Death of a Viper - Warning - Viper 2.0

[wavemaster]

Well I crashed my first sled after 25 years of riding. I wasn't on it when it crashed fortunately.

My son and I were heading back to the cabin on Dec. 27th on a feeder trail with snirt and water bars. Normally I throttle a little on the water bars and just hop over but on this trail it was 10-15mph crawl so I was dropping down in and riding out.

How it all went down -

Dropped into a water bar,
Hit rock with right ski came to dead stop (under 15mph) handlebars jammed to the right,
#*$&@ of sled lifted at the same time. I stabbed the throttle (handle bars coming back while all weight was going forward),
The track spun up real fast and when the #*$&@ came back down it jerked,
My weight and hold on the bars caused the bars to fold down and PIN THE THROTTLE AGAINST THE TANK.
Sled wheelied away from under me - I was standing in the trail wondering why the sled wasn't stopping. Like I casually stepped off the back.

3 crashes:
125' full throttle into a standing dead tree took out the left front suspension and tree - kept going
100' full throttle into a yard and off a 10' high stone wall - kept going
150' full throttle into a stairway on the back of the gentlemans garage. Took out the right side.

The good,
Missed sled trailer in gentlemans back yard
Missed 600lb propane bottle behind house by 3 feet.
Missed the house by literally 1 foot.
Climbed half up the stairs behind garage and was launched - flat daisy wheel spin 30' and finally stopped
Missed 2 300lb propane bottles under the stairs

Homeowner is a powersports fan and took it very well.

The WARNING - Check the bolts on your riser bottom and make sure they are tight. One side of mine were not very tight. I don't believe the force involved should have ever allowed what happened if it was tightened.

Murphys law was in play as well. As it was a 2 mile put put trail with my son on the Phazer behind me, I wasn't wearing my tether.



At the end of the crashes


How the throttle was pinned


Uneven tightening

 

[wavemaster]

Viper 2.0 2015 XTX SE

 

[basic700]

You should buy a lottery ticket I guess

 

[wavemaster]

You should buy a lottery ticket I guess

I felt like having the insurance come through high and fast was like hitting the lottery - lol.

 

[yzf1999]

Sorry about your loss....with regards to the riser bolts they are not suppose to be equally clamped. There picture shows the correct way. The front bolts are tightened a little more to allow the rear bolts to pinch with a greater force than if they were equally clamped. Unfortunately yours were obviously night tightened enough. Every new dirt bike or sled I've ever bought or seen (and I've bought and seen a lot) have had the bars tighten this way. The riser is essentially an extension of the handlebars.

 

[yamadoo]

Wow glad your not in the hospital. It is amazing how these freaky things happen

 

[sk-rx1]

Dealer setup instructions call for the 4 bolts to be tightened equally to 15 ft-lbs. Not very tight. Mine are tighter than that.

 

[wavemaster]

It was really surreal when it happened, I was literally standing in the trail watching it all. It only lasted maybe 6-8 seconds from start to finish.

I switched the new one out with a 6.5" black AC Riser and tightened it myself. The same issue won't happen again.

I will also wear my tether regardless of the ride length/style.

 

[Dicker from JP]

WOW.. thats one of the craziest crash story's I've every heard...(pictures were a nice touch to the tail). Glad to hear your insurance came through for you. Will you be getting another viper??

 

[Dicker from JP]

Sorry didn't see you last post.

 

[wavemaster]

WOW.. thats one of the craziest crash story's I've every heard...(pictures were a nice touch to the tail). Glad to hear your insurance came through for you. Will you be getting another viper??

I did, the Viper 2.0 above.

The dealer felt bad and I'm not the type to sue, so he hooked me up good. I actually went up a model year and put the left over proceeds in my pocket.

 

[wavemaster]

It is about 30' from the stairs to where it came down. It looked like someone backed up behind the garage and threw the sled out of the back of a truck, there were no tracks at all, just the sled sitting there.

 

[Dicker from JP]

View attachment 105328

It is about 30' from the stairs to where it came down. It looked like someone backed up behind the garage and threw the sled out of the back of a truck, there were no tracks at all, just the sled sitting there.

This is a story I'm going to tell everyone about..lol..glad to hear you were not hurt and it worked out in the end. I dont ride with a tether but i will now. WOW!!!!

 

[weasel33]

Glad it all ended well. That could have been a small disaster!!!

 

[wavemaster]

When I got my first car my mother put a sticker on the dash that said "never go faster than your guardian angel can fly".

I tell her my guardian flies with the Blue Angels.