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Went down in the twisties....

3K views 29 replies 26 participants last post by  GeorgeZboy 
G
#1 ·
Last Sunday, as the title implies, we were riding some local Texas hill country roads (out near Kerrville, for you Texans, on 16 to be specific) when I came into a decreasing radius turn a little hot.





See, what happened is that I came into a corner too slow after reading the 30 mph suggested sign. What I did at this point, judging the corner to be a little bit wider and easier to handle than a suggested 30 mph corner, is accelerate through it, only to come to the realization that the radius decreased by 1/4 to 1/2 at the end of the turn. As soon as I saw this I knew there was no way I was going to make it, and I panicked, locked the brakes up, then the bike went down and skidded into a guard rail. My body (my head actually) slid and made serious contact with the guard rail hard enough to knock me senseless for a good 10 minutes. At this point I thought I was moments from death and it seemed like hours before the next rider in our group approached. I was dazed, and unable to see anything besides vast, infinite white-ness everywhere. I don't remember losing consciousness, but then again, you never do. If I did, it was very briefly and was several minutes after the accident. So I was definately riding over my head, but not by far at all. You all have to remember that this could be any of us at any given time, I'm not saying that anyone else would ride that way, but all it takes is a split second. I usually ride very carefullly, and I usually look as far through turns as the road allows, but all it takes is a split second lapse in judgement and you kiss the guardrail with your head. Fortunately, I am okay, and I can't wait until the bike is fixed so I can ride again.



I'm okay but I can hardly walk right now. Putting weight on my right foot is a big no-no, and for some reason my entire rib-cage and chest is sore. It's been kind of tight trying to breathe and everything... but overall, I'm okay. The rash on my knee has turned into bruises and It's not helping my efforts to walk. For some reason my left upper arm hurts extremely, and is almost as stiff and reluctant to move as my foot/ankle. They did suggest I went to the hospital, and I don't know about all your views on saving money and the like, but I didn't want to take my chances. I'd rather go down there and find out my head/neck is fine, than drop dead 3 hours later from hemmhoraging. That's just my luck, you know? I did hit my head on that guardrail hard enough to cause dizzyness, loss of vision, etc.



Sucks, but it happens to us all sooner or later. I am kind of new to these boards, so if anyone can help with parts, shoot me an email @ snowbound@satx.rr.com or PM me!
 
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#2 ·
ouch man!!! Glad your still with us :-\ That really don't look like a gentle fall at all...hope your head's gonna be aight. When i went down at 50mph, my shoulder hit first...not a scratch on the helmet...rest a while and get healed up!!! Hope your back on your feet in no time!!!
 
G
#5 ·
The only part that I'm not afraid to spend money on is the Sharkskinz. I was insured, but only liability. I posted in the classifieds section about what parts I need, and hopefully some of you rear-set selling, fairing stripping SV racing nuts will be selling parts that you do not need that I do... 8)
 
#11 ·
Wow man what a stroke of bad luck. In the 1st pic when I saw teh cop and or EMT I knew it was bad. I have seen some wrecks were the bike had little to no damage and the rider had lots and vise versa yours looks about even as far as bike/rider damae is concerned. You had a jacket on correct? Good luck. Hope your mellon isnt damaged. What could you give us by way of info in retro if you were to arm-chair quarterback the crash on ways you could have avoided it.
 
#12 ·
Kevin said:
Wow man what a stroke of bad luck. In the 1st pic when I saw teh cop and or EMT I knew it was bad. I have seen some wrecks were the bike had little to no damage and the rider had lots and vise versa yours looks about even as far as bike/rider damae is concerned. You had a jacket on correct? Good luck. Hope your mellon isnt damaged. What could you give us by way of info in retro if you were to arm-chair quarterback the crash on ways you could have avoided it.
i can answer this for him...go slower. ;D
 
G
#13 ·
The SV with decent tires on decent road surface can generate quite a lean angle. If you find you are too hot in a turn, trust your bike and counter steer harder and lean more, never give up. If you lock up the brakes, you WILL crash.

I'm glad you weren't hurt too bad man.
 
#14 ·
Man I did something similar a few years back.  On a road I had never been on.  Hard left that I thought was a nice gentle turn.  I didn't get as big a hit as you but F-ed up my bike way bad.

Bike got totaled and I took the money.  Looking back now I wished I had rebuilt it instead.


Excellent advice here:

The SV with decent tires on decent road surface can generate quite a lean angle. If you find you are too hot in a turn, trust your bike and counter steer harder and lean more, never give up. If you lock up the brakes, you WILL crash.
Exactly what I did do, gave up leaning, and hit the brakes = into the giggly weeds!

Hope everything works out Ok for you.
 
#15 ·
I did the exact same thing, but I had a nice soft verge (with a big spiky bush) instead of a barrier to hit, and I was wearing full gear, so I just dusted myself off, picked up the bike and rode on... But it could easily have been worse. Hope you (and the bike) patch up quickly...

It's also really good to see someone being honest about what happened, too many times on these forums you hear "I laid the bike down because I was going to fast to make the corner" or whatever, when what they really mean is "I panicked and crashed" You can't learn from these mistakes if you're not honest with yourself what happened.

Like in this case, next time you'll know just to get it over and bring it through... The SV's better at corners than 90% of SV riders, I reckon, and if we just trust it it'll usually treat us right. If we jam on teh brakes in a bad corner, it just means we crash slightly slower :)
 
#16 ·
Glad you're here to give us the true skinny on things. Have to admire your good assesment of what happened. After reading about the crash, I'm genuinely surprized you remember any of day at all. Heal fast and well.

As I told SV Hooligan, be sure to buy that Guardian Angel a couple a draughts when you eventually meet them. They earned their pay on Sunday.
 
#18 ·
Sorry to hear bout the wreck..it sucks! Just want to know if this was a road you were familiar with and if it wasnt why you were riding like that. I guess some learn the hard way... Good luck with your recovery and you really should go get checked out.


Oh and stock sv tires on a good road are enough to achieve good lean angle! Many people can be fast on stock rubber!
 
#19 ·
welcome to the club. i just got my crash membership as well. i faired a whole lot better than you did. ouch. heal fast. get a medral dose pack, or at least take aleve. those intercostal muscles are gonna be inflamed. your ribs will be real sore. if you prevent the inflammation you'll be better off. guardrails are bad, mkay.
 
#23 ·
Not to be an asshole but why did you make such a risky move on a road you have never travelled on? Either way, get Well and keep riding.
 
#26 ·
It's also really good to see someone being honest about what happened, too many times on these forums you hear "I laid the bike down because I was going to fast to make the corner" or whatever, when what they really mean is "I panicked and crashed" You can't learn from these mistakes if you're not honest with yourself what happened.
That is nice. I've had a couple close calls, as far as going slow into a corner, thinking I could go faster, only to find out it's a spiral-type curve. I've dropped the bike low enough to rub my toe on the pavement, but didn't touch the brakes (at least, not to my knowledge). As I exit, I tell myself I'll learn. But I still haven't been able to "own" this one corner.

Anyway, I haven't seen anyone ask what gear you were wearing. Brand, type, etc. Let's make this a learning experience.
 
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