Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Motorcycle Wrecks?

How many forum members out here have ever been in a motorcycle wreck?
What were the circumstances?
How long did it take you to get back on a motorcycle?

I would be very interested in hearing about this.

I posted my wreck story and a picture of my wrecked motorcycle out here, but it has been moved to the "Other Bikes" category.
The subject title is "My Wrecked Suzuki."

Regards,
-Ward

I came off a bike just after passing my test. I took a bend too fast, in the wet, also the road had no aggregate. I ditched the bike and slid down the road for 40-50'. Luckily I had full protective clothing on (inc back protector). I luckily escaped with a grazed ankle

The bike was a write off...totally!!

Didn't get back on a bike for 5 years, due to not being able to afford one. If I'd had the money and the wife was ok about it I'd have got one straight away. I always beleive getting straight back into it is the best way.

Needless to say.. I learn't a lesson and now drive like a pensioner

Only bad wreck was in 1971. I was on a Yamaha Enduro in a mall parking lot when a car shot out of an angled parking space right into me. Had no time to avoid being hit. The bike slid across my leg, tore my jeans, and ripped up my leg. I was stupid enough to be wearing sandals and the gear shift stuck into my foot right above my last two toes. I spent 6 weeks in the hospital mostly as the result of asphalt being sewed up in my foot.

On to the better part. Right before the wreck I had sent a deposit to Tooting Motors in London for a Bonneville I planned to travel around Europe for the summer on. I was 3-4 weeks late leaving, but went and picked up my bike and spent the next 2+ months traveling in Europe. Finally ending up back in London where I flew home and air freighted the bike home. I was still bandaging up my foot while on the trip, but it caused no problem for me. Had the time of my life.

Sidebar - when I got to London, I realized that the '71 Bonnevilles had been changed from classic look I liked - gaiters, low seat, etc. to a taller bike with Japanese style forks and new look. I decided to swap to a new '71 Daytona 500 which was a twin carbed bike (like the Bonny) that did not change to the new style as it was being phased out. I took the difference out in parts and stuff like after market megaphone exhausts, re-jet, sissy bar, etc. I met up with two friends that had bought a new Bonny and Tiger, but everywhere we went, people thought mine was the "dearer" of the bunch. I guess it was the classic look. Here I am in '71 on the bike back in the states.

Please feel free to catch up on the motorcycle wreck saga that just today came to a close

When it rains

About ready to strangle sombody

At my wits end

and

It's finally over!!!!!

5 crashes, 1 my fault, on street bikes that is. I have crashed many times on a dirt bike.

Worse one was when I got clipped by someone not paying attn. Ended up with a brain injury and spent 2 months in the ICU, as well as 5 months in the hospital. They had to cut part of my skull out so my brain could swell.. Befor you ask, yes I did have a helmet on. Head hit the curb so hard it crushed the helmet into my head. Dont remember any of it tho. oonly long term effect is i have a short fuse, and people say i have a bad attitude, but I just dont sugar coat things anymore..

Had a person pull out infront of me I low sided my TT600 and went up under their back bumper just in time to break my arm, road rash my leg, butt, arm, and hand.. Driver got out looked at me and took off.

One of the bike sliding out from under me for no reason at all.. just wounded pride and a broken finger.

and a few other laydowns racing around acting like a idiot

Years ago I laid one down as the handle bars started tank slappin' on a washboard road. Didn't get hurt too bad, aside from some permanent hide scuffs. As the doc was patching me up, a state trooper stopped in & asked, "How fast were you going?" I replied, "Oh - maybe 30 or 40 MPH? Not really sure" He then said, "The reason I ask is that your peg scraped a gouge in the asphalt 262 feet long, so I'm giving you a ticket for speed too fast for conditions." I asked "What conditions?" He replied "Nighttime." The doc chimes in to the trooper "Nothing like adding insult to injury."

Traded the wrecked bike for a 69 Chevelle that after an also unfortunate demise ended up as the wheel-ed frame for my post oil embargo Wisconsin twin powered buzz saw wood splitter

i was rear ended at a stop sign by my then best friend who was driving a pontiac sunbird whilst i was riding his brother's bike! the bike owner and i had traded use of my boat for use of his custom harley. the passenger in the car that hit me ended up buying both the bike and the boat! true story!

i left side high-sided my tba when i lost traction in a tight right hand curve on the morning of april 15th (tax day!) 2004 on my way to work. it was rather chilly that morning and my full faced helmet saved my head quite a lot of scrape recovery. i blame dew on an oil slicked road and a bald rear tire for that mishap.

Thats some backrest Bob... i could on that

I have had two minor ones.

One I got ran off the road into the parking lane (luckily no cars....got slowed down but I hit the curb and dumped the bike). Broke a few things like signals and mirrors and had a few scrapes.

The second time I hit something SLICKKKKKKKKKKKKKK in the road while coming to a stop at a red light and tagged the car sitting at the light in the bumper. Bent forks.

Both of these were on old crappy bikes.

The first one shook me up for a few weeks.......going really slow and looking all around (which is usually good) but I was paying more attention to what was coming from the sides than what was in front of me.

I cant even imagine what your wreck was like and how long it would take me to get back on. But I do know this....I would ride again.

Good luck

Last year I got smashed in an intersection by a lady in an Explorer who blew a red light. Speedmaster totaled, two broken ankles, three months in a wheelchair.

I purchased SM #2 eight months later, last March. I read your other post; if you want to get back on, its definitely gotta be something you WANT to do. My first couple months riding after my accident weren't very enjoyable, honestly, but I got over it. Now I ride to work everyday. My desire to save on gas $ far outweighs my fear of riding now! I'm glad I got another one!

That's a perfect imprint of my ankle on the left header! I'm in the Marines BTW, and now successfully running my 3 mile physical fitness test again!

Eeeww , morbid .

My first bike was a brand new 1972 Honda CB350 that I bought in March of 1973. The thing seemed to be indestructible as long as it was me who was riding it.

A few weeks after I got it I was on a 45 MPH turn on a highway going about seventy MPH. Although I had passed the riding test with flying colors I had no concept of counter steer. I tried to increase my turn rate by turning the handlebars in the direction I wanted to go. I flew off the high side of the highway and into a farm field at a high rate of speed, not dumping it until I was almost stopped. The bike restarted immediately and was only dirty, not damaged at all.

A month or so later I took it, and my girlfriend, down a road that just an hour or so earlier had about six inches of water. After it stalled with water halfway up the sides of the tank it took and hour or so of drying out before it started and we went back to the dorm. It ran just fine despite me never checking the oil, the fuel or the air filters.

I’d had it for several months when I was checking out a cutie on the sidewalk rather than looking at traffic when I rear ended a Mustang convertible and ended up almost in his rear seat. No damage to anything but my ego as the babe I was looking at laughed quite loudly as she walked away.

A month or two after that I was checking the traffic to my right in preparation to change lanes. I looked back ahead of me to see that a car had suddenly stopped right in front of me as the driver had decided to turn left, without a signal, and had slammed on his brakes so as to not miss his turn. I rear ended him without even touching my brakes, I guess I was going 35 or so. I leapt straight over him, rolled several times and came up on my feet with my hands out in front of me to keep my balance. An older lady who witnessed the entire thing said she thought it was some kind of circus stunt. After bending the gear shift back out and using a bicycle rack to straighten the front fork I rode it home. Everything on the left side of the bike had road rash but it ran just fine. The car I hit was an old beater and the guy driving it was just happy I wasn’t hurt. Me too!

A few weeks later (mid October 1973) my brother borrowed the Honda and totaled it when he hit a guy who turned left right in front of him. He didn’t have a motorcycle license so he told the cops he was me. The cagers insurance company paid me 100% of what the bike was worth and I used it as a down payment on a brand new 1973 Super Beetle.

There were a few other incidents but the details escape me now, 34 years later.

From brand new to totaled in about seven months. Considering what I put it through I was lucky to have survived the summer. It’s amazing how resilient we are when we’re 19.

Oh, I bought another Honda CB350 the next Spring

I have done many "Flying W" dismounts in the dirt, usually resulting in a knee striking a rock followed by several minutes of silent screaming...

I have only had 2 accidents on the street.

The first was on my 66 Bonneville, many years ago. A station wagon (remember those?) pulled out in front of me, saw me coming and.... stopped. I laid the bike down on the left side, slid into the guys front tire, and popped up across the hood of his car, pounding on his hood and windshield with my fists and calling him everything nasty I could think of. The bike had scuffs on the grips and pegs, but otherwise was ok. I had sore knees from hitting his fender, sore hands from pounding on his car, and full underwear from, well, enough about that...

The second time was early this summer. I was riding like an idiot, not speeding so much, but just too over-confident and not paying attention. I wanted to change lanes and as I looked over my shoulder, someone pulled out up ahead and the car directly in front of me slammed on his brakes. I was only going 20mph or so, but when I turned my head back, it was "wham" and I was laying on the road with a 500 lb. America on my left leg. 3 guys got out of their cars and lifted the bike off of me and helped me push it off the road. The guy I hit said don't worry about it. (Whew!) No real damage to his car. I had a sore ankle, a smushed finger, and some other bruises but no major damage. The bike had a busted front fender, a bent foot control bar, a broken mirror, and a tweaked light bar.

Now what you're really asking is should you ride again. We can't make that decision for you.... Stuff happens. You can only control you.

After my first encounter with the station wagon, I had no problem riding again. I was much younger then and the accident wasn't my fault. I was ok, the bike was ok, and I never even thought about not riding. I just became more cautious.
After this recent collision, I rode scared for awhile. It was my fault. I got lucky. It could have been much worse. Somebody in the next lane could have easily been on a cell phone and run over my head while I was pinned under the bike.. I rode home thinking "you dumbazz.. you know better"...

That was about 3000 miles ago. While nowhere near as dramatic or traumatic as some of the other tales, any accident is a wakeup call.

You have to weigh the plusses and minuses in relation to your desire to ride. Then make your decision. You may be scared at first, but you'll be a better rider for it.

Now, if you want to talk about close calls.... nevermind. That would take several pages and I don't type that well...

My road bike incidents were funny.

1970 Sears 106cc T-boned a Rambler that pulled out in front of me. Doing about 20 when I hit. Never let go of the handlebars, so I went over the bars, thumped my head on the roof of the Rambler and fell back onto the saddle. Dented his roof and trashed the passenger door, but no damage to me or mine.

1973 Honda CB350 Riding along a dirt road when a dog decided my leg would be his lunch. Still got the scars from those teeth.

1981 Honda CX500 Fell asleep on the way to Daytona. Woke up sliding along a barbed wire fence @ 60 mph (Note to self: Don't use throttle lock when tired).

My guardian angels work overtime. Never had a serious accident - I've been blessed.

1988, Honda Magna, doing 35 mph, elderly lady (too elderly to be driving) failed to stop at stop sign. Before I could get into brakes, front wheel impaled right front fender, over the hood I went, sprained right knee, road rash, near murder conviction on old lady. Bike totalled. Did'nt ride again until summer of 2005. Always assume people are not gonna stop, at stop signs, traffic lights, or whatever. Clear the rear, be prepared to stop at ALL intersections. This requires 110% of your mental capacity, and adds to stress and fatigue. 200 miles on a bike is equal to about 600 miles in a car, as far as fatigue. Probably jinxxing myself, but 23,000 miles on my '05 TBA, and zero injuries.

I had my 03 America wrecked 15 months ago. How quiclkly did I get back on? To get to the hospital afterwards!

The day after I walked everywhere, the day after that I picked up 'my' Blue Thruxton from the dealer (they felt sorry for me). I crashed that recently too. Not much damage, and the dealer gave me the Black Thruxton....the fools! Only till they'd finished the warrenty work on the 06.

Not seen both times.

My first bike, Honda CB250RS

First crashed it in Watford, checking out the girlies as i rode by in the rain. Hit brakes to hard for the next corner and slid off.

2nd Crash, North Circular Rd, just up the road from the Ace Cafe in fact. Raining again. Hit brakes to hard, slid off.

3rd Crash. Sheppards Bush Green. Checking out the girlies walking on the side walk. Car in front stopped. I didnt.

The first three were all in my second year of riding and all on the 250RS when i was despatch riding.

4th was on a CB200 Benley, also when i was despatch riding.

4th Crash. Roundabout by Heathrow airport. Side swipped a car on the roundabout. I was going to fast and honestly, HONESTLY, i did not see the car until i hit it.

More despatch riding incidents

I have run over a Japanese tourist on Picadilly Circus, smacked off countless car mirrors while lane splitting. Wacked cars with panniers, again while lane splitting.

Moral to all this. London Despatch Riding and Girlies can be dangerous to your health.

Oh, oh, I got one!

When I was 17, riding a Yamaha 360 Enduro down the expressway at around 60 mph, I made unfortunate eye contact with a guy in an old white Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight. He, apparently, was genuinely ****** off at the world, and when I took the exit ramp to the east-west highway, he tucked right in behind me. I mean, right tight in behind me.

The normal response to people that do this is, of course, to 1) flash the brake lights, 2) wave them off, and then, if your 17, 3) give them the finger. By the time I got around to giving him the bird, we were well into the transition lanes onto the new highway, doing a good 55 in traffic. But he'd had enough of me and decided to forcibly remove me from my bike, the highway, and, well you know, my life.

He hit the rear of my bike, backed off a few feet, and came back and hit me again. I could have maintained if it was just the once. I wobbled a bit, but didn't go down. The second knocked me off the right side of the bike, and basically sent me rolling off down the road. I was lucky it was the right side, else following traffic would have had a hard time missing me.

Anyway, this joker pulled off to the side, looked back to see me get up and start yelling at him, and then drove off home. Of course, the trucker behind us called it in on his CB with the yaa-hoo's tag number, which was corroborated by the three or four others that stopped to assist. The Sheriff's picked the guy up at home; no license, no registration, no insurance, and, oh yeah, reckless endangerment.

I had a scraped knee from hitting the pavement (picked blue threads from my Levi's out of it for a week). The impact had yanked the face shield off my now severely bruised helmet, and ripped up the left sleeve and collar of the new leather jacket my mom had gotten me 3 weeks prior. Other than that, I was fine (read: lucky). I walked the site the next day with a Sheriff's Investigator, and could remember every detail of my tumble including where exactly the wacko had broken his left headlight when he hit me and could point out the shards of glass to prove it.

When did I ride again? I picked the bike up and rode it, bent and wobbly, several blocks to my Dad's office. Couldn't get it started after that though; had it picked up, repaired, and rode it for a few more years in college. That was the last bike I owned for 30+ years until I got my TBA. The friend that drove me to the dealer pointed out that it’s the same color as my old Enduro.

The world is full of exciting people.

Motorcycle wrecks?

Just one ~~ so far.

A year ago at this time I was riding with a friend around the Sierra foothills outside of Fresno. After breakfast at a popular place we took off ~~ but I didn't get very far. My friend was in the lead and all of a sudden I saw his brake lights flash and several deer come out of a ditch into the road. In the flash of an instant a thought hit my mind ~~ I could hit my friend, I could hit a deer, or I could try to stop. I locked up my front brakes and went down. I ended up with a severely sprained knee (I'm still not 100%) and almost $5000 in damage to the bike. It took me awhile to get back on the bike ~~ and I still have only ridden back and forth between home and the office and around town. I now hate deers with a passion.

Well, let's see here.....

Yeah, I've crashed a "few times"(fortunately only once with "the assistance" of distracted cager back in '95), but the one that my wife and I still laugh about(and which she still wishes she had gotten on video so she could have been in the running for that $10 Grand they used to gave away on the old America's Funniest Video TV program) was the time about 18 years. We were in the process of moving from our newly sold condo to our newly purchased house, some 10 miles away.

We were using Atlas Moving and Storage. They showed up with their big ol' truck and put all our furniture in it. I then realized that we had two cars AND my Yamaha XS1100 to move too. Seeing as how I figured I could save a trip by putting my bike in the mover's truck instead of having my wife drive me back to the condo and riding it over to the house, that's what I did.

I proceeded to ride the bike up the ramp to the truck. Only one problem. The truck sat very high, and the ramp was at an extreme angle at where it reached the truck.

Now, not figuring ahead o' time that the bottom of a Yamaha XS100's frame might bottom out and hit the peak where said ramp met said truck, I came to a sudden and previously unforeseen stop, exactly where I had no place to put my feet in order to keep the bike in a upright condition, due mostly to the fact that said ramp was only about 30 inches wide.(let me tell ya...THAT'S a bad feeling when you're about 5 feet in the air and only your front wheel is inside said truck and you reach down with your tootsies...and there's NOTHIN' THERE!!!)

Over I went, onto the ground, with that big ol' Yammie landing right on top of me! After the two moving guys ran over and lifted the bike off of me and righted the sucker, I got up, dusted myself off and realized I wasn't hurt at all.(except for a slight bruise to the ego)

And after inspecting the bike, it didn't look any worse for the wear either.

(that old Yamaha was bullet-proof, boy)

Only had two
The first many many years ago and it was all my fault, err I was drunk (to young and to daft)took a double corner, made the first no problem the second got me. I was on a cz 125, just had to kick the back brake back into place, ah the simplicity of those machines (even though they hardly ever worked).
The second Jan this year got hit broad side by a car that did not give way at a round about. Thought the bike was a right off, man I was gutted. Insurance paid for it and I was only limping for about two weeks. Got the bike back after 4-5 weeks. I was on her straight away, felt a bit strange at first, but man was I glad to be back on her.

Cod fish.

spooky.......just last night I was reading a book about the three districts in Birmingham which were my stomping grounds when I was a kid and one of the first pictures I looked at was the scene of my first accident on my Ariel Arrow. It shows the parking lot exit that the car pulled out of and T-boned me. Luckily we saw each other at the last second and I swerved away from him and he braked hard. Luckily just a few bruises and a cracked fairing on the Arrow.

I was only a kid and this guy happened to have loads of 'witnesses' that were leaving the office (where he worked) and were prepared give statements to the cops that I had called him out. I was told to 'clear off and think myself lucky'.

Oh, just a coincidence but I read in the local paper a few weeks later that a car had been vandalised on that very parking lot - some hooligan had thrown paint stripper all over it.- spooky

Oct 14th, 2007. Making a tight right turn on hwy 123 NE of Clarksville, AR. Bike started to low-side but must have flipped somewhere along the way cause when I came to I was 20 foot over the hill. All the guys behind me could see was dust in the air when they rounded the curve. Both me and the bike were over the hill. Broke left collar bone. Speedy is in Little Rock for repairs, $5,400.

Well, three weeks after my motorcycle wreck (where a girl rear ended my motorcycle and totaled it), I'm entertaining thoughts of perhaps getting another motorcycle. Not another Japanese clone cruiser though, this time I want something unique, and I think I'll probably get a Triumph if I get anything at all.

That spot in my garage where I parked my motorcycle looks empty every time I go in there, and I have been getting sort of upbeat with the anticipation of possibly getting a Triumph.

But now, I'm starting to hear all of the comments...

"I can't believe you're thinking about getting another motorcycle."

"Why would you want to tempt fate again?"

"I should think you would have taken that first wreck and how lucky you were as a warning."

Etc...

I realize it was a bad wreck, my motorcycle was totaled, and I was lucky to not get maimed or hurt much worse than I was, or even killed.
But I don't understand why so many people look at you as if you're doing something stupid by riding a motorcycle. As if you're "tempting fate" as one person told me.
Some people have a "see, I told you so" attitude, and act as if you somehow "have it coming" if you get into a wreck while riding a motorcycle.

There are many, many more car wrecks than motorcycle wrecks, and many, many more fatalities from car wrecks than from motorcycle wrecks. But when a car wreck occurs, you don't hear people say "see, I told you so," or "you better stay out of cars, don't tempt fate again," etc.

I just start getting sort of excited about the prospect of looking for another motorcycle (a Triumph), then I start getting comments from folks as if they think I'm foolhardy for engaging in some highrisk activity akin to skydiving or something.

Regards,
-Ward

Wreck 1

At the Rocky Point Ralley in Mexico a few years back. There were four bikes and we rode south, almost running out of gas, but we were able to buy some in a local village. On the way back there was a bike rider off the road. I waved at him to see if he needed help...he didn't wave me on so I pulled to the right and began slowing down. The rider behind me ran me over. He as face planted on the road and died as soon as he hit the road. His wife as thrown off and crack her back. Me I had a huge bruise from my leg to chest. I was also knocked out for a few minutes. (Helmets rule, I wouldn't have survied with out one). Two weeks later we went to Mexico to get the bikes (another story). It took about about another two weeks to heal up and I started rebuilding the bike. So time off was about 2 months.

Wreck 2
At the time I was riding alot on the track on a sportbike. I had my Harley out (the one from above) and put it into a turn way to hard and to fast. My peg hit a "Bots Dot"..a lane reflector and I went down. I boke my wrist. Again helmets rule....After that one I was off for about 11/2 years. The main reason was I moved from San Diego to Hawaii..and then finally here CO.

I have been in many on dirt in my youth and was back on as soon as I could stand up or got the bike ridable again. I was only in a couple on the street one I was back on as soon as I got out of jail and the other I rode away from the crash scene with the bike stuck in 4th due to a broken shift quadrant. I won't elaborate on the first but the 2nd some clown in a full size Chry. wagon pulled out in front of me at the top of a blinde hill watching the ambulance that went up just ahead of me.He blocked the entire road so it was either him or parked cars on one side or the other,I chose him. I also chose to hit the front wheel and that saved me. I slid in sideways and when I hit I pulled my near leg out of the way and rolled across the hood and landed on the other side. I was going 45 to 50 mph. I was basicly unhurt but when I reached the drivers window he wasn't. Broke a dry side cover ,the shift problem, and a small crease in one of the frame tubes under the bike. The tire seems to have taken much of the shock and saved my bike. By the way this car was a late 70s tank the size of an apartment building thats why it blocked the whole road.

To me a cycle is in many ways safer, you can manuver better, accellerate faster, and squeeze through smaller spaces in an emergency. That being said you are much more exposed and need to be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times. I constantly watch my mirrors when stopped and act like everyone is going to pull out in front of me.

We were both wearing full face helmets. But his was one of those flip up ones. His bike flipped end over end, so he face planted and the bike flipped over him. The weird thing was his helmet was no where near him, and his head was a pool of blood. What I think happened was the flip chin up peice broke off and the helmet was ripped off his head. Even with the helmet he would have broke his neck. Seeing this bike in the wrecking yard the front forks were bent back torward the frame. I think the front brake locked up from the impact and casued the bike to rotate around the front wheet in the direction of travel. He was laying in the road about 20 feet down road from the bike.

It was...the worst was holding his wife and trying to walk her way from him lying in the road....I just didn't think she needed to see him like that

Never went down on a road bike, but I have been racing MX since I was a kid and did a lot of woods riding.
I have broken just about every bone you can break.
My worst was on my 1985 KX500 while doing 5th gear ledge jumping. I was flying over this ledge jump near my house (you had to do it in at least 4th gear wide open) and the last time I did it, someone parked a pickup truck in the landing area. I hit the cab of the truck in the air, flew over and landed about 100' feet away with my boot backwards and infront of my face. It wasn't pretty. Broken legs and shattered hip and hip socket. Lots of time in traction, but read a lot of good books.