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[emcclary]

Hi guys I am new to the site and have been riding bikes for twenty years.  I purchased a 2008 SE Ultra classic in June on this year.  The bike ran fine with the exception that the idle would run around 2000 rpm at times even after warm up at times.  Took the bike in for 1000 mile service and it seemed to fix the problem until 500 miles later where I had an accident four houses from my driveway. 

I cant be sure of what happened because I cant remember the accident or the following four weeks I spent in ICU due to the injuries I received.  My wife fortunately only sustained a few cracked ribs when she was thrown from the bike and this is her recount of what happened.  We were at a stop sign around 200 ft from our house and she said I had trouble with the bike not wanting to stay stopped.  She said I was fiddling the the clutch and throttle controls where I then decided I needed to put both of my feet on the ground and hold the bike back while holding the front brake. I am 6'3" and weighed 240 at the time and she said I then leaned forward while trying to hold the bike and all of a sudden the bike made a screeching sound and we were off doing a full wheelie.  This all took place in less than a minute and she ended up getting thrown off the bike to the right and 50 ft later I was thrown off the bike to the left where the bike continued to slide down the road for another 100 ft or so stopping across the street from my house. 

My brother in law looked at the bike while I was in ICU and thinks my clutch failed but I still cant figure out why the bike took off the way it did.  Once we did the wheelie I can see me accelerating since I probably grabbed the throttle to keep from falling off the bike. Since then I have had two other 08 riders tell me of unexpected throttle opening one had an accident and was un hurt since the bike rode off into dirt and the other on the highway riding from Sturgis where his bike accelerated by itself and he had to shut it down. 

I have never had an accident on a bike and frankly am not going to ride the dresser again unless someone can tell me why the bike responded the way it did.  If anyone has experienced trouble with their throttle on an 08 I would appreciate hearing from you since I know Harley has found the throttle will reset idle if you hit the kill switch and your hand is resting on the throttle which it should not do and I worry about anyone getting killed like I almost did because of their bike.  I know this is a serious issue for a first post but I felt I needed to let fellow riders in on my misfortune. 

For the record I ended up cracking 4 ribs and totally breaking two on my right side, broke my right collarbone, right shoulder blade, collapsed my right lung and bruised my heart yet had almost no marks on my leather vest and only two small scratches on my helmet.  I was on a respirator for 3 1/2 weeks due to two cases of pneumonia while in ICU had to have a tracheotomy and ended up losing 35 lbs. I am recovering but still in pretty good pain 12 weeks later and look forward to riding next summer hopefully at least on my chopper until I can determine what happened on the Dresser.  Sorry for the long winded and morbid post and I hope to be posting other more pleasantitems in the future

[SBB]

Gee Clary

Hell of a first post.

I wish you all the luck in the world with your recovery.

That's a scary thing to happen.

Have to wonder if it's the TBW?

 

[naitram]

the most obviuos thing i could think to check with the clutch is fluid level in resevoir and is the bleeder tight

[Fired00d]

Welcome to the site glad to have you join us. So sorry to hear of your accident, hope you recover/heal soon, and are back in the saddle/wind soon.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[AZSSE]

Wow !! I'm glad your wife is ok, and I hope you have a full recovery. I hope you don't ever have to post something like this again, and by the way, welcome to the site.

[bisounours]

Good afternoon emcclary

  on the CVO website 

I send you the  from FRANCE

Hope the best for your wife and you !

Best regards

  Jacques

[sullyboo]

Welcome from New Jersey. I hope your wife and you get well soon.

[d o g o l s]

emcclary welcome aboard 

I hope you have a full recovery

[BayouBiker]

laissez les bon temps rouler - from Bourbon St, New Orleans! 
             

[mr_magoo]

Welcome to the site at least you can us the time to catch on the site.  Get well.

[Gone Fishin']

OMG. Well it seems you are on the way to recovery, hence welcome to the site and let the accident not distract you from riding in the future. Do not worry about the post, it makes one think about what can happen if the wrong events happen at the same time. The idle issue on the '08 was discussed in details here, as well as some discussions about the clutch function. You may want to look at those threads for more information. I used to have the same bike, and engaging the clutch with little power would make the engine die, rather than jump ahead. At least that is what most people have experienced, if anything. I am not saying it was a riders fault, but you should have the entire system checked. There is quite something necessary to make a SEUC with a 240 lbs guy do a wheelie, in my opinion. I can understand why you do not want to ride this same bike for now. Keep us posted on what the dealer and the Moco are saying.

Ride safely (from now on)
Louis

[LRebel]

Sorry about the crash.  Hope you recover quickly.

Welcome from Oklahoma!

[emcclary]

the most obviuos thing i could think to check with the clutch is fluid level in resevoir and is the bleeder tight

Thanks all for the replies and well wishes. The pain is much better but my breathing still sucks at times from the trach. Naitram right now the bike is parked in my garage awaiting an independent review by an expert to determine what may have caused the accident.  Even the police have it written as mechanical failure of the bike not operator error.  I dont want to open or touch anything until they look at it for obvious reasons.  My insurance company has already sent me a check for the visible damage which totals $12,000+ dollars but it may end up being higher once it gets to the shop.  I have had five different motorcycles and have logged many thousands of miles and this is my first time losing control of my bike.  The sad thing is I cant remember a single thing about the accident and it happened on the way home from a wake for a friend who was killed days earlier in NY state on his bike when he hit the rear of a turning car.

[emcclary]

OMG. Well it seems you are on the way to recovery, hence welcome to the site and let the accident not distract you from riding in the future. Do not worry about the post, it makes one think about what can happen if the wrong events happen at the same time. The idle issue on the '08 was discussed in details here, as well as some discussions about the clutch function. You may want to look at those threads for more information. I used to have the same bike, and engaging the clutch with little power would make the engine die, rather than jump ahead. At least that is what most people have experienced, if anything. I am not saying it was a riders fault, but you should have the entire system checked. There is quite something necessary to make a SEUC with a 240 lbs guy do a wheelie, in my opinion. I can understand why you do not want to ride this same bike for now. Keep us posted on what the dealer and the Moco are saying.

Ride safely (from now on)
Louis

Louis my clutch doesnt appear to work at all at the moment if the bike is in gear and you pull the clutch it doesnt disengage the trans.  If the clutch had worked the bike would have stayed put at least instead of launching but like I said I cant remember any of it except what my wife told me being on the back and my buddy who was behind me. It didnt happen until I removed my foot from the rear brake to get a better hold on the bike.  My neighbor said the bike made a sound they had never heard from a bike before when we launched as he saw the accident.  I havent tried starting it again for obvious reasons and I will keep every forum informed of what the outcome is. What should I search under for the throttle/ clutch issue posts?

[amigo Jorge]

Welcome from South Florida to this great site