Speed + wall = damage

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Last night was the final Thunderdome race for 06. Right before I left to go to the race I decided to bring a spare steering rod with both ends.I usually dont bring any parts.
I got a bad starting positon for my heat race and had 3rd in turn 2. A YFZ450 running knobbies was infront of me and after 2 laps I decided to try and pass him on the outside. He was all over and I couldnt get by on the inside."There oughtta be a law against running knobbies on this track in any class,they just dont work well at all" On the back straight I started to catch up,my front wheels were just behind his front wheels, then he decides to slide out and sandwich me into the wall. IDK for sure but we might have been doing 30-35 mph.I knew it was coming but couldnt do anything to prevent it. When the r front tire hit the wall it was like the wall had gravity x10. My steering rod snapped pulling the quad into and up the wall.
I got slingshotted off the blaster,coulda been 10' or 20', everything went black until I felt myself hit the concrete.I hit elbow/wrist first,then felt my head bounce pretty good,then I think I rolled once or twice and got right up on my feet and got outta the way. I left the blaster in middle of the track til after the race,then carried it back to the pits.
From what I was told the blaster twirled around against the wall in the air 2-3 times before landing on its wheels.I did leave some nice marks on the wall about 15 inches off the floor. The frame is bent behind both lower a-arms and the bumper is trashed. I fixed the steering rod after the wreck and went back out to race the c-main.I got 4th there for 16th overall. While in the main I could tell the blaster wasnt straight.I just went back out to get some track time in.
Today I feel like I got hit by a truck.When the pain goes away(days) I will go out and disassemble the flat tracker and decide what I'll do for next years racer.The pink frame will have to be checked out and repaired before I race on it again.Maybe just get another frame.
Here's some pics of the blaster. The black marks on the front and back of the aarm are from the tire hitting it a few times. The right side wheelbase is now 1 inch shorter than the left side.:rolleyes:

[85hondaatc125m]

Ow, at least ya got out ok and that is a nice ride you got there, you got any more videos of those thunderdome races?It is so cool watching the videos b/c i have never been to a real ATV race.

[New2ATC]

Ouch.. Looks like you hit the wall pretty good... At least there is no serious injuries (to you or the fourwheeler) and all can be fixed..

[Wickedfinger]

Damn Jim .... I hope your really alright.

[Howdy]

Damn Jim .... I hope your really alright.

Ditto here!! That looks VERY painfull!!
Howdy

[HELLONWHEELS]

I feel for you i was driving my buddys dx and i hade it wineding out in 4th in a parking lot and the breaks were bad but he never told me he took them off and i was going straight for a brick building and all's i did was gear down but it didnt do anything i paniked and kicked it right into neutrel, I turned a bit and lent up hititng the steel gym door and nearly destroyed. I was doign what ever a dx does in like mid 4th. I woke up and the bike was up side down and there was blood everywheres. The turn was i got a concushion, Broken wrist, 3 broken and cut to hell fingures, Tore shoulder and back muscles, a fat lip and a busted open eye......Never gurt the bike to bad but to this day my arm goes numb and hurts randomly sometimes...I was a one who said it would never happen to me but there yeah go im just glad i had my helmet on.
hope your alright

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Walls,trees,etc always have a magnetic attraction to an ATV.They always seem to get pulled right into the object no matter how much you try to avoid it.
This morning I was still sore, When I got to work,first thing I did was drop a 75 lb steel battery box to a CASE 580 backhoe on my big toe.My toe was black almost instantly.Its not broken but I'll probably lose the nail and limp for a few days. That made me forget all about the soreness from the wreck :) I kept ice on for 45 min and then went back to work.
My blaster still sits in the garage where I left it saturday night after the race.

[Billy Golightly]

Dang Jim, your getting all beat up! :lol: I had a little episode weekend before last on the DS650...overshot a double and ate it. Glad I had my chest protector on or I would have had some broken ribs for sure.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Hey Billy, When did you get a ds650? Fast machines but big and heavy.

I took some pics of my elbow and jersey a few minutes ago. A few days went by before it started to bruise. Forget about even touching the elbow or resting it on any surface:eek: My elbow did hit the floor first,then the rest of me came down on top of it.On the jersey you can see how my arm rolled after it hit.I still have some black stuff from the track surface embedded in the skin on my elbow.:w00t: It woulda been nice if that sewn in elbow pad was an inch or two longer. I will have real elbow pads next year.
If there was another race this saturday,I'd be there. Thunderdome is in my blood now,literally.
Now if the darn toe wasnt black,I'd be in decent shape.
I also injured myself again today at work while putting a plow on a truck,It was dark and snowing. I slipped on snow/ice and banged my ear and head on the triangle shaped piece that lifts the plow up,then landed with the side of my throat on the top edge of the plow.I was on the ground for a few minutes before getting up.I have a nice cut on my ear and a huge scrape going from my ear down to my collarbone.
I hope next week will treat me better than this week has.
,,,,icing on the cake,,,I have to work in the snow all weekend. lol

[Billy Golightly]

My mom bought the DS back in 03 "for her" :lol: She's rode it about 3 times since then. My dad rode it alot until we got a Kodiak for him. It sat for a while because like you said it really is just a big hoss to ride. I took it out to the track because my R is down and my Z hasn't been running right. One thing about it is, it does have nice suspension.


Them bruises look bad! I should have gotten some pictures of the one on my stomach from hitting the kill switch box. Left a big gouge and stuff too. Its almost healed now but man talk about tender for a couple days. YOUCH!