Ouch! MC vs wolf

Since the weather warmed up here, I've seen a lot of bikers enjoying the beautiful weather and Minnesota's well-kept roads. Out here we have our share of motorcycle accidents: motorcycle only, mc vs. car, and mc vs. deer. Yesterday, I heard my first accident report of the season.

A group had gone riding in a rural area near where I live. Victim 1 and his wife usually rode double, but today she decided she wanted to be on her own bike. They were accompanied by Victims 2 and 3 and assorted friends.

Victim 2 had his learner's permit. In Minnesota, that means you're allowed to ride from an hour before dawn till and hour before dusk, you must wear a helmet, and you must not carry any passengers or ride on freeways. On this particular day, he chose not to wear a helmet AND to have his wife ride behind.

From what I gathered, nobody in this group believed in helmets, gloves or jackets. They're all much, much more fortunate than they deserve to be, thank God!

Victim 1 t-boned a timber wolf at 55 mph. The wolf came out of the tall grass alongside the road at a dead run. V1 didn't have time to hit the brakes or be scared, it happened so fast. (The wolf was hors de combat, so responding agencies got a good look at its remains.) V1 lost control of the bike and slid on his right side with the bike on top of his right leg. He lost quite a bit of skin on the right palm and forearm. The worst was where the pavement ground through the leather boot and through the flesh of the ankle right down to the bone. Ow! Other than that and some bruises, he was okay. Needs skin grafts though. And the bike is totaled.

Victims 2 & 3 weren't able to miss the back of V1's bike. They went down a bit harder. V2 had minor injuries to a shoulder and some bruises, but apparently got to go home the same day. V3 had multiple fractures to one leg.

I'm more than a little surprised there was no head trauma. It could have been much, much worse. Having seen that, I'm convinced my beloved is a flaming idiot for not wearing gloves and rather brilliant for insisting on wearing a full face helmet, leather jacket, leather pants and boots when riding.

This hasn't changed my mind about motorcycles, but I'm sure looking for the full kit when it comes to protective gear. Do they have ankle armor?

Ouch! No wolves here in SoCal but we do have plenty of deer...

I'm amazed at how people don't wear safety gear, I don't even want to think about riding unless I have atleast a helmet and jacket on...

Ankle armor I think would come in the form of riding boots. Not sure if they make some kind of brace or hard armor to wear un/over boots though.

I've seen a lot of bikers enjoying [...] Minnesota's well-kept roads.
Haha, yeah, only the best here in MN. :D

That's amazing that they weren't hurt more or killed in that crash, should have worn some gear. I too have noticed many more motorcycles on the road and I'd say 90-95% no gear or only a helmet on, which won't do much, sad.

Were you a police officer or EMT that responded, or how did you hear of this; you weren't one of the riders were you?

Outside of being hit by a car, deer, dogs or coyotes are my biggest fear while riding on the road. I've seen animals dart out like a bolt of lightning on the road, leaving little to no time to respond safely.
I'm glad to hear they're all okay...a little bumped and bruised, cut and hurt, but alive.

~Joker

LCM99, I talked to one of the patients. I was NOT one of the riders. I believe in wearing all the gear possible. LOL I'll probably look like a knight riding around on my Honda.

I believe the Hurt report touched on the possibility of accidents with animals as being 1% of the total motorcycle crash picture. You're far more likely to not navigate a curve properly or have some daydreaming cage driver smack into you than Wy Lee Coyote do a dance with your Dunlops.

It's sad, though, how many of these crashes share one thing in common: minimal or non-existent rider training. Even experience is not THAT much of a substitute, and can often be otherwise known as BAD RIDING HABITS.

The first thing everyone went on about in this thread was how important 'safety gear' is, when none of it would have done anything to AVOID the crash in the first place. The one rider was wearing LEATHER BOOTS, and even THAT didn't keep him from serious injury. With better training, he would have had a far better chance to minimize impact forces, as well as depart the bike properly if necessary.

I really hope folks in these threads don't become part of the 'safety gear makes up for bad skills' crowd, and are strong in evangelizing to fellow riders the importance of TRAINING.

I really hope folks in these threads don't become part of the 'safety gear makes up for bad skills' crowd, and are strong in evangelizing to fellow riders the importance of TRAINING.

I agree, safety gear doesn't mean you'll survive or come out un-scathed, but aren't there situations where your training doesn't help in split-second situations where you're just kind of screwed? Just asking.

I wonder if we're messing with the statstical curve here in MN. There were quite a few deer vs. mc crashes last year. Those were much harder on the riders than the wolf was.

I think safety gear is part of the total picture. Frankly, I think it's just stupid to ride without it. But awareness, skill and good riding habits are also crucial.

Wow. Glad to hear everyone was ok. I bet they're gonna re-think the whole idea of riding without gear, though. Let's hope :D

I agree, safety gear doesn't mean you'll survive or come out un-scathed, but aren't there situations where your training doesn't help in split-second situations where you're just kind of screwed? Just asking.

Actually, that is the whole point behind training. Training comprises obtaining knowledge and also development of skill. Knowledge helps as far as developing the skill. The skill is what you do based on certain stimuli.

In those situations where the skills didn't help, the safety gear wouldn't have done anything either. This was one muted point from the Hurt study, taken from racers and police. And that's why I'm more concerned with the rider's TRAINING level, than how trendy or expensive their Joe Blow matched replica serpentine-skin genuine imitation Dudley Go-Fast inspired gear is.