Crash 4-21-2010

[Chad F.]

I had my first crash on a bike yesterday. Thought I would share this with the group to get some input and share my experience.

 

Background:

Rider: I’ve been actively riding for about 3 years now. 2 years on a Suzuki S50 and 1 year on a 05 R1200RT. Prior to that I rode a Kawasaki 440 about 20 years ago for about 2 years.

 

Bad weather ridding: I’ve been caught in the rain about 8-12 times in the last 3 years.

 

Training: I’ve taken the basic MSF course. I don’t have any off road experience on 2 wheels.

 

Route: I have traveled the same route commuting to work for about 11 years.

Bike: 2005 R1200RT with 7300 miles. A set of Continental Road Attacks were on the bike. The rear was well worn in the middle and I had a set of PR2 on order. I’m sure that this played into my thoughts factoring the amount of traction.

 

Weather: Forecast for the day was dry in our area; partly cloudy and a high around 68 degrees. Rain was predicted in Southwest Iowa, several counties to the Southwest.

 

The afternoon of 4-21-2010 I was watching showers develop North of Des Moines Iowa in the direction I had to drive to get home. I watched them develop on radar for about 2 hours until I could leave work.

 

I had normal driving conditions from Des Moines to Polk City. As I reached Polk City the roads were getting damp. As I exited Polk City I encountered light rain as I entered a series of s-curves. I lowered my speed to about 40-45 MPH and didn’t have any problems through these curves. At the end of the curves is a 90 degree left hand turn. I took this turn very slowly as there was also gravel in the road way. The rain had stopped but the roads were very wet.

 

A car that I had picked up in the s-curves had passed me and I was able to distinctly see the tire tracts in the water on the road. This was a very straight road for about 4.5 miles. As it was not raining and the bike was handling good I was back up to 50-55 MPH. I was traveling in the road kill lane (right tire tract) when a very strong wind came from the West blowing left to right across me. It took me to the fog-line and I leaned it to the left and brought it back.

 

I move to the left tire tract to give myself more room to react and counter any additional winds. All of a sudden I started to take very large drops or rain and a huge gust of wind moved me all the way across my lane to the fog-line. I continued to lean the bike to the left and keep it on the road. I kept getting pushed closer and closer to a small gravel shoulder of the highway. I didn’t think I could continue to keep the lean and also apply the brakes without low siding the bike on the roadway and shoulder. I felt that I was getting close to my traction limit with the amount of lean and now a very wet roadway.

 

As I approached the gravel shoulder I opted to turn right and try to ride the bike into the right side ditch. It was an open and easy access ditch. There was not a fence line; just utility poles and an open field beyond the green grass ditch. I made it about 12 feet into the ditch and went down. Since much of the damage is on the left front I’m guessing that the front tire slipped on the wet grass and took the bike down on the left front. At that point all I remember is seeing grass and mud all over as I was tossed from the bike. I sort of remember seeing the saddle bags flying through the air along with the bike kart wheeling through the air.

 

The truck behind me stopped and called 911 as I was getting up out of the ditch. I had all the gear on from my head to my toes including over pants and gloves. I had a pain in my right foot but everything else seemed to be working. I walked over and tried to check on the bike and make sure it was shut-off. I saw the right handle bar was snapped off and it was not running. I sat on the roadside up against the truck tire sheltering myself from the rain. A Trooper was in the area and was on scene really quickly. He asked how fast I was going and I told him around 50, and he asked me if I was sure. The guy behind me spoke up and said, if that you slowed down a lot… I explained what had happened to the Trooper regarding the wind. The man behind me also commented on hitting the wind and pushed his SUV as well. The Trooper also commented on the wind that he encountered on the way to the scene.

 

I have very little injuries but was sore. More muscle soreness than pain soreness if that makes sense. Regardless it earned me a trip to the hospital as a trauma case, I’m sure it was boring for the crew at the hospital. The trauma surgeon told my wife that she wanted to give me a big hug for wearing all the protective gear that I had on and it really saved me some serious injuries.

 

The gear held up really well. My TourMaster Flex coat was soiled but no damage. I had Olympia Airglide 2 pants on not even dirty thanks to the TourMaster rain pants that I had on in preparation for the wonderful weather.

 

I have some pictures of the scene, bike and gear that I’ll upload once I remember how to do so.

 

So here is the question, what else could I have don’t to avoid the accident?

Waiting the storm out?

Parking the bike and having the wife come and pick me up?

??

 

I truly believe that everyone can learn from these types of events and I look forward to the constructive criticism.

 

 

 

[BanjoBoy]

Bummer dude, but glad you're OK.

 

You could stay home and ride out the weather, but what's the fun in that?

You'll probably get sorer for the next day or two, then you'll be on the mend, and back in the saddle in no time.

 

It's hard to say how bad the wind was since I wasn't there.

Sometimes you can just relax at the bars, let the bike move around a bit, and still control it. I've been blown around, but never that bad. (I'm knocking on wood right now)

Having your windshield in the low position might help too. (But ya probably want it up for weather protection?)

Wearing the right gear is very good, in minimizing the injuries.

 

Good luck,

[Slyder_Steve]

Well, first off, I'm really glad you're writing about this versus us reading about it--glad you're okay

 

Second, it's really hard to see wind. In the scheme of things, I think you did all right. Whatever the damage to the bike can be fixed--you're okay--everything else is gravy.

 

Steve

 

Banjoboy beat me to it.

[racer7]

Slowing down will certainly decrease possible damage to you and the bike if you go off. But it has the huge disadvantage of taking a big whack out of the bikes inherent gyro stabilizing properties that come from wheel rotation and are the only reason motorcycles are possible.

 

So the slow down is a pure judgement thing and does nothing to improve traction unless you happen to be on the hairy edge of hydroplaning anyway. And if that's happening its time to consider parking it.

 

I've found my RT to be more sensitive to crosswinds than my previous bikes- any crosswind buffeting over 30 mph moves it around a bit but you do get used to it and it does self correct like any bike, Relaxing more is a good way to ride buffeting crosswinds. Tensing up is not- it simply leads one to a bad choice and going off is nearly always a bad choice unless faced with immediately hitting a very large object. I doubt there are many who would claim ability to ride an RT into wet grass at speed without potential problems. I've got many thousands of miles on dirt bikes and I wouldn't even think about trying it.

 

I don't claim to be any ultimate expert but when I was young and poor I did 40 miles daily on a smaller bike in stuff that included snow, ice and plenty of rain. ((I couldn't afford a car until I was in my 30s).It can be done safely.

 

So get new tires and practice riding in the wet while staying relaxed. Your analytical approach can help you. VERY nice to see you weren't seriously hurt and didn't need to learn about ATGATT the hard way.

[racer7]

One more thought.

 

Leaning or countersteering? Leaning is a limited range technique and perhaps your countersteering skills need a brushup?

 

Ever done time on a track in 2 or 4 wheels? Can be very educational about what are machine limits vs what are operator limits

[russell_bynum]

Glad you came out OK. And definitely good on you for wanting to figure out where you went wrong and where to improve!

 

A few thoughts:

 

Most lowsides never happen. Most of the time when people do what you did (stand the bike up and run off the road) they had plenty of traction and lean angle left and could have just leaned the bike more and made it out fine. And even if the lowside does happen, that's almost always better than the alternatives. Traction when the road is wet is generally about 80% of what it is when it is dry (assuming it is just wet and not wet and oily). Considering that an RT can be leaned to the point where the valve covers are dragging even with really hard tires like the ME880 touring tires...you most likely had plenty of traction to spare with your Road Attacks. If you didn't feel the tires slide prior to going into the grass, then you had traction to spare. Wet grass is like teflon-coated ice...covered in axle grease. Once you hit that stuff, you were going down.

 

I don't know how strong the wind was, but I do know that the RT does extremely well in the wind for such a heavy bike. I also know that most problems that most riders have with the wind isn't because of the bike...it's because of them. If you are not loose on the bars, when the wind blows your upper body around, that will cause you to make steering inputs. The bike reacts. You tense up and fight it...which makes everything worse. The key to wind riding is to stay loose and don't make the problem worse. Most of the time the bike doesn't even need your help. I used to set my throttle lock and ride no-hands out here in the desert. Even going through places like Coachella Pass where all the wind turbines are, the wind rarely was a big deal and the bike didn't move around much if I just let go and let it do its thing. I'm not suggesting that you let go of the bars anytime things get hairy...but I leaned a bunch about just how stable the bike is by practicing riding hands-off. Now...I've also seen wind capsize tractor trailers and blow some VERY experienced riders right off the road. It's possible you hit a microburst or something and you literally had no chance. It doesn't really sound like that was the case since you never lost traction, but definitely when you get hit by a big gust of wind out of nowhere, that can really push you around. If you're nervous and tense anyway, it just makes everything that much worse.

 

Is it possible that you target-fixated on the gravel shoulder? That can have a powerful impact on you and make it feel like the bike just won't turn. I ran off the track once because of that phenomenon. If you're looking at the gravel shoulder that's where you're going to go and any inputs to the contrary will feel like you're fighting the bike.

 

My guess based on what you've said is that you were tense and nervous anyway. The wind gust hit and you fought the bike. YOu saw the gravel shoulder and fixated on it...the bike went there and you continued to fight it. Eventually you decided to stop fighting and ride off into the ditch. Since the ditch is wet grass, down you go.

 

Sound right?

 

[tallman]

Glad you are OK.

 

First, you were worried about the weather.

"spent 2 hours watching radar"

Why?

Lack of experience or poor equipment?

Or both?

This probably added strain and tension.

SEcond, the road was straight at that point.

I wasn't there, but I would wonder if you could have slowed to a stop and kept heading in the same direction.

Once you decided to ride into the ditch it was over so I would think that was not the best option.

Again, we weren't there but I think Russell is on point with tight grip and target fixation.

You made good choices with the gear, next time you're in inclement weather relax, enjoy it.

Doesn't make the weather go away, byt helps reduce tension.

Of course common sense prevails with sustained winds or freezing road surfaces.

Best wishes.

[Polo]

Glad you weren't more seriously injured.

 

I have to concur with Russell, even while reading your post I was thinking "target-fixation", no criticism, it happens to all of us at one time or another. It's sort of a self-fulfilling prophesy.

 

You were pretty psyched by the weather, the worn rear tire, and the wind came to exacerbate your frame of mind.

 

Work on believing that the bike will handle itself. Whatever happens, staying on the road beats going off it.

 

The worst thing that could have happened if you had tried to tighten your turn was going off the road, which you did anyway by not doing so.

 

The RT is a much better bike than most of us are riders. Trust it.

 

 

 

 

[jimfastcar]

Glad you are OK, I had a similar circumstance riding through Iowa on my way back home from Wyoming MOA Rally in 2008, the pucker factor was extreme....

I am not strong enough technically on the engineering of a bike to add to what has been said, my limiting factor is my mind - if I am comfortable, keep on going, if not, I stop - at 55 not a hero.

Again, glad you are OK

[David13]

Fortunately it wasn't worse for you.

I see the first lesson as, get the new tires before they are needed, rather than after.

I have experienced heavy wind regularly between Cabazon and Morongo Valley, and east on 8 toward El Centro, and other places.

Looseness helps. Not tensing up, but it's necessary to be ready to adjust to changes in the wind, so alert, but not tense.

I lower my profile by leaning down toward the tank, and also wing my elbows out. It seems to allow wind to pass my body better.

Reducing speed too much seems add to the effect of the wind onto the bike. So maintain speed. The bike has to be like a glider riding the wind, not a leaf blowing in the wind.

And finally, no off roading on the RT. That's only for the GS.

dc

[motoguy128]

I have to mirror Russell's comments. I've found myself is some nasty storms with gust approaching I'd guess 50mph at freeway speeds. The most important thing is to remain relaxed and just lean into the wind a little and countersteer as needed. It's really the same as keeping balance while standing.

 

I suspect that to make matters worse, you target fixated. SO once you were close to the shoulder, yo uwere focused on not riding onto the shoulder and therefore did just that.

 

 

Once you're off road, and on a wet surface, there's not a lot you can do. If there's no fixed objects (fences or trees) you can try to just ride it out by staying off the brakes, pulling in the clutch and staying relaxed and let the bike do what it wants for the most part. If there's a object you're headed towards, I suppose you could brake hard and let the bike go down. It will stop faster on a soft slippery surface on it's side that upright. The opposite is true on pavement.

 

One final note. If you find that's you're struggling to control the bike, then it's time to find any kid of side road you can, pull off and park in a safe place. If the wind are really, really strong, you might even intentionally lay the bike on its' side in wet grass, and find a ditch to lie in. Better to set it down than let it get blown over. When hte winds get really strong, the sidestand won't keep it upright.

 

I guess riding in the wind and rain takes practice to build confidence. I had a fair amount of bad weather on bicycles before motorcycles and had the opportunity ot ride on a racetrack in the rain one time as well. That was one of the best experiences I've had.

 

 

 

Glad you weren't hurt.

[JayW]

I have to mirror Russell's comments. I've found myself is some nasty storms with gust approaching I'd guess 50mph at freeway speeds. The most important thing is to remain relaxed and just lean into the wind a little and countersteer as needed.

 

+1. I do not think that lack of traction played a role in your crash.

 

I rode my RT across the Oklahoma panhandle in 2008 and felt like a kite. I remember my helmet kept trying to lift off my head. The baseline crosswind was downright viscious and the additional unpredictable gusting confounded the challenge. At first it was quite unnerving, but I soon discovered that staying relaxed, countersteering, leaning as needed and staying on the throttle made the winds very manageable. I was also grateful for my ear plugs. It was a good learning experience for me.

 

I'm glad you're OK. The bike is just a thing.

 

Jay

[notacop]

I remember my helmet kept trying to lift off my head.

Don'tcha just hate side winds. Ive done that HWY40 gauntlet bedore many times. Sucked every time.

I've had the wind the sidecar rig several times too. The big bits of plastic just make sails out of us. More practice and staying loose seems to help. Had torrential rain in Arkansas before but new tires help shed the water mobettah.

[Chad F.]

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm hoping to learn from this as well as other readers. I've finally got the pictures uploaded. The insurance adjuster as looked at it and want's to get it to my shop to make the determination of the extent of damage.

 

 

Doesn't look too bad for a left case but the internal frame is all busted.

 

 

The right case doesn't look so well.

 

Looking South from point of entry in lower left corner.

 

Looking North from point of entry in lower right corner.

 

Where the bike went down. Note the utility pole in the background.

 

The bikes final resting area. Note the shaddow of the utility pole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the blurry pictures, I should have checked my work before leaving the tow company.

[Agent_Orange]

Ah, that'll buff right out.

 

Seriously, glad you weren't injured. That pole seemed a bit too close for comfort.

[nrp]

You should be able to get to at least a 30 deg lean into the wind - and that's a helluva bank, without losing lateral control. It would take an enormous cross wind to force you to that point. You probably mentally wandered away from the countersteer principles when you ventured onto the gravel and ditch - where the surface slope was strongly working against you.

 

I contend that given enough threat, any of us except highly skilled racers etc, can be spooked into turning the handlebars away from something rather than towards that same something as countersteer requires for avoidance.

 

But for all this analysis and pontification, there but for the grace of God - go I. The biggest lesson here is ATGATT. Glad you came out OK.

[JayW]

I'm not an insurance adjuster, but that RT definitely looks totaled. I'd start thinking about what bike you are going to replace it with.

 

You seem to have a good attitute and right spirit about the whole experience. Be careful out there.

 

Jay

[Twisties]

I'm not an insurance adjuster, but that RT definitely looks totaled. I'd start thinking about what bike you are going to replace it with.

 

You seem to have a good attitute and right spirit about the whole experience. Be careful out there.

 

Jay

 

Definitely over $10k damage.

[russell_bynum]

I'm not an insurance adjuster, but that RT definitely looks totaled. I'd start thinking about what bike you are going to replace it with.

 

You seem to have a good attitute and right spirit about the whole experience. Be careful out there.

 

Jay

 

Definitely over $10k damage.

 

Yup...no way they're not going to total it.

[R Shortley]

But for the grace of ...

 

I too am an Iowa rider, and the Spring winds here on the prairie can be a real challenge, particularly when coming up over a hill or from behind a farmstead with buildings and trees from a protected position directly into the full force of a 20-25 mph side or front-quartering wind with gusts over 35 mph. And, the rain magnifies the situation quite a bit, especially "new" rain on a dirty, oily road that hasn't had rain for a while.

 

It's easy to forget that the wind and rain are being harder on the body than the RT with its Telelever suspension, which does much of the steering into the wind w/o much help. It's hard to understand that the bike will do just fine if the rider "lets" it, with a bit of countersteering now and then.

 

So, I have these little conversations with myself: Relax, my friend; loosen up those arms and legs. And, uh, don't watch the side of the road; look at the line you want to take down the road. Sudsy water on the road---keep going carefully and keep the speed up to 50-55 in 4th gear. No sudden moves, please. Oops, farm (hill, grove of trees, etc.) coming up---be ready for the wind to leave suddenly, then come back in all its fiercenss, sometimes from a different direction because its direction is being bent by the obstruction, or coming over the top and "bouncing" the road and the vehicles on it. And, don't forget, my friend, the road is the same width it was before the wind and rain started, so there's no reason to go off on the narrow gravel shoulder, so forget about it; drive the road, not the shoulder.

 

Sometimes the wind has a 10 mile sraight run at the bike and its rider, with the gusts coming from different directions to the right or left of the main force. And, with the sometimes dished wheel tracks in asphalt county roads, it's hard to decide whether to ride in one of the water-filled tracks or to seek out the center of the lane with its crown and potentially oily surface from dribbling vehicles of all vintages.

 

If I get worn out and start to lose my mental strength and can't focus properly, I pull over and stop. The bike's fine; it's me that's having the problem.

 

Riding in Iowa prairie winds in the Spring and Fall, especially if it's raining too, builds character and respect for the BMW suspension.

[Chad F.]

Thanks all for the wonderful advise. I met with the trooper and another blessing is I didn't get a ticket for failure to maintain control. One of the big reasons was the amount of wind he encountered about the time of the accident, apparently he was about 2 miles away perpendicular to me, and on his way to the scene. Not to mention the statement of the witness behind me. I haven't had much problems with the wind in the past. Sure a little nudge here and there and you are on your way. I've beem moved 2-4 feet and no big deal, but to take clear across the entire lane, wow that is some wind.

 

Well, I'll have to load it on a trailer and get it to Gina's (dealer in Iowa City) for a more in depth examination.

 

 

[rad]

Just a quick couple of comments, only because you asked. Keep in mind this is 100% Monday morning quarterbacking, I was not there.

 

I think you got in over your head, past your comfort zone and panicked. You chose to ride off the road in the rain onto wet grass with zero traction rather than stay on the road where you experienced no loss of traction.

 

Fear and panic do some nasty things to us. In your case it had you so rattled you could not properly access the danger in leaving the road.

 

The solution would have been lean even harder on the windward grip and stay on the road until you came to a safe place to slow and stop.

 

Glad you are ok. Keep in mind that this will nag at you and worry you each time you are in rain as you worry if it is going to get windy. Once you ride in big winds and rain you will reach a new comfort zone.

 

[Quinn]

You know, there really are times when it is too windy or too foggy, or too rainy,or too icey to ride. You can push those limits a little and have what is known as an "adventure." You can push them a little further and have an "experience." Further and it's a "lesson", sometimes called an "accident."

 

You had a lesson.

 

Glad you're okay and hope you get back to riding real soon.

 

---

 

 

[AZKomet]

Man.....I am glad you are ok. Once in Wyoming I saw several semis blown over. Later in the day 2 Goldwings had been pushed off by the wind and were in the median.

So, I guess the safest thing to do was park and call the Mrs. However, that is hindsight and we can always say "would of, could of, should of at any time in life right?

 

Next time.....

[Aluminum_Butt]

To echo everyone else, I'm mostly glad you're okay.

 

FWIW, I have encountered wind like that. My then-wife and I rounded a left hand corner, cleared some trees, and got hit from the left by a horrible cross wind from the left. I was already leaned over from the turn, but no amount of additional lean seemed like it would keep the bike from moving to the right. She was in front and basically ran out of road in the curve, so straightened up and rode into a field (GS - no issue). I managed to ride it out, but it was close. I don't remember if the gust let up a bit, or what - it's been a few years. But it was luck, not skill.

 

Bottom line - I do think it's possible to have a cross wind knock you off the road.

 

 

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Last October or so, I was on the highway running from Boulder, CO with a destination of Calera, AL and a planned intermediate stop in Kansas City, MO. Yeah, you guessed it, I-70. Riding my '08 Sprint, a bike that normally laughs at crosswinds.

 

About 50 or so miles from the Kansas boarder, the rain, which had been spitting a bit, started up in earnest and with it came a pretty nasty wind out of the South. I would estimate somewhere in the sustained 30 mph range with gusts to 50.

 

As I stated earlier, that Sprint is usually very stable in any kind of wind condition. I had new PR2 tires aboard and was just cruising along at my normal 80 or so. I estimate it took about 15 degrees of lean to maintain position in the steady wind and maybe 25 or so in the gusts. I use a technique to help with all this in that I climb off the seat a bit on the leeward side of the bike and lean the bike to the windward. This keeps my upper body in the wind shadow of my screen and greatly reduces the effect of nasty gusts.

 

Nevertheless, the wind kept picking up and I started to get moved around pretty good. Never out of my line but it was getting increasingly difficult to stay in my comfort zone. Finally, I just said, "screw this", pulled off at the first opportunity and bagged it for the night with only about 300 miles for the day. Some times, it just ain't worth the hassle.

[philbytx]

Hey!

Happy you are able to report to us ! IMHO, Russell had it nailed. Going down that grass incline was not a good idea!!!!

 

Just one thing for all to note. Your front Conti RA is mounted backwards! The front tread pattern should show the tire tread point going UPWARDS like a capital A, not downwards as in a V shape! This would affect water evacuation for the rear wheel.....

 

[Chad F.]

Hey!

 

Just one thing for all to note. Your front Conti RA is mounted backwards! The front tread pattern should show the tire tread point going UPWARDS like a capital A, not downwards as in a V shape! This would affect water evacuation for the rear wheel.....

 

Interesting... I'll have to double check the directional arrows on the sidewalls the next time I see it.

 

The bike at at Gina's now thanks to my wonderful wife who hauled it over there for me. Julius the Shop manager is having an estimate worked up on it now. Amazing enought when we rolled it on the trailer it was rolled easy.

 

[Boffin]

Do not confuse the little arrows on the edge of the tread pattern for the directional arrows which are on the sidewall - some Conti RAs had those moulded in facing against the direction of rotation.

 

Andy

[motorman587]

I will keep it simple.

 

Push left go left!!! or push into the wind.....................

Stay off the brakes in the wet grass!! gently slow down.......

More training, more training, more training....................

 

 

Glad ur ok!!!

 

[Morrie]

I'm keenly interested in all the good advice I'm reading here. Does anyone have any suggestions for a bike with a fork-mounted screen? Do all the same rules apply.

 

 

[rfc1992]

Glad you are okay.

 

Some on this forum will recommend a GS for that type of riding.

[russell_bynum]

I'm keenly interested in all the good advice I'm reading here. Does anyone have any suggestions for a bike with a fork-mounted screen? Do all the same rules apply.

 

 

Yup.

 

The only difference is that the fork-mounted screen is going to pull the bars around more than a frame-mounted screen. If anything...it makes it that much more important that you're not being part of the problem by being tight on the bars.

[Morrie]

A good place to test wind ability would be the north end of the tunnel just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. I have never been through that without encountering vicious winds on the other side. I'm always terrified about getting blown into traffic in another lane. It's a real relief to get out of that spot.