GSX-R's are not dual sports

[Bumblebee]

Well, today was interesting. I went out for an hour ride because I'm attempting to get myself in trouble, or not in trouble depending on how things go, but that's not important to this post other than it got me out on mountain roads today.

The important bit: Sometimes you're out and just happen to be in the right place at the right time.
The good news is that I met a nice down to earth 27 year old guy riding a 2008 Suzuki GSX-R 750. He was from Seattle, enroute to New York via California and Colorado. Total mileage on the bike was 5100 miles.
The bad news is that I got to meet him instead of waving as he went by.

I was up on Lookout mountain in Golden heading down the south side and came upon a helmet and gloves on the opposite side of the road. I'm thinking that's not right, instinctively grabbed a handful of brake and did a 180 carefully around some gravel in the road. I looked down the side of the hill and sure enough about 15ft down there's Joshua down there lifting his bike up. There's only one thing that one can do under those circumstances..bump the kill switch and start helping.

Just a few minutes before I got there, he was coming up the hill going through the easy sweeper turns at the speed limit, maybe a bit under, then I'm guessing he was probably looking at the scenery a bit, hit a little gravel on the pavement, straightened out to recover...and stepped off the paved surface down 2 inches into the loose gravel and promptly low sided. He came off the bike and the bike went down the hill without him. (Looking over the scene later, I could see myself doing nearly the same thing he did with the same results. The only difference is that I know that road very well and would have avoided the gravel hazard because I knew to expect it along that road - local knowledge changes the hazards) When I got there, he was coherent and sensible though a bit rattled and upset about the bike. I figured if he's worried about the bike and not about himself, he's ok. I took him over to the local volunteer fire station 1/4 mile away to check him out just in case. Just as we pulled in, the two police cars took off with their lights on headed back the way we came. It turned out someone had just stopped there moments before and told them about a motocycle crash. The fireman was dutifully in too much of a hurry and couldn't talk to me right then..until I casually mentioned that the crashed rider that he was concerned about is the one standing over by my motorcycle. I kinda had his attention at that point. They put him in the ambulance and checked him out and declared him sound enough. Then the highway patrol (instead of the local sheriff, that I probably know) got involved and we went back to his bike. (Come on. The kid simply hit some gravel and dumped his bike. That's as honest a crash as they come. Yet the officer slapped him with a $150 wreckess driving ticket because he lost control and crashed. Come on state patrol, give the kid a break. That ticket was completely uncalled for. He killed a couple weeds, dug up a little dirt, broke his brand new bike and didn't jepardize anyone else in the process.  Sigh) They did the paperwork routine while I inspected his bike for damage and made sure it would run. We got to play dualsport with his street bike to get it up the hill. That was entertaining with him slipping the clutch and me pushing from behind. After that we loaded all his gear back on. One of the volunteers from the fire dept gave him directions to the local suzuki shop. He had everything sorted out at this point and was going back to the fire station since they kindly offered him use of their computer, phone and phone book to sort out the details. He thanked me for helping multiple times and I told him that's what we do and to pass it onto the next rider. I saw him off safely and went on my way.

Bike damage: Left side fairing, busted and scraped. Instrument panel support bracket for the fairing broke at the left turn signal. Low profile stock windscreen busted. Left side engine guard, scraped up. Bent clutch handle. Dirt and grass in everything. Jammed high beam passing switch. No other damage. The steering was straight and there was no indication of any mechanical problems that I could see or he could detect on a test ride. Soft travel bags dirty and a little scraped up but not bad. That is one tough bike. All the damage was cosmetic.

Rider: Unharmed. A few very minor scratches on the back of his Arai helmet. Left shoulder armor scratched on his jacket. He was wearing jeans and hiking boots, both of which were undamaged in the get off. Looking at the damage made him sick and wanted to cry. Years of riding other old bikes and the first time he gets a new one, he finally goes down before the 6000 dealer maintenance. He did have the right mindset that he was ok and the insurance will take care of the bike. He was on the verge of wanting to cut the trip short because of the crash however I told him to take a couple days and get the bike fixed then continue his journey.

Rider Points:
+1000 for helmet, gloves, jacket and boots.
-200 for no crash pants (didn't need them this time however he still get points taken off for MOTGATT)
+100 for riding sensibly and not being aggressive. That could have been a lot worse if he had overcooked the turn at 10mph over the speed limit like some people do through there.
+20 for true adventure rider spirit. Once we had the bike up, he grabbed his video camera and started taking pictures of the crash scene. "well, here I am, I crashed..." 

It was a mere 2 hours out of my day however it couldn't have gone to a better use.


Safe riding everyone. Keep both wheels down and watch out for gravel on mountain roads.

Bumblebee

[luckylindy]

  Great thing about riders is the willingness to take time to help a fellow rider.  Good on you for helping the guy out.  He looks a bit like a young Dana Carvey.

[CraigF]

Nice job helping, Bumblebee. 

That's BS about the ticket.  I think I'd be more pissed off about that than anything else.  Damn revenue generators!


The fact that you mentioned his jeans and hiking boots hit home.  That's what I've been riding in (and sometimes it's khakis, not even jeans).  Damn, I guess I should suck it up and order the damn pants.  (I feel like I'm hemorrhaging money lately, but I suppose that's better than real blood.  )

[FallenMonk]

I think the cop saw his bike and then automatically thought he was speeding and reckless. I think he was being unprofessional when he issued him the ticket. He obviously doesn't ride and know the hazards that riders are faced with.

[xxxbotchlaxxx]

I always love the idea that an accident happens, somebody has to pay for it according to our system.  He should fight that ticket.  I hope he wins, and the cop who gave it to him has to sit there and watch as the judge says he was an idiot.  I bet your right, young guy on a shiny new GSXR, cops squid alarm went off, figures he has to ticket the guy "to keep him from doing something stupid" 

[happycommuter]

The police saw he was out-of-state and hence an easy mark. 

That high center of gravity on a laden sportbike has to be a nuisance, especially on the dirt.

There is an odd mix of machismo and embarrassment to riding an obviously crash-damaged bike, but I hope not to have to do it again.

I've probably been on the receiving end more than the helping end, but I've learned not to bother stopping when two bikes are pulled off, as they are always just talking or something.  Besides actual physical help, the most important thing is to keep people off the bike till the adrenaline subsides.  What's worse than crashing?  Crashing twice.  Even little tipovers, I've delayed people by doing damage inspections, trading stories, etc. to keep them from going off all hot-headed.

I know we're essentially duty-bound to help stuck bikers, but I find it nearly impossible on the divided highways I travel.  You whiz past at speed and can't pull off safely for half a mile, and it's like several miles to do a double huey for what may just be a guy stopping to stretch or have a smoke.  A bike on it's side is less ambiguous though.

Obviously this was the right thing to do, and I'm sure he'd have been extra pissed if someone just rode on, giving a smug 'sucks to be you' look.

[Bumblebee]

Nice job helping

Thank you. I simply did what I had to do. I expect anyone else to do the same. It's shameful in the extreme to pass a downed rider that isn't being helped with adequate resources. Cagers often don't care thus riders should always take care of their own. If in doubt, stop or at least give them an exaggerated thumbs up thumbs down thumbs up signal and see what kind of reaction you get. If they're alone in the ditch, just grab the brakes and get off your bloody bike even if you have a pressing essential schedule to meet. Unless your finger has to be in the dike that keeps the entire world from flooding or the situation is going to seriously put your safety in serious jepoardy, your scheduled activitity isn't as important as helping someone in distress. It's personal ethics and integrity at play here.

The ticket was silly. I always view tickets as methods to enforce rules so you don't speed, punch people in the nose, etc. 500 years ago it was floggings in the town square. Problem is that an accidental tumble off isn't really a punishable offense if you think about it. I mean anyone who's been down doesn't go out and try to dump themselves the way that people often run 20mph over the limit. That kid was punished adequately long before he came to a stop. The financial fine served no purpose in this situation. Ten minutes of talking with him proved he wasn't a squid racer. He took 4 days to get from California to the Front Range. That's about 300 miles a day.

That high center of gravity on a laden sportbike has to be a nuisance, especially on the dirt.

You've got that right. Big wide tires without a lot of grip (good condition tires, just not a lot of off road capable tread) are borderline useless in the dirt. They're great for the road however they're about as useful as putting grease on ice when they're on dirt. When extracting a bike like that or even a full dualsport or dirtbike for that matter, unload everything before attempting to move it then hand carry the luggage up the hill.

the most important thing is to keep people off the bike till the adrenaline subsides.

Everyone remember that if they go down or come across someone who's down. It's very important. Just sit it out for half an hour before getting back on even to get it out of the ditch. If you're helping, keep them occupied cleaning up their stuff, inspecting the bike for damage, dealing with medics/police or whatever. Between me and the medics, we kept him occupied for almost an hour before getting the bike back up the hill. The extraction took 10 minutes and we looked the bike over and discussed fixes and whatever for almost another hour. Don't let them on the bike until they're calm and objectively rational again. Make'em laugh at something before they ride off.

There's also a bit of psychology involved in a crash. One thing that I discovered is a downed rider or just about anyone in distress will sometimes attach themselves to you. Their confidence has been shaken by the tumble off and they're looking for you to give them good advice. To some extent, you're making the decisions for what to do next and they're needing you to do that for them until their brain reengages completely. They need to know they can trust your calls on everything. Be honest and straightforward. If the bike is or isn't rideable, tell them the truth. They think the bike is dead yet you can look it over and it'll fire right up. The same goes for them as a rider. Also stay with them until you absolutely know they'll be ok on their own. Technically if I was very selfish I could have taken off after about half an hour though I stayed another hour and a half. (I only knew it took 2 hours or so because I got home 3 hours after I left on a 45 minute ride) My downed rider was alone with no idea what to do next while 1500+ road miles from home and probably thinking he was going to be left there to die by himself..or at least walk down the mountain into an unknown uncaring city. They need the support even if it's just your presence as someone they can trust  and depend on to make sure they're doing the right thing. Then there's the point where you have to put them back in control of their riding. Once you know they're ok and trust they'll be safe, then you have to let them ride off on their own and rebuild their confidence as a solo rider.



Storal of the Mory: It's all about personal integrity and honor and doing the right thing when it needs to be done.


Stay safe and keep both wheels down...

Bumblebee