Bandit Alley

GENERAL MOTORCYCLE FORUMS => GENERAL MOTORCYCLE => Topic started by: mackys_dad on August 22, 2008, 04:46:49 PM

Title: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: mackys_dad on August 22, 2008, 04:46:49 PM
I went down pretty hard on Sunday morning, the 17th.
I was approaching stopped traffic and evidently locked up the front brakes, according to eye witnesses.  I remember almost nothing of what happened.

I was life flighted to OSU Hospital in Columbus, Ohio because they thought my neck was broken and my heart was in arrythmia.

I spent 4 days in the hospital, including 2 days in intensive care.

Here's the breakdown:
                              Concussion
                              Lacerated spleen
                              6 broken ribs
                              Broken shoulder blade
                              a little road rash.

The broken neck was a false alarm, thank goodness.

I was wearing a cheap armored jacket, padded gloves and a full face HJC Symax.
They saved a lot of my hide and maybe my life.
Boy, am I sore!  I hurt in places I forgot I had.

This might be the end of my riding.  My wife really hates early morning calls from state troopers.

The old Bandit didn't get hurt too badly.  Broken clutch lever and cosmetic damage.   

I won't be cleared to work until September 11, so I might as well sit back and take it easy.
                             
                             
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: mwheat308 on August 22, 2008, 05:04:32 PM
Sorry to hear that, Man thats tough. I'm glad that it's no worse.
I've been down several times, never anything serious. Lucky so far.
My riding bikes again is a concern to my wife also. ( I'm 58 )
Best of luck to you and yours.
Mike
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: pmackie on August 22, 2008, 05:51:15 PM
Wow... sorry to hear about your incident. That sucks.

Get well, take your time and get  better. You can worry about the bike later, you need your health first.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: mademiriam on August 22, 2008, 06:42:53 PM
glad to hear you're ok, and without a broken neck  :yikes: man that would suck even worse.
Hope you get better soon, and make a full recovery. Only good thing about those places you didn't know you had hurting is that well it means you still have them. 
Take it easy and relax, let your body recover.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Red01 on August 22, 2008, 10:06:18 PM
Crashing sucks! (as if you didn't already know)

Get well soon! And  :beers: to a complete and speedy recovery!
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: CWO4GUNNER on August 22, 2008, 10:55:30 PM
Like you said it could have been much worse and reflecting on how blessed your outcome is a good thing. I pray that your recovery is quick and meaningful. Oh and remember quitting is only one way to avoid future crashes.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: LowRyter on August 22, 2008, 11:20:53 PM
get well soon
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Ray Mooney on August 23, 2008, 08:33:23 AM
Sorry to hear it, man. I just took a spill myself. Not as bad as yours, but not fun. Best of luck to you.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Heaven Bound on August 23, 2008, 01:45:33 PM
OUCH.

Hope you get well soon...pain meds are good.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: skibum on August 23, 2008, 02:10:18 PM
Sorry to hear about your mishap.  I'm glad things didn't turn out worse and I wish you a speedy recovery.  As one who has been down myself, my advise is, don't do anything drastic (like sell your bike immediately), as the desire to continue riding, along with the necessary confidence returned to me in time.  And that was twenty five years ago.  I took a season off, but have been riding ever since.  My life would just not be the same without my motorcycle.  As somebody said above, "quitting is only one thing you can do to avoid crashing."  Hang in there.  :yes:
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Vidrazor on August 24, 2008, 01:38:36 AM
Yeah, what you say, except it sucks. Lay low and go easy. Hope things get better sooner than later.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Cruisecontrol on August 24, 2008, 06:25:50 AM
Would you stop driving if you had a car accident and wound up in hospital?

Crashing sucks, but that should be the last reason to give up riding. Hang in there.  :thumb:
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: smooth operator on August 27, 2008, 07:00:19 AM
Damn, that sounds like a nasty fall! (or landing) I'll say a prayer for a quick recovery. And that you don't sneeze, laugh or cough for awhile. OUCH!  Heal quick,Dan
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: andrewsw on August 27, 2008, 11:51:35 AM
Damn another one in just a couple of days. Sucks.

:beers: to a speedy, full,  recovery.

It's great to hear about all these people saved from worse injuries by gear. Even if it's cheap gear, it saves a few inches of skin. I've been down without gear and I can attest that for all the pain you feel now, being covered in road rash is worse. It's amazing how the broken bones fade to the background when you've got to pull a stuck bandage off of several square inches of road rash... But that's another story.

Get well! Best wishes.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: BLK on September 02, 2008, 04:42:31 PM
Firstly, glad to hear you are on the mend. Trust me, I know what you are going through and the good news is that you will bounce back and probably sooner than you think. Just don't rush it.

Take away the road rash and concussion and add a broken leg and those were my injuries EXACTLY from the spill I took last month: Grade two laceration of the spleen, ribs 2 through 7 with multiple fractures, shoulder blade fractured in two places and a fractured fibula. Luckily for me I was in in full gear and got only one small spot of road rash on my knee. Oh, and not a single bruise, if you can believe that.

Similar too is your consideration regarding putting an end to riding. My wife and family are tired of these close calls as well. Someone on the rider board here suggested getting a roadster, like a Miata or a Boxter, so I have been looking into that. Something you might want to consider too. Just a suggestion.

I trust you got to keep your spleen? I did but it was touch and go for a while.

The ribs will take a while and your shoulder blade, depending on where and how badly it was fractured shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I crashed July 19th and by August 18th I was good to go back to work - I didn't but I could have. LOL.

Take care.

BLK
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Slider on September 10, 2008, 01:51:42 AM
Good news that your largely OK and so is the bike. Aftermarket clutch levers are cheap. Still....
Ouch and more ouch. I've been down and broken 2 ribs twice... never 6. It must hurt like #@!#$$%^& to breathe. I've also had a shoulder separation with surgery, but I don't remember very much pain except for the road rash which DID.

Locking up the front wheel is not usual. Just wondering what kind of front tire you are running?
I've been at the biking thing for many decades. I've found that where ever there is heavy traffic there are places where cars/trucks are backed up at traffic lights and bottlenect exits for multilane highways. There are many old vehicles that drip oil onto the pavement while stopped in these lineups. The pavement becomes slick and the rest you likely know. It is particularly bad with a light rain to emulsify the oil. I dam near 'stuffed it', on a multilane exit where there were chronic exit backups. My luck was better and I went down between the cars and guard rail for at least 3 cars. I was riding a, (now), ancient Ducatti which for all of its legion of faults... was incredibly manouverable. I've found other such intersections/traffic lights since then.

Don't give it up. It's worth fighting for.   :motorsmile:
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: PitterB4 on September 10, 2008, 05:10:48 PM
Quote
I've found that where ever there is heavy traffic there are places where cars/trucks are backed up at traffic lights and bottlenect exits for multilane highways. There are many old vehicles that drip oil onto the pavement while stopped in these lineups. The pavement becomes slick and the rest you likely know.

One of the things that has stuck with me from my MSF course...  try to stay in the left or right tire tracks particularly at lights.  There's usually much less of this mess there.  Although, I almost dumped the Bandit at a light when I stopped and put my foot down in it in the rain.  Slicker than ice! 
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: mackys_dad on September 11, 2008, 06:52:07 PM
Folks, I want to thank everybody who has given me encouragement during this mess.
It's been good for my morale.

I went back to OSU Hospital today and got cleared to drive and go back to work next Monday the 15th.

Another good thing...my heart is OK. I passed a stress test with flying colors. Some drs. though that I had a heart problem which could have caused the accident.  Turns out the impact of the crash most likely made my heart fibrillate.

Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Heaven Bound on September 11, 2008, 07:37:28 PM
 :thumb:

Most excellent news.  Hope that you continue to heal well.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: mademiriam on September 11, 2008, 08:47:26 PM
great news, hope you can slowly get back to your normal routine.
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: dhcolesj on September 11, 2008, 11:27:36 PM
Glad to hear, you're healing!!  :bandit:
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Red01 on September 12, 2008, 12:41:25 PM
 :thumb: :bigok: :congrats: :beers:

Great to hear the good news!
Title: Re: Took a bad spill on the Bandit Sunday.
Post by: Daytona on September 16, 2008, 06:39:22 PM
 :bigok: