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Old August 28th, 2019, 09:48 AM   #33
adouglas
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Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
Join Date: May 2009

Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660

Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 6
MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Misti View Post
Oh wow, sorry to hear that you went down! I hope you are ok. Do you know what happened to cause the crash, besides was you say riding at a higher percentage of your ability and not leaving enough margin for error?

Lowside, high side, trail braking, exit of the corner, entrance, tank slapper? The first step in "hitting the books again" and improving is to sort out what you did wrong, what you could have done instead and then going from there.

I'll do what I can to help
Checking in and just saw this. Thanks for the offer and I'll take you up on it.

Beginning last year, my track riding got a lot smoother and faster. My organization bumped me up a group (they run four, and I got put in the second-fastest). I began to focus more on flow and carrying speed vs. honing of basic skills.

My first track weekend this year was Memorial Day, and it went very well. I really felt at home in the faster group and everything was clicking. Speeds were up and so were both comfort and smoothness.

The next outing was the day I crashed. Still feeling good, so I was working on smoothness, carrying more corner speed to reduce throttle transition-induced chassis input, trail braking deeper, etc.

I had a couple of minor "moments" earlier that day doing this. I wasn't intentionally pushing limits but a few times the bike let me know that I was releasing brake pressure too quickly when trailing off in the corner. Just a little bobble.

This very thing is what I believed nailed me. The crash happened into the uphill Turn 1 and my peak speed on the straight was about 125-130. I rolled off, banged two downshifts as usual and applied brakes. Because the corner is steep uphill, braking pressure isn't really high through there but I was faster than I had been at tip-in.

I'm positive that I made the same brake-release error as before but due to higher speed there wasn't enough margin left, so exit, stage right.

If you look at the video clips you can see my head bounce just a bit, twice, immediately before the front tucks. This, I believe, is the bike reacting to the too-abrupt release of brake pressure. I did not just let go of the brakes. I don't believe I experienced a classic Code-style triggering event that led to the braking error SR ... I simply made an error in execution. A hair more pressure would, I believe, have kept the front planted and I would have made the corner.

So my analysis is:
1) Line was good, basic approach to the corner (correct gear, decelerating, trail braking) was good.
2) Misjudged speed going in, which reduced margin for error.
3) Mistake in manipulation of the controls, which unloaded the front.
4) 95 points of demand on available traction became 105 points of demand because the contact patch got smaller due to my braking error.
5) Cue Fist of Angry God.

I know CSS instructors love to ask questions to get us to think, so permit me to anticipate the "what could you have done differently?"

My answer is to slow more up front so I don't need to trail brake as deep or hard. That gives me more margin even if the overall time through the corner is the same.


Aftermath:
My clavicle broke in the middle and there was a loose triangular piece floating around as well. The bone was displaced a fair bit... maybe a couple of centimeters... and the doc said one of the jagged ends penetrated the fascia. It wasn't compound... didn't penetrate the skin.

Surgery four days after the crash had him put a titanium rod into the bone to stabilize it while healing. I believe the plan is to eventually remove it, and x-rays show that the end of the thing is bent 90 degrees so they can pull it out.

Pain has been manageable (not a lot of meds needed and I can sleep) but it's a hassle. It feels like someone stuck a $#@*()#@ shish kabob skewer in my shoulder because, well, that's exactly what they did. When they remove it I'm going to ask if I can keep it and use it to roast weenies and marshmallows.

Still wearing a super-awkward padded sling and not allowed to lift my arm or drive for at least another three or four weeks. After that I don't know. My season is shot but there's a trip down to NCBIKE in October and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I wrote up a detailed report for Helite (the vest fared amazingly well considering I slid and punched through a tire wall) and to thank me they sent me a couple of replacement cartridges.

Bike is also in surprisingly good condition. It's not as pretty as it used to be and the Woodcraft frame slider is ground down but as far as I can tell, the only actual damage is a busted windshield. I have all the pieces and I plan to glue it, drill holes and stitch it together Frankenstein-style. IT'S..... ALIIIVVEEEEE!
__________________________________________________
I am NOT an adrenaline junkie, I'm a skill junkie. - csmith12

Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.
Heri historia. Cras mysterium. Hodie donum est. Carpe diem.
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