For motorycle riders, have you ever been down (crashed) on your bike?

Question

I've come across (more than once) that almost every rider who rides on the streets for awhile will eventually dump his/her bike. If you have, how many total years riding experience do you have?

These are some great responses. I don't know how to pick a "best" answer on this one. It does seem like 90% of riders have put their bike down at some point. Thankfully, all of you responding are alive to tell about it.

Answer 1

Almost 3 years into riding, I was going to work in the dark (it was January, after all). Traffic was heavy but moving at about the speed limit of 40mph. I'm used to traffic, and was quite confident in my following distance. In fact, I was waiting for someone to take advantage of the space and pull in front of me soon.

There was a woman driving a newer red Mustang in front of me, with a large black SUV in front of her. I couldn't see what traffic was doing more than two vehicles ahead.

The Mustang in front of me put on her brake lights, but didn't slow down at first. I let off the throttle and started braking, and the Mustang instantly locked up her brakes and rear-ended the SUV.

I grabbed the brakes for all I was worth, the rear tire skipping as it reached the very edge of traction. I knew there was a very big vehicle behind me, as I had already seen two square, high and widely spaced headlights in my mirrors earlier. Even if I stopped, would I get crushed? I couldn't say for sure if there was a car right next to me, so could I swerve?

Each millisecond that I spent considering my options brought me closer to the Mustang, which had stopped quite instantly. Perhaps knowing about my imminent squishing from behind kept me from braking fully, so my split-second decision was to swerve enough to split the lanes to avoid it all.

I almost made it.

My front tire missed the Mustang's bumper completely, but the left side of my fairing nailed the rear corner, sending me flying over my bike and the rear of her car. I hit the pavement pretty hard without sliding much, and I don't think I was going much over 20mph on impact.

I never felt hitting the ground. I tried to "tuck and roll" while in midair, and came down hand-wrist-elbow-shoulder-hip. My next thought was to GET THE HELL OUT OF TRAFFIC BEFORE I GET RUN OVER! So I stood up and found out my knee hurt a LOT. Since I landed dead even with the Mustang's dashboard, the lady driving had rolled down her window and kept yelling, "Are you okay?"

Perhaps you lose track of time in such situations, but it seems to me that there was suddenly an AMAZING number of people suddenly surrounding me, telling me what to do. The vehicle behind me (which turned out to be a full-sized '94 Ford Bronco) had stopped about 2 feet from the Mustang, so I definitely would have been crushed. I sat in the back of the black SUV while the driver (who was an EMT- luck?) made sure I was safe.

The ambulance came and took me to the ER, where I found out that there was nothing torn or broken in my knee. I'm glad I wore full gear, and always do. I know it saved me from being pretty torn up. I literally walked away from totaling my motorcycle (unless you count the limp), and was only off work for one day.

Within a month my insurance had taken care of everything, and two weeks later I had a new motorcycle. There were a dozen things that I might have done differently, in retrospect, but given the situation I think I did the best I could.

The saying is true: there are riders that have crashed, and those that will; it's just a matter of when. Be sure to understand your ability as well as the bike's, and ALWAYS wear proper gear. It has been built for a single purpose, and that is to save your bacon.

Looking at the answers, do you see a common thread? Consider for a moment all those that have crashed and CANNOT answer, and why that is.

Answer 2

I have been lucky in that I have never had to put my bike down. I have been close in hitting someone (car), and skidding, but I kept up and didn't hit anything. I believe the Lord was looking out for me!! I was riding as a kid on smaller bikes, and then in '94 bought my first street bike. Sold my last bike this year to pursue college. So I have probably close to 20 years riding experience. Too, I am not the best of riders, just some luck and God.

Answer 3

I laid mine down 2 years ago a week b-4 Thanksgiving. I had a beautiful 1982 650 Suzuki GL until it hit a patch of wet pavement and started dancing underneath me. Options?? 1) try to make the 45 degree turn ahead 2) lay it down and push it toward the guardrail so no one would hit it coming up around the bend. This is a steep slope complete with ravine and trees. I chose the latter. As I continued sliding under the guardrail (getting stopped by my helmet on the gr) I turned my head and watched the bike hit and flip onto the other side and proceed down the hill. Once I got over the shock it took only a few seconds to get mad at myself!! EBay has done a wonderful; job of restoration and I continue to ride it today. My experience? 30 years and counting!! I started "borrowing" my dads old one out of the garage when I was 15 and taught myself. BRAVE GIRL!

Answer 4

I've been down twice; both times for trying to go too fast around a corner and scrapping a foot peg. I've had about 6 years of riding experience. I believe crashing a bike can be a good thing; as you become a better rider by knowing what your limits are.

Answer 5

I have been down once in 24 years and only because I got way to cocky on my 04 gsxr1000. I had put 24000 miles on the same roads on my aprilia mille and thought I needed more power The gsxr was just too twitchy on the throttle. It was hard to hold a steady position. So in a 1st gear left hander at 60 mph I lit up the rear causing a highside and a broken tibial plateu. The problem was the throttle was so sensitive I chopped it the tire gripped and over I went. So no I am back on a RC51 love them Twins. There are so many variables that just about everyone is going down soon or later. my friend says the higest rate of crashes is on the 40-50 yr old harley dudes. Mid life sucks for them

Answer 6

In 17 yrs, I've done two stupid things (on a motorcycle). Neither one hurt me, only very minor repairs to the bikes. The one that hurt was not my fault. Car drove through intersection while I was turning. Totalled bike. Minor injury to both wrists. Cost my job. I fixed the bike and got a new job. When I look back now, I see I wound up in a much better place.

Answer 7

Been riding for 3 years now. Dropped bike 3 times. Two times were stupid beginning mistakes. The other time i was riding the twisties and took a turn to fast. Curve finder hit and apparently it hit a little bit too hard because i slid out into a ditch. Broke a turn signal and scratched my bike but i got back up and drove it home. Fun Stuff.

Answer 8

I was involved in 2 accidents, one my fault, the other...someone else's. I had 12 years riding experience when I sold my bike.

First accident on my KZ550 Kawasaki...some dipstick backed up without looking back, causing damage to my front fender...he gave me bogus info so I couldn't file a claim against his insurance.

Second accident...A business truck backed up on a two lane road, backing over my front end and part of my right leg. The owner was very apologetic and I had a rental car for a month until I got the insurance money to buy another bike. He paid for everything, no questions or problems.

Answer 9

Iv had my bike license for 21 years and yer Iv dumped it twice . 1st time I was on my way home after work took a corner and the truck in front of me spilled diesel out of his uncapped tank I slid across the road hit the gutter and just laid there feeling totally stupid..... Injuries One bent Ego .
The second time was on a friends hard tail the fool tied to stop and not put his foot down, bragging about how well the bike was balanced I sat it out, he broke two bones in his shin at 0 miles per hour ,I never let him forget it lmao.

Answer 10

I've been riding for 12 years and have crashed once. I have an Enduro (on road/off road bike) and it was actually when I was riding on fire roads. It's always a matter of when you will crash, not if. If you ride long enough, it will happen. I just suggest you wear long pants, over the ankle boots, and a helmet.