| Author | Message | ||
     Juniorkirk |
I just got my bike around mid July, a new '06 XB12R. Only 5 miles on odometer when I rolled it off the show room floor. Man I was the happiest person, I finally got the bike I've been wanting for more than 2 years. And i got a hell of a deal on the bike. When I first got it I only had my motorcycle permit yet, so i had to stick with dad all the time, and could only ride when he did. But finally i got sick of that after a week and got my license. I was free to fly....and flying I did. pushed that thing faster on the straights, and pushed it faster on the turns. Boy that thing just kept leaning in those turns, hit my feet before the pegs, so i picked them up and it still leaned. Kinda cool to have the feeling of going into a wrap-around on ramp that says 35, and going over 70 and feeling completely safe. Finally I had to ride it completely safe when I got stuck in the rain coming home from work at 5 am. 4 lane highway, going 55 and my back wheel hits the tar strip near the middle of the lane. Back end got loose, and I went down. First thought trough my head was "crap, the bike" but then after I stopped skidding, I got up, looked in front of me to see where the bike went. It wasnt there, it was about 50 feet behind me laying on its left side in the gravel shoulder. started walking back to it and the only pain i could feel was my left knee. Stood the bike up, got my phone out from under the seat and called my Dad first, saying i dumped it and needed to be picked up (i had no idea what had happened to my knee, YET). after he said he would be out there in a bit, was about 23 miles from home yet, i hung up and started looking over the bike to see if i could find anything wrong. Then i walked in front of the headlights and noticed a big hole in my jeans and it was really red. pulled my jeans up a bit and what i saw didnt make me happy. Now, i'm the type of guy that gets a bad cut that would need stitches, and only puts a band-aid on it and says it will be ok. But not this time, i called my dad back and said i would be calling 911. Ambulance took me to the hospital, and i had a nice hole above my right knee. about the size of a 50 cent peice, and a 1/4 inch deep. had surgery to get the gravel out, and take off all the dead tissue. Cause of it, I cant bend my leg far enough to get it on the peg, so I'm off the bike for at the least, 5 weeks. Ticks me off. But i'm in good spirits, as soon as this thing heals, i'm right back on. nothing is going to keep me off my bike. I would consider the bike getting the better half of the deal. Scratched fairing, scratched windshield, left mirror mount snapped, torn up left mirror, a little dimple in the frame and some scratches, scratched air scoop, torn off oil cooler scoop, bent left handlebar with torn up grip, and shifter lever toe grip. Everything is fixed and replaced on the bike already, except the fairing mount. which kinda leads me to a question, is the magnesium fairing mount weldable? we took it to a professional welder and he doesnt know if it can be welded yet, and i wont know until tomorrow if it can or not, i just need to know sooner so i can get my hopes up even more or not. And insight on this would help. Here is a picture of my battle wound.  | ||
| Crashm1 |
Ouch dude! Get thee to a track day or ten once your leg heals up and by some dang gear! DiabloBrian will say it better than I can but leather and a helmet is your friend on a motorcycle. | ||
| Percyco |
After seeing that, I dont think I will ever take my kevlar "Sliders" blue jeans off......Dang, go shopping on your 5 weeks off and get some gear. Glad you were'nt hurt badly!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | ||
| Old_man |
OUCH!! Good to see no very serious injuries, but I bet that hurts. Check these jeans out http://www.dragginjeans.com/ I don't ride without wearing them. I wear bike shorts under them-very comfortable. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
I had my helmet, gloves, and jacket on, nothing wrong with the helmet, nothing wrong with the gloves, but the jacket did get scratched up pretty good on the left shoulder and upper back. i just wish i had better jeans on, cause when i hit, the ground ripped through them like butter. thanks for the links to the jeans, i WILL get a pair for the next time i go riding....that is if they make a pair big enough for me. 32x38 is my jean size:P. | ||
| Murdoch |
Better than Draggin Jeans is Redmax Jeans by Black Max. They have more internal lining than the Draggin`s Check the link, the Redmax`s are towards the bottom of the page. They also have some good leather gear too http://www.blackmax.com.au/product/query/jeans Cheers Murdoch | ||
| Old_man |
I think they make special order sizes. And I hope you never have to test them. good luck. | ||
| Blake |
Great post, great topic. Thanks for the candid description of your crash. So many folks like to find something to blame their crash on besides just their own darn self. Hey, is that your knee saying "OHHHH NOOO!"  Sorry, couldn't resist. Great pic by the way. I hope it convinces some more folks to wear some proper gear. Check out the under-armor that is offered by many of the mail order houses. Short of leather, armor is the only real way to gain significant protection against that type of friction induced injury, and the leather is almost always armored too. The underarmor is kinda like catcher's gear that fits under your street clothes. Dang man, you are one tall dude with a 38" inseam. Definitely get thy knees and elbows all armored up. Hope you heal well and quickly. Eat lots of protein!  | ||
| Juniorkirk |
I have been packing the protein like no other, they told me it would heal me faster, so I'm eating as much as i can. Ya, i have been called tall, 6'5", and only 175 lbs. perfect for a buell xD. | ||
| Skyguy |
Glad you came out all right all in all. Hope that ugly ass knee heals well. Jeans are sometimes effective but much better to get some real gear. I for one will be buying a better set of gear as soon as possible. Wish I had not sold off my leathers and Aerostitch when I tried to quit riding (that lasted two years) a few years back. I have good winter stuff but my summer stuff is old school at best as I have had the same leather jacket for 20 years now. This last lowside tore it up pretty badly so I am going to have to rob a bank or something. | ||
| Buellgirlie |
glad you're ok. heal up! D | ||
| Diablobrian |
Ouch, I hope you heal quickly! A set of over-pants designed for riding would be even better than jeans of any type. Good job being ready to hop right back on the bike! | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
Glad you are ok and the bike isn't trashed! Kevlar reinforced jeans might be ok for jean type rides at low speed, but for general riding you need at least a pair of overpants with more protection built in. Take a look at Joe Rocket Alter Ego pants- they are no replacement for the leather I wear at the strip, but are way better than any jeans. Ride safe! | ||
| Juniorkirk |
Thanks guys/gals for the support. I definitely have to look into all this pant business....seems like smart stuff. But would anyone know a good street tire that has some decent tread in the middle of the tire, just in case i do get caught in the rain again. I've looked around some, but nothing is really catching my eye, they either have no tread and great grip, or great tread, but poor performance. I need a good balance of both. I dont do a lot of hi-end tracking or anything, but once in awhile i might go try and find a track to take it on. Just wondering what some advice would be on the tires. Thanks again for the support  | ||
| Chiefiron |
Putting on my "full" leathers for local rides, 100 - 200 miles, seemed like over kill to me until this post. i do however put my UFO back protector into my Joe Rocket jacket for the rides. guess i should pull out the pants. Im getting too old for that kind of injury. Tim | ||
| Xb9 |
Check out Aerostich riderware - good stuff for the street. www.riderwarehouse.com some tires are better than others in the wet, but those tar strips can be very slippery no matter what kind of tires you run....same goes for the yellow and white road paint. glad your injuries weren't worse (ouch!), heal up quick! I can relate, I broke my hip in a racing incident back in June, the six weeks waiting to get healed up and back on a bike was agony | ||
| Angelwild327 |
Junior, the new buells have pirelli's on them, and for a very good reason....scrap those stock dunlops as soon as you can, they are the worst...Buell finally heard us complaining and dumped them. Glad you're ok, please ride safe... I'm gonna sound like a mom, but please go do some track days...you'll be forever grateful for the knowledge you gain and you'll be a better rider for it. | ||
| Chellem |
Ew. I can't believe how perfectly round that hole is. Did the doctor do that I guess? Hope I never get to see that much of my insides through the outside like that. Glad you weren't hurt more seriously though. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
No, the doctor didnt do it. It was that round when i went in, the only thing the doctor did was make it a little bigger taking the destroyed stuff off, and undermining. My guess is that somehow my knee went up and hit my handlebar REALLY hard and it punched the hole there. | ||
| Naughtynurse |
Glad you are OK , Heal quick!!! Ouch!! | ||
| Ginzero |
dang.. that pic made me wince... any pics of the bike damage? | ||
| Juniorkirk |
ya, i got some pictures. but compared to the knee damage, its nothing, but the bike damage made me wince:P. Got some scratches on the fairing and windshield  Left turn signal disappeared  Handlebar got bent pretty good, but cant really see in the picture.  Fairing mount snapped where it holds the left mirror  Few scratches and a little dimple on the frame (fixed it with pucks:P)  Air scoop got some good scratches, but im keepin' it on, to remind me of it.  Oil cooler scoop got ripped off  Side of the fairing got scratched up pretty good too.  Mirror is scratched to hell, and it was bent, and was laying flush with the fairing. You can see the hand grip is torn up too.  | ||
| Henrik |
There is some pull on the skin in that area. Hitting skin draped tightly over bone with a blunt object creates a wound much like a cut - baseball bat to skull is another example. Now imagine that horizontal cut with some pull top and bottom and you have a nice round hole like Kirk's  Glad you made it out ok Kirk. Riding gear with armor is a good thing. Henrik | ||
| Beachbuell |
Thanks for the story, report and pics! Just remember it could have been worse. Chalk it up as a learning experience and ride on. But, do get some high end, quality, gear. | ||
| Swordsman |
Hmm... I'm betting somebody got their ass chewed by their parents for wrecking so quickly! You parents are probably scared to death that you're gonna get yourself in serious trouble, since you seem to have gotten such an early start. Couldn't you at least make it 6 months before crashing??? BTW, sounds like you're hitting that bike awfully hard to be so unfamiliar with it (1 month?). I know the wreck probably had little to do with your riding style, but might I suggest taking it a little easier once you get back up to speed? A little more experience might have made the difference when you fishtailed...? Glad the hole was in your leg and not your head!  ~SM | ||
| Juniorkirk |
Nah, the parents didnt chew me out, it's my bike and i'm paying for it . the worse they can do is.....nothing really, lol. Ya, i hit the bike pretty hard, but not too hard. only hard enough to get to know my bike better. I keep pushing it a little harder each time i do something, and it keeps handling it. I even get too scared on some of these turns and i back off before the bike does. ya, the bike tire did fishtail, and i had it all but corrected until i saw a nice construction cone in front of me, and if i hit that i would have gone down, so i tried once again to correct without over correcting, but from the start i knew i was going down. My dad said when he went to go pick the bike up that night, NO cones were knocked down. The only crap ive been getting from my dad is "i know what you were doing, you were weaving between the cones to see if you could". I only had one response to that..."it was raining and i knew it was TOO risky in wet weather.....Thats why i did it before i went to work and it was still dry". I got no response out of him on that, just a nice chuckle. | ||
| Bueaddicted |
Well, after seeing what a fall does to your knee, I went out today and bought the Icon Leg Field Armour! I like my skin too much. What did they do to close the gap? Did they just stitched the skin together?  Hope you get well soon. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
You wont believe this, but they didnt close it at all. It was too big of a hole to close, it would have risked serious infections, and ripping open again if they did stitch it up. right now i have this V.A.C. (Vacuum Assistance Closure). It puts negative pressure on the wound to suck out infection and drainage and promotes accelerated growth. Cuts the heal time from 6 weeks to 3 weeks. Everyone at work gets a kick when i show them how big it is when i take my wrap off it . | ||
| Naughtynurse |
That is a good system...use it in the hospital setting!!! Kinda neat as a portable system! | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Here is what I wear every day on my commute: http://www.newenough.com/tour_master_jean_pant_page.htm For $53, they are a GOOD deal. Better protection than draggin' jeans. And have CE armor in the knees. Size wise, they are a bit bigger than advertised size. I wear jeans, and shorts under 'em. |
