F800GS Front Fender Failure Caused Catastrophic Crash

Joe, glad you are OK, that's what matters in the end!

The dark mark, 45 degree angle at a 12 o'clock on the tire in the above picture (but it can be seen on the other two pictures here) seems to be where the brake line caught a tire knob (or more than one), basically immediately stopping the wheel motion.

Lion

Trust me... the bike is definitely totalled. I recently had a run in with a tree and lost much less plastic and estimates put mine close to totalled. I settled and bought my bike back from salvage. I replaced what needed replacing and walked away with a good bike, you may end up the same way. Hell... even if you settle for a totalled bike, buy it back and part it out you could make money.

Or maybe you could test ride a WR250R (come to Dallas and take mine for as long a ride as you want!).

Thanks Lion, good eye!


See, at the very least I can once again provide hours and hours of family fun with all the theories and whatnot!

Good observation...

What is surprising is if you rotate the tire about 15-20 degrees clockwise to where the mark lines up with the brake line you can see the dent in the rim is just forward of the lowest point. This may show the wheel was stopped at that point for a period of time (a second or so) and hit a rock with full force. If the wheel is rolling the rock hit may not have dented the rim but with the wheel stopped by the brake line the hit to the rim may have dented the rim at the spot. While the dent may not cause the bike to go down it could be a clue to the dynamic of the crash.

:eek1

Should I save the insurance all the work and just send them here, since we have it all figured out?

I'm depending on you guys, since the Narco's have me a little slow...

Nice Ender and Lion.... makes total sense to me.

Dam! That was rough. Glad you're ok.

That mark really seems to coincide with snagged brake hose. I am quite surprised that the hose was strong enough to lock the wheel at that speed.

Glad to hear that there was no serious injuries

Once again, I'm just happy you're OK ChiTown!

As what others have conveyed, the most important thing is that you are ok.
Now to contribute my part to motorcycle CSI, If that cable hit the tire at 50 MPH and stopped it, wouldn't the cable itself have major damage,,, at least the rubber shielding ?

I think something to be learned might be the idea of super knobby tires not being safe on the GS bikes...those who are buying tires like the new Kenda's might want to make sure cable are clear etc....just a thought

+1 I think that brake line would be ripped off of the bike if it was the culprit. But then again, I'm drunk so....

glad you're okay.

Howdy ChiTown,

DAMN :eek1 that's a HARD get off, glad to hear you are for the most part OK.

Damn Chi... Glad you made it out of that git-off.
So sorry your bike is slammed, but the important part is YOU are "fairly" OK.

Yea... if the brake line were to have come in contact with the tire, at that speed my money is on the fact that it would be RIPPED from it's fittings.

Something funkie musta occurred with the fender. Like all said, the low fender idea is F'd up idea. Wonder if any 1200GS riders had this happen to them?

I recall the early model 1100 / 1150GS's having a high fender....

At any rate, rest up, heal up, (drink up) and count your blessings that you are NOT in ICU dude.

well, I see how you can think of that, but it's no different than if there was a TKC-80 on the wheel, a tire in just about every BMW f800gs marketing photo.


I also don't think the brake line would show much damage, when it caught the knob, it didn't move or have the tire spin against it, it stopped the tire and just had force applied to it through a soft surface. Pushing a rubber "bumper" (knobby) against a very durable "rope" wouldn't do much if any damage to the brake line.

I wouldn't have thought the brake line was that strong too, but I saw 3 guys push the bike over gravel with the front wheel locked from this brake line.
Plus, how could a plastic fender stop a wheel?

Let not forget these brake lines are in fact steel.

Before I read this thread at work I was thinking about what a boring day it was and about some female coworkers fine ass.... Needless to say after reading the beginning of this thread the reality of what we do day in and day out... riding for adventure, sanity or salvation sunk in. What we do is risky but worth it (as I'm sure Joe would agree). Honestly I am jealous of what he has accomplished and experienced!




On a side note... the amount of force required to stop a front tire on gravel at speed without weight transfer is minimal. If you blip your front brakes at speed they will immediately lock the wheel, most of us are trained to gradually ease onto the brakes to induce weight transfer and increase the braking capabilities of the front tire. The sudden grab of the brake line can easily cause the momentary loss of traction and once the tire was slipping the force becomes less and less as the bike leans over... therefore I am not surprised the brake line looks undamaged after the incident :eek1



Edit: What he said above... faster typer than me :)

So glad you are ok Chi. That was nuts.

Do you think manufacturers actually pay attention to brand forums like ours? They really should. It would be great to have them respond to this and other threads.

Sorry to hear and glad you are OK. A real eye opener. I am going to look at reinforcing the loop so it can't bend into the tire...

Glad you're in one piece. I noticed a pretty good hit in the front rim while in the back of the truck. Could be an old ding.

Ouch...Ouch....OUCH!! Goodness sakes....Chi. So glad you're going to be ok! Realize, you didn't have much of a choice. But, appears to me you did a pretty darn good job at sliding & protecting yourself (somehow), instead of bouncing and rolling every which way. Makes me want to start wearing my Koerta Pressure suit every single day (which I haven't been).

I think maybe it is a good idea to stick with these lower profile TKC knobs, after seeing this incident. Looks like the brake line caught on the side knobby. Maybe we can zip-tie (spread) our crossover cable a hair wider, as a precaution. I'll have to study mine closer.

Also, finally feel better about spending that ridiculous amount of money for the TT fender raise w/ longer crossover line. I might have more lateral play to work with.

HF