SH!T

[interfuse]

Coopz
-Silencing Lambs Since October 31st 2006

Good one! Are you a writer?? :P

[Coopz]

Good one! Are you a writer?? :P

Lol. I'm not, I'm afraid, but thanks anyway! I just took your idea and what CWO4GUNNER  had said about silence of the lambs and it kind of came to me! lol.

And yeah, I am very surprised myself that I came out of this one so well. I was really lucky, it could have been a lot worse. Everyone keeps telling me how lucky I am. Especially the people who drove past the bike when it was at the side of the road. I live in a small place, so most people around here know me, and know my bike. The news travells fast, and everyone seems to know.

I'm not really seriously hurt, just sore muscles in my legs/arms/back, the cuts on my leg and my back, and my right foot is slowly turning blue due to the deep bruising. But I think these painkillers must be really good, as I am coping ok! lol. I guess there's a lot to be said for wearing good kit.

I was able to go with my mate to sort out the bike, but he did most of the work, picking it up, and pushing it in a circle (hard job as the back wheel is all bent and broken) and he pretty much lifted it onto the trailer himself, I just helped a bit. I really just went to have another look at the wreckage. My back gets really sore when I twist it or bend down, or try to sit down or get up from sitting down. But when I'm up, it's only really my feet which are a problem, so I'm having to kind of limp everywhere. lol. I'm a lot better than I was though. The night it happened I could barely stand/walk/sit/get up/lie down or do anything. And the morning after, when I woke up I couldn't move, I had to take my painkillers before anything.

I still can't believe that I didn't at least break a finger or something. My gloves only have a small scuff on one of the carbon fibre knuckles. I had a pair of pliers in my pocket from my underseat tool kit which could have so easily stabbed into my leg. I can't believe the bike didn't land on top of me, cause when I went over the handlebars, the rest of the bike followed me! I am one lucky mofo.

[frenchy4242]

Sounds like an impressive off coopz. As everyone else has said very very lucky by the sounds of it. U got any photos? I'm very curious to see what damage the sheep did to your bike!
One upside i suppose is that these bikes are worth loads in parts. You could probably get rid of it on ebay in parts. The ones that arent fcuked anyway. Your fully working cdi box would probably sell for £150 on ebay. Or buy a non runner off ebay (mostly cdi bad or blown engine) they keep selling for £150-£300 you'll aready have an engine and cdi from yours. You could probably have one on the road for £400.

[yoda]

yeah i guess that really is bad luck! i think i'd be at least fairly annoyed if i just put a new engine in just to have the bike trashed, hope everything sorts out soon injury wise.

I guess you didn't have chance to take any mobile phone shots of sheep carcass? not for my own pleasure like! just thinking of the compo. A lad I worked with was successful getting the council for not putting a sign up for fresh gravel that chucked him off. Try the legal assistance from your bike insurance if you took it out, you may even be covered under your house insurance, then they do the claim for you. You should be able to get something, I also know of a farmer who let a horse on to the road with bad fencing, and that killed a guy in his car, he got done as well. So i think you should be on to a winner.

[stormi]

Holy Sh!t.  You hit something at 160kph, and you're only bruised and scraped up?  

You're very lucky Iain.  I'm glad you're ok.   It's a real shame about the bike, especially since you were starting to learn so much about it.  The good thing is that you still retain everything you learned and can use it for your next bike, whether that's another B4 or a bigger bike like you were mentioning.  

That said, like DA said, SLOW DOWN.  This one was a warning, the next one may not be so gentle a reminder that stuff happens really fast at high speeds, especially at night.   Animals regularly break their confines.  Even if you've never seen them before, you know now that it doesn't mean that they'll never be there.

I think that the reason you weren't hurt worse is because it sounds like you didn't have time to tense up, and it sounds like you didn't have anything else to hit, other than pavement, since the bike didn't want to hit you.  Accidents at 1/3 that speed can and have been fatal.  All it takes is something to break your fall/slide prematurely. It's usually not the get off  that gets us, it's the tree, fence, bike, curb, car, sheep, etc that stops us prematurely that does the major damage.  

I may seem like I'm being an @sshole, saying this, but we'd rather keep you around, than  have you become a statistic.  

Ok,.. I'll get of my now.

As for the farmer and his liability: If you're pretty sure of where the sheep came from, many counties, and even realtors have maps of the county.  These maps are divided up by sections and 1/4 sections, and are labelled with the name of the owner of the land.  This may be a starting place for you if you're going to try to get compensation.

[Vidrazor]

Well, glad you're in one piece. Curious, tho, what kind of gear were you wearing? You mentioned having regular jeans, do you think you would've had better protection if you would've worn motorcycle pants (synthertic or leathered, armored, etc.)? Boots? How do you feel about the level of protection you got from the various gear you were wearing (assuming you were wearing any "proper" riding gear)?

While one can only expect so much from such gear in an accident, it's always interesting to see how this stuff actually holds up and (tries to) protects you.

Hope you're feeling better.

[Coopz]

I'm afraid I didn't manage to get any photos of the sheep, as it was too dark at them time, and when I went back it was gone. It was greusome though!

Good thought about buying a non runner from ebay, or selling on my parts. I'd just spent £111 getting my own CDI box repaired, so I suppose I could make back my money on that. I could try getting a non runner and fixing it up, but I'd need to sort out my money first, and I'll have to consider wether getting another motorcycle is a good idea. (I'd like to get another one, but as Stormi says, I might not be so lucky next time.)

Yoda - Good to hear succesfull stories of people getting compensation, hopefully I will be successful too. Funnily enough, I only realised earlier on that I had Legal Expence Insurance when I went to my insurers website to CANCEL my policy! The legal expence insurance is a free package they give with every policy. Needless to say, I didn't cancel my policy, as I think that may come in very handy.

Stormi - Don't worry, I don't think you're being an asshole! You're just voicing what I've been thinking. I was very lucky with this one, but I might not be so lucky next time. I've definately got a lot to think about and consider. It really brings it home to you when you think about how close you came to being killed.

I have had a couple of people mention to me the name of one guy who seems to own all the land around there, and he keeps his sheep on it. I will look into it further, but I think I will have trouble trying to prove that it was his sheep. Hopefully, if I confront him he will admit that it's his sheep, but as he has allready cleared any evidence connecting him to it, he may try and deny that it was his sheep.

I have e-mailed White Dalton Motorcycle solicitors, who do the Legal masterclass Q&A in FastBikes magazine, outlinging the circumstances, and asking their advice and opinions. Look out, my letter might appear in next months Fast Bikes Magazine!  

And finally, Vidrazor - I was wearing excellent quality kit apart from my jeans. They were £20 denim from a clothes shop. I do have a pair of £150 leather trousers with protective armour all over them, but unfortunately I wasn't wearing those at the time.

My helmet was a £250 Shoei Raid II Neucles TC-2
It gave me amazing protection, and I didn't even have a slight headache or anything afterwards. Unfortunately, there is a big scrape on the back, and you can see the fibreglass, so I will need to get a new helmet if I get another bike. But I'll definately go for another Shoei.

My Jacket was a £250 Richa jacket.
Again, amazing protection. Due to the way I was sliding accross the road, it slipped up my back, and my back got grated by the road surface. But the jacket did it's job very well. The plastic armour is in all the right places (bug scuffs on the right shoulder plastic shows this). I have 2 little bruises on my left elbow, but you have to expect that from the impact of hitting the ground. The only other mark on my arms is the two small holes where my metal watch strap broke and dug into my wrist, but the watch was under the jacket, so the jacket couldn't protect me from that. The stitch quality in the jacket is superb. I would have expected seams to have split and been torn etc, but the only threads that came undone were on the lettering that was stitched onto the back of the jacket But the rest of the jacket stood up to the crash very well, protecting me better than I could have hoped, with the only real damage being on the right arm where I slid along on my shoulder.

My Boots were £130 Alpinestars.
Probably where I was let down most, due to my possible fracture, but still offering amazing protection considering the circumstances. I have no cuts at all where the boots were protecting me. Both my feet are painful though, but I don't suppose ANY boots could get you through that kind of ordeal without a little bruising. The tops of the boots have softer areas, to allow for feel when going up gears, and for flexibility. I guess this left my feet slightly vulnerable, and I must have taken some ammount of impact on my feet. The ankle and heel protectors did an amazing job. If I had had this crash wearing normal shoes or trainers, I think I would probably have two severely broken feet right now.

And my gloves were £50 Swift sport gloves.
Before the crash, I thought that the stitching quality was slightly shabby, as a small part of the fabric on the palm had started to come off slightly. But after the crash, I realise that the stitching quality is in fact ecxcellent. The gloves are in the exact same condition as they were before the crash, apart from one small scuff on one of the knuckles. None of the stitching came undone or split, not even where it appeared to be weak. They did a great job protecting my hands, I have no marks, not even a bruise, and my hands are completely pain free. They were pretty numb for a few minutes after the crash, but that passed and they are fine.

Overall, I think then only area I was really let down in was myself, for not wearing my leather trousers.


Thanks for all your concern and well wishes!  

[stormi]

(I'd like to get another one, but as Stormi says, I might not be so lucky next time.)

You do know that stationary objects come at you a lot slower when you're doing 50, than at 90 right?  

I wasn't implying that you should never ride again, just that you need to think about what you're doing.  You're only 17, you have a lot more stuff to do in your life, you shouldn't  go cutting it short just cos you like speed.

I have had a couple of people mention to me the name of one guy who seems to own all the land around there, and he keeps his sheep on it. I will look into it further, but I think I will have trouble trying to prove that it was his sheep. Hopefully, if I confront him he will admit that it's his sheep, but as he has allready cleared any evidence connecting him to it, he may try and deny that it was his sheep.

I wonder if it would be worth it to "test" the blood on the bike to prove it was sheeps' blood.  Might give you the proof that it was a sheep on the road that did it.  Especially if that farmer is the only one with sheep near that road...  The thing is, that if this were to go to court, they're going to ask what speed you were doing,... what was the speed limit on that road?  

My Boots were £130 Alpinestars.
Probably where I was let down most, due to my possible fracture, but still offering amazing protection considering the circumstances. I have no cuts at all where the boots were protecting me. Both my feet are painful though, but I don't suppose ANY boots could get you through that kind of ordeal without a little bruising. The tops of the boots have softer areas, to allow for feel when going up gears, and for flexibility. I guess this left my feet slightly vulnerable, and I must have taken some ammount of impact on my feet. The ankle and heel protectors did an amazing job. If I had had this crash wearing normal shoes or trainers, I think I would probably have two severely broken feet right now.

I really think that boots are to protect you mostly from the exhaust and engine, should you be pinned under it, and from the "slide".  Impact isn't really going to be absorbed without a suspension system.  It sounds like your boots did the best job they could be expected to do.

I've had a messed up achille's tendon for about a month now where I took the swingarm of my dirtbike during an "almost" nasty fall.  (Told y'all he hated me)  I planted my foot as the bike swapped out and the swingarm hit nearly pushed me onto the ground anyway.  Despite the engine noise, I still heard/felt a crack from that general area too.  (Actually, I suspect that I just felt it, and my brain filled in the noise.)  I was wearing Alpinestars boots (though they're a Boy's size 6, one of the benefits of being a smaller female, but they sure don't have as much protection as the adult sized boots.) and still did that damage.    I actually can't wear running shoes, because the top of the shoe pushes on the tendon hard enough that I want to pass out.  Still, I believe that the boots did as good a job as they could have in the given situation.

[andrewsw]

just saw this. sorry to hear it man, but I'm glad you're okay. Take it easy, heal up quick and get back on that horse!!  

[Vidrazor]

Glad to hear the gear held up. Most gear is only good for "one shot". Due to the nature of such impacts, the integrity of the gear may not be up to a second hit. This is of course dependent on the nature of the fall. I would have your jacket inspected to make sure it's still a trustworthy addition to your "kit".

Obviously you'll need a new helmet.

As you've discovered, boots and gloves can only give so much protection to body parts that protrude so far out into the (crash) void. Both apparently did the best they can. Gloves especially can be of little use in a crash, fortunately the nature of your fall made the best of them. Unless they look unscathed, I'd have both the boots and gloves checked out as well.

>>I do have a pair of £150 leather trousers with protective armour all over them, but unfortunately I wasn't wearing those at the time.<<

Of course, a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, as those jeans examplified. Personally, I always "dress to crash", no matter how hot or cold it is. As a matter of fact, the two most often questions I get asked as a rider are "aren't you hot in that?" in the summer (full Motoport Kevlar outfit) and "aren't you cold in that?" in the winter (full leather outfit)!

So while this stuff will never guarantee you'll be able to walk away from a crash, one can only hope it should at least minimize the damage. So hopefully you'll make it a habit of "dressing to crash" in the future.  

[speedwaymaniac]

My personal opinion being depending on the bike for what protective clothing you should wear, and the journey you will be undertaking!

e.g. A 125 with little poke, riding around in a congested city centre during an extremely hot day. Jeans or Full Fledged Biking trousers!

I would go for Jeans they offer enough protection and they're normally a bit cooler

e.g. (2) Bigger bike e.g. 250+ and travelling at high speeds on open roads with little chance of getting stuck or risking filtering in congestion. I would definitly go for the biking trousers!

With regards to my hands and body, i'm ALWAYS no matter what the weather wearing good gloves, and my Goretex Belstaff Jacket. (May upgrade to a leather jacket this winter, poss new thread coming from this)

[Vidrazor]

>>e.g. A 125...<<

Considering the damage one can sustain from even a 50cc scooter, this is one potentially detrimental mindset to have!

Although it may not be the most comfortable or "fashionable" thing to do, "dressing to crash" is the least one can do to minimize any potential damage inflicted upon a "carbon unit"...

[speedwaymaniac]

Well not necessarily as i've had some pretty nasty falls in my time, and have been on the ground sliding aswell. Normally only with a pair of Jeans, and have got back up COMPLETELY fine.

Though as i stated if i were intending to travel a long distance at higher speeds and with less likely hood of traffic i would Definitly wear the more 'Protective' clothing.

Unless your wearing a pair of shorts you'll be hard pressed to do much damage to yourself with regards to road rash or general bumps on a 50cc, they just dont go quick enough to get any momentum (although i suppose that could be different due to the restrictions put in place in the UK. (This could be different elsewhere in the world)

[stormi]

Unless your wearing a pair of shorts you'll be hard pressed to do much damage to yourself with regards to road rash or general bumps on a 50cc, they just dont go quick enough to get any momentum

Unless what hits you is doing significantly faster, or drags you for a while.   Then you may find yourself with drag left at the end of your jeans.

[Coopz]

You do know that stationary objects come at you a lot slower when you're doing 50, than at 90 right?

Lol, yes, I know! But you can still die at 50mph.

I'm thinking it would be safer and more practical (and also more expensive and boring!) for me to get a car. But I really have no idea what I'm going to do just now. I still love bikes, and I think that if I had the money right now, I might possibly just buy another one and get on with it. But I have to think about my family and loved ones too. I know they'd hate for me to get another bike, and evey time I'd go out on it they'd be worrying themselves. And I'm worried that when I do get back on a bike, I might be too scared to ride it properly. It's going to need a lot of thought, but right now I have no idea what I'm going to do.

You asked what the speed limit is on the road. It's 60mph.
If it does go to court, the police and hospital both think that I was going 60mph. They won't be able to argue with that, because everything is gone from the scene now. Also, the ground was slightly wet at the time, which they would obviously know would cause the bike and myself to slide further than we would than under usual circumstances.

And yes, I agree that the boots did do the best job possible. I was just saying that they are where I got the least protection. But as one of the most vulnerable places to be injured, this is hardly surprising. The surprising thing is how well they stood up to the crash!