Hit a cow in Baja

[Foot dragger]

Originally Posted by mung

James- not telling you off at all.I am just using the info you provided.Post 1[We were averaging 70 for 204 miles] [I looked down.I looked around.I looked up and COW ].l looked down is a minimum of one second,I looked around is another second and I looked up is part of another second.You were not looking at the road for around 3 seconds. 66 mph is about 100 feet per second.You went at least the length of a football field without looking at the road.That is my point.

Enough with the armchair quarterback,it happened,let it go.

[rattis]

So I'm getting a face on the green letters in our correspondence, ' tis always nice.
ATGATT works except in Thailand where you ride mopeds in flipflops and trunks, this considering that most Thai drivers are much worse than Mexican cows. Buddha protects you or may just luck.
At home I won't even sit on the bike NOTGATT.

[Lion BR]

Tuckers,

Thanks for posting your story. It can always serve as a lesson to all of us. But we also know that no matter how carefully we ride, we will always get distracted here and there. It could be the views, or the information cluster of the bike, a road sign, there is always something. And no matter where it is we are riding something may cross our path at one of these moments and bang, it will happen.

I think you know and are aware of all the circumstances of this crash. And you are lucky and I have a feeling you know about it as well. It is great that you are saving for another bike, the story will continue!

Lion

[Foot dragger]

Man,thats quite a trick hitting one of those at speed and more or less walking away! People total cars on those things and end up with a cow in their lap through the windshield. You'll heal OK and be right back at it.

I smacked a cow while passing a truck on a wide dirt road in Nevada,said cow was backed up and skitzing around by the fence on the right side of the road,obscured from my vision by a line of trucks.
My 2 buddies passed the truck so I followed and passed also.

At the precise second I was getting to the front of the truck the cow made the sprint of it's life across in front of the truck,truck grazed it, I hit it the second I saw it,luckily I hit the rear quarter panel of the cow with my left handguard/handlebar and the left side of my bike had cow fur on it. It kicked my bars full lock and into a full lock tank slapper instantly.
I flew over the bars ripping the handlebar clamp bolts out of the triple clamp with my upper thigh.
Then I sailed/bounced/tumbled about 60' down the road with the bike chasing me,it ended up laying on my legs.

I layed there for a bit collecting myself,happened kinda quick like.Hit it going about 55mph.

I figured out I mainly had a bashed little finger and sore all over from shoulders to both ankles,but could get up and straighten the bike out and ride back to camp,next morning I put some longer bolts in the handlebar clamps and checked the bike over then went for our planned next day's ride. Our leader endoed in a snow bank and that was the end of that 800 mile dirt trip.

If I had killed the cow I would have had to pay the rancher it's worth,its free range cattle everywhere out there and that's how they do it. This cow looked dis-gruntled but was OK.

Ive felt lucky ever since. My fully armored Olympia Air GT jacket did great,I didnt have a scratch anywhere,I had a gore-tex shell on over it and the road was wet which maybe let me slide easier.

Watch for Cows!

[TUCKERS]

Originally Posted by Lion BR

Tuckers,

Thanks for posting your story. It can always serve as a lesson to all of us. But we also know that no matter how carefully we ride, we will always get distracted here and there. It could be the views, or the information cluster of the bike, a road sign, there is always something. And no matter where it is we are riding something may cross our path at one of these moments and bang, it will happen.

I think you know and are aware of all the circumstances of this crash. And you are lucky and I have a feeling you know about it as well. It is great that you are saving for another bike, the story will continue!

Lion

LISTEN TO THE LION

That's my song Man! Listen...listen..................rrrrrr...a.rghhhh h.....rrrrrrrrrr.

[TUCKERS]

Originally Posted by Foot dragger

Man,thats quite a trick hitting one of those at speed and more or less walking away! People total cars on those things and end up with a cow in their lap through the windshield. You'll heal OK and be right back at it.

I smacked a cow while passing a truck on a wide dirt road in Nevada,said cow was backed up and skitzing around by the fence on the right side of the road,obscured from my vision by a line of trucks.
My 2 buddies passed the truck so I followed and passed also.

At the precise second I was getting to the front of the truck the cow made the sprint of it's life across in front of the truck,truck grazed it, I hit it the second I saw it,luckily I hit the rear quarter panel of the cow with my left handguard/handlebar and the left side of my bike had cow fur on it. It kicked my bars full lock and into a full lock tank slapper instantly.
I flew over the bars ripping the handlebar clamp bolts out of the triple clamp with my upper thigh.
Then I sailed/bounced/tumbled about 60' down the road with the bike chasing me,it ended up laying on my legs.

I layed there for a bit collecting myself,happened kinda quick like.Hit it going about 55mph.

I figured out I mainly had a bashed little finger and sore all over from shoulders to both ankles,but could get up and straighten the bike out and ride back to camp,next morning I put some longer bolts in the handlebar clamps and checked the bike over then went for our planned next day's ride. Our leader endoed in a snow bank and that was the end of that 800 mile dirt trip.

If I had killed the cow I would have had to pay the rancher it's worth,its free range cattle everywhere out there and that's how they do it. This cow looked dis-gruntled but was OK.

Ive felt lucky ever since. My fully armored Olympia Air GT jacket did great,I didnt have a scratch anywhere,I had a gore-tex shell on over it and the road was wet which maybe let me slide easier.

Watch for Cows!

Sounds SO familiar.......I saw the cow...I guess I hit it and broke my hands/wrists/fingers at point of impact.....next thing I know I am see-ing blacktop/sky/blacktop/sky/blacktop/sky over and over....saying to myself "this is going to hurt"

[duck]

Dayum! That's one hell of an impact.

Better to have the bike die and the rider live than the other way around.

Sorry about your bike but glad you're on the road to recovery.

[TUCKERS]

Originally Posted by duck

Dayum! That's one hell of an impact.

Better to have the bike die and the rider live than the other way around.

Sorry about your bike but glad you're on the road to recovery.

Thanks Man. I really appreciate that.

[DaFoole]

Originally Posted by duck

I think you can save the rotors!!

[SP's Dad]

Glad you are OK!!

the whole Loreto thing makes no sense.

you were in Norte. the bike is still in Norte. there is no reason that you should have to go to Sur.

i bet that if you were to go to where the bike is with paperwork and some $$, it would solve the problem.

in all my experiences, people are pretty reasonable in Baja.

[TUCKERS]

Yeah, I figured the tow yard would release the bike with my paperwork. I'm not so sure about a 1300 mile round trip with a truck or trailer. If my buddy goes to San Felipe this next Presidents weekend we may venture down past Coco's and give it a shot. It'll just cost me diesel from SF and back. We'll have to phone and see if the bike is still there, it's been five months.
The folks down there have been really nice to us. The cop in Guerro Negro is my new best friend! All in the ER were very interested in our travels. The motel owner by the bus stop is so helpful.
We love Mexico and Baja. The riding is awesome, the prices reasonable and the people friendly.

[STARSKEY]

Earlier this year I was with some friends in the vast wasteland of the Arizona strip north of the Grand Canyon. In the span of one day I had a coyote run along the side of the road with me, a big buck jump out in front of me (then I watched it plow through a barbed wire fence to get out of the way while I skidded to a stop) and I ran into a cow. I lucked out, with only a broken mirror and scratched helmet to account for the sliding and rolling over that the bike and I did.
http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...0#post19921330

In the end, cows are evil. Just saying. Hope you mend well. Did I mention that cows are evil?

[DirtReeper]

Tuckers, Glad youre ok! I'm with Starskey on this one, had almost the same slew of critters run along or at me out on the Strip..... btw WTH is Clinton?

[BobbySands]

I think I saw that fork, wheel, and rotor on Ebay.


Glad you walked away with those injuries vs. what could have happened. Hope the recovery of your hands goes well.

Have you thought about a Motoport kevlar mesh jacket next? I have a scar like that on my left arm in nearly the same place, but mine came from a crash on a Ciocc instead of a motorbike.

Heal quickly.

[TUCKERS]

Yeah I like the Motoport, I've been to their place in San Diego. My BIL got that stuff. Bit spendy in't it?
I have a pretty decent Olympia mesh. It's funny because I would rarely wear that Joe Rocket, it was about 10 or more years old, it was their first generation, but it was so hot when we left I decided on that. The Olympia has some type of liner that 'sticks' to you. I generally wear a Hein Gerricke H20 whatever the weather and that jacket is really good but hotter than the Olympia. I also have a compression suit that is really the best, I may wear that in future for hot rides.