First it was a flash fire and skin burns, now it’s a bike crash and broken bones – bad luck has struck Jay Leno again.
While test riding his 1940 Indian motorcycle earlier this month, Leno smelled a fuel leak: “So I turned down a side street and cut through a parking lot, and unbeknownst to me, some guy had a wire strung across the parking lot but with no flag hanging from it,” Leno told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just clotheslined me and, boom, knocked me off the bike.”
Leno explained to Hagerty that he figures he was going about 15 mph, just doing a U-turn in the parking lot. It could have been worse for him, but the Indian did not escape unscathed. The motorcycle was a sidecar, so it stayed upright, kept going and crashed into a building.
The 72-year-old comedian suffered a broken collarbone, two broken ribs, and two broken kneecaps. Leno was admitted to the hospital, figuring he’d be out and about the next day.
A few years ago he told Hagerty that he had “one more motorcycle crash in him.” Maybe this was it.
This all comes just as Leno was preparing to return to the stage in Las Vegas, after finally healing up from facial burns suffered while working on his White steam car. As a result, he opted to lie low and not tell the media about the motorcycle crash right away. “You know, after getting burned up, you get that one for free,” Leno told the Review-Journal. “After that, you’re Harrison Ford, crashing airplanes. You just want to keep your head down.”
Leno understands both the risks and joys of motorcycle riding. The comedian said he’s generally been very lucky on bikes, including a couple of harrowing near-misses. In one instance, he was riding a custom Triumph for his YouTube series; the owner had run the crankcase breather tube out in front of the rear tyre, so it was blowing oil all over the tyre and he nearly lost control. Another time, while riding a Brough Superior, the wheel locked up just moments after he exited the freeway.
We wish Leno a speedy recovery. If history is any indication, he’ll be back in action soon.
Via Hagerty US
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