First crash , low side :(

[wittymonkey]

Hi all,

Well, as the title says it : today I had the first real small accident (I dropped the bike before) but this time it was a real low side in a straight line doing like 20 or maybe 15 mph.

How do I do a low side in a straight line ? Well I was beeing stupid and kind of trying to avoid a sewer lid and I am not sure why ( see below) the rear tire lost adherence and I felt. So all I have is a big bruise under the right elbow and like 2 square inch of road rash (I hit the ground with the elbow only apparently) .

I have a couple of questions though :

1. I had a HJC leather jacket (and T shirt under it) and it has no holes at all, but I still have road rash. Is this normal ? The jacket is scratched but this is all. I thought it was supposed to protect completely against road rash.

2. I am not sure why I felt. I wasn't very low, I don't think I did anything wrong (like open the throttle, change gear or brake while I was leaning) but the rear tire lost adherence and I went down on the right side.
I though of 3 explanations :

a. Actually I tried to avoid the lid but didn't and when the rear tire touched it is started slipping and I felt.

b. The previous owner never leaned the bike for real so I actually touched the road with a piece of new tire which also happens to be about 3 or 4 years old. And I know that new tires don't adhere that well.

c. There was something on the street/tire ..

So what would you recommend I do , change tire on the back or not ? Why ? Any explanations ?
Oh, and here is the rash picture

http://web.mit.edu/~popescu/www/pictures/motorcycle/DSCN8266.JPG

I am soooooooo happy I had my leather jacket, helmet, boots and (well) jeans...

George

[suzukisportrider2004]

cold outside? how long were you out rideing beforehand?

[wittymonkey]

like 30 seconds, and about 40 yes.

[ZukiFred]

Rash on elbow could be friction burn from the skin and leather rubing together, Just think how that elbow would look if you where just wearing a T shirt.

Cause of wrech could have been alot of things oil on the road, cold tires..

Just Glad to hear you are ok.

[Wingspan]

Re: First crash , low side

1. I had a HJC leather jacket (and T shirt under it) and it has no holes at all, but I still have road rash. Is this normal ? The jacket is scratched but this is all. I thought it was supposed to protect completely against road rash.

No amount of gear can ever protect you completely. It's a preventitve measure, not any kind of guarantee.

As has already been said, your rash came from your skin rubbing against the jacket, and is an indicator that perhaps your jacket is a bit too big for you.

[wittymonkey]

Re: First crash , low side

1. I had a HJC leather jacket (and T shirt under it) and it has no holes at all, but I still have road rash. Is this normal ? The jacket is scratched but this is all. I thought it was supposed to protect completely against road rash.

No amount of gear can ever protect you completely. It's a preventitve measure, not any kind of guarantee.

As has already been said, your rash came from your skin rubbing against the jacket, and is an indicator that perhaps your jacket is a bit too big for you.

Yes you are right. But I thought I won't have road rash with leathers .... bruises ok,but rash ? Oh,and doing no more than 30 ? ... Of course it would have been way worse without the jacket, but still, I am dissapointed by the protection it offers

Oh, and when I close the jacket it's preatty tight on my body ( like if I put a sweater under it's REALLY REALLY tight )... It should be tigher than that ? I don't believe so My other explanation is that the liner inside is very bad (cheap ?). I also have a Hans Gericke jacket but never had the occasion ( HOPEFULLY° to test its protection yet... And I hope I won't !

Tanks for the info

George

[suzukisportrider2004]

cold tires, and cold streets can be slick

[Wingspan]

Re: First crash , low side

Yes you are right. But I thought I won't have road rash with leathers .... bruises ok,but rash ? Oh,and doing no more than 30 ? ... Of course it would have been way worse without the jacket, but still, I am dissapointed by the protection it offers

If the jacket remained intact with no seams failed or leather worn through, I don't see how you can reasonbly be dissapointed with the protection it offered. It did it's job, your skin never touched the pavement.

Oh, and when I close the jacket it's preatty tight on my body ( like if I put a sweater under it's REALLY REALLY tight )... It should be tigher than that ? I don't believe so

It may be tight on your body, but you said the rash was on your elbow. How tight is it there? If the leather can move against your skin at all, there is the risk of a friction burn like you describe. Again, it's a preventitve measure, you'd be in much worse shape if you had nothing.

I think many people (in general, not directed right at you) lull themselves into a false sense of security. They read crash reports on the internet and think "yea he got hurt, he wasn't wearing his gear". They comfort themselves thinking that because they've got everything on...nothing can happen. That's not reality. It'd be nice if we could somehow protect ourselves completely, but every crash is different. What protects perfectly in one instance can fail in another. That's just the risk we all take everytime we throw a leg over.

[BarMatt80]

I say cold tires would be one of the biggest factors. Could have been alittle cut or some defect in the road but cold tires would have been a guess. Or if you are cold could be little muscle fatigue.

[BarMatt80]

maybe try a jacket with some padding. I have a joe rocket meteor 5.0 and it has huge pads in the elbows, shoulders, etc. maybe try somethinhg like that.

[wittymonkey]

Thanks guys, that's good advice !!

George

[jax_13]

I live in Minnesota (which is sub-tropical to say the least) and over night the temps go down quite a bit, so frost developes and in the morning it becomes a slick dew on the road. Metal surfaces are alot slicker when this morning "dew" is on the ground. That plus cold tires=bad news! If I ride to work early, it's baby steps all the way.

[chilipepper]

I hope my Joe Rocket jackets offer the protection that I feel I payed for.

[WildKat]

Those sewer covers on the road can be very slick..even with warmed up tires you want to try and see them as far in advace as you can so you move around in your lane to avoid them but when you cant ( and many times they arent very visible till you are right on top of them) there's nothing wrong with just going right over them, straight through. Unless they are signifcantly raised or embedded from the level of the road of course.

Basically they are just a pain in the arse to deal with. When you're riding in unfamiliar territory always take it slow since these covers are just one of the many things that can upset the rider and the bike if you arent careful.