I had just moved into a left turn lane at about 25 mph. I didn't see (looking at oncoming traffic instead) what turned out to be a pretty big spill of some viscous fluid on the road. The Bandit was out from under me almost immediately. Full left lock on the handlebars and down I went. Badly sprained left foot, bruised right knee and some minor abrasions on my elbows and wrists. The bike landed on the left foot, but I have no idea how I hurt the opposite knee. Landed on my face, but full-faced helmet took the impact. No face or neck injuries. I can't imagine how tough it would have been to recover from actually kissing the pavement.
Excellent response from passers-by, including two medical doctors who were actually eye witnesses and cars who parked in the street around me to protect me. Cops and ambulance there in less than 10 minutes. Everybody was very, very cool and backed up my story with the cops regarding the oil slick. Not that they needed witnesses for the puddle that was in the road.
I was wearing my Scorpion mesh jacket and pants, Dainese touring boots and gauntlet-style gloves. The mesh jacket didn't hold up very well against asphalt, but it certainly helped. I didn't slide far and the armor in the knees and elbows held up very well. When I buy more gear, I think I'll trade off a little air flow (the Scorpion jacket works great in that regard) for more abrasion protection.
Spent about 10 hours in the emergency room getting X-rays, a CT scan and several doses of Dilaudid (good stuff, by the way). Busy, busy Friday afternoon in the ER, so most of the time was spent just laying there swimming in pain medication. I type this stoned on Vicodin at 4:30 a.m., but unable to sleep any longer. Ankle hurts like hell and won't bear my weight, but the knee isn't too bad. Crutches are definitely gonna be in my future for a few days.
My other get-offs have been minor with no injuries, so this is my first time riding in an ambulance and getting 5-star treatment from the EMTs and ER staff. I would just as soon not go through it again and I'm lucky it wasn't worse. The guy behind me could have run me over!
I have no idea what kind of shape the bike is in. I haven't seen it since the crash and it was still lying in the road when the ambulance took me away. My wife called the insurance company to give them a heads up, but I need to get on the phone this morning and give Geico my version of events, plus track down the bike and get it to the shop. Just a $250 deductible on my insurance, so it's not too bad -- except for the premium hike that will inevitably follow.
Anyway, I'm off the road for awhile. We'll have to see what keeps me from riding the longest: my injuries or the bike's.
Watch out for those black puddles on the road, folks! Dialudid and Vicodin are great, but not really worth it.
Cheers.
Ray
Topic: Crashed the Bandit (Read 5856 times)