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Got hit head on

Discussion in 'Hangout Lounge' started by jayrodoh, Oct 19, 2017.

  1. jayrodoh

    jayrodoh YimYam Premium Member

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    Unfortunately the end of the road is here for the XJ. I was heading down a two lane road about 35MPH when a black SUV heading towards me decided to make a left turn suddenly with no blinker etc. I barely had time to get an f bomb out before impact. Hit her front grill, got tossed up and over, landed backwards and upside down in the windshield. I felt pretty good but knew better than to move so I stayed put until paramedics arrived. Tons of witnesses and one really nice lady came right up, called 911, talked to me the whole time real calmly. Got an ambulance ride and a full trauma 1 workdown with like 20 doctors at once but was discharged last night with just a sprained wrist. Paramedics and doctors were kind of in shock how well I got through that. The witnesses said I landed pretty square on the roof, windshield, and hood all at once which probably softened the blow to me a bit. Busting a windshield out with you ass will definitely leave you sore.

    Went and looked at road today, skid mark is less than 5 feet so swerving probably would've made things worse as I would have hit her regardless. The bike did not fare well, I only got a brief look and it's in a garage so I couldn't get good pics. Bent the handle bars with my hand and dent the tank with my leg.

    It's just stuff, I'm really not bothered by the bike. Kinda shaken about the whole deal but glad I'm here and in good shape. I've never had a close call, had a few situations but I'm a pretty observant rider and can usually detect when someone will do something stupid, this was really a wrong place wrong time thing.

    Called insurance, layered up, let's see what happens. I kinda feel bad for her, she was hysterical but I imagine having someone coming though your window and lay motionless would be freaky but at the same time WTF?! That wrecked my day and had my family in a mess.

    More to come.

    IMG_1140.jpg IMG_1142.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2017
  2. dkavanagh

    dkavanagh Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Wow! That's crazy! Glad you came out of that pretty well. Sorry about the bike though! Does it seem repairable?
     
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  3. Rooster53

    Rooster53 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    So glad you are OK, and like you said the bike is just "stuff" albeit one beautiful XJ that had received a lot of TLC. And like you also said, wrong place wrong time and nothing you could have done to avoid the hit.
     
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  4. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    NOOOOO!!!!!

    Glad you're ok!!

    Need parts? You know who to talk to ;)

    I'll give you a call

    Dave
     
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  5. Timbox

    Timbox Well-Known Member

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    So glad that you are okay, supper lucky and that is a good thing. As for the bike, she is (was) a very nice looking bike. Hope you are able to ride again soon.

    Tim
     
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  6. kosel

    kosel Active Member Premium Member

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    So glad you're OK! Once the insurance companies and lawyers get going, keep reminding yourself that you're OK.
     
  7. jayrodoh

    jayrodoh YimYam Premium Member

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    Thanks all, appreciate it. Dave, I even forgive you for interrupting my nap for that call :D Good group here.

    As far as repairs go, no idea yet. Will definitely need to get a good look at it but only get a few minutes today. Front end is toast obviously but have to look at frame and make some measurements.
     
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  8. chacal

    chacal Moderator Moderator Supporting Vendor Premium Member

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    Whoa, look at those fork tubes. You are one lucky dude to be only very slightly injured. My back hurts just from looking at that.......can I join in the lawsuit?

    Really glad that you are okay. Buy a lottery ticket tonight, it's your very lucky week........
     
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  9. Nuch

    Nuch Well-Known Member

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    Jay... OMG! SO sorry. My heart is broken for you and your ride, but as others have said, glad you're OK.
     
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  10. Xjrider92117

    Xjrider92117 Active Member

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    Damn man. Glad your ok. Bikes can be replaced people can't.
     
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  11. Craig B

    Craig B Active Member

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    You are one lucky dude.
    When I was a teenager a friend of mine had an accident exactly the same as yours. Same basic speeds and a vehicle turned left in front of him.
    He didnt make it.
     
  12. cgutz

    cgutz Well-Known Member

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    Glad you came through relatively intact. Shame about the bike. Really good looking XJ. Hope you are able to get it back and running.
     
  13. Dadoseven

    Dadoseven Active Member

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    That stinks!!

    Happy you came through with minimal harm.
    Best wishes on coming to a resolution on getting the bike back to where it was. It's a gorgeous looking bike!
     
  14. Door dude

    Door dude Active Member Premium Member

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    J, holy cow man. I feel you, ive had my xj for (1) year now and had to avoid 3 close calls from left turning blind m*^%@*f"+*#@s. Get that wrist back into shape and please get your 650 back into shape don't give up brother.
     
  15. joe elliff

    joe elliff Active Member

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    I'm glad you're doing ok. To repeat what all others have already said. Nice bike but you're more important than it is. All in due time man. Keep us posted.
     
  16. Wintersdark

    Wintersdark Well-Known Member

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    Ah, man, been there, and it sucks. Take it easy; even without serious injuries the days after an accident like that hurt a hell of a lot. Something about high speed impacts just doesn't make the human body feel good. Also, there's always the possibility (if remote) of internal injuries they didn't detect in the initial check. Pay attention to how you feel in the days to come, and absolutely don't hesitate to go back to a Dr. to get checked if anything in particular seems amiss - just tell them what happened. Better safe than sorry - and I say this from personal experience. Dunno what your poisons of choice are, but I STRONGLY recommend avoiding use of alcohol as self-medication in the first couple days, in case you've got any missed internal bleeding issues. I don't really know anything about US healthcare vs. insurance, but just keep in mind there can very easily be things that don't show up right away.

    As to the bike... At least it doesn't look too bad in the pics. Fork tubes aren't too big a deal, and it doesn't look like there's substantial damage elsewhere. Here's hoping it's an easy fix :) Dunno about compatibility(That's a 650, right?), but I've got a lot of 750 XJ parts, if there's anything you need, you're welcome to it.

    Overall, on the scale of how things can go in a head on motorcycle accident, seems you ended up pretty lucky. 40mph doesn't sound super fast, but it's fast enough to really bust your **** up.
     
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  17. Polock

    Polock Well-Known Member

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    well since you're not hurt too bad, let me ask you this.
    did the lady turn on her windshield wipers to try to get you off her car?
     
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  18. rocs82650

    rocs82650 Well-Known Member

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    Glad you're okay.

    Gary H.
     
  19. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    It appears from the pictures it the frame has indeed been Jacked… The right down tube of the cradle not symmetrical with the left down tube of the cradle, nor is the right tube straight anymore. it curves and closer to the engine then the left side. They both should be straight, parallel, same distance from the engine, etc......
     
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  20. jayrodoh

    jayrodoh YimYam Premium Member

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    I was doing some math, 35 MPH is roughly 52 feet per second. My skid mark was about 5 feet so I was braking for about a tenth of a second. No idea what my reaction time was before that nor do I have idea what that might be but really didn't have much time. That said, even if I got down to 30MPH the bike went from 44 feet per second to 0 in an instant. I'm sure I slowed down a bit before landing on the car but that's still pretty crazy that I pretty much walked away. I had a ticket but didn't win the lotto that night so I guess I used up all my luck on the crash. I'm totally fine with that.

    As for the bike, I suspect the frame is tweaked. I didn't get a real good look at bike as I didn't have my ID to get in the yard but I ducked in their garage on my way out. The downtubes appear closer to the motor than usual. I think the right one is against the exhaust nut or flange even. I'm not sure I would even want to trust a frame after that impact anyway. The headstock may be twisted too as the wheel if straight would be in front of the 4th exhaust pipe, although the way the forks are bent might contribute. We will find out.

    Thanks for all the well wishes! Too many responses here to thank individually but I appreciate it and hope none of you have to experience anything like this. I know we've had a few other members that didn't fare so well in their incidents, I can't even imagine.
     
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