Coming back from a wreck?

[Tkelly]

Your bike insurance may cover some of your losses if it includes uninsured motorist.

[Bulldog9]

Guess I shouldn't have asked if I was crazy! I really like your advice. I was kind of thinking along those lines. Maybe get something that I can work on while I'm mending.

Absolutely, This is what I did with my Convert prior to my hip and knee replacements in 2020. Not sure how much you can do recovering from two (oh my) broken arms, but even light tinkering will help pass the time.

[twowheeladdict]

Race car driver:  "Where do you expect to be when you die?"
other person: "I expect to die in bed."
Race car driver:  "How are you able to get into your bed at night?"

LOL!

[twowheeladdict]

I've only had one accident in my 40+ years of riding and it was 18 years ago. Got pushed off the road and low sided on the Cherahola Skyway.  Injuries were not from the road or impact, the jacket, gloves, boots, pants and helmet did their work. The issue was the bike tumbled over me twice as I slid down the road/drainage ditch. Ended with fractures to 2 vertebrae, severe bruising on my back buttocks' and thighs, and something punched a hole in the back of my left leg. The rest of me was lightly bruised.

I always roll my eyes when I see bikes with spikes all over them and some of the cruiser riders even put handle bars with spikes on them.  Some say it is because they don't want to survive a wreck while others just think they look cool and haven't even considered wrecking. 
Of course I've also seen sport bike riders with tennis shoes and shorts showing off scars on their legs from previous wrecks.   

[aproud1]

Some years ago my Sportster and I were hit head on by young driver who apparently fell asleep.  He told the authorities he didn't remember anything but yanking the steering wheel hard to the left.  It was one of those "shit happens" things and I never doubted getting back on a bike.  My various treatment teams helped me every step of the way from day one.  As somebody said, motorcycles are in you or they're not.  Riding is risky, and the decision to ride needs to be pondered long and hard, especially if you share your life with another person, even more so if there are children in the mix.  We need take it easy on the ultimatums, especially when we don't know the whole story.  A younger couple are dear friends of ours, and it was tough on her when he decided to pursue a private pilot's license.  She was terrified of the risk and what it would mean to lose him, on so many levels.  I advised her to get him to agree to a hefty life insurance policy so that she and the family would be well set if anything were to happen.  That seemed to have done the trick, and now she is supportive without a grudge.

aproud1, not to stick my nose in, but as you said, some more important issues may need to come to the forefront at this time.  The accident has forced you slow down physically, so now you have the time to stop and take a hard look at things.


But when you are ready for a bike  , if you'll fit on it, I might suggest a Suzuki TU250.  It's classy looks might fit the bill for a while, and it's light and cheap, so as not to tax you physically or financially as you recover.  Worked for me!

Regardless, hope you'll keep us posted, and know we're with you as you come along.

Sarah

Thanks Sarah! Great advice! Trying my hardest to take my time and get things sorted. I won't physically be able to ride anything for awhile anyway. Still looking at options on the interwebs and daydreaming. Don't think I'd fit on the TU250. Super cool bike but I am fairly large.

I just got weight bearing as tolerated on both arms yesterday, which is a very big forward step. Though my arms are very weak.

Time is your friend when it comes to recovery.

I'm glad you didn't get too cozy with morphine. That shite took my mom out quick after shoulder surgery. She was gone within the year at only 59.

Damn, sorry to hear that.

Think the fact that I was in constant pain the entire time I was on the heavy stuff and that I tapered down in conjunction with my pain level. Started with Fentanyl/Ketamine, to Delauded, to time release morphine to OTC pain meds (though have been on nerve pain meds the whole time as well) and now finally starting to back off the OTC stuff helped. I didn't move off of something and need to step back for pain.

Or maybe the fact that my body is kind of stupid when it comes to communicating with my brain. Too many drugs in the 90s or something. But that is a different chapter for a different time.

 

Your bike insurance may cover some of your losses if it includes uninsured motorist.

Didn't have it on the bike. When the wife set up my insurance, Progressive recommended against it.  Sucks. Live and Learn I guess. Ohio does have a crime victim fund I have access too.


I'm super lucky so far on the money side. Will still receive a giant hospital bill but I have disability through work and used PTO (which I had a lot of). So I was paid full time through the whole ordeal. Plus, I can work from home, came back early and my boss is supercool. So they didn't kick my ass the day I got back.  I'm not wealthy, but I will financially survive.

Absolutely, This is what I did with my Convert prior to my hip and knee replacements in 2020. Not sure how much you can do recovering from two (oh my broken arms, but even light tinkering will help pass the time.

Not being able to do things have been really tough. Asking for help with the smallest thing or any normal daily activity was super tough. I can use my arms again as of yesterday but still can't use stairs, drive or think too hard.

I credit my physical therapists. All have been excellent and made sure I could get back to bass playing ( which was the #1 thing I missed).

I always roll my eyes when I see bikes with spikes all over them and some of the cruiser riders even put handle bars with spikes on them.  Some say it is because they don't want to survive a wreck while others just think they look cool and haven't even considered wrecking. 
Of course I've also seen sport bike riders with tennis shoes and shorts showing off scars on their legs from previous wrecks.   

Lots of smart decisions being made out there. The not surviving a wreck part is one thing, doing stupid things that could potentially handicap you in a terrible way for the rest of your life is a whole different thing.

It like the return of handlebar whips. Cool bruh. 

[blu guzz]

Proud:

I went by Cadre yesterday to get rear brake pads.  They will be ready for you when you are ready to get back on or just for a visit.  I hope that is soon.
Best wishes for a quick and full recovery.

Tom

[aproud1]

Proud:

I went by Cadre yesterday to get rear brake pads.  They will be ready for you when you are ready to get back on or just for a visit.  I hope that is soon.
Best wishes for a quick and full recovery.

Tom

Thanks Tom! Hopes so too! Once I’m independently mobile, that is one of my first destinations. Plan to throw my janky leg over a few and pretend for a bit.

[Burkslaw]

In 2002 I let someone take my hotrod VW trike around the block with me on the back. She came off the clutch a bit too quickly in 2nd gear, hoisted the front end in the air, accelerated to 40 and ran straight into the brick wall.
27 screws in my right leg, tore right kneecap off, 15 operations total to remove dead bone and repair damage to right leg, tore ACL in left, and had my right ankle fused 5 yrs ago to remedy the damage from walking on a crooked leg.
First day home from the hospital I had neighbors help me out of my wheelchair and onto my Yamaha, and rode a couple miles just to make certain I still could.







 

Since then I've built another trike and owned BMW's, Harleys, Goldwings, a Valkyrie, Buells, Kawasaki's, a Suzook or two, and 4 Guzzi's.

[Scott of the Sahara]

Strange that this thread came up. I am recovering from a rear end accident that left me with a broken neck and crossed eyes.
This is alost exactly 3 months after I hit a wheel on the Moto Guzzi Norge.
I should have bought a lotto ticket
The day of this accident I agreed with my wife that Motorcycles are done.
I was in the hospital for 8 days.
If I can see again I am buying a convertable and I will drive with my friends.
I know that with both accidents I could have been in a car and suffered the same injuries. I just think I'm done

[aproud1]

In 2002 I let someone take my hotrod VW trike around the block with me on the back. She came off the clutch a bit too quickly in 2nd gear, hoisted the front end in the air, accelerated to 40 and ran straight into the brick wall.
27 screws in my right leg, tore right kneecap off, 15 operations total to remove dead bone and repair damage to right leg, tore ACL in left, and had my right ankle fused 5 yrs ago to remedy the damage from walking on a crooked leg.
First day home from the hospital I had neighbors help me out of my wheelchair and onto my Yamaha, and rode a couple miles just to make certain I still could.







 

Since then I've built another trike and owned BMW's, Harleys, Goldwings, a Valkyrie, Buells, Kawasaki's, a Suzook or two, and 4 Guzzi's.

That sounds like quite the experience. My bike was my one and only so no post op joy rides for me!

Strange that this thread came up. I am recovering from a rear end accident that left me with a broken neck and crossed eyes.
This is alost exactly 3 months after I hit a wheel on the Moto Guzzi Norge.
I should have bought a lotto ticket
The day of this accident I agreed with my wife that Motorcycles are done.
I was in the hospital for 8 days.
If I can see again I am buying a convertable and I will drive with my friends.
I know that with both accidents I could have been in a car and suffered the same injuries. I just think I'm done

That’s rough! The fun car option was what my wife suggested. I don’t know. I think I’m just going to hang tight until next year and see how I’m feeling and what I’m thinking.

Hope your recovery goes well!

[yackee]

Accidents are largely accidental, and thus best viewed as random draws. You drew a short stick once, but your odds of drawing a short stick again are precisely the same as they were before. (Unless your first accident causes you to change your riding behavior in ways that affect the odds of getting hit again). It's like rolling dice. You get snake eyes on the first role. Your odds of getting snake eyes on the second are the same as they were on the first.

Maybe you originally underestimated the odds of getting hit. You got hit, that doesn't mean the actual odds of ever getting hit again are any different than they ever were. But maybe you have updated your estimation now and have a better (closer to true) understanding of the odds. In that case, you may decide that it's not worth riding again. But--and this is the point--the actual world-as-it-is odds of an accident were and always are pretty much the same, and that probably holds for your first (actual) and for second (hypothetical) accidents. If you were OK riding before, you should be OK riding again, unless you think that you were underestimating the odds the first time around.

[aproud1]

Accidents are largely accidental, and thus best viewed as random draws. You drew a short stick once, but your odds of drawing a short stick again are precisely the same as they were before. (Unless your first accident causes you to change your riding behavior in ways that affect the odds of getting hit again). It's like rolling dice. You get snake eyes on the first role. Your odds of getting snake eyes on the second are the same as they were on the first.

Maybe you originally underestimated the odds of getting hit. You got hit, that doesn't mean the actual odds of ever getting hit again are any different than they ever were. But maybe you have updated your estimation now and have a better (closer to true) understanding of the odds. In that case, you may decide that it's not worth riding again. But--and this is the point--the actual world-as-it-is odds of an accident were and always are pretty much the same, and that probably holds for your first (actual) and for second (hypothetical) accidents. If you were OK riding before, you should be OK riding again, unless you think that you were underestimating the odds the first time around.

Good points. My view of near misses I can remember definitely look different now.

I think it's like a lot of people, understand the risk itself but didn't fully appreciate the potential damage and recovery. As far as riding again, I truly think only time will tell.

[Huzo]

Speaking just for myself, if my partner said, "It's me or the motorbikes!" - "Bye!" would be my answer.

That’s a two edged sword that one….
If I had to give up bikes to save my partners life (hypothetically), I would do it.
Suffice to say I value her higher than the bike.
But.
If she said give up bikes or I’m leaving, then it’d be goodbye to her.

One seems to fly in the face of the other, yet it’s not so..
You’re not choosing the bike above the partner because you value the bike more highly, it’s because she tried to force you to choose.
If you think about it, when she says..
“It’s the bike or me…”
She’s prepared to lose you to get her own way..
So why do they look so crestfallen when you give them the truth, that you’re prepared to see them walk. It’s the attempt to dominate that is distasteful.
If I thought my partner cried herself to sleep over the fear that I may be killed on a bike, I think I’d leave them for her sake, but an attempt to bully me into it would not go well for her.

Now I’d like to add, that my partner does everything she can to facilitate my continued enjoyment on two wheels and one time when I said I “wasn’t doing Europe next year”, she replied
“Yes you are, get out and enjoy yourself, if you hang around here I’ll make your life hell…”

https://youtu.be/cuVWZhSB1X8   

[John A]

How’s the healing going? Good days and bad days, go with what it is and it will get better.  It’s damn hard, asking for help and dealing with all that entails.  I try to only ask if I can’t do something without damage to healing which is hard to judge sometimes as your body changes while it put’s itself back together . Injury can be a path to better health.

[aproud1]

How’s the healing going? Good days and bad days, go with what it is and it will get better.  It’s damn hard, asking for help and dealing with all that entails.  I try to only ask if I can’t do something without damage to healing which is hard to judge sometimes as your body changes while it put’s itself back together . Injury can be a path to better health.

It's going well. I can now bear weight on my arms and can walk unassisted a bit. First few steps are pretty painful. Had band practice Thursday for the first time which was great. Still, feel like there is a piece of me missing. Likely be better once I am truly independent.

Losing all independence was probably the worst part. You are right, very hard for me to ask for help but that changed pretty quickly. My humility flew out the door as well.

Thanks for checking in!

[aproud1]

Went over to Cadre Tuesday to talk to Enzo. Checked out some of the various cool, old projects they are working on and had a chance to throw my leg over some bikes. Didn't attempt to sit on the V85tt. Don't think my leg can handle that that yet! The V9 felt just right. Look forward to healing up a bit more and taking a test ride. I'll need something this summer.

[SmithSwede]

I threw my little V7 down the road last March and broke my right ankle.  Very painful experience. 

One suggestion to help ease the mental stress.  Just tell yourself that one day, when you feel like it, you will take a little test ride on a bike.  Borrow a friend’s bike or something—no big commitment.

If you feel terrified and uncomfortable on the test ride, maybe that’s a sign you need to be out of the game.  Or take more time.

On the other hand, if everything just clicks and you instantly confirm you want back on bikes, proceed accordingly. 

When I finally healed up enough to ride, my little test ride was definitive.  It was crystal clear I couldn’t give this up, so a short time later I bought a new bike.

My other suggestion is to think very critically about what happened in your wreck.  What can you learn from it?  What could you have done differently.   More generally, what are the risks you are incurring by riding and how can you mitigate them?  Being thoughtful and pro-active about this can give you a feeling of much more control. 

Good luck.  Please don’t hesitate to PM me

[aproud1]

I threw my little V7 down the road last March and broke my right ankle.  Very painful experience. 

One suggestion to help ease the mental stress.  Just tell yourself that one day, when you feel like it, you will take a little test ride on a bike.  Borrow a friend’s bike or something—no big commitment.

If you feel terrified and uncomfortable on the test ride, maybe that’s a sign you need to be out of the game.  Or take more time.

On the other hand, if everything just clicks and you instantly confirm you want back on bikes, proceed accordingly. 

When I finally healed up enough to ride, my little test ride was definitive.  It was crystal clear I couldn’t give this up, so a short time later I bought a new bike.

My other suggestion is to think very critically about what happened in your wreck.  What can you learn from it?  What could you have done differently.   More generally, what are the risks you are incurring by riding and how can you mitigate them?  Being thoughtful and pro-active about this can give you a feeling of much more control. 

Good luck.  Please don’t hesitate to PM me

Thank you! Some great points.  Sorry to hear about your V7. Hope it wasn't too badly damaged?

I've definitely been analyzing the situation. My plan (for now) is to take the MSF returning rider course. Take it from there and give me some feedback and a safe course to re-evaluate from.

[Vagrant]

In July of 2010 I came very close to checking out for good in BFE Alaska. 14 days in ICU then two months confined to a lazy boy with 11 broken ribs. A very good helmet most likely saved my brain. Naturally, almost everyone encouraged me to quit my then 45 year habit and I sure considered it. When I could finally stumble out to the garage I hit the starter button on the 01 EV. When it rumbled to life the decision was final. That was about 300,000 miles ago. 

[Enzo Toma]

Beyond MSF courses there is also great content online for learning how to assess and respond to situations on a motorcycle, as well as what to do when there is a crash.
DanDanTheFireman has great after action reviews of crashes and close calls that I've found to be insightful for road riding:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1iNF4BnIucCD7J2QGZYkjg

[aproud1]

In July of 2010 I came very close to checking out for good in BFE Alaska. 14 days in ICU then two months confined to a lazy boy with 11 broken ribs. A very good helmet most likely saved my brain. Naturally, almost everyone encouraged me to quit my then 45 year habit and I sure considered it. When I could finally stumble out to the garage I hit the starter button on the 01 EV. When it rumbled to life the decision was final. That was about 300,000 miles ago. 

Damn man. That really must have been tough. Glad you pulled through. I really miss riding and sitting on a few bikes confirmed that feeling.

Beyond MSF courses there is also great content online for learning how to assess and respond to situations on a motorcycle, as well as what to do when there is a crash.
DanDanTheFireman has great after action reviews of crashes and close calls that I've found to be insightful for road riding:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1iNF4BnIucCD7J2QGZYkjg

Have watched several of his videos. Thanks for the link!