Unbelievable

[palerider]

s boy - You know I never even thought about calling the police. My only thought as I was going down was "I'm going to catch hell from my wife." She is not a fan of motorcycles, to put it mildly. She has actually been very supportive and when we thought it was totaled she asked me if I was going to replace it.
Strangely, now that you mention it, I don't think the insurance folks ever asked me if the police were called. Maybe they did and I just hit the pavement harder than I thought.

Don't think in Cali there's any need to call the police in a one-vehicle accident. The insurance adjuster just needs to see the damage to verify it's not a fraudulent claim.

 

[XJRGUY]

s boy - You know I never even thought about calling the police. My only thought as I was going down was "I'm going to catch hell from my wife." She is not a fan of motorcycles, to put it mildly. She has actually been very supportive and when we thought it was totaled she asked me if I was going to replace it.
Strangely, now that you mention it, I don't think the insurance folks ever asked me if the police were called. Maybe they did and I just hit the pavement harder than I thought.

Don't think in Cali there's any need to call the police in a one-vehicle accident. The insurance adjuster just needs to see the damage to verify it's not a fraudulent claim.

There is a requirement if you damage public property. (armco, stop sign, etc)

See the official law/requirement here:

CA DMV SR1 Requirement

 

[TexCom]

Thanks for the heads up about the crash, sorry to hear about it. Sounds like a situation that'll always replay in your mind as you try to understand what (if anything) you could have done differently. More than likely nothing.

Here in Seattle, on my commute home, I take a huge right hand clover into a highway with my cold tires (due to it's nearness to my office) and lately as cars tailgate me through it I wonder about when the unknown will reach out and touch (tip actually) me.

Anyways, good to hear you walked away. ATGATT reinforcement story too.

 

[palerider]

s boy - You know I never even thought about calling the police. My only thought as I was going down was "I'm going to catch hell from my wife." She is not a fan of motorcycles, to put it mildly. She has actually been very supportive and when we thought it was totaled she asked me if I was going to replace it.
Strangely, now that you mention it, I don't think the insurance folks ever asked me if the police were called. Maybe they did and I just hit the pavement harder than I thought.

Don't think in Cali there's any need to call the police in a one-vehicle accident. The insurance adjuster just needs to see the damage to verify it's not a fraudulent claim.

There is a requirement if you damage public property. (armco, stop sign, etc)

See the official law/requirement here:

CA DMV SR1 Requirement

Thanks. Good to know.

 

[TILAM]

Living in Canada and knowing what cold is I might suspect that the tires were still cold and therefore slippery. 40 degrees in the morning means the air and pavement are both cold and that doesn't allow the tires to warm up even after riding for a while.

I have had a front tire slide under similar temperatures and I thought I had ridden enough to warm them. Next time you're out in those temperatures place a bare hand on the tire and just see how warm it isn't.

 

[davidsbmw]

Maddog,

Good to see and hear that you are okay. Yes to ATGATT. If you want to see something scary, come ride in PA in the summer, NO HELMETS, JUST SHORTS,TANK TOPS,AND SANDELS. Just looking for a place to leave some skin on the blacktop.

I am also curious as to what caused your tire to lose grip just like that?

 

[Phugedaboudet]

it ain't just SoCal. D@mned tar snakes everywhere.

was hoping we'd get another real-world review of the crash bars

It's nice to know the Feej is still a tank under the plastic. Break parts off and it still rides!

Glad you are ok and that insurance is sorting it all out.
Those "snake strips" on the SoCal freeways have a tendency to slick up sometimes.

That and the darn metal expansion joints in the rain are also a nuisance.

 

[Phugedaboudet]

Sounds like you might have physically ran over something, a rock, beer can, or some other sort of trash that was flung clear. I've been a little too aggressive merging onto the freeway and got a little extra throttle in while leaning and going over a tar snake, painted carpool line, or rain runoff. The bike doesn't let you do motard-style hooligan drifting but it does smoothly slip-unless whatever's under the rear is moving also.

Glad you made it out fine, physically as well as financially!

Disturbing news Maddog, and of course relieved that you were not injured.Why do you figure the rear end slipped out? Something on the road? Abrupt throttle? Car tire on the rear?

Have you determined what may have contributed to the slip?

That is the thing that bothers me the most about this incident. After moving the bike to the shoulder, I walked the transition road looking for what might have caused the tire to slip but I couldn't find anything. Now, granted it was 6:00 AM and the sun wasn't up, so the lighting wasn't too good but I couldn't see anything that might have caused it. No oil, no antifreeze, no pieces of tire, nothing. And I checked the tire on the bike and couldn't find any evidence of fluids.

And it definitely wasn't abrupt throttle; I've hit slippery stuff on this same road before. That's why I took it at a nice easy pace with smooth throttle inputs.

Now I'm sure some guys get pretty good milage out of a car tire on the back, but I'm a traditionalist and stick with proven performers, like a Michelin Pilot Road. : )

 

[Foxhuntr]

When my wife crashed her FZ1 in Washington on a trip, State Farm did a good job and paid for the repairs. Of course they promptly doubled all our insurance premiums (3 bikes and a car) for a 3 year period, thereby getting all their money back. I guess it's like you pay for the damage on the installment plan! Of course in her case the police stated it was her fault - applying too much front brake.

Glad to hear you're ok!

 

[Maddog]

Your Scorpion 700 took a minor hit but the shell is cracked! I suspect it either took a much harder hit than you realize, or, like a diamond, the angle and force were just enough to cause a failure. Given what I've read recently about helmet shells, I'm surprised.
Nonetheless, glad all is well. As well as it could be, all things considered.

You are probably correct - the helmet probably took more of a hit than I recall. The impact on the helmet left a scuff mark about 1/2 inch around with a small crack next to it (the crack is about a 1/4 inch).

Foxhuntr - I'm expecting a bump in the insurance rates.

XJRGUY - The insurance company sent me the SR-1 form to fill out, so that's taken care of.

Texcom - I was extremely lucky that there were no cars near me when I went down. I know what you mean about the tailgaters - if anything were to happen you would be toast.

Update - Spoke to the shop today and they are even more shocked than me that the insurance company is fixing it. They said they've seen bikes with less damage that have been totaled. I guess I must be living right. Or it's time to buy a lottery ticket.

 

[mcatrophy]

Sorry to hear of your "off", pleased you are unhurt. Check your hip after a couple of days, it may be bruised more than you realise.

When I had my very minor off, I never really found a single cause. In the end I put it down to (definitely) cold tyres, and almost certainly an unwise throttle application too soon in the turn. Neither of these seems to be a cause in your case. IMHO even at 40 temps, your tyre will have sufficient grip for normal use (sorry, TILAM, don't mean to start an argument, just my experience).

Hope they repair your bike satisfactorily and speedily, and STOP GRINDING YOUR PEGS

 

[Silver Penguin]

Good news all around! You're OK and your bike is going to be OK too. Could have been so much worse.

Jill