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You probably took it as ATCATT - All the Cat, all the time ...


Some days Panzer it just feels like...




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That's a real bummer Dave, sorry about your bike but glad you escaped with minimal damage. A good reminder to all to always wear the right gear. Get well soon Dave and don't forget to post a picture of the replacement bike.
 
You probably took it as ATCATT - All the Cat, all the time ...
It has been strongly recommended to me, and I'm probably going to take up some Pilates classes as a means of improving hip and knees flexibility and maybe increasing core strength, all in aid of easier mounting/ demounting motorcycles.

Will it now be ATLATT (All The Lycra All The Time)? >:)
 
Sorry to hear this. Any accident you walk away from is a good accident - if there's such a thing. I wear Knox gloves, they have a plastic scaphoid protector on the palm so your hand slides rather than grips the road.
 
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No photographs, Lawrence - PUHLEEEEEASE!!! :surprise:


LoS, please, take no notice of Panzer (the bare-chested selfie king) photos/selfies are welcomed here. FYI being a part-time cyclist, I guarantee if you decide to roll with some MAMIL gear it will fit you in at lest five places coupled with a signature red cravat...



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Discussion starter · #28 ·
ATGATT Includes Good Gloves

My son is an ambulance paramedic in Victoria (Oz)...He has shared with me pix of an ungloved rider's hands after a medium-speed off. It was sickening stuff. The rider's palms (we invariably fall palms down) looked as if they been run though an industrial meat-mincer/ grinder...ATGATT must include good-quality gloves, firmly and securely fastened...
So Right LoS. The GLOVES were actually the WEAK LINK in my ATGATT. They were good motorcycle gloves, but the palms weren't armored or otherwise protected from rapid abrasion by the tarmac. My Aerostich R3 riding suit, Arai helmet and BMW boots all did their part, but the gloves fell short of a motorcyclist's needs -- something important to consider in our ATGATT strategy.

Cheers, Dave
 
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Discussion starter · #29 ·
Glad to hear you're mostly OK! Sorry about the bike though. Man, your accident sounds almost exactly like my last one a year and a half ago: back road, one I ride frequently, nice day, dry, going through a turn reasonably, and Bam!.. bike just went down. In my case, I could see the slick oil/trans fluid or whatever that did me in on the road after I gathered myself up, but that had to be what got you. One other commonality: ATGATT. Glad the gear got your through in decent shape!

BTW, I scan for oil etc. on the road way more now.

THIS^^^^, from now on.

Cheers, Dave
 
... if you decide to roll with some MAMIL gear it will fit you in at lest five places coupled with a signature red cravat...
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My ever-loving is out shopping today - no strange thing, that - and bears with her one of my red bandanas (NOT a cravat, that's an entirely different beast), with instructions to purchase BLUE ones for me. Gotta be properly colour-coordinated... :wink2:
 
No photographs, Lawrence - PUHLEEEEEASE!!! :surprise:
Pix now absolutely guaranteed, in full living colour, autographed too at $5 a pop. Form an orderly queue and place your orders now!
 
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My ever-loving is out shopping today - no strange thing, that - and bears with her one of my red bandanas (NOT a cravat, that's an entirely different beast), with instructions to purchase BLUE ones for me. Gotta be properly colour-coordinated... :wink2:
Got the new blue bandana - a bit scratchy, def not BMW quality (or cost!). A quick burst in the washer will fix it.

Bit concerned about my custom ear-plugs, very effective but of a hideous yellow colour, which I cannot have replaced in matching blue. But I do have some dark blue PlastiDip left, so might give them a quick squirt with that...
 

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So Right LoS. The GLOVES were actually the WEAK LINK in my ATGATT. They were good motorcycle gloves, but the palms weren't armored or otherwise protected from rapid abrasion by the tarmac....
Without seeing them, most motorcycle gloves are good enough gloves as the palms must be thin to allow dexterity. What’s key (really for everyone) is to know how to take a fall. The instant you realize the feces is going to hit the spinning blades, curl into a ball and let the armored part of your gear take the brunt. Pull in your hands and feet as best you can before/when you hit. In my time working with attorneys dealing with workers comp and personal injury claims, so many injuries could have been avoided if the person didn’t try to “catch themselves” when there was no hope of stopping the fall. It’s one thing to dislocate a joint grabbing onto a handrail and stopping a bad tumble down the stairs, but if that fails, immediately ball up and roll down as anything less will likely result in multiple broken bones and blunt force trauma because you’re flailing about like a rag doll.

Glad to hear you're mostly OK! Sorry about the bike though. Man, your accident sounds almost exactly like my last one a year and a half ago: back road, one I ride frequently, nice day, dry, going through a turn reasonably, and Bam!.. bike just went down. In my case, I could see the slick oil/trans fluid or whatever that did me in on the road after I gathered myself up, but that had to be what got you. One other commonality: ATGATT. Glad the gear got your through in decent shape!

BTW, I scan for oil etc. on the road way more now.
Had someone criticize my riding saying I apexed too early after watching a video of me ride. I wonder if he noted all the semi-patched ruts and potholes I was aiming to avoid in the curves.

And one more well wisher glad you’re still with us.
 
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Got the new blue bandana - a bit scratchy, def not BMW quality (or cost!). A quick burst in the washer will fix it.



Bit concerned about my custom ear-plugs, very effective but of a hideous yellow colour, which I cannot have replaced in matching blue. But I do have some dark blue PlastiDip left, so might give them a quick squirt with that...







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The instant you realize the feces is going to hit the spinning blades, curl into a ball and let the armored part of your gear take the brunt. Pull in your hands and feet as best you can before/when you hit.
Perhaps this advice is useful when falling down the stairs, where the speeds are (at least initially) low, but for a motorcycle fall, following it will probably cause much more harm than if you try to spread your limbs out to prevent rotation. If you watch MotoGP riders fall, they tend to spread out their limbs in order to minimise tumbling.


My guess is that tucking into a ball can induce a rotation of the said ball and the centrifugal force is strong enough to prevent you from keeping your arms and legs tucked in. A back-of-the-envelope calculation confirms this:

Consider a fall at 10m/s = 36km/h and imagine a human ball with a diameter of 1m. The ball will rotate at \omega = v/r = (10m/s)/(0.5m) = 20/s or a bit over 3 revolutions per second! The centripetal acceleration on the ball boundary is a = v^2/r = (10m/s)^2/(0.5m) = 200m/s^2, which is a surprising 20g!!! No one can keep their arms tucked in when, instead of weighing around 6kg, they weigh 120kg. And the centripetal acceleration goes up as a square of speed, so at 72km/h the weight of each of the arms is almost half a ton and of each of the legs around a ton!

So, you would tuck yourself into a ball, start rotating, then the limbs would shoot out uncontrollably and start braking.
 
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When I low-sided a couple years back at an estimated 60 km/h, the bike happened to be sideways and I managed to tumble down the road likewise. Only my knees, toes, back and shoulders contacted the road. Gloves and helmet were completely unscathed.

Of course none of this was by my premeditated design - it just happened that way. My mind was fully occupied with disbelief.

Compare this to when I tripped while walking the dogs. It all happened so quickly and to my great surprise there was no time to think about how I fell, and I landed on my left wrist, breaking a small bone in the process. Dangerous business walking the dogs.

I think MotoGP etc highsides are like my dogwalking incident in particular - the rider is flung over the bike to the extent he has little control over he lands. This makes them particularly hazardous. With lowsides, the rider is already close to the ground so when traction is lost, the rider just needs to concentrate on not flailing about, and ensuring they don’t slide on the same spot. Unlike me, they have the presence of mind to do so - maybe through years of practice. I don’t plan to develop that skill through practice.
 
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