Flat-track Tankslapper

[Finesse]

I crashed my KLX250 supermoto at a hard clay 1/4 mile rally car track in PA on Sunday. I was coming out of a left turn at about 48mph. Something happened that caused the front end to become unsettled and rip the handlebars out of my hands, I think the rear tire slid or the front tire hit a rougher patch, I don't really know.

I have a separated shoulder which apparently is a tear in the ligaments that hold the collar bone to the shoulder blade. It's extremely painful And two spots of road rash. And I couldn't see anything out of my left field of vision for about 30 mins after the crash. The bike has bent handlebars, bent left hand guard, bent clutch lever, a damaged front brake line, a bent kickstand bracket, a bent shifter, and a huge hole in the coolant tank reservoir. I might find more damage when I start to replace those parts. But I think the bike actually held up extremely well considering the speed and severity of the impact.

I was wearing a brand new Fly Racing F2 carbon fiber/Kevlar helmet, a Scorpion leather jacket with moderately adequate shoulder/elbow armor, Alpinestars GP plus leather gloves, Fly Racing Kinetic motocross race pants, knee/shin guards underneath, and Alpinestars Tech 3 leather motocross boots. The helmet cracked at the point of impact (my head hit the ground after my shoulder).

All in all I got pretty lucky. It was a scary crash. I'd been riding all day and I had done 120 laps around the track prior to crashing. The lesson I learned is to invest heavily in a good helmet and that knobby tires should stay off bikes that are meant to have street tires. I had been fighting front end shake earlier but nothing that dramatic. I am really happy with how my gear protected me though. Also it wasn't a race, we just rented the track to practice and ride. So nobody was really racing anyone else. I have noticed that I crash more often while trying not to let somebody pass me

The doc said 3-6 weeks to heal. It sucks because it's incredibly painful and I can't work (I work on motorcycles at a local shop) or ride any bikes right now. But I'm okay and the bike is okay and I still had a really awesome time doing all that riding before I wrecked!

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Finesse

I have a separated shoulder which apparently is a tear in the ligaments that hold the collar bone to the shoulder blade. It's extremely painful

Sorry, this was my last injury lvl 3 severity. 6-8 months recovery with a nasty scar. Glad yours is better.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Sorry, this was my last injury lvl 3 severity. 6-8 months recovery with a nasty scar. Glad yours is better.

scar?

[Finesse]

surgery? that sounds excruciatingly intolerably painful... and I thought type 1 is bad

[Triple Jim]

It's good to hear you're relatively OK. It looks to me like your helmet did exactly what it's supposed to do. The cracks in the styrofoam show it absorbed a lot of energy.

Last fall I crashed my mini road racer converted Yamaha DT100 on the supermoto track at VIR when I downshifted for a turn and let out the clutch too abruptly. The rear tire skidded just enough to start a tank slapper and my track day was over in the first ten minutes.

Your injuries are way worse though. Recover quickly!

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Finesse

I was coming out of a left turn

aren't they all lefts?

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by alex.s

aren't they all lefts?

I'm sure you could go backwards if you wanted. Would be a bit tricky with the rear brake though. Never got why flat trackers didn't reroute the rear brake to a proper lever for more control since they tear the front brake off anyway most of the time


Also, the cracks inside your helmet (finesse) made me go back and check mine from my last highside. It's cracked to hell just like that so I suppose they did their job just fine since you don't have any head trauma

[CaliGrrl]

Glad you had good gear and are (mostly) ok. Separated shoulder will heal and you'll be back at it again.

[Motofool]

Sorry to read this, Finesse!

Think of it as a temporary problem; soon you will feel much better.
I would recommend you to see an eye doctor about that temporary loss of vision, just in case it is something inside the eye.

Regarding the tank slapper, research the site for previous cases and the explanation of the causes that make them happen.
It is important that you clear that mystery for your future riding.

[akima]

Hope you heal up fast and fully.

What you said about the temporary, partial-blindness in your left eye. That's odd. My first thought is maybe you had concussion. "disturbances with vision" is one of the symptoms:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Concuss.../Symptoms.aspx

Originally Posted by Finesse

I have noticed that I crash more often while trying not to let somebody pass me

I can make an informed guess as to why. You are splitting your focus and thus giving less attention to your bike behaviour, your body, your cornering lines, your speed & the terrain.

If my focus is drawn to anything other than my ride, my riding immediately goes sloppy. I find it incredible that professional racers can keep track of and pass other riders at the speeds they travel at and so close to the limits of... everything.

[Finesse]

Originally Posted by alex.s

aren't they all lefts?

Yes but I'm not sure how many people are familiar with flat-track riding

Originally Posted by Motofool

Regarding the tank slapper, research the site for previous cases and the explanation of the causes that make them happen.
It is important that you clear that mystery for your future riding.

I think a huge reason is the TKC80 knobby front tire. I'd been having shaking even on smooth pavement at higher speeds with that front tire. It did much better even with Sport Demons. The next time I ride the bike it will have Shinko SR247 flat track tires (no knobbies).

Originally Posted by akima

I can make an informed guess as to why. You are splitting your focus and thus giving less attention to your bike behaviour, your body, your cornering lines, your speed & the terrain.

Absolutely. I also tend to be less cautious in general if I am racing. But I was not racing yesterday! I specifically made a point to let everyone pass me easily if they were creeping up.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes I am looking at the Arai XD4 dual sport helmet which I can get pretty cheap from work. After looking at my cracked helmet, $400 seems a small price to pay. But I am happy with how the Fly helmet performed and I think I'll get another for my dinking around at slow speeds in the dirt, or short-track racing under 35mph.

[snot]

Here's to a speedy recovery.

Any major damage to the bike?

[Finesse]

So far I don't think it's anything that can't be bent back or replaced, but one sketchy thing is that the seat doesnt sit as flat as it did up front by the tank. I'll take a more thorough look when I start replacing parts. The handlebars, shifter, coolant tank, and brake line are the most urgent things. The hand guards and clutch lever are bent but usable, but I will probably replace them. The sub frames on these bikes twist very easily and with the seat being slightly looser up front (well, is it? sometimes you start seeing things when you're looking for crash damage...) will make me look at that more closely. But the frame looks good, the forks look straight, the wheels aren't dented, the plastics didn't even crack!

[jaesun]

Wow, this is the first time that I've logged into ninjette in a long time and nothing has changed! Another crash? I kid I kid. Hope you heal up ok.

I actually just sent a message to scorch for a hi-res photo from that ride out by skyline drive. I have empty space and a coupon for a free canvas wall print from shutterfly. I hope he's still around.

[Finesse]

@jaesun he's doing a cross-country ride on a v-strom 650 he got this year. And yeah, I crash a lot, but never like this!! my KLX has hit the ground 11 times now since I got in in September... my DRZ, I don't even know.. I looped the moped trying to wheelie it last week lol... but I wear my gear and crash slow so it's never anything to write home about!

[jaesun]

Thanks for the update! I hope he still has the photo. but I totally understand if he deleted it.

[EternalNewb]

Late to the party, but wishing you a speedy and full recovery. I hope the bike repairs go well, and that you're back at it with minimal down-time.

[Finesse]

Thanks. Shoulder is feeling a little better today. Back to the doc in 10 days for re-evaluation. On the bright side, I don't have to push bikes at work. On the other hand, I'm losing flat rate money. Sigh... At least I'm learning how to be a service writer now