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Crashed my bike on the way home tonight.

7K views 28 replies 17 participants last post by  DPelletier 
#1 ·
It was my own fault. I was running too low of pressure in my Pirelli Mt 21s without bead locks. They are on order but haven't gotten here yet. No exscuse though, I know better.
I was cruising at about 65 mph when the valvestem pulled out and let ALL the air out in a hurry. Instantly I was in a skid hard right. Even with full lock counter steering I was going into the ditch. As I left the pavement the rear swapped directions and I lowsided hard on my left side. The bike and I slid another 50 to 60 feet before stopping. It took a couple of minutes to gather my scattered wits!!
The Teknic riding gear paid for itself today as did the Alpinstar Scout boots. The coat's built in elbow and shoulder pads absorbed much of the impact as did the knee and leg padding of the Teknic pants. My left leg and boot were under the bike on impact but the boot saved my leg and ankle. Neither the pants or coat show much damage and my helmet was untouched.
The SW Motec crash bars and rear pannier mounts did a wonderful job of protecting the bike. The only damage I can see tonight seems limited to the roadrash on the leftside crash bar and the highway peg is bent 180 degrees around the bar. Nothing else seems damaged.
I also got off very lucky. My left elbow and shoulder are achey and my neck seems stiff, but that is about it. Tomorrow may be another matter,but at this point the old aircraft adage comes to mind.....Any landing you can walk away from is a good one!
Remember Boys and Girls.....WEAR THE GEAR. Without the proper gear this would have had a FAR worse outcome.
As is I got a buddy to come with a trailer and pick me and the KLER up. I spent the rest of the evening till now helping cut up a moose with him and his family, rather than taking an ambulance ride to the hospital. :)
Regards....justjeff
 
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#8 ·
Thanks for the link Slowpoke, that looks like a cool product! I just came in from fixing the KLER in the garage. Other than the previously mentioned damage I found the left factory hand guard was broken too. Very minor damage considering. I think what reduced the carnage the most was that the bike and me both slid rather than tumbling. I stopped there on my way home tonight and from where I left the pavement and went down to stopping was 75 feet.
Thank you all for your concern and your very kind words!!
Regards....justjeff
 
#6 ·
Glad you're OK, man. Glad you were geared up. Kind of amazing the bike made it through as well as it did, too....
 
#7 ·
It's good to hear that things worked out. I have a good jacket but still need the pants (befor the years up I hope).

I had a front tire on a 750 stree bike go flat on a LA freeway years ago. It was a good thing the lane next to me was free, because I used two lanes trying to keep the bike upright until the steel rim hit the concrete.
 
#10 ·
Scary stuff.
I'm glad that you were able to walk away from that spill.

The riding gear can really save you from a lot of pain and suffering. I've gone down at that speed and slid a great distance like you did, but my lower half was only wearing Jeans. My GirlFriend at the time spent a few hours picking bits of asphalt out of my thigh and butt-cheek. It was not fun.

Good reason to remind our selves to check that tire pressure and to air up right away after riding off pavement.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for sharing-
This newbie rider is trying to figure things out, and you've inadvertantly answered a bunch of questions!

I've been looking at crashbars, see the PD one, the Motec one, and was wondering if the Motec one was large enough to offer real protection in a lay-down like this. I guess it does! Was the bike sliding on the crashbars - and handlebar-end? Do they sell handlebar ends built to take impacts like this? (I know BMX bicycles offer products like that)

Also, boots-
I'm going to take an 18 hour course to get myself licensed, and one of the pieces of required gear is "over the ankle boots" and, I was wondering about why that particular requirement...
...then while searching for motorcycle-specific boots on Amazon to try to learn about them, I found these things cost nearly $200, and come in enough varieties that I wouldn't want to buy sight-unseen - particularly not having enough experience to know what features I'm really looking for.
Your post highlights this as a safety need - but still, I wouldn't know what to look for in a boot. Any thoughts?
 
#14 ·
I have owned MC specific boots. Nowadays I ride in Redwings. MC specific boots have some advantages (water proof - so are my RWs though, little pad where the shifter hits, ergonomics).

Basically, you want a heavy boot that will NOT come off in a crash and that will offer ankle support and padding. You can spend $100 or $800.
 
#15 ·
Glad you're o.k., justjeff!

Yanked valve stem from front tube (probably a result of low air pressure through negligence) of my Continental Trail Attack; flat noticable only at low speeds; ran 15 miles on pavement to shop for replacement tube.

Dang tire pretty much runs flat; no tendency to come off rim, and squirrely only at low speeds, as mentioned.

Nevertheless, I had my good ol' Teknic jacket, etc., on, anyway!
 
#17 ·
Thanks Damocles!
That laydown happened back in September....here's the pic,Im OOOOOKkkkk now! Though there is not a car in sight in the pic, there were several in the opposing lane when I crashed!!
 
#19 ·
Thanks Tiptoes!
Good thing it happened in September, If it happened today it would be two months before they found me. There is 4 feet of snow in that ditch right now!
Regards....justthawingjeff
 
#21 ·
They are about 3/4" away from the body work. The room is needed so the bars don't touch if they flex in a tip over.
As to the comfort of the Scouts, I have walked many miles in them both in the woods and on pavement. I still cant believe how comfortable they are. They were comfortable right out of the box. Just as good as my Redwings I wear all day on concrete at work. As a machinist I stand all day except for lunch and coffee so I need good footwear and won't put up with poor footwear. MX Boots suck to walk in.
Regards...justjeff
 
#25 · (Edited)
For trousers, check out Cycle Gear "Ironworker" cargo pants or jeans.

Kevlar-reinforced, crashworthy with knee padding.

Took a 60 mph slider (oncoming delivery truck forced me toward the shoulder; re-gaining the roadway, front knobby washed out on the hard-surfaced road and I went down left side, sliding about 60 feet). No damage to yours truly, seamstress patched small rip in aforementioned cargo pants.

Happy Trails Paris-Dakar nerfs, Tusk handguards with spoilers did their job (Generation 1), smashed left rear-view mirror.

SIDI Adventure Rain Boots earned their keep; Arai motocross helmet scratched minimally. Quality motorcycle-specific gloves protected my hands and fingers. Good ol' Technic motorcycle jacket (not its first rodeo) only acquired some more "character" rips and tears.

ATGATT paid off.

Just a comment on boots; not my first crash with the SIDIs. Dug deep to pay for these costly stomps, intrigued by the ankle hinge; stabilizes the joint under such trauma; ankle hinges also found on high-end motocross boots. Previous crashes, wearing motocross boots WITHOUT ankle hinge construction, I've walked with a colorful limp for a long time after similar lay-downs. Never yet a toe/foot/ankle/leg injury while wearing the SIDIs in a crash (knocks on wood).

I'd recommend buying the boot with the best protection you can afford; your extremities, your budget!

DISCLAIMER: To everything above, YMMV! :)
 
#24 ·
I wasn't having to wear business clothes but did have to change into work clothes when I got to work. It only took 4 or 5 minutes to change and became part of my morning routine.
JJ
 
#27 ·
Didn't realize this thread was 3 1/2 years old at first, so I won't bother adding to the "glad you're OK" sentiments.....(though I am, of course!)

Question; how much pressure did you have in your MT21? reason I ask is that I ride mostly offroad/gravel roads and don't bother airing up on pavement.....I know it's a compromise that has me running higher than ideal offroad but it'd be nice to know what pressure you were running when your valve stem ripped out.

Thx

Dave
 
#28 ·
On sand I may run as low as 8psi to get better flotation.I have found that you need no less than 15PSI to keep the rim from slipping in the tire. If running below 15psi you MUST run beadlocks. The slippage doesn't necessarily happen all at once either. It can gradually move over time.
JJ
 
#29 ·
Great; that mirrors my experience too. I typically run no less than 18 and usually 20-21 on my KLRs. On my race bikes I'd run 10-12 rear and 12-14 front (condition dependant) except when I ran a tubliss setup with a Michelin trials tire on the rear and then I went down to 8-9 psi....all the racebikes had rimlocks of course.

Cheers,
Dave
 
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