Keep Safe!!!!
Yesterday my eight year old grandsons father was involved in a low speed crash (under 30 M.P.H.) resulting in sever head trauma. Almost every bone in his face is broken, massive swelling; bleeding is on the brain and from the ears and a large gash over his right eye where the skull was torn away. The trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons, and the plastic surgeons have been working on him for the last 18 hours trying to relive the pressure on his brain.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that your actions affect way more than just your life!
Simply gearing up would probably have reduced or prevented these injuries. Please put on all of your gear all of the time, stay safe, stay alive to ride another day!

Holy crap! Ill be thinking of him.

What was he wearing? Nothing? No gear at all?

My thoughts and prayers are with you all!

Sstack,

Hope and pray he will be all right....God Bless.

I pray everything works out well. I bitch at my son all the time about not wearing his helmet. He has a three year old and I don't want this sort of thing happening to him or anyone else for that matter.

Man, that is not too good. I hope and pray he pulls through all right. As to wearing gear, I won't even go to the local CVS without full gear. Saved me when I was side swiped by an SUV last June. I was wearing a good full face helmet, jacket, gloves, Draggin' Jeans and boots. I walked away with a headache, but nothing else. Ride safe all, it is very dangerous out there...

I am amazed that some states do not require you to wear head gear. PA and CT being two close by that I know of.

Even then, i see alot of riders that just wear helmets...no gloves no jackets(proper jackets) boots etc. Ive had road rash before and its not fun.

Maye its the hot weather but theres plent of stuff thats made for the summer.

I have a HJC helemt.
Joe Rocket Big Bang Boots.
Joe Rocket Meteor 6.0 (cold and rainy weather).
Scorpion Cool rod (hot summer days).
Joe Rocket atomic gloves (needs replacing).

UGH! Our thoughts and prayers are with you

Rich died from his injuries @ 1:30 yesterday afternoon.
We told his son last night.
Please ride safe, I don't want to see anyone else in this situation.
Thanks for the prayers, God bless.

My condolences to Rich's Family.

To Rich:

May the Lord keep thee,
May the Lord let his face shine onto thee,
May the Lord lift up his countenance and Grant you Peace.

Thanks for sharing with us sstack. Condolences to your family.

Sorry to hear that! The best to his family!

I am sorry to hear he passed. My thoughts and prayers to his family, even though nothing can ever take away the pain. Ride safe all...

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. May God bless you all right now and give you peace.

I have never been serious about wearing the right gear but after reading from people on this forum I have spent almost a thousand dollars in the last few days on gear for myself and my little girl so we may be as safe as possible. This is just another reason to gear up every time I get on my bike. May this be a lesson to us all.

Sorry to hear of this tragic story. Godspeed, Rich.

Sorry to hear the sad news sstack may the good lord be with you and the family in this trying time.

Today is Nathan’s (grandson) actual 8th birthday. We have decided to go ahead and continue with his birthday party plans as scheduled. Fortunately he is surrounded by the greatest group of friends and family anyone could ever hope for and will always be taken care of. His mother is a very strong young woman and together they will carry on in life.
Seeing an eight year old kneeling at his fathers casket is a heart breaking experience that I would wish upon no one.
God bless and keep you safe. Thanks again for your prayers.
ALL THE GEAR, ALL THE TIME !!

Condolences to you and the family.

Gear up guys. Every time.

Very sorry, sstack. Your Grandson is lucky to have you.

Sorry to hear of your tragic loss - my deepest condolences to you and your family.

God Bless!

So very sorry to hear of your loss-my thoughts are with you.

Thank you for the generous reminder, at a very tough time, for all of us to wear all the gear all the time.

My wife was involved in a bicycle accident on Thursday at about 5mpg, she broke her collar bone. But, her bicycle helmet probably saved her life. She smashed down so hard it broke the helmet-but no damage to her head, thank goodness.

Bicycle helmets are the law in WA state (as are motorcycle helmets) and a lot of folk, including me, bitched about it when it first came out about 10 years ago.

Machog

Wishing Ms. Machog a speedy recovery.

We have no helmet laws in Illinois and none are in the works that I have heard of lately.
It seems the lobby at the state capital only speaks for the loudest machines on the road. With H.D. just up the road in Wisconsin helmets are an after thought.

I have taken a lot of B.S. from some of these jerks, they think because I do wear protective gear that I am somehow jeopardizing their "God given right" to ride without gear.

We have just seen a possible head injury averted by the use of a bicycle helmet..............

Need we say more???

ALL THE GEAR, ALL THE TIME!!!

Yes, wishing Mrs. Machog a speedy recovery, too.

Just to look cool should not make one be a fool.
Let's not be a crash dummy....it's a :badidea:

Sstack, I am so sorry to hear about your loss, best wishes to you and your family in the coming difficult times. Stick close to your loved ones, that will be the best gift you can give. My family and friends were paramount to my healing after a bad accident last year. I also cannot say enough about proper gear being a life saver, I am proof of it.
Wishes for a speedy recovery for Machdog's wife too!!!

Motodevil, thanks for the wishes, passed them on to my wife-who is starting to heal nicely.

Congratulations on your progress, back at work great and that's a big step-stick at the PT.

Machog

Well I don't post much but I have to say this makes it easy to dig deep in the pockets to get the best riding gear out there. Really really sorry for your loss. Thanks for taking the time to remind us that without the gear you have no chance to survive a bad crash.

sstack,

Sorry to hear about your loss. I have a friend who was very lucky during his crash about 6 years ago. To this day, he has a flat oval on the upper part of his head where the road actually sanded through to his brain.

It was a miracle he survived without brain damage or loss of function. He is the first one to yell at someone not wearing a helmet and tells his story to those that don't. I even started to wear a helmet again after that.

Maloy

sstack - sorry for your loss.

I do not have all the gear. I have been making plans to purchase this and that for my new V but I think I will put those plans on hold for a bit until I buy more gear for me first. helmet and leather jacket is what I have now so good jeans, a pair of decent gloves and boots should top things off nicely. Any suggestions as to decent stuff that doesn't break the bank?

Check the closeout deals at the Internet stores. There are a lot of good deals on riding gear...usually last years product in limited sizes and colors.

sstack - sorry for your loss.

I do not have all the gear. I have been making plans to purchase this and that for my new V but I think I will put those plans on hold for a bit until I buy more gear for me first. helmet and leather jacket is what I have now so good jeans, a pair of decent gloves and boots should top things off nicely. Any suggestions as to decent stuff that doesn't break the bank?

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but
http://www.motorcyclecloseouts.com/ and http://newenough.com/ are recommended sources for last years gear, as well as current stuff at good prices.

Gear up out there people!

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts. Family and friends are the best part of life.
Motodevil: I am amazed at your fortitude and sense of humor. (I checked out your thread.) I had a wreck many years ago that laid me up for quite some time and I must admit I don't think I was anywhere near a ray of freakin' sunshine after that one. (On/then off a RD350 Yamaha 2 smoker)
If you don't mind I would like to save your postings to read and discuss with my grandson as he gets a little older. Him and I are going to have many conversations and with any luck I'll have some good answers for him. Your strength shows in your writings and I do admire that very much, I wish to instill these types of qualities in him. We need to keep living no matter what the hand we are dealt, you exemplify that type of determination.
Kudos to you and what must be your outstanding support group.
All my best,
Steve

As a direct result of the accident my buddy had with my wife in his sidecar last 23rd November (I think I posted here about it), I promised her that I would NEVER ride anyway but ATGATT, even tho' I used to only be NON-ATGATT going to church or short errands (helmet, boots, gloves and jacket). I just finished 29 days thru northern Canada and Alaska on my KLR, and it was ATGATT. Here's a link if anyone wishes:
http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=69383
Very sorry for your grandson's loss.... :(

Ed

Im sorry :(

I am amazed that some states do not require you to wear head gear. PA and CT being two close by that I know of.

Even then, i see alot of riders that just wear helmets...no gloves no jackets(proper jackets) boots etc. Ive had road rash before and its not fun.

Maye its the hot weather but theres plent of stuff thats made for the summer.

I have a HJC helemt.
Joe Rocket Big Bang Boots.
Joe Rocket Meteor 6.0 (cold and rainy weather).
Scorpion Cool rod (hot summer days).
Joe Rocket atomic gloves (needs replacing).

I find in states with helmet laws that more riders seem to wear all their gear. Here in MI that is true, even of the cruiser guys.

When I go to IL I feel like yelling at every guy not wearing helmet. Thinking I may be just slightly OCD.

sstack, didn't read the whole thread before I commented. Sorry for the loss. It sucks, but at least he was doing something he loved. I don't think a person can ask for better than going out by something they love, or being with someone they love. RIP.

Real sorry for your loss, my thoughts are with you and your family.
Helmets are a must wear all the time. Here in Godszone it is illegal to do otherwise.

Ye, sstack, sorry for your loss and stay strong. Lots of hugs and kisses reduce the time it takes to heal.

Hang in there. I bitch at my son for wearing one of those stupid "egg shells" on his H-D.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. We hear about too many people losing their lives or being cripled because of a lack of gear. A co-workers in-law lost a leg due to infection from an accident in shorts. Personally I have crashed my fair share of times at high speeds on race tracks ( the worst being two hi-sides at over 120MPH) they sucked but I walked out of the hospital hours later thanks to all the gear I wear at the track and on the streets.

The real victims here are the family he left behind, my thoughts and prayers are with them. What a shame for a child so young to lose a father. God speed

Had a fellow in my shop the other day, and his friend (when he saw my KLR) said he was just finishing his motorcycle learners course, and did I have any good advice for him...?
I told him ATGATT, and asked what bike he was getting. Looked at a pic on the wall and pointed -"One of those" he said.
A Yamaha R6 crotch rocket....:badidea:
I told him he'd do better to learn on a smaller (175cc) endure bike that wouldn't make him cry WHEN he dropped it. :goodluck:
Ed :nono:

Nathan and I took the dirt bikes riding today for the first time since his dads accident and had a great time. I demonstrated a proper sand wash belly flop for the kid and he was kind enough to roster me as I was picking up the old Honda. I have no idea where he learned that but it was great to see him laugh and smile.
He rode hard all day and we also got to spend a few hours talking and watching the river flow by. He's buttering me up for a new KTM. (he's a shewed kid) We tabled the conversation after agreeing that further discussion would hinge upon his report cards throughout the school year and resume in the spring. (oh no!!)
I found it amazing how good a smashed flat, hot, bologna & cheese sandwich with some sand in it can taste when you share it with your best riding buddy on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
Keep Safe Everybody
Steve

Good post. Thank you.

:thumb:

My heart and prayers go out to you and your family!! I lost my 2nd. wife when my daughter was only 4 1/2. Was the toughest conversation I ever had, the funeral was even harder!
Your grandson is fortunate to have you in his life!!

Sorry for your lose. Just need to say that i can not stress the need to put on the gear. Last fall i put down my bike on a back road in a a turn doing only 20mph. It had a bunch of lose gravel in it. I did not have on my helment and needlis to say I ended up in the back of the EMS. To this day i still do not remember the wreck, and have some problems with my short term memory now.

I hear stuff all the time about wearing all my gear, "What do you gotta wear all that for just don't wreck. " I always tell them that not wrecking is my plan "A" but riding a bike you gotta have a strong plan"B"
There is three primary ways you can dress when you ride. 1. you can dress for the weather earlier today I saw that guy he had his hat on backwards, shorts, wife beater T-shirt, sandals, and sun glasses. 2. You can dress to look cool, Bandanna, sun glasses, T-shirt, leather vest, blue jeans, cowboy boots, and leather chaps (that don't cover your crotch geez protect something important!) 3. you can dress for the crash (Plan"B") I am sure that we all know what that is, but if you are new;
that would constitues Full face helmet, Heavy/armored, motorcycle jacket and pants, Boots, gloves.etc.
I won't call you stupid if I see you drive by dressed for the weather oh-no not me I'm a paramedic. I will probaly refer to you by another name....Job security!
STAY SAFE!!!