Crash Reports + Gear Discussion

[bananana]

I sincerely hope this thread doesn't receive too many posts but as we all know crashes are pretty much inevitable.

We don't have a lot of protection as motorcyclists so it's important to gear up whenever possible. Those of us who ride accept the level of risk involved. I'll be the first to admit I do enjoy squidding from time to time for short rides but for any spirited ride I'm definitely ATGATT. Pushing your own limits is a lot of the fun in motorcycling and sometimes we can push just a bit too hard.

As consumers we have to place a lot of trust in our favourite gear manufacturers. Trust that their products will hold up when we need them. Safety gear gives you the confidence to discover your limits and those of your machine.

In the interest of staying safe out there I figured it might be nice to have a crash report + gear discussion thread.

Where: Base of Mt. Baker, Heading back to the Sumas/Huntingdon crossing.
Bike The bike is fine. I’m not going to say which one it was but the damage is all cosmetic and I was able to ride it back to the border after a short breather.
What happened: After a long straight I misjudged a turn. My confidence was high and for some reason assumed a sweeper was ahead when it was actually a blind, cambered 90° turn. The warning sign recommended 25MPH(40KM/H), I think I entered somewhere around 60-70KM/H. A better rider might have been able to manage but unfortunately that does not include myself.

I was trail-braking with the rear brake, my right hand was fully on the throttle, ready to punch at the apex. By the time I realized it was a tight turn I locked the rear brake. The rear end was fishtailing pretty violently although I still maintained full control. My choices were to either attempt to stay on the road by entering the incoming lane - in a 50MPH zone - around a blind corner, or to drift into the gravel driveway in front. At this point I was in survival mode. I somehow maneuvered around a few major obstacles and put the bike down in a flat spot before highsiding myself over the bars landing about 20ft away.

I landed on my chest and was knocked out for a second. Woke up with a few people around. The first two people to stop were a fellow biker and a truck that was travelling in the incoming lane – Had I chose this option, I'd either be a hood ornament in a salvage yard or posting to you as the sausage creature.

Helmet:
Shoei Qwest. Picked it up for about $400. I intended to buy a RF1100 but the Qwest fits my huge head like a bespoke glove. It carries both DOT/M2010 and Snell ratings. Don't remember the actual landing so I know I did black out for a few seconds and woke up with a mild concussion (my 4th).

The brunt of the impact was taken by my left chest/shoulder. The initial impact wasn't directly on my head so the helmet is still in great shape. A few small paint gouges along the side, my iridium visor and some paint gouges on the rear (from turning over on gravel). I plan to still wear the helmet with its newly decorated battle scars.






Jacket:
Prototype armoured Kangaroo Leather/Vectran motorcycle jacket with Forcefield NeT Armour in the shoulders. I was thrown 20ft from the bike at around 30-40km/h. I ended up landing on my left shoulder/upper chest (face down). The jacket is what took all the impact so it's most relevant in my crash report.

There are a few nicks on the outer shell but otherwise the jacket is still in great condition. Kangaroo leather is one of the toughest in existence and is used in all the professional circuits – for good reason. I plan to keep wearing this jacket until it falls apart.

For about two weeks I still had bruises mysteriously shaped like the Forcefield Armour that protected my shoulder. A testament to the high quality (CE prEN1621-1:2011 Level 2) product. I’m sure without the inserts I wouldn’t have walked away so easily from the accident.

The impact completely winded me and it took a few minutes before I could breathe properly. I was seeing yellow for about 10 minutes after the accident. I ended up with two minor fractures, in my collarbone and one of my ribs.




Pants:
Naked and Famous Skinny guy stretch jeans. Not protective in any sense. Both knees are a little banged up and I'm really surprised the jeans didn't rip. When I high-sided I distinctively remember my knee removing the bike's very expensive mirror. My right knee is the only place that was bloodied in the accident. I guess it’s probably time to invest in some proper riding pants.

No photos, just a regular pair of black skinny-jeans.


Boots:
Puma Desmo touring boots. Zero pain below the knee so I don't know if they held up well or if they weren't involved in the crash. They still look brand new (other than the zipper-pull that fell off a few weeks back in Squamish).

Either way these were great. They're very comfortable and offer great protection. I don't ever ride without boots and I don’t ever plan not to.


Gloves
RS-Taichi GP-EVO. The gloves were absolutely amazing. The protectors have quite a few scratches all over. I'm guessing the gloves did their job. No injuries to my hands at all other than a few sore appendages and a fractured thumb.

The Kangaroo leather palms and fingers are insanely comfortable and zero tactile control is lost while riding. They do a good job damping handlebar vibrations as well. Highly recommended. These are probably my favourite gloves ever. If I ever need a new pair of gloves I’m getting the same ones.





Additional Protectors
Knox Aegis spine protector with the included additional kidney protectors. I have quite a collection of spine protectors but this is what I randomly chose for the day. Also wearing a small military backpack with two fuel cans inside (really glad I didn't land on this). Zero pain in my back/neck so either these worked great or they didn’t get used.

Stock photo:

[?NR]

Thanks for the comprehensive report Chris. Glad you walked away from that spill.

[Raid3n]

glad you came out okay... i'm eagerly awaiting the kickstarter for those jackets they look great and obviously work well.

[320icar]

I can add to this actually sadly.

This is December, the first ride after passing my N test for my bike. Weather was cold by clear. Within 5 minutes of leaving my house the rain hit like a motherfucker. Like, tropical storm kind of downpour. I learned to ride in the rain so I wasn't too phased. Well, coming up to a stale green at 2 road and Westminster highway (heading south) the light turned yellow. I touched the brakes very lightly and the bike just fell immediately. Slow speed low side, maybe 20km/h?

No problems for me. Scratched the bike up, but he frame sliders to the brunt of it. My helmet had a tiny scratch on it. Snapped off my shifter of course but the bike was fine. So I just put it in second and rode to my buddies place in steveston where I just did the old drill a hole and thread in a Bolt trick.

I don't feel bad about falling, but there's a good reason. When I lifted the bike up and pushed it off the road, I did a situation analysis. When I looked back on the lane I was just in, there was red and yellow plastic all over the road (not from my bike) and there was a huge oil stick. There must have been an accident there the night before or earlier in the morning which was not cleaned up properly. The huge downpour of rain just slicked it like an ice rink. I lived at that intersection for 20 years, accidents were almost daily lol

[Raid3n]

it's for that reason mostly that in the rain i rely mostly on the rear brakes.

[CharlieH]

I think most electronics are pretty useless but front ABS is a must on the street now. Given that a lot of times we ride in pretty cold weather in Vancouver, it's so easy to lock the front up because our tires are never up to optimum temperature.

[DKaz]

Hm. Both of my crashes have been rear wheel lock ups on a scooter.

First time, no gear except cycling grade rain gear. Hit my knees. Hurt like a mofo.

Second time wearing full gear. Had a bit of pain my liver area maybe hitting the handlebar as I went down but was fine otherwise.

[quasi]

Originally Posted by bananana

Helmet:
Shoei Qwest. Picked it up for about $400. I intended to buy a RF1100 but the Qwest fits my huge head like a bespoke glove. It carries both DOT/M2010 and Snell ratings. Don't remember the actual landing so I know I did black out for a few seconds and woke up with a mild concussion (my 4th).

The brunt of the impact was taken by my left chest/shoulder. The initial impact wasn't directly on my head so the helmet is still in great shape. A few small paint gouges along the side, my iridium visor and some paint gouges on the rear (from turning over on gravel). I plan to still wear the helmet with its newly decorated battle scars.

Very detailed report glad you're OK. You might want to consider replacing that helmet, it's one thing to drop it without anything in it but when you crash with your head in there the foam does it's job. They aren't meant to be worn again after crashing.

[bananana]

Originally Posted by quasi

Very detailed report glad you're OK. You might want to consider replacing that helmet, it's one thing to drop it without anything in it but when you crash with your head in there the foam does it's job. They aren't meant to be worn again after crashing.

I'll send it in for x-raying when the season ends. Considering all my fractured ribs I'm pretty sure any minor fall will probably kill me anyways.