About five and a half weeks ago, at the Central Rally in Wisconsin, what had previously been a dead-solid-reliable device...............just quit.
It had always been there..........just a glance away, always steady (albeit just a tad fast against a more accurate device), always guiding me on my journeys and letting me know exactly where among the 24-hour swing of the Earth I was at any given moment..................Sometimes letting me know that it's time to turn towards home. Sometimes telling me "Nah, it's still early enough. Take that other road and see where it goes".
After roughly 143,000 miles of reliability, out in the farm-country of Wisconsin on a nearly deserted back road, making it's way around an easy left-hander..........The Clock stopped.
Could it be that age has finally set in, and the gauges are finally failing? :unknown:...................( My factory speedometer finally gave up in San Francisco at this year's WCR. The noise was so bad, I had to disconnect it! It had been slowly buzzing backwards, taking miles off ever since))
Could it be some vibration related issue finally took it's toll? :scratch_one-s_head:
Could it have been the heat from all those years touring in the baking sun that finally killed it? :nea:
Nah.....................the cause of failure was none of those! :blush:
The actual reason it ceased to function was caused by an intrusion of the right side mirror mount into the space that was previously occupied by said clock!
:Facepalm:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4379/36591796286_2a2afa9254_b.jpg)
Yup...............It happened. My poor, trusty old girl and I both took a tumble down the road at about 40-mph.
Luckily I'm a firm believer in always wearing all my safety gear! (it amazes me how many riders refuse to)
I barely had a scratch on me! The bruises..............well, that's a different story......
These pics were taken at the scene.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/36591835756_26f88097f4_b.jpg)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4393/36591833986_222f89ac44_b.jpg)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4385/36638143035_83c11775f8_b.jpg)
I want to take a minute to personally thank: Cap'n Ron, Leon, Fred, Giantkiller-Dan, and Isaac for their assistance in getting the bike upright, and also for their efforts in cleaning up my "Yard-Sale"
When the bike tumbled down the road, both side-cases popped open, emptying their contents down the road and into the grass on the side.
I also want to say "I'm sorry" for causing us to miss out on finishing the "Quest for Cheese!" :sorry:
Right at the moment when the Clock on the FJ stopped, the clock seemed to speed up for me................
One instant I was entering the turn, and starting to roll on the throttle to exit.............The very next instant I was tumbling and skidding down the road, coming to rest on my back in the middle of the road, with the bike coming to a rest on it's right side, just at the shoulder of the road approx. 40-50 yards further than me.
I didn't experience any of the "everything happened in slow-motion", or the "time stood still" feeling................It wasn't like that for me at all. It happened so fast, and it was all over in an instant.
At first, I wasn't exactly sure what actually happened? The only thing I was certain of was that at seemingly the very instant that I went to roll on the throttle, the bike slid out from under me and I went down HARD on my left side............Very hard!
After realizing that I was laying in the middle of the road, I quickly got up to move myself to the side in case any cars came down the road (none ever did while we were there)
I quickly took inventory of all my limbs and joints.............Everything functioned as it should, nothing was out of place, and nothing felt broken.....This was a great thing.
I did however feel that my entire left thigh and my left hip instantly swelled up.......It felt as if someone had taken a baseball bat, and tried to hit three homers off of my thigh......
Luckily my riding pants have a large pad in both hips.. I feel as though if that padding wasn't there, I might have had a broken hip?
My Joe Rocket jacket was shredded, but they strategically put all the padding and protection in the correct places. It saved my ass!
I literally only had a small scratch on my left side "love-handle" where the jacket rode-up slightly during the slide, and a very small "Friction-burn" about the size of a quarter on my left elbow from the inside material of the jacket arm. I had absolutely no road-rash on me anywhere! My helmet has no damage on it whatsoever..............the only thing that happened to it, is the rear "Duck-tail" spoiler wind-deflector piece came off when I came to a rest on my back in the road.
After collecting everything and picking up all the broken pieces of fairing and windshield, and packing everything back into my side-cases, I looked the bike over to asses the damage.
The protective gear that I installed on the FJ did it's job as well! The engine guards took a scraping, but nothing contacted the engine and no fluids were leaking out!
I attempted to start it up to see if it would run. After a few sputters from clearing the fuel that ran into the carbs from laying on it's side, it fired right up and ran perfect!
I took her for a quick spin down the road and back to see if it would ride straight..............Nothing bent that I could tell, except for the shifter arm. I eased it out just a little to keep it from hitting the side-stand (wouldn't downshift) and everything worked as it should. Amazingly, despite having been smashed in, all the lights and turn signals still worked correctly (even the tachometer still functions)
Feeling confident that I could ride the FJ back to town, and a quick check of the distance back to the Round Barn, Ron gave me the quick question "Cheese or no-cheese?"
My only thought at that moment was getting back to the Lodge and further assessing my situation, so I mistakenly answered "No-cheese". In hindsight, I should have said "cheese" cause the outcome of my situation would not have changed any, and I feel as though I deprived the crew of some fresh Wisconsin "Artisan-Cheese". (I promise, I'll find a way to make it up to you guys) :pardon:
On the way back to town, the shifter-arm came off the bolt and I lost the ability to shift. Apparently when I pulled on the arm to bend it back out a little, I must have popped the little snap-ring off the end.
I slid it back on and held it in place with my boot for the rest of the ride back to town.
Fred came to my rescue! He just happened to be carrying the exact spare snap-ring that I needed, as well as the pliers to re-install it! (thank you again Fred!)
By this time, my left leg was one solid purple bruise from my knee to my hip, and all I wanted to do was eat.
We all ended up walking across the street to this awesome 50's-themed, drive-in Burger place to get some food.
I'll finish the story tomorrow, and explain how this whole thing happened..............................(more to come)
Well shit. I am glad you're ok. Bruised and sore for sure, but essentially ok. Sorry to hear this Alan.
The same thing happened to me several years ago so I can relate.
One moment everything is fine, next moment wham! Happened so fast. A blink of an eye.
Sliding down the road at 50mph. Face down. I remember seeing the asphalt grinding away at my face shield and chin bar, thinking that it looked like a giant belt sander.
I hit sand while at full lean in a corner and washed out the front. Broke 4 ribs on my right side. No fun.
No road rash for me either. The gear did its job. My ribs broke from my elbow compressing in on my right side.
Heal well amigo! Forgive yourself. Don't listen to that radio station KFUCK Pat
Fortunately you're OK. What do you think caused the bike to lose traction? Gravel or dirt in the road?
Wow Alan, glad you are mostly unhurt. We can never predict when we will go down, but we can chose to use protective gear for both bike and rider. Your good choices paid off. Looking forward to hearing more about it when you post up again.
Well, you know what they say..."You ain't rode til you been throwed"
That's rotten luck Alan but as we all know, it can happen to the most vigilant rider.
Glad to hear no serious injuries and it's a great testament to protective gear and engine bars.
Noel
:good2: First and foremost, I am really glad you got out of this spill without critical damage to your body. The pictures were very informative, if not nightmarish, to me. I an a newb here and you made me reflect on my own riding habits. Without elaborating, I have a fantastic helmet that I am sure will do its job in an accident. But, that's it. Jeans and a jacket. Good golly Miss Molly what in the hell have I been thinking? My riding bud berated me on not having protective clothing on while riding my new to me FJ1200. This struck home ... very hard. Me, with a gorgeous young wife, two boys ages 4 and 5 ... great home and job ... tooling down the road like I own the world and am invincible. No more.
Could you please (if this is not too tacky a question to ask right now) provide the gear types and brands you donned on this fateful trip? I am plugging down money this week for the protection. Thank you ... and again ... I am so glad you came out as well as you did, although the soreness must be crazy. Here's to happier and less "eventful" trips, fellow rider! :i_am_so_happy:
Firehawk,
Hey, torn-up riding gear never looked so good! Glad to hear you were undamaged, mostly, but I 'spect you will be taking things easy for a few days.
Too bad, about that clock. :bye2:
Reminds me of an anecdote from hippie Jon Cain:
Jon rides up to a stoplight and a Harley rider is stopped right next to him.
The Harley dude yells to Jon, "Hey guy, aren't you hot wearing all that gear?"
Jon raises his face shield and replies, "Yea, this gear is hot, until you need it...then it's pretty cool.."
Alan, I think you've just helped a newcomer. :good2:
When someone, eyeing my gear, asks me, "Hey, aren't you hot?" I reply with, "Yeah, but I'd rather sweat than bleed."
Timleslie... FirstGear and Joe Rocket make pretty good gear at a reasonable price.
Bill
Alan asked all of us that were riding with him on that day too withhold mentioning this incident on any of our rally write ups until he posted.
I was riding directly behind Alan when this happened. As I was about to enter the corner, all of a sudden Alan is on the ground, his FJ doing the jitterbug dance down the road and I am doing the best I can to scrub speed and stop as quickly as I can, 1st was to avoid Alan and the 2nd to be able to get off the bike and render assistance. Once I was able to stop and get off the bike, it was a great relief to find Alan mostly un injured.
When Cap'n Ron asked Alan, Cheese or No Cheese..... I was so hoping Alan was going to say CHEESE ME. when the response came back No Cheese, I fully understood that we all were in the position to make sure that Alan and his FJ both safely make it back the the motel.
As far as safety gear goes..... A torn up Jacket, pants and a helmet are a small price to pay to save your hide from road rash. One of the things that I noticed with this forum. When we all meet at various rally's, everyone wears full head to toe riding gear. Often times while riding in a group ride locally here in Kansas, I am asked if I am really hot in my gear, or simply....why do I wear my gear everywhere that I ride. I tell them, the gear can be the difference between walking away with a few bumps and bruises, or an ambulance ride to the hospital with a few broken bones. Yes, I speak from a personal experience. I also prefer Joe Rocket as my brand of choice for mine and my kids riding apparel.
Fred
Alan and I also had an eventful, early morning ride, the next day...
More to follow..
I await the rebuild progress on the FJ!
Quote from: Firehawk068 on September 21, 2017, 12:18:30 AM
Yup...............It happened. My poor, trusty old girl and I both took a tumble down the road at about 40-mph.
Luckily I'm a firm believer in always wearing all my safety gear! ...
Sorry to hear that, we have saying here, that every crash you can leave on your own feet is good crash.
Luckily you are OK and old girls heart still beats, I think some of the guys here will be happy to find spare FJ clock for you :good2:
Quote from: timleslie1957 on September 21, 2017, 12:29:53 PM
Good golly Miss Molly what in the hell have I been thinking? My riding bud berated me on not having protective clothing on while riding my new to me FJ1200. This struck home ... very hard. Me, with a gorgeous young wife, two boys ages 4 and 5 ... great home and job ... tooling down the road like I own the world and am invincible. No more.
Could you please (if this is not too tacky a question to ask right now) provide the gear types and brands you donned on this fateful trip? I am plugging down money this week for the protection.
I made a separate post for some samples of Joe Rocket gear, click on the blue link
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=17300.msg174119#msg174119 (http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=17300.msg174119#msg174119)
Fred
Quote from: aviationfred on September 21, 2017, 08:59:25 PM
Alan asked all of us that were riding with him on that day withhold mentioning this incident on any of our rally write ups.
... When Cap'n Ron asked Alan, Cheese or No Cheese..... I was so hoping Alan was going to say CHEESE ME. when the response came back No Cheese, I fully understood that we all were in the position to make sure that Alan and his FJ both safely make it back the the motel.
I had gone out alone that day, so I missed the excitement.
I got the artisanal cheese, though. Five pounds. There's still about 2.5 pounds left, if anybody wants some (Buffalo cheddar, butterkaese, and farmer's cheese).
rossi
Quote from: CutterBill on September 21, 2017, 08:23:06 PM
When someone, eyeing my gear, asks me, "Hey, aren't you hot?" I reply with, "Yeah, but I'd rather sweat than bleed."
Timleslie... FirstGear and Joe Rocket make pretty good gear at a reasonable price.
Bill
Thanks. I am looking at both of those. I appreciate the get back!
Take a look at Motoport gear... it is premium cost to be sure, but really incredible stuff and the reviews from fallen riders are amazing. I bought jacket and pants and wear them as my summer gear. Still use leather for winter, but I think the motoport kevlar mesh is better than leather most likely. And their warranty/repair policy is unmatched.
Frank
Alan, great crash write up to parallel the usual excellence of your mod/ maintenance write ups. At least your humor remains intact and keeps perfect comic timing, even though your on board timer has departed the here and now. Phew, then, a successful tuck and roll resulting in no lasting injuries. Surely it must have been a road surface problem, as I know you are careful where you put your wheels (maybe not so careful with exhaust cans).
Get it fixed and get back on.
Andy
I haven't been able to finish up this post yet, as I spent the weekend helping a fellow FJ-Brother get his bike sorted and back on the road. (that was a challenge!)
I'll post up the rest of the story later this evening.
OK, to explain how this whole thing happened, I'll do my best to recall the events.
For most of the day on our Saturday ride, we were travelling mostly off of the main roads, and using a bunch of fantastic farm-roads.
I'll preface this by saying both of the riding days that I spent in Wisconsin, I would say around 70% of the corners had some sort of light colored gravel on the inside of the turns. This was in stark contrast to the dark pavement surface, and was easily seen and avoided...........
The particular road that we were on at the time I went down (as you can see in some of the pictures I posted previously) was some sort of "Chip-seal" surface, where it looks like they spray down a sticky tar layer and then roll a layer of gravel into it.
We were tooling along this road, and not really going all that fast. We were coming up on a 90-degree left-hand turn. The road was pretty much deserted. The corn-field to my left was low enough, and cut back from the road far enough that I could see all the way through the turn, as well as all the way up the next straight. There were no cars in sight.
I happened to be 3rd in line in our group. Cap'n Ron went around the corner, then Leon followed behind him. The next decision I made is what set my fate in motion.
Since I could see all the way down the road, I decided to shallow-up the radius of the corner. I started on the outside, and cut in toward the apex. I expected to finish the turn on the outside again as I exited.
It was also at this very moment that the road went from bright sunlight, to having the corner completely shaded by tall trees on the outside. As I looked through the turn, I visibly did not see any change in the road surface or any contrast of light material on a darker road surface.
As you can see in the next picture (and as Cap'n Ron pointed out to me after the event) the whole inside lane was covered in an inch-deep layer of sand and gravel that just happens to be the same color as the road surface. I did not see it at all! It just looked like uniform road-surface to me. This is the moment that I was rolling on the throttle, and the instant that the rear tire slid out from under me.
You can see the track that my spinning rear tire took through the gravel. Down the road where we are all standing is where my FJ ended up.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/36591835916_bcf5eb270b_b.jpg)
I honestly have no idea how long I actually hung on to the bike during the event.......
After a really good phone conversation with Fred (He was the next one in line behind me), some of the details became clearer.
After the bike and I went down on the left side, I apparently let go of the bars. It's probably a good thing that I did because as I was tumbling and skidding down the road, and the FJ was sliding on the engine guard and rear Givi case, the tires grabbed the road. The FJ flipped at least once and came down on the top of the fairing and the windshield. This was when the right mirror stalk snapped, and the mirror-mount part of the sub-frame was punched into the gauge cluster. It may have flipped more than once, but I'm not sure? The bike came to rest on it's right side after skidding a bit on that side as well.
I would consider myself an experienced rider, but on this day, and on this corner I made a mistake..............One that would cost me a little bit of pain, and will cost me some cash and parts to get the FJ back to presentable condition. But the thing that I'm most disappointed in myself about, is that I caused some of my really good friends a bunch of worry, fear, and concern............It burns me that I put them through that.......... I feel very fortunate though, that they were with me when I needed them. :drinks:
I can't stress enough how much wearing the proper safety gear will make the difference!
Nobody plans on sliding down the road that day..........I certainly didn't! But you never know when that patch of sand will reach up and grab you.........That slight moment of inattention will happen in the blink of an eye! How you outfit yourself when you head out to ride will make the difference between walking away from the slide, or riding to the hospital for months of recovery and skin-grafting..........
I'd like to keep all my skin right where it is-thank you!
I'll finish up the rest of this story in a few days, with a bunch more pictures...............I'm currently prepping for a visit from one of those really good friends I mentioned.... :good2:
Not to distract from the thread, but just yesterday I was at a 2-way stop, waiting for traffic to clear, when a lady came riding by on her Harley. Her safety gear consisted of... a tank top. That was it; just a tank top. Not even gloves. Jeans, of course, but a tank top? Since I could see that she was rather busty, all I could think of was how she would look if she took a tumble and slid down the road on her chest.
I don't get it...
Bill
Quote from: CutterBill on September 26, 2017, 06:51:56 AM
I don't get it...
Neither do they.
There were a bunch of Harley folks at the Round Barn Lodge in Wisconsin. We were sitting on the patio enjoying a bit of comeraderie. Isaac (neoday) was still wearing his full adventure-touring regalia, including some dual-sport type boots with MX-style buckles. A nubile young thing from the HD bunch asked, "What are those for?" A pointless discussion of the merits of proper gear then ensued. She left.
We sat there for quite a while discussing suspension setups, tires, etc. - you know, the important stuff. The next morning, the HD crowd was out wiping the dew off their bikes, and debating\discussing the best polish to use.
Different strokes, I guess.
rossi
Most of the Harley riders here in Texas don't wear helmets. This is just natures way of improving the gene pool when there is an accident.
Quote from: TexasDave on September 26, 2017, 07:36:28 AM
Most of the Harley riders here in Texas don't wear helmets. This is just natures way of improving the gene pool when there is an accident.
A practice endorsed by the Organ Donation Register.
Noel
Quote from: TexasDave on September 26, 2017, 07:36:28 AM
Most of the Harley riders here in Texas don't wear helmets. This is just natures way of improving the gene pool when there is an accident.
Unfortunately, most of them have already made their contribution to the gene pool.
I've only just seen this, glad you came out of it mostly ok Alan. Thats something that will always catch us out being on 2 wheels, that little patch of sand/gravel that usually means down we go. Doesn't bear thinking about going down that road without the proper gear on :good2:
Alan , I have only just seen this as well.
sorry to hear of the spill you had .... glad you walked away .
check your frame and swingarm for tweaks . this is good advice from someone who falls off his FJ once every 10 years.
Quote from: Mark Olson on October 13, 2017, 04:09:18 AM
Alan , I have only just seen this as well.
sorry to hear of the spill you had .... glad you walked away .
check your frame and swingarm for tweaks . this is good advice from someone who falls off his FJ once every 10 years.
Good advice for sure!
I am planning a tear-down this winter.
Although it rides straight, I am going to double-check everything to make sure it still is...........Forks, Wheels, Frame, Swing-arm, etc..........
How are you healing Alan?
Quote from: Pat Conlon on October 15, 2017, 11:48:54 AM
How are you healing Alan?
I would say, I am probably just about fully healed up.
I have just a very slight tenderness in my left hip if I push in on it with a decent amount of force.
Other than that, you'd never know anything happened to me.
The FJ.............well, I haven't done anything with it yet.
(I did put some fuel stabilizer in the tank, and I actually rode it around the block a few times)
I really like the armor I have in my jacket and knees and shins but hips felt exposed. So I got this. https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/alpinestars-bionic-freeride-shorts?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIotCEybL51gIVC16GCh0X3AuOEAQYBCABEgIayPD_BwE. (https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/alpinestars-bionic-freeride-shorts?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIotCEybL51gIVC16GCh0X3AuOEAQYBCABEgIayPD_BwE.) Having lost some weight the pants now fit properly. But on my last low speed low side the pants have contact damage on my hip but I have no bruising. Bit of a hassle if you have to sit for a potty break.
Alan,
Thank you for your candor in creating this post. It takes a big man to post up subjects like this.
Hopefully everyone can learn something from your experience and make them a better rider.
Thanks again, Randy - RPM