Aerostich Crash Tested Suit Report

Last week I was returning from South Dakota on my BMW F650 GS. I took my little bike and not the FJR so I could enjoy some dirt roads along the way and do some back country camping. I was in Wyoming, traveling westbound on I-80, in the #1 lane (fast lane), at approximately 70 mph. A big rig was in the #2 lane, at approximately 65 miles per hour. I began passing the big rig to its left at a very slow speed wishing I had the power of the FJR to get the job done rapidly. When I got next to the cab of the tractor its left front tire exploded causing the truck to make a rapid left turn directly into my lane. I quickly swerved to the left and began to parallel the metal guardrail and brake rapidly. I realized I had to clear the 53 foot trailer before being crushed between the big rig and the guardrail. I knew that if I didn’t keep the bike up I would be run over by the rear tires of the trailer. The big rig continued to move to the left. When I was even with the rear dual tires on the big rig they contacted my right saddlebag (Pelican 1550 case) and pushed my left saddlebag against the metal guardrail. I continued to brake and broke free of the tires and guardrail. I thought I was in the clear until the left rear corner of the big rig’s trailer pushed my right handlebar forward. The counter steering induced by the big rig caused the bike to go down on its right side at approximately 55 miles per hour. My concerns quickly went from being run over by the truck to being run over by the cars behind me. While I was sliding I rotated from my right side to a seated position so I could get to my feet and out of the lane. As the sliding stopped I quickly ran from the #1 lane and jumped onto the guardrail. Lots of nice people stopped to help and luckily a witness behind me saw the whole crash. The trooper and the insurance companies all agree that the liability for the collision is on the truck so hopefully all will be well.

My gear consisted of a Shoei RF 1100 brain bucket, Aerostich Roadcrafter (original) with the standard armor, Aerostich Combat Light Touring boots, and some light weight Tourmaster leather gloves. My Stich held up beautifully considering the speed of the slide. The right side of the suit did melt a bit but did not go all the way though the suit. While sliding on my butt I did burn through the back of the suit into my pants underneath, glad I wasn’t wearing chaps. When I look at the impact my right knee took I am shocked that I have no pain due to the armor. Had I been without armor I’m sure the knee would have shattered upon impact with the concrete roadway. My right foot ended up with several broken toes when it was either run over by my bike or crushed under the bike during the slide. The back of my right hand slapped the ground fairly hard sustaining a bit of light road rash as I burned through the back of the glove. I don’t think I hit my head very hard on the roadway and there are some minor scrape marks on the right side of my helmet. Other than that I’m good to go and glad I was geared up.

The Pelican cases on my bike are what truly saved my ass. They are built to last and very strong. Had the cases not been used I’m sure I would have sustained major leg injuries due to the impact with the roadway, guardrail and tires on the big rig. I believe the Pelican cases allowed me to slide between the tires of the big rig and the guardrail and not get crushed. The photo of the right case shows swirl marks from the big rigs tires. The photo of the big rigs tires shows rub marks from the right case. The right case also protected the bike during the slide and allowed me to ride the bike home to California. The left case has scrape marks from the guardrail.

Lessons learned:

1. Don’t ride a slow bike on the interstate, ride a FJR so you can pass trucks quickly.
2. When passing a big rig to the left stay as far away from it as possible.
3. Good riding gear is money well spent.

That would of hurt without armor.



Big hole on right burned into my pants underneath but not into skin. I like the burned in rain grooves.





Toes in right boot were broken.



Sustained pain to back of right hand and some mild road rash.



Big rig tire marks on Right Case. Lid was torn off case from Impact with roadway.



Rub marks on tires from my right side case.



Scrape marks from guardrail on my left case.



Big rigs tire separated from rim when it exploded.

Holy shit! You better go out and buy a lottery ticket because you're one lucky mofo.

Glad that you're ok.

Holy sheet! Glad you made it out in such good shape. Heckuva write-up. I'll be showing it to my nephew who just started riding and is a bit wishy-washy about ATGATT.

WOW, your one lucky SOB to go through all that and walk away. Glad you around to write about it and lucky your angle was around! Send your crash report to Aerostich I'm sure they would love to know.

I always try to make my passes quickly, but there are times when cagers have cruise control set for just a couple of miles faster than the rigs and so they take 5 minutes to complete the pass. I try to hang back behind them as much as possible and only pull alongside the rig when I know the cager will be clear and I can blast past. It's not always possible, but this is the scenario I worry about.

Very glad to hear you escaped with relatively minor damage to both you and the bike!!

Looks like the brown stains didn't seep through the stich's backside either!!! I personally would have had several browning incidents in this. First when the tire went and second likely when the tires and guardrail contacted the bike!!!

Holy crap, that is one scary accident. Did the Big Rig drive back across to the right side on his rim? That's a crazy place to be in an accident on a bike!!!

Man, glad you are both alive AND OK too. That could have gone wrong in so many different ways. I'm impressed by the lack of motorcycle damage given what took place. I'm sure that if Tyler is brave enough to read this it will give her the willies. Thank goodness for the goodness for the safety equipment you were smart enough to wear.

I just hate passing some vehicles, especially trucks. I know that the OP didn't have the hardware between his legs to really get past the truck with alacrity which allowed the worst thing at the worst time to happen. One thing I like about having lots of reserve power is the ability to get past these dangers with what the police normally call 'display excessive of speed'. I like to ride so that the driver has a chance to see me and in a position where I have an option to get the fu.. heck out of harms way.

Hope the tozies heal quick!

Glad to hear that you're okay! I'm going to show this to several of my friends who often like to ride in less than full gear. They'll often pick on me about being too safety oriented. I keep telling them there's no such thing. Hope the insurance treats you fair and without hassle.

Never thought it possible but I think those saddle bags saved you big time. Good to see you are still here to tell the tale.

A big ole +1 to ATGATT, happy you were wearing it...

Wow! Just thinking about how scary that had to have been makes my nuts draw up. Glad your ok!

Damn that is so scary. Can't believe you still rode home after that--think I would have opted for a rental car at that point. You must be a tough bastard, mentally and physically!

OOOOooooh RAH!

What a tale, and walked away.

Sure glad that the Divine Spectator wasn't in the mood for blood & guts.

Broken toe & riding home = front brake & lotsa Grunt Candy.

Wow. Glad you are relatively alright.

Send this story to Pelican and I will be dammed if you don't get a free set in the mail. Another one would be Aerostitch which ocasionly have story's posted like yours. Might get a free stitch too. Or at least a Happy face puppet.

Glad it ended they way it did. This could have been Waaaaaaaaaay worse. You sir are a very lucky man.

Dave

Wow. What an awesome tale. So many good things that you did in so little time. I know I speak for all of us that we are glad it came out the way that it did.

Pelican cases are tough as shit. Those helped. Roadcrafter gear is too, though they refuse to claim crash wortrhiness we all know what the real deal is. They are hot, that is the trade ofr being safe®.

Front tire blowouts are very rare on tractors. They are not allowed to use retreads up there (for obvious reasons you've just experienced). I wonder if Brandon and Son maybe were skirting a little loose with these laws? Not that you need to pursue it, just to make you aware that there is a possibility that they were a bit more culpable than at the first blush.

No need to buy that lottery ticket, mate. You already won!

damn... damn.....

excellent outcome. I am glad for you and yours.

Excellent report and glad you are ok. Really emphasizes the need for proper gear and also the danger of hanging along side of large trucks. Your FJR probably would have put you well ahead or at least lessoned your exposure time. Recently on the interstate crossing the desert I'd come up on 5 or 6 trucks several times as they seem to bunch up on each other. Loved how the FJR got me infront of them in seconds. Had one truck's tire explode in front of me. The lesson for me is get past these trucks as fast and as wide as you safely can. Thanks for your report, glad all is well. Good job dealing with the situation.

Bill

Congrats on surviving to ride another day. And thanks for the report.

My daily interstate commute is in a stich, I feel even better about it now!

However my next pair of combat boots may have protected toes