned.

Started riding late in life, 24 in 1971.

1: 1971 or 1972 - Bee stings hurt less than crashing. Don't jump off of a perfectly good, moving, motorcycle. Wearing gloves when riding is a good thing. Full face helmets are a good thing.

2: 1988 - Riding after 8 hours of drinking is a bad thing.

3: 2006 - Do a track day rather than using a freeway offramp (with a guard rail) to hone cornering skills. (But it was such a beautiful set of turns.)

[SergioK]

Been riding for almost 7 years now. Both my offs were when other drivers failed to yield to my right of way and basically turned into me. One was at about 15mph coming to a red light, the other was on the fwy at about 25mph. I've been 'lucky' so far I guess. I think I've ridden about 50k miles since I started riding.

[bradzdotcom]

sergio~
by now you've probably assumed the position many of us have adapted concerning cars:

#1. I am invisible to cars. They will hit me and eat me and never even see me.
#2. Some people CAN see me. This merely turns stupidity into a sport, giving them a target to hit me and eat me.