On the morning of April 3rd i was riding my 05 GSXR 750 on the way to work. there were 2 forward going lanes. i was in the left most lane, with an 18 wheeler on the right. without signaling the 18 wheeler merged into my lane as we came to a 4 way intersection. although he didnt 'cut me off,' it startled me because.. well because he's a huge trucking changing lanes not signaling. i then get to the right lane so that i have a clear path and so he can see me in his mirrors. well, it turned out he got in that left lane so he could take a wide ride turn at that intersection. again, without signaling, he just made a right in front of me. this closed all my available options for an exit. my exact thought was "this guy doesnt like bikers and he's trying to kill me!" i immediately pull in the clutch and put on both brakes. i usually dont use my rear brake but this was an emergency. i had no where to go but INTO/UNDER the truck. putting on that rear brake did what it usually does, it locked it up. it locking up around the time i went over the painted white stripe caused me to lowside. this mightve saved my life. instead of making a head on impact with the truck, i somewhat slide into/under him. specifically around his tires. this kinda wedged my tires in between the road and his wheels, not allowing him to continue on and run me over. it all happened so quick and i thought 'this is it, this is how im going to die."
i didnt lose consciousness. i immediately tried to move, to crawl out from the truck but for some reason i couldnt. bystanders were VERY QUICK to respond. turned out i couldnt move because my bike was laying on me i guess. they pulled it off me, then had my stay still until EMS arrived in case of spinal injuries. there was an ambulance that was already in the area and they slid me out of there and got me to the UCSD hospital. i immediately went into xrays, ctscans, mri, etc. injuries
a broken pelvis in 2 locations= c-section to installplate & screws, fractured rib, bruises.
6 days in the hospital, 20 days at a rehab center, then 1-2 months on crutches. boy am i thankful for Navy's free medical insurance!!!
the police report put me at fault, although 3 witnesses stated i wasnt speeding and that they didnt see the trucker use his signals. trucker also admits that he never knew i existed til he got out the truck to see what he ran over.
mc insurance
because of the police report, they put me at fault. my yearly rate went from $1,300 to over $5,000. i wanted to continue to ride but im gonna wait til insurance goes back down. however, i got 5 grand for my bike (only paid 4,) 1 grand for aftermarket parts (that were already installed when i bought it,) and 1 grand for my gear (i probably paid half that.)
^gloves and jacket were practically brand new. they cut the jacket off me in the ambulance.
& the impact dented the CF in the gloves... i dont want to imagine what wouldve happened if they werent CF knuckles.
they cut off my uniform too
(as well as undershirt & underwear, no pics of that aha)
oh and how could i forget a photo of the bike
bike was laid down on its right side. the left side impacted the truck and lost its plastic.
bike was lowered front & rear but what you see is the forks pushed waay up because of impact.
1. Glad you had gear
2. Obtain witness reports, file lawsuit, fight the "at fault" bit.
3. Get a helmet cam.
4. Next time, stay the fuack away from Semi's?
i do plan to take it to court, yeah i need to get crackin on those witness reports, good suggestion. and i really wish i had a helmet cam, im thinkin of getting a cam for my 4 wheeled vehicles.
Exactly how I ride to work. Helmet, Jacket, Gloves, then pants/boots. Hate my boots because ever since I got my Supertech Rs I just know my combat boots wont do shit for me.
Don't mean to be an arse or anything but you shouldn't pull the clutch in an emergency pal.
Glad you're healing up ok and hopefully you take that guy to the cleaners.
applying the clutch is a habit ive formed when coming to stops. i use it when i drive and it transferred over to when i ride. my thought process is that you arent providing anymore power to the wheel(s,) so the braking system doesnt have to fight as hard. i do understand that not everything transfers over from driving to riding.
ive never liked the 'feeling' of engine braking. however helpful it might be, it wouldntve helped much in this case, or at least it wouldntve brought me to a full stop before i hit the truck. i was traveling about 40mph and i just didnt have enough stopping distance.
that sucks.. truck drivers think they own the road. i see this kinda shit all the time on the turnpike.. they don't signal, change lanes into cars or bikes, forcing them to back off and let them in due to size difference.
a buddy of mine was sideswiped by a semi in his car, and the guy tried to fight him after! clearly he was at fault because my buddy was in the middle lane, the guy was in the left lane (which he is not supposed to be in to begin with) he saw a trooper parked, so he just went into the middle lane. sideswipes my buddy's car, the trooper sees the whole thing, goes after them.
they stop, and the guy jumps out of the truck, and takes a swing at my friend. so on top of the ticket he was sent to a hospital with a broken eye socket, and arrested and charged with assault and battery.(buddy was a pro boxer and had a go pro running, plus cops testimony and cruiser cam). stupid truck driver for sure.
Damn dude! The title should be wrecked GSXR Rider. That is intense. After being on this forum and reading I'm going to cover up a bit more than I used too. It is NEVER too hot to gear up anymore.
What are the knee tubes for? I have all the gear but wonder how to protect my knee caps from getting shaved off in a crash while wearing jeans.
BTW I had a trucker sideswipe my Tahoe so hard I did a 360 and went into the ditch and the fucker kept going. I was fine and they caught him. Now I have a VTX sitting in my garage from the settlement
MorpheusRS, i actually have a lot of respect for truck drivers since i deal with them weekly at work to send/receive torpedoes/missiles. theyre usually great drivers but there are always bad apples.
"yup", my bike was insured via Progressive. full coverage, with $1000 deductible and NO medical insurance (since Navy covers that aspect.)
donkason, riding to/from work i always felt that my lower half, specifically my knees were vulnerable. i was more concerned with the damage caused by initial impact. i initially wanted the bohn under armor pants
but wanted something quicker that i could slip/strap on/off, and i eventually read about the limb tubes. and they were exactly what i wanted/needed. http://www.forcefieldbodyarmour.com/...ee-armour/2357 http://www.johnsonleather.com/technology.htm
they are rated for 70 joules, which is DOUBLE the CE standard.
like i said theyre more for impact protection but the outside layer is: Cordura® & Lycra outer for exceptional comfort and abrasion resistance
i have no idea if they worked or not because at the time and after the accident, i never felt ANY discomfort in my knees. so maybe that means they worked perfectly!? but then again there arent any abrasion marks on my pants so maybe the knees never hit the asphalt?
that sucks.. truck drivers think they own the road. i see this kinda shit all the time on the turnpike.. they don't signal, change lanes into cars or bikes, forcing them to back off and let them in due to size difference.
a buddy of mine was sideswiped by a semi in his car, and the guy tried to fight him after! clearly he was at fault because my buddy was in the middle lane, the guy was in the left lane (which he is not supposed to be in to begin with) he saw a trooper parked, so he just went into the middle lane. sideswipes my buddy's car, the trooper sees the whole thing, goes after them.
they stop, and the guy jumps out of the truck, and takes a swing at my friend. so on top of the ticket he was sent to a hospital with a broken eye socket, and arrested and charged with assault and battery.(buddy was a pro boxer and had a go pro running, plus cops testimony and cruiser cam). stupid truck driver for sure.
That's why I get far away from truck drivers... I'm more than happy to give them as much room as they need to do what they're going to do...away from me.
Motorcycle: 2004 GSX-R 600(sold), 2003 GSXR600 beater bike
Posts: 1,522
Re: wrecked 05 750 & gear
glad you're more or less OK. have you thought about buying that bike back or you don't want to repair it? (any frame damage besides scratches?) anyway, def go to court. on a side note, i have progressive too, but thinking if i can find something better.
Motorcycle: 2012 Hayabusa (SOLD) - 2013 Harley Davidson Road King
Posts: 9,812
Re: wrecked 05 750 & gear
Even when at fault, the insurance still pays out. When I wrecked on my 750 ( albeit minor wreck overall ), I was technically at fault since I hit a woman in her SUV from behind ( but she cut in my lane and braked fast just as I was looking over my left shoulder before merging left ). My insurance paid my bike off, but yeah my rate went up a bit due to being at fault.
Edit: Oh, and OP : Never use rear brake to stop unless you're on gravel.
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