Burnt leg!

[Shifter]

Tommo sustained 4th degree burns and is currently recovering after a skin graft in Brisbane Hospital.
Inside of left leg where it touches the plastic side panel that had the exhaust running behind it.
Previous owner heat wrapped the exhaust but it was a very hot day and riding in the sun with shorts and casual shoes attributed to his injury I think.
I've ridden the same machine for 8000kms and yes I feel the heat of the exhaust running behind the panel but I'm wearing jeans and motorcycle boots.
I have seen other riders wearing shorts and casual shoes, thongs even whilst riding their Spyders.
Had anyone else had burns on the left leg?
I can't understand why he didn't stop or move his leg away from the heat when it got bad enough to blister him....

[ARtraveler]

Hope he recovers soon. :thumbup:

[SPYD3R]

OUCH is right..... :gaah:

which model SPYD3R is responsible to this unfortunate situation...?
Dan P
SPYD3R

[Bob Denman]

Tell him to put some pants on, and this won't happen... nojoke
If you ride a motorcycle, while dressed for the Beach... stuff happens! :yikes:

[PaladinLV]

Here in the USA there is NO SUCH THING as a 4th degree burn. 1st = like a "sunburn"; 2nd = blister; 3rd = charred skin

AJ


Tommo sustained 4th degree burns and is currently recovering after a skin graft in Brisbane Hospital.
Inside of left leg where it touches the plastic side panel that had the exhaust running behind it.
Previous owner heat wrapped the exhaust but it was a very hot day and riding in the sun with shorts and casual shoes attributed to his injury I think.
I've ridden the same machine for 8000kms and yes I feel the heat of the exhaust running behind the panel but I'm wearing jeans and motorcycle boots.
I have seen other riders wearing shorts and casual shoes, thongs even whilst riding their Spyders.
Had anyone else had burns on the left leg?
I can't understand why he didn't stop or move his leg away from the heat when it got bad enough to blister him....

[Peter Aawen]

......
I can't understand why he didn't stop or move his leg away from the heat when it got bad enough to blister him....

Hey Shifter, does your mate Thommo drink a bit of booze? Is he over about... 35 years old, carrying a bit of excess weight, & been known to like adding sugar to his tea/coffee (if he drinks anything other than beer/wine/spirits) & salt to his steak? If any of that fits, it might pay him to get a blood test done to check & make sure that he doesn't have an underlying issue - there are diseases (like diabetes) that can reduce your feeling in your extremities, & there are also other vascular conditions that may similarly deaden the pain response when it's trying hard to warn you about something important! :shocked: :yikes:

Apart from that, you might hafta wonder about him a little - after all, 'No sense, No feeling!' :rolleyes: :thumbup:

[ussoldier]

Well, if people are not concern about their safety than it is the high risks that they take with their own lives. An individual told me, "If you going to buy cheap motorcycle gear be expected to pay an expensive medical bill." Some will disagree with me on their safety, but working in hospitals and dealing with patients with motorcycle accidents...it's pretty gruesome if you ask me. Here is some video for some enjoyment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vw0UWmNZi4

[trucker1]

Sorry for his injury. But I thought Harley and crouch rocket riders were the only ones that crazy to ride like that. Remember safety first. And it gets hard to heal from road rash as we get older.

[Chupaca]

do hope he heals well and learns that you need to be protected at all times. Have never heard of a burn that bad but lots of overheated ryders...:dontknow:

[DJFaninTN]

what year and what model bike do you have???

[ussoldier]

Tommo sustained 4th degree burns and is currently recovering after a skin graft in Brisbane Hospital.
Inside of left leg where it touches the plastic side panel that had the exhaust running behind it.
Previous owner heat wrapped the exhaust but it was a very hot day and riding in the sun with shorts and casual shoes attributed to his injury I think.
I've ridden the same machine for 8000kms and yes I feel the heat of the exhaust running behind the panel but I'm wearing jeans and motorcycle boots.
I have seen other riders wearing shorts and casual shoes, thongs even whilst riding their Spyders.
Had anyone else had burns on the left leg?
I can't understand why he didn't stop or move his leg away from the heat when it got bad enough to blister him....

Honestly, I am kind of confused and skeptical here. If you had a 4th degree burn than wouldn't you notice on the 1st degree burn? I assume it was a second degree burn not a 4th Degree burn.

1st Degree Burn (Superficial): Painfual
2nd Degree Burn (Superficial Partial Thickness): Very Painful
2rd Degree Burn (Deep Partial Thickness): Pressure and Discomfort
3rd Degree Burn (Full Thickness): Painless
4th Degree Burn (Painless): Painless --> possible amputation

Second, the exhaust is located in the right side. The individual with a 4th Degree burn is on their left leg...that doesn't make sense. If someone can please show me a layout of the exhaust system that would be nice.

Unless the guy would do something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SflkBkPewac

Well, I hope the guy feels better. Now the question what YEAR and what kind of Can-am Spyder is it?

[Peteoz]

Apart from having the same "understanding" issue as ussoldier as the exhaust is on the right, I still don't understand how he didn't feel it, as I have been through that.

One of the Victory sales guys sent me to sit on a Victory Highball out in the parking lot to see if I would fit. I was wearing shorts as I had arrived in the car. I dutifully sat on the Highball......what the halfwit didn't tell me was that someone had only just brought the bike back from a test ride, and that it had shotgun pipes with NO heat shields. I swung a leg over thinking "why does this feel warm". Before I had worked it out my calf was on fire. The pain was excruciating. I had second degree burns. Took a month to heal and I still have the scar, years later. Your mate had fourth degree burns and didn't feel it? You had better follow Peter A's advice and get him checked out.
I simply can't believe that something hot enough to create 4th degree burns through plastic did not melt the plastic cover. There's something not right here ! :hun: Are you sure he didn't leave the Spyder sitting in the blazing Aussie 110 degree sun until the side panel nearly reached melting point and that is what burnt his leg?

[Shifter]

Honestly, I am kind of confused and skeptical here. If you had a 4th degree burn than wouldn't you notice on the 1st degree burn? I assume it was a second degree burn not a 4th Degree burn.

1st Degree Burn (Superficial): Painfual
2nd Degree Burn (Superficial Partial Thickness): Very Painful
2rd Degree Burn (Deep Partial Thickness): Pressure and Discomfort
3rd Degree Burn (Full Thickness): Painless
4th Degree Burn (Painless): Painless --> possible amputation

Second, the exhaust is located in the right side. The individual with a 4th Degree burn is on their left leg...that doesn't make sense. If someone can please show me a layout of the exhaust system that would be nice.

Unless the guy would do something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SflkBkPewac

Well, I hope the guy feels better. Now the question what YEAR and what kind of Can-am Spyder is it?


okay, Ill try to answer all the questions,
hes just come home in an ambulance, hes bandaged thigh to toe after a skin graft for a 4th degree burn http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/fourth-degree+burn

2010 RT SE5, exhaust header pipe runs down the left side as you sit on the bike, it runs behind a plastic cover, then goes down and under the bike and exits with the muffler on the right hand side.

He hadn't been drinking alcohol, hasn't drunk for a number of years, he was however on pain medication, which I personally think may be why he didnt feel the onset of the burn.

He was already quite sunburnt earlier in the day from his legs being exposed to the sun by wearing shorts, it was a very hot day under the Australian sun.
He applied zinc cream to his legs at the first town we came to.

The header pipe had already had heat wrap applied by the previous owner.

He obviously wont be riding it again for a while so Ill get it back off him, remove the plastic sidecover and apply some dynamat or other heat reflective insulating foil material to the inside of the plastic...and probably make him up a leg guard to wear as well.
Hopefully this last incident will convince him to wear proper protective gear, at least a pair of jeans and motorcycle boots, in future.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I can't possibly imagine any way He sustained this degree of burn without the PLASTIC PANEL MELTING ..... Also I'm quite familiar with heat wrap insulation & imho this would lessen the chances of a burn ....not increase them ......I am :pray::pray::pray::pray: for His recovery ...... Mike :thumbup:

[Shifter]

I can't possibly imagine any way He sustained this degree of burn without the PLASTIC PANEL MELTING ..... Also I'm quite familiar with heat wrap insulation & imho this would lessen the chances of a burn ....not increase them ......I am :pray::pray::pray::pray: for His recovery ...... Mike :thumbup:

Just ran this thread by the missus, who is familiar with my mate, and who has also been on the back of the Spyder a lot of the time that I was riding it.
She's of the opinion his nerve pain medication plus the ambient and radiated heat from the sun would have dulled his sensation in his leg.
Also Ive been throwing him in the deep end a bit as far as getting the hang of riding it, getting him out of town which is his comfort zone and riding through the hills and mountains, so I'm possibly a little to blame too.
We were returning home on the last leg of our trip which involves coming up a steep winding mountain road and the descending down the other side, so he would have been gripping hard with his legs, as well as shifting his weight inside and hauling on the handlebars whilst concentrating intensely on staying on the road,
This high degree of concentration whilst under duress would have some bearing on his ability to register pain, also once past a certain point the nerve endings are burnt and don't register anything.

As for the plastic, I have an idea its not just normal plastic but some high strength heat resitant stuff designed to take a fair bit of heat.
I have noticed when Ive been riding hard, and after 8000 kms Im capable of throwing a Spyder around quite well over a wide variety of roads and conditions and Ive noted a smell like burning plastic when getting into it.

[Bob Denman]

- there are diseases (like diabetes) that can reduce your feeling in your extremities, & there are also other vascular conditions that may similarly deaden the pain response when it's trying hard to warn you about something important! :shocked: :yikes:

Apart from that, you might hafta wonder about him a little - after all, 'No sense, No feeling!' :rolleyes: :thumbup:

:agree: Type I Diabetes (52 years)... But if a lovely young lady gives me a kiss on the inner thigh: I'd figure out a way to feel it!! :D
And folks have been wondering about me for YEARS! :roflblack:

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Just ran this thread by the missus, who is familiar with my mate, and who has also been on the back of the Spyder a lot of the time that I was riding it.
She's of the opinion his nerve pain medication plus the ambient and radiated heat from the sun would have dulled his sensation in his leg.
Also Ive been throwing him in the deep end a bit as far as getting the hang of riding it, getting him out of town which is his comfort zone and riding through the hills and mountains, so I'm possibly a little to blame too.
We were returning home on the last leg of our trip which involves coming up a steep winding mountain road and the descending down the other side, so he would have been gripping hard with his legs, as well as shifting his weight inside and hauling on the handlebars whilst concentrating intensely on staying on the road,
This high degree of concentration whilst under duress would have some bearing on his ability to register pain, also once past a certain point the nerve endings are burnt and don't register anything.

As for the plastic, I have an idea its not just normal plastic but some high strength heat resitant stuff designed to take a fair bit of heat.
I have noticed when Ive been riding hard, and after 8000 kms Im capable of throwing a Spyder around quite well over a wide variety of roads and conditions and Ive noted a smell like burning plastic when getting into it.
This may explain why He didn't feel it ....... Now explain why I don't feel it and from what I've read here no one else has re-ported anything even close to the heat level HIS ....SPYDER IS PRODUCING ...... As a safety measure .... beg, borrow or steal an " INFRARED THERMOMETER " and find out .... WHY ....this occurred ....because it's very likely to happen again and BURN Him again :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: .................. Mike :thumbup:

[Bob Denman]

This happened while he was on a 2010 RT? :shocked:
I had one of those bikes... the Bull-**** meter is starting to hit the stops...

143068
The ONLY time that I ever felt heat from under the seat, was riding in stop & go traffic on a 105 degree day. I had intentionally worn shorts, low-cut sneakers, and no socks, in order to fully gauge the amount of heat that I might feel...
It was warm... but NOT hot! nojoke
And it certainly didn't roast anything! :yikes:
I have a feeling that this burn is strictly due to his choice in beach-going attire.

[Shifter]

This happened while he was on a 2010 RT? :shocked:
I had one of those bikes... the Bull-**** meter is starting to hit the stops...

143068
The ONLY time that I ever felt heat from under the seat, was riding in stop & go traffic on a 105 degree day. I had intentionally worn shorts, low-cut sneakers, and no socks, in order to fully gauge the amount of heat that I might feel...
It was warm... but NOT hot! nojoke
And it certainly didn't roast anything! :yikes:
I have a feeling that this burn is strictly due to his choice in beach-going attire.


Yeah well so do I,
I've chipped him on a few occasions for riding in beach gear, maybe, just maybe this latest incident will educate him.

oh and when I do the next oil change on it I'll show you all where the exhaust header pipe runs, as opposed to the muffler on the right hand side.

[Bob Denman]

We all know where it is... :D
But a picture of the inside of those panels; might tell a story...

[Shifter]

We all know where it is... :D
But a picture of the inside of those panels; might tell a story...

You all know where it is hey!
Now my bull**** meters off the Richter!
Telling me the exhaust is on the right and not the left.
You probably pay someone to service your Spyder and you wouldn't have a clue.

[Bob Denman]

143075


143077

[OverHillAndDale]

Well, since whirlpools run backwards down under, maybe exhaust heat shows up on the other side.

My RT is my 4th motorcycle, and all in all manages heat better than any bike I've owned. It certainly seems to keep it away from feet and legs.

Like Bob, I've been a Type-1 diabetic for 52 years but I could certainly detect that level of heat and burning flesh.

[Bob Denman]

I think that we could smell it... :yikes:
Kind of like an un-marinated, tough,old, cantankerous steak! :D
The kind that you'd need more beer, than A-1 Sauce; to be able to get it down!

[Peteoz]

143077

Did YOU wrap that, Bob, or was it done at the factory?

[SpyderAnn01]

The V-twin has exhaust gaskets and on a 2010 it is entirely possible that they are bad.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The V-twin has exhaust gaskets and on a 2010 it is entirely possible that they are bad.
Thanks Ann , glad to see someone else is ALSO interested in the WHY this occurred instead of all the yada, yada medical theories that won't FIX this issue :banghead::banghead::banghead: ......... Mike :thumbup:

[Bob Denman]

:shocked:
But I didn't think about the possibility of an exhaust leak, because the O.P. never mentioned anything about increased sound levels... :dontknow:

[Shifter]

143075


143077

Plain to see your problem, don't know right from left.
Your pic shows the left side of the bike
The exhaust header on the left side,
The belt drive on the left side.
Now which leg goes on that side of the bike?......
The left leg of course!

By the way. No exhaust leak.

[PrairieSpyder]

:pray: I hope your friend will recover quickly and that he's learned a lesson about riding gear.

[Bob Denman]

Plain to see your problem, don't know right from left.
Your pic shows the left side of the bike
The exhaust header on the left side,
The belt drive on the left side.
Now which leg goes on that side of the bike?......
The left leg of course!

By the way. No exhaust leak.

143102

Did I say that his left leg wasn't involved?
What I DID say, was that it's pretty unlikely for a 2010 RT to throw that much heat from those pipes, and not damage the panels...
Particularly since you've just said that there was no exhaust leak.
Some pictures of the panel damage would be appreciated. :D

[Shifter]

143102

Did I say that his left leg wasn't involved?
What I DID say, was that it's pretty unlikely for a 2010 RT to throw that much heat from those pipes, and not damage the panels...
Particularly since you've just said that there was no exhaust leak.
Some pictures of the panel damage would be appreciated. :D

No you didn't, my apologies, there were a couple of other people trying to tell me the exhaust didn't run alongside the left leg and I sort of bundled you all into a bunch of naysayers who just wanted to dispute the facts.
More will be revealed when I get the Spyder back.

[Bob Denman]

Thanks! We're waiting to "see what you see"... :D

[flaggerphil]

I suffered third degree burns on the lower outside of my right leg in 1980 when a drunk driver hit me on my Yamaha XS500 from the side and his radiator ruptured, burning me with radiator fluid. That burned off all the skin in the burn area and some of the flesh underneath (i also had a major compound fracture in the inside of the leg, which greatly complicated treatment). The burn is painless at first because the nerves are burned away, however, the treatment is agonizing since all the burned tissue is scrubbed away, exposing the raw nerves underneath. And I mean agonizing in the worst possible way. They tell you to go ahead and scream during treatment and I did (as do most). My skin graft came from my left thigh and my lower right leg is mostly pretty gruesome burn scars from below the knee to my ankle. Most of my lower right leg has no surface feeling where the scars are.

I also had 2nd degree burns (blisters) on my lower back from laying in a puddle of gasoline (petrol) from my bikes ruptured fuel tank. Those burns DID hurt before being treated but left no scars.

I had never heard of 4th degree burns (the term didn't exist when I was hurt...I think it's relatively new) so I looked it up. It' a burn that goes all the way through the skin, tissue, muscle, and bone. When they can save a leg with such burns...and I understand they often can't...the treatment would be just as agonizing as a 3rd degree burn and, I believe, take weeks. The scars would be even more gruesome than the ones I have.

Really, I can't imagine how someone would get burns like that from a motorcycle exhaust pipe unless the pipe was trapped against the skin for a LONG time. Though maybe I'm missing something from the story...