"it" happened. Laid it down for the first time.

[kidsmoke]

I knew when I embarked on this chapter two years ago, that, as you all say, it's not if you'll go down, but when. Of course it's in the back of your mind, but we all have the gene that tells us that simply LIVING this life is a risk from the get go, sitting on the sidelines just ain't an option.

Can't imagine this going any better than it did considering. I'm here to type about it after all. 3 vehicles involved. My Guzzi is the only one still rolling. No one notably injured. Particularly me.

Learned quite a few things about my bike and the gear I use that is well worth noting, that's the best part of this. Good lessons learned.

Was heading northbound on 41 in Cedar Lake Indiana, at 133rd for those in the neighborhood, just north of the light. Fairly busy Friday evening 9:30pm

4 lane road with paint in the center, no median, no turning lane. I'm in the far right northbound lane doing <40mph, trailing no one. F-250 to my Left 2 car lengths ahead traveling at the same speed.

I don't even know for sure what I did next, but perhaps those of you with more miles can surmise...I know what the other cars did though. The truck suddenly gooses the accelerator and cuts right, into my lane, no brake lights. As he crosses into my lane he is hit in the rear wheelwell on the drivers side by a car which has crossed the median. This causes his truck to spin 180 degrees and end up facing southbound in the middle of the street, and the offending vehicle came to a stop in the northbound lanes, headlights pointed due west??

If you're following this your thinking appropriately, that the bed of the truck, when impacted and spun, had to have taken me out. Nope.

My last thought before my face hit the street was to go to the trucks left because he was taking my lane and the shoulder was typical midwest spring gravel ridge. Then I heard the impact and saw him begin to change direction. next thing I see is my loaded Jackal sliding down the northbound lane on it's port side with a rooster tail of sparks. I leap to my feet and I'm maybe 10 feet from the drivers door of the pickup, his eyes like saucers looking at me, me with a full face helmet looking at him. Then we both look at the other ca, everything in front the wheelwells mangled. After a couple seconds, this guys gooses it and takes off in a clatter of breaking plastic and glass, heads south a bit and turns off left, crossing traffic again and almost causing another head on.

I run to my bike, not running, get the rubber back down, roll it to the side, side stand down. Pull off my helmet, and by this time there's a crowd of folks already gathering asking the usual questions. I was blind with rage at this point. Didn't even take stock in my bike, just started moving towards where the car went that caused this. Some dude stopped me with a hand to my chest, says he rides, and to stay still and take stock. Good counsel.

I'm not at all certain what I actually did as the operator of the bike. Squeeze the front while turning left?? But I definitely hit the street in a belly flop and rolled a couple of times. May rain suit has tears in both knees, near the groin. The jacket is torn in a couple of spots in the chest and skid marks on the shoulder blades. my Aerostitch Lobster claw over mitts are both torn in several spots. My Helmet (Bell Revolver Evo) hit on the left side of my face and the air flow slider mechanism (chin) is completely AWOL.

I don't have a mark on me.

All the requisite emergency personnel arrived, I spent a good half hour in an ambulance being disrobed and inspected, both me and the EMT's thinking there's gotta be something somewhere based on my exterior appearance.. Nothing. My knees hurt like a sumbitch, but they were already frozen from the ride before this happened. think that saved 'em.

Now to the important part. The bike. I literally did not want to look. I was SOOOOO angry at this point. cruiser drove over and flooded it with the lights. My Ortlieb panniers, left side ripped apart pretty good. The Crag Pack I chose to use as a top rack/ duffle was ground down pretty well but not into the the bag itself. I lost a good 1/8' to a 1/4" off the crash bar and the highway peg. I have a scratch on the left lip of the front fender. The left mirror also, scratched. That's all folks. She fired up and said, get on buddy, lets go. I was en route to my ladies place in Downtown Chicago. As is my custom, I bring a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, I had placed this bottle in the left pannier. Fortunately, it too came through unscathed. Baron de Ley Rioja, 2010. 95pts. I highly recommend it.

I don't get it. I do NOT understand how I missed the truck, or it missed me or whatever. Everyone on the scene said the just saw the sparks, and then this guy in looking more like a fireman than anything else walking away (emergency yellow jacket). I would love to see a surveillance camera. You all certainly know adrenaline I think I'm recalling all of this pretty accurately, but I don't know. I'm absolutely fine. Feeling relieved to have gotten this "mandatory" event out of the way and been so fortunate. Able to consider my actions and be a better rider for it.

Last shot before touchdown (girlfriend made me send updates at every stop)



Highway peg saved this bike







Glad to be alive.



 

[Park Ridge Phil]

 Glad your ok. All else is replaceable or repaired. 😎

[thepittsburghguzzi]

I don't get it. I do NOT understand how I missed the truck, or it missed me or whatever.

 

Somebody was watching over you on this day. You've just inspired me to look into crash bars for my V7C. I'm grateful that you're okay, sir. And that the bottle of wine was able to be enjoyed after all! You've now got one hell of a campfire story to share.

[Groover]

Whatever you did as far as riding goes, you apparently did it right because you're uninjured and are here to talk about it

In reply to your other post last week on how to get to Chicago... go figure. No matter which route you take and how well you plan, you can never anticipate stuff like this.

In the end, this is a great story. Very glad you are OK.

[oldbike54]

 Mr Smoke , glad you are OK . As for what caused the crash , the  front tire may have lost traction crossing the paint stripe at an acute angle . I normally try to ride where oncoming traffic is visible , although in this case the truck may have protected you . WOW! .

 Dusty

[kidsmoke]

In reply to your other post last week on how to get to Chicago... go figure. No matter which route you take and how well you plan, you can never anticipate stuff like this.

Exactly. Considering this, and the other post on the board this morning about the ER nurse's husband....whether you're on a bike or not...these things will happen. Everytime we buy a plane ticket, hop in the cage to get groceries, walk the dog!! If someone in a 3000lb propelled mass looses control, all bets are off.

Had a friend make the comment "this is why I don't ride a motorcycle". I replied that If I had been in a car, It would absolutely have been a more grave situation. The fact that I was about 750 lbs of of bouncing and skidding mass on two wheels absolutely saved my bacon, In THIS situation. There are no certainties. I choose to keep living.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Yep, just a bump in the road.  I don't normally read crash reports, but since you're a local guy..
Oh, by the way, if you're going to keep crashing, I have a *great* jacket to crash in.. just your size.
Glad you're not hurt. Seriously.

[rocker59]

Based on my experiences as a new rider in the 1980s, and going down under similar circumstances, with similar results, my WAG is that you locked the front wheel and went down.  That is what I did when mayhem ensued in front of me.  The bike went down on its left side, putting me on the pavement, on the yellow line of the 2-lane road, missing the car that was resting in front of me.

 

[kenvil1]

Congratulations on passing your first crash test with flyings colours.

From your description, it sounds like the car wasn't southbound when it crossed the median and hit the truck, but rather, it was travelling perpendicular to the road you were travelling on. Is that right? Was there an intersection?

[Arizona Wayne]

Your crashbar & highway peg saved your left cylinder head/spark plug.  Otherwise you would have been out of action. Soft bags helped protect your shifter and body panels.   Sounds like the road was slick so that helped you slide and not get more hurt.  Nice looking Jackal. 

[Daleroso]

Had 2 hard get-offs in '05.......the 1st few riding friends who called said to a man "heard you were in an accident. How's the bike?" Glad you're alright!😊

[Dilliw]

About here?

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3777311,-87.4700144,3a,75y,351.37h,89.31t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7f2tChSCZBiX-dcjLFYoGA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D7f2tChSCZBiX-dcjLFYoGA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D119.42792%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656

[kidsmoke]

About here?

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3777311,-87.4700144,3a,75y,351.37h,89.31t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7f2tChSCZBiX-dcjLFYoGA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D7f2tChSCZBiX-dcjLFYoGA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D119.42792%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656

Yes. EXACTLY there. This is looking North, and impact was in front of the orange awning'd bldg on the right (Century 21).

Congratulations on passing your first crash test with flyings colours.

From your description, it sounds like the car wasn't southbound when it crossed the median and hit the truck, but rather, it was travelling perpendicular to the road you were travelling on. Is that right? Was there an intersection?

Thanks, and afaik he was southbound, floated to his left into oncoming traffic, causing the truck, to my left, northbound, to try to accelerate out of his way by steering to his right. I think had it been a car, the offending vehicle would have "swiped" and continued southbound. As it was a low car vs lifted truck, it pushed the wheel/axle under the bed and "caught"...causing both vehicles to whip each other around. The offender ended up with his tail lights east and headlights west, across the northbound lane...if that makes sense. It's conceivable, perhaps, that he was entering from a parking lot on the west side of the street...but the force of impact indicated that he was moving south at a pretty heavy clip

[LowRyter]

glad you're moving on the vertical plane.

[canuguzzi]

Great you are OK and THAT btw, is the important part, not the bike, the other drivers or anything else.

[kidsmoke]

Your crashbar & highway peg saved your left cylinder head/spark plug.  Otherwise you would have been out of action. Soft bags helped protect your shifter and body panels.   Sounds like the road was slick so that helped you slide and not get more hurt.  Nice looking Jackal. 

yep..this is phase two of the conversation. I Thought about this a lot Saturday, as you might imagine. Had I had hard bags and a windjammer of any sort, while the bike would have been operational, perhaps, it would have been a splintered mangled mess back there, and probably would have caused collateral damage to the fender/tailight area, maybe the wheel and exhaust as well. As it is, the bags were badly damaged, but duct tape and cordura straps kept them operational and there was virtually NO damage to anything in that area of the bike. I think for that reason I'm sold on bags vs boxes.

And since I've not experienced laying it down without pegs, I can't say this for sure, some of you may know....I don't think that bar would have withstood that slide on it's own. The peg is solid steel, and it is bent slightly and ground down significantly, as well as the bar...together they completely shouldered the weight of 600# sliding at speed for a good distance. I'll replace and maintain both of those items on this bike, for certain.

Due to those things, it's still a good looking Jackal, and now, one which I have a strong emotional attachment to.



This pic is on the way home Sunday. The "slide" side of the bike.
I'm gonna try to catch Dusty's odometer with this thing now.

[twowings]

Glad you're all right and the bike can be repaired...hate riding at night in the city...my big one was in '73 on the same kind of urban four-laner only with a diagonal railroad crossing thrown in...some newish driver never saw me heading southbound and tried the old 'dash from one parking lot on the east side across four lanes of traffic to a parking lot on the west'...it was either hit her or the Armco barrier around the RR signal...my left leg and hip took nearly all the impact...bike scratched up but started up and was driven home by a roommate...me not so much....

[oldbike54]

 TW , was that in Tulsa ? If so , where ?

 Dusty
 

[Gian4]

Wow.....glad your OK.  So what was the story with the piece of sh*t that caused this mess? Did they nail him?
Gian4

[kidsmoke]

Wow.....glad your OK.  So what was the story with the piece of sh*t that caused this mess? Did they nail him?
Gian4

Ha! Oh yeah. Him. So he took off, tried to duck down something resembling an alley to find he'd chosen a dead end. Pursuing vigilantes from the scene blocked his vehicle in and he was apprehended.

Now...was he insured? I have yet to get confirmation on that.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ha! Oh yeah. Him. So he took off, tried to duck down something resembling an alley to find he'd chosen a dead end. Pursuing vigilantes from the scene blocked his vehicle in and he was apprehended.

Now...was he insured? I have yet to get confirmation on that.

Dirtbags never are.. 
Oh, if you are in any kind of bind at all.. you can have that jacket we were talking about.

[Roebling3]

Kidsmoke.  No offense here, I promise. After some deliberation I have the need to clarify "Laid it down".

To me the term has always been stated by less informed riders believing that when confronted with an impending crash, his brakes (typically rear only), will not stop him in time. He/she (most often old school cruiser type, sans any clear thought or training), will purposely drop the bike on its side in the erroneous belief that sliding paint, steel and plastic applies greater friction on pavement than rubber. You crashed, brother. I have, too. Your bike fell on its side due to the crash, because you were in an impossible situation due to timing and had no other choices. 
Learn new/better skills and never give up on the possibility of saving your hide by applying them.
   Good fortune,  R3~ 

[oldbike54]

  R3  ,that doesn't seem to apply here . KS was trying to go around the PU , probably clipped it or lost traction , no mention of "laying it down" .

 Dusty

[lucydad]

Smoke,

Wow man. 

So happy you glided thru this clusterF.  Give your body some time to heal. 

Hope dirtbag faces justice.  You give a good reminder why I rarely ride at night. 

blessings...an angel was there for you...

[kidsmoke]

Kidsmoke.  No offense here, I promise. After some deliberation I have the need to clarify "Laid it down".

Fair point R3, and no offense taken. I don't intend to misrepresent myself as any more experienced than I am. Only been on the road for a couple of years. Having said that, I had every intention of keeping the rubber on the road, and wasn't successful. To that end, you're correct. I didn't lay it down. I crashed.

[RayB]

Sorry about the get off but glad you are ok. Now I feel guilty about recommending 41 as a route. The jerks, drunks, and road texters can be anywhere I guess.

[Testarossa]

I flopped the T on her side in a panic stop a number of years ago, when a 90-year-old lady in a vast Cadillac turned left in front of me. I believe I locked the rear wheel, not the front. Hard on both brakes, chirped the rear tire on the fast downshift and the rear drum didn't take "feathering" very well. Off or on, boss.

[Aaron D.]

Glad you are OK and the bike has survived quite well!

It occurs to me that crashing might have saved your bacon, if I read right-that you were attempting to go to the left of the truck (not bad usually) because you hadn't seen numbnuts hit him.

[Matteo]

Glad your ok! I caught a rut doing 15 going round a corner the other day on a V7 and it spun me around 180* scuffed the right pipe and bar end, hurt my pride more than the bike. First crash in 43 years.

[jbell]

Glad to hear your're okay.   A bit of soreness here or there might show up in the next day or so.  Gotta love those full face helmets!