First Motorcycle Accident

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Richard Tool

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So it finally happened - Riding In left lane of three lanes , all traffic going in same direction. I was in the left lane to turn left at the approaching intersection.
In an instant a girl in the center lane pulled into me , striking handlebars / front wheel . She claimed she didn’t see me . Counter steer instinct kicked in but useless when an automobile is pushing against the wheel . Short story is there was nothing I could do. As the car moved away I started to high side to the right . I stabbed with my right foot but too little too late and wound up with the Commando on it’s right side pinning my right ankle and calf under the the bottom frame rail and exhaust. I tried to lift bike off of me but could only get it so far . Probably a good thing I didn’t get it on it’s feet as it was still in gear and running . I was able to reach over with my left hand and switch the ignition off and then others arrived and lifted bike off me.
Ankle & calf bruised and swollen and road rash and bruises on my right arm and a chip out of my helmet but I walked ( limped ?) away .
Bike seems OK as it had a cushion to fall on - me . Some scrapes here and there . I’ll have to wait for my leg to heal before I can give it a thorough going over.
So my question to all is this - does anyone think any harm may have been done from a lubrication standpoint while the engine was running while laying on it’s right side ? I can’t say how long it was doing so - seemed like an eternity but was probably only a moment or two .
Sucks that this happened after 60 years of riding but it could’ve been far worse.
 
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Nice to hear you are OK , sad for your bike , I don't think your engine will have suffer from that ..........specially because you don't tell us it was WOT, before you kill it.
 
That is a bummer. I hope you recover quickly. As far as the machine goes, IMHO it would take more than a few moments of running on its side to do any damage from lack of lubrication.
 
Great that you've no serious injuries..... Glad your scoot wasn't terribly damaged also.. Heal fast and well.
 
Get well soon, the oil tank would have kept the oil supply to the pump ok, unlike in a wet sump engine.

Alternate hot and cold on the sore bits 3 or 4 times a day 20 min of each. The cold reduces inflammation, hot promotes healing.
 
Hey Richard, I don't like reading things like this on Sunday mornings!
So glad both you and your Commando are okay. What a world we live in. Keep us posted on progress and get well.
 
Richard , sorry to hear this happened toyou... small point. the driver you state claims she did not see you... but she would have felt the impact. and it seems carried on with her manouvre regardless of consequence
 
Thanks all for the concern & input for the lube issue .
Like I have always said , the trouble with motorcycles is cars .
Trying to take the high road here - I suppose I can consider myself fortunate that it took this long to happen . While it was entirely her fault, there is another victim here - the young lady who hit me. Unlike many her age these days , she was very concerned , contrite and apologetic and she immediately accepted full responsibility - it could have been one of my daughters in her position .
 
Rich,
Sorry to hear about this. Glad you got away with minimal damage to your bike, and more importantly, to yourself. Hope you heal up quickly, and if you need a hand with anything let me know.
Pete
 
Did you take her phone away from her? I gotta' believe there is more to this than "not seeing you".
Yeah it may have been the texting bit . Or she may have been diving for the Dunkin’ Donuts driveway from the center lane - cops told me it is a notorious location for that .
 
So it finally happened - Riding In left lane of three lanes , all traffic going in same direction. I was in the left lane to turn left at the approaching intersection.
In an instant a girl in the center lane pulled into me , striking handlebars / front wheel . She claimed she didn’t see me . Counter steer instinct kicked in but useless when an automobile is pushing against the wheel . Short story is there was nothing I could do. As the car moved away I started to high side to the right . I stabbed with my right foot but too little too late and wound up with the Commando on it’s right side pinning my right ankle and calf under the the bottom frame rail and exhaust. I tried to lift bike off of me but could only get it so far . Probably a good thing I didn’t get it on it’s feet as it was still in gear and running . I was able to reach over with my left hand and switch the ignition off and then others arrived and lifted bike off me.
Ankle & calf bruised and swollen and road rash and bruises on my right arm and a chip out of my helmet but I walked ( limped ?) away .
Bike seems OK as it had a cushion to fall on - me . Some scrapes here and there . I’ll have to wait for my leg to heal before I can give it a thorough going over.
So my question to all is this - does anyone think any harm may have been done from a lubrication standpoint while the engine was running while laying on it’s right side ? I can’t say how long it was doing so - seemed like an eternity but was probably only a moment or two .
Sucks that this happened after 60 years of riding but it could’ve been far worse.
Richard I'm sorry to hear about your accident and I hope you heal quickly. You won't have done any damage to your engine. Two reasons for this: number one if the oil tank was more than half full laying on its side the pickup for the oil tank still would not be uncovered so you wouldn't lose oil pressure. Number two, there was no load on the engine because the rear tire wasn't on the ground. It was just spinning free.
 
So it finally happened - Riding In left lane of three lanes , all traffic going in same direction. I was in the left lane to turn left at the approaching intersection.
In an instant a girl in the center lane pulled into me , striking handlebars / front wheel . She claimed she didn’t see me . Counter steer instinct kicked in but useless when an automobile is pushing against the wheel . Short story is there was nothing I could do. As the car moved away I started to high side to the right . I stabbed with my right foot but too little too late and wound up with the Commando on it’s right side pinning my right ankle and calf under the the bottom frame rail and exhaust. I tried to lift bike off of me but could only get it so far . Probably a good thing I didn’t get it on it’s feet as it was still in gear and running . I was able to reach over with my left hand and switch the ignition off and then others arrived and lifted bike off me.
Ankle & calf bruised and swollen and road rash and bruises on my right arm and a chip out of my helmet but I walked ( limped ?) away .
Bike seems OK as it had a cushion to fall on - me . Some scrapes here and there . I’ll have to wait for my leg to heal before I can give it a thorough going over.
So my question to all is this - does anyone think any harm may have been done from a lubrication standpoint while the engine was running while laying on it’s right side ? I can’t say how long it was doing so - seemed like an eternity but was probably only a moment or two .
Sucks that this happened after 60 years of riding but it could’ve been far worse.
Way too close a call.

Stuff the bike, the main thing is you're OK.

Hopelessly inadequate comment by the driver, the reason she didn't see you is because she didn't bloody well look properly.

Question: how loud is your exhaust?

After years of riding in heavy traffic, swapping between classic Brit bikes and a BMW I can tell you the difference in driver behaviour is remarkable, heaps of close calls with the BMW, almost never happened on the old bangers, it really makes a difference. They know you're there without having to look. It's no BS that loud exhausts save lives.

I've had the unpleasant experience of being pinned under a bike in traffic, the longest few seconds of my life. I'm guessing it seemed much longer than it actually was.

Unless it was for a prolonged period, I'd expect no major harm done to the engine, plenty of oil circulating and lining bearing surfaces before it went over.
 
You’ll need to clean the oil off the clutch plates. I laid mine over and almost un-rideable until I de-oiled the plates. Glad your ok
 
I had a 25kph low side earlier this year. One thing I didn't notice straight away was a slight bend to the bars. I had to confirm by putting a tape measure from the end of the bar to the axle on each side.

Also check your exhaust mounts and plates.
 
It's unfortunately common these days for drivers not to perform an actual shoulder check before changing lanes. Either they glance in mirror or rely only on their peripheral vision...so anything in the blind spot area is in danger. I've had close calls when going past highway on ramps with cars entering the highway, not bothering to shoulder check before crossing into my lane. Even a few with those fancy automatic lane change warning systems with LED lights on their side mirrors, clearly visible to me they were picking me up, yet driver came across anyway.
 
Thanks for the story Richard. Sorry about the accident and it has been on my mind lately. I’m 53 years into motorcycle riding and have not had an incident yet. I know I’m not as talented as I have been and falling off at my age would really hurt. Just not willing to make a five year plan that ends the thrill yet.
 
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