How effective is ATGATT?

[PAULBACH]

The following information is posted under the BIG Gig but not everyone reads that thread.


A few of you know, though most do not, that our BIG Gig auctioneer hit a deer while riding his brand new
R1200RT the day before Thanksgiving. Lyman is now home a week out of hospital today. (There, a full week!)
and is on the mend.


Deerly Departed RT Lyman wadded up a brand new BMW R1200RT motorcycle with 25 miles on the odometer. This is Lyman's bike as brand new with only 12 miles on the odometer. He picked it up at Max's big Thanksgiving dinner.

It's a tragic tale (60th birthday present to himself , approx. = to 1 1/2 years of auctioneering proceeds...Insurance may call it a total loss, we'll see, hope so. Laura,his wife, ever the decorator, said she didn't like the color all that well anyway and to try something that didn't clash in the Spring!)

5 deer jumped out of a culvert on the left side of the road and Lyman t-boned the first or second (not sure which) and went down in a instant at approximately 35mph. Zero warning time, only enough to recognize the the hazard but not enough for ABS brakes to deploy. He spoke with eye witnesses and EMT responders, etc., and all said there wasn't anything he could have done to avoid them. Deer are totally unpredictable. Unfortunately Lyman did not recover the "deerly" departed venison. But not to worry - most likely the EMTs didn't pass the buck.


The extent of injuries is 7 broken ribs all on the left side. No punctures, no other broken bones, no internal bleeding, no head or neck injuries, road rash or anything else. Full recovery expected as ribs heal, but damn uncomfortable for the meantime. Lyman is fine and will be well with time. Most likely he will be back on the job for the BIG Gig.

[PAULBACH]

I asked Lyman about the riding gear. He replied as follows and gave permission to post. There is a lesson here folks.

Paul,

The gear was BMW Ralleye Pro II tops and bottoms, Nolan 102E Flip face helmet, Tourtech boots and Gerbings gloves. The Ralleye gear is all ripped up at the impact points, Back, shoulders, elbows, knees, etc., but it did its job flawlessly...distributing and absorbing impact loads. I have zero road rash as I was fully protected during my getoff and slide and cannot imagine the discomfort of skin grafting on top of the discomfort of broken ribs!

The Nolan helmet did its job equally well. There's a depression at the impact point (left rear) and an obvious grinding/gouging around the chin guard, brow and face shield, ending at the right rear, but again, no injuries to my head or neck of any kind. No "skull cap" and sunglasses could have prevented serious facial/dental injuries!

I've always worn all the gear as a matter of habit (regardless of the temp) and have always been astounded to see most riders (with the universal exception of BMW riders, and a few others) looking like they are dressed to go sunbathing! You're going down in whatever gear you're dressed in, so take a pointer from a guy who's been there....buy the best full protective gear you can (tops AND bottoms) and always wear it. No excuses!

Best, Lucky "7 Ribs" Lyman

I did tell he he is one lucky sonofab*tch since now he can go shopping for new riding gear.

[tessler]

Paul, I had no idea about Lyman (the forum email notification system has not been working, for me at least, for the past 12 days). Glad to hear that it was only a few ribs and not anything more serious. Please send him my best.

[Artiee]

....you really should have it, but hope you never need to use it.

Heal fast and well.

(Sorry to hear about the RT -- only 25 miles, it never had the chance to experience life )

[jimfastcar]

I was the recipient of a rear-end 2 months ago, and can also attest to ATGATT. More importantly, glad to hear you are well, and will recover in good time
Godspeed !

[BUDDINGGEEZER]

I'm not sure how effective ATGATT is but read this story with pics. http://www.backroadsusa.com/home.htm...nys_Story.html

This is how effective jeans are, and yes I still ride in jeans when it's hot. I guess that's why I'm not a rocket scientist.

Ralph Sims

[markgoodrich]

That girl's story has been around for awhile now, but never ceases to motivate me to wear my suit, when what I really want to do is just hop on the bike.

Last week a friend was riding his beautiful /2 down his own street, sedately (as if you could do much more than sedate on the thing, compared to today's bikes) and a lady turned left in front of him. He had his jacket and helmet on, but not just jeans. Broken tibia and fibula on left leg, unknown damage to right knee (and left) when I went to visit him last week, lots of bruises, of course. Had he been wearing his entire suit, perhaps at least the knee injuries would not have occurred...not much you can do to protect the tib/fib with typical rider suits and boots.

And about four years ago I crashed my track bike, went over the handlebars at practically zero mph, wearing full racing leathers. No broken anything, other than the bike and my ego, but, and this is the point, the HARD EDGE of the armor dug into the soft tissue above my right knee, which took the brunt of the fall, and to this day that area hurts. It's not just ATGATT, it's the RIGHT GEAR.

[masonke]

I'm not sure how effective ATGATT is but read this story with pics. http://www.backroadsusa.com/home.htm...nys_Story.html

This is how effective jeans are, and yes I still ride in jeans when it's hot. I guess that's why I'm not a rocket scientist.

Ralph Sims

I went down on a 35 mph low side, slid and rolled down the road for quite a distance. Full gear, including Draggin Jeans with knee armor.

I stood up and walked around, fixed the handlebars and rode home. No rash, just pulled muscle in the chest. Jeans wore thru to the lining which took the rash and the knee armor took the fall.

[colt03]

Lyman,

Sorry to hear of your getoff, I try me best to take a few out of the woods during hunting season, but was not successful this year. I am glad you are generally ok, and sorry your new bike didn't stay new to long.

Heal fast, we'll ride in the spring.

[Mar]

5 deer jumped out of a culvert on the left side of the road and Lyman t-boned the first or second (not sure which) and went down in a instant at approximately 35mph. Zero warning time, only enough to recognize the the hazard but not enough for ABS brakes to deploy.

That's very similar to what happened to me on I-88 near Cobleskill, NY in 2001. But I was doing 70 mph. The deer came out of the depressed median and there was no time to react. I think I got off the throttle but that was about it. I T-boned the doe and fortunately low-sided, but the concrete is hard even in a low-side. I slid 50 feet down the interstate on my front, watching the pavement go by on the other side of my visor.

Full ATGATT: Firstgear Sirocco pants and Kilimanjaro jacket (only 2 months old), Arai full face helmet, Held gloves, Red Wing high top boots.

1) No broken bones, 2) hematoma on my left elbow, 3) bunged up right thumb, 4) crush injury on my left calf, which we think was caused by the center stand tang crushing my leg between it and the pavement, narrowly missing bones. The only lasting effect is the calf. The area is discolored, "lumpy," and has no feeling.

Without ATGATT I would likely be dead, my jaw pushed into my brain. If not, I would have no face and a reconstructed left knee.

The bike--my K75--suffered cosmetic damage (about <$2000 worth, which I paid for). It needed some new parts and other parts needed repainting.

[crazydrummerdude]

I slid 50 feet down the interstate on my front, watching the pavement go by on the other side of my visor.

Wow.

[ultracyclist]

Had I not been ATGATT in my recent spill (crash), my family would have been obligated to have a closed casket funeral for me because I would not have had a face left on my head.

When I got up I dusted myself off and removed my helmet. I had clumps of grass and soil wedged between the faceshield and helmet frame with small bits of asphalt. Even with a full face helmet, I was spitting out grit for about 10 minutes. Minor bruises were elsewhere. NO roadrash!

I am convinced that only stupid people ride without the appropriate gear.

If you really want to see the benefits of ATGATT, spend a week-end with a deputy sheriff on patrol during a nice riding weekend, like the 4th of July. I hope you have a strong stomach.

What I find interesting about this thread, is that people are talking about their accidents. Riding has risks, but I find that people are reluctant to talk about them. People do not want to sound negative ;and therefore, these risks are "acceptable". Lots of material for a good psych experiment here.

[glennhendricks]

Just one more reason for me to suit up next time I ride.

I have a friend who dumped his K100 on some hydraulic oil in Florida. He slid down the interstate for a good long while, sanded the lid off his side case.

ATGATT, he had some bruises and soiled clothing.

[Semper_Fi]

with the kind of gear some of the top name suppliers are carrying now there is no reason for not having atgatt year round.

And as all things in life, it is a personal choice, i choose to use it, but you can't force people to use it.

Great to see the stories showing dramatic performance in preventing injuries.

Wish Lyman a fast recovery.

[Paul_F]

A year ago last June in Colorado, I misread the road map the night before; thought that I had picked only paved roads for the next day.

After riding for about 30 miles with no turn offs, the road turned to gravel. Not wishing to double back, I continued and the road became a typical winding up and down Colorado road. I was riding at about 30mph when at mile 32 of the 40 miles of gravel, the rear end gave no warning and I was in a left low side. Broke the left engine guard, damaged the left side case and lost a small bit of plastic on the lower left faring piece. The bike was perfectly rideable after the slide.

Helmet never touched the ground. A small patch of my Kevlar riding pants has a small scrape from the side. This is not noticeable unless I point it out. Likewise with the Kevlar jacket. Both are from Cycleport. A tiny bruise on the left hip, but not so irritating that I couldn't sleep on my thermarest pad. Other than a slight bruise, the kevlar and body armour in the suit did its job at protecting me.

Almost forty years ago I spent a year working in the local operating theatres. I saw too many people in agony with skin scraped off. I figure that proper riding gear may not prevent fractures, but at least it should eliminate the pain from skin being burned off my body. I always ride with full gear.