Broken Clavicle from a solo accident

D

dadude

Member
This will be quick.

Riding for 18 years. Fairly safe rider. The one place where I perhaps let my guard down a bit was freeway entry.

Early morning, slightly faster turn in, slightly higher lean angle, and I had traction control off on a 05 gsxr1k with engine work. All that led to a nasty tank slapper (keeping a neutral throttle didn't help the slapper go away)


End result was a bucking bike, who's fall I softened with my shoulder. Broken clavicle, torn stuff in my shoulder. 3 months of not being able to workout. Tough.


Lessons?


Turn on traction control - no your hand isn't enough
Easy in early morning turns, especially if you're not on sport riding tires
Get the right gear. The surgery and ER visit will end up being close to $4k. If I had an airbag suit or jacket, I likely would've avoided all of this.



Ride safe, keep the rubber side down :ride
 
ScottRNelson

ScottRNelson

Mr. Dual Sport Rider
Tank slappers, very difficult to recover from once they start.

Did you have a steering damper?

My last crash, 16 years ago, was due to a tank slapper. It lasted just long enough for me to realize that I wasn't going to be able to save it before I was tossed off of the bike and we both went sliding down the road. It still brings back memories whenever I experience a bit of headshake.
 
Biga

Biga

Near Miss Racing #96
ScottRNelson said:
Tank slappers, very difficult to recover from once they start. Did you have a steering damper?
Click to expand...

I was just about to ask that :teeth

I did recovered once from a tank slap when I just just about to bail out from the bike... it was during a track-day and the bike had the steering damper but I forgot to tighten it before I went in to the track... Lesson learned :ride
It scared me so much I just packed my stuff and went home.
 
Holeshot

Holeshot

Super Moderator
Staff member
What tires?

Tanks slappers that transfer energy into the chassis do so through stiff arms. The stiffer the arms (and more you try to control it), the more is transferred from the front tire into the chassis. Doesn't help now, but the takeaway lesson is that stiff arms transfer any front tire movement into the chassis and upset the bike.

This is why I'm not a fan of the actively (using arms/ hands) counter steering all the time, every time, riding.
 
stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
its interesting to see what questions everyone starts with when we know so little about the incident.

im surprised the OP bounced for the whole day. not much analysis without them.
 
Beanzy

Beanzy

Wind free
How does one maintain a "neutral throttle" when the immediate reaction to a tank slapper, or so I can only imagine, is to react with an "Oh shit!" while backing off on the gas?

Despite your pain and the suddenness of the tank slapper, what damage to the rims did you notice?

So is the proper way to react to a tank slapper the same as in the split second of anticipating a fall -- cross one's arms and tuck the chin to the chest?
 
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stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
Beanzy said:
So is the proper way to react to a tank slapper the same as in the split second of anticipating a fall -- cross one's arms and tuck the chin to the chest?
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nope. butt off the seat, light on the bars, and dont chop the throttle are the proper response.

rolling off slightly can help a tank slapper in some cases. sometimes the front tire needs more contact with the ground to reduce the oscillation better/faster. unfortunately, "sometimes" is a key word.
 
J

jaybocc2

o lento
Beanzy said:
How does one maintain a "neutral throttle" when the immediate reaction to a tank slapper, or so I can only imagine, is to react with an "Oh shit!" while backing off on the gas?

Despite your pain and the suddenness of the tank slapper, what damage to the rims did you notice?

So is the proper way to react to a tank slapper the same as in the split second of anticipating a fall -- cross one's arms and tuck the chin to the chest?
Click to expand...

Tucking arms to chest worked for me, once... i had such a nasty straight line tank slapper on my 01 F4i that i had actually committed to jumping off the bike before it finally stopped slapping all on its own. It slapped so hard it bent both clip ons.

More recently i had one last year at AFM berto himself saw a bit off when i goosed it too early in a turn trying to "stop" him from passing me (it didnt work). No idea how i stopped it besides just letting the bike do what it needed.

Personally i don't think there is a cure to slappers besides, just dont do anything, and stay in the seat. If you can stay on the bike or land back on it after launch and both tires stay on the ground, your odds of making it out go up quite a bit. If any obstacles come into play or you get launched the game is over.

All the effort should be focused on what you did relative to the conditions and grip to cause the tankslapper, as i can say with 100% confidence i was the cause of every tankslapper i've ever had :-X

Airbag would probably have helped ;) . Personally my A* Tech Air has paid for itself this year with 2 deployments
 
ScottRNelson

ScottRNelson

Mr. Dual Sport Rider
jaybocc2 said:
All the effort should be focused on what you did relative to the conditions and grip to cause the tankslapper, as i can say with 100% confidence i was the cause of every tankslapper i've ever had :-X
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From what I've learned studying them trying to figure out why mine happened, if you're in a slight turn, accelerating, and do something to get the front wheel very light or off of the ground, you have optimal conditions for a tank slapper. Going straight and giving the bar some input can also do it when you're accelerating hard. Passing another car rapidly on a less than totally smooth road can also set you up if you go to move back into your lane before you've eased off of the throttle.

A good steering damper reduces the odds of having one.
 
berth

berth

Well-known member
dadude said:
End result was a bucking bike, who's fall I softened with my shoulder. Broken clavicle, torn stuff in my shoulder. 3 months of not being able to workout. Tough.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear about your injury -- shoulders take their sweet time healing.

Turn on traction control - no your hand isn't enough
Click to expand...
Unless you're Mat Mladin.
 
Honey Badger

Honey Badger

...iz a girl
I've ridden through a few tank slappers - and liter bikes came without traction control for a long time...oh, and TC doesn't always save you from yourself (or random circumstance) as my tailbone is still informing me of every time I sit down.

Air suits and jackets are the bees knees and well worth the cost IMO (only reason I'm not complaining about more than being butt hurt).

So, the questions are - when and where in the corner did the slide start? Why do you think TC would have "saved" you? What could you have done differently (besides the obvious chill out a bit on cool morning)? And was it a tank slapper or a almost high side (IMO there can be a big difference)?
 
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