PCX design flaw--IMHO

[Mel46]

I have been riding for a long time, and I have had my share of accidents, all of which I was able to walk away from. When an accident is happening to you, your world slows down as the accident is unfolding. If you keep telling yourself to kick away from the bike, you will have time to do just that. If you tell yourself to hang on tight, you will do that. Just know that your world has slowed down for only a limited amount of time, so telling yourself what you want to do can make it happen, but once that act is done, everything will go into fast forward and you will not be able to stop it. If you push away from the bike, you will still have to deal with the rolling and tumbling, so tuck your arms and let it happen. Essentially, you only have time to do one thing, so know what it is that you want to do in case of different circumstances, and tell yourself over and over what you will do. Remember it, and do it. I know, it sounds stupid but it works. I was in Search and Rescue for 12 years. We had to think on our feet and react instantly to any situation. Practice and knowledge go a long way in saving your life.

[fish]

I agree. It would be simple to give the feet more room and protection on the foot boards.
Seems like the manufacturers want to boast a narrow profile....good for the vertically challenged buyers, I guess.
Fish

[flyingzonker]

I have been riding for a long time, and I have had my share of accidents, all of which I was able to walk away from. When an accident is happening to you, your world slows down as the accident is unfolding. If you keep telling yourself to kick away from the bike, you will have time to do just that. If you tell yourself to hang on tight, you will do that. Just know that your world has slowed down for only a limited amount of time, so telling yourself what you want to do can make it happen, but once that act is done, everything will go into fast forward and you will not be able to stop it. If you push away from the bike, you will still have to deal with the rolling and tumbling, so tuck your arms and let it happen. Essentially, you only have time to do one thing, so know what it is that you want to do in case of different circumstances, and tell yourself over and over what you will do. Remember it, and do it. I know, it sounds stupid but it works. I was in Search and Rescue for 12 years. We had to think on our feet and react instantly to any situation. Practice and knowledge go a long way in saving your life.

This advice is worth considering--but even if one might predetermine a course of emergency response, there is still the problem of just how relevant said predetermination is going to be in any specific emergency. For instance, suppose I had told myself as I was going down, "Push away from the bike!" , such pushing would have at least partially entailed putting the right foot down away from the floor board onto the pavement so as to spring to the side and "away from the bike". In fact, this may be exactly what I tried to do in this case, and may be exactly why the edge of the floorboard was able to catch my ankle. I can't say that happened, can't say it didn't.

Still, you make a good point. There must be some ideal response to a low side crash that can be stated in a single phrase which can be memorized. I am going to work on that.

[flyingzonker]

I agree. It would be simple to give the feet more room and protection on the foot boards.

Fish

Couldn't agree more. It might be possible for the rider to save himself by executing some acrobatic springing maneuver that would carry him/her clear of the falling bike--but not all scooter riders are up to such acrobatics. Better it might be for the manufacturer to foresee and forestall these disasters (I know whereof I speak when I use this word).

I swear, if I were trained in law, I would be tempted to bring this matter to the attention of Honda by means of a liability suit. I would forgo payment of damages in return for a promise to redesign the machine in such a way that foot pinning would be less of a likelihood.

[fun2scoot]

Why would the bike take this crazy lunge in the direction opposite to where its inertia wants to carry it? Well, in an accident there are more forces unleashed than are dreamt of in Horatio's or anybody else's philosophy.

Inertia really played no part in the bike's unpredictable change of motion relative to kinetics, friction and rider input. From your description I believe the tires experienced a change in surface adhesion - maybe surface-related, maybe rider-induced. Nothing changed on the bike unless you had 20 kilos of lead shifting under the seat.
It was just an event unfamiliar to your wiring. No matter how much we practice, we won't cover them all.
Glad you are here.

[sendler2112]

redesign the machine in such a way that foot pinning would be less of a likelihood.

In what way would you redesign it? Eliminate the running boards and just have foot pegs? There are plenty of motorcycles like that already if you want to give up the weather protection of a scooter.

[DailyRider]

...
I have tried to recall just what happened to allow this pinning and subsequent dragging to happen. If I had had my right foot off the floor board and hanging down when the bike low-sided, then, yes, that could explain my ankle being in a place where it shouldn't have been. But I am not in the habit of dangling my feet at any time while on a moving bike and don't remember anything like that being the case in this instance.

...

My feeling is: The PCX floor boards are too narrow. If they had been wider, the bike upon low-siding could not have grabbed my boot and run with it.

I keep seeing this thread and being embarrassed by my initial response,
which probably took the thread in the wrong direction.

On reading this OP more carefully, the narrowness of the floorboards is not the problem.

Scooter riders often instinctively put their foot down during a scooter accident
and then the floorboards tilt on top of it, pinning the foot.
...And wider floorboards just pin the foot more firmly.

Sendler is right.

[Wulfy]

Oooo! Pretty, pretty pictures of bikes
Love the blue of the blue one and wondering if the orange one is a Harley?

You're totally right.
I haven't had the PCX long enough to drop it yet, but I'm thrilled that it has replaceable plastic side panels for when I do.

I had a very simler incident leg got trapped under the bike after skidding on mud (haulage company held hands up) full weight of bike on left leg... not fun

Anyways the cost of the repair is £1,127.08 (and i was only travailing 6-8mph at the time!)

[sendler2112]

There was one other person here who's leg was broken when he went over on the right side in the ditch and his leg was pinned by the running board.

[you you]

There was one other person here who's leg was broken when he went over on the right side in the ditch and his leg was pinned by the running board.

For the sake of balance, and to avoid further self stroking, quite a few of us have ridden for many years without this problem.

[DailyRider]

There was one other person here who's leg was broken when he went over on the right side in the ditch and his leg was pinned by the running board.

For the sake of balance, and to avoid further self stroking, quite a few of us have ridden for many years without this problem.

Yup, inexperienced folks (and folks who ride scooters that are too big for them)
tend to have more problems.

[Embattle]

You could get pinned no matter what you did, it is inherent due to the nature of how you sit on a bike.

[you you]

You could get pinned no matter what you did, it is inherent due to the nature of how you sit on a bike.

Underneath it?

[fun2scoot]

You could get pinned no matter what you did, it is inherent due to the nature of how you sit on a bike.

Well....no....not actually.
But I know what you meant to say.

Experienced riders will feel the slide commence but may still react improperly - that is; stick a leg out to stop it. Tremendously unlikely and never worth the injury.
Always better to get away from the bike and let your gear (you're wearing it, right?) do it's job.