Wind and Crash Ride, Fri 3/10

[LeeDavis]

Friday was forecast to be the last decent riding day for at least a week so Brick called for an outing. 'Sounded good to me and I came up a gps route to do 276 west of Hendersonville with lunch at the excellent Twin Dragons in Brevard. Bob joined in and the 3 of us took off from Gate around 10am.

Not even a half hour later I crashed on Muddy Creek/Pinnacle Church Rd. I was leading and decided to give the throttle a big twist through a short curvy section. Unfortunately, the tightness of the 1st curve with descending elevation and slightly off-camber was too much for my front tire. It broke traction causing an immediate low side so my FJ and me went for a long slide across the lane, through the shoulder and finally hung up in some bushes just shy of the woods.

Brick checking out the slide trail. You can see the dirt and grass churned up on the shoulder.

My FJ immediately after we righted it. No kidding, it was a long slide to the woods.

Ride gear trashed because that's why we wear it!

After the excitement settled, with this being the last ride for a while and knowing all my pulled muscles would really hurt the next day i decided to continue the ride route but fate, again, had other plans for us.

Within minutes of when we started back riding the leading edge of the cold front hit hard. The wind gusts were so strong and variable they were blowing us across the lane and it was impossible to reliably hold a line. The gps route would take us into worse conditions on the BRP - that was no longer an option so we stopped for lunch and and to devise new plan at "The Local Joint" restaurant on 74A. At about the same time my whacked body parts decided to not wait for the next day to let me know they were ticked off with their recent abuse.

A person might see this and get the wrong impression but Brick and Bob had to help me get my jacket on and off. My right hand was becoming useless.

At that point I knew I was out for the count so I headed home on the slab while I still could. Brick and Bob picked up the flag and carried on so they'll have to chime in with their further adventures.

The docs gave me the news and it's not pulled muscles - 3 broken bones in my hand/wrist and a broken rib. I've got another appointment Monday with a specialist to determine if the wrist bone(s) need to be pinned. Crap!

All the pics except the last are from Bob.

[Bob]

Standing close to the spot on the road where Lee went down, bike came to rest at the magenta line. Approx. 75 feet. Lucky the folks who live there didn't park their monster 4 wheeler there.

[Brick]

I was riding in second spot behind Lee and saw that he was giving his FJ the whip to really carve that curve. Next I noted he was about 1/2 way down and I was saying, "Oh shit... Lee's down"! Bob and I parked our bikes and I was trying to get Lee who by now was sitting up to say something. He couldn't because he had the wind knocked out of him! The third photo above also shows the hematoma on his hand.
Bob and I rode 74 over through Gerton and Lake Lure toward home. We stopped a few times to "adjust" our Sena's in an attempt to get ride of some unwanted cutting off of words and to improve our hearing/understanding of each other. I think a lot of it is due to my old ears hearing loss. Bob continues to experiment with other changes. I hope he proves me wrong.
I'm bummed for Lee and only wish him a proper speedy recovery.



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[tireatr]

Uggh Lee, sorry to hear about your off and injuries sustained. Sometimes physics takes over and once traction breaks it's time to go surfing. I low sided on 181 downhill doing about 60 mph and slid for a very long time. Broke a collarbone (2nd one in 5 months) and the bike had a lot of damaged, but I'm still riding it today.

Glad you are not hurt worse and the bike can be patched back together.

[Bob]

Sudden/unexpected loss of traction kinda makes you stop and re-evaluate things. I wonder if a textured road surface provides a LOT less stiction than smooth asphalt? Or negligible? Or what?

[tireatr]

How was his front tire looking? When I lost the front on 181, I was at the wear bars. I no longer take chances with my front tires. They always get more beveled than the rears, and more attention from me now. Tires do lose grip as they wear, just the way it is. Anything could have happened, morning road sweating, car belched some fluids prior to Lee arriving on that spot??

[LeeDavis]

How was his front tire looking?

The front tire is approaching end-of-life but it's not bad. I was leaned on to the left side and my right side of fronts wears out 1st. Neither side is in to the wear bars though the right side is close.

Going into the curve I was faster than intended but figured it wasn't a big deal. Oops!

[Bob]

Lee when you get the chance I'm interested in the mfgd. date on that tire.

[Clyde]

Sorry to hear of your crash, crashing sucks, hopefully you can heal up with out surgery. Bike not to damaged?? You rode it home..It reminds us all to keep 20 percent in the traction bank. Get well soon, Clyde

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[beachy]

Sorry for ya Lee! Listen to the docs and heal fast

[LeeDavis]

Bike not too damaged??

Bike damage was mostly taken on by the left FJ handguard and left T-Rex engine guard and frame slider. I'll replace the hand guard and probably the pucks on the T-Rex stuff. I doubt the total amounts to more than my insurance deductable and I prefer to maintain zero points and zero accidents with Allstate.

I get a CT scan today then an appointment with the bone doc Thursday to find out if hand surgery is required.

[Bob]

Sure hope you can skip the surgery--that would shorten the recovery period. The FJ awaits.

[Buddhistbiker]

Ouch. I hate to hear this. I was just getting over Don's crash even though I was not there when it happened.

With my off in 2012 my wrist was in a cast for 12 weeks with two temporary pins, hopefully yours is not that bad.

Any opinions on whether the big ADV bikes would be more stable than the FJ with all other factors the same?

[Bob]

Ouch. I hate to hear this. I was just getting over Don's crash even though I was not there when it happened.....Any opinions on whether the big ADV bikes would be more stable than the FJ with all other factors the same?

Yeah its disheartening to say the least when it happens. I was telling Brick on the way home that every time one of these happens, whether it was me or someone else I know, I tend to "dial it back a notch". If this continues, the likker-cycles will be passing me.

As for the "big ADV" bikes being more stable, I can't see any reason why, but I think you tend to ride a more conservative pace simply because it just doesn't wanna flick around like a 100 lb lighter bike. Maybe in that respect they are safer. And maybe pigs will also fly.

[LeeDavis]

Relative to their generally large size and weight, adventure bikes are quite agile but they sacrifice stability to get that. Though motorcycle design has improved through the decades it's still basically a compromise between agility and stability. Bias in favor of one loses some of the other.

[Brick]

Relative to their generally large size and weight, adventure bikes are quite agile but they sacrifice stability to get that. Though motorcycle design has improved through the decades it's still basically a compromise between agility and stability. Bias in favor of one loses some of the other.

This is why I've kept the Tenere and just added the FJ-08... two different bikes. [THUMBS UP SIGN]



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[Brick]

Lee I know you removed your peg feelers and that the first thing to touch is the T-Rex engine guard. After this I know I'm gonna keep my feeler pegs for sure. I know when they start to rub the pavement to just hang there and let the peg lightly rub. [THUMBS UP SIGN][FLUSHED FACE][THUMBS UP SIGN]


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[Bob]

Yeah Brick but think about the weight savings?

But seriously, why DID you remove them Lee?

[LeeDavis]

Brick has after market pegs and feelers. The stock feelers on the FJ are so long they scrape if you even think about leaning - ergo, many if not most owners remove them.

[Buddhistbiker]

LeeDavis wrote:
Brick has after market pegs and feelers. The stock feelers on the FJ are so long they scrape if you even think about leaning - ergo, many if not most owners remove them.

The left one on the Tenere was so long it just broke off.

[Clyde]

Lee, get well soon,good luck with doctors, hopefully you won't need surgery..On. another note: the foot peg feelers on all my bmw,s have been ground off, headed guards on , my 97, have been replaced twice, after track day on my new one a few weeks ago the feelers and head guards are scuffed in..body position and line can effect lean angle.

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[Bob]

What did the bone doc say Lee?

[LeeDavis]

What did the bone doc say Lee?

Bone doc gave me the final word yesterday based on a CT scan. My broken hand/wrist bones are, so far, aligned good enough to not require surgery. They'll get looked at again with additional x-rays in a week, then another round after 2 weeks. Hopefully, no complications happen and it's healed in 6-8 weeks without further fuss.

Temporary life as a one armed, left handed person is a PITA but also an interesting puzzle sometimes.

[Bob]

Thats great news! Did you also have a wrist sprain or was that swelling all from the fracture?

[LeeDavis]

Thats great news! Did you also have a wrist sprain or was that swelling all from the fracture?

The sprains and breakages both exist as part of the same trauma.

[beachy]

thats good news Lee heal fast

[Brick]

Damn as hard as it is to say... I think you got good news! Now just don't bang it before it's healed!


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[LeeDavis]

Now just don't bang it before it's healed!

Bone docs clinic replaced the splints with a full fiberglass cast from knuckles with thumb immobilized to almost elbow. Can't do 'nuthin with that hand and arm.

[007]

Sorry to hear, heal up soon. Ken, when did you wreck on 181?

[tireatr]

Steve

It was July 4th 2012. I have a bad history of hurting myself on holidays. Red bike slid a very long way and wound up in the woods. I am still riding it :)

[007]

I always change out tires when the grip starts to fade, regardless of wear bars. Most front tires look less round and more like a triangle as they age, but it is not the case with Dunlop Q3s and the new Roadsmart 3s are supposed to utilize similar technology and are on $40 rebate through April. The good news seems to be the new models across brands are all very good these days. Sticky tires are the only thing preventing centrifugal force from slinging you into the ditch. Good suspension keeps the tires perfectly situated on the road. Factor in road conditions, lean angle, technique, speed, weight (more is worse)