I just survived a motor bicycle accident. Please read this:

On October 21 I was riding my China-converted old Schwinn down an ordinary bumpy street. What I remember was a loud bang and I was lying in the street. Paramedics took me to the hospital, then to a bigger hospital, where they fixed my broken neck (first cervical vertabra, repaired with a 3" vertical bolt threaded up my spine,) plus a broken collarbone, plus seriously stretched nerves. After four days in the hospital I've been recovering at home, living on lots of pain killers.



The bike was taken in by the local police, and it's only in the last few days that I've learned what actually happened by inspecting the bike. Witnesses said that I flew over the handlebars, and that happened because the front wheel solidly locked up at maybe 15mph. The wheel locked up because a single rivet that held the top front fender brace failed, allowing the U shaped brace to flop around and ultimately contact the tire tread. The tire wrapped the fender brace around the axle/fork junction, thus winching the brace tight against the tire tread. It's still immovable, and when I feel better I shall post some pictures.



I'm posting this to several groups. I was wearing a bike helmet, which might or might not have saved my life: the side of the helmet was scraped away by the road surface, as was skin on my shoulder. You may be familiar with the forged-steel Schwinn fork: mine is thoroughly bent, and a pedal broke off with a piece of the crank still attached.



It saddens me, but I won't be rebuilding the bike, though the engine and the rest are okay. I'll likely be buying a lightweight motorcycle, which makes a better vehicle in general for someone my age, which is 72. I'll also be buying a lightweight bicycle to help get my strength back.



Moral: Inspect your bike every time you ride it, for any motorbike will vibrate itself to pieces after a very short time. Until Honda and them began making better bikes in the '60's a pre-ride inspection was standard for all riders, and now I know why. Yes, mine was an old bike, but new ones aren't necessarily built so well either.

Mark Kinsler Lancaster, Ohio

I loved my motorized Schwinn, and rode it everywhere, but:

I regret to admit that a motorized bicycle does not make the world's greatest motorbike. The center of gravity isn't right for powered riding, the brakes tend toward the fictional, there's no suspension, and they handle strangely. A moped and a motorized bicycle are thus quite different, and there's a good reason that the former is so much heavier than a motor bicycle.

None of this is meant to discourage anyone here, for these bikes are utterly pure fun and quite a practical proposition for someone who needs the transportation. But an extra measure of caution is really necessary, says this old coot.

And please wear a helmet. My bicycle helmet probably saved my wretched skull, though it was only a few weeks ago that I discovered why the hair (there still is some) behind my left ear felt so strange That's when I discovered the three little stainless-steel staples with which the trauma team had re-attached my scalp after its trip across the pavement The side of the helmet (Schwinn brand, purchased at Walmart) is gone, too.

Mark Kinsler

Thank you. But keep enjoying your bike.

Mark Kinsler