HT-1000 First Crash

I always thought the debris was gathered there as a convenience for the highway workers for their once a year cleanup when they also gather up broken bicycles.
 
Oh yeah, the bike is fine. It's got some nice new "badges of courage" on it, but it definitely came out better than I did! ~Steve
Steve,
I always wore full face on motorcycles and starting to believe I need another, because:
Recently I Tipped over (0 mph) on a gravel road landing on my shoulder and a rock to my cheek and jaw.
Nearly knocked me out and damaged my Teeth !
The face & especially 'Jaw' protection of a "full face" would have made a difference.
Mike
 
Steve,
I always wore full face on motorcycles and starting to believe I need another, because:
Recently I Tipped over (0 mph) on a gravel road landing on my shoulder and a rock to my cheek and jaw.
Nearly knocked me out and damaged my Teeth !
The face & especially 'Jaw' protection of a "full face" would have made a difference.
Mike
Yikes. That's such a helpless feeling when you feel yourself going over and are powerless to stop it. I've tipped over a couple of times at intersections when I forgot to drop my seatpost and couldn't reach the ground with my toe. Super embarassing, but it goes with the territory of learning to manage a tall 65 lbs bike when you're used to the 23 lbs crotch rocket (that's now in storage...).
 
but what caused your accident? my comment was specifically in reference to the OPs issue where his tires caught a part of uneven pavement that was wider than his tire.

I have the same type of road seams and broken pavement on my commute, the 5" fat tires on the bikonit and the 4" on the Cyrusher I was using prior, manage these pavement issues without a problem, they don't catch the cracks and cause the bike to wobble. the 700x25c tires on my road bike are scary as hell on this pavement, they catch the grooves and make the bike wobble, and there is really no way around them unless I want to be in the middle of a traffic lane.

similar issue with crotch rocket tires vs. my phat tires on my VTX, shitty roads with wide cracks or seams where the transportation department decided to reduce the shoulder and make another lane putting the cement seam in the middle of the lane, not an issue for a car tire, BIG problem for a motorcycle tire.
What actually happened to me was that the pavement on the right side of the seam had settled more than the pavement on the left, so there was a tall barrier edge that my tire struck at an extremely shallow angle. I didn't have a chance.
 
I see this crap all over Los Angeles, streets and freeways, these seams are supposed to be between the lanes and what the lane markers are painted over, but some asshat in Sacramento decided the easiest way to add a lane is to reduce the shoulder width and remark the lanes, putting the joint seams in the middle of the lanes, and these follow the curves, and with earth movement can be uneven. very dangerous for motorcycles, and the same thing is common now on surface streets where they have remarked for parking and/or bike lanes, making the bike lanes unsafe for cyclists. uneven pavement, that grabs your tires.

Stupid civil engineers and politicians making decisions with no clue what they are doing.


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Totally sucks. You'd think that they'd have gotten a clue when they didn't have enough room to paint the friggin' bike symbol. I've always loved the term "asshat"! So many opportunities to use it.
 
Re: ” There was absolutely zero time for reaction. Zero. If you're one of those people who think that you'll just turn your head and shoulders sideways as you see yourself falling, forget about it. Seriously, it happens that fast “

I’ve had three crashes like you’re talking about and you are ABSOLUTELY correct in that there is ZERO time for reaction.
I still to this day can’t believe how quick you go from having a nice enjoyable ride to smashed down on the ground in an instant !
When I used to ride dirt bikes (what was I thinking??) I wore all the usual protective gear and later on in the experience I added a rib protector. No it wasn’t very comfortable but it can definitely save a rib injury. YMMV :)

I don’t envy your lengthy rehab as I’ve been there done that :(
 
I see this crap all over Los Angeles, streets and freeways, these seams are supposed to be between the lanes and what the lane markers are painted over, but some asshat in Sacramento decided the easiest way to add a lane is to reduce the shoulder width and remark the lanes, putting the joint seams in the middle of the lanes, and these follow the curves, and with earth movement can be uneven. very dangerous for motorcycles, and the same thing is common now on surface streets where they have remarked for parking and/or bike lanes, making the bike lanes unsafe for cyclists. uneven pavement, that grabs your tires.

Stupid civil engineers and politicians making decisions with no clue what they are doing.


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Looks like the ‘lane’ was added after the road was designed/built.
 
just curious.. will radar cruise control still work with those multiple lines?
not really it cuts in an out on my Palisade. The 5, 710, 10, 60, 110 in Los Angeles all have areas that look like that, that image is the 5 freeway somewhere North of downtown
 
Looks like the ‘lane’ was added after the road was designed/built.
yes that is my point, increased traffic so the politicians require adding another lane, the only way to do that without widening the road is to cut the shoulder size down and re-stripe new lanes. Now we have no shoulders for emergencies and screwed up lanes/lane lines.

the problem with this, as i said, is that the seams which are supposed to be between the lanes are now in the center of the lanes, since the earth is always moving this causes the lanes to be come uneven. Higher on one side than the other. Again, not an issue when the seams are between the lanes as vehicles travel in the lane, big Issue when it is the middle of the lane, and while a 4 wheeled vehicle can transverse an uneven lane on a 2 wheel vehicle it is dangerous, you have to be on one side or the other of the lane and moving back and forth as the road curves, because the seams don’t curve, they continue straight, so motorcycle tires catch the grooves and wobble, causing you to go down.

Wider tires are better, but it is still dangerous.

Same issue with the bike lanes that are half-assed where there is a gutter seam running down the middle and half is cement and half is asphalt, skinny tires will have a harder time than fat tires.
 
Walkingman,
I had the same type seem accident, Here is my story today is the 7th week of recovery post surgery 5 weeks to go.


Had a pretty bad crash on July 23. I am an inexperienced rider have had the bike (EBC model R) for 3 months and have about 350 miles on it at time of crash.

I was riding about 7:00 am on a sidewalk and got down into a commercial drive at this point the thought entered my head that I probably shouldn't be riding on the sidewalk as there could be some folks out walking. As I merged over from the concrete drive onto the asphalt road my front tire seemed to start skidding in the seam or joint of where the Asphalt and Concrete met. All I remember is the handlebars were going back and forth could have been me trying to correct it. I landed on my left wrist (I am left handed) then on my right leg. Didn't go out so I dragged myself back to the sidewalk and waited for the fire dept paramedics that were called.

Ended up with a broken Orbital bone in the left wrist and two broken bones in the right leg below the knee. 6 hrs of surgery plates and screws in both wrist and leg. 4 days in the hospital and am on a 12 week recovery before I can put weight on the leg or use the arm.

I would really like to know what were the contributing factors. I had just pumped the tires up to 55pounds max is 60 is that to much? could the fork shock being to soft been a factor?. I know if I would have taken a steeper angle at the seam it would not have been a problem. I really want to keep riding but not sure I can risk this again. I know part of the broken bones is I am a big guy (fat) 6'-2" 300 Pounds guys my size brake things when we crash. Any insight as to what exactly happens when you hit these seams parallel or anyone else experience something like this?

I have attached an X-ray of the wrist and a pic of the incision.



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