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My FZ1 crash, film...well, right now

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Berto

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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANl_8KvhRYs]YouTube - ‪LawnCare.mp4‬‏[/ame]


For your viewing education and entertainment. This occurred last Sunday at a new track for me, Shenandoah, in West Virginia. Fabulous track. I had just done two laps behind a new rider to film him for the coaches and left the camera running for a couple of faster laps.

This was the last lap of the last session...isn't it always? I had been passing the guy in front of me all day but decided to bag that and just slow down and relax. I got off my rhythm and, subsequently, the race line. You can see this in the video.

To correct, I tried some braking, but too much. Front end tucked for a left lowside. Classic target fixation mistake. I got a bruised foot and left hand, but nothing serious.

Alpinestars gloves proved a little disappointing. The left one ripped open along the thumb seam and exposed some skin to abrasion. Need a better glove for next time. Definitely don't cheap out on the gear.
 
FZ1riderNY said:
Man that sucks. How bad is the bike?
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Not really bad. The cowling is trashed. Found a used one on e-bay. The shifter broke off at the mounting bracket, which is an easy fix. Frame slider did its job and really wasn't damaged much.

Typical track bike stuff. Not the first time I've crashed, but hope it will be the last.
 
Although it sucks you crashed, at least you did it in the right place! Glad you're ok!

What model of Alpinestars gloves were you using? Could you take a photo of the damage?
 
Dustin said:
Although it sucks you crashed, at least you did it in the right place! Glad you're ok!

What model of Alpinestars gloves were you using? Could you take a photo of the damage?
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Sure. Photos attached. Appreciate your opinions.

They're Alpinestar SP2s--about $100 gloves. Full gauntlet, carbon knuckle protection, decent, but not generous armor on the fingers.

The failure in the left glove is a combination of a seam failure and material parting. Less obvious in the photo, but the worst part of the injury isn't where the large opening is, but where the lesser failure is, near the very top of the gauntlet. That is purely a seam failure. It's double stitched. Injury is an abrasion about the size of a golfball. A little tender, but not too bad. Note the big chunk taken out of the knuckle in the detail photo.

Hand is bruised from the impact, but no glove would have prevented that. I have AGVSportboots, which did okay, but not great. Left foot got whacked and is bruised and sore. I'm going to shop for better boots.

The suit itself--also Alpinestars, a two-piece Monza-type--did fine. A little worn spot around the knee. Shoei helmet, but there was no head banging, fortunately.

I think the speed was around 50 MPH, maybe a little faster.
 
Great vid, thanks for posting.

Does that model of glove have the palm sliders? If not those help in preventing glove failure. When you plam hits with only leather it tends to stick and the force can rip open the glove.

Check out the the A* GP Techs, or the GP Pro, both have nice sliders. Another outstanding glove is the Knox Handroid. I recently picked up a pair of GP Techs, very nice.

For boots Sportbike Track Gear currently has A* SMX Plus boots on sale for $289. They are the ones with the inner boot. I bought a pair recently and they are wonderful! Fit perfectly!

Keep in mind that even with the best gear you will get banged up pretty good in a fall.
 
Hellgate said:
Great vid, thanks for posting.

Does that model of glove have the palm sliders? If not those help in preventing glove failure. When you plam hits with only leather it tends to stick and the force can rip open the glove.

Check out the the A* GP Techs, or the GP Pro, both have nice sliders. Another outstanding glove is the Knox Handroid. I recently picked up a pair of GP Techs, very nice.

For boots Sportbike Track Gear currently has A* SMX Plus boots on sale for $289. They are the ones with the inner boot. I bought a pair recently and they are wonderful! Fit perfectly!

Keep in mind that even with the best gear you will get banged up pretty good in a fall.
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Pete--

No, no palm sliders. Just a leather double pad, which is intact. Thanks for the tip. I will check out those models, and the boots, too. Sportbike Track Gear calls the SP2 an "entry level track glove." I hadda laugh. Does that mean it protects only in entry level crashes? What about intermediate and expert crashes? <g>

What annoys me about this crash is that I know better to not overbrake like that. Getting off the line is understandable at a new track. As you can see from the video, the bike was just pointed in the wrong place and downhill--felt like I was about to ride off a cliff.

Thanks again.
 
Hellgate said:
Great vid, thanks for posting.
Click to expand...

Pete--

Here's another vid. A complete view of the track. With 22 turns in 2.5 miles, you can see it's a challenge. Not gonna learn the lines in one day.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ylD4zmNhU]YouTube - ‪BriansLapFinal.mp4‬&rlm;[/ame]
 
I'm always amazed at how you guys edit your videos. Very nice job Pete with the picture in picture. You even have the map animated in relation to your position on the track. Someone needs to do a "how to" video on just how to do this kind of stuff to their videos. Great technical track.
 
Sorry about the crash, but you laid it down nice and gentle like..

I went through 4 pairs of alpine stars gloves... It was 1 pair a season pretty much.... No wrecks... No abuse... They'd just fall apart on the seam over the meaty part of my thumb on the palm... Or, the other failure they loved to have was for a finger to separate at the end stitching... I'm surprised it took a wreck to make them come apart for you... After the last pair of sp3's crapped out on me, I got a set of Held Akira gloves.... And I've had them for close to 4 years now... Never had a single problem with them...
 
va_rider said:
Sorry about the crash, but you laid it down nice and gentle like..

I went through 4 pairs of alpine stars gloves... It was 1 pair a season pretty much.... No wrecks... No abuse... They'd just fall apart on the seam over the meaty part of my thumb on the palm... Or, the other failure they loved to have was for a finger to separate at the end stitching... I'm surprised it took a wreck to make them come apart for you... After the last pair of sp3's crapped out on me, I got a set of Held Akira gloves.... And I've had them for close to 4 years now... Never had a single problem with them...
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Thanks. I have been educated about gloves. Should have looked into this before.
 
We had a guy come over to our club to speak about safety equipment, yes he was trying to sell his. And basically said that leather is good for track and it also is good if you don't get it wet, being sweat or rain, but after you do get it wet it greatly loses it's strength. Anyone disagree? The guy was from motoport. He says cops like his stuff a lot. I saw his gloves and for some reason can't really see them holding up better than racing gloves. His jackets, pants, and armor looked great though. I will be buying some. I just really need to find out what the heck is crash tested and proven period. I hate the not knowing and everyone claims theirs is the best.
 
You're a lot tougher than me. I go down like that and my riding days are over. Thanks for sharing.
 
Norm said:
You're a lot tougher than me. I go down like that and my riding days are over. Thanks for sharing.
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No! You get yourself back on the horse and ride... you chalk it up as experience and remember in vivid detail what not to do the next time! :D Don't let your one crash scare you Norm. I've had two on street bikes but I've had many WORSE ones in my youth on some pretty powerful dirt bikes that taught me a lot of what not to do and made me a better rider because if those crashes.

Learn from your mistakes. :unworthy:
 
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