SEBSPEED Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I was headed to work this morning a ~6:30am, and took a different route because my usual(shortest) way to work has new oil & stone(cheap bullsh!t paving!) on the last section of road. I left earlier, and took a slightly longer route that I am familiar with(but not intimately). This happens to be the time of year and day when the sun is just rising high enough in most places to have that occasional "sun in my eyes" effect. Being that the weather station forecast a nice sunny day with a high of ~80, I opted for my Icon Tarmac mesh jacket. So here I am tootling along, doing about 50-55mph(speed limit is 55 on this section of road), when the proverbial shite hit the fan. The following pictures were taken about 6hrs later, around 1pm. Looks nice, right? Still looking fine, rolling on the gas a hair at this point, and considering lean angle. When suddenly, I find myself blinded by the sun, and at about the same moment I lose traction at both ends! The rain from the evening before had created this huge sandbar that covered my entire lane, all the way to the double yellow! I counted three cars that passed the spot on my return trip for these pictures, and had noted this morning that the traffic flow had been about the same. So, ten minutes, 3 cars, that means this sand has been moved back out by roughly 60 vehicles, and was also dried compared to this morning when it was all damp. It was also clearly to the yellow this morning. The sand was over an inch deep in some areas! Getting back to my corner entry, and needless to say, in an instant the bike started slipping and sliding, skimming through the sand, and then just as suddenly I found myself in a tankslapper as the front tried to re-adhere to the pavement past the sand. My Scotts damper may have helped some if I hadn't set it to full soft the other day while trying to isolate a wobble in my front end(suspect an overuse of Dynabeads). I stayed level on the throttle, and tried to ride it out for a second or two, but the rear didn't have a chance to catch up before the front wiped out on me. BANG, lowside. Which leads me to my point, I will never again wear a textile jacket. The thing got shredded! I do have to say that I only have two small patches of rash on my left arm, but it seems that only the slightest increase in abuse would have had me sliding bareback! :pissed: I gotta say the helmet did better: Please take this into consideration when making your gear purchase! Save your beans for the perforated leather!!! Pics of the bike might come later, I'm too disgusted to look at the damn thing anymore right now. For those of you that know me, I was on the F4i, so imagine how pissed I am. Outside of the spot of arm rash mentioned, and a skinned knee, my left ring finger is swollen at the tip and hurts like a b. That and a stiff neck, otherwise good to go. I wish I could get some money out of the town or county for not having proper water drainage, I'm going to look into it, but it's probably a waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Mmmmmmmmm...you crashed, your jacket protected you, and your mad 'cause it got ripped up? I would be kiss'n that jacket right now if I was you. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobie1dog Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Seb: I know you are sick about the bike, but after seeing the picture of that jacket, it sounds like you were just on the verge of major road rash. I have been thinking about this exact scenario lately and knowing that the textiles have their limits, which are usually pretty low, I think that makes two of us who are going to go the leather route. Glad to hear you didn't hit anything and were able to walk away from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLO97VFR Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Mmmmmmmmm...you crashed, your jacket protected you, and your mad 'cause it got ripped up?I would be kiss'n that jacket right now if I was you. :thumbsup: Yep Id hate to see you if you just had on a tee shirt. Glad your ok but sucks going down ... I know still getting over shoulder surgery from mine. Lots of good panels available for the F4I ... dont worry ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer toro1 Posted July 12, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 12, 2007 Damn dude, that sucks. I'm glad you're okay though! I can completely sympathize with you since your crash story (and bike) in many ways resemble my own wipeout last year. The total disgust I felt looking at my battered bike -- which I spent countless hours fixing and customizing -- was almost too much to take. I put it out of my head for a while, and you know what, it's turning out okay. Hmmm, do I feel a Sebercharger coming in the near future? The bike can always be fixed -- you can't. Once again, glad to hear you're okay. --Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 glad you are pretty much ok and sorry about the bike, but you should check the label on your jacket, i was told that on icon gear it actually says "not meant as protection" dont know if that is true or not but it might be just the brand of jacket you had. And like said above it actually did protect most of you and no matter what brand of mesh jacket you were wearing i dont think they are ment for more then one slide :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlecreek Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 glad your 'fine'....gear worked, as someone said, kiss it as you toss it in the trash..... not looking forward to seeing the cbr.....a beauty for sure...you did it once, its just parts...you can do it again. pictures say it all....even after i saw it, i still couldn't see how deep the sand was until you took the photo with the line in it. we have the same issue here in TN with dirt and gravel driveways up hillsides. every rain, they dump out into the street and make it pretty exciting when you least expect it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 12, 2007 Author Share Posted July 12, 2007 Seb: I know you are sick about the bike, but after seeing the picture of that jacket, it sounds like you were just on the verge of major road rash. I have been thinking about this exact scenario lately and knowing that the textiles have their limits, which are usually pretty low, I think that makes two of us who are going to go the leather route.Glad to hear you didn't hit anything and were able to walk away from it. The worst part is that I have a leather jacket, and a two-piece suit. Just didn't wear them to work today. I left out the gloves; I was most surprised by them, because they're also mesh, but held up really well, Icon Tarmac also(I think); the old style. They're still going in the trash with the jacket though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted July 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2007 Damn glad to hear you are walking away from that one. :pissed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jeremy556 Posted July 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2007 Sorry you crashed and messed up the CBR, glad you are mostly OK. I had one lowside wearing mesh and textile. Simple 40mph lowside and only 30 feet or so of sliding which wore through the mesh, the armor underneath it, and into my skin; wore through the textile pants and armor too. Considering the speeds I normally go (I was going slow, held up by traffic for that crash), I decided leathers only from then on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Ducatti20 Posted July 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2007 Glad to hear you are OK... Bike can be fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Glad to hear you got to walk away from it. I figure we all know that textile cannot hold out as long as leather in a slide. I count you as a lucky soul, you learned a lesson about protective gear without having to pay a large price. I am guilty of wearing textile jackets with armour and realize it is a risk. I will definitely be looking at the leathers at the bike show this winter. Care to recommend a make of leather gear based on your experience ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KanadianKen Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 glad you are ok Seb. Makes me think even harder about the potential damage that Textiles can't protect us from... Heal up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 Glad to hear you got to walk away from it. I figure we all know that textile cannot hold out as long as leather in a slide. I count you as a lucky soul, you learned a lesson about protective gear without having to pay a large price. I am guilty of wearing textile jackets with armour and realize it is a risk. I will definitely be looking at the leathers at the bike show this winter. Care to recommend a make of leather gear based on your experience ? I'm a big fan of Icon, beacause their cuts fit me well. I have a Daytona jacket that is really nice and heavy duty, it's even pretty waterproof. I also have a Joe Rocket 990 jacket which zips into my Speedmaster pants, and although it was one of their top of the line jackets, I feel the quality of the Icon is higher. Less features, but higher quality. I haven't tried on any others, but I don't think you can really go wrong with a big-brand jacket. Even cheap leather will be better than textile. I can say, that when you're tumbling around on the ground having your jacket and pants attached is a big plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 Thanks for the well wishes guys. I bit my lip hard to load these pics for you. Bike & jacket before: And now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 That sucks bigtime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Phantom Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Very sad to see, glad you are ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted July 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2007 I feel for you after seeing the bike at T-Mac, then looking at the pictures. Glad you're OK though. I've always been a leather man myself. My wife wears textile usually in the summer because she says it's cooler, but, I always feel better when she wears her ICON leather....... :thumbsup: .......good luck on the outcome of everything SEB.............. :pissed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Bummer man, hope you're not too sore tomorrow. Could have been worse. Glad you're basically OK. :thumbsup: Sand on the road is bad enough, sun in the eyes in the worst time to ride. So they say, but you gotta get to work. <_< That jacket should not have failed like that. That was too close for a simple lowside getoff! :pissed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer jstanwood Posted July 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2007 Oh, I'm sorry to see this, Sebastian! I'm glad you're OK. The last thing you need is another bike that needs work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer kwr8728 Posted July 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2007 DANG Seb. That Sucks! I cant see the pics (some reason they are only loading somewhat), but i think im glad i cant! Hopefully you can get the bike back to looking great! And very glad you are OK! If you need me to look for anything for ya, let me know! Kev edit: The pics are showing now! WOW that jacket is destroyed! and the poor bike... looks like, stator cover, left fairing, clipons, tail section.... crazy how much stuff can get destroyed in a "simple" low-side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 Oh, I'm sorry to see this, Sebastian! I'm glad you're OK.The last thing you need is another bike that needs work. That's where I'm at. 4 bikes, can't ride any of them. And it will take a large lump sum of money to get any of them going again. Guess what else I don't have?? I am going to call the county clerk and/or the highway dept. tomorrow and find out what the deal is with a road hazard like this. I may not get any help fixing the bike, but I'll be damned if I won't try! :pissed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ULEWZ Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 What kind of windscreen did your helmet have on and did sunglasses do anything at all? The sun sucks big time, but glad you are mostly unhurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 DANG Seb. That Sucks! I cant see the pics (some reason they are only loading somewhat), but i think im glad i cant! Hopefully you can get the bike back to looking great! And very glad you are OK! If you need me to look for anything for ya, let me know! Kev Thank you Kevin. Sorry I'm a pic whore. :pissed: Maybe try letting it load a little longer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Stéphane Posted July 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 13, 2007 Wow mate, I cannot believe the amount of sand there was on the road! That is insane! And 6 hour later there is still sand on the road. I am very sorry for that to happen to you, hope you can get the most of that mess. I was going to buy the Teknic mesh, that isn't going to happen in a million year. SG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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