Journal

Who am I?

I’m a 68 year old bloke who has been riding motorcycles, without a break since I was seventeen. I’ve completed a number of courses to keep my skills up to date and I've never had a serious accident that left me injured or the bike unrideable. 

That good record ended in February 2022. 

What happened?

A better day on my 1960 BMW R60/2 in 2011

I was riding my 1960 BMW R60/2 at just over 100Km/h on a straight section of a major multi-lane highway south west of Sydney where the speed limit is 110Km/h. As I crossed the threshold onto a bridge, there was a bump and the bike went into a tank slapper. My friends riding behind said that I was dumped onto the road a fraction of a second after the tank slapper began. 

While I can't be sure, it's likely the accident was caused when the lower mount for the front left shock absorber cracked where it was bolted to the Earles forks - a good replacement mount is shown for comparison.

I was seriously injured suffering eight broken ribs a shattered shoulder blade, torn muscles, a punctured lung, and a badly lacerated right knee. My friends stopped traffic and I was taken to a local hospital where I spent the next eight days.

Now that I've set the scene, let's look at what gear worked well, what didn't and what I gear I use now. 

My Helmet

I have few memories of the accident, but one that has stayed with me is of my Shoei Neotech II helmet’s visor being torn off as I slid along the road. I suffered no head or facial injuries.

Why I wear a full face helmet

What Helmet do I use now?

I bought a new Shoei Neotech II helmet.

My Pants

For over 20 years, I’ve worn motorcycle  jeans with kevlar linings. The pair I was wearing at the time of the accident also had armour inserted into pouches on the knees and hips.

These jeans had a wide leg opening to allow them to fit comfortably over boots, but they didn't have a method to stop them from riding up. In the accident they rode up, exposing both my knees to the road’s surface. The abrasion on my right knee required surgery.

 

My jeans after the accident. They were cut off by the ambos

What pants do I wear now?

I’ve purchased a pair of Hood Jeans from the UK. They are fully kevlar lined and have L2 hip and knee armour with a strap that goes under your boot to reduce the risk that they’ll ride up in an accident.

I’ve found them to be hotter than jeans with partial kevlar linings: to my way of thinking this is a reasonable trade-off for the extra safety they offer.

My Gloves

I was wearing 10 years old BMW GS Rallye gloves.

The plastic ribs over the knuckles did their job well

The palm sliders got a work-out. My hands were uninjured

What gloves do I wear now?

I bought a new pair of BMW GS Rallye gloves.

My Jacket

For eight years I have worn a BMW Rallye Jacket. Recently the velcro that holds the cuffs closed had stopped working. I attempted a repair by removing the velcro and replacing it with press studs - they seemed to work until I needed them to hold the cuffs closed as I slid along the Hume Highway.

The external material of the sleeve didn’t survive sliding along the road, but the underlying elbow armour protected my arms - except when the sleeve rode up because the closures around my wrist didn’t stay closed

When the sleeve of my jacket rode up, my left forearm was exposed to abrasion.

I landed on my left shoulder. There was minimal abrasion damage to the jacket, and the armour in the shoulder and back may have helped - but not much.

What jacket do I wear now?

As my jacket couldn’t protect my ribs and shoulder blade, this area of my protective clothing needed a rethink.

After much research I bought an Alpine Stars Tech Air 5 System airbag jacket that I wear under an Alpine Stars Halo Drystar Jacket. 

There were other airbag jackets on the market in late 2022, but I wanted one that could protect my shoulders in the event of another accident. The Tech Air 5 System air bag jacket was the only one that gave me the confidence I needed to ride again.

If you choose an airbag jacket that is designed to be worn under a normal jacket, the external jacket must be large enough to allow the airbag to deploy. Alpine Stars provides a formula to help you buy the correct size (see page 13 of its product manual). 

My choice of the Drystar Halo jacket was influenced by its flexible configuration allowing plenty of air flow helping keep me comfortable on warm days

My Boots

I was wearing a pair of BMW Cruisecomfort Boots that were around a year old.

These boots coped well during the accident.

What boots do I wear now?

I’m still wearing these boots. This version has added features to help ensure that they stay on your feet during an accident. There are better boots for adventure riding.

My Family and Friends

Good friends Simon and Peter were following when I had the accident. They watched and, through our communicators, listened to it happen. Afterwards they stopped traffic, gave me first aid, called 000 and did the hardest thing - ringing Jacqui, my wife, to tell her what had happened. 

When I had been taken away in an ambulance they collected my personal belongings and hung around until a truck took my bike away.

Throughout my long recovery Simon and Peter and many motorcycling and non-motorcycling friends called and visited. They gave support to Jacqui and to my family, helped do things around the house, brought food and drink, listened for hours as I recounted my medical woes and distracted me during moments of pain and discomfort. They were the best medicine I could have asked for.

Jacqui did the most amazing job helping me to recover. She was badly shaken by my accident but stayed calm when dealing with the siloed medical professionals to make sure I had the best treatment possible. For a few months she drove me everywhere and wisely ignored my tendency to back-seat drive. Our kids were always there for me and each other and, of special importance, they supported Jacqui helping her to cope while I wasn't.

I believe that in the aftermath of the accident my family are closer than ever.  I also have a heightened appreciation of the benefits, tangible and emotional, conferred by close friendships. 

The hard part

My decision to pursue a high-risk hobby isn’t a logical one. No argument extoling the virtues of airbag jackets, full face helmets and CE L2 body armour will cut it for a wife and kids who have seen me in a hospital bed, high on pain-killers and with more tubes coming out of me than a petrol bowser. Even amongst my non-motorcycle riding friends the consensus was that I shouldn’t ride again.

But, a year after the accident, it was clear to everyone that I wasn’t happy. I’m someone who enjoyed riding in a way some therapists might consider significant. 

In the end it was agreed that I’d only ride modern bikes with electronic safety and stability aids and wear the best gear I available. 

So I’ve done some homework, bought what I believe to be the best gear for me and have started riding again. After a few longer rides during summer the only downsides are that my new airbag jacket and jeans are heavier than my previous kit and are hotter. But I see this as a small price to pay for doing something that gives me joy and for giving my family some extra peace of mind.

Ian
April 2023

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Comments 

Comment from Alan M 6/4/2023

Hi Ian, That is a very good article and very readable.

Your main advice, that there are new forms of protective clothing available which would have helped is entirely valid.

Just a thought: maybe there is a secondary point for people who aren’t immediately going to go out and buy airbag jackets. If I understand the causes of your injuries correctly, the greatest damage to yourself was caused by your landing awkwardly on the back of your shoulder causing ribs, shoulder blade to facture and lung to be punctured. It would seem that only the specific airbag jacket that you have since purchased would have greatly assisted here. Other AB jackets might have helped a lot, but most normal jackets would not. So leaving that aside this aspect which is fairly specific to the way you landed, it seems that all/most of the other injuries, less serious but still serious enough, were caused by clothing not being secured and riding up once you hit the road. If I’ve got it right, other than your shoulder impact, all of the protective gear did an ok job provided it stayed on and in place – ie gloves, boots, helmet all worked well enough. So maybe a secondary message is that ‘Irrespective of the protective gear that you are wearing, it can’t and won’t protect you unless it stays in place. My advice to all riders is, at the very least, to check that whatever gear you wear will stay in place in the event of a fall.’ Just a thought.

Regards, Alan

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Comment from Mike L 9/4/2023

We met Mike and his wife Cheryl on our 2015 Patagonian adventure.

Hi Ian.

Thanks for the critical review. You have provided a learning curve out of a difficult event. Anyone who has survived crashing a motorcycle understands the journey. 

Our riding gear over the decades has come a long way and much of the better quality newer apparel holds up. 

My BMW Rallye 3 jacket took a slider while riding with you guys in Chile on some gravel and, although not a high speed fall, I suffered only when having to pay additional for damage to the used rental motorcycle. The jacket still shows only some light scuffing to the shoulder area. The Schubert helmet, BMW touring boots, Olympia vented textile pants with armour, and Joe Rocket ADV gloves got only a good dusting. Cheryl was wearing a Joe Rocket jacket with armour, similar pants, boots, etc. and faired no worse.

I remember deliberating over numerous purchases of safety riding gear and always look for value which is a relative term. If value means you get to walk away from a crash then it was likely money well spent.

Thanks Mike.

Mike also sent me a link to this very relevant story in Adventure Rider by an ER nurse who rides.

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Comment from John A 9/4/2023

Ian:  Thank you for sharing and most of all the reason for doing so....helping other friends and ADV enthusiasts understand no matter how much experience and time one has riding without an accident it can happen to anyone and anytime.  Also a vivid reminder that the only thing between good and bad outcomes in most cases is the gear we wear so I am doing a full review.  I have been a long time proponent of Aerostich one piece riding gear in part to avoid any temptation to not be fully protected head to toe if I take a ride for a month or minutes.  The range of comfort for me has been anywhere from 50-90 degrees with +/- layering inside.  In any event am very happy to hear the recovery has gone well and after thoughtful consideration for all involved you have gotten back in the saddle. 

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Comment from Greg B 9/4/2023

leg/arm cuffs on touring kit allows the sleeve/leg to ride up - Steve P had this problem on the Barry Way, hence get full kangaroo leather suit, body armour in kit - the usual extremities

I guess may as well get the new air bag stuff means you have stop and put on wet weather gear or just fair weather rider; regular new kit - gloves, boots, helmet etc; sadly as we age reaction times slow, so I guess ride at a more steady pace; get sleeves/legs with zips that snug up to the limb. Velcro, straps etc come undone - Typically this only happens with decent leather suits

I guess the adage "to fail to plan, is to plan to fail" has some relevance and I guess this is what you are doing 

shit happens! FWIW back in the early 70's - mates on Suzuki T500 and XS650 - probably 160-170 Kph. T500 seizes (as they did) XS650 into the back of the T500 and both down. The rest of us avoid the chaos. Riding gear: Sherwood on the XS650 - parka, jeans & decent boots, Rick on the T500 jeans, leather jacket and boots. Both with decent gloves and Shoei helmets. Just a few abrasions. The dynamics (for want of a better word) when things go wrong is hard to predict, must admit as it happened I expected a completely different outcome

I think you have already answered your queries - as per above points. Logic and life often conflict

another FWIW - lycra kit for pushy riding provides zero protection 

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Comment from Dr Doug 11/4/2023

Hi Ian, your article is very comprehensive. I have never used jeans of any kind whilst riding my bikes. I have always used leathers with reinforced knees, shoulders elbows , etc. In the winter I have large size 4xl externals also reinforced and waterproof heavy duty clothes that go OVER my leathers. My boots are "Locked on" so to speak that would take lot of force to get off in case of a crash. At least hopefully they will keep the bits inside the boot. I also wear "silks" under my leathers to engender a "Sliding action" . The silks have a very low coefficient of friction to aid this action. Throw back from my old racing days. Being a farm owner I can assure you that leather is tough stuff. I have had the bull go right through a barb wire fence as if it was not there. The barb wire was no deterrent and did not hurt him in any way. It would be interesting to see how the worlds BEST jeans would handle a barb wire fence. I know the leather can. What your unfortunate episode shows is: As a very very experienced rider ANYTHING can happen to any of us. You are a lucky fellow because as you know it could have been a lot worse. I am so happy for you that you are back in the saddle.

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