1st crash - Flew 120 ft. at 50 mph and landed on my feet. Reconstructed ankle, broken arm with nerve damage.

2nd crash - Had a semi pulling a low-boy with bulldozer turn in front of me at 60 mph. Put it down perfectly and only suffered a toe injury.

There are Guardian Angels!

 

Been down once. About a month after I got the ride in my signature I was in the mountains going through some hairpin turns. Took one a little hot and couldn't make the turn. Managed to slow down enough to avoid any serious damage. Sore ankle and some minor paint / chrome damage. Still haven't repaired the scrapes on the gas tank. I like the reminder every time I mount up to pay attention. Haven't been down since.

 

I lost controll twice. The first time was my second month of riding when I turned off a main road onto a gravel parking lot. No injuries, slow speed, just felt dumb.

Second time was last summer. 7pm after a whole day of light rain. Gently applied both brakes in preparation for a turn, and the bike just started to glide. I thought "oh SH&*" and slowly started to let off the brakes, and just lowsided. The road was so slippery that I slid for so long I remember thinking "geez, I've been sliding a long time...!!!"

The bike passed me and I watched it slide down the road. We both came to a stop and a bunch of people ran over. I was terrified that I was hurt but too pumped up on adrenaline to feel it, so I remember saying "don't touch me! Don't touch my helmet!" I was scared someone would try to take it off and hurt me worse.

Then I sat up, stood up, and I was ok. This one guy saw the whole thing. He said "dude, are you ok?" I said yes, and he goes "MAN, THAT WAS F'ING AWESOME!!!"

Bike started up and I rode home, trying to see through the rash that covered my face sheild.

The road was unbelievably slimy. The same thing that caused the accident also saved me in a sense, as I just slid on the slimeyness instead of tumbling. Was wearing good gear, so no injuries. Just a 3 day headache and a swollen shoulder for a few weeks.

 

Just what I own or the bikes that belong to friends and relatives?

 

STATS show about every 5 or 6 years you'll have a incident of some type. My record is
3 real crashes. 1 requiring a rtide to the Hospitol.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Jg4f5eF7M

 

First one: 1974 - On a '70 Norton Interstate near Ottawa Ontario: Fell asleep and ended up in ditch. Must have slowed down while nodding off, since no injuries other than being winded and soaked/covered in mud. Bike not so lucky, bent this and that, but still rideable. In my defense, I was just finishing a 2,000 mile trip in 3 days, with rain most of the time.

Second one: 1998 - On a 1986 Kawi GPZ900. I stupidly hit the throttle hard coming out of a sharp turn in a neighborhood street. Bad tires and below freezing temperatures; the bike popped out from under me. As I slid along watching my bike, I cursed as I watched the mirror grind off and other bits fly off. Ruined my jeans and had to buy a few bits; otherwise ok.

Third one - 2004 in the Copper Canyon, Mexico. Bridge was washed out, so we crossed the river upstream. While climbing the bank (boulders, bank was about 20 feet high) my rental KLR650 flew out from under me. My fault, I sat back! Crushed my leg and banged my shoulder pretty good. Still finished the trip, but I was limping a lot and black 'n blue all over.

 

Twice at speed on the street. Many more slow ones. Work really hard to avoid it now - I'm not as bouncy as I used to be. Got some scar tissue but no disability. Lost some mates permanently too. Could not recommend coming off a bike to anyone - especially when it involves hitting another vehicle - that's real bad.

BTW to call it a "crash" is a cager term - "coming off" is a term I can accept tho'.

 

I totaled a sportster in Germany back in 93. This was one of the things that led up to me being sober. If anybody has ever been to Germany you know that there are alot of nice curvy roads over there and that they use fiberglass poles to mark road sides. I was a little on the tipsy side going around a nice banked curve. Rear wheel slipped off the pavement and the bike was completely sideways. I remember that first fiberglass pole hitting the tank and thats it....the rest is black. My friend and his wife were following me and they said they saw headlight taillight about 7 times as my bike went down a 20 foot bank and out into a wheat field. They thought I was dead cause this happened at 70mph. They found me sitting up in the field about 75 yards off the road. No injuries except for a small nick on my nose where my glasses broke. Actually being drunk probably saved me from having major injuries cause my body was relaxed and I didnt tense up. I was sore as hell the next day though. I definetly learned my lesson on the drinking and driving bit.

 

I am enjoying this thread! I do not feel like such a 'tard. I used to be embarrassed to tell anyone that I have been "down" more than once!