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Author Topic: Wear All The Gear All The Time  (Read 2607 times)

Pard

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Wear All The Gear All The Time
« on: May 06, 2026, 01:56:47 PM »

Not on my Energica today.

Riding a Grom yesterday, doing only 40mph when a large turkey flew right into my chest and cleaned me clear off the bike.

Substantial damage to the bike, some damage to my shoulder, but could have been far worse if I was not fully suited up despite the 80F temps.

Suit is toast, wore through but saved my skin as designed, airbag in the suit, Tech Air 5, deployed as designed and likely saved further bodily damage, and the knox gloves with scaphoid sliders saved my hands.

Get the gear, wear the gear, all the time, you just never know when some turkey has your number....  :)

https://youtube.com/shorts/lw5nJOrAwM0?si=lfhT6zDfdcZQHeFc
« Last Edit: May 06, 2026, 02:02:20 PM by Pard »
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Demoni

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2026, 03:27:33 PM »

Glad you were wearing full gear and came away relatively unscathed. Hope your shoulder heals up quick!
How did "the other guy" fare? Turkey dinner...

So happy you have the impact on video, bastard jumped right into you.

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Specter

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #2 on: May 07, 2026, 12:52:44 AM »

thankfully you are relatively unhurt.  the fact the bikes throttle floored it is unsettling, don't they spring back to zero?
either way, yes the gear will save your life. 

stupid animals, sometimes you wonder if they do this on purpose

aaron
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Pard

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2026, 01:01:10 AM »

thankfully you are relatively unhurt.  the fact the bikes throttle floored it is unsettling, don't they spring back to zero?
either way, yes the gear will save your life. 

stupid animals, sometimes you wonder if they do this on purpose

aaron

Yeah, the throttle stayed jamed open and pinned at the limiter until I ran over to kill it.  That should not happen, but almsot certainly my fault as I am the one responsible for running the throttle cables.  Will make sure it snaps shut even if jammed hard open which must have been what I did upon impact and ejection from the bike.

Rode the bike home (sans footpegs) and inspected the engine, seems to have survived.  No excess metal on the magnetic drain plug, filter pleats are clean, valve lash and cam chain in spec.  Ran fine except at idle due to the crushed muffler and broken midpipe.   New exhaust ordered already.

We will rebuild!

Shoulder feeling a bit better.  No serious damage likely.

Damn close call.

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Pard

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2026, 01:04:54 AM »

Glad you were wearing full gear and came away relatively unscathed. Hope your shoulder heals up quick!
How did "the other guy" fare? Turkey dinner...

So happy you have the impact on video, bastard jumped right into you.

Thanks.

Turkey is deceased.

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Specter

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #5 on: May 07, 2026, 01:28:39 AM »

not trying to sound like an old lady but that throttle is a thing, something happen you wreck and that thing is pinned between your legs or something with that tire at full speed or grinding on your leg or something you have a problem.

perhaps im a bit hypersensitive after my last wreck but these bikes happily will kill us, lets not give them more ways to do it :(

another thing folks don't realize, something smacking you at those speeds, even if you were braced for it will absolutely take you off that bike, even if you took it front on, all it needed to do was thump a handle bar, or your arm..thats a massive input to the bikes steering, perfect setup for a tank slap and down you go.

running over critters is another that you dont realize many times.  you think ok he's gonna go squish and i continue on,  umm no, that coon somehow turned into a cinder block as far as your tire is concerned, now you got two ooc inputs to settle down.

aaron
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princec

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #6 on: May 07, 2026, 03:01:40 AM »

I once was hit square in the face by a pigeon, banked over at 70mph on the slip road between the M3 and M25 (South East England). It shat all over my head and chest, and there was a fair amount of blood too. Fortunately I stayed sat on the bike (a ZZR1100), and finished off my commute to work. Got some unforgettable looks when I arrived :)

Cas :)
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Specter

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2026, 03:42:40 AM »

oh yah the looks when you come in wearing your road kill.  lubbers. ie satans steeds, ie 3-4 inch long fat sloppy grasshoppers clipping the top of your windshield at 130 mph and exploding all over your face/chest will leave a lovely mess too.

something about my one arai helmet, i think it might be one of the airholes or something must make an ultrasonic sound or something but at night ive had bats divebomb me before.  one or two have brushed off the helmet but still it's un nerving.

aaron
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Pard

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2026, 12:24:36 AM »

Bike coming back together.  New hindle megaphone exhaust in place and bike is running perfectly. 

Going to be wearing only leather from now on.  That textile Aerostich almost cost me some skin.

Crashed in leather before, at higher speeds by far, never a problem wearing through.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ls3w8f4q1ls?si=DGSphO36jh8VlzFT
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Specter

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2026, 01:55:49 AM »

pard, thats their mo.  the 'protective jackets' etc that are non leather, they are one shot wonders, they'll protect you once, and shred to shit in the process and are a throw away.  leather can take many tumbles, scuffs and keeps on kicking, worse case you put a new section or a patch in and it's fine. (just dont let dianese do it theyll rape you on the price).  airbag leathers you refill them and they are good,  after a few tumbles you'll want those to actually be inspected to make sure they are still fit, you didn't damage any sensors electronics etc.  again dianese will ass rape you on their shit, the other brands are very cheap to recharge with several letting you do it yourself for a charge or two.

get the x5 is it from alpine stars?? im drawing a blank now on the name.  anyways its a vest you put on under your leathers so you can take it from suit to suit.  the newer ones you can swap from road to track for diff algos for where you are at.  that way if you do tear up a suit, the airbag sys is still good, just wear it under a different one.

after popping 2 dianese's now, im sticking strictly with the alpine now, just the price alone and the ...arrogance/attitude of dianese,  forget it.


good to hear you are getting right back in the saddle, thats what you need to do.  i was gifted a used grom, a little 50 cc or something. its falling apart but a little workhorse and a lot of fun, easy to fix.
aaron
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Pard

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #10 on: May 09, 2026, 04:01:00 AM »

Another weird thing about that crash is that the tip over sensor failed to cut the engine.

I already rerouted the throttle cables so they firmly snap closed in all bar positions.  No short cuts there.

In terms of ATGATT, I am certain the chest protector I was wearing saved some broken ribs from impact with tha 20lbs bird, even before the airbag inflated.

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Specter

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Re: Wear All The Gear All The Time
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2026, 08:19:00 PM »

with all the other gear on that i ride with my jacket is heavy bulky enough that i was contemplating not putting the chest protector in, it made things a bit tight.  after a love tap from a pidgeon going under a bridge, i am glad i had that chestie in. 2 solutions to a tight suit,  have the tailor tweak it, easy fix and even easier,  lose some weight fatass, i got back to watching the crap i eat, dropped 10 lbs and everything fits fine,chest and all.

another reason to wear a chest protector, especially if you are on the highway.   semis tires will pick up shit off the pavement and throw it at you, they do it all the time. get a limestone rock about the size of a plum thrown at you, or even hanging stationairy-ish and you come into it at 70 mph, its small and hard and sharp.  it will puncture and if it hits ribs will snap one.  A chest protector mitigates that into a solid thump on your chest, maybe a tiny bruise.   same goes for a piece of 2x4 about 4 inches long coming off a work truck.  you never know when stuff will levitate and find you, and getting hit with it, will hurt.

aaron
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