extrememarine
Well-known member
OR as BikerGeek suggested I title this thread, "Oops, I did it again"
I will start with letting everyone know I am ok. Vader – aka my '09 FJR – did not fare so well.
Why is it that when you get a bike as close to perfection as you believe it can be, crap happens. Vader was as close to perfection as I believe any FJR could have been for me at this point. Suspension, fueling, ergonomics, everything was just right. How else do you describe a bike that lets you chew up Lee's sick, twisted, morbid EOM 500 route? Always willing, always able, Vader has performed flawlessly no matter how much abuse I through at it over the past 43k miles.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012, I asked just a little too much from vader in reacting to a vehicle that I thought was going to hit me.
No airlift this time, no ride with the red & blue lights on. For that I'm am very fortunate and lucky. The doctor appointment went very well on Wednesday morning. I have a sprained ankle and bruised left shoulder. The xrays were clear, showing no fractures at this point. My shoulders took some pretty hard hits as I tumbled, but there seems to be no damage other than bruising. The rest of my body feels as it should after sliding across 100' of concrete.
Here is a description of the event that ended with the FJR on a flatbed. Tuesday, 16 October 2012, I rode to work; the weather was clear and cool. On the ride home, I take the ramp from 8 Mile Rd to I-275 north. This is a 270 degree on ramp that circles right to merge into traffic on the expressway. As I traveled up the ramp,checking traffic, there was a whole in traffic for me to merge into. Once near the top of the ramp at the point where traffic was coming from my left rear, I glanced over my left shoulder to confirm the lane was clear. At this point there was now a vehicle there that was coming over the white line that bordered the merge lane and traffic lane. I believe at this point I attempted to tighten my turning radius, change my line to add space by shifting back to the right of the lane of the on ramp. In doing this, the steering input was sharp or abrupt enough to cause the front tire to wash out and low side the bike The bike slid out across the lanes of travel, hitting a van and coming back into the first lane (this is a 3 lane expressway). This put me sliding out into traffic as well on my side and front. The first thing that came into view was the front bumper of a tan Honda Accord This gentleman was an attentive,skilled driver and was on the brakes hard giving me room to tumble. I came to rest in the first lane of traffic in front of the Honda on my back after a couple tumbles.
The vehicle that startled me into making the harsh steering correction did not stop. Many others stopped and stayed with me until LEO and EMT were on site. Someone picked up the bike and moved it to the shoulder, and picked up the saddlebags as well.
Initially, I was trying to getup and move out of traffic. There were cars coming up the ramp behind me who continued to travel around me, and I did not realize traffic on the expressway was stopped – I was worried about being run over. The first individual to me got me to stay in place explaining that I was safe there. So I commenced with a system reboot – deep breath and no sharp pain indicated no fractured ribs, fingers, arms, toes, legs all responded on command – no major searing pain, no stars or little birdies. I found moderate pain in my left ankle – felt sprained, and in my left shoulder. I believe I landed on my left shoulder during one of the tumbles. One of the passersby was a physical therapist – close enough for first responder – he talked through checking motor functions. I am very thankful for those who stopped.
I have always heard people talk about how far you slide can slide down the road when you go down. Well, from firsthand experience now, yes, you slide for a long time when the ejection point speed is over 60mph. The driver of the Honda told me afterwards that while he was standing on the brakes as hard as humanly possible, I slid onto my front side, rotating so my head was facing traffic. I pushed up off the concrete with my left arm and I stuck my right arm out palm flat like I was going to stop the car superman style. My response, without skipping a beat, was, "yes sir, I am a retired Marine, so I would have stopped the car with one hand if needed…"
The bike slid on one side (right side), at some point hit a full size van in the side, then deflected back towards the shoulder. The bike ended upon the left side at some point, and sustained impact to the rear sub frame hard enough to sheer it off between the saddlebag mounting points. Both side cases where tossed into traffic as well The Givi E52 remained attached to the Give mount and sub frame, which remained connected to the bike via the fender liner. The Givi was hanging off the left side of the bike in about the position of a side bag. The left side slider was ground down to the bolt, which looks to be ground and bent. I think the motor mount is portion of the frame is bent. The right side slider was ground down halfway. The front sub frame looks tweaked and fairings are all broke, cracked, or rashed. The windshield is sitting lopsided. In short, I am fairly confident the bike will be a total loss.
Tonight I am sitting here realizing just how lucky I have been once again. Our insurance has been very easy to deal with so far. We will decide what direction to go once we settle things with the insurance. Annette has made it very clear that this is not the way to get a new bike. I am going to give serious consideration as to whether or not I will continue to commute on a motorcycle. Every single close call I've had this year has been during my ride to or from work. Drivers in this area show no concern for others around them in traffic.
The most important thing of note here is that my riding gear performed as designed. I was wearing Side Way boots, Alpinestars GP-Plus gloves, Joe Rocket Alter Ego Pants, Joe Rocket Ballistic 4 ¾ length jacket, and a Scorpion EXO-1000 helmet. There were no marks on the helmet – how I managed to tuck and not smack my head on the deck is a mystery to me and the EMT's. The gloves and boots have only minor rash marks. The pants have abrasion wear, but no holes. The jacket sustained serious rash on the arms and shoulders. This jacket is old and has served me well since 2004. I would not hesitate to replace this gear with the exact same models.
I do intend to purchase the bike back as salvage from the insurance company. I will determine what is still good once I get it back in the garage.
The riding season was almost over anyways, where's the Vicodin?
-Wayne
Pictures for those interested.
After it was loaded, side of I-275N in Novi.
The rear sub frame was sitting on the rear tire. I had bungee cords in the glove box, so we lifted the it up with those in order to get it to roll.
This is what made it home with me. side cases, Givi E52, pillon seat and gear.
Marines never leave a man behind - Mr Happy is home safe and sound. My veteran plate - my birthday present this year - came home as well.
I will start with letting everyone know I am ok. Vader – aka my '09 FJR – did not fare so well.
Why is it that when you get a bike as close to perfection as you believe it can be, crap happens. Vader was as close to perfection as I believe any FJR could have been for me at this point. Suspension, fueling, ergonomics, everything was just right. How else do you describe a bike that lets you chew up Lee's sick, twisted, morbid EOM 500 route? Always willing, always able, Vader has performed flawlessly no matter how much abuse I through at it over the past 43k miles.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012, I asked just a little too much from vader in reacting to a vehicle that I thought was going to hit me.
No airlift this time, no ride with the red & blue lights on. For that I'm am very fortunate and lucky. The doctor appointment went very well on Wednesday morning. I have a sprained ankle and bruised left shoulder. The xrays were clear, showing no fractures at this point. My shoulders took some pretty hard hits as I tumbled, but there seems to be no damage other than bruising. The rest of my body feels as it should after sliding across 100' of concrete.
Here is a description of the event that ended with the FJR on a flatbed. Tuesday, 16 October 2012, I rode to work; the weather was clear and cool. On the ride home, I take the ramp from 8 Mile Rd to I-275 north. This is a 270 degree on ramp that circles right to merge into traffic on the expressway. As I traveled up the ramp,checking traffic, there was a whole in traffic for me to merge into. Once near the top of the ramp at the point where traffic was coming from my left rear, I glanced over my left shoulder to confirm the lane was clear. At this point there was now a vehicle there that was coming over the white line that bordered the merge lane and traffic lane. I believe at this point I attempted to tighten my turning radius, change my line to add space by shifting back to the right of the lane of the on ramp. In doing this, the steering input was sharp or abrupt enough to cause the front tire to wash out and low side the bike The bike slid out across the lanes of travel, hitting a van and coming back into the first lane (this is a 3 lane expressway). This put me sliding out into traffic as well on my side and front. The first thing that came into view was the front bumper of a tan Honda Accord This gentleman was an attentive,skilled driver and was on the brakes hard giving me room to tumble. I came to rest in the first lane of traffic in front of the Honda on my back after a couple tumbles.
The vehicle that startled me into making the harsh steering correction did not stop. Many others stopped and stayed with me until LEO and EMT were on site. Someone picked up the bike and moved it to the shoulder, and picked up the saddlebags as well.
Initially, I was trying to getup and move out of traffic. There were cars coming up the ramp behind me who continued to travel around me, and I did not realize traffic on the expressway was stopped – I was worried about being run over. The first individual to me got me to stay in place explaining that I was safe there. So I commenced with a system reboot – deep breath and no sharp pain indicated no fractured ribs, fingers, arms, toes, legs all responded on command – no major searing pain, no stars or little birdies. I found moderate pain in my left ankle – felt sprained, and in my left shoulder. I believe I landed on my left shoulder during one of the tumbles. One of the passersby was a physical therapist – close enough for first responder – he talked through checking motor functions. I am very thankful for those who stopped.
I have always heard people talk about how far you slide can slide down the road when you go down. Well, from firsthand experience now, yes, you slide for a long time when the ejection point speed is over 60mph. The driver of the Honda told me afterwards that while he was standing on the brakes as hard as humanly possible, I slid onto my front side, rotating so my head was facing traffic. I pushed up off the concrete with my left arm and I stuck my right arm out palm flat like I was going to stop the car superman style. My response, without skipping a beat, was, "yes sir, I am a retired Marine, so I would have stopped the car with one hand if needed…"
The bike slid on one side (right side), at some point hit a full size van in the side, then deflected back towards the shoulder. The bike ended upon the left side at some point, and sustained impact to the rear sub frame hard enough to sheer it off between the saddlebag mounting points. Both side cases where tossed into traffic as well The Givi E52 remained attached to the Give mount and sub frame, which remained connected to the bike via the fender liner. The Givi was hanging off the left side of the bike in about the position of a side bag. The left side slider was ground down to the bolt, which looks to be ground and bent. I think the motor mount is portion of the frame is bent. The right side slider was ground down halfway. The front sub frame looks tweaked and fairings are all broke, cracked, or rashed. The windshield is sitting lopsided. In short, I am fairly confident the bike will be a total loss.
Tonight I am sitting here realizing just how lucky I have been once again. Our insurance has been very easy to deal with so far. We will decide what direction to go once we settle things with the insurance. Annette has made it very clear that this is not the way to get a new bike. I am going to give serious consideration as to whether or not I will continue to commute on a motorcycle. Every single close call I've had this year has been during my ride to or from work. Drivers in this area show no concern for others around them in traffic.
The most important thing of note here is that my riding gear performed as designed. I was wearing Side Way boots, Alpinestars GP-Plus gloves, Joe Rocket Alter Ego Pants, Joe Rocket Ballistic 4 ¾ length jacket, and a Scorpion EXO-1000 helmet. There were no marks on the helmet – how I managed to tuck and not smack my head on the deck is a mystery to me and the EMT's. The gloves and boots have only minor rash marks. The pants have abrasion wear, but no holes. The jacket sustained serious rash on the arms and shoulders. This jacket is old and has served me well since 2004. I would not hesitate to replace this gear with the exact same models.
I do intend to purchase the bike back as salvage from the insurance company. I will determine what is still good once I get it back in the garage.
The riding season was almost over anyways, where's the Vicodin?
-Wayne
Pictures for those interested.
After it was loaded, side of I-275N in Novi.
The rear sub frame was sitting on the rear tire. I had bungee cords in the glove box, so we lifted the it up with those in order to get it to roll.
This is what made it home with me. side cases, Givi E52, pillon seat and gear.
Marines never leave a man behind - Mr Happy is home safe and sound. My veteran plate - my birthday present this year - came home as well.
