First and hopefully last crash

tiburonsita · October 27th, 2009, 08:51 AM

The day was colder than I wanted it to be but it was only going to get warmer since we started at 8:30am. Anyways, we got to the entrance of Blood Mountain where my accident happened. I'm still not super familiar with the road until I'm on it then I remember parts of the road but I don't have the twisties memorized like some of them do. Riding along and the first part of the pack takes off fast, the end is going fast but not crazy fast... that's where I'm at. There were 4 of us. Then about half way there is a long stretched road and I advance a little and passed two of the guys but what I wanted to do was pass the two cars that were next to us. I saw a curve coming up (one of the 2 most difficult in that route) and I did not want to take it with a car next to me. It was a two-lane area and although I've done well on them I'm not an expert and I prefer to remove all possibilities from the negative equation

) If I took the curve too wide I didn't want to hit the car... and in this instance... if I hadn't made that move I could have landed under the pickup truck.

I'm still not sure what went wrong besides feeling the bike slip away from me. When I started taking the curve it was all good then I felt my knee touch the ground - I knew I was really low cause I've never touched knee - but just seconds later the bike started grinding and immediately took off without me

) I also got new tires the week before that I hadn't entirely broken into any curves but I had ridden them already for about 200 miles so not sure if they could still have been the issue though it was my first inclination. I may have just been going to fast for the curve and leaning too much but I don't know for sure. It felt natural and was a total surprise when the bike just slipped away.

The pickup truck and another car stopped to help, as well as the bike in front of me and the 2 guys behind me that were part of my group. I slide several yards on my ass and ended up in the dirt. It was on a curve and I got the good part that was very wide with plenty of room to slide without hitting any tree or ending up in the boulders. At first I thought I was fine then I felt pain settling into my left leg and I thought it might be fractured. Not broken cause I could move my foot though it hurt. I felt my lip bleeding though it turned out to be a minor little bump on my lip cause of the mic I have attached from the Chatterbox(I only use the device for music).

The older couple stayed with me as did the other 3 in the group. I was hurting too much to even try to move my bike. I don't think I could have done it on my own anyways. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to take any photos while my bike was laying down looking like trash. It was in the side ditch. Once it came out, I just wanted to be able to check to see if it would turn on and if I could shift gears to get it home somehow even if I had to ride super slow in 1st and 2nd gear. The couple had offered to take me and the bike home in their truck and I wanted to do it as quickly as possible so I didn't miss that chance if I needed it and they could go on with their plans for the day. They were very sweet and very concerned and kept saying how happy they were I had my gear on. The lady was a little shook up cause she kept talking about someone, I think her daughter, that just picked up riding. The man told me that they saw us and when he saw me he pointed me out to his wife and said "that's a girl" and as soon as he said that I went down, lol. Bummer

One of my fairings was torn in two. The shift was turned backwards by the force of the impact. That's what likely cause my injury to the leg. We were able to flip it around and get the bike running. The foot stand loosened up or broke so that I wouldn't stay up so I used my hair tie to hold it up. It was close to noon and the guys were going to have lunch. Two of the guys that helped me (that were behind me in the crash) decided they'd head home with me. I knew they wanted to have lunch and not end the day as it did so I decided to ride to the lunch place then head home. I warned them I'd be riding slow on 2 or 3rd gear the most cause I was hurting and didn't want to have to shift too much. As this story is getting too long already... my ride back felt like an eternity cause of the pain but at least I wasn't hungry

)

AGATT I think it's called? Now. I have always believed in wearing my gear but now I'm even more of a believer AND leathers are definite skin savers. The little skin showing between my jacket and gloves is where I actually got cut. Oh and the helmet. I didn't feel a thing even though I did get a slight headache later on. I just felt a slight bump once as I slid across the pavement into the dirt. All in all I am fine. No broken body parts. Just very sore and bruised. My bike looks like it's mostly cosmetic. I think I have to replace the gear shift and foot stand, in addition to the left fairing and signal.

You can see the bigger images on my Flickr.

Tigress · October 27th, 2009, 09:23 AM

I'm glad you're not seriously injured. The bike looks like it's just cosmetic so hopefully it won't cost you too much. ATGATT

You'll be back on two wheels in no time.

ScraitT · October 27th, 2009, 09:26 AM

Wow. You walk away pretty much unharmed and that's the important part.
Sounds like you may have leaned so far over that hard parts of the bike hit, and as soon as that happens, the tires loose their leverage and the bike can slide out.

Gluck on fixing the bike up, check ebay for some cheaper fairings possibly.

Also, have you gone to a doctor yet to get checked out to make sure everything is good? Not that I myself probably would, but it's still a good thing to consider.

CZroe · October 27th, 2009, 09:28 AM

Glad to hear you made it through and weren't too intimidated to keep riding. I hope the pain goes away soon.

I lived near the Chattahoochee south of Atlanta (West Newnan/Arnco). Never heard of "Blood Mountain," so I guess that was more North.

I scrape my left foot when turning left often (when it's under the shifter), even at low speeds (U-turn in the parking lot at work). I need to watch it!

rockNroll · October 27th, 2009, 09:45 AM

Bike and rider injuries minor... both live to ride again. Glad both of you are gonna be ok

LuxMundi · October 27th, 2009, 09:45 AM

Glad to hear you are OK. At least you slid on the left side, so your exhaust is fine!

austexjg · October 27th, 2009, 10:33 AM

Bike injures are better than physical injuries, usually cheaper too. Hope all is truly well and a speedy recovery.

tiburonsita · October 27th, 2009, 10:54 AM

Thanks guys. Tyler, I did get checked out to be sure all was good with the doctor.

Josh, funny how I thought the same thing. My exhaust is unharmed.

OldGuy · October 27th, 2009, 11:01 AM

Glad to hear you are OK mari - tough lesson to learn but I'm sure as you replay what you did and get back on the bike you will have learned a lot beyond the miles you have on.

bob706 · October 27th, 2009, 11:27 AM

Dang. Hope your feeling better.

marsha · October 27th, 2009, 01:03 PM

Oh my Gosh!!!! I'm so sorry to hear about this, but relieved to hear that you are ok! WOW!!!!! All my best for recovery & repairs.

zail · October 27th, 2009, 02:18 PM

Glad you're ok - hope the bike gets fixed up soon and you're back on 2 wheels

tjkamper · October 27th, 2009, 02:26 PM

Glad to hear your okay.

Greg_E · October 27th, 2009, 02:41 PM

Get a new helmet, you have no idea how the stuff inside may have been damaged and how it may or may not help you if there is a next time. I would suggest a suit that zips together too, just to be sure that nothing gets exposed while you're sliding.

Very surprised that your chatterbox didn't get ripped of the helmet, they must be more solid than I would have thought.

And there is one good thing about this crash... Justification for some hop up parts like rearsets. To me I would guess the peg feelers or side stand hit the pavement and flipped the tires up off the ground... And off it goes. Does anyone make nylon feelers that will just grind and snap off if they hit?

Also before you do too much, loosen the clamps for the forks, they are almost definitely twisted a little from the forces involved. This should let the release and go back to normal, clamp them back down and check operation to make sure nothing is bent. I would also check the rear tire and make sure it tracks the same line as the front tire. You can use a long straightedge, but most people use a long (6 foot) construction level and measure to make sure the distance on both sides of the front wheel is the same. Line it out to the rear rim. You can also try riding it and see if it turns in one direction more easily than the other. Then start measuring to see what is wrong.

tiburonsita · October 27th, 2009, 04:02 PM

Thanks Greg for all that info. Without a doubt I'm getting a new helmet.

hmmm, not sure how to loosen the clamps for the forks but I will look into it. Perhaps a look from a mechanic would be good. I was hoping to do most of the stuff myself.

Greg_E · October 27th, 2009, 04:58 PM

I bet the wiki has most of what you need, if not ask down in the tech forums for your bike and someone will let you know and probably supply pictures if you are still unclear. Might be a good time to go order the service manual too.

jcgirl · October 28th, 2009, 11:06 AM

Your bike and my bike are a matching pair. I dropped my black 2009 yesterday and did almost the same damage. I'm still trying to get the shift lever turned back around. Only difference is that I dropped mine parking it... makes for a much dumber story. Glad to hear you weren't hurt.

LazinCajun · October 28th, 2009, 11:51 AM

I recently had my shift lever turned backwards too -- all I had to do was Shift gears a few times, and eventually I could push it all the way back into its original position.

Having said that, if you have basic tools, removing the shift lever is easy.

tiburonsita · October 28th, 2009, 06:48 PM

Yep, my shift gear was completely flipped around. Had to loosen it up at the scene (using the basic toolkit in the bike) and turned it right side up.

tonybhall · October 28th, 2009, 07:03 PM

Glad you're ok and it didn't turn you off of riding. Thanks for the welcome in my thread. Make sure to get your bike checked and replace your helmet.

Allen · October 30th, 2009, 06:31 AM

Glad you and the bike are not hurt worse. Kudos for ATGATT!

I ride this area often, 129 is quite the curvy road. Most every weekend we have a rider down in this area. The Atlanta hot shoes use this as their private race track. But some of the best roads in the world are here. Some other roads in the area that are worth riding,,,,, 348 (Richard Russel Highway), 180 (Wolf Pen Gap) and of course 60 to Sutches (And the rock pile)

Use caution when riding these roads, cell service is spotty at best in this area. Also a lot of the turns have steep dropoffs.

Ride Safe!

October 27th, 2009, 08:51 AM	#1
tiburonsita ninjette.org member Name: m Location: metro area Join Date: Mar 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 black Ninja 250R Posts: 177	First and hopefully last crash The day was colder than I wanted it to be but it was only going to get warmer since we started at 8:30am. Anyways, we got to the entrance of Blood Mountain where my accident happened. I'm still not super familiar with the road until I'm on it then I remember parts of the road but I don't have the twisties memorized like some of them do. Riding along and the first part of the pack takes off fast, the end is going fast but not crazy fast... that's where I'm at. There were 4 of us. Then about half way there is a long stretched road and I advance a little and passed two of the guys but what I wanted to do was pass the two cars that were next to us. I saw a curve coming up (one of the 2 most difficult in that route) and I did not want to take it with a car next to me. It was a two-lane area and although I've done well on them I'm not an expert and I prefer to remove all possibilities from the negative equation ) If I took the curve too wide I didn't want to hit the car... and in this instance... if I hadn't made that move I could have landed under the pickup truck. I'm still not sure what went wrong besides feeling the bike slip away from me. When I started taking the curve it was all good then I felt my knee touch the ground - I knew I was really low cause I've never touched knee - but just seconds later the bike started grinding and immediately took off without me ) I also got new tires the week before that I hadn't entirely broken into any curves but I had ridden them already for about 200 miles so not sure if they could still have been the issue though it was my first inclination. I may have just been going to fast for the curve and leaning too much but I don't know for sure. It felt natural and was a total surprise when the bike just slipped away. The pickup truck and another car stopped to help, as well as the bike in front of me and the 2 guys behind me that were part of my group. I slide several yards on my ass and ended up in the dirt. It was on a curve and I got the good part that was very wide with plenty of room to slide without hitting any tree or ending up in the boulders. At first I thought I was fine then I felt pain settling into my left leg and I thought it might be fractured. Not broken cause I could move my foot though it hurt. I felt my lip bleeding though it turned out to be a minor little bump on my lip cause of the mic I have attached from the Chatterbox(I only use the device for music). The older couple stayed with me as did the other 3 in the group. I was hurting too much to even try to move my bike. I don't think I could have done it on my own anyways. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to take any photos while my bike was laying down looking like trash. It was in the side ditch. Once it came out, I just wanted to be able to check to see if it would turn on and if I could shift gears to get it home somehow even if I had to ride super slow in 1st and 2nd gear. The couple had offered to take me and the bike home in their truck and I wanted to do it as quickly as possible so I didn't miss that chance if I needed it and they could go on with their plans for the day. They were very sweet and very concerned and kept saying how happy they were I had my gear on. The lady was a little shook up cause she kept talking about someone, I think her daughter, that just picked up riding. The man told me that they saw us and when he saw me he pointed me out to his wife and said "that's a girl" and as soon as he said that I went down, lol. Bummer One of my fairings was torn in two. The shift was turned backwards by the force of the impact. That's what likely cause my injury to the leg. We were able to flip it around and get the bike running. The foot stand loosened up or broke so that I wouldn't stay up so I used my hair tie to hold it up. It was close to noon and the guys were going to have lunch. Two of the guys that helped me (that were behind me in the crash) decided they'd head home with me. I knew they wanted to have lunch and not end the day as it did so I decided to ride to the lunch place then head home. I warned them I'd be riding slow on 2 or 3rd gear the most cause I was hurting and didn't want to have to shift too much. As this story is getting too long already... my ride back felt like an eternity cause of the pain but at least I wasn't hungry ) AGATT I think it's called? Now. I have always believed in wearing my gear but now I'm even more of a believer AND leathers are definite skin savers. The little skin showing between my jacket and gloves is where I actually got cut. Oh and the helmet. I didn't feel a thing even though I did get a slight headache later on. I just felt a slight bump once as I slid across the pavement into the dirt. All in all I am fine. No broken body parts. Just very sore and bruised. My bike looks like it's mostly cosmetic. I think I have to replace the gear shift and foot stand, in addition to the left fairing and signal. You can see the bigger images on my Flickr.

October 27th, 2009, 09:23 AM	#2
Tigress Musical Genius Name: Belinda Location: O'Fallon, MO Join Date: Aug 2009 Motorcycle(s): 09 Ninja 250R Blue AKA "The Kid" 08 Vulcan 900 Classic Blue(for now) AKA "Honey" Posts: 146	I'm glad you're not seriously injured. The bike looks like it's just cosmetic so hopefully it won't cost you too much. ATGATT You'll be back on two wheels in no time. __________________________________________________ ti·gress n. 1. A female tiger. 2. A woman regarded as daring or fierce.

October 27th, 2009, 09:26 AM	#3
ScraitT Green! Name: Tyler Location: S. Florida Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250R, 04 Honda CRF230F, 94 Honda XR80R Posts: 505	Wow. You walk away pretty much unharmed and that's the important part. Sounds like you may have leaned so far over that hard parts of the bike hit, and as soon as that happens, the tires loose their leverage and the bike can slide out. Gluck on fixing the bike up, check ebay for some cheaper fairings possibly. Also, have you gone to a doctor yet to get checked out to make sure everything is good? Not that I myself probably would, but it's still a good thing to consider. __________________________________________________ 2008 Green 250R

October 27th, 2009, 10:33 AM	#7
austexjg ninjette.org sage Name: J.G. Location: Austin Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): '09 zx6r Green/Black, (ex-)Diablo Black '09 Ninja 250r Posts: 959	Bike injures are better than physical injuries, usually cheaper too. Hope all is truly well and a speedy recovery. Last futzed with by austexjg; October 28th, 2009 at 03:55 PM.

October 27th, 2009, 11:01 AM	#9
OldGuy Live Life Name: Don Location: Lincoln, NE Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Green SE Ninja 250 Posts: A lot.	Glad to hear you are OK mari - tough lesson to learn but I'm sure as you replay what you did and get back on the bike you will have learned a lot beyond the miles you have on. __________________________________________________ - ATGATT - Scorpion EX700 Hi-Vis Helmet, First Gear MeshTek 3.0 Jacket, TourMaster Transition 2 Jacket and Flex Pants, Sidi Doha boots

October 27th, 2009, 09:28 AM	#4
CZroe CPT Falcon Name: J.Emmett Turner Location: Newnan, GA Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): '08 CP Blue EX250J, '97 unpainted EX250F, 2nd '97 unpainted EX250F (no engine), '07 black EX250F Posts: A lot.	Glad to hear you made it through and weren't too intimidated to keep riding. I hope the pain goes away soon. I lived near the Chattahoochee south of Atlanta (West Newnan/Arnco). Never heard of "Blood Mountain," so I guess that was more North. I scrape my left foot when turning left often (when it's under the shifter), even at low speeds (U-turn in the parking lot at work). I need to watch it!

October 27th, 2009, 09:45 AM	#5
rockNroll . Name: rock Location: greenville, south carolina Join Date: Jun 2009 Motorcycle(s): black Posts: A lot.	Bike and rider injuries minor... both live to ride again. Glad both of you are gonna be ok

October 27th, 2009, 09:45 AM	#6
LuxMundi ninjette.org member Name: Josh Location: Atlanta, GA Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): '09 250R Black Posts: 45	Glad to hear you are OK. At least you slid on the left side, so your exhaust is fine!

October 27th, 2009, 10:54 AM	#8
tiburonsita ninjette.org member Name: m Location: metro area Join Date: Mar 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 black Ninja 250R Posts: 177	Thanks guys. Tyler, I did get checked out to be sure all was good with the doctor. Josh, funny how I thought the same thing. My exhaust is unharmed.

October 27th, 2009, 11:27 AM	#10
bob706 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Sean Location: Mary Esther, FL Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250 1998 HD Road King Posts: A lot.	Dang. Hope your feeling better.

October 27th, 2009, 01:03 PM	#11
marsha ninjette.org member Name: Marsha Location: tampa Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250 Posts: 76	Oh my Gosh!!!! I'm so sorry to hear about this, but relieved to hear that you are ok! WOW!!!!! All my best for recovery & repairs.

October 27th, 2009, 02:18 PM	#12
zail ninjette.org member Name: zail Location: Bristol, UK Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250r Posts: 156	Glad you're ok - hope the bike gets fixed up soon and you're back on 2 wheels __________________________________________________ Bristol, UK - R&G Tail Tidy, Exhaust Hanger, Bar ends & Crash Protectors, Skidmarx Hugger & Double Bubble, SW motech mirror extenders, Scorpion Exhaust, Cycle Control levers & Rearset Adjusters

October 27th, 2009, 02:26 PM	#13
tjkamper ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Travis Location: Warwick, RI Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.	Glad to hear your okay. __________________________________________________ Addicted to anything that has an engine and rolls.

October 27th, 2009, 02:41 PM	#14
Greg_E ninjette.org sage Name: Greg Location: central new york Join Date: Aug 2009 Motorcycle(s): 90 Suzuki gsx600f Katana, 03 Buell XB9R Posts: 868	Get a new helmet, you have no idea how the stuff inside may have been damaged and how it may or may not help you if there is a next time. I would suggest a suit that zips together too, just to be sure that nothing gets exposed while you're sliding. Very surprised that your chatterbox didn't get ripped of the helmet, they must be more solid than I would have thought. And there is one good thing about this crash... Justification for some hop up parts like rearsets. To me I would guess the peg feelers or side stand hit the pavement and flipped the tires up off the ground... And off it goes. Does anyone make nylon feelers that will just grind and snap off if they hit? Also before you do too much, loosen the clamps for the forks, they are almost definitely twisted a little from the forces involved. This should let the release and go back to normal, clamp them back down and check operation to make sure nothing is bent. I would also check the rear tire and make sure it tracks the same line as the front tire. You can use a long straightedge, but most people use a long (6 foot) construction level and measure to make sure the distance on both sides of the front wheel is the same. Line it out to the rear rim. You can also try riding it and see if it turns in one direction more easily than the other. Then start measuring to see what is wrong.

October 27th, 2009, 04:02 PM	#15
tiburonsita ninjette.org member Name: m Location: metro area Join Date: Mar 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 black Ninja 250R Posts: 177	Thanks Greg for all that info. Without a doubt I'm getting a new helmet. hmmm, not sure how to loosen the clamps for the forks but I will look into it. Perhaps a look from a mechanic would be good. I was hoping to do most of the stuff myself.

October 27th, 2009, 04:58 PM	#16
Greg_E ninjette.org sage Name: Greg Location: central new york Join Date: Aug 2009 Motorcycle(s): 90 Suzuki gsx600f Katana, 03 Buell XB9R Posts: 868	I bet the wiki has most of what you need, if not ask down in the tech forums for your bike and someone will let you know and probably supply pictures if you are still unclear. Might be a good time to go order the service manual too.

October 28th, 2009, 11:06 AM	#17
jcgirl ninjette.org guru Name: Jenn Location: Victoria Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): Bot Posts: 295	Your bike and my bike are a matching pair. I dropped my black 2009 yesterday and did almost the same damage. I'm still trying to get the shift lever turned back around. Only difference is that I dropped mine parking it... makes for a much dumber story. Glad to hear you weren't hurt.

October 28th, 2009, 11:51 AM	#18
LazinCajun ninjette.org guru Name: Anon Location: Atlanta, GA Join Date: Aug 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250 (Blue!) Posts: 488	I recently had my shift lever turned backwards too -- all I had to do was Shift gears a few times, and eventually I could push it all the way back into its original position. Having said that, if you have basic tools, removing the shift lever is easy.

October 28th, 2009, 06:48 PM	#19
tiburonsita ninjette.org member Name: m Location: metro area Join Date: Mar 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 black Ninja 250R Posts: 177	Yep, my shift gear was completely flipped around. Had to loosen it up at the scene (using the basic toolkit in the bike) and turned it right side up.

October 28th, 2009, 07:03 PM	#20
tonybhall knees in the breeze Name: Tony Location: Calera, AL Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250r Posts: 17	Glad you're ok and it didn't turn you off of riding. Thanks for the welcome in my thread. Make sure to get your bike checked and replace your helmet.

October 30th, 2009, 06:31 AM	#21
Allen ninjette.org member Name: Allen Location: North GA Mt's Join Date: Oct 2009 Motorcycle(s): 08 250 Ninja Posts: 16	Glad you and the bike are not hurt worse. Kudos for ATGATT! I ride this area often, 129 is quite the curvy road. Most every weekend we have a rider down in this area. The Atlanta hot shoes use this as their private race track. But some of the best roads in the world are here. Some other roads in the area that are worth riding,,,,, 348 (Richard Russel Highway), 180 (Wolf Pen Gap) and of course 60 to Sutches (And the rock pile) Use caution when riding these roads, cell service is spotty at best in this area. Also a lot of the turns have steep dropoffs. Ride Safe!