Had first bike 3 months - first serious crash

You are not invincible although you may feel like it. I know too many bikers who had an off at a lot less than that and done serious damage even with the right gear.

Other halfs father came off at 10mph in ice and spent 6 months in hospital. Boss's husband had an off last summer at about 20mph. Lost the backend on a tight corner and slid off. Came off the bike clean but hit his shoulder/back/neck area against a kerb. He has now lost the use of his right arm due to the spinal injury and is having a voluntary amputation to remove the entire arm as he is too uncomfortable with it hanging lifeless and heavy.

These were both bikers with 20+ years of experience and their first major incidents. All it takes is 1 wrong fall.

And yes I would claim for a new helmet and any replacement gear against the other parties insurance. You would expect other party to pay for airbags and repair of crash structure on your car wouldn't you?
 
Glad you are ok, sounds like you got off lightly. This is one of the main reasons i don't want to ride bikes, if someone's going to pull out on me i want to have as much metal between me and them as possible.
 
ShadowMan said:
Lost the backend on a tight corner and slid off. Came off the bike clean but hit his shoulder/back/neck area against a kerb. He has now lost the use of his right arm due to the spinal injury and is having a voluntary amputation to remove the entire arm as he is too uncomfortable with it hanging lifeless and heavy.

These were both bikers with 20+ years of experience and their first major incidents. All it takes is 1 wrong fall.
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Jesus! I had a fall like that, hit shoulder and base of my neck against the curb, although I had my jacket on with back protector. I feel lucky now! Really shows how vulnerable you are.
 
britboy4321 said:
I reckon I could come off a bike at 60 and, if I just fly over whatever I hit and smack into the road and slide, walk away no big deal!!
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Really glad you're ok, but when speed increases, so do all other forces

Eg at 60, you may not be lucky enough to 'fly' over the car, you could just get pummelled really hard into the frame, stopping instantly.. Twice the speed and the car still has way more force than you..

As said above, the guys on superbikes have their spills in big wide open tracks, with no oncoming dangers!
 
Glad to hear you are ok OP, could have come off much worse, but nice to know you’ll be back to ride again :)

britboy4321 said:
So does this make me incredibly lucky? Or is 30mph being thrown over a car really not that big a deal if you're wearing all the protective gear and hit nothing solid apart from the road?
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Maybe luck, but it could also be your build – if you play footie I’m guessing there’s a chance you’re going to have a decent muscle build to help protect you. I myself came off pretty bad at 30-35 a few years back, and despite wearing all of the kit (full leathers etc) I wound up with some pretty serious injuries (punctured lung, destroyed left wrist, broken collar bone and pelvic damage).

britboy4321 said:
I reckon I could come off a bike at 60 and, if I just fly over whatever I hit and smack into the road and slide, walk away no big deal!!
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You may, you may not – there’s always a chance that the slide may not stop you in time to not hit road furniture, but you could walk away unscathed – I came off at 60 last year and aside from kit damage, all I broke was the pinkie finger in my right hand.

britboy4321 said:
Not put off bikes at all .. just learnt that the safety gear nowadays is pretty marvellous!
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Got it in one, kit is worth the money, no question – it never ceases to amaze me when I see people riding in trainers and t-shirts :eek: It's good you want to get back in the saddle too - when I had my off a few years back, I was laying in A&E planning my next bike purchase, as they cut my leathers off :D
 
May I be the first to say : Poor obs :o :eek::D

The wheel may well just be twisted in the yolks, stand is a cheap fix, as is the gear lever, panels on ebay. If it does get written off, make sure you buy it back as it doesn't sound too bad!
 
Here is the jacket I was wearing:

rixfluo.jpg


TBH I'm not sure if its leather OR kevlar! Through the fabric the shielding feels like kind of very hard but flexible plastic! Wierd!

Edit -- I was wearing this:

http://www.nevism.co.uk/products/richa/textile-garments/rix

WTF is 'full CE armour'???

I was wearing matching trousers. Doesn't feel like Kevlar OR leather is in there!! :\ Did the job though!

I'm a bit worried now that the CLOTHES might be '1-impact only'?? Anyone know anything?
 
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I'd contact the manufacturers about the 1 impact thing. I know the inserts are supposed to be light and flexible but unlikely to as effective stopping a 2nd impact. Top quality gear though and as you've now found out, well worth shelling out for.

I'll revise my you were lucky, which you were, to a lucky you were sensible enough to get the good gear!

Just remember, nobody on 4 wheels can see you no matter how loud your clothing might be as when you're changing radio stations..... Expect the unexpected and enjoy riding with your newly acquired road wisdom ;)
 
You were lucky. At that speed if you'd hit anything larger you'd have seriously injured yourself right kit or not.

For the most part the protective gear primarily provides abrasion protection, the armour dissipates some of the impact force, it won't save you from all impacts.

You'll be feeling this today though (I know after my incidents I felt "fine" at the time).

Be prepared for insurance companies to argue about kit, as well as damage to the bike (what bike is it?) If it's a faired one (YZF-125R, CBR 125R et al.) plastics damage can be enough to write it off, if this is the case buy it back if you can do so cheaply. Be aware the buy back price for a bike is a lot higher than for a car. (My insurance company wanted £2,300 for a hornet valued at £3,500 which wouldn't have left me with enough to fix it up without spending stupid amounts of time on eBay).

Glad you're ok :) just hope it doesn't happena again.
 
Well a lot of people think of coming off of a motorbike as a guranteed hospital trip. Not always the case as you found out. Yes you were lucky, but only because you didn't hit something during your deceleration. I had an off at about 60mph on a back road and was inches away from solid trees. That morning for about 5 seconds of my life I genuinely thought I was going to die; instead I managed to low side and tarmac surf for about 50 metres with my bike sliding along beside me. I got up shaking heavily, ran off the road so I didn't get hit, then the pain kicked in. Hands felt like they were on fire. Ripped my gloves off to discover I had all my fingers although covered in blood and gravel on the under (soft) side of the gloves. Knee armour worn down but all ok, couple of marks on the leathers where I had slid but all intact and not one exposed skin area. That's why I spent £800 on a proper Arlen Ness leathers and a nice fitting Arai helmet. Next day I ached so bad I could barely move. Recovered after a few hot baths and rest :)

Whenever my mate gets on his R1 in a T-shirt and shorts to "pop to the shop" I remind him of this incident.
 
I've had a few low speed (30/40mph) offs on the track and never done any serious damage, but the last one which involved my mate cost him his leg. Anyone who had seen the accident would have said i came off worse as after he brought me off he rode over my chest, but down to a really bad break in his ankle and hospital neglegence, he had to have his left leg removed below the knee.

He was very, very unlucky but you were very lucky.
 
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