Wrecked the '15 already

[Top_Speed1]

I've already passed my accident condolences; so, now git those '15 body parts ordered-in and on!. Once they are, your (own) healing's can begin. Being that this was a brand stink'n new bike, I'm thinking half of this is going to be mental, and much easier fixed than the ribs.

Get better quickly RFH! (on all accounts).

BTW- I've had 2 low side slide-outs. One in heavy rain (Suzuki Katana) that I attributed to hydroplaning. The other was on a rental bike in Mexico, the intersection was slate and it was slightly damp, even though I gingerly made a 90, I still went down along w my g/f (Annette, whom I have the kid with). I we sustained damages but we both walked away with plenty of pain etc. Man, i hate that feeling of both, during (as helpless as it is) and the after and the shame you put upon yourself

Heads-up, or should I say Chin-up, as it has happened to us all.

 

[1maxman]

That really sucks donkey ass! But I can't believe you had the testicular fortitude to try and sneak it past your wife, man you got some balls.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I know the mental part will have to get over it. I know I take low speed corners a lot slower than others do, and high speed sweepers faster than some. Some people wonder why I ride so slowly...past experiences usually color our present.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Probably it wasn't ice there,but oil or petroleum on the road...

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I'm betting ice. It made me think, as I usually ride all winter if rain isn't recent or imminent. Even in the mountains. It can get sketchy. Get well soon. Never would have happened if you'd been running heli bars on the new bike....

 

[Lanny SC]

Sorry to hear Andrew. I know how much you were looking forward to your new FJR. I hope you're feeling better soon.

 

[Burnspot]

RFH, I'm sorry about your incident and hope that all will be healed and repaired in short order!

I'm with the ice crowd...we're getting some freaky non-standard weather lately...

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Again, my sincerest thanks to all of you.

I would love to be able to blame something, anything other than myself. I'd love to say it was new tires/Bridgestone Tires/Ice/Frost/Local Politicians...

The Facts:

We have not had any precipitation for over a month preceding The Crash. (It rained heavily the following night)

The tires could not have been "responsible" considering the low speed/low lean angle. New tire glaze or brand of tire just does not account for what happened.

There was nothing I could see that I hit. I am almost certain that I did not ride across the painted lines, I have my personal line I use in that intersection every morning. Of course I was going much slower than normal.

So I guess I just don't know what I did wrong. That actually bothers me more than anything. When I mess up I like to be able to learn from it. This time all I know is that I should have left my new bike parked at home and drove my truck.

It does not help that my boss sent me home from work last night, I have to be cleared by the company doctor before I can return to work. I have no wish to be on Short Term Disability, I want to work. Dr. appointment tomorrow morning, I am willing to grit out whatever it takes to get back to my job.

 

[Old Guy]

I crashed in 2008 in similar conditions -- cold, foggy morning, new tires, slow speed. Sometimes no matter what you do, it just isn't enough.

 

[CA G-Man]

The tires could not have been "responsible" considering the low speed/low lean angle. New tire glaze or brand of tire just does not account for what happened.

New tire glaze + cold tires + cold road = Redfish pancake?

 

[Fred W]

Again, my sincerest thanks to all of you.
I would love to be able to blame something, anything other than myself. I'd love to say it was new tires/Bridgestone Tires/Ice/Frost/Local Politicians...

The Facts:

We have not had any precipitation for over a month preceding The Crash. (It rained heavily the following night)

The tires could not have been "responsible" considering the low speed/low lean angle. New tire glaze or brand of tire just does not account for what happened.

There was nothing I could see that I hit. I am almost certain that I did not ride across the painted lines, I have my personal line I use in that intersection every morning. Of course I was going much slower than normal.

So I guess I just don't know what I did wrong. That actually bothers me more than anything. When I mess up I like to be able to learn from it. This time all I know is that I should have left my new bike parked at home and drove my truck.

It does not help that my boss sent me home from work last night, I have to be cleared by the company doctor before I can return to work. I have no wish to be on Short Term Disability, I want to work. Dr. appointment tomorrow morning, I am willing to grit out whatever it takes to get back to my job.

I can't help with your STD (Short Term Disability, not the other...)

But... you do not need precipitation to have frost on the road. You sutherners just do not unnerstan' When the air temp hits dew point before it hits freezing, you get frost.

I was lucky enough to lead a whole herd of NERDS on a frosty November ride for breakfast one morning a couple of years ago. We had visible frost on the road for the first couple of hours, so the pace was slow even though I had plans for some fine New England curvy roads.

But it isn't always visible. You probably didn't do anything wrong except not understand the temps. And that isn't your fault... It's that damn global warming.

Think less... Heal more... Ride soon.

 

[garyahouse]

Red:

Not knowing: I hear you. I've made my share of mistakes. I have relived the one time I went down a thousand times in my head... it could have been avoided so easily - had I known. But then that's the issue, is it not? ONLY hind-sight is 20/20. I hit the front brake too hard on a very old, hard front tire... that should have been replaced. But why did the bike dump me so quickly? I'll never know. I lost some skin and 10 days of work. My lapse in judgement on a non-ABS bike is exactly why I ride an FJR now... I sold that bike, and now, I will not ride without ABS. I learned my lesson.

Typically we all come away from something like this with a lesson learned. But what lesson? As you said, it's not so easy to know exactly why it happened. I'm thinking that what your accident means is that for the rest of your riding days, you will ALWAYS take it extra easy with new tires and/or colder temperatures. You don't have a lot of variables. It was cold, and you had new tires. What else could there be? You've already eliminated paint on the road as a factor. It's a well traveled area. You've been through there a zillion times. So ya come away focusing on two issues: cold weather and new tires. I'd be willing to bet that this is not the last time you'll find yourself thinking about those two things. I hate making mistakes and having to learn the hard way. We all do. I honestly don't know what the limits are when it comes to new tires and cold temperatures. I've always driven ridiculously slow when riding on new tires. That's just me. I corner like gramma most of the time. I don't have the skills that many on this forum have. I never will. I'm fine with that. I ride a bike that is far more capable than I am. I ride a little extra careful because of the lessons I've learned, and that's just fine with me.

But no matter what changes I make in the future because of mistakes I've made in the past, I still enjoy riding as much as anybody does. And at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[Bill Lumberg]

The only thing you did wrong was not giving sufficient importance to stacking risks (new bike, fatigue, below freezing temps). So, own that and quit torturing yourself. Zero precip is necessary for there to be frost on the roadway. Add any contaminant to that (paint, oil, goat spit), and you get something that's slicker than greased teflon. You could not have foreseen it. Get that cemented in. But remember, stacking risks always puts you behind the odds. You didn't make any bad decisions.But you, if I may, (and as I have done), made several mediocre ones on the same ride. I'm just glad you're okay, and when your bike is back up, you won't be sweating it every time you kick a bag getting off- it's already broken in! Break that filly in proper when you're healed and you get her back. If you are up for a trip to the Dragon, I'll meet you there.

(This concludes the lecture portion of the program) For the "making you feel better" portion- I know a guy. Definitely not me, that bought a BMW, proudly rode it to the office on a cold winter day, and as he was looking over his shoulder to peddle back into a parking spot, got a back spasm, and had to lay the bike down. Never happened before. Never since. Beautiful bike on the ground, just after purchase. Back spasm...... Same guy (still not me! no!), riding a Kawasaki Mean streak, in to the office, rain on a snot slick concrete untextured parking deck, applies front brake on an old-school non-abs no-linked bike (there's your sign), and THEN tries to stop the rear as it's passing the front by planting his foot. Sheer genius. I heard indirectly that the guy got a tear in his hamstring. He had to work really hard to walk without a limp while he continued working even though the doctor (so I heard), prescribed Vicodin and two weeks bedrest, then a re-exam. Just stuff I've heard.

Again, my sincerest thanks to all of you.
I would love to be able to blame something, anything other than myself. I'd love to say it was new tires/Bridgestone Tires/Ice/Frost/Local Politicians...

The Facts:

We have not had any precipitation for over a month preceding The Crash. (It rained heavily the following night)

The tires could not have been "responsible" considering the low speed/low lean angle. New tire glaze or brand of tire just does not account for what happened.

There was nothing I could see that I hit. I am almost certain that I did not ride across the painted lines, I have my personal line I use in that intersection every morning. Of course I was going much slower than normal.

So I guess I just don't know what I did wrong. That actually bothers me more than anything. When I mess up I like to be able to learn from it. This time all I know is that I should have left my new bike parked at home and drove my truck.

It does not help that my boss sent me home from work last night, I have to be cleared by the company doctor before I can return to work. I have no wish to be on Short Term Disability, I want to work. Dr. appointment tomorrow morning, I am willing to grit out whatever it takes to get back to my job.

Again, my sincerest thanks to all of you.
I would love to be able to blame something, anything other than myself. I'd love to say it was new tires/Bridgestone Tires/Ice/Frost/Local Politicians...

The Facts:

We have not had any precipitation for over a month preceding The Crash. (It rained heavily the following night)

The tires could not have been "responsible" considering the low speed/low lean angle. New tire glaze or brand of tire just does not account for what happened.

There was nothing I could see that I hit. I am almost certain that I did not ride across the painted lines, I have my personal line I use in that intersection every morning. Of course I was going much slower than normal.

So I guess I just don't know what I did wrong. That actually bothers me more than anything. When I mess up I like to be able to learn from it. This time all I know is that I should have left my new bike parked at home and drove my truck.

It does not help that my boss sent me home from work last night, I have to be cleared by the company doctor before I can return to work. I have no wish to be on Short Term Disability, I want to work. Dr. appointment tomorrow morning, I am willing to grit out whatever it takes to get back to my job.

 

[bergmen]

In a similar situation I nearly low sided my C10 (actually a C12) Concours in almost the same type of turn. In my case the back tire kicked out, I went full lock, slammed my foot down while simultaneously chopping the throttle and pulling the clutch. My first thought in the first mili-second was "I'm going down, no way to save this". But somehow I pulled it off and straightened out.

What was the cause? Invisible diesel fuel on the road. Never saw a thing but went back and felt and smelled the diesel. Impossible to see (late morning timewise). I don't know why I didn't eject a turd on that one it certainly qualified for it. Took me quite a while to get over that one, I can usually see traction compromising stuff on the road (water, sand, dirt, leaves, etc.). This was a real surprise.

Dan

 

[Old Guy]

Again, my sincerest thanks to all of you.
I would love to be able to blame something, anything other than myself. I'd love to say it was new tires/Bridgestone Tires/Ice/Frost/Local Politicians...

The Facts:

We have not had any precipitation for over a month preceding The Crash. (It rained heavily the following night)

The tires could not have been "responsible" considering the low speed/low lean angle. New tire glaze or brand of tire just does not account for what happened.

There was nothing I could see that I hit. I am almost certain that I did not ride across the painted lines, I have my personal line I use in that intersection every morning. Of course I was going much slower than normal.

So I guess I just don't know what I did wrong. That actually bothers me more than anything. When I mess up I like to be able to learn from it. This time all I know is that I should have left my new bike parked at home and drove my truck.

It does not help that my boss sent me home from work last night, I have to be cleared by the company doctor before I can return to work. I have no wish to be on Short Term Disability, I want to work. Dr. appointment tomorrow morning, I am willing to grit out whatever it takes to get back to my job.

I can't help with your STD (Short Term Disability, not the other...)

But... you do not need precipitation to have frost on the road. You sutherners just do not unnerstan' When the air temp hits dew point before it hits freezing, you get frost.

I was lucky enough to lead a whole herd of NERDS on a frosty November ride for breakfast one morning a couple of years ago. We had visible frost on the road for the first couple of hours, so the pace was slow even though I had plans for some fine New England curvy roads.

But it isn't always visible. You probably didn't do anything wrong except not understand the temps. And that isn't your fault... It's that damn global warming.

Think less... Heal more... Ride soon.

See post 128. This southerner has experienced frost on the road

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Just to let you guys know, this is actually my second time to wreck a bike on asphalt. I totaled Dad's beautiful, Wineberry Red, '84 GoldWing back in '95. With a date. That was not my girlfriend. Karma?

Whatever else I can say let me assure you all that I am NOT scared to get back on the bike and I have confidence in the FJR. If I did not have complete confidence in it I would never have traded my beloved ST1300 for it. I may be am an idiot but I am only going to beat myself up so much and then it is time to move on with things. I am limited by pain right now but as soon as I can get started repairing my FJR I will be in a much better mood. I have every intention of riding the thing to the doctor's office tomorrow, scratches and all.

One concern I have is the availability of Liquid Graphite replacement parts. I also want to complete the first 600 miles before I drain the break in oil to replace the stator cover. That is a problem I did not foresee when I left the dealership with my happy face on.

 

[escapefjrtist]

New tire glaze + cold tires + cold road = Redfish pancake?

I'd put my money on this ^^^^ being the likely scenario.

--G

 

[Redfish Hunter]

That really sucks donkey ass! But I can't believe you had the testicular fortitude to try and sneak it past your wife, man you got some balls.

I was not trying to keep it from her, I just did not want to wake her up on a Saturday morning and get her upset. Also, I did not know I was hurt as badly as I was. Perhaps if I had known I had a broken rib...

All things considered she handled it well. She is still at least acting like she loves me.

 

[bergmen]

Just to let you guys know, this is actually my second time to wreck a bike on asphalt. I totaled Dad's beautiful, Wineberry Red, '84 GoldWing back in '95. With a date. That was not my girlfriend. Karma?
Whatever else I can say let me assure you all that I am NOT scared to get back on the bike and I have confidence in the FJR. If I did not have complete confidence in it I would never have traded my beloved ST1300 for it. I may be am an idiot but I am only going to beat myself up so much and then it is time to move on with things. I am limited by pain right now but as soon as I can get started repairing my FJR I will be in a much better mood. I have every intention of riding the thing to the doctor's office tomorrow, scratches and all.

One concern I have is the availability of Liquid Graphite replacement parts. I also want to complete the first 600 miles before I drain the break in oil to replace the stator cover. That is a problem I did not foresee when I left the dealership with my happy face on.

The only time I would say that you could call yourself an "idiot" is if this could have been foreseen and you failed to do so. Nothing that I have read in your descriptions have suggested that. An innocent victim, probably. An idiot, not in my book.

Dan

BTW, Gen III FJRs rock! I have over 12,000 miles on my 2014A and just barely a year old.

 

[bgross]

Been away a couple days and just saw this.

Crap! So sorry to hear this - the tarnished new bike and your injuries.

Your pain (mental and physical) will pass and your bike's first scratches are behind you. And and in time the story will join many others that get told around the campfire.

Meanwhile, just remember: it's Obama's fault.

There, don't you feel better?