Posts
2396
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
Apple Valley, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
6/17/2015 6:51pm
There has been a lot of talk about 6D helmets on the board, so I thought I'd let you in on some test results.
I'm still alive. LOL.
During the 2015 Baja 500 last weekend while running 2nd overall, I hit a buried rock at about 60-70mph. The bike instantly went into an endo. I'm not sure if there is anything more terrifying than diving head first over the bars at that speed...knowing the bike is going to chase you down. I honestly thought I was going to hit so hard that I might not wake up.
No, this wasn't the first time I've done this at high speed, but it's the first time I've stayed awake. I remember every hit, every tumble, as I bounced through the desert. At one point I saw the bike, and it looked like it was 15 feet in the air. It was the craziest experience to be so aware of what was going on. The only thing I can relate it to is playing a video game.
The bike was thrashed! The fender was tucked farther back than Bruce Jenner's wiener at a nude beach. The FMF exhaust was ripped off the bike and the mounts were crushed. Wheels bent, bars bent, sub-frame bent...it was a yard sale of epic proportions.
Except for the normal back, wrist, shoulder, and hip (I'm old) injuries, I was doing great! I hobbled back to the bike immediately and took off. I was pretty sure my kidney was floating behind me like a little parachute and I knew I needed to ride to safety.
I couldn't have gotten the bike to my next rider (50+ miles away) if I had been knocked out.
I really think the 6D saved our race and maybe my life!
I'm sending the helmet back to 6D. They said if the outer shell is in good shape, they can replace the inner foam and everything! The foam did compress...
Edit: the exhaust fell off right after this was taken...it was a LOUD 50 miles!
I'm still alive. LOL.
During the 2015 Baja 500 last weekend while running 2nd overall, I hit a buried rock at about 60-70mph. The bike instantly went into an endo. I'm not sure if there is anything more terrifying than diving head first over the bars at that speed...knowing the bike is going to chase you down. I honestly thought I was going to hit so hard that I might not wake up.
No, this wasn't the first time I've done this at high speed, but it's the first time I've stayed awake. I remember every hit, every tumble, as I bounced through the desert. At one point I saw the bike, and it looked like it was 15 feet in the air. It was the craziest experience to be so aware of what was going on. The only thing I can relate it to is playing a video game.
The bike was thrashed! The fender was tucked farther back than Bruce Jenner's wiener at a nude beach. The FMF exhaust was ripped off the bike and the mounts were crushed. Wheels bent, bars bent, sub-frame bent...it was a yard sale of epic proportions.
Except for the normal back, wrist, shoulder, and hip (I'm old) injuries, I was doing great! I hobbled back to the bike immediately and took off. I was pretty sure my kidney was floating behind me like a little parachute and I knew I needed to ride to safety.
I couldn't have gotten the bike to my next rider (50+ miles away) if I had been knocked out.
I really think the 6D saved our race and maybe my life!
I'm sending the helmet back to 6D. They said if the outer shell is in good shape, they can replace the inner foam and everything! The foam did compress...
Edit: the exhaust fell off right after this was taken...it was a LOUD 50 miles!
i know Myers said nothing but good about them, i'm thinking it might be my next lid
The Shop
LMFAO
HoF material, thanks ridge for my afternoon belly laugh!
Abshire told me what you said to him after the crash- you briefly considered that you had died and gone to heaven! Awesome!
Myers gave me the bike about 15 seconds out of 1st place. When I crashed we must have had a huge lead on 3rd (like 15 minutes).
Did your rider say anything about a course change between 170ish and 225? I crashed on a section I had not pre-run.
I kept thinking, am I lost? Did I die and God took away all of Satan's bumps? Then I thought I'm in too much pain to be dead...so I went back to thinking I was lost!
It sounds funny but I really had those thoughts going through my head.
haha!
In your pic of the EPS foam, I can see the same distortion I have in my Shoei. My liner is distorted low around the back of the head and more down near the neck.
After watching my helmet cam in slow motion, looking at the scratches in my helmet shell and comparing that to the distortion in the foam and the sore muscles in the back of my neck I figured out the impact:
I think I pretty much did a lawn dart straight into the clay. The bump on the back of the Shoei caught the dirt and my head was torqued back and up as if I looked up very quickly. Once my neck bottomed out at the end of it's "travel" I think my brain got the rotation and impact at the same time.
Here's a photo of my helmet. Looking up and rearward. The bottom of the photo is the bottom/rear neck-line:
Ridge is an animal on the bike, incredible talent and easily the best rider i've ever ridden with in my 20 odd years riding. i haven't been on a technical single-track or cliff jump yet that he wasn't ripping up before i could have a chance. riding with him you'd never know he had a prosthetic until you saw it. it's impressive for sure.
Pit Row
This was the first time I've crashed in a 6D and I feel it went above and beyond my expectations of any helmet.
I've been practicing and trail riding in my (older) Bell helmets. That's going to stop immediately. Hopefully this one can be repaired and I'll be buying another 6D.
I've been around this sport for 30+ years and crashed a lot (hence the fake leg). This helmet is the real deal.
If it was freakin boring and safe a different set of people would be doing this sport. US true moto heads would need to find something else to put our stomachs into our throats and scare the shit out of us every once in a while. And mean while guys that think golf is an extreme sport , would probably be riding our bikes.
Glad you're ok bud! We seem to always hear a "bad ending " when things like this happen. Glad yours wasn't!
I, like you have been practicing in an older helmet (Fox V3)... I'm going to re-consider that too.
I'm jus'...well...proud.
As Chris and the rest of us that race in a Baja know...getting up from something like this is literally like being reborn.
It's a Reckoning.
And, ya know what, Chris? I'm actually glad that it went EXACTLY the way it did.
You know what I mean, don't ya? Everything in life seems to be "just fine" when you walk away from something like this.
Doesn't it?
Were you following our progress during the race? Were you proud? We did pretty damn good for 2 old dudes and 2 guys who had never raced a bike!
I had a unfortunate chance to test my 6D coming down Mt. St. Helens. Witnesses say the crash was so violent, the 6D probably saved my life. Bob and the 6D team were able to rebuild the helmet for me..for $200 my helmet was technically/safety speaking, brand new.
I'm a believer too. There's a lot of skeptics on here, but the technology and science behind it is sound. The test results are proven and now we're getting respectable rider testimonials from real world crashes. I don't see how people can continue to doubt or be skeptical of the helmet.
Ride on - Ride Safe.
Doug
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