Crashed Badly, Probably Done Riding Motorcycles

[sunruh]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger

Right now even if I thought I wanted to get another bike, my confidence level is in the toilet. Still have only a spotty memory of the crash, and no memory of the high side tumble through the scrub and saplings roadside.

My brother a career paramedic on a suburban fire dept adjacent to a large Midwestern city, theorizes based on my injuries that I did at least one or two cart wheel tumbles. No recollection on my part however.


LR,
chances are extremly high you will NEVER remember any more of your crash.
i dont of mine and it has been 18 years now.
it took a good 6+ years to get the "monkey" of that off my back but i didnt stop riding or racing because of it. no my injury was not as severe as yours, but almost daily my left femur lets me know about it.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
So if you had a bad car crash you'd never drive or ride in a car again? Or if you slipped and fell you'd never walk again?. When he's all healed up he'll probably rethink any plans on what he's gonna do. If you love riding, you figure out what went wrong and avoid that mistake again.,,


Don't mean to be a butthead, but that's a stretch of an analogy.

Comparing motorcycling to walking or even driving a car (both almost necessities of which motorcycling is not), is not a good comparison.


I know several people whose ONLY mode of transportation is riding a Motorcycle. So for them, their Motorcycle is a necessity.

 

[andrewg]

Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
So if you had a bad car crash you'd never drive or ride in a car again? Or if you slipped and fell you'd never walk again?. When he's all healed up he'll probably rethink any plans on what he's gonna do. If you love riding, you figure out what went wrong and avoid that mistake again.,,


Don't mean to be a butthead, but that's a stretch of an analogy.

Comparing motorcycling to walking or even driving a car (both almost necessities of which motorcycling is not), is not a good comparison.


I know several people whose ONLY mode of transportation is riding a Motorcycle. So for them, their Motorcycle is a necessity.


Well then, if he got in a traumatic accident....he'd be much more likely to get back on ASAP....or just buy a cheap car.

When I was starting out in life, I had worked with a guy that could only afford an old motorcycle. It only took one winter before he realized a car is a much desired mode of transportation in poor conditions. $400 junker served him well.

 

[02SE]

The people I'm referring to, could for the most part buy a car if they had to. I also know others that like to ride, but the cost of living being what it is where they live, ride rather than owning a car. They ride year round, in all weather conditions.

My only point, is that a Motorcycle is not always just a toy, as they are most often seen as here in the USA.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
What are you guys talking about?. He's obviously spooked from wrecking his bike. That's why he's talking about giving up riding. So why wouldn't someone be spooked about driving a car if they had a bad wreck? The fear has to be equal. There are people that have a fear about driving over bridges or in tunnels. It may be a stretch for you guys, but fear can be crippling if you can't work it out in your mind.,,,


I think you're right. I had a nasty accident in an 18 wheeler back in 2003. I thought about giving up driving a truck as the accident was unavoidable (other driver fell asleep and crossed center line and hit me at 55+ mph). I went to a shrink and talked to other drivers who all told me the chances of that happening again are minimal. I still ride because I love it. I wear reflective, protective clothing and ride safely. Also have a crash bar and modulating light on my bike to possibly avoid a crash altogether. If you like riding, get back on the bike. It may be time to consider a Harley or other cruiser that doesn't give you the temptation to go fast as much.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
....It may be time to consider a Harley or other cruiser that doesn't give you the temptation to go fast as much.


I'd just like to point out that having better tires, brakes, suspension, and handling, and most importantly the riding ability to utilize the higher limits of a sportier bike, can also keep you from crashing. So a Harley or other Cruiser presents their own set of dangers.

 

[BigCahuna]

A few things that won't happen on a Harley. Wheelie's,Stoppies, or 0-60 speeds in 3 seconds or less. Doing the Tail of the dragon in record time. Or fitting thru space's in traffic, less then 2 1/2 feet wide. Things happen on the road that sometimes come up too fast to observe, figure out a plan of attack, and execute that plan, before it all goes bad. Like leaning over into a curve then come up on a pothole with gravel right where your about to ride. Not much you can do at that point but to hold on and hope for the best. Sometimes you eat the Bear, sometimes the Bear eats you.,,,

 

[Silk]

Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Things happen on the road that sometimes come up too fast to observe, figure out a plan of attack, and execute that plan, before it all goes bad. Like leaning over into a curve then come up on a pothole with gravel right where your about to ride. Not much you can do at that point but to hold on and hope for the best. Sometimes you eat the Bear, sometimes the Bear eats you.,,,


As I mentioned before in this thread, that is why I ride roads where I will come across a pothole filled with gravel, or any other road hazzard that comes up unexpectedly. You need to have a game plan based on experience. The more tools in your kit you know how to use the better. Or as Kenny Roberts put it - packages on a wall, you take down the one you need at the time, it's all in there.

 

[Mr Nice]

A fun weekend car like a convertible with seat belts and airbags is a better option.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
A fun weekend car like a convertible with seat belts and airbags is a better option.
And a roll cage.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: Silk
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Things happen on the road that sometimes come up too fast to observe, figure out a plan of attack, and execute that plan, before it all goes bad. Like leaning over into a curve then come up on a pothole with gravel right where your about to ride. Not much you can do at that point but to hold on and hope for the best. Sometimes you eat the Bear, sometimes the Bear eats you.,,,


As I mentioned before in this thread, that is why I ride roads where I will come across a pothole filled with gravel, or any other road hazzard that comes up unexpectedly. You need to have a game plan based on experience. The more tools in your kit you know how to use the better. Or as Kenny Roberts put it - packages on a wall, you take down the one you need at the time, it's all in there.
King Kenny Roberts. Correction.

 

[Silk]

I was going to put King Kenny, but that would show I'm a Fanboy.

 

[BrocLuno]

Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
....It may be time to consider a Harley or other cruiser that doesn't give you the temptation to go fast as much.


I'd just like to point out that having better tires, brakes, suspension, and handling, and most importantly the riding ability to utilize the higher limits of a sportier bike, can also keep you from crashing. So a Harley or other Cruiser presents their own set of dangers.


Yeah, except sport bike riders have those capabilities to use them ... Whereas, cruiser riders are often more interested in laying back some

As a young buck I'd ride my Bonnie hard, or the GSXR, but not so much anymore. Now I'm quite happy to be cruising along and actually looking at the fields and scenes as I pass by

It comes to most in this sport as time passes. There are not a lot of sport bike riders with million mile pins. But there are a lot of million mile riders around who have not put the shiny side down a l-o-n-g time

 

[Ausfahrt]

Glad that you are recovering, LR.

If and when you ride again is all up to you. You'll figure it out in due time.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
....It may be time to consider a Harley or other cruiser that doesn't give you the temptation to go fast as much.


I'd just like to point out that having better tires, brakes, suspension, and handling, and most importantly the riding ability to utilize the higher limits of a sportier bike, can also keep you from crashing. So a Harley or other Cruiser presents their own set of dangers.


Yeah, except sport bike riders have those capabilities to use them ... Whereas, cruiser riders are often more interested in laying back some

As a young buck I'd ride my Bonnie hard, or the GSXR, but not so much anymore. Now I'm quite happy to be cruising along and actually looking at the fields and scenes as I pass by

It comes to most in this sport as time passes. There are not a lot of sport bike riders with million mile pins. But there are a lot of million mile riders around who have not put the shiny side down a l-o-n-g time

Not nearly enough Sportbike riders possess the skill to ride their bike anywhere near it's capability. I always suggest basic, and advanced training, and actual road racing really teaches where limits (both the rider and the bike) are.

Almost all riders could benefit from advanced rider training. I recall one gentleman that was in an advanced riding class I was helping teach. About half-way through the day he remarked: "I came here thinking I had 30 years of riding experience, but now I realize I had one year of riding experience, 30 times".

The oldest Sportbike rider I've known of, had two Honda CBR's (929 and 954) at the time of his passing in his 80's. He rode them until passing away from a sudden onset health issue.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
A fun weekend car like a convertible with seat belts and airbags is a better option.


I have one, and it's fast (for a car). But not nearly as much fun, IMO, as running through a nice set of sweepers on a well-handling bike.

 

[john_pifer]

A few years ago, before I got heavily into running and cycling and mountain biking, I did a lot of fast road riding with a group out of Memphis, the Mid South Sport Riders (MSSR). I crashed a few times (we called it a get-off). All of those get-offs were directly traceable to a causative factor. Either gravel or a wet road or I just flat ran out of skill or went too fast on a road I didn't know.

I also saw a lot of crashes in the almost 100,000 miles I rode on the street. Out of almost all those incidents, a cause could be determined. Those were the easy ones. I say that because if you knew what made you crash, you could deal with that. You could determine what went wrong and either try very hard not to make that mistake again, or avoid that situation, or whatever the case was. You could very quickly get your confidence back because you had a concrete reason why you crashed.

What was hard for a guy or gal was when they crashed and didn't know why. THAT was a real confidence-buster. That never happened to me. In my riding career of about 10 years and almost 100,000 miles, I had about 7 get-offs. Out of those, I always knew why I crashed, and each crash made me a better rider.

My point is that I think it seems pretty clear why the OP crashed. It's not one of those confidence-sapping mysteries.

Try to watch out better for gravel and trash in the corners (easier said than done; out of my 7 get-offs, 3 were lowsides caused by gravel in a corner). Learn how to trail-brake into a corner. Some riding schools and coaches (not many anymore, actually) will teach a rider to get all his braking done before the corner. But, one day, you'll be confronted with a situation where you'll have to know how to brake with the bike leaned over. Whether it's gravel or sand in a decreasing-radius corner, or maybe a car crosses the centerline, you're going to have to know how to do it anyway. So, it's prudent to learn how to do it BEFORE that situation comes up.

 

[SlipperyPete]

Originally Posted By: john_pifer
........I always knew why I crashed, and each crash made me a better rider......3 were lowsides caused by gravel in a corner......


You kinda hard-headed, ain't ya?

 

[john_pifer]

Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
........I always knew why I crashed, and each crash made me a better rider......3 were lowsides caused by gravel in a corner......


You kinda hard-headed, ain't ya?

Eh, it happens from time to time when you ride fast on the street and corner hard. Those 3 get-offs happened years apart on different roads in 3 different states (1 in Tennessee, 1 in Arkansas, 1 in Mississippi). In 2 of thode I barely had a scratch on me because I was wearing my gear. In one, I had on a jacket but just jeans. In that one, I got some road rash on my right knee.

 

[SlipperyPete]

Originally Posted By: john_pifer
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
........I always knew why I crashed, and each crash made me a better rider......3 were lowsides caused by gravel in a corner......


You kinda hard-headed, ain't ya?

Eh, it happens from time to time when you ride fast on the street and corner hard. Those 3 get-offs happened years apart on different roads in 3 different states (1 in Tennessee, 1 in Arkansas, 1 in Mississippi). In 2 of thode I barely had a scratch on me because I was wearing my gear. In one, I had on a jacket but just jeans. In that one, I got some road rash on my right knee.



Just ribbing you a little.

Who here has room to talk when no sensible person would get on a motorcycle more than once anyway?