BARBED WIRE! - Always wear your gear!!

I have been riding for a little over a year now and I had my first crash almost 2 weeks ago. The biggest lessons learned: SLOW DOWN AND ALWAYS WEAR ALL YOUR GEAR.

It was a hot Sunday and I was on a spirited ride with a friend through the local twisties. After 2 hours we were nearly home and were on a well paved country road. I got a little overconfident and entered the turn too fast (50 mph??) :spank:. The turn was tighter than I expected and I started swinging wide. There was no shoulder, and I realized that there was no way I was going to save this turn. I glanced at the side of the road and - uh oh - a ditch and then a barbed wire fence.

In that split second I had to decide what to do. My instinct was to let the bike low side, but with the size of the ditch I didn't think it was a good idea. I thought maybe I could ride off the road through the fence and ride it out - letting the bike break the fence instead of my body. I straightened the bike up as I left the road and aimed for the wire between the fence posts. I cleared the ditch and slammed into the fence.

It happened so fast that all I remember after going off the road was tumbling through the field. From looking at the bike and fence, I think I hit the fence and the wire didn't break. I think I got launched into the field and my bike slid under the fence on its left side.

Several of the fence posts broke, but the wire never snapped! I couldn't believe how strong that stuff was. It broke my front forks and tore the bike up horribly.

I went to the hospital in an ambulance and spent 4 days there before I transferred to a rehab facility for another 7. I sustained a fractured left collar bone, 3 fractures in my pelvis, a fractured sacrum, a sprained left ankle and right hand, and I hit the ground so hard that my ribs punched a hole in my left lung.

Despite the laundry list of injuries, my gear saved me from any head or spine injuries and I only got some small scrapes from the barbed wire where my jacket was pulled up. I've had no surguries and I should make a full recovery, but I'll be on crutches for a few months.

The icing on the cake: my 2 month old FZ6 is totalled :banghead:. I bought it with 0 miles and it's gone after only 1400 . I loved that bike, but ultimately the only important thing is that I'm alive and I owe a lot of that to my riding gear.

I'll post pics soon

Good to hear you are ok! Bummer about the bike but better her than you.

Get well soon.

These are pics I took 2 days before the accident. I had just put on my new frame sliders.

Wow! Sound like a horrible wreck. Those barbed wire fences are designed to keep cows in, so I guess they have to be pretty strong. At least some of the fence posts let go, which should have lessened some of the impact.

Hope you're doing ok, and I wish you a speedy recovery and return to motorcycling.

Good Luck!

After

My dad took these pics for me since I have been in the hospital. Today is my first day home and I haven't seen the bike since it was laying in the field next to me while I was strapped to a stretcher. It makes me sick to see the bike like that.

Wow! That is one nasty list of injuries....Hope your feeling much much better real soon...and that you recover fully.

As for the bike, sad stuff, but at least your still here.

Here's hoping for a speedy recovery.

:thumbup:

That's totalled? Really?

It's great that you're recovering, it must really suck to have all those broken bones, but it's good you're okay.

That bike doesn't look too bad, unless there's engine/frame damage I'm not seeing. Really, mine looked 5 times worse and I fixed it for about $1000, you just have to know where to look for parts. If you had a body shop do an estimate, they'll take the factory price to replace all parts, even if there's just a little dent or scratch. I bet you could fix that up easily if you found used parts. (Naked even!)

Using barb wire as a parachute is never a great idea

Glad you're relatively OK.

"Mr. insurance, I swear I will find that squirrel that ran under my tire mid-turn and made me crash! I am so angry at it!"
"Oh, so it was an accident, and you weren't going to fast when this happened?"
"No sir, I was within the speed limit, but that damn squirrel!".
"OK Sir, don't worry we will cover the accident 100%".

Good luck with it all..............

I know what you mean. As I said, I haven't seen the bike in person yet, but the insurance guy said the damages would be worth 83% of the bike value (about $5200/$5300 blue book).

Like you say, it doesn't look terrible, but I think there may be some hidden damage and the bike wasn't running great. I believe my dad said it was putting out smoke like it was burning oil - possibly only because of the tumble, but maybe a sign of internal damage.

Either way, I'm not working now because of the accident and I soon won't be able to continue the payments until I get back to work. I'll lose some money on it, but I can't ride for a long time anyhow, so I'm kinda better off having it totaled and just getting another in a couple years.

And thanks to everyone for the good wishes on recovery.

A scratch on the frame is enough to total a bike due to the labor it takes to replace a frame... while we as individuals obviously look at it differently, insurance companies don't have a choice, they have to make the bike look exactly like it did before the accident, and the work will be done by an authorized shop...

It might not be Law to wear your gear,But when you need it you'll be glad you had it on !!!

Imagine if you hadnt had a helmet on :

Get well soon mate :thumbup:

I'm glad your ok, I wonder what would have happen if you low sided into the ditch? It could have thrown you into the wire. All I have to say is Ouch, and I'm glad your ok!

We are super happy you were not seriously injured. It could have been really bad. Motorcycles are material things, and your body is alive due to sufficient riding gear. Just a reminder to everyone ATGATT. We hope you recover very soon.

Hey thanks for sharing. I hope you have a speedy recover. It sounds like it was pretty hard on your body -- kudos for wearing gear man.

I hear many stories of folks entering that "danger zone" of riding for about a year and that's probably one of the most likely times to have a mishap. How many miles have you done in that year?

Things like this always remind me to stay humble as a rider. I hate turns that look good/fun but turn out to be sharper than expected.

Heal quick and worry about a new bike later. I hope insurance treats you well -- should compensate you for your bike and gear.

Dennis

Sorry about your crash....but it could have been so much worse. (I saw a TV show where a barbed wire almost decapitated a guy!) Hope you heal up good as new!

Good to hear that you are 'ok'. If you are going to continue riding I'd recommend a good track skill course to get some skills under your belt for you probably could have ridden that curve out on two wheels. A modern street bike with good rubber will lean much further than most riders believe or have the skill level to use to it's full extent. Only you were there of course but at a 50 mph speed almost any curve can be taken easily. Your initial instinct to let it lowside was probably correct, but without the skill and experience to believe you could guide it through led you in the opposite direction, with painful results. When you find yourself too hot in a corner you must, "look (through the corner), lean, and believe". 99.9% of the time you will be amazed how the bike easily goes through the curve. Good luck with the rehabilitation.

I'm glad that you're be able to recover physically. Sorry to hear about your bike. Take care and concentrate on getting well.

Take it easy.

Rough Spill Man... Good Luck with the Rehab... I had a guy with very similar injuries from a crash on a Harley... He's shopping again!!!

In Hoc...