Motorcycle Riders?

[999cs]

Well I had my first bad wreck in 18 years of riding. I'm laying in the hospital as it type this on my second night here and will be for almost a week with a second surgery on Monday. Was wearing gear, expect for pants as I got to fat for them. so I got a rash on my left knee. and a chipped knee cap.
But I have a smashed pelvis bone. I ripped the handle bars with the triple clamp off the bike with my pelvis. guy pulled out in front of me. I was able to swerve to the rear drivers door and not hit the drivers door, but that was it. he was about 40 ft in front of me when he pulled out. flew the air with a flip and slid.
I will be out for 6 months or maybe more. Not only is my dream motorcycle destroyed, my ability to walk for 1/2 a year too I have been shooting a dozen arrows everyday since march to get ready for deer season tomorrow. Which I wont be able to do either. But Im alive and I didnit bleed to death like alot of fractured pelvis ppl do. my wife is handling better than I thought.
I work commercial construction, looks like a good time to find a new career to work from home.

That is horrible what happened. I am glad that you survived and are okay for the most part despite your injuries. Someone pulling out in front of me is my biggest fear when riding and I'm always super paranoid when I see cars waiting on side streets or intersections to turn out. Watching them like a hawk, but there is not much else you can do. I wish you the very best speedy recovery. Again I am glad that you are okay. Take care and good luck with your additional surgery next week!

 

[melensdad]

Well I had my first bad wreck in 18 years of riding. I'm laying in the hospital as it type this on my second night here and will be for almost a week with a second surgery on Monday. Was wearing gear, expect for pants as I got to fat for them. so I got a rash on my left knee. and a chipped knee cap.
But I have a smashed pelvis bone. . . .

WOW, I guess the good thing is that EVENTUALLY you will walk away, but it sounds like you have a good bit of recovery time ahead of you. Glad you had gear on, probably saved you from a lot more grief. Moto-pants would probably not have saved that pelvis; gear is not magic armor.

Keep us all informed on your progress and I hope you have a speedy recovery.

 

[airhog]

Well I had my first bad wreck in 18 years of riding. I'm laying in the hospital as it type this on my second night here and will be for almost a week with a second surgery on Monday. Was wearing gear, expect for pants as I got to fat for them. so I got a rash on my left knee. and a chipped knee cap.
But I have a smashed pelvis bone. I ripped the handle bars with the triple clamp off the bike with my pelvis. guy pulled out in front of me. I was able to swerve to the rear drivers door and not hit the drivers door, but that was it. he was about 40 ft in front of me when he pulled out. flew the air with a flip and slid.
I will be out for 6 months or maybe more. Not only is my dream motorcycle destroyed, my ability to walk for 1/2 a year too I have been shooting a dozen arrows everyday since march to get ready for deer season tomorrow. Which I wont be able to do either. But Im alive and I didnit bleed to death like alot of fractured pelvis ppl do. my wife is handling better than I thought.
I work commercial construction, looks like a good time to find a new career to work from home.

Thanks for sharing. Hope the surgeon fixes things up like new but for a few scuff marks.

 

[melensdad]

. . . Someone pulling out in front of me is my biggest fear when riding . . . I see cars waiting on side streets or intersections to turn out. Watching them like a hawk, but there is not much else you can do. . .

Actually lights are shown, in studies to help. Running extra lighting, front and rear, increases the "visual size" of the motorcycle. Our brains don't see motorcycles because they are small compared to cars, and generally have poor lights. So adding wide angle fog or specialty conspicuity lights to our front forks, or crash bars, or hand guards can make a significant difference in being seen. Spot lights light up the road in front of you, but wide angle conspicuity lights shine in the eyes of drivers so they SEE YOU. Nothing is foolproof. But wide angle lights are shown to help.

Bright as these are, they are NOT blinding to the oncoming traffic. They are, however, attention getting. These have lenses to spread the light beam 180 degrees up/down AND side/side.

Mine are DENALI brand "DRL" lights. Switch on with the ignition. The wider and higher the light spread the better chance you will be seen. FOG lights spread light WIDE but not high, they are focused to keep the beam low. Spot light/driving lights are focused to put out a pinpoint of light well in front of you so they don't actually attract the eye of people off to the side, even only 1 or 2 lanes to your side. But these specialty 'conspicuity' lights put out a wide/tall beam that does almost nothing to help you see, only to help you be seen.

 

[999cs]

Actually lights are shown, in studies to help. Running extra lighting, front and rear, increases the "visual size" of the motorcycle. Our brains don't see motorcycles because they are small compared to cars, and generally have poor lights. So adding wide angle fog or specialty conspicuity lights to our front forks, or crash bars, or hand guards can make a significant difference in being seen. Spot lights light up the road in front of you, but wide angle conspicuity lights shine in the eyes of drivers so they SEE YOU. Nothing is foolproof. But wide angle lights are shown to help.

Bright as these are, they are NOT blinding to the oncoming traffic. They are, however, attention getting. These have lenses to spread the light beam 180 degrees up/down AND side/side.

Mine are DENALI brand "DRL" lights. Switch on with the ignition. The wider and higher the light spread the better chance you will be seen. FOG lights spread light WIDE but not high, they are focused to keep the beam low. Spot light/driving lights are focused to put out a pinpoint of light well in front of you so they don't actually attract the eye of people off to the side, even only 1 or 2 lanes to your side. But these specialty 'conspicuity' lights put out a wide/tall beam that does almost nothing to help you see, only to help you be seen.

Nice addition of the lights. Yeah this is a good and valid point. I know another thing I have seen some riders do is get their front headlight to pulsate. This is also supposed to help with visibility for other drivers on the road.

 

[Limpy88]

WOW, I guess the good thing is that EVENTUALLY you will walk away, but it sounds like you have a good bit of recovery time ahead of you. Glad you had gear on, probably saved you from a lot more grief. Moto-pants would probably not have saved that pelvis; gear is not magic armor.

Keep us all informed on your progress and I hope you have a speedy recovery.

No, not save the pelivs but would have saved my knee. The knee pad would have ubsorbed the impact. Because I cant move it, it is nearly as sore as the pelivs right now.

Yeah lights do help. But the younger kid that pulled out probably won't have seen me any way. My helmet is bright and reflective. He just wasn't looking. I had a light in the back since my top box hung over my brake light quite a bit.

 

[bwframe]

Well I had my first bad wreck in 18 years of riding. I'm laying in the hospital as it type this on my second night here and will be for almost a week with a second surgery on Monday. Was wearing gear, expect for pants as I got to fat for them. so I got a rash on my left knee. and a chipped knee cap.
But I have a smashed pelvis bone. I ripped the handle bars with the triple clamp off the bike with my pelvis. guy pulled out in front of me. I was able to swerve to the rear drivers door and not hit the drivers door, but that was it. he was about 40 ft in front of me when he pulled out. flew the air with a flip and slid.
I will be out for 6 months or maybe more. Not only is my dream motorcycle destroyed, my ability to walk for 1/2 a year too I have been shooting a dozen arrows everyday since march to get ready for deer season tomorrow. Which I wont be able to do either. But Im alive and I didnit bleed to death like alot of fractured pelvis ppl do. my wife is handling better than I thought.
I work commercial construction, looks like a good time to find a new career to work from home.

Sorry to hear this, my friend. Best wishes for your recovery!

 

[bwframe]

Someone pulling out in front of me is my biggest fear when riding and I'm always super paranoid when I see cars waiting on side streets or intersections to turn out...

I try to keep running it through my head that every intersection waiting car will pull out in front of me. Where will I go to avoid them? Which lane should I be in or where at in the lane should I ride to best be seen and maneuver, should need arise?

I always ride daytime with the bright switch on and levers/brake pedal covered. There is no such thing as leisure/complacent riding in the city or approaching any sort intersection.

 

[melensdad]

No, not save the pelivs but would have saved my knee. The knee pad would have ubsorbed the impact. Because I cant move it, it is nearly as sore as the pelivs right now.

Yeah lights do help. But the younger kid that pulled out probably won't have seen me any way. My helmet is bright and reflective. He just wasn't looking. I had a light in the back since my top box hung over my brake light quite a bit.

I agree that knee and hip armor, plus abrasion resistant pants would have helped some. D3O or Seeflex armor in that knee likely would have saved you from that chip. I argue with my wife, she wants to wear jeans on her bike. I ended up buying her armored jeans. I'm an ATGATT guy, she would go helmet less, in a t-shirt and jeans if she could get out of the house without me yelling.

I have seen some indications that WHITE helmets might help. But there is actually very little evidence that HI-VIZ gear, etc helps a lot. It probably helps some. I'm not even convinced reflectors do any good.

Wide dispersion front lights help.

As for rear lights, I'm at about triple the DOT minimum standard. Factory lights + Custom Dynamics license plate frame with Stop/Running/Turn lights + Running/Turn lights on my side cases.

My rear light set up:

 

[melensdad]

Nice addition of the lights. Yeah this is a good and valid point. I know another thing I have seen some riders do is get their front headlight to pulsate. This is also supposed to help with visibility for other drivers on the road.

Not legal in all areas, I think it is illegal in Canada. But getting a headlight modulator is probably worth the (very rare) risk of a traffic ticket.

 

[Victory106]

Any other Victory riders out there?!?!?

 

[JCSR]

I love going to the mall..........

 

[bwframe]

 

[tv1217]

You could ride with a disco ball that projects laser beams on your head and some people would still miss it.

 

[airhog]

Any other Victory riders out there?!?!?

Nice bike. You're more likely to bump into big foot than see a Victory on the street. Like classic Mustangs and Vettes, they'll become collector items.

 

[melensdad]

You could ride with a disco ball that projects laser beams on your head and some people would still miss it.

True. There is always someone.

But I’ll do what I can to reduce my risks so I can enjoy the ride while being ready for the slide.

 

[999cs]

Not legal in all areas, I think it is illegal in Canada. But getting a headlight modulator is probably worth the (very rare) risk of a traffic ticket.

Yeah good point on that. If one were to do this would need to check the regs first for legality.

 

[999cs]

You could ride with a disco ball that projects laser beams on your head and some people would still miss it.

lol-ain't that the truth. Some people are completely oblivious to motorcycles on the road.

 

[melensdad]

lol-ain't that the truth. Some people are completely oblivious to motorcycles on the road.

On the opposite side, a lot of motorcyclists are their own worst enemy.

• How many do you see with dim headlights?
• How many do you see with no running lights?
• How many do you see with smaller aftermarket lights that replaced the larger factory lighting?
• How many do you see with blacked out or darkened tail lights?
• How many do you see with their lights modified so that there is almost no visible lighting during daylight hours?

I frequently see big HD's riding at night with lights so dim I wonder how they can see the road in front of them and at night I very commonly see them with absolutely no tail light other than the turn/stop lights; so absolutely no running lights. Oddly enough big cruisers have a fairly low fatality rate for riders but their female passengers are over represented in the death rates.

Add to the above s#it list of things that bikers do to customize their bikes so they are unseen, what about the go-fast 20-year olds on their sport bikes who scream through traffic, weaving in between cars and changing lanes at high speeds and wonder, despite their bright green Ninjas, with bright graphics on their helmets, why they are the group that has the highest rate of fatalities despite the fact that they wear helmets.

 

[999cs]

On the opposite side, a lot of motorcyclists are their own worst enemy.

• How many do you see with dim headlights?
• How many do you see with no running lights?
• How many do you see with smaller aftermarket lights that replaced the larger factory lighting?
• How many do you see with blacked out or darkened tail lights?
• How many do you see with their lights modified so that there is almost no visible lighting during daylight hours?

I frequently see big HD's riding at night with lights so dim I wonder how they can see the road in front of them and at night I very commonly see them with absolutely no tail light other than the turn/stop lights; so absolutely no running lights. Oddly enough big cruisers have a fairly low fatality rate for riders but their female passengers are over represented in the death rates.

Add to the above s#it list of things that bikers do to customize their bikes so they are unseen, what about the go-fast 20-year olds on their sport bikes who scream through traffic, weaving in between cars and changing lanes at high speeds and wonder, despite their bright green Ninjas, with bright graphics on their helmets, why they are the group that has the highest rate of fatalities despite the fact that they wear helmets.

Very true especially with the rice rockets.