Rider Down, and the enemy is us
 

Rear brake failure yesterday, locked up rear wheel at 70mph, highside ..crunch.
Bike is pretty bad right side.... Biker sore and four broken ribs my right side..

About 12:37 Thursday
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452261405

5 hours later after being released from the ER, revisiting the scene.
The skid mark you see behind me is the side case.. the high side impact and before that tire skid mark is in the forefront out of screen

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452262340
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452261405
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452261608
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452261227
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452261630
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452261630
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452261630
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452261630

All the gear all the time saved me from much worse... That was not our for a "RIDE" just ride downtown to my range for an errand.

Helmet took a good hit to include compressed liner, that piece of armor split...that was the right shoulder puck.. Heel of one boot got ground down a bit and toe are of another.. various rash on the jacket and jeans.

70mph highside and I walked away with 4 broken ribs and a little rash on one knee, few bruises elsewhere. ATGATT.
The Bike? Don't know yet, have not worked up the motivation to go into the shop and look.. Broken side cover, all right side rashed my unobtainium carbon Leo exhaust... Im just sick,,,and it's not the Morphine and Norco.

I'm very sorry to read about your accident, but so glad that you were not more badly injured. Take care of yourself while you recover.
I hope the bike isn't too bad, but stuff can be replaced, right?
Thanks for sharing the story. BTW, I hope the item contained in the leather was not your favorite!

Also very sorry to hear about this E. Happy that you suffered so little damage to you.

Rib injuries are a SOB!
I only bruised my ribs during an accident a few years back. Let me tell you, it made life different for a while. Little things we do every day we take for granted, ha!
I could not get into bed without moaning. Laughter quickly turned into tears of pain.

That's proof why gear is absolutely necessary!
Hope you heal up soon!
Let us know how the bike looks when you get the courage to check it out

Bad news for the SH Tribe.
My best wishes for your speedy recovery and the restoration of your bike.
Please keep us posted on your progress.

Erik, really glade you're somewhat ok. Ribs take a real long time to heal, but they will heal. Sorry to say this, but the bike is not important...you are. Thanks for sharing with us this frustrating and somewhat happy ending story...you're still here to tell it.

I hope you'll let us know why the brake locked up on you. I know it's heavily moded, and hope that has nothing to do with it. It will help others prevent future failure if it's something that's related to that.

We can now put a face on you. ;)

Get well soon friend.

Erik,

Sorry to learn of your latest experience.

Good to see that your gear saved you.

Bikes are replaceable, people are not!

Get well soon mate.

Glad you are ok mate. Broken ribs suck, been there. Just dont cough.

But another way to look at it is imagine where you would be if you didnt have the gear on. This doesnt mean you were lucky but very smart.

Bikes although mean a lot to us can be replaced or fixed, bodys not so much. You will need to take it easy and tell your loved ones to keep an eye out for concussion.

Again, dont cough. Or laugh.

I was waiting till the insurance guy finished up, and with that done, bike totaled .. Here is the rest of the story.

Rear caliper converted to underslung design, using the OEM bracket and stay added to keep it in place.
Previously I had snapped off the stay mount from the bracket, attributed it to having the bracket rotated too far forward .... see previous post here someplace.
New bracket, shorter stay and all has been well for months... did some really abusive controlled stops to test it, all held well.

Yesterday, tooling down the road at 70mph, I felt what I thought was engine loosing power, bogging, more gas drag down more.. ok, fueling issue, or perhaps motor is letting go.. I move toward right hand side of the road..just before I got into the debris on road side I gently used the brakes, just a tad.. rear wheel locked instantly, as I already had the rear wheel out of alignment (steering to roadside) the instant it locked it highsided me.

What I realize now is the brake stay had broken, the caliper rotated and was binding.. If I had not touched the rear brake I would have made it to the roadside, seen the issue called for the truck and been home in an 1/2 hour.
This was a part failure, a part I built and braking system I modified.. and it failed,,,,biting me in the ass.

Sorry to hear of your mishap Erik. I wiped out on an oil slick in November and lowsided at around 60mph, and also cracked a rib on the way down. My advice: don't sneeze!

You'll heal up in no time, and I'm sure the bike can be repaired. Crashes are also UPGRADE opportunities!

Sorry to hear this...

I stopped using the rear brake 15 years ago... I may tap it once a year to tighten my line in a turn...

Not that my comment has anything to do with the part failing, the thought just came to mind when i read your post.

On the dirt the rear wheel sliding about is great fun, on the street i prefer the rear planted and don't want to give it any input (besides throttle) to make it do otherwise...

Sorry to hear about your accident.

Looking at the wrecked bike will be more painful than the cracked ribs i assure you :(

James

WTF
 

Erik,

I briefly read your reply to my PM today around noon during a break in a building code seminar I attended all day yesterday and today, and wondered what was going on when you referenced morphine. I did not read this thread until now now that I'm finally home, and WTF!

I feel terrible for you and you could have waited to reply to my PM!

I know everyone says (and of course I agree) that they're happy you only sustained relatively minor injuries and material things can be replaced but, and as I think I'm very much like you, totaling your VTR after the hundreds of hours you've spent modifying it has got to be more painful than your injuries.

And some material things just cannot be replaced, at least not exactly. However, if you choose to pick up the pieces and rebuild (I know it's going to very hard starting "over"), maybe the end result will be even better than what you had. Practice makes perfect. LOL

I've spent a lot of time on my VTR too and that is one reason I've not done track days on it because I'm afraid I push it and crash. That's not to say I couldn't total it on the street too. I've often thought it may be better to just buy a bike, do the absolute minimum mods and not devote a lot of time on it and just ride the heck out of it because of exactly the above possibility.

BTW and no lnock intended, whereas I do not know what type of jeans you were wearing (i.e., Kevlar lined with armor), in my ATGAT world there are no blue jeans (though I have a Kevlar / armored pair I bought just to test and they felt like I was wearing pajamas). I also do not carry anything hard in pockets, not even a cell phone. I'm also upgrading the armor in all my older leathers and Stitch.

sorry to read about your mishap; glad you were well suited up.

Did you hear the joke about... oops, sorry no laughing.

Erik, so sorry to hear this.... at list you are here to tell us about it, could have been allot worse if the wheel locked somewhere else in this speed, you got lucky bro', one of my friends crashed in a similar way the day after Christmas doing only 45 mph, locked rear wheel, bike low sided and threw him off high side and got lot's more damage, surgery and a week in the hospital.
The bike... too bad, it was a very cool bike, but I trust you can make even better for the next.
Again, glad you are OK bro'.

Erik, my condolences on your mishap. Glad you are around to tell us about it. I had a similar experience on either my 83 Interceptor 750 or might have been the 84 1000. Coming back from Laconia weekend doing about 75 mph on the highway my sleeping bag came undone and fouled the rear wheel. Luckily on a straight section of hwy and was able to ride it out to the side of the road. Must have left over 300 feet of skid mark and the tire was flat spotted down to the cords. Took half an hour to cut the bag off the rear wheel with a pocket knife. It was wrapped so tight it was like trying to cut down a tree.


What the hell another story to add to your riding history. Get well and good luck getting back on the horse.

Yah my friend had a chain break years ago on an off ramp, locking up his rear wheel... He managed to keep it upright until it stopped.

Crazy stuff...

James

Erik, are you there? Maybe you're stuck in bed because you cant do a sit up.
That was my situation. Tie a rope to the foot board and use it to pull yourself upright in the morning.

Yup Im here, well actually Im going over >>>there to look at a Superhawk ..though the wife said no fun fun for a month if I try and test ride it.....so my son is meeting us there.

Well new superhawk for Marquez Racing
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452386138
2001 16k on clock
Mostly unmolested (molestation will commence next week :p )
Perfect condition save for one small scratch on side cover

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452379486

Oh wait that's the current bike...Lol

The new one is really not even visible unless you look under the bike.

So in a few days when I can ride ill go get the new bike
Strip both and build one.

Other then four broken ribs reminding me while I should not be breathing very often or deeply, Im pretty stoked..
Though it was a hell of a way to get a gas gauge and clock on my dash... Fixing to have a super clean low milage SH again... and well now I have two complete motors as spares to build one this winter (the plan all along)

There will be some nice aftermarket parts for sale soon, and some commonly needed stock ones as well. But lets leave that for a for-sale thread in the future.

Sorry you got bit.

Add sneezing, burping & farting to your list of no no's for the next 4-6 weeks.
;)

That's the spirit :evillaugh:

Hope to see the new build soon

Erick,

You don't muck around mate.

Interested to see what you make of the new bike.

Erik that is some bad luck but I'm glad to hear your mostly ok. I am also very glad to hear youve found a replacement so quick and the silver lining with the broken ribs is that it will give you a chance to molest the new one before you get back in the saddle ;)...

I am curious though... what was in the holster, and is it damaged? pictures?

again. glad to hear your mostly ok

Thanks


Springfield 4" XD .45 custom
Minor scratches on the nose of the slide and front frame rail
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452461094
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...1&d=1452461085

Springfield Armory and I share the same home town. And that's pretty much the extent of our relationship.

not too bad, looks like the holster did its job fairly well... still functions fine? did it move the sight, looks like it got a touch of pavement

So correct!

Another VTR! Nice recovery . Glad you still have the spirit!
The only thing better than a day buying a bike..... would be a day also buying a new firearm.