My story

[socallarry]

Hello all, I thought I'd share with you my crash experience from President's day weekend.

Everything was going great. I was on a ride with my uncle through the hills/mountains near San Jose. We cruised by the observatory and I believe the road we were traveling on is called San Antonio Valley Road.

Now mind you, my uncle is a much more experienced rider than I am. Before we actually got up into the mountains I told him not to wait for me. I did not want any pressure with him in front of me to "keep up". So he would take off and wait for me and different points along the way.

I was riding fairly gingerly the whole trip and did not get over 50 mph. Matter of fact, I was passed by some riders going through the turns throughout the day.

That being said, the next stop for us was a restaurant called Junction, or something to that effect. It is basically at a junction in the road we were traveling on.

So I'm riding down the road, see the restaurant and begin to brake; my speed was probably between 40-50 mph. Now the accident happened so quickly I do not really know what happened. I remember seeing the restaurant driveway ahead to my right and the next thing I know I'm flying over my bike. I land on the highway and slide for some distance. I slide on the stomach, with my hands out and face looking at the asphalt.

Full face helmet saved my face, racer brand gloves saved my hands (but are completly torn at the palm seams), alpinestars leather jacket saved my chest/stomach (seams also ripped on the front), Joe rocket ballistic pants saved my legs (looks like parts of these pants melted during the slide).

The guys at the restaurant who saw the crash said they saw my back end start to come up. Apparently, my bike flipped and I went flying off it. All this happened so fast that I cannot recall even feeling the backend come up.

I can only think of one thing that could of contributed to this accident. I do remember the road, as I began to brake, was bumpy/rough. I'm thinking that as I went over this section of the road the front/back motion of the bike going over this rough patch, caused me to squeeze more front brake than I wanted to. I was not trying to stop in a hurry and had plenty of distance to come to a stop, so I was not in emergency stop mode.

Anyways, if your still reading this I did suffer some injuries. Dislocated and fractured left shoulder. Sprained pinky finger . Burns above my knees where the pants did not rip, but the heat transfer to my skin was transmitted.

Bike is pretty tore-up too! We'll see what the insurance adjuster has to say.

And thats my story.

 

[RC31x]

Sorry to hear about your accident, glad your gear saved you from even worse injuries!

I've had both the dislocation and the fracture of the shoulder, so I know what you're dealing with. I just had an operation on my shoulder after a major dislocation. The surgeon was Dr. Edwards in Oakland who is new in the area, a specialist from NY. I'm better than new now, she did an amazing job, both her office and the surgery center they use are great to deal with. I'll pass along the details if you want to have her look at it.

Regarding the crash, it sounds like you looped it on the brakes? Maybe you were in hotter and put more into stopping than you remember? The theory of a bump in the road might bear some weight. The closest I've come to riding a bike like your RR is a 636, which didn't feel like it would put you OTB that easily.

Not remembering isn't surprising. With a trauma like that, especially your first big crash, the brain tends to blur a lot of the details after the fact. You may recall more as time goes on.

Take care, good luck with the bike and the injuries!

 

[mabbott]

I too am sorry to hear about your accident. Good thing you had all your body parts covered! I also agree that with time more details might come back. I hope you heal well and are back in the saddle soon!

 

[Wrong Way]

There is usually a lot of sand on the road at the junction. If you were braking in a straight line it may have been possible to lock your front wheel and not realize it until the bike traveled to an area with less sand and better traction.

I suppose bumps could have played a role but sand would have had a slighter or less profound feel to it. If you are not use to feeling your vehicle surge forward during braking because of loss of traction, a common reaction is to apply more brake.

 

[Z3n]

Regarding the crash, it sounds like you looped it on the brakes? Maybe you were in hotter and put more into stopping than you remember? The theory of a bump in the road might bear some weight. The closest I've come to riding a bike like your RR is a 636, which didn't feel like it would put you OTB that easily.

How long have you been riding? The brakes on those things, especially on warmed tires, can easily frontflip the bike.

From what it sounds like, i'd say it's time to go out and practice braking in shitty situations...it's saved my ass more than once. I practice every month or so, just to remind myself what the limits of me and the bike are...if you've never felt what the brakes get like when you start to really get hard down on them, it can be an eye opening experience.

Glad you're doing ok, heal up fast, and hopefully you'll be back in the saddle soon!

 

[MrCrash]

How does your helmet look? A slight bump to the noggin could have caused you to forget some important details about your fall.

My first fall was an instantaneous deal as well. Front brake while heading downhill at around 40 mph, and I hit a small pothole.

*BAM*

Before I knew it, I was doing a superman impersonation. I was using the front brake to scrub speed, and compressed the forks a bit too much. When I got to the pothole, there was no compliance left in the forks - they just jammed it, and I was off.

Does yours sound like it might be similar to that?

 

[socallarry]

Regarding the crash, it sounds like you looped it on the brakes? Maybe you were in hotter and put more into stopping than you remember? The theory of a bump in the road might bear some weight. The closest I've come to riding a bike like your RR is a 636, which didn't feel like it would put you OTB that easily.

Not remembering isn't surprising. With a trauma like that, especially your first big crash, the brain tends to blur a lot of the details after the fact. You may recall more as time goes on.

Take care, good luck with the bike and the injuries!

Thanks! It is possible that I was running in faster than I thought. But yeah, the details are blurred.

 

[socallarry]

I hope you heal well and are back in the saddle soon!

Thank you

 

[socallarry]

How long have you been riding? The brakes on those things, especially on warmed tires, can easily frontflip the bike.

From what it sounds like, i'd say it's time to go out and practice braking in shitty situations...it's saved my ass more than once. I practice every month or so, just to remind myself what the limits of me and the bike are...if you've never felt what the brakes get like when you start to really get hard down on them, it can be an eye opening experience.

Glad you're doing ok, heal up fast, and hopefully you'll be back in the saddle soon!

I've only had this bike for 3 months. I first started riding in high school, but after a long abscence I recently started to ride again. BTW I'm 33.

I was doing some emergency braking in a target parking lot near my house; however, the thing with this accident is that I was not, or at least I thought I was not, on the brakes too hard.

 

[Z3n]

I've only had this bike for 3 months. I first started riding in high school, but after a long abscence I recently started to ride again. BTW I'm 33.

I was doing some emergency braking in a target parking lot near my house; however, the thing with this accident is that I was not, or at least I thought I was not, on the brakes too hard.

Ahh...just curious about your level of familierity with the bike...

Still, i'm sorry to hear about the accident. Have you had a chance to go back and look at the road and see what could have caused it? Even a few days later, there should still be a significant number of clues...and it always helps to know what caused it.

 

[socallarry]

How does your helmet look? A slight bump to the noggin could have caused you to forget some important details about your fall.

My first fall was an instantaneous deal as well. Front brake while heading downhill at around 40 mph, and I hit a small pothole.

*BAM*

Before I knew it, I was doing a superman impersonation. I was using the front brake to scrub speed, and compressed the forks a bit too much. When I got to the pothole, there was no compliance left in the forks - they just jammed it, and I was off.

Does yours sound like it might be similar to that?

My helmet is scratched from the bottom chin up to the top of the visor with pretty deep gouges.

Someone said that it could have been sand in the round, but maybe it was a combo if sand and a bump. Unfortunately, after the accident I went to the restaurant to sit down and did not go back to look at the accident scene.

 

[socallarry]

Have you had a chance to go back and look at the road and see what could have caused it? Even a few days later, there should still be a significant number of clues...and it always helps to know what caused it.

I have not been back. Maybe this wekend I'll take a drive up there.

Yeah, I'd really like to figure out exactly what happened.

 

[RC31x]

How long have you been riding? The brakes on those things, especially on warmed tires, can easily frontflip the bike.

If that was a question for me, I've been riding for 20+ years now. I haven't spent much time on anything like a 600RR, though. The only 'modern' bike I've owned is a Hayabusa, which at 550lbs would be tricky to get it to flip. The time I rode the 636, I did some laps at Sears. I got on the brakes fairly hard, but smooth enough that I don't think I put any daylight under the rear wheel. I never emergency stopped it.

I have no doubt the modern spotr biles will flip easily. I got the tail of my F2 pretty high a couple of times, and that thing was a tank compared to the modern hardware. In those cases the F2 came up slowly, not suddenly. The situations are different enough, and with 15 or so years of brake and weight advances between then and now, I'm sure my experience doesn't really apply. It's good to know, so if I ever borrow someone's modern 600, I'll be sure it only the front wheel comes off the ground, not the rear :angel

The sand theory is interesting. A sudden transition from sliding to grip, heading down hill with weight forward, fork compressed, I could see that causing something like this. I can't say I know the intersection, but I don't think the hill would have to be overly steep to contribute to the weight bias.

You'll be surprised what comes back to you after a crash, especially if you return to the scene and walk through it. If you're going to learn something the hard way (we all do), you might as well get as much detail as you can and take some notes! :cry

 

[nine_inch_rear]

Sorry to hear about your mishap. Iam in the same boat of "wtf just happened" Good part is your were right across the way from the forest service dept. I like mines road, but like anything, you have to respect it. I would assume you grabbed a bit too much brake while the tire hit an uneven patch of tarmac. One thing to consider too is that, that area gets spankin hot in the summer time. The road can get these "chatter" areas, or small rounded bumps cause of summer heat and heavier vehicles

 

[Z3n]

If that was a question for me, I've been riding for 20+ years now. I haven't spent much time on anything like a 600RR, though. The only 'modern' bike I've owned is a Hayabusa, which at 550lbs would be tricky to get it to flip. The time I rode the 636, I did some laps at Sears. I got on the brakes fairly hard, but smooth enough that I don't think I put any daylight under the rear wheel. I never emergency stopped it.

I have no doubt the modern spotr biles will flip easily. I got the tail of my F2 pretty high a couple of times, and that thing was a tank compared to the modern hardware. In those cases the F2 came up slowly, not suddenly. The situations are different enough, and with 15 or so years of brake and weight advances between then and now, I'm sure my experience doesn't really apply. It's good to know, so if I ever borrow someone's modern 600, I'll be sure it only the front wheel comes off the ground, not the rear :angel

The sand theory is interesting. A sudden transition from sliding to grip, heading down hill with weight forward, fork compressed, I could see that causing something like this. I can't say I know the intersection, but I don't think the hill would have to be overly steep to contribute to the weight bias.

You'll be surprised what comes back to you after a crash, especially if you return to the scene and walk through it. If you're going to learn something the hard way (we all do), you might as well get as much detail as you can and take some notes! :cry

Sorry, i accidentally quoted the wrong person! I agree with everything you say though...and modern 6's are f'ing light...it's great...if you're ready for it. If you're not...:cry

 

[scalvert]

Your suspicion of a bump causing you to grab the brake harder than intended sounds plausible to me. If combined with sand it's possible that you didn't really go fully over the bars, but tucked the front in sand with the rear light and did a front initiated high side.

While I'm not trying to be preachy, this is a pretty good example of why I think full zoot 600's are tools for experienced riders only. With super strong brakes, sticky tires, stiff suspension, and super stiff frames they don't often misbehave, but when they do it's hard and fast. New and reentering riders are well served by less capable machines which will start to complain about your riding earlier, giving you more time to realize you've put the bike someplace it doesn't want to be and recover. Just my $0.02