[NickJ]

It hurts my heart to start this thread. On Monday night, on my way home from a buddy's house, I was just about 2 miles from the house when a young lady in a Jaguar decided to pull out in front of me. There was nothing that I could do about it, and I had to lay the Scout down. I suppose that makes me the first one. Horray.

The basics are as follows: I was traveling westbound on a 4 lane separated by a median. I was in the inner, left lane when I saw a white Jaguar positioned to turn left and travel in the opposite direction that I was traveling. The Jag was rolling a bit, so I kept my eyes on it. It then hesitated, that made me think "Okay, she saw me and is going to stop." I could not have been more wrong. She decided to pull out and there was nothing that I could do except lock up the brakes and lay the bike down.

I separated from the bike and managed to break three bones in my left foot.

This is the time that I would like to issue my thanks to the manufacturers of the gear that I was wearing. Due to the fact that I was wearing all of my gear, the extent of my injuries stopped at the few bones in my foot.

These jeans are from a little company called Maple Motorcycle Jeans. They are made of heavy selvage denim and the knees, buttocks, and hips are reinforced with kevlar. There are places to put armor in the knees and hips as well. These jeans do not look like moto jeans. They have a very good style about them and you can wear them to dinner on a Friday night just as easily as you could wear them on a ride on Saturday afternoon. The ones that I was wearing were a slim fit limited edition black pair that are in their 1979 style. These jeans saved all of the skin (minus a small raspberry) on my left knee. Had I been wearing Levi's, or some other denim, I would be in a world of rad rash. Every single dime that I spent on them was 100% worth it as I sit on the other side of a motorcycle accident.

These are the boots that saved my feet from worse damage than just a few fractures. They are from a little company called Thursday Boot Company. This little boutique boot maker provided the boots that saved my feet from being chewed up by the asphalt. Had I not decided to pick these boots up this last month, I would have likely been wearing the Van's that I usually wear while riding. I am so incredibly blessed that I was wearing these instead. My feet would have been chewed up and spit out the other side had I not. The heavy leather upper saved the skin on my feet. Unfortunately they do not have a metal shank that might have saved the bones in my feet, but they did the best that they could, that is for sure.

My hands did not make much contact with the ground, but my thumb nail on my right hand was pulled back just a hair to make it bleed. Had I not been wearing these gloves, I can imagine that my nail would be on the street. There is a small abrasion on the back of the gloves as well, so I assume that I would have a bit of road rash there as well.

This jacket saved my shoulder from serious injury as well. It is a jacket from the McQueen line from Triumph from a few years ago. I made contact with the ground on my left shoulder, square on the shoulder armor that is built in to the jacket. The skin and probably some structural damage to my left shoulder was saved due to this jacket.

This Bell Bullitt saved my life. I know that this is only a few small scratches on the shield and that the shield has one small crack, but had I not been wearing it, the smallest of impacts could have landed me in a bed, drinking all of my meals out of a tube for the rest of my life. It could have also just put me out of the game entirely.

My message to each and every one of you is this. All of The Gear All of The Time is a truth. I was 2 minutes from my house when someone made a decision that changed the direction of my night and coming weeks entirely. Had I not been wearing any of my gear, it would have been so much worse. As you can see, literally everything that I had on in the way of protection was touched in this accident.

This whole thing is going to get interesting because the girl was not supposed to be operating the Jaguar. I just got off the phone with her insurance company and they have denied my claim stating that she was an "excluded driver." My only recourse is to seek out a civil suit to make myself whole. Does anyone know a good lawyer?

If you want to see larger images, check it out here: Indian Scout: W.I.A. | Indian Motorcycle Forum

 

[doublethreat]

A VERY GOOD testimony to the ATGATT axiom. I had an 85MPH low side in 2005 on a public road (yea, I know....pretty dumb) while riding with a group of friends through some local twisties. I was smart enough to be wearing full gear.....full leather suit, motorcycle boots, full coverage helmet Shoei RF900, full length track style armored gloves and I ended up with not one scratch on my body. I did receive a concussion from when my helmet hit the pavement and I messed up my right shoulder. All this cost me helicopter ride and an overnight stay in CCU.

Nick, it's good to hear that the gear saved your butt and your injuries were fairly minor, considering what they could have been without the proper gear. Listen up guys/gals..........wear good protective gear when you ride......as you can see, it can happen anywhere......even just 2 miles from your house. Heal up quick my friend.

 

[Ivotrino]

Oh man this was so painful to read!

Glad that you were in full gear, and besides the fractures , you did not suffered any life threatening injuries.

Before I bought my FZ 07 a month ago, I had made a couple stops at the Indian dealership of Calgary (the only one in the whole province of Alberta BTW), and asked for the OTD price of the Scout Sixty. Not the I dont love my FZ 07, but a chunk of my heart belongs to that beautiful Scout lol.The determining factor for me to pick the 07 was the price , CAD $ 7300 OTD, a total bargain when compared with the almost $13000 of the Sixty.

I know this happened to you more than a year ago, by now you must be hopefully alright. Just wanted to share with you some of the gear I use, that also could be helpful to you.

for boots, Alpinestars SMX-5, very sturdy and comfy boots, for a reasonable price.

Pants; Draggin Jeans, similar to those you wore , with kevlar liner. They do not have built-in armor, so I got a pair of Icon knee and shin protectors, that use 3 velcro straps for attachment. They fit great in the boots and under the pants.I wear longjohns as well for the cold.

For gloves, you could get something more solid , like the Dainese Druids -STs. these are awesome, they have palm and pinky sliders, carbon fiber knuckles and are made of a thick goat skin.

I also got an Alpinestars leather jacket and a Dainese textile jacket which is my favorite for the summer time. Its lighter and the elbow and shoulder armor is harder than the Alpinestars.

Hope your ok and back on the road, it would be nice an update on you health and your riding gear. Stay safe ,

Cheers from Calgary-CAN