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Another stupid brake related wreck: A couple of weeks ago I was swapping dirt wheels onto the DRZ (yay spring!) when I noticed my rear brake pads were down to the metal. So while I waited for replacements to arrive, I just pressed them back away from the rotor surface and vowed to ride even more cautiously than usual and not use the rear brake if I could avoid it for a few days. Smash cut to two days later when I decide that it would be a good time to tear around in a paved area behind my work like a dong and attack some stairs and ride super aggressively to blow off some work related steam before heading for home. What got me was riding hard towards a wall waiting until the last possible moment to brake hard and swerve off towards another imaginary obstacle. When it came time to brake for the "corner" my foot went all the way to the bottom of the lever's travel without resistance. There was no weight transfer, and yet by reflex I squeezed in the same amount of front brake I would have normally pulled and therefore locked up the front. I relaxed the front brake enough to stop the slide but of course was then way too close to the wall. I then tried to turn away from the wall while still hard on the front brake. Highsided at that point. Bike flipped over and started to slide while I came down next to it landing on my hands and knees and rolled. Bike wound up inches from the wall, undamaged expect for some new rash here and there. My kneecaps and wrists were sore for a couple of days but that was the extent of it. I didn't even know it was possible to bruise your kneecaps like that. Positives: I was wearing all my gear (as always). I'm a giant pussy and I ride like a grandmother was probably not doing over 15mph for any of the above shenanigans. Negatives: Despite the numerous mistakes and examples of poor judgement outlined above, I promise I have learned no lessons from this crash. I will continue to be an idiot on my DRZ when not on the street.
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Apr 18, 2012 04:53
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 11:14 |
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Sagebrush posted:I will never understand what on earth makes a state repeal its helmet laws. Like there's some new research going "oh, wait, all this stuff about helmets saving your life turns out to be false, no need to wear them any more!" Besides FREEDOM: 1. A lot of people die when they hit the brakes too hard and the weight of the helmet snaps their neck. 2. My uncle had to lay his bike down and when he did his helmet shifted and the strap strangled him to death. 3. Most motorcycle accidents could have been avoided if the rider's vision were not impaired by all that helmet. 4. Everyone would rather just die than be a vegetable. 5. See the overheard stupid motorcycle related stuff thread for more similar truths and wisdom.
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Jun 12, 2014 21:50
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Confirming crashability of the drz... about a month ago I ate poo poo on a fire road in eastern Washington (doing the WABDR). Was blasting down a straight coming down off the back of Sugarloaf mountain. Still not sure what caused the bike to suddenly go sideways. The surface was gravel and dirt under loose dry sand and randomly deep silt, so it's possible I dropped a wheel into a hidden rut, but in any case my real mistake was riding too fast when I knew the trail conditions were lovely (had a couple of near wrecks earlier in the trip and everyone in the group had at least one lower speed drop.) Anyway what I remember is the front wheel sliding out from under me suddenly, me trying to steer and power out, but then the bike swapped sides, swapped again then high sided. I was in the air for a while, then hit the ground and bounced. Was in the air a second time long enough to think "at least I didn't hit my head" and then I came back down again helmet first. Bike came down on my legs and we both tumbled for a bit. I stayed down for a minute to take stock and make sure all the fingers and toes still wiggled. My left shoulder hurt like hell, but I was still able to get the bike back up on it's stand so at least I knew the shoulder wasn't completely hosed up. Fortunately we weren't far from the end of the trail, and it was all downhill so I was able to limp the bike back down to the next town riding with one arm at a snail's pace. That worked well enough that my plan went from "call AAA to get me home so I can go to a hospital asap" to "I'll stick to asphalt and ride the rest of the trip one-handed and meet up with my friends at the endpoint of each day". With the power of ibuprofen, I did get to finish out the last few days of the trip, even though it wasn't exactly via the route I'd wanted to take. Damage to the bike: ignition switch crushed, headlight assembly pushed over a few inches, shift lever wrecked, plastics pretty much all scratched, end cap torn off exhaust. Damage to me: separated shoulder (doing 3-6 months of physical therapy, but surgery is increasingly unlikely), nasty contusion on my shin that still hurts like hell a month later, expected amounts of general soreness. I was wearing my mesh old man touring suit, Arai xd3, gloves and motocross boots. Having to replace the helmet sucks but whatcha gonna do.
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Aug 22, 2017 02:56
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Got in my second wreck of the summer. Met my wife at the grocery store and parked my bike up against her car's back bumper because the lot was full. We did our shopping, then loaded kids and groceries into the car. I said "Bye! Love you! Don't run over me! haha!" She said "haha". Then I put on my helmet, climbed onto the bike and she ran over me. Ok maybe not "run over" but she hit me with enough force to bend the kickstand and press it deep into the asphalt.
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Sep 8, 2017 23:44
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Frosty- posted:I went to the doctor and got a phone snap of the cool X-ray: Wow that looks exactly like my xray from my wreck this summer. Diagnosis was AC joint separation grade 2. Definitely ask for physical therapy. My GP was ready to let me chill in a sling and told me it would heal up in about 6 weeks. PT said sling would lead to the shoulder joint freezing up, and that I should expect 6 months minimum before it wasn't causing me discomfort. Over the course of a couple months, the PT laid out a regimen of stretches, then exercises to get my mobility back and start to strengthen the weakened joint. Without exercises, it's also likely I'll re-injure that shoulder in the future. He also cautioned me not to overdo it, as that would slow healing and leave the joint more prone to re-injury. If worst comes to worst, and you can't get physical therapy let me know and I'll share what I was told to do. Also, it's coming up on 4 months and the shoulder still loving sucks. I can't really see the asymmetry, but I can feel it. Reaching across for the seatbelt is torture every day, and I still can't sleep on that side at all. Every day, whether it's putting on a shirt, pulling stuff down off shelves, playing with my kids or just random whatever I'm still subjected to random stabs of pain there. I'm an old beardo goon tho so I don't heal as fast as I used to. Hopefully you have a better time of it. MonkeyHate fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Nov 5, 2017 |
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Nov 5, 2017 02:17
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 11:14 |
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Oh and also sorry for the double-post but I just had my THIRD wreck of this year on the DRZ. It's Friday, and I'm getting ready to get the gently caress out of work and go home for a much deserved weekend of fun and relaxation. I can already taste the beer and my family's love and also mostly the beer. But here's what I didn't know: There's been a daytime game at the stadium next to my office. It just let out. Drunks are out on the road in force. I put on all my gear (thank goodness)... hop on the bike, which at this point is still sporting knobbies... race out of my parking spot and up the garage ramp... stand up on the pegs and lean forward - to put my body that much closer to home... exit the garage into the rain-soaked near freezing street... lean into the turn to get home... twist the poo poo out of the throttle - to get home faster... and lowside the gently caress out of my bike in front of three buildings' worth of judgmental co-workers waiting there for the bus. The only damage was to my ego, but it really took an extra hard hit since my boot got stuck under my rear rack and it took me forever to wriggle free under the weight of my coworkers' disapproving stares before I could awkwardly pick up the bike and GTFO. Also everybody knows me and everybody knows my bike so there's no avoiding those conversations. In my defense, I've only been riding every day for like the last ten years so how would I have known not to goose the throttle while turning sharply while putting my weight over the front wheel while the road was slippery? Edit: What I hope you learn from my mistake: Leave work early on Fridays so there will be fewer witnesses to your dip-shittery. MonkeyHate fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Nov 5, 2017 |
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Nov 5, 2017 02:49
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