Riding in ths industrial south end of Seattle yesterday when a large van ( about 10,000 pounds) came up from behind and the front fender hit my elbow driving my hand from the bar. Then it hit the end of the bar forcing the steering hard to the right. This caused the sidecar to leap high into the air as the west coast mirror and frame hit me from the middle of the back across the shoulder, slamming me down and off the bike. As I fell between the bike and the truck, for a hundredth of a second I saw the machine roaring away on two wheels with the sidecar high in the air as the front wheel of the truck hit my head a grazing blow. This rotated my body just enough that when the rear duallies hit, my head was only partially under the wheel. The slick surface of the helmet saved me as I felt the helmet squirt out from under the wheel like shooting a marble with your thumb. I felt the rear wheels brush my back as the truck roared past.
The whiplash this caused stunned me and I just lay there concious but unable to move as traffic stopped and people gathered around. They were asking me questions but I couldn't understand them. After about 5 minutes I was able to get up but was still groggy in shock.
The doctors are still studying the xrays of my neck and ribs so I don't know the full story yet.
When the bike roared away it fell back onto all three and as the throttle sprang shut it veered left and hit the truck as it stopped.
The fairing was torn off but other than that the bike damage was only superficial.
Now comes all the red tape, I guess that is better than being a red stain on the asphalt.
Phelonius