Author Topic: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?  (Read 2082 times)

Offline SteveW

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Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« on: January 15, 2021, 08:44:59 PM »
Just wondering what sort of accidents people have had while working on their projects?
Not the usual cuts and bruises, something a bit more juicy.

I’ve had to have splinters of an MGB door skin removed from my eye.
1974 CB550 K0
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Offline McCabe-Thiele (Ted)

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2021, 09:38:19 PM »
Sometime around  1984 I replaced both rear wheel bearings on my old Opel Ascona "A" - as part of the job I had to remove the inner race that had remained attached to the half shaft. In the absence of the right puller I had to use a chisel and lump hammer. When I finally got the inner race off and amid all the grease everywhere I was aware there was a spurt of blood from my left forefinger above the top joint.

I swore a lot found some Swarfega to clean my hands - there was just a small entry would from a sharp fragment that I pulled out. I finished the job making sure I wore thick gloves on the other wheel.

Fast forward about ten months as I was getting into bed that evening I noticed a glint under the surface of the skin on my left forefinger. I pressed the glint area whereupon I saw what looked like a shiny chrome splinter.

It hurt like hell as I pressed it so I went to the bathroom to unwrap a brand new safety razor blade that I snapped in half. To numb by finger I went downstairs & out of the freezer I took a cube of ice that I held onto the forefinger.

I then cut the skin near where I had seen the glint. There was little blood so with a new ice cube I cut a little deeper - with the help of some tweezers I pulled out a curved  arrow head shaped piece of the wheel bearing. It was almost half an inch long - at its widest end it was about an eighth of an inch squarish in profile narrowing to a point like a needle end.

No hospital visit no sutures - just some Germoline and a plaster - the scar was visible for decades - now it only seems to be visible in extreme cold. What surprised me was that until that evening the massive splinter did not cause me any pain!

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Offline Athame57

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2021, 03:21:37 AM »

In the 1980s I had spent hours working on the top end on my CB250RS that was one of many I'd used for dispatch riding, the one in question I've put a pic off here. Well, for reasons I can't remember I couldn't start it after all that.  ::) After a while with the hell of a cuss I kicked it in the sump .....I nearly went mad with pain and I went to A&E, nothing broken but I was still 'off the road' a few days!  :'(
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Offline Johnwebley

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2021, 10:05:53 AM »
Gardening. Trimming a black Thorne hedge.

Got a thorn under my thumb nail.

Only way to get it was through the nail.

Used a knife to scrape away the nail till I could get the thorn out.



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Offline Johnny4428

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2021, 10:18:25 AM »
I had a motorcycle battery that had been overfilled, I got a small piece of tubing and thought I could siphon some off. Needless to say battery acid does not taste very good. 🤮🤮 luckily I have a water supply in my garage.
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Offline ST1100

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2021, 12:59:28 PM »
... something a bit more juicy.
Fortunately no serious bodily harm yet... the usual micro splinters or wire copper threads impaled in the skin you've to search for days...
 
Some years back I'd forgotten to unscrew the fork-caps on my ST1100 before opening the drain plugs on the low outside of the bottoms...
POOF!!
...blackish, stinking stuff everywhere... face, mouth, nose, eyes, hair, forearms, shirt, pants, shoes, workbench, cabinets, wall, ceiling... took me days to get rid of the stench (and taste!)...  ;D
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'00 ST1100Y, '04 ST1100R, '07 NT700VA, CB500K2, CB500K1...

Offline Bryanj

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2021, 02:29:49 PM »
Had a piece of lump hammer face in my forearm for several months without noticing after changing HA van brakes to discs at 2am, one day noticed a black mark and squeezed out out a 1/8 inch cube of steel.
Got a scar  halfway round left thumb from whem it got trapped between a large hammer and speedo drive ring on Triumph T140 rear wheel, hospital thought they may have to set the joint in one position for that one but no, now i can feel the end of my thumb in two places, at the end and at the scar!! Also i probed you can get a 3ltr Capri round a right angle right turn at 70 with one hand

Offline smoothoperator

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2021, 04:42:04 PM »
Whilst fitting the obligatory upgraded speakers to my first car, a mini, I was drilling holes out of the rear parcel shelf whilst sat in the boot. The inevitable happened and I got a piece of hot swarf in my eye. It didn't hurt at first but half an hour later I couldn't open either of my eyes because of the pain. Trip to A & E where it was pulled out by a pair of tweezers. I got lucky and my eye recovered with a small scar that doesn't affect my eyesight but always causes the opticians to say ooh what happened there! Big improvement to the acoustics though.
Steve
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1977 Honda 400 Four Restored April 2022

Offline MCTID

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2021, 05:58:22 PM »
Hahahaha I was a Health and Safety Manager on London Underground so I could tell you a few tales.........but the best was my old retired Neighbour in Worthing who used to be a Nurse at a Brighton Hospital.

We were nattering over the garden wall one sunny day and talking about incidents and accidents at work when she said "When I worked in A & E, I saw some really unusual sights......it's incredible what people can get up to with bottles and things" !!!!!

When I get a bit low or depressed, I turn on YouTube Fails and see just what lunatics there are out there stealing oxygen from the rest of us ! Always cheers me up no end.

Stay safe Folks........this will all be over soon.
Now: 2008 CB1300S, CB750K4, 1970 Bonneville. Various other 1960's 650 Triumph T120's/ TR6's/ TR6C's (all in bits...many, many bits unfortunately). Previous: 2007 CB600FA, 1976 CB500 Four. BMW F800ST. GS750E. ZZR1100. CB1300 (2). ZXR1200S. VFR800. CB750 Nighthawk. CX500. XS500 Yam. Suzuki GT500. BSA A10. Various Lambrettas. Zundapp Bella (honest).

Offline Laverda Dave

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2021, 06:17:19 PM »
I needed to get my workmate bench from the shed. I'd cut the grass in a hurry the evening before and just slung the mower and rake back in the shed. When I walked in to get the workmate I stepped on the rake and just like the comedy sketch the steel handle of the rake shot up to greet me! I actually saw stars and the pain was something else. The wack split the skin on my forehead really deeply with blood gushing out and into my eye, a big bruise came up within a couple of hours. To embarrassed to go to the hospital on the bus I used plasters to hold the wound closed. The plaster would come off whilst I was asleep opening the cut again, this went on for days. I couldn't wear a crash helmet because it would open the cut putting it on. I never lived it down at work, people would crease up laughing when I told them what happened ::)
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1999 Honda VFR 800FX
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Offline allankelly1

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Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2021, 09:29:48 PM »
I know is not car related but it has four wheels

Went to a skateboarding party with my son when I was 48 and came a cropper

Was half piping with him for about 20 mins then the board got away from me

5 days in hospital but all Logan mates thought his dad was “well cool” busting his arm in two places

Oh well I guess at least it was “much cooler” than just falling down the stairs






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« Last Edit: January 16, 2021, 09:52:02 PM by allankelly1 »

Offline SteveW

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2021, 09:45:20 PM »
Not really an accident but I had to have major surgery after the big C.
It was Friday the 13 September 2013 and it was the day I was due to have my staples out.
47 staples 3 inches below belly button to 6 inches above.
It was being done by the nurse at our local surgery, the rooms are named after colours and I was asked to go to the black room.
I said jokingly as I went in that this was going to go well being Friday the 13th in the black room.
Sure enough as she removed the staples, half of the wound burst open, she freaked out and called the gp who said I had to get to hospital immediately. They bandaged the hell out of me to keep me together while I went to hospital.
I finally saw the surgeon later who said they could not re stitch or re staple as it would create a void under the skin.
So I had to stay bandaged for 3 months whilst it healed from the inside out, getting the dressings changed at local surgery every other day.
My stomach now looks as if I’ve had an accident with a chainsaw.
1974 CB550 K0
1980 CB650
2000 CBR929RR Fireblade
1966 Lambretta LI150 Series 3
1981 RD350LC
1972 Raleigh Chopper
1974 Raleigh Tomahawk
2011 Henry Hoover

Offline McCabe-Thiele (Ted)

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #12 on: January 17, 2021, 10:54:57 AM »
SteveW that sounds well scary I have had worries about my recent operation scar as it starts over an old appendix scar from when I was 9. This has resulted in an under belly scar that I can't see due to my average sized beer belly overlap. Thankfully no drama like yours me when the clips came out. Stay safe.
Honda CB500 K1 (new pit dug out ready)
Honda CB400 four super sport (first money pit)
Link to my full restoration http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,23291.0.html

Offline hairygit

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #13 on: January 17, 2021, 11:53:59 AM »
Steve W, had similar thing happen to me, they took the clips out while still in hospital about 12 days after surgery, and a large portion of the incision sprang open, leaving  2 sections open, one 4 inches (10cm)long then a bit further down another 2.5 inches (7cm) both open by 2inches (5cm) wide and 2 inches (5cm) deep. Looked quite grotesque, so they put a vacuum dressing on it, which is basically stuffing the wound with sterile gauze then applying a sheet of sticky plastic film over it, with a vacuum pump attached to it sucking out air and slowly pulling the wound together. Was sent home like that a couple of days later, with a portable vacuum pump about the size of a woman's shoulder bag. Then had district nurses visit every day to clean the wound and change dressings for 12 weeks. I won't put photos of it on here as it's Sunday morning, don't want people heaving up their breakfast!

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Offline mike the bike

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Re: Accidents whilst working on bikes or cars?
« Reply #14 on: January 17, 2021, 03:32:58 PM »
My worst prang us when I fell off the loft ladder and suffered a crushed L2 vertebra.  It took a bit of Meccano and self tappers to join L1 to L3.  It still aches like buggery 17 years later.  That's the reason I sold the K75; too heavy for me.
My second worst sprang was when I got thrown off a push bike of all things,  by a speed hump.  I buggered up my right wrist big time and that's held together with more Meccano.  That aches like the devil as well but at least I can still  use it.
I've also broke the other wrist,  a couple of ribs, a toe and lately I slipped on the ice and dislocated my finger.
None of the above injuries were caused by motorcycling in any way,  which is surprising because I don't hang about.
Where's that 10mm socket got to?

 

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