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My Triumph was Taken out Thursday night.

50K views 425 replies 80 participants last post by  Badonka Daddy 
#1 ·
Hi all,
My poor Triumph was laid to rest.
Unfortunately I was taken out on Thursday evening in Tottenham, London about 10PM.
My beautiful black Triumph Sprint ST 955i, obsessevely taken care of, secretly more on ocassion than the better half, has been fataly wounded.
It happened right outside Tottenham police station.
Spent last three days in hospital, i'll save the drama but I have walked away with no serious or lasting injuries.
Still waiting to get all this sorted out.

I don't know how or where he hit me on the bike and i still haven't seen the bike or what i'm told by a police officer is left of the bike.
He makes out the bike is about half it's original size.

I have no recollection what-so-ever of the collision and lost a lot of hours so only able to listen to what others have said in the last few days.

I'm so gutted, now I need to start again to build a custom bike to my little quirks of comfort.
 
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#9 ·
Getting the start of details together.
Lost £280 in £20 notes
All my credit cards, and other items were still in my back-pack, unfortunately torn and shreaded.
helmet is severely damaged and gorged in three places and visor and internal sun visor is also buckled. My jacket, only 2 months old and state of the art is shreaded from the collar to each sleeve and the back is graized and worn.

Only one glove left which is badly damaged.
The left glove is gone and this is the hand that suffered the worst damage.

Buffalo fully protected over-trousers are shreaded with one side - left, having suffered severe impact, and my leg behind it. This was also where the pocket holding the bundle of notes was and now knowing the distance I travelled it's no wonder it's gone.

The armour in the hips, sides and knees have done there job and only got torn out at the end of my travels.
My black leather boots have also taken the impact and left my feet and ankles totally protected to the end.

I daren't state the full extent of the suffering or accident as it was serious and still unfolding.

The police have been in touch after I phoned them and some details have come back to me of what has happened.
I now know the drivers details etc for insurance purposes but I asked the police never to let him or me ever meet to which they agreed.

I was hit head-on by a mercedes CKY 320 - Red. The driver of the car, an old gentleman states he never saw me and in in shock since he done it.

I still need to know how come I was hit head-on on a one-way double lane road:confused:
Will post more as I find out as I'm still a bit confused with it all yet.
 
#10 ·
Glad to hear your still with us!!


A few years back I almost got taken out by an elderly lady who decided she needed to do a U-Turn on a 2-lane one way highway going south between frackville PA and St clair PA. A few very blind corners on it as well. Lucky for the other drivers and myself we all somehow got to a stop and she couldnt continue any further up.

Funny even after almost being hit head on by all the south bound traffic she was reluctant to accept we were right and turn around!


I hope your injuries heal very fast!
 
#19 ·
Sorry about your accident and bike. Glad you were no worse hurt. It sounds like your gear did a reasonably good job protecting you. From the sound of it, the "old gentleman" was going the wrong way. That is the worst part of biking: whenever the accident, whatever the cause, the biker gets the worst of it.
 
#21 ·
Thanks everyone

wow, a lot of response, thank you everyone who has offered there wishes and support.
Spent a long and eventful day getting to the bottom of all this and almost there.
I have a 1250 suzuki GT bandit arriving tomorrow from my insurance company along with a new helmet. If i don't like it all i have to do is phone a number and they will get something else i do like:eek:
I am allowed to instantly replace any item i got damaged or wrecked and send them the bill for immediate payment.
All expenses I incurred from the evening it happened indefinitely or more like until I am healed again.
A qualified rider for 7 days if i need one, incase i have to travel long distance.

My insurance company are picking up my beloved Triumph them coming here with the hire bike, with my bike onboard so i will at last see the extent of the damage.

I also need to remove certain items as i will never see them again.
The gel seat and all my Triumph pannier original kits, my touring scot-oiler and the Triumph rear can. They are fine with this as i will be putting back the original parts again that came with the bike.

I also told my insurance company i want to buy back the bike for myself to which they will look into for me.

I paid for a lot of little extras on my insurance premiums the last couple of years and it seems to have paid off as the speed this is all happening is truely amazing.

I reckon with-in 2 weeks i'll be able to ride again, hopefully less.

As to the actual details and police/paramedics etc can i leave it at what I said as I am struggling to remember it and from what i've read and been told it was not nice so i'm just happy to have walked away.

I guess i'm now in the market for a new bike.
It can be anything as long as it's a Triumph Sprint ST 955i in black:D
 
#22 ·
Hey Stealth, that's a very lucky break you got there. As others have said, the bike can be replaced but your body's the only one available - heal well. :)
 
#23 ·
Thanks saphena, it hit home last night just what had actually happened. Someone is looking out for me big time.
Just had the doctor leave and i'm getting taken back to hospital as some kind of body fluid level in my pancreas is way wrong. Nothing to worry about i don't think.
Means i'll miss the new bike arriving but another day can be arranged.
Not in any pain or discomfort so no worries. meds are working fine.
it might be weird but i know people here have suffered the same so it makes it easy for me to talk a bit about it. Thanks all
 
#28 ·
What to do with the bike, repair/replace/whatever is an interesting question and could be good fun to think about. The key thing is that you are here to think about it.

From what I read here, it sounds as if it could have been much, much worse. Glad you are (relatively) OK. GWS, mate.
 
#30 ·
Stealthmode, I'm so glad you're alive. I hope the pancreas issue is nothing to worry about.

Thought about you today while riding. Realized how easy it is for drivers/riders to "brain fart" and do stupid things like the guy did who hit you. (I have many geek moments myself! :eek:)

Realized as well how random everything can be.

Your lovely gorgeous perfect bike is toast but you are still here to go on experiencing randomness.

Actually, you could look at it as an opportunity to explore yourself more, explore bikes more, discover a fuller expression of your passion.

(I feel I am groping for some positive light here. Please accept the fact that just by your telling your story, you have touched us here with a huge *sigh* moment ... maybe more of a *gasp* moment ... nonetheless YOU SURVIVED TO TELL US YOUR STORY!)
 
#31 ·
Stealth, here's one more vote of support. I'm glad you're ok and that your gear took care of you. Bikes come and go - you'll find another and rack up many more miles and memories.

Mrs. Kazoo may question money I spend on the bike, but I have never heard a single negative word about money spent on protective gear for me.
 
#32 ·
Stealthmode, very happy to hear you escaped relatively unscathed. I survived t-boning a van who pulled out in front of me, but I truly dread a head-on. You're blessed that it all ended as well as it did. Prayers for good news on the pancreas and thank God for protective gear! Keep us informed of your progress.
 
#33 ·
recovering well

Thanks everyone for all the support.

Back home this end and on the mend.

Still don't know what happened fully as been at the mercy of the doctors and hospital who have done a splended job on looking after me and fixing me up.
I owe my life to 2 police officers who were on the scene the second it happened as it happened right outside the police station steps.
I will thank these two individuals when i get a chance as from what i'm reading here in a police report is they administered CPR until the paramedics arrived. was then flown to Bart & London hospital in a nice red shiney helicopter but I have no knowledge of being in the helicopter or anything to do with the crash.:eek:

I never realised how serious this accident was until reading the report I read this afternoon.

I know grown men don't cry but I actually did after reading this, i guess through joy of being able to have walked away with-out anything serious towards me.

Still having problems with totally memory, as in it's not playing properly with me and causing me to get slightly confused over everything.

It doesn't look like i'm going to ever remember what happened so i will put it down to one of lifes little experiences.

I have also at last seen the extent of the damage to my bike and to be honest when I looked at it I am surprised to have been so lucky when you see the tangled, twisted wreck that was once a beautiful motorbike.
Even salvage is worthless as the entire bike has suffered from front to rear.
The bike had ended up doing a somersault and also took a tumble down the road.
Point of impact is front left side with the entire side missing and the engine in pieces. forks under the front of engine and only the wheel stopping it going any further.
There doesn't seem to be a single bit on the bike that is straight or unbent:(
Is it all right to post images of the bike or would this be wrong?
thanks all
 
#34 ·
I won't speak for the mods, or others, but I've never known it to be a problem for someone to show their damaged bike, or even battle scars. I for one find these photos instructive in a clinical sense, and cautionary. Death and gore are not tolerated, though.
 
#35 ·
time to ride again

hi all again, i'm going to try to do a small ride today, hopefully leg will let me, as long as i can get it to bend enough to reach the gears i'll be fine. I'm only talking about a straight line, not on a public high-way.
I have so much to do and so many things to sort out so am working through them as best I can.
I have phsio to attend later so hopefully this will help me get loosened up a bit. No more morphine so pain is a bit annoying but on the mend.
 
#37 ·
Stealth, yeah when you fall off a horse ya gotta get back on, but even if it's a short straight run, it's not too early is it?
 
#38 ·
Doctors this end say if i feel up to it, go for it, which I did and managed to get some miles clocked up by the end of the day.
Not quite my old baby but certainly a nice easy bike to manouvere and control. A Suzuki 1250S Bandit. Not my choice but will do untill insurance sorts everything out for me. Hire company are swapping it over next week to a 1250GT for me.
My insurance company are doing everything for me, i don't have to lift a finger, they even arranged all the hire and everything.
 
#39 ·
I met up with the two police officers who rushed to my aid and kept me alive until the paramedics arrived and took over.

It felt weird because they were both complete strangers to me but I thanked them from the bottom of my heart and they said they will come and check on me in a couple of weeks time to see how i'm doing. What a nice young couple and so polite and well mannered it hurt in a way because I was not allowed to give them a single gift of thank-you but I understand the reasons why.
I was the only person they have ever saved who came back and thanked them personally, this I find disgusting because here in the UK they do a thankless job at times and only ever get slated when something wrong happens, no-one seems to remember the good things they do in the course of there daily routine.
 
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