Right gear (ATGATT) wrong bike

[NMRed]

Friday 9-28-18, I took my DR650 for a ride in the mountains on some forest service roads when I put all my gear to a severe test. While running about 35mph an unseen deer jumped out of the arroyo right in front of me and I punched her in the chest with my right hand still on the throttle. The impact was hard enough to twist the bars in the riser and brake the ball of the brake lever. Both the deer and I went down (me highside), but the deer got up and ran off much quicker than I did. I ended up in a berm of fist sized rocks on the edge of the road, thanks to my gear after about half an hour of sorting myself out I was able to right the bike and ride home.

Damage to my gear was:

Jeans shredded.

Danner Lookout boots, a few deep scrapes in the left toe leather. Still usable.

Sedici Lucca gloves, scuffed but intact. the left one did come partly off in the slide.

Tourmaster Transition 4 Jacket (pads removed), popped about 3 inches of one line of seam stitching on the left arm above the cuff. some abrasion evident on the front and left side of the jacket. No tears in the fabric and will see further use.

Bohn Body Armor shirt and pants, dusty, otherwise no visible damage. Will be worn again every ride and HIGHLY recommended.

LS2 Strobe Helmet, Took a chunk out of and a crack in the shell just above my right eye. The plastic liner in the chin bar split in two places. the foam liner is noticeably compressed in the forehead area. Time for a new helmet. Another Strobe is already on its way.

Damage to my body:

A nasty bruise on the back of my left calf where the passenger peg tried to take a bite out of it.

A few hunks of skin missing from the back back of my left hand due to the glove sliding down to my fingers.

Some light rug burn from the pads on my left knee and elbows.

The only injury requiring medical care is a broken (2 places) right thumb from direct impact with the deer's chest. If I had been on the B the fairing would have taken the hit and I'd probably be fine, but the B isn't much fun in the dirt.

The comparatively trivial amount spent on proper gear compared to all the other motorcycle related expenses, was probably the best money I've ever spent. Thanks to Sedici, Tourmaster, and especially LS2 helmets and Bohn Body Armor, I was able to right the bike and ride the 35 miles home before spending a larger amount,I'm sure, at the ER getting the thumb X-rayed and Splinted. I should be back on two wheels in about 6-8 weeks.

[JGF6B]

Glad to hear you made it out as well as you did. Thanks for the reminder that money spent on riding gear is invaluable.
Sounded like a fun ride until the deer got intimate with you. I wish you a speedy recovery. You never know when it will get too intimate; I saw 4 deer on the side of the road before sunrise this morning but fortunately they were all in observation mode.

[53driver]

Glad you are okay.....
One of my students last week had a revelation:
"If I bought the most expensive HD helmet, jacket, vest, pants, chaps, gloves and boots, I would be nowhere near the cost of an EMS response, ambulance ride to the ER, and the first 5 minutes of the ER activity."

ATG-ATT
Cheers,
Steve

[Fingerz]

Been there done that. Glad you can walk away from it all. Everything else can be fixed or purchased again. Heal well.

[lloydmoore1]

Thanks for sharing. Glad your damage was minimal due to the right gear. I have the same jacket and love it but it is now starting to lose the color from too much sun, just waiting to get a newer version of the Tourmaster.

[tenxxx]

Rode 950 miles in the last 4 days. 5 miles on stone on the side of a mountain in KY.The road just went to stone all of a sudden.
No fun on a B. Glad I didn't meet with a deer. It was heavy on my mind. No where to go but down a hundred feet.
Glad to hear you walked away and not hauled away. Heal up and go at it again.
Practice can be painful sometimes.
350 miles on I77 today. It got hot but no way I was taking my gear off.

[WEGI]

Hi NMRed;

Sorry to hear of your broken thumb, but as you stated, ATGATT did it's job. I too am a practicing ATGATT rider. Hot as bejezzus here in Florida (Treasure Coast) this summer but it's a small price to pay for keeping out of the ER with road rash or worse. I too use the Bohn Armor with Sedici vented Jacket and overpants. I don't have any ties to Bohn Armor but I think they really keep the protection in place in case of a spill. Thanks for pointing them out for our fellow F6B'ers to take into consideration. I'm always asked by the do-rag, short sleeved, leather vest jeans riders here, "Aren't you hot in all that stuff?" Maybe, but I always tell them, think of it this way, imagine going down the road in your car at 55 or 60..now open the door and jump out. What would you want to be wearing? Sort of puts it into perspective.
Heal well and thanks again for the post.

Oh, and the helmet is a Schuberth C3.

WEG

[grendl]

I havent gotten to ALL the gear yet but helmet,good gloves Armored jacket long pants (jeans typically) and good boots I dont leave without. It DOES feel good with just a T shirt instead of the jackets - they are hot even though they are mesh and my friends ride without a helmet unless it's raining or weather is bad..Dont ride dirt but have no qualms about shall we say 'enthusiastic' riding.That and swarms of bugs,wildlife and in Colorado we have "free range' farm animals to be aware of.
Good on you for having that gear on and best wishes for you healing quickly.

[seagravesg]

I am also in the healing mode...broken left thumb from hitting ditch approaching stopped truck waiting to turn. I will never take the usefulness of a thumb or the painful rehab for granted. You are wise to fully use protective gear! I also had boots and armored pants but on that day in July I thought it too hot to wear gloves and only vented t-shirt. The scrapes would have certainly been less with my jacket and gloves! As for the thumb, would have gotten broken anyway.
Your points (and the other's) about protective gear are well received...and, I KNEW BETTER!
How fun (not) is your thumb rehab??

[VStarRider]

Glad to hear a serious spill ended up with you being mostly okay.

When I see people riding around with shorts, flip flops, t-shirts, and a half-helmet, especially with a passenger dressed the same way, it just makes me wonder if they know the risk they are taking.

Years ago, I rode like that from time to time, and it was just out of ignorance.