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So I rode my bike off a mountain..


Heagachongoose

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So this "what have you done for your bike" thread here got me thinking. Instead of blowing up that thread, I figured I'd make my own thread! 

 

Anyways, let's skip the bull**** and move right to the meat and mashed potatoes. Long story short, I lowsided the 1125 off the side of a mountain.

Luckily (I still have no idea how), I emerged relatively unscathed and with very little damage to the bike considering. Through this I have been EXTREMELY impressed at the overall durability of the bike and the foresight and ingenuity of the engineering team that designed this motorcycle. The bike was not only designed to go fast and do it well, but it was also well engineered to wreck well. For the most part. lol.

Came around a sub-90 degree right turn at a pretty good, but comfortable pace. The turn felt great, just like it had the 10/12 times I had gone through it earlier, but suddenly I was sliding. I'm still not sure what caused it. Hard contact on the right side, slid across the other lane just past the apex, luckily no oncoming traffic. I'm still on the bike at this time. Then we slid off the side of the road, over the shoulder and off the side of the mountain over the ravine. The drop off from the road was very steep; I could hardly climb up it. Myself (still on the bike) and the bike were now upright, swan diving off the side of the road straight into a fallen tree. The front tire hit head on and the bike flipped forward throwing me off and forward, I landed further down the hill and slid into a tree with the bike right behind me. Luckily I was not smashed. Eventually we both came to a rest about 20-30ft vertically down from the roadway. I'm honestly completely surprised I even survived let alone walked away with minor injuries. I was wearing full gear. Luckily. 

 

The next morning I threw the bike in the back of the truck (it's a lot easier to load up when it's fucked up lol), and drove home.

 

 

 

 

HERE is a link to the main thread on the Buell forum. 

 

 

RIP 1125aaaarrrrrrrrrgh. 

 

She'll be back in time for the epic ride though! Just a bit different :)

 

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Edited by Heagachongoose
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Nice to hear you made it ok. Last time I did something like that, I field goal kicked myself between a yield sign and deadly deadly guard rails, down a hill/ditch and right into the luxurious fluff of bramble bushes. Also, the wind got knocked out of me, so I was told I gasped and groaned like a vivacious zombie and he was going to mercy murder me before I initiated the zombie apocalypse so whew

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True story. Poor Ape. :nono:

 

Pauly tells that story so well I feel like I was there when it happened

 

Glad you're ok. That was always my biggest fear when riding down south but luckily I never really had any close calls

Edited by Bad324
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Thanks guys for the kind words guys. I think most of not all of my aggressive riding will be on the track now. The experience has kind of changed the way I think about things honestly.

Parts aren't too bad to find, they're just expensive. I ended up making or modifying broken parts for just about everything I needed except some specialty parts. Bearings handlebars etc.

Paul you truly do have a story telling talent. You should write a book. I'd buy the hell out of that.

This actually happened at the 4 mile marker on US129. There are gouges in the turn, you cant miss it.

I'm really not sure what happened to be honest. I've brainstormed on it multiple times. I had been through the same turn lots of times the same speed and the same form earlier that day, I must have hit some road debree or tensed my leg up in the apex. I had the bike leaned way over, my elbow was getting pretty close to the ground. Actually once I realized I was sliding, there was not any if much difference in the lean angle. I didn't even realize it was happening. My front tire had slipped on me once or twice the day before, nothing major just a bit of a shimmy. I chocked it up to damp spots from the rain earlier in the week but it very likely could have been a tire pressure or suspension setup issue. But looking back at my tire wear they look fantastic.

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Maybe a little oil on the road? That's all it would take to loose traction. Glad to hear you are ok. My wreck changed my mindset on street riding as well. I remember thinking over and over if I could have done something different and got through it, but there is not much you can do when there is gravel across both lanes. Hopefully we will see you at the Epic ride next month!

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Nice to hear you made it ok. Last time I did something like that, I field goal kicked myself between a yield sign and deadly deadly guard rails, down a hill/ditch and right into the luxurious fluff of bramble bushes. Also, the wind got knocked out of me, so I was told I gasped and groaned like a vivacious zombie and he was going to mercy murder me before I initiated the zombie apocalypse so whew

Somewhere I have pictures of the bike,  not the zombie.

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I'll definitely be at the epic ride! I'm a bit behind schedule on repairs though, It was supposed to be done earlier this month but you know how these things go. I missed a track day at road america last week, was pretty bummed about that. Oh well she'll be done soon!

That's priorities right there. Motorcycle>zombie lol

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Every time I hear these stories it makes me take my riding intensity back another notch. Glad your ok man.

 Been there... Really it took myself having a few close calls blazing through turns at insane speeds, and then hitting at deer right out of a turn at 57mph... that all tamed my aggressive riding down a notch/

 

what it really took was a friend going down while following behind me 3 seasons ago (scraped hard parts, broke traction, spun out across oncoming lane into ditch) and two friends last year going down following me, one gravel, and one very skilled rider following my "too fast into S-curves at Cantwell Cliffs" pace (which I managed well enough due to knowing the road well, but noted my speed/risk was too great).  He started to lowside, caught traction again, almost high sided, and got steered through opposing lane and went down into the dirt where he dumped the bike headed down into the woods... All were okay, just all 3 scraped/bruised/shaken up. 

 

I had since been on a quest to find the perfect armored jacket (Xelement Executioner!) and still trying to get a good pair of black leathers. Turned it down a notch, and I don't often go more than 5-10mph over unless I have clear sight of any areas that deer could jump out in front of me. Corn fields, dense woods, shrubs along roadside... I always approach them cautiously now even in the straights.  Still have to force myself to ease up on the wrist twisting quite, the thrill never gets old even as I near the 40 year old mark.

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Maybe a little oil on the road? That's all it would take to loose traction.

 Been there once... almost low sided on the tight 15-20mph s curve slalom zig zag part near Revenge Rd  at Christmas Rock (by the penitentiary).  I recalled seeing a trail of oil drips that got wider, then coming around the 2nd or 3rd curve along the rock faces, BIG oil patch 20"x40"!!!  Big truck trans split it's case open climbing this steep hill in granny gear, dumped 90W gear oil all over the road.  Both my tires were sliding like on butter for a few feet, that really sent me in a tizzy. recovered fortunately. 

 

Then they for some stupid reason sealcoated the nice pavement on this road last summer and a bud that went down behind me on gravel later in that ride almost dumped his bike in the same place because the sealcoating was fresh and slick...

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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 months later...
Looking good man! Maybe she will be ready for the spring Epic ride.

Thanks! It's rideable now, just need the headlight setup for the street. I've already marked my calendar for the 21st I have to finish it now lol

Yes, it does clear. By literally a papers width or a small pubic hair. I dont like it and it makes me nervous. It also grinds on super tight cornering as you can see. I plan on chopping the can down from 12" to 9" or 8" depending on how the clearance works out. This bike is stupid loud without a proper muffler. I wanted to go to a 6" can but that would be too much I think.

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Got started on the headlight today.

Dremel with cutting disk

Drill with 200g rotary

Intake gasket from Honda EM1

Projector housing from Buell Firebolt

The windshield is a modified Buell 1125r piece.

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Make some brackets out of sheet metal, a little touch up here and there, and then on to the wiring.

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