2021 1290 Super Duke GT - any known issues?

Schtum

Schtum

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A friend of mine recently picked up his new 1290 GT and crashed on the way home. He's now laid up with a broken wrist, broken ribs and a C2 fracture in his neck.

"After collecting the bike, on the way back, on a road I know really well, I managed to come off the bike, on a straight road, nothing else involved, without speeding (the bike was still being run in).
I have no memory but the police tell me that my helmet hit the bike instruments extremely hard, and I went over the bike, presumably landing in the road (I’ve not been back to where it happened yet) and I have very little recollection from this.

I had the police on last week & because of my perceived injuries they did some basic investigation, I’ve not really been fit to go back. However their findings, bike slid around 17 metres, indicative of 50mph, they say the first point of impact for me was the display screen, it’s like an iPad and my helmet went straight into it - hard! Straight road?? No other traffic saw anything and I remember nothing.

With it being a massive twin, even if the engine had cut out it would have been like braking unexpectedly out of nowhere, so this was the copper's first thought."

I've suggested to him that he should request a forensic interrogation of the ECU. What's really bugging him is that he can't remember a thing.

Has anyone heard of any issues with the 1290 that might have contributed to his crash?
 
I haven't.

I have a Tuono as my retirement get up and go bike, but my choice was basically down to that or the 1290 GT. So I did quite a bit of homework on both. (forums in particular I suppose). Couldn't find anything particularly negative (mechanically) about either.

Was the bike brand new? When ever I buy a brand new bike and ride it home, I am always mindful to not let my mind wonder too far from brand new tyres.

If we all went to Watling tyres and got a brand new pair, we'd be riding pretty gingerly for the first few miles, because 'new tyres' would be at the focus of our attention. Somehow a new bike and the excitement of it can gloss over the fact that it will have brand new tyres on it too, and we get carried away on our first journey home ??

:beerjug:


*edit .... Ive re-read that and whilst I won't alter it now, I don't want you to think I'm advocating rider error and pouring scorn on the possibility of the bike seizing up. Clearly I have no idea what happened and it could very well have seized ... ! :thumb2
 
It’s certainly an odd one Mike, especially with so little info.

Even if the engine seized solid, or the brakes jammed on, the rider would almost certainly have had to be in the prone position given the location of the dash. That sounds at odds with the riders description of ‘running in’. The shape of the tank would have leant itself to holding the rider’s lower torso in place but for his head to come down with force onto the dash is a puzzle.

I presume that the dash remained in place on the bars and hadn’t come flying off and struck him during an impact.
I’m also pondering what would have been the likely damage if he had lost consciousness (fainted?) prior to the impact?

I’ve asked some guys I used to work with and will post up anything useful.
 
There have been quick shifter & gearbox related problems but presumably if this was the case in this instance there would have been a dirt great black line of rubber on the road :confused:
 
poor or no PDI..... no oil in the engine resulting in a seize ?

front brake seizure ?:confused:
 
I cant figure that one

The engine braking on mine was not that severe ( no harder than a GS IMO) as for locking solid on a silly down change the slipper clutch should have kicked in

and again the position of the instrument cluster just makes no sense to have hit that with his head, I dont think I could possibly have achieved that from a flexibility perspective and riding position as any instant stop type thing would certainly see you go over the top of it all rather than very down and into ....

It does sound like the bike did something very wrong though
 
If the rider has little memory of what happened...........maybe an animal in the road :nenau Who knows.

If he really wants to know then I suspect, as you suggest Mike, interrogating the ECU may give some clues. Maybe if your friend returns to the scene, once better, his memory may get jogged.

Andres

Edit: Pulling a sudden and very violent minger would slam the instruments into your face.........
 
The immediate responses that I’ve had from my police accident investigator colleagues are....
  • How sure are we that the lid did strike the dash, that’s quite unusual.
  • Could the lid/dash have come into contact with each other during the slide?
  • Heavy landing from an ill controlled wheelie: now that might explain the lid/dash coming together.
  • Medical episode prior resulting in the crash.
  • Preserve the riders kit and the bike and get a full accident recon exam
  • Full ecu exam
 
Thanks guys. Just to confirm that the bike was brand new just out of the showroom and it was the first time he'd ridden it and was on his way home, in Lincolnshire.

My friend is a very experienced rider of over 30 years. He's also owned several fast bikes and supercars and is no stranger to going quickly but he swears he wasn't riding "like a twat" and I believe him. The 17m skid marks would tend to confirm this. The Police who attended diagnosed that he had head butted the clocks. The inside of his visor was covered in blood.

I know he's in a lot of pain but his biggest concern is that he can't remember what the hell happened and it's really bugging him. I believe he's also confined to bed and he's recently sold the house and has to move out in a couple of weeks which is adding to the stress.
 
Schtum said:
He's also owned several fast bikes and supercars and is no stranger to going quickly but he swears he wasn't riding "like a twat" and I believe him. The 17m skid marks would tend to confirm this. The Police who attended diagnosed that he had head butted the clocks. The inside of his visor was covered in blood
Click to expand...

See Post #4
 
Schtum said:
Thanks guys. Just to confirm that the bike was brand new just out of the showroom and it was the first time he'd ridden it and was on his way home, in Lincolnshire.

My friend is a very experienced rider of over 30 years. He's also owned several fast bikes and supercars and is no stranger to going quickly but he swears he wasn't riding "like a twat" and I believe him. The 17m skid marks would tend to confirm this. The Police who attended diagnosed that he had head butted the clocks. The inside of his visor was covered in blood.

I know he's in a lot of pain but his biggest concern is that he can't remember what the hell happened and it's really bugging him. I believe he's also confined to bed and he's recently sold the house and has to move out in a couple of weeks which is adding to the stress.
Click to expand...

Lincolnshire sort of rules out an animal unless it was a pheasant straight in the face ( unlikely) the only thing i can genuinely think of is a catastrophic front wheel lock up as there are no rubber skid marks from a rear wheel lock

I am still not convinced on the possibility of butting into the clocks on a SDGT as a first point of impact on a sudden and instant stop, Physics surely says that he would be leaving the seat and rotating up and over the bars rather than down into them but then blood inside the helmet suggests he hit something with his face/visor what do the clocks look like ? as that sort of force would leave evidence on them ...
 
Had anyone checked the brakes ?

Hitting the clocks hard with your helmet would suggest a sudden rapid deceleration
 
Schtum said:
Thanks guys. Just to confirm that the bike was brand new just out of the showroom and it was the first time he'd ridden it and was on his way home, in Lincolnshire.

My friend is a very experienced rider of over 30 years. He's also owned several fast bikes and supercars and is no stranger to going quickly but he swears he wasn't riding "like a twat" and I believe him. The 17m skid marks would tend to confirm this. The Police who attended diagnosed that he had head butted the clocks. The inside of his visor was covered in blood.

I know he's in a lot of pain but his biggest concern is that he can't remember what the hell happened and it's really bugging him. I believe he's also confined to bed and he's recently sold the house and has to move out in a couple of weeks which is adding to the stress.
Click to expand...

Some confusion here....you originally said the bike slid ....was the bike sliding on its side ...or are the tyre marks 17m long?
 
RedRick Esq. said:
Lincolnshire sort of rules out an animal unless it was a pheasant straight in the face ( unlikely) the only thing i can genuinely think of is a catastrophic front wheel lock up as there are no rubber skid marks from a rear wheel lock

I am still not convinced on the possibility of butting into the clocks on a SDGT as a first point of impact on a sudden and instant stop, Physics surely says that he would be leaving the seat and rotating up and over the bars rather than down into them but then blood inside the helmet suggests he hit something with his face/visor what do the clocks look like ? as that sort of force would leave evidence on them ...
Click to expand...

The amount of deer in Lincs is alarming now and we have all species and they are all over the place, I see them nearly every day on my dog walks now!

This incident didn`t occur on the A15 did it?
 
Can you turn the ABS off on one of these bikes? If not, would there be skid marks if the ABS was activated?
 
att said:
The amount of deer in Lincs is alarming now and we have all species and they are all over the place, I see them nearly every day on my dog walks now!

This incident didn`t occur on the A15 did it?
Click to expand...

Fair enough i ride mainly the southern bit Wragby, Reevesby where it is very flat and open so Ive never seen a deer there !

Back to the original issue here

Without any further knowledge I'm going for front end failure either brakes locked on caliper failure sort of thing.

Of course for the rider concerned ( appart from the nast injuries) the worst bit will be not knowing what caused it !

Its all well and good falling off and knowing that you've been a twat or some other explanation that you can comprehend but just not knowing must be awful
 
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