Accident: Initial Cause Throttle Miester

I was on my way to the office yesterday, doing about 30-35, 1/4 mile away from a stop sign I up shifted from 3rd to 4th. At the stop sign you can go left or right. Opened the throttle and it stuck. Engine was spooling up to the throttle position. Very quickly. Tried to reach over and twist the cruise lock, could not. I tried to forceably close the throttle, I could not. Bike pulling harder, running out of time and paniced. I pulled the brake went down. Hit hard. Rolled for a while, came to a stop. Lifted my head, saw no cars coming to run over me, saw a guy get out of car running over, put my head down. Woke up with fire dept guys standing over me. They cut my Joe Rocket Coat off. Cut my jeans off. Took off my leather/kevlar gloves. Eventually took off my brand new Aria Profile. Jeans wore out on my ass, knees, hips, calfs. Gloves wore through on finger-tips. Armored coat worked great, still got a "rash" from material inside my coat "burning" my elbows and back. All my gear worked vey well, especially my "totalled" Aria.

It took a while for me to process what happened...in panic mode I could not process quick enough the need to pull the clutch and hit the kill switch. I've been re-living the scene in my head for the past 24 hours and I still cannot believe I did not react correctly. This is a new to me, used bike, and I've had some trouble getting used to it. I've got just over 35,000 miles of riding experience on 5 different bikes in 10 years and never had an incident. I've been suspect of this throttle lock for some time, but I could not process the situation fast enough. I heard the bike only has damage on the left side, but I think I am done with it.

The bike was an absolute 9.8 out of a 10 and I am not sure how they'll repair it; not sure if they'll paint it or if OEM color matched body work comes from Honda. Tow company said the bike looks okay except for the left side.

I on the other hand have a series of road rashes, sore neck, sore body, seriously strained/strained right foot (from rolling and twisting). My most serious issue is my severe embarassment for failing to pull the clutch and roll to a stop. Learn from my mistake. I know all of you would have done the right thing in this situation, but train brain now on that same scenario in case it happens again.

 

I forgot to change the title of the thread...Initial Cause, Throttle Lock, Secondary Cause Failure to Act.

 

That takes a lot of guts to admit. That just goes to show how the feel of a new bike mixed with imminent fear of death can make you do funny things.

I have once or twice used the idle screw on my bike as a cruise control on a long trip, and I rehearsed in my mind the steps I would take if I had to stop unexpectedly. After that 1 or 2 tries, I decided it wasn't worth the potential complications. (Plus that screw is hard to locate while riding, even with practice!) To have your bike not only maintaining speed, but accelerating unexpectedly towards an intersection would have sucked.

It's only natural to let off the throttle first when braking. That was the first instinct/reflex, and when surprised, instinct and reflex have a way of taking over. Don't beat yourself up. From your description, you had but a moment to realize what was happening and to respond appropriately, and your years of riding instincts which have saved you innumerable times just happened to betray you on this particular occasion.

 

don't beat yourself up over it,the important thing is your here to second guess. it's the same thing people experiance their first time in combat, your not sure how you'll react the first time. your reactions were not really off, most people would have run straight through the intersection. and really done some major damage.

 

Glad you didn't break anything, ankles and arms and such. That had to have been scary, think I would have freaked a bit too. It's not a normal reaction to hit the kill switch unless you've had it happen before. Probably was hard to react coming to a corner and it was taching up so fast. Leaving that with just some road rash isn't bad.

Totally poor timing, but I've been writing on and off how to install the Audiovox CCS-100 Vacuum Style Cruise Control for the past month on a 6th Gen - can be used on the others easily as well. Very thorough, which is why it's taking me so long. These disengage when a 1,000 rpm rise is suddenly detected. I've tried a Vista Cruise before and didn't like the idea of it holding the throttle, ineffective and slipped a lot. I never really thought of a throttle lock doing a number like that though! Christ that sucks!!

 

Sorry what happened! If you are not commuting 50+ miles a day or going cross country trip just remove the Maister.I hate those things.

 

Get well soon....glad you didn't break any bones or anything more serious than that.

 

First of all, we're all very glad that you're OK other than some relatively minor injuries.

Secondly, a few thoughts/ideas:

1) I just checked the recent weather conditions for Manchester, NH. Today the low was 54, with a high of 63, so I'm going to assume that yesterday was about the same. At any rate, does your VFR happen to have aftermarket heated grips, and if so, were you running them when your throttle-lock got stuck? I ask this question because 'Jim', the owner of HOT GRIPS-heated grips, hand warmers, grip warmers (located in New Hampshire) strongly warns against attempting to use their heated grips with any screw-down type throttle-locks because as the heated grips expand as they warm up, they may very well cause a throttle-lock to become really stuck. (Just a thought.)

2) I'm among those who strongly dislike throttle-locks such as ThrottleMeister. I've found them to be rather crude, barbaric, and potentially dangerous devices. At any rate, they're best not used except while riding on open roads and highways.

3) My VFR includes an electronic cruise control from Motorcycle Cruise Controls - ATV, 4 Wheelers and Quad Bike Accessory & Parts out of Australia, which is very similar to the Audiovox unit that BASFJon has referred to here and elsewhere. The MC Cruise unit is expensive, and I left the complicated installation to my dealer's master technician, but its among the best money I've spent in terms of upgrades/modifications. That said, I only use it on open roads and highways. Quite unlike a throttle-lock, it automatically disengages and goes into standby mode if either the brakes or clutch are 'tapped', as well as if the microprocessor detects too high a rise in RPM's from a given set point.

4) Whether or not to routinely 'cover and hover' the clutch lever and/or handbrake levers with the first 2 fingers of either or both hands while street riding? I've found that its often wise to not cover the handbrake, but YMMV.

5) It seems to me that your accident may make a good case for Anti-Lock Brakes.

6) I've repeatedly re-read your description of what happened, but it seems a bit confusing to me in some ways. For example, when you were 1/4 mile away from the intersection, why were you upshifting from 3-->4 rather than downshifting from 3-->2 in order to begin slowing down? Am I missing something here? If so, I'm sorry. No offense intended here, I'm just trying to better understand what happened.

7) I've been down a couple of times myself. That said, in the future I think you might do well to get into the habit of wearing good quality riding pants rather than blue jeans. :smile:

Best wishes,

Red

 

First of all, we're all very glad that you're OK other than some relatively minor injuries.

Secondly, a few thoughts/ideas:

1) I just checked the recent weather conditions for Manchester, NH. Today the low was 54, with a high of 63, so I'm going to assume that yesterday was about the same. At any rate, does your VFR happen to have aftermarket heated grips, and if so, were you running them when your throttle-lock got stuck? I ask this question because 'Jim', the owner of HOT GRIPS-heated grips, hand warmers, grip warmers (located in New Hampshire) strongly warns against attempting to use their heated grips with any screw-down type throttle-locks because as the heated grips expand as they warm up, they may very well cause a throttle-lock to become really stuck. (Just a thought.)

2) I'm among those who strongly dislike throttle-locks such as ThrottleMeister. I've found them to be rather crude, barbaric, and potentially dangerous devices. At any rate, they're best not used except while riding on open roads and highways.

3) My VFR includes an electronic cruise control from Motorcycle Cruise Controls - ATV, 4 Wheelers and Quad Bike Accessory & Parts out of Australia, which is very similar to the Audiovox unit that BASFJon has referred to here and elsewhere. The MC Cruise unit is expensive, and I left the complicated installation to my dealer's master technician, but its among the best money I've spent in terms of upgrades/modifications. That said, I only use it on open roads and highways. Quite unlike a throttle-lock, it automatically disengages and goes into standby mode if either the brakes or clutch are 'tapped', as well as if the microprocessor detects too high a rise in RPM's from a given set point.

4) Whether or not to routinely 'cover and hover' the clutch lever and/or handbrake levers with the first 2 fingers of either or both hands while street riding? I've found that its often wise to not cover the handbrake, but YMMV.

5) It seems to me that your accident may make a good case for Anti-Lock Brakes.

6) I've repeatedly re-read your description of what happened, but it seems a bit confusing to me in some ways. For example, when you were 1/4 mile away from the intersection, why were you upshifting from 3-->4 rather than downshifting from 3-->2 in order to begin slowing down? Am I missing something here? If so, I'm sorry. No offense intended here, I'm just trying to better understand what happened.

7) I've been down a couple of times myself. That said, in the future I think you might do well to get into the habit of wearing good quality riding pants rather than blue jeans. :smile:

Best wishes,

Red[/QUOTE]

1. Not the case
2. You can imagine I am not a fan and have been suspect of this device
3. My 2006 Road Glide had electronic cruise, it was awesome
4. I don't usually cover the clutch, but I don't understand why I didn't pull the brake and clutch at the same time, I usually do, I just don't recall what I did.
5. Maybe so.
6. I was approaching a hill and intended to accelerate a bit and let off.
7. I have nice riding pants but typically wore them when it was cold...now I have no matching coat for them.

 

Well the best news is that you are okay (at least in general terms)! I was thinking about one of the throttle locks myself but I will probably wait and install the Audiovox CCS-100 too. I've had the throttle stick open on a car before and I just threw it in neutral and killed the engine, I've also had it happen on a dirtbike and pulled the clutch and killed the engine. I was lucky in those cases to have done the right thing but that is NO guarantee I would have done the same thing in the situation you were presented with! New bike and an extremely stressfull situation, I'd say you did okay...especially since you are still alive and no one else was injured. Guess I'm just saying don't give up the bike yet, hind site is always 20/20 and anyone saying they would have taken the right steps is only guessing. Good luck and thanks for sharing...it takes a big person to admit fault and look for the answers....

 

Clarification

Red,
Is there a typo above? Did you mean wise or not wise? If not wise, please explain.
Thanks

 

Thats quicker than my first thoughts of pulling the clutch then killing.

Mind things go wrong quickly on a bike and this is the second total I've heard from a ThrottleMeister, first was when an experienced VFR fellow regular after having his Gen 4 VFR serviced was just leaving even though not in use the throttle stuck wide open as he was accelerating then couldn't roll off braking into suddenly stopping traffic...From memory he figured out the bike shop not realising it was a cruise control device over tightened it as a normal bar end causing it to stick wide open.

 

Thanks for posting and I hope you're feeling better from the spill. I can relate to the embarrassment that you mention because I can easily beat it. Two weeks ago I was on a group ride when for no reason, I decided to take a detour off the road and into a guard rail. I spent six days in hospital with multiple injuries and I ripped all the plastic off my beautiful '94. At least you have a reasonable cause for your accident - mine was due to pure stupidity. Hang in there and heal up - you'll be back on two wheels soon. :smile:

 

Glad to hear you are ok. It is amazing what can happen when you panic.
I was raised in Londonderry, had my first ride there. I have a fear of bikes, due to what can happen in the blink of an eye, every time I hear a story like this I hope it sinks into my subconscious so if I ever have a similar experience auto pilot can kind of take over. Thank you for this post.

 

good God man, glad your reasonably ok! hittin the brake and layin it down was a better option that running through the stop sign so cudos on that. take care man, heal up fast!


Jay
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I read this and remember my first dump on a ZZR-600, was accelerating into a garage..yeah real smart, grabbed the brakes for a quick stop and my glove somehow stuck on/under the grip and brake...wish I could remember how I achieved something so retarded, but it caused the bike to walk sideways into wire rack shelving and the wheel stuttered on it, and down I went. It just happens and you never think about killing the switch - just holding on and coping to control the bike. Those survival instincts kick in with adrenaline and I can't say there's any sense is even in linesight of hitting a switch unless you've practiced it before. I think they should require that on the driving test course, accelerate, hit the kill switch at this line and brake in 20 feet at line 2. ..anyway. Sucks when it happens the first time, and the mind is really funny about emergency reactions - they run an entirely different circuit other then thought, it's fight or flight response.

 

I better rethink installing my Thottle miseter ... Glad you are ok!

 

gawd, thats awful,, like many on here i was thinking about some kind of device for lightly holding the throttle. I have been arguing with myself for a while about it,, I believe your event has just killed the idea.

I do practice flipping the kill switch without starting the engine now an then, I will continue to do so,, on a regular basis.

I too had an event with my 09 1125r, the second day after I bought it! It was only @ 3 or 4 mile an hour,, turned forks, slightly dipping for the turn onto side street. The Buell has a touchy throttle near closed postition and can punch in 1500rpm seemingly instantly. Now heading for a very high curb, all I could manage was to grab too much front brake in a blink of an eye amount of time,, CRACK! the helmet hit the pavement.

The throttle cable got adjusted right on the spot, kinda gave me something to do while I was cussing a blue streak in my helmet. The scrapes on the radiator cover will stay on that bike as long as I own it. Its my way of cussing at that thing every day without saying a word.
weas