It's not something most motorcycle riders want to think about most of the time, but that doesn't mean it's not important. If you've crashed in the past, then chances are good that you've spent plenty of time analyzing and replaying what happened in your head already. Addressing what went wrong, what you could have done better, and any factors that were out of your control.
It's what all of us do.
Earlier in 2025, popular motorcycle YouTuber Doodle on a Motorcycle had a death wobble-related crash on a motorcycle that she was recording, because she was making a planned video about the bike (not the crash, though that's what ended up happening).
As she tells the story, she wasn't sure she was ever going to end up posting the crash. It ended up affecting her planned rides for the next few months, disrupting her life and schedule as she recovered from her injuries and worked to move on.
But ultimately, she said that she decided to post the video in the hopes of helping others, both through her experience and in raising money for the BikerDown organization, which works to help motorcyclists deal with healthcare and related expenses after their crashes. While Doodle was able to not need a GoFundMe or other similar crowdfunding campaign to help her recover, as you've probably seen, plenty of other riders aren't so lucky when something bad happens.
Here's the video, which clearly shows both the crash and the aftermath. Only you know what type of headspace you're in right now, so please don't watch it if it's going to affect you badly in the moment. For many people, though, it could also be helpful (which is why she shared it).
Every crash is different, and every rider is different, too. Doodle and others in this video credit her having worn all her gear (and put her armor back in her motorcycle pants, which she says she almost didn't do that day) with her injuries not being worse than they were. And from personal experience, if you're the rider who's crashed, chances are excellent that you will absolutely be analyzing and re-analyzing any gear deficiencies you might have experienced.
My very first crash involved a low-side where I landed on my knee, and to this day I'm still convinced that I wouldn't have ended up with bursitis and months of PT afterward if I'd been wearing armored motorcycle pants during that incident. As it was, I had all proper motorcycle gear on (full-face helmet, gloves, armored jacket, boots) except for proper motorcycle pants. Instead, I'd just been wearing normal pants, and that proved to be a bad choice.
So I went about finding myself some proper armored motorcycle pants that fit, and I started wearing them. And while I've crashed (and even injured myself) in the many years since that first crash, I can tell you that wearing the proper, armored motorcycle pants have definitely improved my outcomes.
For riders in the US, you'll of course immediately relate to Doodle's choice to not get an ambulance, instead opting for the far less bank-breaking trip to the hospital in someone's car. And for riders outside the US, if you're horrified at both that segment of the video and the sentence I just wrote about it, I don't blame you. Unfortunately, it's a fact of life for us riders in the US, because our healthcare system is incredibly expensive (especially ambulance rides).
Here's hoping you ride safe today, tomorrow, and always, and that we all watch out for each other when and where we can. And thanks to Doodle for sharing her painful crash story, and we hope she's feeling better as soon as possible.
