Not worth it!!

never_catch · Jan 8, 2012

I went camping at the sand dunes, riding dirtbikes and banshees, with some friends this weekend. I hadn't rode a dirtbike like that in about 10 years, I was flying up and down the valley and jumping the spine at sand mountain like I had never missed a beat. I had a great weekend and was seriously thinking about buying a CR250...until now :-(

Another buddy of mine was riding today in a different location and is now laying in the hospital with a broken back and a punctured lung, it's not looking good at all. I don't know the details of exactly what happened yet but he's always been one of the most careful riders I've known...I'm just sick to my stomach!!

I've never had any seriously life threatening injuries on a dirtbike but have had my fair share of concussions, amnesia, and a pile of knee surgeries. Dirtbikes are great, grand, and wonderful but they're definitely not worth what's eventually going to happen if you ride long enough.

If you ride, I'll cross my fingers for you...

~Z~

nvhunter · Jan 8, 2012

My 2 boys used to ride dirt bikes competively, the youngest never really did get to where he went super fast, but the oldest was hell on wheels, 15 at the time, could out race 20+ year olds that i thought were super fast. Would ride wheelies for hundreds of feet, going up to probably 50mph.
I have picked him up off the track, went on many an ambulance ride with both of them. He wiped out on a jump on day and i watched helplessly as another bike took the jump and landed squarely on him, hit him so hard he crapped his pants, split him open from his shoulder blade halfway down his ribcage. That was the day i told him i was done raceing...he never hesitated when he said that he was still going to race with or without me.
Year later watched him get his leg wrapped up in another bikes back tire, took 5 men 20 minutes to get him unwrapped from the other bike, that time required a 14" rod in his lower leg.
He hasn't been the same since and that one ended his raceing for good. He can't run like he used to, limps all the time, pain in his leg all the time, 16 was too young to have problems like that.
Strange as it sounds I am now happy for that day because if he wouldn't of broken his leg that bad i know in my heart that something much worse would of happened to him eventually.
It's true...if you ride dirt bikes long enough you WILL get seriously hurt.

Gods prayers to your friend! I hope he comes out of it ok!!

ShowThemToMe · Jan 8, 2012

Hope your Friend pulls out of that one ~Z~!

Doesn't sound good at all!

Me & my brothers grew up toying with misc & YZ Dirt Bikes!

Ya,they were fun as all HELL!

Until something Happens!

We all took our turn with different incidents & Road-Rash!

That crap Hurts!

It was about 81 when our local small town Dealer got this CR450 in & I decided to stop & look at it,He said take Her for a Spin,As I wheelied it the full length of Main Street the Cop wasn't to pleased but Hey,this was back in the Day of a small Town growing up,things are different now!

You'd be better off taking your money down to Southern Comfort ~Z~!

Was anybody showing off for the Ladies?

Hot Dog,Hot Damn,I love this Ameri-can

HunterHarry · Jan 8, 2012

I raced hot bikes for about 10 years.
My last was a 2 stroke CR 500R Honda, that thing really hauled ass.
On a Friday night under the lights I pushed my bike to the line.
Our race was the first after they had watered the track.
The gate dropped and I was near the front until I hit the slick hard packed corner, instantly my wheels went out from under me as I hit the slippery, ice like corner.
Even over the raucous note of a pack of 500 cc two stroke motocrossers, I could hear a loud "SNAP".
That noise was my left tibia, fibula and ankle shattering.
8 days in the hospital.
14 screws, two 8 inch stainless plates and a bone graft out of my hip.
It took, a few months but I was determined to got on my feet again.
That was the end of my racing, but I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.
Better a racer for 5 minutes than a bench sitter for life.
I still carry the hardware in my left leg.

Roy · Jan 8, 2012

Sorry to hear about your friend Z - had the same thing happen to my cousin. At 23 years old he was paralyzed from the waist down. After being in a chair for about 12 years or so now though he has learned to adjust and can do just about anything he wants. Hope your friend recovers.

HOOK 'EM!
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TAGATTRACTER · Jan 9, 2012

I refuse to grow up but I will admit that I have gotten smarter about it. I have a lifelong need for speed !!!!!

I did all the usual Dirt bike, sport quad stuff my entire life starting at the age of 8 . In my late 20's I had one of those "OH SH$$" moments and decided there had to be a better way.

Since then all my speed has included a full roll cage and really good seat belts. I have since been in a few really nasty crashes but walked away unscathed.

I will never grow up !

LESGO54 · Jan 9, 2012

LAST EDITED ON Jan-09-12 AT 08:29AM (MST)[p]hey never catch i sure hope your friend makes a full recovery. as for u. i need to to stay healthy to help me beat up rans. ALSO BACK WHEN I WAS ABOUT 20 i use to race motocross. i had a rm125. well i fell and broke my arm and dislocatede my left elboy. i grew up quict that day and havent been on a bike since.

GO LSU

grizzlyplumber · Jan 9, 2012

I ride mountain bikes and the saying is: The slower you go, the better chance you have of crashing. I would imagine a similar saying among mx riders. No such thing as being careful.

Feleno · Jan 9, 2012

I use to race 250 class. RM's and YZ's. I'm lucky I'm not dead. Never even broke a bone but got busted up pretty good a time or two. Stay in it long enough and you'll get hurt. Also have a buddy that will never walk again without assistance because of a biking accident. Hope your buddy fairs better.

feddoc · Jan 9, 2012

I hope your buddy fares well.

Years ago when I was still on AD, I was the dude in charge of a hospital. One Sunday afternoon I got the call that a couple of guys were pretty banged up and might not make it, so I headed in to work. They were riding their dirbikes, each of them 250s of some make. Each experienced, but not experienced enough to ride in the same direction...yup, they hit head on. One guy had a broken leg and a broken neck. The other guy had a punctured lung, some broken ribs and a broken nose. And not a single ounce of protective gear on either. Idiots. That's a pretty risky activity, especially when dumbassedness is mixed in.

Both survived and the neck guy was the least injured of the two. He walked out a week later. The other guy was belly up for almost a month.

Compromise, hell! ... If freedom is right and tyranny is wrong, why should those who believe in freedom treat it as if it were a roll of bologna to be bartered a slice at a time?

BuckSnort · Jan 9, 2012

I have ridden and raced dirt bikes since I was 5 years old.. 80 mph across desert trails that are only 18" wide.. I have had a couple good crashes broken a few bones, most painful one was my tailbone, did that twice... None of the crashes and broken bones felt as bad as the way I felt last year after getting Trichinosis from bear meat..

HunterHarry said "Better a racer for 5 minutes than a bench sitter for life".... And I agree 100%...

My grandpa is the fastest old dude I know..I have ridden handle bar to handle bar with him wide open across the desert, he's still riding dirt bikes at 75 years old..He has broken damn near every bone when he used to race.. He has had multiple heart attacks yet still rides even though the doc's tell him it's time to slow down.. It's what he loves to do, why should he give it up?

Pic of my grandpa..

Disclaimer:
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sageadvice · Jan 9, 2012

Sorry to hear of your friend Z, hope somehow he pulls through OK!!

I want a Harley so bad but i keep remembering back to my younger days on dirt bikes. I had no fear back then, did some stupid stuff, crashed a bunch, yet lucky enough to walk away from them.

I want but i best leave them big bikes alone.

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

HorseCreek · Jan 9, 2012

Hope your buddy is ok.

I broke my hand, and 3 knee reconstructions but the worst was I broke three vertebra while riding at little Sahara. I got back on and rode for a few more years until I watched my bro in law crash that shoulda killed him. My wife and I were expecting our first so I sold my crf450, cr500r, and kx 250. Losing that 500 was heart breaking but I'm ready to get back into it. My son eat sleeps and breathes moto/supercross. I can't wait to get him a bike!

Traditional >>>------->

BuckSnort · Jan 9, 2012

NC, I got sidetracted during my rambling... Hope your buddy heals up ok...

Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.

never_catch · Jan 9, 2012

Thank you all for chiming in and wishing him well. Sounds like everyone has a horror story on these things...thank god some of us are still alive and well!!

Not much has changed with his condition except the lung isn't a big concern now I guess. He's got a crushed T9 vertebrae but can feel his feet so luckily he's not paralyzed. He's in a full back brace and will see a couple specialists this week to see what kind of surgery he'll need. Also he was actually at Sand Mountain, which is where I was. I was back in Salt Lake by 1pm Sunday and he went to the dunes that morning so maybe we passed eachother on the way and didn't know it. Makes me sick to think about it all still...he had just came off the face of the mountain and was on his way back to the truck in the flats when he crashed.

TAG, I hear you on the need for speed (adrenaline rush/I don't wanna go up) stuff

I just no longer think it's worth not being able to walk, hike, hunt, fish, ect. the rest of my life if something horrible happened. I'd rather be killed by a wolf, bear, or man-eating trout then break my back on a bike lol.

Thanks again guys, and be careful out there!!

~Z~