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On December 28, my wife and I were riding my '06 Goldwing from Houston to San Antonio on I-10 near Columbus. I had a blow out on the back tire and was unable to control the bike. We were going about 70 mph and am not sure how fast we were going when the bike finally fell. I am guessing around 50 mph.
We both got up after skidding for about 50 yards on the left side and made sure each other was okay. Some folks in cars stopped and helped pick the bike up and move it to the side of the highway. My leg was bruised a little bit and my wifes shoulder was bruised a little.
The part where this becomes my fault is that I tried plugging the tire about 15 miles before the accident. I was pretty sure the tire would hold up until we got to San Antonio where I could buy another tire. As I continued down the highway after plugging the tire, I could tell the back tire was a little spoungy feeling. I should not have continued. That is a lesson I learned regarding this incident. Next time I get a flat, I won't bother plugging it. I will just go ahead and get the bike towed.
I thought even though the tire was a little low on air, I could still make it the rest of the 100 miles, but now know better. I've heard of other riders being able to control the goldwing with a blow-out and man handle it to the side of the road. I have to give them cudos, as I can tell you from experience, it is an incredably violant behavior on the bike when the tire blows. I've heard a front tire blow out is worse.
The forces of the bike falling were much more than I expected. The initial fall was to the right and the bike immediately jumped back up and slammed to the left side. As we were skidding down the highway, I thought to myself that this wasn't so bad. I didn't feel any pain and we were wearing all of our leather, boots, and helmets. We didn't get any road rash. My leg from my knee to my ankle was bruised pretty badly and didn't really have any trouble with it the first week. The second week got worse and I went to the doctor to make sure nothing was broke and no blood clots.
The weight of the bike, plus me and my wife's weight when the bike slammed down was quite a bit as it turns out to my left leg. The first week I was able to walk with a limp, but the second week I had to use crutches as the pain got worse. This being the third week since the incident, I am getting around okay with a cane.
My purpose for posting this is that hopefully someone will learn from my accident. This is my first post and I usually read here 2 or 3 times a week and really enjoy all the posts. I'm not very good at posting so don't normally do this. Hopefully, again, someone will gain something from my experience, as I am always looking for ways to be safe and get a lot from the posts where people discuss their accidents.
I'm not sure what I am going to do about my bike yet. I've already taken it to a couple of places that told me it will cost around $14k to repair. I paid the bike off last year and to save $$$ only had liability insurance. My wife was wondering how long it would take me to start looking for a replacement and pretty much did that as soon as we got back from our trip to San Antonio.
If anyone has suggestions on what to do with my bike, I would appreciate it. I think only the front fender is the only piece of plastic that didn't get cracked. I thought I would just go ahead and try to get pieces here and there and gather it all up for less $$$ and take it to someone to repair. It seems like it will be cheaper for me to gather salvage parts than to get OEM and see if I can get someone to put it back together.
I'm pretty sure the frame is okay, but have not been able to start the motor as the handle bar broke and some of the wiring isn't connected to complete the starting relay circuit.
Be safe out there. Take it from me... Never ride on a low tire.
We both got up after skidding for about 50 yards on the left side and made sure each other was okay. Some folks in cars stopped and helped pick the bike up and move it to the side of the highway. My leg was bruised a little bit and my wifes shoulder was bruised a little.
The part where this becomes my fault is that I tried plugging the tire about 15 miles before the accident. I was pretty sure the tire would hold up until we got to San Antonio where I could buy another tire. As I continued down the highway after plugging the tire, I could tell the back tire was a little spoungy feeling. I should not have continued. That is a lesson I learned regarding this incident. Next time I get a flat, I won't bother plugging it. I will just go ahead and get the bike towed.
I thought even though the tire was a little low on air, I could still make it the rest of the 100 miles, but now know better. I've heard of other riders being able to control the goldwing with a blow-out and man handle it to the side of the road. I have to give them cudos, as I can tell you from experience, it is an incredably violant behavior on the bike when the tire blows. I've heard a front tire blow out is worse.
The forces of the bike falling were much more than I expected. The initial fall was to the right and the bike immediately jumped back up and slammed to the left side. As we were skidding down the highway, I thought to myself that this wasn't so bad. I didn't feel any pain and we were wearing all of our leather, boots, and helmets. We didn't get any road rash. My leg from my knee to my ankle was bruised pretty badly and didn't really have any trouble with it the first week. The second week got worse and I went to the doctor to make sure nothing was broke and no blood clots.
The weight of the bike, plus me and my wife's weight when the bike slammed down was quite a bit as it turns out to my left leg. The first week I was able to walk with a limp, but the second week I had to use crutches as the pain got worse. This being the third week since the incident, I am getting around okay with a cane.
My purpose for posting this is that hopefully someone will learn from my accident. This is my first post and I usually read here 2 or 3 times a week and really enjoy all the posts. I'm not very good at posting so don't normally do this. Hopefully, again, someone will gain something from my experience, as I am always looking for ways to be safe and get a lot from the posts where people discuss their accidents.
I'm not sure what I am going to do about my bike yet. I've already taken it to a couple of places that told me it will cost around $14k to repair. I paid the bike off last year and to save $$$ only had liability insurance. My wife was wondering how long it would take me to start looking for a replacement and pretty much did that as soon as we got back from our trip to San Antonio.
If anyone has suggestions on what to do with my bike, I would appreciate it. I think only the front fender is the only piece of plastic that didn't get cracked. I thought I would just go ahead and try to get pieces here and there and gather it all up for less $$$ and take it to someone to repair. It seems like it will be cheaper for me to gather salvage parts than to get OEM and see if I can get someone to put it back together.
I'm pretty sure the frame is okay, but have not been able to start the motor as the handle bar broke and some of the wiring isn't connected to complete the starting relay circuit.
Be safe out there. Take it from me... Never ride on a low tire.
