robert
Expedition Leader
Front tire on the DRZ went flat suddenly at around 55mph, bike headed into the oncoming lane (thank God no cars at the time), I kept it upright as long as I could while trying to slow her down. The tire must have rolled on the rim at around 40mph or so and the front end washed out causing the bike to go down on its right side. I came off the bike and tumbled down the road after it. Thought I had dislocated my right shoulder but turns out I broke the proximal end of the humerus and my small finger on the right hand. I'm getting a plate and screws later this week and the finger is already splinted. Pretty bad road rash on my right elbow. Mild road rash on my knees, left thumb and right pinky. Bruising on my right side. Sore as hell all over.
The bike is on my uncle's trailer and I haven't looked at it closely but it's going to need a right side number plate, handlebars, brake lever etc. He didn't try to crank it. Part of the rim strip is hanging out so without seeing it closer I'm guessing it slid and a spoke rubbed through the tube? I'll have to wait until I have two good arms to pull the wheel. Front tire is a Pireli MT21 with maybe 1200 miles on it; I had checked the pressure just before riding.
The gear- I had a FirstGear Torrent mesh 3/4 jacket on. It did it's job- mostly. The big thing I didn't like about it when I got it was that it didn't have straps on the sleeves to better secure the elbow pads. Well when I hit I tore the Velcro strap off the right cuff and the jacket ripped beside the zipper and my arm slid in the jacket. It wore through the fabric and I had skin on asphalt. The elbow pad held up pretty well and I doubt I'd have the road rash or possibly even the fracture if the armor had stayed in place.
Olympia Extreme Gel gloves- the right one got it worse and it wore through in several spots. The left wore through on the thumb.
Fox V1 helmet- no damage, it never hit the road.
Pants- I failed to put on my motorcycle pants and instead had on a pair of 5.11 pants. They actually held up amazingly well for what they are- I'm thinking of sending a picture to 5.11 with a thank you note for a quality product. They wore through on the right rear pocket where my leather wallet was, had some tearing on the front and the small pocket on the left. The first layer on the double knees wore through but not the inner layer. Seams held up.
Merrel boots- once again should have had on my motorcycle boots; I got lucky and the only damage to them was a bent speed hook on the laces. I always wear leather boots that cover my ankles but not always motorcycle specific.
Friendly guy in a car and another in a pickup stopped offered to help and waited for the ambulance- Thanks guys! I already had my helmet and jacket/gloves off by the time the cabulance arrived and the girlfriend (ER nurse) was on her way to take me to the hospital so I refused transport (same service I used to work for).
Lessons learned- Typing left handed sucks (I'm right handed). Next jacket will have arm straps and hopefully thicker/more wear resistant material. Gloves will be thicker leather. Wear my motorcycle pants; I've got two pair but was only going about five miles up the road so I didn't bother. Doh! Wear motorcycle boots- I was lucky. Insurance is a good thing- I figure the plates and screws are going to run $15k or so. Dilaudid sucks (promptly got sick); Demerol is a very, very good thing. I've had it before for ortho pain and it works well for me at low doses (25mg q4hrs bumped to 50mg if it's really hurting- normal dose is 50-150mg q4hrs).
Both bikes will be getting a steering stabilizers.
I'll try to post some pics of the gear Monday.
The bike is on my uncle's trailer and I haven't looked at it closely but it's going to need a right side number plate, handlebars, brake lever etc. He didn't try to crank it. Part of the rim strip is hanging out so without seeing it closer I'm guessing it slid and a spoke rubbed through the tube? I'll have to wait until I have two good arms to pull the wheel. Front tire is a Pireli MT21 with maybe 1200 miles on it; I had checked the pressure just before riding.
The gear- I had a FirstGear Torrent mesh 3/4 jacket on. It did it's job- mostly. The big thing I didn't like about it when I got it was that it didn't have straps on the sleeves to better secure the elbow pads. Well when I hit I tore the Velcro strap off the right cuff and the jacket ripped beside the zipper and my arm slid in the jacket. It wore through the fabric and I had skin on asphalt. The elbow pad held up pretty well and I doubt I'd have the road rash or possibly even the fracture if the armor had stayed in place.
Olympia Extreme Gel gloves- the right one got it worse and it wore through in several spots. The left wore through on the thumb.
Fox V1 helmet- no damage, it never hit the road.
Pants- I failed to put on my motorcycle pants and instead had on a pair of 5.11 pants. They actually held up amazingly well for what they are- I'm thinking of sending a picture to 5.11 with a thank you note for a quality product. They wore through on the right rear pocket where my leather wallet was, had some tearing on the front and the small pocket on the left. The first layer on the double knees wore through but not the inner layer. Seams held up.
Merrel boots- once again should have had on my motorcycle boots; I got lucky and the only damage to them was a bent speed hook on the laces. I always wear leather boots that cover my ankles but not always motorcycle specific.
Friendly guy in a car and another in a pickup stopped offered to help and waited for the ambulance- Thanks guys! I already had my helmet and jacket/gloves off by the time the cabulance arrived and the girlfriend (ER nurse) was on her way to take me to the hospital so I refused transport (same service I used to work for).
Lessons learned- Typing left handed sucks (I'm right handed). Next jacket will have arm straps and hopefully thicker/more wear resistant material. Gloves will be thicker leather. Wear my motorcycle pants; I've got two pair but was only going about five miles up the road so I didn't bother. Doh! Wear motorcycle boots- I was lucky. Insurance is a good thing- I figure the plates and screws are going to run $15k or so. Dilaudid sucks (promptly got sick); Demerol is a very, very good thing. I've had it before for ortho pain and it works well for me at low doses (25mg q4hrs bumped to 50mg if it's really hurting- normal dose is 50-150mg q4hrs).
Both bikes will be getting a steering stabilizers.
I'll try to post some pics of the gear Monday.
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I hope the pieces you're in will all end up as one!