What was your worst crash?

[Omnivore]

I'll start....

I went for a quick run to the store while I was tour / camping in central NV (Eagle Valley to be exact) around 10 at night. I was on a 96 Kat 750, not going fast, not to slow. The store was about a 5 mile clip from the campground. It was a pitch black no moon night. I was coming up on a turn and saw a skunk run out. I really couldn't make it inside him so went outside, and sudden realized it was a 90 degree trun....that happened to go over a creek (land bridge). There was no railing, but there was a bunch of loose gravel. I had an instant choice: I could take a chance I wouldn't low-side out on the gravel and slide off the bridge sideways, or bring it up and hope I landed on my wheels...effectively driving off the bridge.

I elected to drive off.... So OK I didn't die but the bike did plant itself in mud stopping instantly between the bridge and a boulder, I went over the handle bars (two 2 wonderful above the knee bruises), broke the windshield (Broken ribs), and did one heel over head (saw a tree in the headlight) did another heel over head (saw the same tree but closer) and finally one more into the tree. Lights out. It popped my shield open and it started to rain, and it hit my face waking me up. I suppose I was out for an hour or so. SO I got up, the bike was stuck fast in the mud but really undamaged other than a broken turn signal and the windshield. I couldn't budge it, so I walked to the store...a couple miles maybe, it was of course closed, then back past the bike to the campground and got there just before sun-up. I saw a couple guys waking up and they had a pickup. They went down and pulled me out. It fired right up. I went gathered all my stuff and drove back to Vegas 225 miles. All in all I didn't hurt to bad until the next day...then not so good.

[KAT TOY]

dang. how about making me beneficiary on an insurance policy.j/k. my crashes were on a racetrack. worst injury was a groin pull. full leathers. this was in 1984. i healed quicker in those days. ride safe.

[Omnivore]

Mine was a while back also...96 to be exact, only the second crash I broke "me" in 40+ years of riding, I'm still glad I didnt do the knee drag turn into gravel option

[md86]

they all sucked equally . Really .

[pavendort]

2004, southern part of Guam. 35 mile per hour sweeper. Saw a bunch of gravel on the road, didn't want to lowside off the edge as I didn't know what kind of a drop there was. So I saw the fluffy looking bushes on the right side, decided to jump off the bike into them. Well, there was 100 pound blocks of concrete with rebar sticking out all under the bushes. Of course I didn't see that til I landed on it.

Punctured both sides of my helmet, leaving rusty marks on my hair, thru my shirt on the left side under my armpit, and thru my pant leg, about 1" below my important bits. Took me a few minutes to peel myself off the rebar, but I was relatively unscathed. I even dislodged my bike from the guard rail it hit about 10 feet down off the edge of the road.

Had a contusion on my left shin that went necrotic (thanks half-assed lazy doctor) and a few days later I went septic. Went to the hospital when my leg basically popped like a zit and infected "stuff" flowed out. Septic shock is no fun. No more muscle on the front of my left shin, no feeling below the knee on the front half of my leg. Septicemia left me with a few life long disabilities, but I am lucky to be alive.

Such a minuscule accident in retrospect, yet with freak accident consequences.

[1990gsx 600]

well min wasnt that bad i was on a dirt bike and i hit a fist sized rock with my back tire. i thought that i had dodged it but apparently not. so i slide on the gravel for about 40 feet. i tore out my elbow and had some scuffs on my knees and hands but other than that i escaped pretty much unscathed. not the same story for the bike. it was all scrapped up and the kill switch was broke the handle bars bent and the throttle was all screwed up. you turn the handle bars at all and it would rev the engine so a little adjustment was in order.

[seanbball13]

dang that sucks. but for me i am new and have not crashed yet well never hope to but keep safe everyone..

[muddyman184]

Back in 2004 my CR 125r throttle got stuck and i hit a tree head on with no helmet 25 mile ride to the hospital and they had to get there surgical pliers to pull my skin together and stitch it up it was like 15 stitchs on the outside and 8 in my mouth had to drink threw a straw for a week lesson learned wear a helmet

[teddy]

anytime the bike and I hit the ground at the same time is a ****ty deal...

[JokerZwild]

Racing to the hospital after getting a call that my son fell in the tub I got cut off and clipped a curb with the mid pipe. It sent the bike into a 180* aerial spin while high siding me at the same time. Luckily the bike landed flat and simply slid for about 30yrds. Unluckily I didn't have my lid strapped tight enough and it flew off when I hit the pavement. So while my son was in for x-rays his ole man was in for a CAT scan down the hall. Good news was we were both ok. Not an ounce of road rash due to the fact that I was fully geared. But My head and my mid pipe still bare the scars.

[GytRDunKat]

I hit a 3 foot diameter culvert, which allows water to flow under a corn field access road, in 3rd gear on my dirtbike. I was preparing to jump the road, just as I compressed the suspension, bang. The bike stopped, I didn't. I layed in the ditch with bruised ribs and 2 bruised knees for about an hour. The problem was I couldn't see the culvert because of high grass. I eventually made it home, and I didn't ride the dirtbike for the rest of the year.

[CWK81]

Just this past tues i was headin home from work when i looked to my right only to look back in front of me to realize the cars were stopping. I hit the back brake onl to lock it up and start to slide sideways at the car. Luckly enough for me the slid around the car and hit just the rear qauter panel and tail light. Which broke my turn signal lens, and thast it.

[jday240]

From my Katana down thread last year:


On 5/8/09 (Friday before last) someone in a black Range Rover ran me off the road while I was riding. The truck was in the center of the road halfway in my lane speeding around a curve as I topped the hill and I swerved around it but the road curved out from under me. I rode the shoulder for a few seconds before I hit a ditch (perpendicular to the road). The bike hit hard on the far bank and bottomed out breaking the lowering links before flipping forward and throwing me over the handlebars. The bike rolled end over end a few times and I rolled ahead of it before sliding on my back through the grass. All total I ended up about 25 feet from the impact site.
It broke the dog bones, windscreen, mirrors, and all of the fairings (except tail). I was wearing full gear and ended up with a swollen wrist and unable to use my right arm due to swelling in my shoulder. On the bright side I was off work for a week and just have to fix my bike. I am about 85% back to normal, not bad considering how fast I went from 40mph to 0. It could have been worse I guess...but it screwed up my weekend of working on the GTO.
I was able to get up off of the ground and stand the bike up. A guy saw the whole thing and stopped to help me push it to the edge of the road (not an easy task with the tire rubbing the fender). He was more mad than me at the person that ran me off the road because they passed him uphill in a blind curve. The speed limit was 35 and I was close to that 35-40 just taking it easy and enjoying the ride. The Range Rover was doing 55-60 and was driving in the middle of the road from what the guy told me. I was leaning into the uphill "S" curve to the right just as it switched left. When I leaned left I had to get off of the throttle and when the bike stood up I missed the truck by literally inches and hit the ditch. I called a friend to pick up the bike and after waiting there for 15 minutes or so my right shoulder was sore enough that I couldn't pick up my helmet. My wife works for an orthopedic surgeon and he says I didn't break anything. I still have some pain in the shoulder and both legs are stiff but anti-inflammatory meds are helping.
Pics suck and since swapping out the dog bones for stock it is just cosmetic. Bike is muddy and naked, but I think that's the worst of it. Is there anything I need to check? I will test ride it in a week or so when I can. It starts up fine and runs like it should. I plan to change the oil this week - it's due anyway - and I am not riding it until am 100%.

[Omnivore]

Crazy stuff being mentioned. My biggest fear remains to be the other guy. There a lot of blind curves on "narrow" mountain roads here. There is so much growth on the sides of the road you dont see people until you meet them on the turns...some people cant seem to stay on their side of the yellow line...it gets scary at times. Its the blind left sweepers that are worst for me in the US. Gas and oil go/spill with the force/gravity