.....To give you an idea how hard the hit was, it had to bend the 3/16 inch steel mount to make the bumper out of level. I've stood on the left end and bounced the bike, and it won't bend back.....
The bit I've highlighted above is what worries me about the Rivco bumper - it's mounted onto the Spyder's main frame isn't it? Fairly solidly it appears, & if those sorts of impact forces are being transferred directly into the frame, what damage are they actually doing under there?? :shocked:
That said, SpyderPop's BumpSkid
also protrudes somewhat & could be subject to the same sort of forces & force transfer, but then it does flex & so is more likely to tend to absorb or at least provide a progressive 'crumple zone' effect before it makes the Spyder ride up & over most obstacles it is likely to hit!! And that could mean less resultant damage from transferred forces...
I've seen pics of a Spyder that lost its Frunk (without either of the units above fitted) when it tore the mounting points right out of the frame after a relatively minor/just above idle speed 'collision' with an immovable object; and I've personally seen a Spyder that was fitted with a bumper very similar to the Rivco unit (a predecessor or prototype maybe??) which, while moving at 'travelling in town' speeds, (so, probably not much faster than about 30 mph) collided with one of our native 'Sherman Tanks on Legs' (a wombat - these solid but 'medium sized dog' with short legs sized animals are often referred to as
'mobile brick walls'!) Witnesses claim that the wombat
was injured, altho it was not hurt enough to stop it fleeing the scene; & the ATGATT clad Ryder was thrown clear of the Spyder when it flipped & so survived, albeit with some pretty spectacular bruising. But the Spyder didn't survive - its frame was warped & twisted well beyond repair & as a result, many of the components that you'd normally expect to be recoverable after a prang like this were severely bent or broken & well beyond repair or use anywhere else.
The 'towie' who recovered the Spyder blamed the massive damage on the bumper (which was bolted directly to the frame in a similar way to all these others seem to be) transferring pretty much
ALL the impact forces into the major frame components & basically tearing everything off.... He sees a lot of prangs, not only because he owns/operates one of the largest Crash Recovery & Repair places within a radius of about 100 miles, but also because he often chooses to drive one of his towing fleet to attend & collect vehicles from 'interesting' or potentially controversial incidents; partly cos he's the boss & he can, but also because he's recognised (& frequently employed) by the State Govt as an Accident Investigator, so he really does have 'just a little idea' of what goes on to cause vehicle damage! And until this prang occurred, he had never even heard of an accident involving a Spyder that warranted anything more than a tilt tray - yet for this one they called for a 'lift capable' recovery vehicle as the Spyder had no working wheels left!! :shocked: All this from a less than 30 mph collision with an animal, even if it was a solid little bugga?!? :yikes: Was this largely attributable to the bumper being solidly mounted to the frame??
Soo, while I really don't know if the Rivco bumper (or the BumpSkid for that matter)
IS likely to be prone to cause any
more damage due to the transfer of impact forces into the frame, but I'm certainly concerned & would like to know more about how & where they mount & how much impact force would be transferred in the event of a collision?! How 'small' a collision would this occur in - kerb jumping?? Or only higher speed prangs? Anyone know any more on this?! Or have any pertinent experiences they can share? :helpsmilie:
pps
