I went down Wednesday night.

[Guest]

Because I know by sharing my misfourtune and admitting my poor judgement, it may stop someone from making the same mistake I made. A few days ago, my bike started making a noise. It sounded a lot like a tiny leak in my exhaust. My bike seemed to be running OK, and I figured this weekend I would take a look at it, and I kept riding it (mistake #1). Wednesday, I stayed at work late. My wife took my kids to a local wings joint, and i said I would meet them there when I got off. I rarely take the expressway home, except I knew it was after rush hour, and going that way is a little quicker. When I am about 2-3 miles away from my exit, I was cruising along about 75 MPH in the left lane when all of a sudden, I lose power and my engine gets even louder. I get the bike pulled over to the right shoulder and I am down to about 40MPH, when I start getting power back. As I am writing this, I am embarrassed to admit my incredibly poor judgment here (mistake #2), but I made the decision to try to make it the last couple of miles to my home. The next thing I remember I am waking up in the ER at the Univeristy of Cincinnati hospital. I rememeber nothing at all about the accident. My best guess is my engine and/or wheel locked up, put me in a skid, and down I went. Witnesses said they thought I was having engine problems before I went down.

[toejams1]

Here is where I will admit that I got into a pretty good habit of wearing gear by reading about such stories that others have posted before me. I got a pretty bad concussion, and I cracked my cheekbone, WHILE I was wearing a full face helmet. I have no doubt that I would not be alive today had I not been wearing it. Other than a couple of bruised ribs, and a few bruises, I am in pretty good shape, There is no doubt at all that my armoured jacket and armoured riding pants saved me from road rash and other broken bones. I will share some pics and more later.

[7981GS]

Doesn't sound like a fun time at all.
How badly are/were you injured? Did you manage to get the bike home somehow while you were hospitalized?
Are you still in the Hospital?

Eric

[MisterCinders]

Holy crap. Glad you're ok. What kind of noise was it making? Where did the noise come from? Really curious as to what did you in.

[Redman]

....
................... I got a pretty bad concussion, and I cracked my cheekbone, WHILE I was wearing a full face helmet. I have no doubt that I would not be alive today had I not been wearing it. .....

No doubt.



Thanks for telling the story.

My son can tell a similar story. Just briefly remembers being loaded in ambulance, and then agian briefly in ER. But the jacket and the riding pants and the helmet and the gloves, they pretty much tell the story more than he can.
So, Yes, do post some photos.

.

[Rover]

Scary stuff,glad your here to tell us.When you find out what happened to the bike,please share.Get well soon!

[Buffalo Bill]

Wow, so big surprise…

Glad you had all your gear on, and I'm even more glad I wore all my own gear today.
You never know.
Some people will never wake up in the ER, because all they wear is shirt and pants.

[toejams1]

Thanks everyone. I'm still a little groggy. I will share epics soon. I have not seen the bike yet. I really don't know what happened to it yet

[BigD_83]

Hey Ron,

thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad you are okay, all things considered. Sounds like it could have been a whole lot worse.

Your story, and others like it, are why even on a nice 75 degree day I choose to wear the most protective gear I have on hand. A few laughs and WTFs are all it costs me.

The sounds you were hearing bring to mind a blown head gasket. I hope both you and your bike recover nicely.

[cowboyup3371]

Glad to hear you are here with us and did have on your gear; worry about healing up before telling more of the story.

[steve murdoch]

Great to hear you survived relatively intact.
"dressin' for the slide" paid off.
Did they save you some wings?

[earlfor]

I glad to hear you were wearing your gear and made it through with a minimum of injury. Cheers! I am puzzled though. Locking up the rear wheel will not by itself cause the bike to go down. As long as one wheel is spinning, the gyroscopic effect is sufficient to remain upright. Hmmmmm

[sedelen]

You are a very lucky man indeed. Lucky just to be alive.
If I ended up in the ER, I'd certainly like to remember the events that got me there.

[toejams1]

Here is my hemet. The face plate must have ripped off I assume.

[toejams1]

Here is my face.