Crashed on Monday, be careful riding.

[Bailey28]

Hey guys, first I want to say to you thanks for answering most of my questions and all of the tech support I got here on the GG board.

With that said, I wanted to let you guys know that on Monday I crashed while riding and broke my back. I was riding down a long hard straight, and the bike quickly looped out on me. I couldn't get to the rear brake fast enough, and it was already too far over to stop it.

I wound up crashing at about 40mph on rock hard limestone. I tumbled to a stop where I realized,, right then that I majorly broke something. After two days in the hospital, I came home with a back brace and a walker. I cannot work for 10 weeks, but I have insurance and my co workers are helping me out. I had on every piece of safety gear I could think of, and still roached my T12 vertebrae. 50% smashed.

So, guys,, thanks again for a great ride. After 29 years of riding dirt bikes,
I don't know whether I will be selling my bike but most likely I will be. Busted the bars, and tail section. Everything else is fine. PM me if you want a crashed '10 300..

Be safe out there, Bailey28

 

[Cruiser]

Heal fast,, sucks to go down hard.. hope this all turns out ok for you!!

 

[lankydoug]

Sorry to hear about your crash. Hopefully you will heal soon and be back doing what ever you decide is best.

 

[jhendr3702]

bailey.. hate to hear that..
back in 1995 took a little tumble off in a ravine.. no big deal, but ended up breaking my neck.. c1-c2, pretty spooky stuff..
we ended up selling everything, bikes, gear all of it.. laid off a few years but finally decided and convinced my wife i was no longer an invalid and started riding again. not near as hard or serious, but she knows how much i enjoy it..
since then, a broken ankle and a collar bone, nothing serious..

take some time and make your decision.. do exactly what the dr's tell you to.

my favorite quote was my wife on this.. a friend asked her if the broken ankle would get me sell the bikes.. she replied.." if a broken neck did not, i really doubt an ankle will "

 

[john01]

Wow sorry to read that Bailey. I wish you a full and speedy recovery. I smashed myself up last year breaking 5 ribs, busted spleen, cut liver, and some other bumps and bruises. Take it easy and listen to the docs. Rest will be your friend so do so when you can.

 

[Rick]

Sorry to hear that....get well!

 

[Jakobi]

Very sorry to hear this Bailey. Hope you still stick around on the forums as I've much enjoyed our repeated posting back and forwarth. No doubt you'll have time to do so while recovering. Like others have said. Follow the quacks advice and take it easy. Don't under estimate the bodys ability to heal but it will take time. On the bright side at least they've let you home again. Did you get any special treatment from the hot nurses?

 

[GMP]

Wow, sorry to hear that. What happened, the bike just come on the pipe and hook up too well? Don't do anything until you cool off and heal, then think it through. Were you wearing a neck brace? Good luck and heal fast, lots of calcium and no NSAIDS.

 

[Troy F collins]

I always wear my brace


Be patient and heal well is number 1...its hard to think about your riding future at this stage...dont worry about that till the time comes

Ive had some horrible injuries over the years....when riding most of the time everything goes perfectly well...but sometimes when you least expect it something goes very wrong and we pay a price that asks from us a total rethink....

getting back on made me remember what its all about...it seems more special now


take your time

 

[husley]

Yikes

On Sunday a very nice guy (only met him once but have many mutual friends) had a bad get-off at a enduro her in Northern California. His blog paints a poor picture and he sounds to have a very bad head injury.

His name is Troy Collins (look at the previous posters name-odd).

I work on a air ambulance and unfortunately pick up offroaders fairly often.

Wear as much protective gear as you can tolerate.

Wishing all the injured riders a speedy and full recovery

Stay safe,

J

 

[gasgasman]

Very sorry to hear about your spill.

Medical technology has vastly improved, they can put you back together better than before.

If there is ANYTHING we can do as a group here on GGR.org, let us know.


Girard

 

[twowheels]

Maybe you were jetted just a little too crisp ... hey, I'm glad to hear that you made it out as well as you did.

Take your time, heal up, and get back on the horse!

Steve

 

[bergerhag]

Oh no. Do get well. I had my 3hun loop out on me in 3rd, was not goin very fast, but damn these bikes are strong when you get the grip on the throttle a bit off. I went from slowly cruising to nose bleeding on the ground in 1 second.

Now i was not injured in any significant way, but I was really weary to get on the bike again. Cannot imagine what kind of scare a broken back would impose.

Maybe the 300 can be a restoration project in your own recovery, a bit of tinkering clears the mind.

Good health to you. Heal up.

//thomas

 

[Todd5774]

I had the same injury 11 years ago.

You will heal, do exactly what the doctors say, get as much phisio as you can when you need it, and as has already been pointed out they can fix you better these days than 11yrs ago.

I personally found it easier to sell the bike, so it wasn't sitting there reminding me what happened, I took 4yrs away from bikes as I was extremely worried about the same thing happening again.

But now I'm riding again, and yes I'm not as quick and yes I do still worry abit but the joy of riding outweighs the fear, although you won't find me doing wheelies anymore.

I hope you heal quick, and above all remain positive.

 

[Fred1956]

Hate to hear things like this, Good luck and heal up!

 

[swazi_matt]

as they say sh!t happens!!! and it could have been worse, and i bet the one you like the best is "you were lucky" (to a guy going down a straight road that resulted in a broken back!!)

hope you heal good and quick and am sure you will be back on the rubber in time

 

[GMP]

I had a stuck throttle crash head on into a tree on a KTM300. Runaway 300s are scary. Strong 450s like the Husky too, even more so. 50+ mph wheelies with ease is more than I need.

Baily,

I asked about the brace because I was curious if the forces transfered to your back if you were wearing one could have been the cause of the break.

 

[Bailey28]

Guys,, thanks for the get-wells, the doctors said that no surgery was required to fix this, only time.

GMP,, I did not have a Leatt brace on, but a chest protector. The bike came up so fast, it was as if the throttle did stick. The straight has several small rollers on it, too far apart to be whoops, but it you go fast enough, you can double some of them which was what I was trying to do. I've been through there many times before, and know that I need to pick up speed to do it. So in 4th, the bike was already in into the mid-upper power on purpose.. As I launched off of the face of one mound, the bike stood straight up.

I'm thinking it was as fast as whatever speed 13/48 would be in the mid-upper powerband in 4th...

In slow motion, I recall still hanging onto the bars when I saw the headlight looking back at me. I let go but fell facing forward, kind of like if you were to jump on a slip'n'slide in the summertime in your yard. The ground is white hard smooth limestone, no sand..

That is what caused me to arch my back in the way it smashed my spine. My body hit the face of the next mound. I kind of ramped myself over it.

I then tumbled several times to a stop. The bike was still 30 feet farther down the trail than I was, upside down.

I'll keep the bike for now, I really cant do anything but sleep and eat a little, maybe some TV and internet. I am sleeping 15 hours out of the day with lots of help from pain meds.

I'll keep in touch here with you guys.
Thank you all again!

 

[GMP]

I can see that happening. Thats the thing with the 300s, a lot of extra juice to manage up top. Too much twist at the wrong time and "oh crap!" When you can spin wrenches again, get yourself a G2 throttle, that way any inadvertant twist at less than half throttle will register less in the engine room.

 

[Clay]

Bailey,
Sorry to hear about the crash and injury. When Rod Bush was president of KTM he told he "Dirt bikes are dangerous. Be careful!" He was correct. I hope you heal quickly. Stay in touch with us through the site and let us know how your healing progresses.
Clay