caferacercb750 Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Two Friday's ago I said goodbye to my FZ after a lady cut me off on the interstate. I must praise the man above first and foremost, then the gear that I was wearing that day. I came off the bike around 68 mph, and survived only with a broken left thumb and lots of bruises, but no road rash or anything life threatening. It was a short ride, that took me longer to gear up than the ride lasted. I wish I could scream from the mountain tops about the importance of proper riding gear. I've enjoyed reading tips and tricks on here the last year, sadly my first post is my last. I really did love this bike, but I'm moving on to another, maybe a bobber or dual sport. Everyone stay safe, and keep good gear on!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gremlin Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Glad your ok. Can you share with us what gear, brand you had on?! Stay safe. Honda Grom CB 350 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacercb750 Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 I had icon overlord jeans on with under armor running pants, Alpine Stars SMX-6 boots, Spidi TX 1 gloves (they really saved my hands) Alpine Stars Gunnar Jacket. A Scorpion EXO-T1200 helmet (I hit face first too) the helmet is toast looks wise and I'm sure needs replacing after a hit like that, the gloves held up surprisingly well, boots are untouched, not even a scuff. Jacket is trashed, but the armor stayed in place and held up. Overall I'm lucky to be alive from what I've been told from witnesses and emergency personnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gremlin Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Man, I think with all the gear on and the heavens above, you gotta have a nice bail/crash technique?! I've been doing martial arts for over 15 years. Muay Thai and JiuJitsu and rolling has saved my ass multiple times on my road bike, but YES! To the gear. So glad to hear that. Thanks for sharing Honda Grom CB 350 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomascrown Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 The gear is not as important as how you crashed, as the lesson learned from that will prevent crashes in the first place. Did you grab a handful of brake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Man, I think with all the gear on and the heavens above, you gotta have a nice bail/crash technique?! I've been doing martial arts for over 15 years. Muay Thai and JiuJitsu and rolling has saved my ass multiple times on my road bike, but YES! To the gear. So glad to hear that. Thanks for sharingI agree. I get the strong impression he rolled because he said his boots weren't scuffed and a lot of bones weren't broken which indicates his limbs were tucked in. The dive/tuck & roll I learned during my Hap Ki Do training in Korea saved my ass when I once took a dive over an Eldorado Cadillac at around 50 mph. Walked away from it without a scratch. If I have another crash I hope I'm lucky enough to be able to roll again. caferacercb750 Sorry about your FZ and your thumb but it's good you're alright and willing to get back in the saddle and ride. Let us know what bike you get. Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineappleunderthesea Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 The gear is not as important as how you crashed, as the lesson learned from that will prevent crashes in the first place. Did you grab a handful of brake?I'd say it's a mixture of awareness, hardware (the bike), and the gear: of course awareness of your surroundings is crucial, and is the first line of defense in avoiding an accident. But this brings up hardware: if there was a bit of reaction time before the accident, it might have helped if our bikes had ABS (in NAFTA, anyway), grabbing a handful of brakes would not matter, and you could still steer away from the issue while braking hard. In a panic situation, either you grab that brake hard and lock the wheel, or you're afraid to lock the wheel and you don't stop as fast as you should have. So the lack of a safety feature on the bike might play a role as well. In cases where an accident will be unavoidable, good gear is obviously important. For example, simply falling off the bike can seriously bruise your hip (or worse), yet many people don't bother wearing hip protection. That ankle bone also wants to scrape, so wearing sneakers that expose that bone probably isn't a good idea as well. I guess you have to ride assuming you'll take a fall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacercb750 Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 Sadly one of my golden rules of riding (never trust your mirrors) most likely aided in my crash. I was aware of all the cars ahead of me, and had 4-5 car lengths of distance between them. I was going to merge into the left lane so I turned my signal on, checked over my shoulder, then when I looked back around the lady in the left lane was on her brakes and in the process of quickly trying to merge off the highway. It was so fast that my tire clipped the right side of her rear bumper, and there I went. Adding insult to injury, she decided to leave after watching me get up on my knees and look around. I keep kicking myself for the lack in judgement, but I've looked over my shoulder 10 million times, and some of those have revealed hidden dangers approaching, but I'm alive, and I'll be able to ride again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redharris Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Glad you are OK......I have a technique for looking over the shoulder that has saved me a few times. Depending on which shoulder I'm looking over, I tilt my head towards that mirror and start swivelling my head while keeping my eyes forward at traffic in front of me. At a certain point, my head is turned at about a 35-40 degree angle (eyes still forward) and I'm in a position to flick my eyes at the mirror and back forward VERY quickly. Now I'm in a position to quickly glance the rest of the way over my shoulder and then get back forward quickly. Its not FOOL PROOF, but I have found this technique allows me look over my shoulder with significantly less time away from the Eyes Forward position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineappleunderthesea Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Glad you are OK......I have a technique for looking over the shoulder that has saved me a few times. Depending on which shoulder I'm looking over, I tilt my head towards that mirror and start swivelling my head while keeping my eyes forward at traffic in front of me. At a certain point, my head is turned at about a 35-40 degree angle (eyes still forward) and I'm in a position to flick my eyes at the mirror and back forward VERY quickly. Now I'm in a position to quickly glance the rest of the way over my shoulder and then get back forward quickly. Its not FOOL PROOF, but I have found this technique allows me look over my shoulder with significantly less time away from the Eyes Forward position.I try to glance as quick as humanly possible as well, especially when I moved to Pittsburgh: local drivers seem to be trained to make full stops at yield signs instead of accelerating to merge. They might get going a bit, but instead of a smooth acceleration to match the speed of traffic and fit into an opening, they'll make a full stop until a much bigger opening opens up, and then floor it to try to get up to speed. What you have to be careful about is having your head turned back for a second or two while they slam their brakes instead of accelerating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simbadc650 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 i heard ur next bike is a red fz07! Welcome back hehehe stay safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.