Brackson
Touring Member
I have been riding for a few years, but I had only owned this beautiful machine for a week when this happened. I was out for a ride on a beautiful Saturday morning in April. I had ridden up to Gettysburg and spend the day checking out the battlefields. I had been on the bike for the better part of 8 hours at the time of the accident. I was leaving Gettysburg heading home and I was stuck behind three vehicles. The front one (a minivan) was doing about 40-45 MPH in a 55, and had been for miles. Behind the minivan was a Ford F150, and between the F150 and myself was a Nissan Murano.
After a few miles of this very slow pace on very beautiful winding roads we reached a passing zone with no oncoming traffic. I went to pass the Nissan and as I was next to it, the F150 starts turning left into a driveway. What I couldn't see from behind the Murano was that the F150 had its left turn signal on. I was boxed in with no where to go.
I immediately applied both brakes and the clutch but I was heading straight towards the side of the F150 and would end up launching over it at the rate I was going so I leaned towards the small gap between the Nissan and the F150 and laid it down. The bike and I slid part way under the F150 but mostly between it and the Nissan. I palmed the bumper of the F150 to try and redirect myself and the bike from hitting his rear tire. The whole thing happened so fast I still can't believe all that I experienced, considered, and acted on in such a short window of time.
In the end the damage from the trailer hitch to the high side caused the bike to be a total loss, but the frame slider prevented nearly all damage to the low side of the bike. I walked away with a sprained wrist (from palming the bumper of the F150), a foot with deep tissue bruising (from having a boot ripped off the foot by what I believe was the chain of my bike), and a small amount of road rash around my knee (the armored pants I had ordered arrived in the mail three days AFTER the get off).
This is why I have not been on the forums for the last month. It takes alot of time to deal with the insurance company, the bank, and a dealership, but I finally replaced the bike with a newer FZ6 about a week ago!
This is the high side damage, from what I can tell it was all caused by the trailer hitch of the F150.
This is the frame slider on the low side. This was the only significant damage on the low side. The low side front turn signal broke, the bar end, brake lever and mirror all had minor scratches, but the tank, engine, and frame were spotless on the low side. It really shows what the frame sliders can do.
Alpinestars CR-4 Goretex XCR Boots, I love them and if I had not been wearing them I probably would not be walking right now. That cut (I am pretty sure it was from my chain) is right behind my Achilles tendon and it went fairly deep into an armored Alpinestars boot. You do the math.
After a few miles of this very slow pace on very beautiful winding roads we reached a passing zone with no oncoming traffic. I went to pass the Nissan and as I was next to it, the F150 starts turning left into a driveway. What I couldn't see from behind the Murano was that the F150 had its left turn signal on. I was boxed in with no where to go.
I immediately applied both brakes and the clutch but I was heading straight towards the side of the F150 and would end up launching over it at the rate I was going so I leaned towards the small gap between the Nissan and the F150 and laid it down. The bike and I slid part way under the F150 but mostly between it and the Nissan. I palmed the bumper of the F150 to try and redirect myself and the bike from hitting his rear tire. The whole thing happened so fast I still can't believe all that I experienced, considered, and acted on in such a short window of time.
In the end the damage from the trailer hitch to the high side caused the bike to be a total loss, but the frame slider prevented nearly all damage to the low side of the bike. I walked away with a sprained wrist (from palming the bumper of the F150), a foot with deep tissue bruising (from having a boot ripped off the foot by what I believe was the chain of my bike), and a small amount of road rash around my knee (the armored pants I had ordered arrived in the mail three days AFTER the get off).
This is why I have not been on the forums for the last month. It takes alot of time to deal with the insurance company, the bank, and a dealership, but I finally replaced the bike with a newer FZ6 about a week ago!
This is the high side damage, from what I can tell it was all caused by the trailer hitch of the F150.
This is the frame slider on the low side. This was the only significant damage on the low side. The low side front turn signal broke, the bar end, brake lever and mirror all had minor scratches, but the tank, engine, and frame were spotless on the low side. It really shows what the frame sliders can do.
Alpinestars CR-4 Goretex XCR Boots, I love them and if I had not been wearing them I probably would not be walking right now. That cut (I am pretty sure it was from my chain) is right behind my Achilles tendon and it went fairly deep into an armored Alpinestars boot. You do the math.