Lucky... aka the importance of good gear

Had my first wreck today. It was a beautiful day out so decided to go ride my 2012 Versys on my favorite twisty road. Bike was running awesome and there was no traffic out. I was having a spirited ride but never felt I was pushing it anywhere near the limit.

What appears to have happened was I lost traction on some loose gravel coming through a long sweeping left turn and low sided off the road. I estimate my speed going into the turn around 50mph. Came down hard on my left knee and then bounced my noggin off the pavement, hence me not remembering/being 100% positive of what happened.

Not sure how long I was unconscious for. I faintly remember calling 911, but it all felt like a dream at that point. Next thing I know the fire department and medics were on scene and they say I was initially confused but was pretty quick to come back to and was completely alert and oriented.

I haven't seen or heard anything about the V yet. They called a wrecker to pick it up and I'll have to get in contact with them on Monday to see what the damage is. Love the bike but that's what insurance is for. Overall I feel very lucky.

Unfortunately I was only wearing blue jeans so my left knee which appears to have impacted first was basically avulsed down to the bone. Luckily nothing broken and they did an awesome job getting it stitched up. In a lot of pain but should have a quick recovery all things considered, will probably be on crutches for at least a week or two though.

My full leather boots, Joe Rocket jacket and gloves, and HJC RPHA helmet did their job wonderfully. The jacket and gloves are in pretty bad shape and will need to be replaced but they held up just enough; I only have a few small scrapes on my wrists from where the sleeves got pushed up. The helmet has road rash across the entire left side and face shield but again did its job. Amount of damage to chin bar makes me think I wouldn't have faired well without a full face helmet.

Will post some pictures later and will update on condition of bike when I find out. Until then ride safe and remember dress for the slide, not for the ride.

Glad you seem to have made it OK. I wish you a swift recovery.

Thanks for the post. This is a good constant reminder to always gear up. I remember when I thought a jacket and full face helmet was more than enough gear. Many riders don't seem to give enough attention to knee protection.

Of course, cool weather riding makes it easier to gear up fully every time we get on the bike. Once it warms up again I plan to get some strap-on knee/shin guards to wear over my jeans.


Did you have any significant damage to your hip/butt area?

Glad you're okay! Rest up and heal quickly! Amazing how quickly things can change.

Man....so friggin lucky!! Glad you're able to tell the tale. I started wearing riding pants non stop about 2006. A friend relayed a story to me of an off a guy had on his trimph triple and how his legs were hamburger from just wearing jeans. The way he told it was graphic enough for me to NEVER ride without riding pants. That imagine is totally burned into my mind. I think of the times I've hit the deck riding off road and how different it wouldv'e been had I been wearing jeans. Chills me to the bone.

One are you were unprotected & that is where you were hurt.
Glad you are OK & hope others heed the message: ATTATT!

Glad you were not exercising your freedom & riding without a helmet!

You'll get better in no time mate!

No pun intended, I'm sure!

OP- heal up; lesson learned?

This is reminder, for each of us, to gear up even on the shorter trips.

Spoke with the trooper who responded to the wreck earlier today. He said where I went down was an S curve with a sharp right followed by the long sweeping left. I made it about 75% of the way through the left and then lost traction on some loose gravel and sand when I went to accelerate out of the turn. Trooper said the bike slid about 75 feet from where the foot peg first contacted the road but a majority of it in the grass. Speed was estimated at about 40-45mph. He said the fairing was pretty torn up but from what they could tell the frame, forks, and handlebars all seemed intact with mostly cosmetic damage. So it sounds like I lucked out about as much as I could hope on all fronts.

Definitely understand the importance of good gear now. I don't think without a helmet I would be sitting here right now, and anything less than full face I would pretty messed up. Damage is all concentrated on the chin bar and face shield.

I'm hurting pretty bad today but counting my blessings. Been camped out in my recliner since I got home. My girlfriend keeps shaking her head because I've been watching gear reviews on Revzilla all day. Any recommendations?

Glad you are ok, sorry about the knee Hope it heals fast.

Riding pants are the most unconfortable piece of gear IMO, yet it gets a bit more unconfortable crashing without them - ouch

Best of luck to you, mate

Sometimes I wear Bohn armor.
http://www.bohn-armor-pants.com/catalog/?gclid=CNTJhpmY3LoCFck1QgodRgIAjg

Mostly prefer gear with built in armor and many great products available.

Just saw your question. No injury at all to hip or butt. I'm extremely lucky, I do have some very minor bruising to my left shoulder but no pain or soreness anywhere other than the knee at this point. Was diagnosed with a concussion but haven't had any headaches today so even that was relatively minor compared to previous concussions. The jacket I was wearing was a textile riding jacket but it did not have any armor in it.

This looks very interesting. Is it comfortable enough to wear for long periods off the bike or would it be awkward? I'm also looking at Rev'It Enterprise over pants. A lot of my riding is commuting so I need something to wear either under or over my work pants.

If you're a commuterer, just bite the bullet and get a stitch, or some other variation of one piece with the good armor. Easy in and out.
The stitch is legendary, guys seem to like the cortech and firstgear one. I have the first gen joe rocket suit, it does the job, but there are some annoying quirks. I haven't looked into the newer version yet.

Good luck with healing and the missus, I'm not sure which is harder...

For all my riding right now I'm wearing the following:

Tourmaster Transition 3 Jacket. It has really good armor and is comfortable from about 80F down to well under 32F with the liner in. It blocks wind wonderfully and has really good armor.




Tourmaster Overpants. These zip all the way up the side so they go right over work clothes. They're also waterproof and have CE kneepads and some basic hip padding. They're great for non-summer weather but I'll have to find another option when it gets warm again.

I Second the Tourmaster Overpants. I bought mine back in September an I am very happy with them. They go on easily over my work pants khakis or jeans. I have had them on when its 80, a little warm. And they were sufficiently warm when it was 32 the other morning.

Glad you're OK and doing better while you're making the best of your down time.

Like you--and others--I took a very similar spill. Was wearing good gear.

Now is the time to look at upgrading some gear--what worked and what didn't. Sounds like all of your gear functioned as it was supposed to so maybe buying the same gear would be a good idea.

The Aerostich gear is a good idea but only if you plan to wear it. Not everyone can wear a onesie (RoadCrafter) all the time.

Let us know what you end up replacing the gear with--especially the helmet.

Here's to a quick recovery.

The gear I had on absolutely did its job. I think helmet wise I'm going to go with Shoei GT-Air. I would get another HJC RPHA 10 but I want the internal sun visor.

I know that I wouldn't wear a one piece all the time. Still shopping around for jacket and pants, leaning towards the Rev'it brand but need to check out some of your guys other recommendations. The jacket I was wearing was textile but didn't have any armor in it.

Thanks again for all your kind words and suggestions. Will keep everyone updated as I go along.

On thing too - go ahead and have two setups, one for cold weather and one for hot. I tried to play with the whole transitioning 4 season stuff and it kind of sucks for everything. A dedicated winter kit and summer kit seems the better route, even if slightly more expensive. At least you can buy them several months apart the first time.

I'm already scoping out a new warm weather kit, looking very hard at the Joe Rocket mesh lineup. My wife got a new Joe Rocket jacket for winter this year and I'm very impressed with the fit and finish for the cost. Probably better than my Tourmaster stuff that cost more.

Joe Rocket Phoenix 5.0 Mesh Jacket (comes in like 10+ colors)




Phoenix 3.0 Mesh pants