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Old July 28th, 2021, 05:33 AM   #1
Bob KellyIII
Retired motorcycle Mc.
 
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Name: Robert
Location: Weed, California.
Join Date: Jul 2021

Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L.

Posts: A lot.
the Worst crash I've had so far.

Hi All.
I will tell you the story of what lead up to my last and worst crash in my life.
I had at the time a 1998 Honda 1100cc shadow full dress heavy 800+ lb bike
and I had just made floorboards from 1/2" rebar for it the right side was articulated so it could fold up the left side was not unfortunately...as that is what caused the crash. stupid beyond words I know, but I did it.
I drove to town about 10 miles away on a road I knew like the back of my hand yes I was going faster than I should have been going I know I can take every corner at 70mph on that road but I wasn't going that fast today
just putting along at 50 to 55 mph, that still makes the corners tight and
I had no trouble on the way into town... on the way home I was just putting along doing about 50 to 55 mph and came up on one of the real sharp turns
so I put the front wheel about 1ft from the white line and leaned into it
about half way through the corner the bike litterally fell over.... no warning
it was just one second I was riding the next I was sliding....
there is a slight dip in the center of that turn that is what caused my new floorboard to touch... when it did it lifted both wheels off the ground and I fell over.... at 50 mph ! the bike of course spit me off on the line in the center of the road and slid off the road plowed through a plastic fence
and ended up next to a large pine tree still running.
I on the other hand started to roll as my left side hit the pavement
my hands were still apart the width of the handle bars and the pavement was pounding my finger tips really hard as I spun it took a few seconds
to realise what had happened.... i pulled in my arms put my legs together
and stiffened up closed my eyes and waited for it to end... when it did i laid there for a second doing a self diagnostic.... i think I am fine so I tried to get up and about then the pain hit me but it was bumps and bruses not anything broken of that I was sure, so I started looking for my bike and where I was at a good 100 feet away from it I couldn't see it. I slowly started walking toward where I last saw the bike and finally spotted it and hastely went over to stand it up right i figured only with adrinilin could I lift that thing up on the dirt. and I was right I got it about 3/4 the way up and couldn't get it any further as my feet were sliding in the dirt and dried grass
I finally managed to get it upright and balanced and moved if forward off the mound of the pine tree and put the kickstand down and it stayed ...
my hands hurt so bad it was enough to scream about but all I could do was pant....
about then I noticed a car parked and a gal standing in the middle of the road on the blind turn talking on her cell phone and she was yelling something at me, I took off my busted helmet ( it was a modular one and the jaw broke) and said what? I was getting hard of hearing even way back then.... now I am definitely hard of hearing LOL .
she said the police and ambulance are on the way , are you ok ? I said Yes I don't need any help !.... of course I got more than I ever wanted !
I had to explain to the officer 2 or 3 times why I failed to negotiate the turn
and I kicked the floorboard I said did you see it fold ? I ****ed up when I made it and I will change that immediately !
the officer called the ambulance guys and canceled their call that I was going to have to pay for even though I didn't call them... which is a aggravating part of living in a " Help you weather you need it or not society"
.....
after finally getting permission to go I fired up the bike and road the rest of the way home .... where I promptly took some aspirins and went to bed as I hurt siverly all over...
Yes I did my bike a dirty deal the roll bar/engine guard was bent, handle bars bent, clutch lever much shorter than it used to be and various scratches
in it's once shinie black paint everywhere... but that darn floorboard was just how I left it strong and silent glaring at me, like saying YOU FOOL !
.... I have been known to drag foot pegs on both sides on that road on several bikes I have owned.... but that one was a bad one...
the next day even with my extreamly sore hands I fixed that floorbord to fold up.... and made it rideable again......
about 4 years later it melted in the Ranch fire we had that took everything we owned.... I had the clothes on my back and the car I was driving.
but we came back from that I lost about 12 motorcycles because of the fire
and all my tools everything that was tempered now is soft and there fore unusable... 50 years of accumulation at the Ranch , gone in one afternoon
it was a good 6 years before I rode a Motorcycle again.... mainly because I didn't have one and was too dirt poor to get one
fast forward about 9 years to now and I have a better house and we got out of Shasta county too ! I miss the Ranch but not enough to go back and see it. I wasted too much time there as it is ! Most of my life I suppose !
...
So take it from me if your making your own floor boards for your big cruser
make darn sure they can fold up ! if you have a Harley and they don't fold up
take the stupid things off !
I will say this I had on my new helmet which I loved enough to get another.
my leather bomber style jacket , gloves and most importantly Boots
and I walked away from a 50 mph screw up that shouldn't have happened
...now I have 2 riding jackets both armored, 2 pare of boots 2 pare of motorcycle pants both armored... and I am waiting for my pride and joy to be delivered a 2021 CSC RX4 I can't wait...
....
it was totally unexpected and happened so incredibly fast there was nothing I could do.... I was sore for 3 weeks !
Bob.......
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Its too late when you've gone too far !
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