Here is a quick summary from the email I sent my brother -- details and some pics later. I was looking for more dams for the damtour 2009 and snagged one and looking for Owyee on the Idoaho boarder. The locals said "It 's the only way to the dam." Three guys at the head of the trail to the dam said "That bike should make it." Half way up the mud path it got steeper and I turned around. On the way down I had one last puddle to avoid... yup, I didn't. The letter follws:
"Hi Leo,
Sorry I haven't been in contact. I did a dumb thing and crashed slow speed in a muddy puddle Sunday about 11:00. The bike was rideable. The only major damage to me appears to be the brake pedal punched a hole in my shin (figures it's about the only place I have no armored gear), causing a lot of pain and swelling. I almost passed out trying to get on and off the bike; so I only got off twice to fill the gas tank between Owyee (on the Idaho border) and Roseburg. Resting today with meds. because there is (was?) a danger of something called encapsulation from blood pooling too much in your leg it can cut off blood flow -- a bad thing. I tweaked my back a little too (nothing new) so I'm not moving much, and when I do, I move it's slow and short distances.
So I'm letting you know, and I'll be in touch with more details soon. Bottom line is I should heal up fairly soon if I do it right, but I'm not sure about the bike. I should heal before our trip in July/August to Montana, but I'm not sure if I'll be riding the bike, riding a car or can't go because of cash problems. The bike's left bag has a lot of rash, but the right one had a nick anyway, and I might get them painted, leave them for this year or replace them because they smell like gasoline inside even after two months (my spare bottles were filled too high and in 105 Los Angeles Highway heat the pressure release valves went off, spraying everything). The left mirror sheared off, and the brake pedal bent badly against my shin (my bones are stronger than think aluminum!). The left lower fairing bolt that holds it in place is missing -- I duct taped it for the ride home. The cases are good and I rode it 600 miles without a hiccup, so no oil loss or really nasty stuff. Everything is muddy of course. My custom earbuds with speaker I just bought a few months ago got the wires ripped out when I flew off the bike into the puddle. (That's another long and stupid story about why I was on a dirt track on a 600 pund street motorcycle in the middlw of nowhere). A lot of my riding gear has blood, mud or other stuff on it as my tankbag flew off the tank and landed in the puddle, or wason me when I landed in the 2 foot deep muck Some will be washable, some thrown out and need replacing eventually.
I feel better today. I'm going to have a mechanic look a the bike tosee if there is hidden damage, like the underframe of the fairings on these bikes tend to bend when they land on the mirrors -- BIG bucks.
But my racing crash guards saved the really expensive plastic. The left can looks ok at first glance (before my leg became a pain time bomb I gassed up and looked the bike over pretty well. Thank god for duct tape -- it lasted until the last 100 miles of the ride, so I hope the lower fairing didn't flap in the breeze too much and crack.
If I replaced everything it would be 1-2K as I'm thinking, but if I get some parts used (mirror for example) and live with some ugly but usable parts until I can replace them, I figure I won't have to go to the insurance company, AND still make the trip.
Bottom line, I screwed up because of poor planning, poor judgement and lousy riding skills for the situation.
I'll let you know as soon as I do.
How have you been doing?
Michael"
"Hi Leo,
Sorry I haven't been in contact. I did a dumb thing and crashed slow speed in a muddy puddle Sunday about 11:00. The bike was rideable. The only major damage to me appears to be the brake pedal punched a hole in my shin (figures it's about the only place I have no armored gear), causing a lot of pain and swelling. I almost passed out trying to get on and off the bike; so I only got off twice to fill the gas tank between Owyee (on the Idaho border) and Roseburg. Resting today with meds. because there is (was?) a danger of something called encapsulation from blood pooling too much in your leg it can cut off blood flow -- a bad thing. I tweaked my back a little too (nothing new) so I'm not moving much, and when I do, I move it's slow and short distances.
So I'm letting you know, and I'll be in touch with more details soon. Bottom line is I should heal up fairly soon if I do it right, but I'm not sure about the bike. I should heal before our trip in July/August to Montana, but I'm not sure if I'll be riding the bike, riding a car or can't go because of cash problems. The bike's left bag has a lot of rash, but the right one had a nick anyway, and I might get them painted, leave them for this year or replace them because they smell like gasoline inside even after two months (my spare bottles were filled too high and in 105 Los Angeles Highway heat the pressure release valves went off, spraying everything). The left mirror sheared off, and the brake pedal bent badly against my shin (my bones are stronger than think aluminum!). The left lower fairing bolt that holds it in place is missing -- I duct taped it for the ride home. The cases are good and I rode it 600 miles without a hiccup, so no oil loss or really nasty stuff. Everything is muddy of course. My custom earbuds with speaker I just bought a few months ago got the wires ripped out when I flew off the bike into the puddle. (That's another long and stupid story about why I was on a dirt track on a 600 pund street motorcycle in the middlw of nowhere). A lot of my riding gear has blood, mud or other stuff on it as my tankbag flew off the tank and landed in the puddle, or wason me when I landed in the 2 foot deep muck Some will be washable, some thrown out and need replacing eventually.
I feel better today. I'm going to have a mechanic look a the bike tosee if there is hidden damage, like the underframe of the fairings on these bikes tend to bend when they land on the mirrors -- BIG bucks.
But my racing crash guards saved the really expensive plastic. The left can looks ok at first glance (before my leg became a pain time bomb I gassed up and looked the bike over pretty well. Thank god for duct tape -- it lasted until the last 100 miles of the ride, so I hope the lower fairing didn't flap in the breeze too much and crack.
If I replaced everything it would be 1-2K as I'm thinking, but if I get some parts used (mirror for example) and live with some ugly but usable parts until I can replace them, I figure I won't have to go to the insurance company, AND still make the trip.
Bottom line, I screwed up because of poor planning, poor judgement and lousy riding skills for the situation.
I'll let you know as soon as I do.
How have you been doing?
Michael"
