Your biggest splat

[jamieren]

Well, I had my first serious wipeout Friday. I was doing about 40kmh through the ditches and hit the accelerator to jump what I thought was an approach - my high beams revealed nothing suspicious. Then all of a sudden I'm flying through the air and the sled comes to a dead stop on a pile of rocks 20 feet forward and 6 feet down. Turns out it was a deep, rock filled gulley for drainage with a pair of 8' culverts (which thank god I missed!). "Luckily", the machine took the brunt of the impact on the front right ski (bent the lower a arm, but seems to be solid otherwise upon closer inspection). I flew forward, bounced off the handlebars, jammed my left wrist and shoulder then landed in a heap to the right side of the machine. Oh I'm stiff and sore alright, but it's like "how soon can I get parts so I can get back on that horse"! I know there's better stories out there though...

 

[rrxx-1]

Well, I had my first serious wipeout Friday. I was doing about 40kmh through the ditches and hit the accelerator to jump what I thought was an approach - my high beams revealed nothing suspicious. Then all of a sudden I'm flying through the air and the sled comes to a dead stop on a pile of rocks 20 feet forward and 6 feet down. Turns out it was a deep, rock filled gulley for drainage with a pair of 8' culverts (which thank god I missed!). "Luckily", the machine took the brunt of the impact on the front right ski (bent the lower a arm, but seems to be solid otherwise upon closer inspection). I flew forward, bounced off the handlebars, jammed my left wrist and shoulder then landed in a heap to the right side of the machine. Oh I'm stiff and sore alright, but it's like "how soon can I get parts so I can get back on that horse"! I know there's better stories out there though...

P.S. Check you subframe, I am pretty sure it is bent. If you bent a lower, chances are you bent the subframe too.

 

[jamieren]

I am assuming it is not a small task to replace that.

 

[rrxx-1]

I am assuming it is not a small task to replace that.

If you get lucky you can straighten it and add gussets to keep it there, but yours may be past that. If so $500 for a sub frame and you are back in business. But if it were me I would add the gusset kit to the new one also. Grizz on here has them. Takes about a day to remove and replace the sub frame if I remember correctly.

 

[nitris223]

That would be $500 USD, You might find a good used one in Canada for $500 CDN. Stealership here quoted me $1100 for a new sub frame, that was back when our money was on par with the USA. I got one from the States for $450 USD back in 2012.
I did 4 gusset kits in one week that year for friends and my wifes sled and I got so good at it I could have a bare sub frame sitting on my welding table in 35 minutes. Average person with some wrenching ability should have it off in a couple hours but it will take most of a day with welding and waiting for paint to dry.

 

[NOS-PRO]

This was from long ago..... I was playing around off to the side by shore. Knew I was in trouble when I hit the large block of ice that a spear ice fisherman never put back in the hole. It was under the snow and my right ski nailed it when I came down on my landing.

Goes to show you anything can happen....even to people who race and have many trail miles for seat time. Rang my bell pretty good as I face planted into the ski or side panel. Glad it didn't end up worse.

 

[BigDogrx1]

This was from long ago..... I was playing around off to the side by shore. Knew I was in trouble when I hit the large block of ice that a spear ice fisherman never put back in the hole. It was under the snow and my right ski nailed it when I came down on my landing.

Goes to show you anything can happen....even to people who race and have many trail miles for seat time. Rang my bell pretty good as I face planted into the ski or side panel. Glad it didn't end up worse.

Ouch thank goodness you weren't doing 60-80 video shows how quick it happens.

 

[grizztracks]

Flipped sled end over end after having a ski catch a buried rail. The trail crossed over an abandoned railroad with no bridging or signage to warn riders of the crossing. After several phone calls the trail was rerouted but not before another sled did the same thing.

 

[Grimm]

Similar situation, although I was travelling down a dirt road and hit an unmarked rail. I didn't flip though.

 

[jamieren]

OMG these are horrible! Screw this, I'm gonna take up sky diving instead - it's safer!

 

[Sasquatch]

I've been ejected a few times over the years but the last time was when I hit this rock. There was about a foot more snow on top of it give or take so it was hidden and if I had been a bit to the right I would have got it with both ski's. Hitting it with one and the track was bad. Looked like a perfect place and two sleds had been over it just missing the rock on the right. Nice snow on the lake no tracks over it, we where the first. Been over it in years past never hit the rock till that day. Hitting it the way I did at about 50mph trying to get a bit of air it turned the sled a bit sideways in the air and when it landed it did about the same as Terrys landing and ejected me. Soft snow landing but as the guys said it looked like a meteor strike with the snow that flew up in the air. Seems to be OK but the next day I couldn't walk without a crutch and my knee was swollen bad.

The time before I hit a Rock with my Warrior (in that weird light you can't make out any thing) that was about two feet up out of the snow. Tracks lead me right up to it and then went around both sides of it, I went over! Top of it was pointed and it grooved my skid plate, without it it would have destroyed the chassis and took out the heat ex-changer and maybe the front drive axle. Other then banging my helmet on the bar pad and getting about 4 feet in the air (Andy said it looked like I was trying to fly) it stayed upright and landed flat. Lucky it was where the trail off the lake entered the bush again so we all slowed down. Club marked the rock and then rerouted the trail a bit to keep someone else from hitting it.

The one before was when I hit an approach along the highway at about 70mph. Had fallen behind a bit and was trying to catch up on a trail I had never rode before. Bad! Worse I piled on the binders just before the approach and got the sled sideways a bit. Real Bad!!!!!!!!!!!! I landed sideways and I had to let go or pull the sled over. I let go and skidded forever (leather is slippery) but my sled just righted itself and when it got to the bottom of the hill about a 1/4 mile down the trail it stopped and sat there with that 1000 Triple with its tuned pipes idling almost sounded like it was laughing at me as I trudged up to it.

As I have been sledding for 40 years and on some real old time sleds there is much more. There was this one time that my buddy ran me over when I fell off the back of the sled in front of him and the time I hit a barbed wire fence and it took quite awhile to extract myself from it. Sled made it through I didn't!

 

[NOS-PRO]

Now THAT is a rock that should be marked..... OUCH!

 

[4StrokeAddict]

I hit a barbed wire fence and it took quite awhile to extract myself from it

Thank god you weren't going faster. You're lucky to be alive. Had a guy decapitate himself about 4 years ago in the area we ride going of trail in fields.

 

[steiner]

A few years ago our local club decided that it was not worth grooming anymore that season after seeing that we had freezing rain and 2 days of above freezing temps in Jan. Didn't bother me too much as the trails had been groomed just before the rain came keeping them smooth and straight.
So my uncle comes down one evening on a surprise visit to go for a ride. At first I said no since there had been no snowfall since the freezing rain but he convinced me to go for atleast a short run.
Away we went with me in the lead. As the trails ( ditch trails) were rock hard I was on the lookout for any little snow drifts to help lube the sliders. Not many to be found but as we turned from eastbound to a northbound ditch there were a quite a few finger drifts. I pounded every 6" drift I could find as I thot I could smell the sliders just burning away. Just over a mile down this ditch the headlights showed an even larger snow drift coming up just slightly left of the trail. I leaned to the left to take full advantage of the upcoming snow. Low and behold it was not a drift but deep ruts. I managed to hold on through the first set of ruts but the second set was too much and I ended up off the sled. Now with the trail being iced over from recent freak weather we had I ended up sliding down the trail on my back doing about 60mph or so. While this ride was a nice and smooth and the stars were shining pretty in the night sky I can back to reality and decided to get off the incredibly smooth trail before my uncle catches up and drives over me. With my arms outstretched and hands acting as the brakes I position myself to slide feet first. I then plant my heels to stand up. While the thot process was good and all that I think I was still traveling a bit to fast because as my heels dug in I pole vaulted back into the air. With one mid air summersault I was on my back again continuing down the trail. That's when I decided to wait out the ride until it came to a full and complete stop. As I stand up my uncle pulls up beside me with tears of laughter pouring down from behind his visor as he is trying to ask if I'm ok. I tell him to shut up and give me a ride to my sled that was sitting 1/8 of a mile down the trail still on its skis just waiting for me.
I went back the next day in my truck during daylight hours and could see why I ended up off the sled. The deep ruts were from the vehicle entering the ditch as it lost control on the highway during the freezing rain from weeks ago and I think the second set of ruts were even deeper from when it got pulled out by the wrecker. Just not a good thing to be located on or near a trail meant for sleds.

 

[Sasquatch]

Thank god you weren't going faster. You're lucky to be alive. Had a guy decapitate himself about 4 years ago in the area we ride going of trail in fields.

Yep I remember a guy who was killed hitting a fence. Wasn't pretty! If he had been riding by himself he may have lived but his girlfriend on the back of the sled crushed him into the wire.

In my case the gate was always open but this year the farmer had left it closed not on purpose as he let us sled across his field. Just forgot to open it. So it was a section of barbed wire that is three posts long and for those who has never saw a barbed wire gate the bottom of the last post goes in a loop and the top after you stretch it pulling all the other posts upright has a loop drop over it. So when the sled hit it, the fence kicked up on the bottom and the sled slide under. I saw the fence and threw my arms up elbows tight to my body hands infront of my face and the wire just janked me off the sled. With a gate the wire is not stretched taut so has was more spring in it. I think it would be much worse otherwise. I got a few cuts, my suit had a few rip's, sled a couple scratches but it could have been worse. Top speed of the old 440 was probably 60mph on a good day with a 50mph tailwind downhill but at 40mph you where out riding its lights.