Full speed faceplant on V8 = Luckiest day of my life! :-D

[EUC Custom Power-Pads]

First of all, this is no complaint against the Inmotion V8! I knew the V8 had its limits and I knew I was testing them right here. 

Faceplanted on my forest racetrack after the 4th 3km round and 50% battery left with full speed after a small bump.

I always thought that an EUC would shut down above a certain limit, but that's not the case. I just came out of a sharp curve and have full accelerated to the 30 km/h warning tone and tilt back (WheelLog setting is 35km/h Limit) as I was driving over a bump at that very moment. This brought my body a little too far forward and the V8 tried to compensate this by further acceleration, while in slow motion the V8 tilted forward until I fell forward. My topspeed is 32km/h with little tilt back, but the moment I crashed was definitely several km/h faster. Would almost say 36-38 km/h, is that possible or did it just seem that way to me? 

I didn't know that the V8 could go any faster while tilting forward because it couldn't lift me up. 

So why is this the happiest day of my life? 

I'm 50 years old and I've been riding a motorcycle with jeans or shorts and a T-shirt since I was 16. My protective clothing was always just a helmet, nothing else! That shouldn't change with the EUC driving, except for the helmet, which is no obligation to wear and therefore I drive the V8 also since April only without any protective clothing. Also various faceplant stories here in the forum did not make me change my mind. No reason, the V8 only drives a ridiculous 30 km/h. 

On July 17th I ordered the 16X, which I will get on September 11th. Well, it goes 50 km/h...maybe I should protect my knees, elbows and wrists at least. 

So I ordered POC Protektor Joint VPD 2.0 DH Elbow and Knee and Deamon Flexmeter double wrist guards and since I already had them, I wore them the last days at the V8 forest race. Then a few days ago I thought that if I start wearing protective clothing after 35 years, then I'll buy also a Bell Super DH full face helmet, which I wear when I ride the 16X. 

Today I jumped into my car again to drive to the forest race track, when I thought to test the helmet how warm it is. So I went back to my house and took the new helmet off the shelf. After the first lap, dressed with shorts, shirt and the new protective gear, I was happy that the airstream cools my head very well. After the fourth lap I was much happier when I noticed that my head didn't hurt a bit when it hit the ground with full force at approx. 35 km/h.  Nothing happened to my hands, wrists, elbows and knees. Only the little finger has a tiny scratch and the middle finger is a little blue. The right toe hurts minimally. The belly and chest area is a little red. All in all a top result. 

So, isn't this a fantastic day?  

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2019 by buell47

[mrelwood]

Oh man, that really is the luckiest faceplant I've ever read about! Congratulations!

8 minutes ago, buell47 said:

I always thought that an EUC would shut down above a certain limit, but that's not the case.

There are two basic types of forward falling crashes on an EUC. What you experienced was an overlean that caused the crash: Your weight (Center of Gravity) moved so much forward, that while the wheel was accelerating with all it had, it wasn't enough to catch your CoG, and you slowly fell forward. The devilishly mean brother of this is a cut-out, where a wheel malfunction causes the wheel to stop balancing in an instant. What is descriptive about the abruptness and speed of the incident, is that usually the rider didn't have enough time to even lift one's arms up for protection. It's simply riding, riding, riding, on the ground.

One thing that intrigues me about your situation, is that is there anything anyone could've shown or told you before the incident that would've made you start wearing the protective equipment beforehand?

[FreeRide]

I like a happy ending. Often the one wheel only gives you one chance, I'm glad you stacked the deck this time so you didn't have to rely on chance.

Edited August 10, 2019 by FreeRide

[vint43]

I am 51.  Riding a v10.  Looking at the 16x.  You have given me yet another list of protective options to look at!  Thanks! 

I have been trying different wrist guards, knee pads, and elbow pads trying to find ones I really like (easy to put on, feels like solid coverage, and stays once it is on). 

I have not tried the POC options.  

I have a really fat head so finding a good, light, full face helmet that fits my big head has also been a challenge.

Thanks for the post and happy your first total face plant happened at the right time in terms of your choice of protective gear.

Hopefully, after this experience, there will never be a "wrong time" to face plant for you!

[EUC Custom Power-Pads]

 

20 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

is there anything anyone could've shown or told you before the incident that would've made you start wearing the protective equipment beforehand?

No, never! Any kind of protective clothing was out of the question and I would have preferred not to ride a motorcycle. No matter what I was riding, motocross or on a racing bike at 300km/h on the highway, nothing could get me to wear protective gear.

I can't really explain why I decided to do this. I wasn't afraid on the V8 and certainly not on the upcoming 16X.

Maybe it was an intuition or my age, or that I became a father when I was 46 and in 1-2 years I still want to experience how I race together with my wife and then 6 year old daughter with the EUC through the nature. 

[EUC Custom Power-Pads]

9 hours ago, vint43 said:

I have not tried the POC options. 

I have tried 3 different POC protectors. 

1. POC Knieschoner Joint Vpd Air

I found them too insecure and too stiff, and the fit was not good. I was also sure that they would slip on impact at the latest, as there was no second lower belt. 

2. POC Knieschoner Joint Vpd 2.0

I kept these. Pleasant to wear on the skin and do not slip during the ride. A second strap prevents it from slipping. Good soft fit. Not the slightest pain after the faceplant. A knee protector has slipped approx. 3 cm downwards on impact. Acceptable for me. 

3. POC Protektor Joint VPD 2.0 DH Elbow

Definitely the best one, because in addition to the 2.0 there is also a hard shell on which you can slide to slowly dissipate the impact energy. This makes the whole thing stiffer and thicker and was too uncomfortable for me. Therefore I decided for the second one. 

The Demon Flexmeter double wrist guards are also awesome. Together with the elbow protector, they provide complete protection of the forearm and hand up to the beginning of the fingers. If I had worn my thin cycling gloves underneath, then I would not have had to scratch the finger.

I only ordered two helmets. The Bell Super 3R MIPS and the Bell Super DH MIPS. The 3R did not sit well and pressed on the head. The DH, on the other hand, was more comfortable and after I replaced the 30mm side chin pads with the included 25mm side chin pads (the 3R does not contain different chin pads), everything was perfect. Very good ventilation and the magnetic closure is ingenious. 

I am also considering whether I should buy a protector shirt with shoulder protection, or even better one with chest protector like this on:

Leatt 3DF AirFit Lite Protektorenshirt L/XL

Edited August 11, 2019 by buell47

[Planemo]

I use VPD Air on my elbows. I hear what you are saying in that they could slide down (as the strap is around the bottom edge) but in reality, with the forward movement of an EUC and your arms out front, I think they would only ever try and slide up which of course they cant. I love mine. So comfy and quick to don/doff.

For my knees I was looking for the same but some NukeProof D3O pads came up used on the Bay so I got those instead. They don't have any straps on them at all but because the whole thing is longer and extends past the knees in both directions quite some way I don't think they will slide anywhere in a spill. Remains to be seen of course. Again, very comfy, flexible and quick to get on and off.

Oh, and you are one lucky man. Maybe consider doing the lottery

 

[Leucistic]

I`m happy with my 16s . Made me speed demon at forest roads and skiing trails. Beating a hell out this machine  and offcourse had to taste ground again. Coming to steep incline a long one. At the end of hill gets little steeper and thought i could keep the momentum to the top. Hit the hole in ground that i didnt see even with 2 lights in helmet. Inspected wheellog and was going about 16-18km/h. Wheel went bonkers after hitting the hole no peeps but shook left to right and gone. I was so padded that didnt hurt going left knee first then elbow half superman. Well now my dual axis kneepads look like used .

Wheel didnt peep or turn off but wheellog clocked power sector to over 1700W and no big current. It didnt hurt after fall but man now 2 days after my whole left is killing me. 4 days later and minor stifnes. I have Bell Super DH full face helmet too. Very good ventilation but those little flies on forest track keep going inside helmet and ears.

Now when weather is going colder im looking for something rain proof to replace my fox titan armor and maybe go with Unventor style . 

[Cumulus Libre]

happy to hear the V8 is fine,

even more happy that the fall did change your mind of wearing protection

and even more more more happy that you learned that without really hurting yourself..