I'm not a newbie. I've been around for a while and those who know me know that I'm sort of a stickler for safety and a little anal retentive about some things like fenders. You've heard me and others preach about the hazards of running fenders on a motorized bike. I do use fenders, front and rear but I've always been extremely cautious about how they're mounted and diligent about checking them often for security.
Nevertheless I'm setting here with my left leg in a temporary cast waiting for the swelling to go down so the docs can determine if I'll need surgery or not. I have a crack in the knee joint of my tibia, road rash on my foot and elbows and, It hurts!
I have little recall as to what happened except that I was doing about 22 to 25 mph when I heard a loud metallic 'BANG' and in half a second I was sliding on the ground, the bike on my left leg and facing backwards from the direction I was going.
The rear fender was laying in the street thirty feet behind where me and the bike came to rest. See photo. Obviously it was the culprit.
Some post crash forensics revealed that: 1. The rear fender came loose and rotated around the rear tire which instead of rubber against the road I slid on the steel fender. 2. My knee broke the clutch lever off at the handlebar mount. There isn't s scratch on the lever so it didn't hit the pavement. My knee hit it and broke it and that's how my bone got cracked. 3. My helmet, a full face, DOT motorcycle type never touched the ground. It shows no sign of impact or scraping the asphalt.
Lesss than 24 hours and 6 miles prior to this happening I had spent some time going over this bike and checking for anything loose. I checked axle nuts, disc brake rotor and caliper mounts, engine mounts and....fender mounts and fasteners. 6 miles!
The rear fender mounted at three points. Two on the frame and the rear brace. The brace fasteners actually pulled through the steel fender as well as one of the frame fasteners. One frame fasteners is missing. Apparently it came loose, fell out and allowed the fender to swing sideways into the tire or maybe the chain and be pulled forward until it rotated under the rear tire.
The crash happened so fast. One second I was riding, the next I was sliding on my side. Luckly traffic stopped and several good people helped me get the bike up and off the road and I called my wife who came a got me and the bike home then to the ER because she's a nurse and knew something bad was going on with my knee. She was right.
To all our new members/builders and to you who have been around for a while. I can't stress enough the importance of considering getting rid of the fenders. I've always considered the front fender to be the one most prone to causing a crash but now I can see how a rear one can be just as dangerous. Be careful guys. We oldies don't heal as fast as we used to and I might be immobilized for the rest of this summer. Rats!
Anyone want to come and mow my lawn?
Tom
