Worlds luckiest motorcyclist

Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

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Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
3,887
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
I don't know if I would call him the "world's luckiest motorcyclist". He reacted well and that usually is from training and experience.
Still coming out of that with only a broken finger is good. The outcome could easily be a whole lot worse.

Brad
 
Looks like he had ABS on the bike which I would like to suggest, along with his riding skill of course, "saved the day"

I would hate to have to face that situation on my NT700V as I do not have ABS and I would be very very surprised if I could have washed off so much speed so quickly.

I always tell my family that if you find yourself in such a situation the best thing to do is slow down as quickly and safely as you can. The reason behind my advice is that the slower the impact the less damage and higher expected survival rate.

Seagrass
 
For some reason, I cannot view that link but I agree with Seagrass.
The gentler the impact, the less it is going to hurt!
If you MUST hit something, brake as hard as you can first.
Any reduction of impact speed, even with a locked wheel, will help.
My NT does not have ABS and I have locked the front tyre momentarily a couple of times but fortunately I have excellent reflexes (despite my age!) and have been quick enough to release the brake and get away with it.
I hope that I don't do it again as I AM getting older.

Macka
 
I noticed in one segment of the video that the motorcycle's speedometer went from 50+ to 43 to 0.... while he was still moving. He really got a lot of that speed scrubbed off. It's amazing no one was seriously hurt. It must be awful to be the parent of a seriously autistic child or to be an autistic child.
 
seagrass said:
Looks like he had ABS on the bike which I would like to suggest, along with his riding skill of course, "saved the day"

I would hate to have to face that situation on my NT700V as I do not have ABS and I would be very very surprised if I could have washed off so much speed so quickly.

I always tell my family that if you find yourself in such a situation the best thing to do is slow down as quickly and safely as you can. The reason behind my advice is that the slower the impact the less damage and higher expected survival rate.

Seagrass
Click to expand...

The video can be watched at 1/4 speed. The speedo goes from 43, 41, 37, 17, 7 to 0 mph. When the speedometer reaches 0 mph the motorcycle is >30 feet (based on road stripes) from the ambulance and still moving. Just guessing by watching at full speed that he is still going ~30 mph when the speed reads 0 MPH. That seems to indicate a wheel (probably rear) was locked up and not rotating and the motorcycle didn't have ABS.

ABS or not, getting the speed down before impact is definitely going to reduce injuries. ABS or not, some accidents are unavoidable.
 
You can hear the tires squealing before impact so it would appear that the bike does not have anti lock brakes.
 
seagrass said:
Looks like he had ABS on the bike which I would like to suggest, along with his riding skill of course, "saved the day"

I would hate to have to face that situation on my NT700V as I do not have ABS and I would be very very surprised if I could have washed off so much speed so quickly.

I always tell my family that if you find yourself in such a situation the best thing to do is slow down as quickly and safely as you can. The reason behind my advice is that the slower the impact the less damage and higher expected survival rate.

Seagrass
Click to expand...

I first saw the footage in slow mo and I agree that it does look like ABS saved his bacon a bit. That Speedo went to 0 quick and he kept on going. The situation for the rider was difficult but not too different from just having someone not see you and pull out in front of you. Riding slow in situations like this where you can get trapped at my age anyway is what I do, plus be on condition red mental alert.
 
Warren said:
You can hear the tires squealing before impact so it would appear that the bike does not have anti lock brakes.
Click to expand...

I missed that but I will tell you one thing and you can take it to the bank. If you watch the footage in slow mo, that speedo is "0" for a long time. Dont know if it is from the front wheel, rear wheel, or ? but that bike looks like it is under control after the speedo goes to 0. Someone or something did a good job.
 
Wow, what a video! Bet he never thought he'd get that kind of footage when he left out on that day! Scrubbing speed and wearing protective gear can really make the difference. I remember a crash I had in a turn many years ago. I landed on head and shoulder, knew my shoulder hurt but didn't know I landed on my head till I looked at my helmet! A good old Bell Star 90, if you remember them. Sure glad that guy is alright!
 
turbojim said:
Wow, what a video! Bet he never thought he'd get that kind of footage when he left out on that day! Scrubbing speed and wearing protective gear can really make the difference. I remember a crash I had in a turn many years ago. I landed on head and shoulder, knew my shoulder hurt but didn't know I landed on my head till I looked at my helmet! A good old Bell Star 90, if you remember them. Sure glad that guy is alright!
Click to expand...

Yeah, the main thing is that no one got seriously hurt. Wouldnt you love to be a fly on the wall of all those lawyer meetings between the bike rider, insurance companys, fire dept, Autistic kid's parents, etc.
 
dnktng said:
The video can be watched at 1/4 speed. The speedo goes from 43, 41, 37, 17, 7 to 0 mph. When the speedometer reaches 0 mph the motorcycle is >30 feet (based on road stripes) from the ambulance and still moving. Just guessing by watching at full speed that he is still going ~30 mph when the speed reads 0 MPH. That seems to indicate a wheel (probably rear) was locked up and not rotating and the motorcycle didn't have ABS.

ABS or not, getting the speed down before impact is definitely going to reduce injuries. ABS or not, some accidents are unavoidable.
Click to expand...

Most modern motorcycles these days the velocity of the bike is moving is taken directly from the countershaft connected to the rear wheel and then displayed on the speedometer. The "0" reading only indicates that the rear wheel was fully locked before impact, just as you mentioned.

A combination of quick downshifting and braking could have reduced his speed further. I do not believe that the impact could not have been avoided.
 
Surmising: Front ABS working. Rear ABS not much involved since the weight pitching forward took all the weight off of it? I didn't look at the slo-mo but was thinking the same thing as Bruce.....I didn't think the speedo was picking up off the front whee, but didn't know where it was.
 
Sojourner said:
Surmising: Front ABS working. Rear ABS not much involved since the weight pitching forward took all the weight off of it? I didn't look at the slo-mo but was thinking the same thing as Bruce.....I didn't think the speedo was picking up off the front whee, but didn't know where it was.
Click to expand...

The bike was a Yamaha Bolt in that video. I drove one several years ago and I was not impressed with it.

The speed sensor can be found here, Item 21 - Yamaha Bolt Electrical Diagram
 
What would YOU do?

An autistic 13 year old kid pulls a fire truck in front of your ABS NT. At first, you hammer the brakes, but its too late. Do you lay the bike down or hit the truck? In this case, the guy hit the truck and walked away. But what If he had slid under the truck?
r926tk.jpg
 
Re: What would YOU do?

Daboo said:
Pray.

Chris
Click to expand...

"The Lord helps those who help themselves." Ben Franklin
This guy, whether he was praying or not, made the right decision, conciously or not. It might be better to be lucky than good.
 
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