Crash Analysis: What did you learn?

[ducati_nolan]

okay I have two "incidents"
first one
What happened.
I was a new rider on my first bike (KZ400) and I was going for a leisurely ride. I came up to an intersection and was about to make a left hand turn. At this particular intersection people hardly ever make a left turn like I was about too, so in the middle of the intersection was a big collection of sand dirt and gravel, where the car tires rarely cross. I didn't notice this and I took the turn at probally only 15 or 20 MPH. My front tire hit the gravel and started to slide out from under me, then the rear tire hit it and began to slide as well. I slide sideways most of the was through the intersection and then the bike got traction and snapped up, but not enough to throw me off. I tried to continue the turn, but I hit the curb almost parallel to it and the bike promptly fell onto it's right side, sumersaulting me into the grass. I landed on my shoulder, suffering little more than a grass stain. I ran back to the still running bike, picked it up, looked to see if anyone had seen me (a couple people had) and took off quickly to avoid more embarasment. It wasn't long before I realized that my right foot was hot and slippery from all the oil squirting out of the hole in the engine case. At that point, I shut off the bike and walked it the 3 miles home.

What I did right- I was wearing my helmet, and I was able to keep the bike up durring the slide to avoid crashing on the pavement, although I'm sure it was mostly luck.

What I did wrong- Everything else. I was wearing shorts and a T shirt tenis shoes and no gloves, I was very lucky to recieve no injury. I wasn't paying enough attention to notice the gravel. My first worry was my embarasment, rather than stopping to catch my breath and checking to make sure that I really was okay. I didn't examine the bike for any dammage before I got back on it.

How it could have been avoided- Pay attention, and wear propper gear (or at least better than shorts and a T-shirt)

Second "incident"

I was riding the same bike a couple of months later in the city and I was was behind a couple of cars at a red light waiting for it to turn green (one lane in each direction). I'm sitting there enjoying the weather when I hear squealing tires directly behind me. I looked in the mirror and see a car approaching quickly, so I crank the handlebars over almost all the way, open the throttle, and dump the clutch. My bike jerked to the right, almost out of controll, hit the curb, and fell on it's right side, scratching the fresh J-B weld from the first incident. I was able to jump/stumble off of it without falling over. I looked back at where I used to be waiting for the light and I watched the car skid to a stop about a foot from the rear bumper of the car that used to be directly in front of me. I stood there in shock and stared at the driver of the skidding car, she had a red face and embarassed look but she didn't make eye contact with me and she quicly took off two seconds later when the light turned green. No apology for almost squishing me or offer to help pick up the bike. Bitch.

What I did right- Helmet, leather jacket, and gloves. I left enough space in front of me to allow me to dart out if need be. I had the bike in gear. No earplugs, I may not have been able to hear the squealing tires if I had them.

What I did wrong- I wasn't watching my mirror before I heard the tires squeal. I launched the bike uncontrolably in pannic mode.

How it could have been avoided- You can't controll other drivers, only your reactions to them. For my experience level at the time I think I was fairly prepared, If I was more experienced I may have been able to dart out of the way without dropping the bike, but the result was much better than freezing up and doing nothing or stalling the bike. Also there was no dammage as it hit the curb in the same spot as my other acident.

[NineMMParabellum]

SETTING: November 6th, 2005. Final day of a 3-day, 800-mile trip. (http://www.ducatimonster.org/smf/ind...c,34697.0.html)

Roughly 18:30 by Paris-TX, 300 miles from home.

I was on my way to Atkins-AR from Dallas area after attending the Int'l Motorcycle Show. Somewhere around Paris-TX, I came up upon a "T" intersection... I was 'in the zone' at this point, and wasn't aware about it. I was following a sedan all along at about 60-65mph and was somewhat hypnotized to the rear tail lights. I "woke" up when the car made a right turn and there's another car coming towards me (turning right coming from my left). This is when I realized the actual "T" intersection, the glare from the incoming car, and the graveled area on the "T" intersection. I tried to slow down by shifting down and hitting both brakes…but apparently I hit the front brake too hard. The next thing I realize was I sliding on my right shoulder/ back.
I wasn't hurt at all other than a little bruise on my right knee. In fact, I didn't feel the fall at all… just a light sting on my knee because I was wearing a plain Levi's jeans (which didn't even rip!). It pays off to have good gears… Off course I'm still sore from the experience and I can't tell if it's from the ride itself (new clip ons)
The Cyclecat slider on my Duc took the impact… with some minor scratches on my handlebar-end, grip, right rizoma mirror (ouch, this is going to be expensive) front brake lever, and… bent rear brake foot lever. I lifted the bike up, push it to the side to check if it's still rideable, and took some scattered stuff (glasses and cell phone-still works). I hop back on my Duc and continue riding to Gilham-AR before we got a ride back to Atkins on my friend's truck. Somehow the yellow Duc looks so nice on her red truck… (it's on my shopping list )

What I did WRONG? Nothing Dammit! I'm always right…
1. I was not as alert as usual.
2. Followed too closely.
3. Staying up too late and drink too much/ too fast within short period of time… too much fun basically… Although it was fun meeting those chics (right DucTape?)
4. Did not clean up my helmet shield (inside and outside) often. By the time I was in Paris, my yellow tinted shield had a thin layer of bug's oil which made the glare from the incoming car lights very, very blinding. Yes, cleaning up the inside of the shield IS crucial too!
5. I was in a hurry… had some bootie calls while I was in Dallas/ on the way back.


What I did RIGHT:
1. The right equipment… I didn't go cheap when it comes to my jacket (had the option and glad I didn't take it).
2. I did not panic… I did cussed a bit though

How this can be AVOIDED? Well, no gravel on the road law would be a good start. I'd give myself plenty of rest, not riding long distance alone, and save my energy from partying and chics before the ride. Off course, give myself more distance when following a driver/ rider… especially in unknown roads.

Anyway, I will try to post some pictures of the damages including my gears in the local club's link above.

DucTape: my crash sounds soooo much like yours. Freaky. Lets vow NOT to tease each other about crashing ever again… Karma in the works here. I do hope that I get a return Karma for helping you with those 3 chicks last Saturday.

[Devilchrist]

My first accident..today..

when chanign lanes do not acclerate hard...
crashed doing 70 on the freeway during commute hours... bike tuned in to a big fireball.. i was lucky i came out wiht only a few scartches

[racer55]

It is Basic: if you ride long enough, you WILL fall off the bike. The good news is if you ride long enough, work hard at riding well and correctly, your falls can be controlled. When I ride on the street, I never push it. When I ride on the track, I ride for traction: tire adheasion dictates my speed. On the street, I never ride more than 50% of my ability, and mostly like 30%. On the track, I ride for traction. That means at times I am near 90% and sometimes more of my ability. The longer you ride, the better you are at making choices. The first choice should be the venue/environment. In a controlled environment, like the track, if you fall, you stand a much, much better chance of having little happen to you. On the street, if you fall, you are screwed! Signs, curbs, trees, rocks, culverts, cliffs, animals, trash, oil, not to mention moving obsticles like cars, bicycles, motorcycles, people...You get the point. I have fallen twice on the street. Both times with severe injuries, bilateral ankle fractures-with hardware you could hang a door from, the other with a badly broken collar bone and scapula. On the track I have fallen five times. I have never been badly injured while falling on the track. On the street, the accidents where at about 45 miles per hour or less. On the track some of them where at or near 100mph. I learned one very important thing from falling on the street. Don't ride anywhere near your limits as a rider. And those limits will change (conditions of the road, your mental and physical conditions). Give yourself every out you can while on the street. I save my real riding for the track. Take lots of schools, get a race license with your local club, and buy a slow bike for the track. Learn to ride it fast, and afterwards get a better bike and so on. Never skimp on safety equipment, including tires, and wear everything all the time.

[kwbikr]

It's really cold here now, 8in of snow yesterday. I'm working a piece of billet to adapt the tapered S2R bars to my '01 900Sie. Stopped a while to look at the board...

I agree with racer55, and I've been riding 40 years...

Crash and lesson #1 - 1970 and my YDS-3 production bike. Danville, Virginia ERA race. Ten laps in and going about 80mph (probably about the highest speed that bike saw on track) I went for the brakes at the end of the only real straight there. While pressing the front and rear pretty hard, the rear (cable operated) lever came up and bent my foot back so hard it tore my boot and knocked stars into my helmet. I did run off the track before I fell and it was a non-event really by then.

What I did right - nothing but react and did not look for the problem until I was down...

What I did wrong - Didn't properly safety wire the rear brake stay and the cable wrapped around the axle at an 80mph rate, bending the lever (and my foot) back.

Lesson - Prepare your bike like your life depends on it in every way...important on the track but more so on the street.

Crash and lesson #2 - Old guy off road riding preparing my vintage Husky 390OR (just like Burleson's) for an eventful weekend. Adjusted the suspension for sag and rebound (Curnutts and the husky forks) pulling the forks through the triples about 1/2" to level the bike so it would wheelie a little less easily (ever ridden one?). Took it to a construction site close to my house to try it out (tennis shoes, no helmet). Made a few jumps and hard berm turns and it was great. So great I decided to give it a nice, long Gary Nixon slide on the way out of the site on the hard packed road. Worked well at full lock leaning but when I went to straighten up (figured this out later) the throttle cable caught on the top of the fork leg (because I did not reroute it) and pulled the throttle open just at the wrong time. Tossed me over the bars in a nasty snap highside.

Broke my leg pretty badly in couple places (titanium, stainless, can't go through the metal detector without dragging my foot), long recovery that took most of the summer. Wife said "I told you so", had to use a walker for 30 days.

I did nothing right here - all stupid stuff. Showboating for myself...don't do it.

Lesson - Prepare your bike like your life depends on it ...So far, So good over the last ten years and 50k street miles...knock wood.

[teddy037]

ok, 'ere goes... :-\

what happened:
lefthander switchback, was probably doing about 20(?) in the corner, hit a patch of gravel on my exit, when the rear tire hooked back up, the bike highsided me. we were about halfway up on a twisty bit of road, in probably the largest group ride I've been on thus far. nobody was acting squidly, and I hadn't had any issues on my previous corners.

what I did right:
all my gear, wasn't trying to "ride hard" since I wasn't completely familiar w/that road (I've only ever driven it, and even that had been a while ago), and felt no need to "keep up" w/the two guys in front.

what I did wrong:
obviously didn't scan as good as I should have on that one, plus, it was a lefty, which I'm not as comfortable w/

thoughts:
SCAN, dammit! also, more controlled practice in tight cornering situations would probably have me better prepared at judging my entry speed. I was trying to be smooth vs. fast, but like I said, not too much FHE on the slower bits... I *think* my line was ok, aside from the gravel... I hadn't run wide or anything...

[22080]

Oh man, sorry to hear. First, how are you? Hopefully both you (most important) and the bike are in good condition. Thanx for sharing.

[teddy037]

I'm ok... arm was a little sore the next morning, but nothing else... the toe slider on my sidi looks like crap, and the frame slider/brake pedal took most of the work on the bike...

[22080]

Most important is you are OK. The toe slider can be purchased seperately if you want to replace it. Remove and inspect your slider before you go back on the road.

[rosscoact]

Riding to work this morning on a two lane divided road, lost concentration for a second looked up to see the van in front had stopped. I slammed the brakes on and the front and rear wheels locked up. I could see the van was too close so managed to aim for the space between the kerb and van corner.

Managed to stop when my front blinker was a fly's foreskin away from the van rear door with the wheel alongside. No damage except to ego and planting a rosebud in the undies.

What I did wrong? Dreaming about a new bike instead of concentrating, what an idiot. It was really quick between riding sensibly in traffic and a near miss. Also, no stoppies, need to get brakes checked over.

What I did right, allowed instinct to take over, apart from that nothing much, was wearing proper gear if i had hit.

What have I learnt, "there's a fine line between pleasure and pain" so concentrate, concentrate, concentrate.