first fall

[mattcosta7]

almost 6k miles on the bike, and i took my first spill

I was driving up Bowery in NYC, in the right hand lane by houston. A car in the center lane is moving slowly, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

I'm next to him, front wheels about the same place, when he pulls HARD to the right nad tries to gun it. MY RADIATOR and his front bumper collide. I go flying over the handle bars, the bike goes down, sliding on the right hand side. The clutch cover is torn open because the car HIT it.

I do a flip in the air, and slide a good 50 feet

His story: "I was in the right lane, blinker on, turning right, when he (me) on the bike flew around to try and get past"

My story (corroborated by a witness): "He was in the center lane, and I was moving with traffic in the right lane. he turned into me.

The Radiator leaked entirely out.
The clutch cover gashed and all the fluid dropped out.
The tail grab rail right side is destoryed
the motovation slider on the right side is worn down
scratches in my wheel.
footpeg got ripped off

my leg is crazy sore, but overall i feel alright

Full Snow Suit (not proper riding gear, but padded and slippery) and an Arai helmet defintiely played a part in me standing back up and walking away

 

[08fz6]

glad your ok! Bikes can be replaced!

 

[OZXJR]

Bloody Hell mate !

You were lucky,glad your ok and sorry to hear about the bike but it can be fixed easier than you can.Bloody cages !

Been too much of this lately ,be careful people.

 

[mattcosta7]

yeah, and i was just getting done with the mods. everything was exactly how I wanted it. ****in ****

 

[wrightme43]

Glad your ok man.
Stupid cagers.

 

[Luiz]

I am also glad your alright and hopefully his insurance pays for it. I would be so angry about the bike too but you have a lot to be thankful for. Keep being careful.

 

[Nick J]

Sorry about the crash, but I'm glad you're OK. Just goes to show that you gotta watch those dang cagers at ALL times. And sorry about all your hard work and money just getting all banged up.

 

[robbijer]

Glad to hear your ok. How fast were you guys moving? And I assume the frame slider helped out with minimizing damage to the bike, but do you think your body would be worse off with or without the sliders?

Hope your recovery is speedy and good luck with the insurance people.

 

[DefyInertia]

ugh....Glad you didn't get run over!

 

[Stumbles06]

Holy crap, sounds like you were very lucky Mate.

Wouldn't the world be such a better place if cagers didn't exist.

Sucks about the bike man, but at least you are relatively ok. The bike can be fixed, (although, it does hurt when you've just got it the way you wanted it), it is still a bike. Your health is much more important.

Heal quick, and get the bike up and running again.

 

[jsw4178]

Glad you are okay. Sorry about your bike. People like that are really starting to p!$$ me off!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

+ 1 on being okay, what kind of safety gear did you have on, and how did it perform?

Let us know how this ends up, insurance and financially.

I'm always intriqued on how and why people go down. Most of the time, it's the cagers fault, however I feel that it's directly related on how the rider has placed themselves into a situation in which they become more vulnerable.

Not sure how many lanes you had to choose from, sounds like three though the way you described it. But in general, I like to avoid travelling in the right lane, one for that reason, plus there is too many entry and exit points.

 

[DefyInertia]

Full Snow Suit (not proper riding gear, but padded and slippery) and an Arai helmet defintiely played a part in me standing back up and walking away

^^^^^

what kind of safety gear did you have on, and how did it perform?.

no mention of the horn?????

 

[oogie]

Glad you made it with minimal injury to yourself, scary stuff I know.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

^^^^^



no mention of the horn?????

Oh by the way, depending on how quickly you can react by hitting the horn, it could have saved your ass. But most riders say that they did not have an opportunity to hit the horn, which may be true.

But personally, If I have to hit the brakes, I'm hitting my horn at the sametime. For those who can't naturally react to using both, practice, practice,practice. It's not easy, using rear brake, grabbing just enough a handful of front brake, pulling in the clutch and hitting the horn simultaneously without even thinking. If you have to think on what to do in an emergency situation, you shouldn't be riding.

I use my horn every single day here in Vegas, primarly for advanced preventive measures. I'd rather do this rather than getting myself into the same situation as Matt in which I must resort to taking corrective measures or making contact, plus I avoid riding in the right lane.

Yes, it's a jungle out there. Everyone be safe, do whatever you have to do to stay safe. For me, I wear full gear and use my horn to a point that might be considered excessive.

 

[Humperdinkel]

Nasty ordeal mate , but glad to hear your on the mend....... Your bike will be repaired soon enough and you'll be away again ....... Lets start a campaign to get all cagers removed from the roads :thumbup: , how good would the traffic be

 

[ozzieboy]

OMG. That sux:spank:. Glad to hear you're ok-ish:thumbup:. Don't know if you do already or if it would've helped but watch the drivers head too. They'll usually give away their intentions. Hope you're on the road again soon:rockon:

Cheers
Mike.

 

[Cloggy]

Sorry to hear about your spill, but pleased to hear you're OK.

Bikes can be fixed, I hope the other guys insurance pays out soon, without too much hastle.

Try not to let it spoil your holidays.

 

[SovietRobot]

+ 1 on being okay, what kind of safety gear did you have on, and how did it perform?

Let us know how this ends up, insurance and financially.

I'm always intriqued on how and why people go down. Most of the time, it's the cagers fault, however I feel that it's directly related on how the rider has placed themselves into a situation in which they become more vulnerable.

Not sure how many lanes you had to choose from, sounds like three though the way you described it. But in general, I like to avoid travelling in the right lane, one for that reason, plus there is too many entry and exit points.

If only it were that simple.

For example in my situation, I was traveling in the left lane because 100feet(which is nothing at speed) up the road there was a police car stopped halfway in the right lane, and a car going the opposite way in the middle suicide lane decides to turn infront of me with 6 feet to spare. Of course that's a fraction of a second and even if I had time to react, I would've been hit anyways.

The simple fact is that human beings, the most advanced lifeform in the known universe, simply turn into mindless idiots when they get behind the wheel of a car.


Matt, hope you come out okay physically and hope your bike gets taken care of. I know my bike will come out better than it was pre-accident.

I had to deal with my own insurance company because the other driver had no license/insurance, but I had uninsured motorist protection so I got taken care of. The insurance adjuster was really cool, he knew every mod done to my bike including the R6 forks, and he got me as much as he possibly could.

 

[Hellgate]

Wow! I'm glad to hear that you are alive and well Matt. Sounds like it could have been much worse.

Hang in there and I hope you are feeling better shortly.