My Clock on the FJ quit working.

[Flynt]

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

[andyoutandabout]

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

[Firehawk068]

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.

[Firehawk068]

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.



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. 

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.... 

[CutterBill]

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

[rlucas]

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

[TexasDave]

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.

[ribbert]

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

[Country Joe]

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.

[X-Ray]

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       

[Mark Olson]

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.

[Firehawk068]

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..........

[Pat Conlon]

How are you healing Alan?

[Firehawk068]

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)

[FJmonkey]

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. 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.