A (Graffic!!) Cautionary Tale!!

[Dodge]

I know we've all done it, but this should make you think!!

A workmate of mine decided to go for a blast down the A30 in Cornwall yesterday (Sunday), with his grown up son as pillion.
Down near Hayle, by the Roseworthy Dip, my mate slowed down for the 60mph speed camera, then wacked the throttle open on his Kawasaki ZX12R. His son was using the grab rail to hold on to, whether his son was caught by surprise we don't know yet, anyway, the grabrail broke, (not sure why yet, he had only owned the bike for a few weeks, previous accident damage??) and shot him off the back at 60+mph, he was only wearing a jacket and jeans
Another mate of mine went by the scene of the accident shortly after it happened, not realising it was someone he knew was involved, he reckons there was a skid mark of skin for yards down the road
As far as we know, my mates son has two broken legs, a broken arm but much more serious, all the skin on his back was scraped off!! Bloody ouch!! He was air lifted to the trauma unit at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and the road was closed for some time.
The broken bones will heal fairly quickly, but we understand he will require many skin grafts over a long period of time, to sort his back out, a sobering thought!
Chances are, my mate will never ride a bike again, can you blame him?



I'm not gonna preach 'cos I ride with only jeans on most of the time, I don't think I have ever inspected a grab rail for cracks or damage in my life, but like I say, it makes you think eh?!!!!!!!


Dodge

[Crap Tartan]

OMG what a terrible thing to happen!

Hope the nipper gets better soon and copes with the years of shit he will have to deal with.

Its so sad and after a similar thing happened to a friend of mine some time back I pretty much dont do pillions anymore...............

[shedmonkey]

Yeah wish him all the best

[weirdo]

One of those stories that makes you shudder when you read it.

Poor kid.

[slix2110]

Poor guy, hope he recovers quickly. Round here, this year particularly, i've seen quite a few guys in t shirts/shorts on Fireblades and the like. Obviously they've never come across gravel rash! My boy injured himself quite badly last year when his 'blade spat him off on a diesel covered junction in Brighton-and he had proper armoured textile gear on. I always wear a jacket but often wear jeans. Keep meaning to get some kevlar ones-anyone have any experience of those?

[dizzyblonde]

Poor lad! Very random and strange affair that, a grab rail snapping.

It will take a lot of grafts.

My OH went through many when he had a head ion crash with a car, combined speed of 100mph. There's that phrase getting your knee down....in his case it did, and it stuck.there. This was through leathers but hard knee armour. He now has plastic surgery, straight onto bone with no tissue to pad it out.
They reckon it was the armour that did the damage.

Unfortunately for your mates lad, the back is where they take skin from, luckily though there are thighs....which is where my OH had it taken from. It will take much more than the physical scars to heal, if its really nasty. Hopefully the plastic surgeon is a good one!

[Dodge]

Got an update as to what caused my mates lad to come off.
Apparently, it wasn't the grab rail that broke, they were using what I seem to remember is called a Pillion Pal, the strap with handles that the rider wears and the pillion holds on to the handles, this either came unclipped or snapped, not sure yet.
I use to use one with my son a few years back, makes me shudder to think can happen out of the blue like that!!

Dodge

[Hairy_Mark]

That's not good reading. I have a friend who lost his boy off the back, but the lad was killed. Head injuries...going back pre helmet law days.

I take my daughter (age 7) on the back of the Raptor. For all journeys out of the 30mph limit, she's got armoured trousers, armoured jacket, bike boots, gloves and of course helmet.

I use a love-handle webbing belt rather than relying on the puny strap over the pillion seat. I think it's great and not expensive. I can feel what she's doing and if she's holding on.

To be doubly sure, we use an intercom. That way I can tell her when we're going to overtake, when sharp bends are coming up, etc. I can also double check that she's holding on properly.

When I bought the intercom and was looking for recommendations, I came across another forum where adults were passing comments about intercoms for kids. There were a few comments, such as 'Parents are soft these days. We never had intercoms. Who wants to listen to your kid when you're riding anyway?'

I thought those comments were crass at the time and went ahead and bought one. This sad tale just goes to prove it. My thoughts go out to the poor kid, but also to the parent, who must be feeling awful and riddled with guilt. Hope they both recover.

[dirtydog]

Terrible thing to happen.



Tip with the pillion pal thing is wear it backwards so the clip is behind the rider. That way if the does fail the belt is still around the riders waist if you see what I mean?

[Dodge]

I hate to say this Mark, but the love handle strap that you are using is exactly what failed with my mate and his son!! Dirty Dogs idea of using one with the clip at the back is a brilliant solution! So simple!!

Dodge