Big Bear - CRASH PICTURES!!!

[Wavex]

Ok, so following this thread: http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-general-discussion/8972-big-bear-ride-pics.html

I was waiting for Rob to confirm he was OK with me posting about his crash... he just did, so here are the pics:

slideshow on Flickr (click on full screen - bottom right)

It was a great day, everything was smooth up until that point... Cali_Rider was leading, at a mellow pace, Rob was 2nd, I was third, and Rob's brother was last... we got into a tight left hander, which straightens out for about 200 feet, and is followed by a second tight left hander, going slightly up hill... a few pics in the slideshow above show the 1st and 2nd corners in details... I also included a panoramic (slightly distorted)... it was a pretty tricky spot and I believe Rob mis-judged the road on the 2nd left hander... went a little wide and got on the brakes hard... as soon as his tires touched the gravel on the side of the road it was over... I passed him right when his body (left shoulder mainly) slammed the ground... pretty scary moment to see that happening live... thankfully Rob is fine... his shoulder is injured, but apparently it is nothing major... it was very similar to my second accident coming down Ojai... (video in my sig).

Amazingly, the bike came out really good... I hope it`ll be the beginning of a naked project

Get better soon Rob!!!!

 

[colobb]

...Get better soon Rob!!!!

I second that.

 

[Numpty]

Glad to hear your mate Rob is doing fine and his injuries are minimal

Heres to a speedy recovery :iconbeer:

 

[jsteinb95]

Damn....that sucks. Glad you're relatively OK, Rob. Get well soon.

 

[damnpoor]

I hope Rob and his bike get well and back on the road before too long.

How did the CHP, CDF, and tow truck drivers all treat you guys?

 

[inkrediboy]

Damn....that sucks. Glad you're relatively OK, Rob. Get well soon.

Hey what stretch of bear road were you guys on up there?

Yesterday rolled out with j95's hubbie and poorwboy up to Big Bear. 38 and 330 doughnut. It was a kick ass ride with no incidence (well actually - I skipped over a brick sized rock chunk on a straight immediately after exiting a turn). That chunk came out of nowwhere from underneath a car I was trailing to closely too for a pass maneuver- I know, i'm an idiot, that was a dumb mistake. Miraculously no damage rode it out, and raced the rest of the 18 and 330 fine after pulling over for inspection.. Man was that squirly. Its always good to see the rider walk away, maybe a little mentally bruised - but physically in tact. Like sportrider told me yesterday - ride your own ride while keeping your pace within reason - and when going into a turn at any speed...any speed at all...commit, commit, commit, hold those lines. Speed and cornering come with time - not with pressure.

I tell you, seeing that bike slung up on the end of that tow truck, hanging in the air is sobering brother. Thanks for documenting the accident and posting such detailed pictures for us to see - its a reality check for all of us.

 

[rsw81]

Thanks for all of the well wishes guys and gals. Fortunately, my shoulder injuries are relatively minor. I have what's called a grade 3 AC separation (link to explaination)

It is non-surgical, but puts me out of riuding condition for a long time. I have to keep my arm in a sling for 2 months and do PT to get my strength and range of motion back. I plan on fixing the bike to be as good as new through my insurance. We originally thought there was only front end damage, but a ton of cosmetic damage was done to the rear as well. Thankfully the frame looks good and I'm pretty sure once I clean out the air box that it will fire right up. I'll keep you guys posted on the progress.

The one question is whether to keep the mini-fairing and my custom projectors or go to a naked bike. Thoughts?

If I go naked, you better help me Wavex.:rockon:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Wow! Glad you're okay. That was a Wowser. Poor Fizzer. I was wondering, could you have uprighted the bike when it was being winched back up the hill so that it would be back on it's wheel, rather than being dragged on it's side?

 

[poorwboy]

Glad to here you are relatively ok rob. Looked pretty scary from the pictures.

Good to see you joined ryan. Enjoy.:thumbup:

 

[CHEMIKER]

Glad to hear that you weren't seriously hurt Rob. The pictures of the bike look nasty; glad to hear that there's hope it can be fixed.

Didn't you say you have boards coming up? Hope your injury isn't to your writing arm.

Heal quick man,
Travis

 

[Jman]

Get well soon. Hope that V.4 (Rob's mean, lean, naked machine) emerges like a phoenix from the ashes quickly with lots of posts and pics!:sinister:

 

[kustom17]

shoulder seperation.. ouch... that happened to me.... the only thing I can tell you is even after it's "healed" you're going to tweak your shoulder from time to time for about a 8ish months...... put backpacks on very slowly!!


anyway.... whatever you decided to do with the bike... i think a bath should be first on the list

 

[sportrider]

ouch!!!! sorry to hear this Rob, glad you pulled through OK. did you follow the bike down the slope? how fast were you going when you went down?

 

[Botch]

Glad to hear you're relatively okay, and that you'll mend.

Was very scary at the bike looking up the hill at the wrecker; steep and rocky!

 

[rsw81]

Glad to hear that you weren't seriously hurt Rob. The pictures of the bike look nasty; glad to hear that there's hope it can be fixed.

Didn't you say you have boards coming up? Hope your injury isn't to your writing arm.

Heal quick man,
Travis

Haha, thankfully I just took them last Thursday... this ride was supposed to be my reward to myself for cracking down for the exam all month.:Flash:

 

[grommit]

Hope you heal up soon and you pass your exams. :thumbup:

 

[OZXJR]

Geeze mate that really sucks but glad you didn't get hurt to badly.

I think I would have cried watching my bike get hauled up that rocky slope like that.

The bike did seem to get through it pretty well though ,they build 'em tough at Yamaha :thumbup:

 

[rsw81]

So, to answer your questions. In the second of the two left handers, Calirider took the inside of the turn, I went on the outside trying to apex it. Unfortunately, the outside had gravel all over it. I realized it as I began to lean in... stood it up to get rid of some speed (~50mph down to ~20mph)knowing I wouldn't have the traction for the turn. By the time my speed was down enough to lean it, it was too late. I leaned left anyway in a last ditch effort, low sided into the shoulder, and thankfully separated from the bike as it went down. I stopped on the embankment and the bike continued down ~20 ft. As I contacted the road, I hit left shoulder first with all of my weight and the rolled once or twice. I immediately sat up and knew something wasn't right with my shoulder. My left flank and left lower leg were also sore, but nothing wrong there except some soft tissue swelling (thought I might have broken some ribs and my fibula, but xray proved me wrong).

LESSON TO BE LEARNED:
The only reason I am in as good of shape as I am is because I was wearing the proper gear. Gloves, heavy leather jacket, pants, and riding boots. Anything less than that would have resulted in much more serious injuries.

 

[rsw81]

they build 'em tough at Yamaha :thumbup:

Yeah, they build 'em tough in the Winston family too. The guys that gave a ride to the hospital were surprised I wasn't crying my eyes out with the kind of injury I sustained.:thumbup:

 

[DefyInertia]

Rob, glad you're ok. You came out really well all things considered.

Congrats on getting the boards behind you as I'm sure you passed.

EDIT - props to Wavex for not fixating or running him over.

Yeah, they build 'em tough in the Winston family too. The guys that gave a ride to the hospital were surprised I wasn't crying my eyes out with the kind of injury I sustained.:thumbup:

Be glad you didn't break any bones!