Hey guys, I know we've all had bad crashes that shake our confidence a little bit, but nothing that isn't usually solved by a couple hard laps around the track right?

Well, 2 weeks ago I was in a crash that seems to have effected more then my confidence but have considered throwing in the towel, and i know my wife, family, and friends all seem to agree. I had been a little leery of the jump all day. It was a 65-70ft table top with a steep take off and a real short landing right before a big double. I eventually decided i wanted to do it, my goal for the day was to get as many of the jumps under my belt as I could, had already conquered a few other new ones. I rolled it several times in a row, eyeing it up and eventually got the balls to do it and did it perfectly! I hit it a few times that were a little sketchy but rode everything out. I couldn't get the nerve to do it while cutting hard laps till about the 4th lap where i said screw it. I went for it! I'm still not sure if i hit a different part of the take off or if i misjudged my speed that badly (which i usually don't have a problem with!) but i hit it too fast and front end high. I pulled the clutch in a slammed on the rear brake but the bike completely stalled on me, clutch must have dragged. I landed hard on the front wheel in between the jumps and bashed my face into the bars. When everything stopped (i think i may have blacked out for a moment) I had to try to breath for quite a while. My goggles filled with blood and i walked back to the pits while my buddies packed everything up.

I had 3 lacerations, one on my chin, one between my eyes, and one on my forehead. I broke my nose in two places and fractured my skull. I believe i missed the bar pad and got a blow to the face from the kill switch judging by the hole in my goggle lense. Luckily the pain in my back was only muscular and had no other broken bones, I was just thankful my toes were moving!

Im off of work at the moment due to the concussion which is hard financially as well. Has anybody else been through this and what did you do? I love motorcycles but i'm not sure if i can get over this one?

The worst part it that i have the whole thing recorded on my gopro, I cant watch and and it scares the crap out of anybody that want to see it. Apparently i had enough time in the air to yell "Oh Shnit!" ha ha

Lets see it.

First off, I wanna say I'm glad you're okay.  Now I wanna laugh at your last sentence.  HAhahahaha.   I'd say heal up well and go ride again.  You don't have to go out and pick up where you left off, just go out for a fun day, nothing to serious. I'd hate to see you throw in the towel only to get the itch again a couple months down the line....   With that said, Any chance of uploading that gopro vid to youtube?

Are we requesting the "uncut" blood and gasping for air or just the crash? ha ha.

DirtRider031, on 02 June 2012 - 02:18 PM, said:

Count your self lucky! far more talented people have had worse like Bailey & Magoo, look at this years supercoss series, the best riders in the world dropping like flies
There is no easy answer but I would not ride until you feel confortable. MX is an awesome sport & addictive, I ride single track when ever I can, its a blast (maybe not as thrilling as flyng 70ft through the air), still not as safe as golf  or bird watching but it might be an alternative .

vid or it didnt happen

all jokes aside, a couple of weeks ago i had a bad crash(knocked myself out, ripped the skin off my arm, popped out two AC joints and done muscle damage in my forearm) and i was thinking about giving up. i just didnt feel like riding anymore. so my dad packed up the car while i was asleep one morning and came in and woke me up and said were going riding. so he took me to my favourite MX track. as soon as i opened the door and heard those bikes on the limiter and 2 strokes wide open, i couldnt wait to get out on the track. i went out and did 3 easy laps, then i started to push it, and i clocked a 2:12 lap time ! (6 seconds faster than my times the last time i went there) dont give it up man, its the best sport in the world, and if you do give it up, you will want to go riding in a month or so and you wont have a bike to ride. but seriously put the gopro video up !

IDK, ive just never thought about giving it up whenever I get hurt. Ive separated my shoulder and broken my collarbone bad enough to get surgery on it and also sprained both ankles (sounds lame but that crap hurt worse than the collarbone). And a couple of concussions and the usual muscle hurts and whatever. Not once did I think about never riding again, screw that.

I'm sure we've all been there at one point or another.  It's the part of your brain that handles logic or reason that is the most difficult to turn off.

One day we will all walk alway from this sport.  The question is, would you rather walk filling full-filled or limp away feeling beaten?

Sounds like you had a bad get off! Glad your mostly ok!! I too had a bad head-on two years ago and I too almost gave it up after almost 30years but I couldn't do it...and am SO glad I didn't! Some of my happiest times in my life are riding dirt bikes! Not to mention I couldn't take it away from my son or daughter that have been riding now for 4 years.
Dont give it up man! You'll regret it! Just ride little more within your skill level! I try and stay between 50-70% of how fast I can go just to help insure I keep it on two wheels! I am not PAID to ride so I just have fun and know my limits!

Oh and if you have video you gotta post it!

Heal up and ride on!

I used to race vintage road races and was hit from behind by a guy whose brakes failed. Saw four inches of femur sticking out of my leathers, spent two weeks in traction, six months with a full cast on my leg and five years with a pin from my hip to my knee. I swore I'd never get on a bike again! Three months later (with the cast on my leg) I was out doing wheelies on my back-up Z1-R (my turbo was totalled in the accident). Once you have the "Bike bug" it never goes away. I don't race anymore (dirt or road) but they'll have to pry my bikes away from me with a crowbar before I'll give them up again.

scottiesbe, on 02 June 2012 - 02:51 PM, said:

This is great advice!

Good to hear your okay..but it would be awesome if we saw the video!

If you had a concussion you should not ride for about a month. If you are to hit your head again within a short period of time you could get second impact syndrome witch is very dangerous. You also should get a new quality helmet such as arai or shoei.

True^ i heard for every minute you are knocked out you should wait 1 month

TheBrock, on 02 June 2012 - 06:38 PM, said:

You aren't knocked out every time you receive a concussion.

Tech707, on 02 June 2012 - 07:05 PM, said:

I know that....ive got a concussion without blacking out..I'm just adding the fact if you are knocked out (and in this case also a concussion) that you should wait a month for every minute you are knocked out..just throwing it out there man.

(Are we requesting the "uncut" blood and gasping for air or just the crash? ha ha.)


Yes we want blood !

Seriously though, I don't  care how old you are . If you have any doubts about your confidence in that type of riding again, pushing the limit like that, think it through.   You've got the responsibilties for you and your family. Don't quite riding.
Try something like , riding a wheelie in first or second gear at the balance point like Graham Jarvis does in his videos. Trials riding is good cross training to get you back to an even better skill level than you were before you crashed.
Turns out, for me anyway, that Iike the slow technical riding you do in trials. I do it on my KLX 450 , and my KTM 200 , but not in competition.

Sorry to hear about your crash, I'm glad you're ok.  Would love to see the video.  I agree with Pit_Man, weigh your options and make your choice.  You can have a lot of fun riding without pushing your limits every time you go out.

I had a nasty crash I the track I've gone too on  a quad a z400.  I now have a yz250 and its been a year since I've been to back to the track.  I hope to have the confidence to try it on a bike.

years ago i suffered a bad crash doing a jump, swore off bikes for 2 years. After a quick ride on a buddies rm400, I knew I had to get back on. No more moto, big jumps,etc.,but Im fast as hell thru the woods now!

Glad to hear you are going to make it. While age isn't a huge factor it definitely plays a roll. Breaking a leg on a 50 year old is a lot different than the same break on a 18 year old. (IMHO of course) Not to mention all of the other very important domestic factors involved. Wife, kids, JOB, etc. It seems that you may have come to a cross road.

I am 48 years old. I have come to that cross road. Here is how I look at it now. I would say that I have had a pretty good run. Been fortunate enough to have done a lot things in my life and even with the crashes and smashes have been able to walk away from them all........mostly. I have only been riding the MX bike for about 7 years now. I primarily ride MX. But I have toned it WAY down. And you know what? I still have a great time it. I will even say that I am having a blast at it. I think largely because I have just accepted the fact that that is what I need to do. Hitting the monster jumps would indeed be awesome. But now I will just watch the young guns do them.

Perfect example. I recently went to Competitive Edge MX in Hysperia, Ca. I had heard great things about that place. Got there early morning. Went out onto the track to check it out. After the third lap I knew that this track was not for me. There were some very cool jumps and I am sure that EVENTUALLY I would have been able to do some or most of them. Not all though. Plus the fact that there are some serious fast guys out there including some top level pros. (very cool BTW). I just knew that I would be worried about "not crashing" instead of just having fun. So I went over and rode the Hillside/Vet track and had an absolute ball. Not to mention there were only about 5 of us on the track.

So I guess you have to have a little talk with yourself and decide if you can still have a good time riding if you cut the risk factor way back. Are you disciplined enough to keep yourself in check? Not saying you aint gonna crash anymore (you know that). But I can attest that you CAN still have a great time on the track without hitting the monster jumps. That's just the way it is.

There you go.