On Thursday 20th February 2025 at 14:06 I had a motorcycle accident. I lost traction at low speed (approx. 35km/h) and was thrown off, landed hard, rolled over several times. This post will serve as a post mortem which drills into the causes, describes mitigative measures and preventative steps.

Note: This post had started in my head, while laying awake in a hospital bed the night after the crash, but publishing has been deliberately delayed until all the legal proceedings have concluded.

Issue summary.

Several smaller causes, each not severe enough to outright cause a crash, combined, lead to catastrophic failure.

A Timeline.

Monday 25. January 2025

• 13:50 Rode bike a few KMs in in the rain (in "rain mode"), got throttle fault warning
• 13:51 Changed drive select to sport mode to clear the error message
• 13:51 Parked in garage, waiting for better weather

Thursday 20. February 2025

• 14:02 Started bike up
• 14:02 got error message about 12V battery being too cold. Throttle was locked.
• 14:04 After warming the battery up using integrated heater, the message was gone and throttle would work.
• 14:05 Rode two turns
• 14:05 Made bow around construction site
• 14:05 Lost traction by oversteering to the right
• 14:05 Tried to compensate in the other direction, oversteered to the left
• 14:05 Tried to compensate to the right again and fell over
• 14:05 Tumbled over the street four times

Impact and Mitigation

Ambulance driver, 5 hours of wait time in the emergency room, pain in shoulder did not set in until 90 min after the accident.

Root cause analysis

Below operating temperature

The 12V battery being too cold to operate and needing to be heated, should have served as a giant red flag that the entire bike was below operating temperature. While bikes do not need winter tires in Germany, the rubber mix isn’t made to be ridden at low temperatures.

Air temperature during the accident was 13°C, but the bikes temperature sensor showed 4°C at the main battery pack, which is safe to assume the rest of the bike (including tires) had a similar temperature.

Sport mode

Forgetting to set back the ride mode to Standard or Rain, even after clearing the errors might have lead to the throttle to respond with too much torque than the situation could handle.

Contributing factors

Protective gear

Because the planned route was merely 450 m, donning the proper protective gear was omitted, leading to scratches and bruises.

Wearing proper protective gear might have led to sliding on the contact pads instead of the torso having to dissipate the excess momentum by rolling over.

Ground composition

Freshly mended construction site with spots of fresh asphalt. Wet spot, shaded by a large house.

Considered contributing factor because “a wet road” shouldn’t directly lead to an accident, but will factor into it.

Unknown tire pressure

The bike has just come out of winter sleep and was yet to be checked for sufficient tire pressures. That was to be the next step after charging and a good cleaning.

Resolution and recovery

Shoulder surgery

I have since received a shoulder surgery where they applied a titanium bracket to fix my broken collar bone in place, until the bone grows back together.

Restore bike

After the initial assessment the handlebar was mauled by the asphalt, the bike has lost its foot pegs on the right side and the rear brake lever. But other than that it seems unharmed¹. Frame is not bent, the battery and drive train are fine.

Corrective and preventative measures

1. Heed warning signs and red flags!
2. Always wear protective gear (even for short trips of a few hundred meters)
3. Check temperatures before riding and let bike soak in the sun if too cold
4. Buy a cheap battery powered tire pump and pressure gauge and regularly check tires