Author Topic: Crash on Interstate (Read 14787 times)

swbrenton · « **on:** May 13, 2016, 02:44:31 PM »

Last Friday I was going up I-77, heading for a rally in Ferguson NC. I was in the middle lane around Columbia SC, going about 65 MPH and saw the traffic ahead of me slow down so I reached up to apply the front brakes. Immediately upon applying brakes, the front wheel jerked to the right and I went off the bike to the left. I landed on the pavement face and left shoulder first and closed my eyes. All I remember is the sound of helmet grinding on the highway. I stayed face down and slid to a stop. I was hurting and my right hand was under my body.

Fortunately just before this had happened I had passed another rider and he turned out to be an EMT. He stopped and took control, commanding me not to move, keeping other traffic from running over me and calling for an ambulance.

As it turned out I could barely move, I suffered several broken ribs and a fractured scapula. The ambulance came and took me to the hospital where I spent 4 days.

I was wearing a Nolan N104, Aerostich Roadcrafter one piece, BMW Motorrad boots and no-name gloves. The boots are the only survivors.

I haven't seen my bike yet, a 2003 EV Touring. I have over 110,000 miles on this bike and hope to put lots more on. I hope to retrieve it tomorrow. My good friends at Ridge Motorsports, Batesburg SC are storing it for me.

Why did this happen, I ask myself. Maybe I applied the brakes too hard. Maybe there was oil or debris on the road. I don't know and probably never will know. I am glad to still be alive.

Gliderjohn · « **Reply #1 on:** May 13, 2016, 02:47:40 PM »

Without your gear it would have been much worse. Overall you came out pretty well. Heal quick.
GliderJohn

oldbike54 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 13, 2016, 02:50:04 PM »

WOW !

Dusty

rodekyll · « **Reply #3 on:** May 13, 2016, 02:58:22 PM »

VERY glad to see you can write up the report on that. A good report, including your gear and how it fared helps all of us. Thanks for sharing.

I had a similar experience with the brakes on my EVT, once, and once only. It was a mid-speed thing and I tapped the front brake to trim speed for some routine reason. As I tapped, it felt like one caliper only was effective, and it went to total lock on a mild tap. And for some reason it jerked the front wheel over to the left hard enough to make me think I was going to lose both grips. I was shaken by the experience, but it has never happened again to me, and this is the first I've read about it happening to anyone else. All I can think is that something was caught betwwn the pad and rotor on one side and all the braking force went to the other. But that still doesn't explain why the wheel wanted to go hard over.

canuguzzi · « **Reply #4 on:** May 13, 2016, 03:03:46 PM »

Great you are still around.

Probably a patch of oil or something like that. As it happened so fast seems like something slick on the road as opposed to some kind of brake failure.

Better your helmet and gloves in the can than you. Heal well.

ITSec · « **Reply #5 on:** May 13, 2016, 03:09:29 PM »

People can make their own choices, but there's a million reasons why I'm an ATGATT rider - and most of them are experiences like yours.

SeanF · « **Reply #6 on:** May 13, 2016, 03:22:56 PM »

Quote from: ITSec on May 13, 2016, 03:09:29 PM

People can make their own choices, but there's a million reasons why I'm an ATGATT rider - and most of them are experiences like yours.

:1:

Thanks for posting, swbrenton. It may not be possible to analyze this incident to find a clear cause, but I am glad you are relatively OK, and will ride another day.

Bill929 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 13, 2016, 03:31:10 PM »

Glad you're ok or at least will heal up. I drive that section of road quite often. Could have been oil, but more likely - SC has some pretty evil cracks/pot holes on I-77. Some easily big enough to throw a bike's front tire way off. I ruined a car tire last year (hit it in the dark). If I'd been on a bike there is no question I would have gone down.

not-fishing · « **Reply #8 on:** May 13, 2016, 03:37:23 PM »

Thanks for the post.

Glad you're not worse.

The ribs, why did it have to be the ribs?

rocker59 · « **Reply #9 on:** May 13, 2016, 03:49:11 PM »

Heal well. Thanks for posting!

kirkemon · « **Reply #10 on:** May 13, 2016, 03:58:35 PM »

Ouch!
Happy it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Your post is a good reminder that we should always be prepared.

Kev m · « **Reply #11 on:** May 13, 2016, 04:01:25 PM »

Yeah, glad it wasn't worse.

Heal well!

sbaker · « **Reply #12 on:** May 13, 2016, 04:45:31 PM »

Wow.. All Gear All The Time.. .works!!! Sorry about the bike.. Glad you are 'ok'.....

Moto · « **Reply #13 on:** May 13, 2016, 04:54:21 PM »

Quote from: swbrenton on May 13, 2016, 02:44:31 PM

... saw the traffic ahead of me slow down so I reached up to apply the front brakes....

Really glad to hear you came out of this okay. I have to admit I sometimes ride with an open-face helmet, but stories like yours keep me in my full face helmet more of the time.

I wonder why you applied the front brake(s) first. Doesn't your EV have the integral braking system, or has it been disintegrated? I always apply my T3's integrated system first when having to initiate a hard stop.

Moto

menzies · « **Reply #14 on:** May 13, 2016, 04:59:44 PM »

Glad to hear you are mending and seem to be in good spirits.

The folks at Ridge Motorsports are great, I purchased my 2016 Bonnie T120 from Jeff a couple of weeks ago.

Beerman · « **Reply #15 on:** May 13, 2016, 05:06:24 PM »

Thank goodness you survived - coming off at 65mph must have been terrifying.

What makes it more distrurbing is the thought that you didn't do anything obviously wrong - that this appears to have been a chance even. That is clearly not true - something happened to cause it - but we can't learn from it, so it can happen happen to any of us.

Just a thought - would ABS have made a difference? Almost certainly not. Traction control?

Beerman

Cam3512 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 13, 2016, 05:42:04 PM »

Quote from: rodekyll on May 13, 2016, 02:58:22 PM

VERY glad to see you can write up the report on that. A good report, including your gear and how it fared helps all of us. Thanks for sharing.

I had a similar experience with the brakes on my EVT, once, and once only. It was a mid-speed thing and I tapped the front brake to trim speed for some routine reason. As I tapped, it felt like one caliper only was effective, and it went to total lock on a mild tap. And for some reason it jerked the front wheel over to the left hard enough to make me think I was going to lose both grips. I was shaken by the experience, but it has never happened again to me, and this is the first I've read about it happening to anyone else. All I can think is that something was caught betwwn the pad and rotor on one side and all the braking force went to the other. But that still doesn't explain why the wheel wanted to go hard over.

I don't understand, "tapping" the front brake at the lever is supposed to actuate only one front caliper. Aren't they integrated?

pehayes · « **Reply #17 on:** May 13, 2016, 05:46:34 PM »

Quote from: Cam3512 on May 13, 2016, 05:42:04 PM

I don't understand, "tapping" the front brake at the lever is supposed to actuate only one front caliper. Aren't they integrated?

2003 EV - The right front disc/caliper is independent. The left front disc/caliper is integrated with the rear disc/caliper. The integration does not occur with the hand brake.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

pehayes · « **Reply #18 on:** May 13, 2016, 06:03:53 PM »

Thanks for posting. Sorry for you, but it always good for the rest of us to hear of accidents and evaluate our own performance. By way of admission, I had a near identical get-off on the freeway at similar speed. I was doing a quick head check before changing lanes. Just as I looked back, something happened up ahead. When I looked forward again it was a sea of red lights and I instantly calculated that there was no way I was going to stop before impact. Bad coincidence. Happened in microseconds. I braked hard to attenuate the most I could. Overbraked the front and slid just as you did. When I and the bike came to a halt, the incident up front had cleared and traffic was now rolling away. We slid to where the last car USED TO BE. My only serious medical injury was caused BY MY SAFETY GEAR. Doh! Leather overpants with side zippers. Pants leg rolled while I was sliding and the zipper teeth took out a big chunk of my knee. Pulled off the broken windscreen and rode back home. The WORST part was calling Regina from the ER to tell her I was fine but that it was HER bike I had been riding. Uh-oh!

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

Dave Swanson · « **Reply #19 on:** May 13, 2016, 06:07:33 PM »

Glad you're around to tell the tale! Sliding down interstates must be the worst. Good choices on the gear!

fotoguzzi · « **Reply #20 on:** May 13, 2016, 06:36:09 PM »

I'm so glad your still with us! terrifying.. broken ribs hurt..btdt

LowRyter · « **Reply #21 on:** May 13, 2016, 06:52:33 PM »

get well soon. glad you were wearing your gear. If there's a way to fix the Cali, this group will figure it out.

Cam3512 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 13, 2016, 06:54:28 PM »

Quote from: pehayes on May 13, 2016, 05:46:34 PM

2003 EV - The right front disc/caliper is independent. The left front disc/caliper is integrated with the rear disc/caliper. The integration does not occur with the hand brake.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

I know that. But Foto made it sound like a malfunction when only one caliper worked when he tapped the front brake in his above post.

jackson · « **Reply #23 on:** May 13, 2016, 07:00:05 PM »

I'm happy to hear that you're okay. Could have been much worse. You'll probably never know exactly what caused the bike to react that way but you're around to tell the story and that's all that counts.

Green1000S · « **Reply #24 on:** May 13, 2016, 07:50:40 PM »

Speedy recovery... Good gear made the injury a lot less than it could have been.
You're lucky, time to buy a lottery ticket.

oldbike54 · « **Reply #25 on:** May 13, 2016, 08:13:49 PM »

Quote from: Cam3512 on May 13, 2016, 06:54:28 PM

I know that. But Foto made it sound like a malfunction when only one caliper worked when he tapped the front brake in his above post.

Only one side does work from the front brake lever .

Dusty

Rich A · « **Reply #26 on:** May 13, 2016, 08:19:56 PM »

Condolences. I've had a front wheel disappear like that and it happens so fast there's nothing that can be done: up then down. Mend fast!

Rich

lucydad · « **Reply #27 on:** May 13, 2016, 10:14:40 PM »

SW,

Wow, what an experience. The mystery wash out endures. All the gear, all the time, hooray for you!

Watched a young sport bike rider this afternoon blow through our area doing 60 in a 30: flip flops, t-shirt, no helmet, you know.
Shake my head. Heat is on here on the TEXAS gulf coast. Hot and humid as hades. Hence, many riders strip. Big mistake.

Take care and heal up, and ride again.

My bet: oil slick, or some pavement divit caused your drop at speed.

RayB · « **Reply #28 on:** May 13, 2016, 10:25:29 PM »

Makes me want to think about just using the pedal and not the right front brake.

rodekyll · « **Reply #29 on:** May 13, 2016, 10:49:23 PM »

Quote from: pehayes on May 13, 2016, 05:46:34 PM

2003 EV - The right front disc/caliper is independent. The left front disc/caliper is integrated with the rear disc/caliper. The integration does not occur with the hand brake.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

My EV has delinked brakes on account of I do a lot of riding on no roads. There are times in my environment where linked brakes can be a bad thing -- like downhill switchbacks on slippery clay. If you do 90% or better of your miles on pavement, then I would not recommend delinking the brakes.

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Author Topic: Crash on Interstate (Read 14787 times)

swbrenton

oldbike54

canuguzzi

Moto

oldbike54

lucydad