Any Motörbike riders here?

jaytmon

zepp76 said:

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I also tore the petrol tank off of the bike with the use of my sackage. I'll not even begin to explain what that all looks like down there!

I had a sack tank interfacing many years ago when I t-boned a car that pulled out in front of me to turn right. All shades of purple. Not a fun time. I hope you manage to recover ok. Scary thinking about blind old Jag drivers out there. Others have mentioned White Dalton as motorcycle legal specialists, worth some investigation for sure. 

Corvus

Hellfire zepp, I hope you recover well...

zepp76

jaytmon said:

zepp76 said:

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I also tore the petrol tank off of the bike with the use of my sackage. I'll not even begin to explain what that all looks like down there!

I had a sack tank interfacing many years ago when I t-boned a car that pulled out in front of me to turn right. All shades of purple. Not a fun time. I hope you manage to recover ok. Scary thinking about blind old Jag drivers out there. Others have mentioned White Dalton as motorcycle legal specialists, worth some investigation for sure. 

Yes, the colour is quite a mixture of doom and gloom shades of purples and blacks. The pain is just about tolerable what with the catheter in but it's the size!!! There has been some shrinkage of the old fella but massive swelling of the giggle berries. It's like a blackberry sat atop a space hopper.

TheBigDipper

zepp76 said:

Hello all, long time no speak once again! Now this isn't of good news this post but rather asking for some advice/recommendations. Has anyone been in a motorcycle accident where it was somebody else's fault and made a claim? I at this very moment am laid out in hospital in quite a bad way, believe it or not that after over thirty odd years of riding this is my first crash and it's a big one. The problem I'm having is my insurance company (Devitts) seem to have already tried to assign their personal injury solicitors (Minster Law) but their reviews are shockingly bad. Now, my head is spinning a bit from this and I don't really have anyone else to turn to for help whilst mangled up in hospital. All I'd like to ask is if there are any no win no fee personal injury solicitors any of you good people would recommend please and also how do I go about assigning them and not letting this other lot get their mitts on the claim? I was actually advised by the female police officer to do exactly this and not accept the insurance companies partners. I'm only a week in fresh to the accident which involves me having broken legs, knee, eight ribs, a punctured lung and a completely detached collar bone. Possibly other things broken yet. Part of my intestines collapsed too while in hospital. All this thanks to an elderly gent in a jaguar who decided turning right coming from the opposite direction square in front of me at the last minute was a good idea. He failed all the eye tests the police put him through and is recorded as saying "I knew I'd fail those". I am beat to pieces and may not even be able to continue in my field of employment so I am reaching out to find the best route possible please. Many thanks in advance.

Blimey! Glad you're still alive and fingers crossed for the best recovery possible. And, TBH, that is hopefully your priority for now. 

1: Do not use Devitts solicitors. They will work for Devitt, not you. Get your own (sorry, no idea who to suggest).
2: Are the police prosecuting the driver? If he can't see properly, I should hope so. If he is convicted, his insurance company will just roll over and pay out. 
3: It helps if your solicitor either specialises in motorcycle accident claims (expertise) or is a motorcyclist themselves (empathy/motivation). 
4: Are there any independent witnesses? His passengers are not independent. 
5: Is there any camera footage? 
6: Have you said anything that the drivers solicitors might use against you? 

Is there any likelihood the police will prosecute you for something? Or have you admitted to anything that might be used to try and make a case that you contributed to the accident (speeding, no headlight on, that sort of thing). 

Good luck... 

zepp76

Many thanks for the suggestion of White Dalton Solicitors. They have been fantastic to talk to already and you can instantly tell there is no falseness when talking to them. Fingers crossed for the future.

Dominic

TheBigDipper said:

zepp76 said:

Hello all, long time no speak once again! Now this isn't of good news this post but rather asking for some advice/recommendations. Has anyone been in a motorcycle accident where it was somebody else's fault and made a claim? I at this very moment am laid out in hospital in quite a bad way, believe it or not that after over thirty odd years of riding this is my first crash and it's a big one. The problem I'm having is my insurance company (Devitts) seem to have already tried to assign their personal injury solicitors (Minster Law) but their reviews are shockingly bad. Now, my head is spinning a bit from this and I don't really have anyone else to turn to for help whilst mangled up in hospital. All I'd like to ask is if there are any no win no fee personal injury solicitors any of you good people would recommend please and also how do I go about assigning them and not letting this other lot get their mitts on the claim? I was actually advised by the female police officer to do exactly this and not accept the insurance companies partners. I'm only a week in fresh to the accident which involves me having broken legs, knee, eight ribs, a punctured lung and a completely detached collar bone. Possibly other things broken yet. Part of my intestines collapsed too while in hospital. All this thanks to an elderly gent in a jaguar who decided turning right coming from the opposite direction square in front of me at the last minute was a good idea. He failed all the eye tests the police put him through and is recorded as saying "I knew I'd fail those". I am beat to pieces and may not even be able to continue in my field of employment so I am reaching out to find the best route possible please. Many thanks in advance.

Blimey! Glad you're still alive and fingers crossed for the best recovery possible. And, TBH, that is hopefully your priority for now. 

1: Do not use Devitts solicitors. They will work for Devitt, not you. Get your own (sorry, no idea who to suggest).
2: Are the police prosecuting the driver? If he can't see properly, I should hope so. If he is convicted, his insurance company will just roll over and pay out. 
3: It helps if your solicitor either specialises in motorcycle accident claims (expertise) or is a motorcyclist themselves (empathy/motivation). 
4: Are there any independent witnesses? His passengers are not independent. 
5: Is there any camera footage? 
6: Have you said anything that the drivers solicitors might use against you? 

Is there any likelihood the police will prosecute you for something? Or have you admitted to anything that might be used to try and make a case that you contributed to the accident (speeding, no headlight on, that sort of thing). 

Good luck... 

All spot-on 
It's not just about the solicitors 'rolling over and paying out ' ....it's about how hard they will fight to get every last ounce of possible compensation .....you can assist by starting to compile all those issues/items that you will claim in addition to the injuries ( which all tend to have prescribed values for quantum purposes .......often much lower than you would expect ) .
 Compile lists of clothing ,watch, crash hemet ,leather etc ......value of bike which I assume is a write-off .
 Thereafter loss of work /income throughout the convalesence .....deprivation of enjoyment from proveable hobbies/pastimes and the consequential losses .....ie you booked a skiing holiday for December but will not be able to attend/partake on account of your leg injuries .....is your long term carreer as a professional shot-putter at risk from your collarbone/shoulder injury 
is damage to your hands a threat to being a gigging guitar maestro etc etc 

cruxiform

Ooft @zepp76 that sounds horrendous. Sending best wishes for your recovery. 

thumpingrug

The description of your dangleberries has left me rather queasy.  I can't begin to imagine the pain.   Best wishes dude.

Corvus

NBD for me the other day:



Yam MT01, it's the newest thing I've had ('06) and the lowest miles, under 11k. Akra cans under the covers. Which I reckon I'll  do a swoopy chop of, to mimic the factory Akra cover option where the cans are visible.
Still got the Harley which will be up for sale, though maybe not till spring now.

The yellow orb thing came out so a nice afternoon was spent getting lost in the fens and doing Merlin engine impressions : )

manicguitarist

Corvus said:

NBD for me the other day:



Yam MT01, it's the newest thing I've had ('06) and the lowest miles, under 11k. Akra cans under the covers. Which I reckon I'll  do a swoopy chop of, to mimic the factory Akra cover option where the cans are visible.
Still got the Harley which will be up for sale, though maybe not till spring now.

The yellow orb thing came out so a nice afternoon was spent getting lost in the fens and doing Merlin engine impressions : )

Nice!

manicguitarist

Put two of my bikes away now till Spring. Still got bike #3 on the road.
Am actually looking forwards to all the tinkering I’m going to do over winter with them.
Usually do it in the down time between Christmas and New Year.
Things I’ve got planned:
3x oil and filter etc.
1x new chain and sprockets
1x new rear shock (the shock arrived on Monday…and is all the shiny)
2 tyres to fit.

Kittyfrisk

Corvus said:

NBD for me the other day:



Yam MT01, it's the newest thing I've had ('06) and the lowest miles, under 11k. Akra cans under the covers. Which I reckon I'll  do a swoopy chop of, to mimic the factory Akra cover option where the cans are visible.
Still got the Harley which will be up for sale, though maybe not till spring now.

The yellow orb thing came out so a nice afternoon was spent getting lost in the fens and doing Merlin engine impressions : )

I like the look of them... apart from the huge splayed exhausts (sorry).
Mate of mine had one, reckoned it sounded like a Lancaster bomber & pulled like a train.
Sadly he found it ponderous at low speeds & the underseat exhaust routing burned his arse in slow moving traffic 
Hope you have much enjoyment  

Corvus

Cheers @manicguitarist ;;

^ I'm not finding problems at low speed except you have to watch the torque, can be very on-off. I haven't had any arse toasting yet either, though I don't do much slow traffic. There's a fan under there for the cans but people remove them, and I think with Akropovics & Stage kits, or just the Stage partial covers for Akras, the fan's gone with a different seat and under seat area. What you see there are the stock full covers/heat shields with air gap & a lining.

I don't like the looks either, while they seem to work fine to me as heat shields I'm gonna chop them to partial covers like the Stage kits. Someone makes covers & undertray but chopping is a load cheaper..

AK99

Corvus said:

NBD for me the other day:



Yam MT01, it's the newest thing I've had ('06) and the lowest miles, under 11k. Akra cans under the covers. 

Good grief - never knew such a thing existed. At first glance it looks like the lovechild from a dalliance between a Harley Sportster and a Suzuki VX800 - but being a Yamaha, will undoubtedly have a much better engine - and probably handling - than either

Can I ask - what's behind the silver panel in the frame above the engine - is that the air-filter inlet ?

manicguitarist

Corvus said:

Cheers @manicguitarist ;;

^ I'm not finding problems at low speed except you have to watch the torque, can be very on-off. ..

I had this on my Panigale - alleviated a little by going +2 on the rear sprocket. Yes top speed is reduced a little, but low speed rideablity is much improved 

Dominic

The nature of any V twin is the immediacy of torque and the great gobs of 'push' even from a sluggish big old Harley but it's not an issue on acceleration .......tends to be more of a problem on rapid deceleration when the sudden engine brakeing can lock up the back wheel or de-stabilise .......alleviated today on very hi-tech bikes by slipper clutches and overriding rev balance electronics .When I used to race a Ducati 888 and an early 916 it caught me out badly a couple of times .Now I ride a KTM Superduke R on the road (and the odd track day ) and it's so much easier with the autoshift and engine management although I habitually forget I have that and still sometimes blip the double-de-clutch.
The whole reason Ducati were so prominent in WSB in the 90s and 2000s was the use of torque in corners because the delivery was so powerful but without the hi-side inducing back wheel spin.
It's like driving a 911 ....rear weighted engine drift being the issue ......you just need to learn that it's a different riding technique or driving style .In the case of the MT it's notorious for a poorly tapered throttle control rather than the actual engine .
 I think the early MT was a bit V Max derived .

manicguitarist

Ooooh! Shiny!

Haych

Dominic said:

..... tends to be more of a problem on rapid deceleration when the sudden engine brakeing can lock up the back wheel or de-stabilise 

I experienced a bit of rear end skittishness for the same reason while chasing a BMW S1000XR down a mountain pass earlier this year.  It was bloody good fun but a few times I changed down to 2nd or 1st a bit early and the rear got a bit loose under engine braking until the road speed slowed enough to match the rotational speed of the rear wheel.

I'm sure this is also what caused my off in the snow last year, I didn't change down but came off the throttle and even at low speed the rear wheel couldn't match the slowed road speed on the icy road surface so started fishtailing until it slipped out under me.  If I'd have had the nouse to pull the clutch quick in I reckon I could have recovered it.

In other news, I've also decided to start tentatively looking around for a "new" bike.  I'll probably keep the R because it's so old now it has no residual value left, so selling it or PXing it won't yield much in the way of cash to go into the new bike.  And it also still runs well for an oldun.

But, since before I took my test I always intended to buy as GS, and as much of a joke as they are now the itch hasn't gone away and they're still a good bike.  I want to do some longer distance tours in the future and I really, really, really want to ship a bike to North America and really, really, really, really want to ride the Dalton and Dempster. I know people who've done the Dempster on a Duke 890 so an adventure bike isn't totally necessary but the extra ruggedness and luggage carrying capacity appeals to me.

Whether that will ever happen and it's just an excuse to justify a stupid bike choice is another story.  But last year I met a German guy who's been all over the world on his bike (and it showed!) so anything is possible with enough desire (and cash).

Probably a way off yet but keeping my eye open for a late R1200GS LC TE at the right price.

manicguitarist

Dominic said:

.tends to be more of a problem on rapid deceleration when the sudden engine brakeing can lock up the back wheel or de-stabilise .......alleviated today on very hi-tech bikes by slipper clutches and overriding rev balance electronics .When I used to race a Ducati 888 and an early 916 it caught me out badly a couple of times .

Indeed. I had a 916 in the late 90s - and I couldn't get on with it. I was used to 2 strokes and then inline fours - and this was before slipper clutches. Caused me mucho butt puckerage tbh.

The Panigale I have now, as well as a slipper clutch has adjustable engine braking - so I set the engine braking to minimum to give me that old-school feel.

TheBigDipper

I'm only qualified to talk about riding on public roads, but with that in mind...

If rolling the throttle off gets you down to the speed you want, you then need to decide if that's still the right gear for accelerating away again, or if you need to change down. If the next gear down is now the correct gear and you're already at the correct speed for it, then fine, just change down. But what if you're not? 

"Brakes to slow, gears to go".  The Roadcraft-based suggestion (and the DVSA suggestion for learners) is be to use your brakes to get the bike down to the speed you want and then directly select the gear that matches your road speed. What's known as "block changing". It makes the bike stay stable under constant braking and the rear wheel won't lock up due to speed differentials when you feed the clutch out in the correct gear for your speed. 

If you use sequential gear changing when slowing down, there's always a small period of time where the engine is not driving (or slowing) the rear wheel and the weight, tyre grip and steering characteristics are different. And then it gets upset again by the engine reconnecting with the rear wheel. You can mitigate that a bit by keeping the brakes on, but that technique isn't as efficient as "first brakes then block change".