This past Thursday I was going home about 5 pm on I-94. Some dipshit cut off a guy two cars ahead, he slammed on the brakes, girl behind him bumped into his rear, I braked, then swerved to avoid them, and almost made it, but slid on a two mile long oil slick and went down. Two miles isn't an exaggeration, I heard the state trooper call it in to DOT.
Bike wound up in the next lane over and burst into flames. I wound up in the next lane over from that. I'm mostly fine, got a broken left thumb, a little rash on my knee, and a couple of miscellaneous bumps. My jacket and kevlar jeans kept my skin attached. Going to need a new helmet, bounced my head off the pavement a couple of times. My phone was a complete loss, blown to tiny bits.
FJ is banged up and scorched. The responding trooper put it out and called a fire crew to make sure he did a good job. I am definitely out left side panel and right scoop, and the chin fairing is pretty much gone. Also the crankshaft cap is trashed. Not sure what the fire damage is yet, haven't pulled the tank to look. Bike does turn on and crank, so I'm optimistic.
Speaking of the state trooper, as he was driving me to drop me off at Hardees, some woman ran a red right in front of him and nearly wrecked into the cruiser, so I bumped my knee into the partition. He apologized and said he just had to write her a ticket for that one.
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/FJ1200/20140926_1833551_zpsea2a5e70.jpg) (http://s285.photobucket.com/user/JPaganel/media/Vehicles/FJ1200/20140926_1833551_zpsea2a5e70.jpg.html)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/FJ1200/20140926_1834071_zps99c9da6f.jpg) (http://s285.photobucket.com/user/JPaganel/media/Vehicles/FJ1200/20140926_1834071_zps99c9da6f.jpg.html)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/FJ1200/20140926_1834181_zps2edd0e04.jpg) (http://s285.photobucket.com/user/JPaganel/media/Vehicles/FJ1200/20140926_1834181_zps2edd0e04.jpg.html)
(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll41/JPaganel/Vehicles/FJ1200/20140926_1834471_zps26f478c4.jpg) (http://s285.photobucket.com/user/JPaganel/media/Vehicles/FJ1200/20140926_1834471_zps26f478c4.jpg.html)
Sorry about the crash but I am glad you are OK and was wearing gear. The bike is fixable or replaceable. I and others can relate to what you are going through. Heal up and and try to look on the positive side of things. You might be able to upgrade to a pink stripper :) :drinks:
Seriously I am glad you are here to talk about it.
George
Glad you are OK. :good:
Looks like the Tank and Main fairing came out unscathed. :good2: There are air scoops, side panels and chin cowlings readily available as replacements on eBay and http://fjclub.co.uk/ (http://fjclub.co.uk/)
Looks like you may have a good winter project ahead of you. :empathy2:
If you decide to repair your ride, I think I can safely say the fire will have destroyed a bit of the wiring.
I have a spare 86'/87' main wiring harness that is yours for the cost of shipping.
Also, I would pay attention to the clutch cover for weeping oil. The rear brake lever has a tendency to put a hairline crack in the cover from mishaps like this.
Fred
Quote from: movenon on September 27, 2014, 02:43:38 PM
Sorry about the crash but I am glad you are OK and was wearing gear. The bike is fixable or replaceable. I and others can relate to what you are going through. Heal up and and try to look on the positive side of things.
I am pretty positive. I think I got off real easy for crashing in the middle of rush hour.
Quote from: movenon on September 27, 2014, 02:43:38 PM
You might be able to upgrade to a pink stripper :) :drinks:
I support strippers of all colors. :yahoo:
Quote from: movenon on September 27, 2014, 02:43:38 PM
Seriously I am glad you are here to talk about it.
George
Yeah, me too.
Wow, sorry to hear about this. But it could have been SO much worse. I (like you) think you have something to work with as far as the bike goes. Don't rush pulling things apart, as much as you want to. Heal first. It will be there.
I bet if there was a video of your crash, we would be wondering how you survived! :yahoo:
:empathy3:
Sorry to hear about your accident and I'm glad you survived all of those thing: rush hour, multiple lanes of traffic and asphalt bass beats with your helmet.
:wacko1: :wacko3: :good:
I'm headed out in a few days for a two week, 3000 miles trip. This is a great reminder to increase my follow distance, wear all my gear and assume everyone in front of me is one or more of these things: on the phone, smoking crack, coming down off their anxiety meds.
Heal up quick and Godspeed getting the FJ healthy.
Jeff
Quote from: aviationfred on September 27, 2014, 03:10:20 PM
If you decide to repair your ride, I think I can safely say the fire will have destroyed a bit of the wiring.
We'll see when I pull the tank.
Quote from: aviationfred on September 27, 2014, 03:10:20 PM
I have a spare 86'/87' main wiring harness that is yours for the cost of shipping.
Also, I would pay attention to the clutch cover for weeping oil. The rear brake lever has a tendency to put a hairline crack in the cover from mishaps like this.
Fred
Thanks!
Quote from: Lotsokids on September 27, 2014, 03:35:30 PM
But it could have been SO much worse.
I know. I kept looking at the dent on my helmet and thinking how nice it is to not have that dent in my skull. Helmets are a lot cheaper than heads.
Quote from: Lotsokids on September 27, 2014, 03:35:30 PM
I (like you) think you have something to work with as far as the bike goes. Don't rush pulling things apart, as much as you want to. Heal first. It will be there.
Heh.
When I crashed, I had a set of left hand drill bits in my bag, to fix a rack of carbs for another bike. Actually went and did it before going to bed that day. I have one working hand, I can still wrench. :nyam1:
Quote from: CatTomb on September 27, 2014, 04:22:49 PM
I'm headed out in a few days for a two week, 3000 miles trip. This is a great reminder to increase my follow distance, wear all my gear and assume everyone in front of me is one or more of these things: on the phone, smoking crack, coming down off their anxiety meds.
Stay safe.
And yeah, distance. If I was following closer, I would have hit something, for sure
So glad you`re okay mate. :i_am_so_happy:
A two mile long oil slick!....(in another lane?). You are one Very Lucky Man. ...glad you`re right handed too!
:drinks:
Sorry to hear about the crash. BUT glad that you are going to be okay. Easier to fix a bike than to have to have repairs to the body. Heal well and fast. Big R
Wow, that could have been (more) ugly! Good outcome, though, you made it home, and in 1 piece. Good job on that.
What happened with the FJ igniting? perhaps fuel spilling out and then sparks from the slide? At least the fire damage doesn't look catastrophic.
Good luck and heal fast! :drinks:
Ed
Glad you are okay. Nice to hear you had proper riding gear on. Rest and get well.
Sucks about the bike, glad it wasn't worse for you.
Insurance?
I'm glad to hear that you are still here to tell the story. Get healed up quickly.
Joe
Quote from: simi_ed on September 27, 2014, 05:40:52 PM
What happened with the FJ igniting? perhaps fuel spilling out and then sparks from the slide? At least the fire damage doesn't look catastrophic.
I was missing the sliders from the scoop, and the screws are completely ground off. That certainly could generate some sparks. I know for a fact is spills gas from carbs when laid over from the time my wife dropped it.
Quote from: fj johnnie on September 27, 2014, 07:37:10 PM
Glad you are okay. Nice to hear you had proper riding gear on. Rest and get well.
Yep. Gear definitely served well. I'm looking for pants with knepads.
Do they make thumbpads?
Quote from: JPaganel on September 27, 2014, 08:22:41 PM
Do they make thumbpads?
My thumb took a hit as well some years ago, with good leather gloves, the protection of our hands is a slippery slope. Protection over function. If your gloves can't function and protect them, then why limit their function...?
Sorry to hear about your accident and hope you have a speedy recovery. Now about blaming the wife for dropping your bike..........
Quote from: Dads_FJ on September 27, 2014, 07:42:07 PMInsurance?
Yes, I was wondering that also. Legally, is it automatically your fault, or is there debate for blame?
:hi: WOW!!! Glad to know that you came through such a scary ordeal relatively unscathed mate...Sorry about your ride but I'm sure it's fixable :good:
I'm not really a religious person as such, however, I do believe that anyone that can walk away from a bike accident is blessed...and also proves that;
ALL THE GEAR, ALL THE TIME
...actually does works :good2: regardless what the cruiser guys think!!!
John.
The blame is on the guy causing the initial accident. Unfortunately, everyone was so distracted by my little bonfire, nobody took his plate down and he got away.
Insurance will cover medical, not sure what I got for coverage on the bike. To us it's a classic, to them it's just an old bike.
And yeah, gear works.
My gear wasn't all that fancy, even. Both jeans and jacket were River Road.
The coolest thing was this little bit. I got the jeans and the kneepads were a little low. So, I opened them up, stitched the pads where I thought they should be, and my wife put them back together. Guess where I have a rip? Right where I moved the pad to.
Wow, I'm glad you're o.k.
The bike can definitely be fixed, especially since they got the fire out early.
Sobering. It can happen so fast.
Steve
There's a lot of 'good things' you can take from this experience.
#1. You're able to tell us all about it.
#2. You will heal
#3. You'll still be able to ride a bike.
#4. Your bike can be repaired or replaced
#5. Its close to the end of your bike riding season so you won't miss too much.
#6. You'll have all winter to repair, refurbish, (or shop) for your bike.
Get well soon.
Arnie
Gear is indeed important! For some who've never crashed they'll never know untill they do (Alot of Harley riders, and most wont wear a helmet, but wear all that leather, so when they crash theyre toast anyway!)Glad youre ok, youll get the bike in shape when your ready friends here will see to that! I personally avoid I90/94 like the plague! Last weeknd a cooler fell off a trailer in front of me near Madison bouncing cans everywhere! I didnt get hit but some flew overhead scarey shit. I only jumped on for about a mile to get on hwy12 again. Heal up Man, I,m hoping next year some of us WI. ILL. and MINN. guys can do some miles together. Cheers! Charley.
I've got some bits and odds-n-ends leftover from an '84 I parted out. Make a list and I'll see what I have for you.
Quote from: Dads_FJ on September 28, 2014, 11:21:47 AM
I've got some bits and odds-n-ends leftover from an '84 I parted out. Make a list and I'll see what I have for you.
Thanks! I will make a thread in the parts wanted section.
Wow, I'm really sorry this happened, but you are in pretty good shape, it would seem. Hindsight being 20/20, I'm sure you'll never fall victim to another thoughtless driver. I always say that it takes Aggressive Defensive driving to steer clear of danger, unfortunately even then, there are some real prize winners for the stupidity trophy. And that guy caused a hit and then ran; here's to hoping karma takes care of him. ;) :drinks:
Well, as others have said, "get well soon." And don't worry about the bike, because if there's an FJ Will, there will always be an FJ way.
Good Luck my friend!
FJ Forever! :drinks:
JoBrCo
Quote from: The General on September 27, 2014, 05:29:36 PM
So glad you`re okay mate. :i_am_so_happy:
A two mile long oil slick!....(in another lane?). You are one Very Lucky Man. ...glad you`re right handed too!
:drinks:
like every one else here I'm glad your body got through this with a minimum of trauma. Seems to me that what got you was the road hazard of that oil slick. I'd check with a lawyer as to where the liability for that is.
Quote from: Dads_FJ on September 28, 2014, 11:21:47 AM
I've got some bits and odds-n-ends leftover from an '84 I parted out. Make a list and I'll see what I have for you.
I've also got alot of 84FJ parts including some electrics and a wireing harness if U need one. Charley.
Quote from: JoBrCo on September 28, 2014, 01:38:47 PM
Hindsight being 20/20, I'm sure you'll never fall victim to another thoughtless driver.
I'm pretty sure I would have made it OK if it wasn't for the oil river. I did see then in time and had room to maneuver.
Pulled seat and tank, hosed everything down, cleared the fire suppressant.
Right side panel is fine. Belly pan, right scoop and left panel are a total loss. Main fairing is a little scorched. Worst damage to metal seems to be the crankshaft cap area. The cap itself is half gone, the bottom screw is sheared off, and the rim to which it mounts is damaged.
The fire seems to have been in and around the airbox. Airbox itself is melted. The fuel lines are intact, as is the petcock. Carbs are covered in soot, not sure if they have fire damage. Not sure what wiring is cooked, yet, either.
To be continued when it's daylight again...
Quote from: JPaganel on September 29, 2014, 07:58:09 PM
Worst damage to metal seems to be the crankshaft cap area. The cap itself is half gone, the bottom screw is sheared off, and the rim to which it mounts is damaged.
The fire seems to have been in and around the airbox. Airbox itself is melted. The fuel lines are intact, as is the petcock. Carbs are covered in soot, not sure if they have fire damage. Not sure what wiring is cooked, yet, either.
To be continued when it's daylight again...
A new cap will cover the damage under, if you are not sure then look under my cap. Getting the screw out is your biggest challenge. Damaged air box, time for UNI dual pods. You will have so much room under your seat you will be thinking of other mods to improve your FJ. If you don't change anything else the pods should not need any jetting. The stock exhaust is still a restriction that keeps the air flow the similar. Time for better dude...
I don't have the airbox hate that a lot of people do, but Uni pods would be a cheap and reasonable fix.