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Nidhg00670000 posted:I'm really bad at this and I know it. I had a close call with some gravel in the middle of a turn, and now I find myself looking down all the time instead of looking through turns. Makes my turning stiff and slow 'cause I turn-look-turn-look. I know I do it, but I just can't make myself stop looking "because what if there is gravel or oil ontheroadandIdon'tseeandthenIcrashanddie and..." Looking through the turn you'll see the things to avoid before it's too late to avoid them. Looking down is pretty much going to be stuff that's largely too late to be pre-emptive about. I think it's largely a confidence thing, if you're confident that you're going to be OK if the back wheel wiggles a little, you'll still be on the throttle and negotiate it without issues.
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Jul 16, 2012 15:38
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I've had some moments on the KTM in ice, oil and gravel. Several times I was saved by the fact that I didn't let off the throttle. The first time it actually happened a bit too quickly and I didn't even have time to think about chopping the throttle before the bike was straightened up and happy again (motards  ). Even though it wasn't intentional it made me a lot more relaxed about momentary losses of traction and now it's no biggie if the back slips out a little.This might sound weird but I also found it helps to watch road racing like the IOM and the NW200, seeing Guy Martin crossing over white lines full throttle at 180mph and watching the bike wiggle without him even batting an eyelid made me realise that as long as you don't let it freak you out you'll probably be fine. And if the slippery patch is bad enough to take you down regardless then you're better off relaxed, lowsiding out than tensing up, grabbing brake/clutch and highsiding yourself into a hospital traction bed.
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Jul 16, 2012 15:59
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_Dav posted:Looking through the turn you'll see the things to avoid before it's too late to avoid them. Looking down is pretty much going to be stuff that's largely too late to be pre-emptive about. I think it's largely a confidence thing, if you're confident that you're going to be OK if the back wheel wiggles a little, you'll still be on the throttle and negotiate it without issues. Yeah, I know. Like you say, it's a confidence thing. I'm thinking of taking a course in gravel riding just to show myself that a little back wheel wiggle won't be the death of me.
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Jul 17, 2012 00:21
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A couple of weeks ago I finally took my new to me Multistrada out to a fun road to see what it could do. Everything was going swimmingly until I sped up to pass a car before the end of a passing lane. I carried a little bit of speed into the next corner which happened to be slightly off camber, I didn't choose the greatest of lines, and I forgot I had the center stand installed. Next thing I know there's a loud grinding noise and the rear tire seems a lot less interested in gripping the road than it did a few seconds before. Bonus points, I got it on video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiHZARuCFgU (The close call happens at about 1:35 Lessons learned: -Don't ride like an idiot on public roads -Remove the center stand before leaning over that far -Go in slow, come out fast. Go in fast, come out dead.
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Jul 18, 2012 17:24
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Picking up the throttle a bit would have stopped you from dragging hard parts. Removing the centerstand is a bandaid, considering I have friends who track those bikes with the centerstand on.
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Jul 18, 2012 19:56
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Is the center stand particularly low on that bike? For your speed and the turn I wouldn't expect anything to drag but I've not gotten close to that duke.
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Jul 18, 2012 20:06
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KodiakRS posted:
Oh hay, SRC.
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Jul 18, 2012 22:43
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nsaP posted:Is the center stand particularly low on that bike? For your speed and the turn I wouldn't expect anything to drag but I've not gotten close to that duke. I don't know. It's the first motorcycle with a center stand that I've owned. It certainly doesn't help that I weigh about 280LBS which overwhelms the suspension a bit. That was right about where I was starting to drag knee though so it's not like it hits really early.
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Jul 19, 2012 02:34
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I don't know if 280lbs is a lot or not (upgrade to the metric system already) but you could probably get your suspension adjusted to suit your weight which might help a bit if you plan on riding enthusiastically to the point you're knee dragging. (I have no idea if this will help or not but it's just a thought - Z3n or someone would have a better idea if it will make any difference or not). e: I have a centre-stand on my ninja and have never had any problems with it during leaning over enough to scrape the footpegs.
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Jul 19, 2012 05:11
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KodiakRS posted:I don't know. It's the first motorcycle with a center stand that I've owned. It certainly doesn't help that I weigh about 280LBS which overwhelms the suspension a bit. That was right about where I was starting to drag knee though so it's not like it hits really early. At that weight I would definitely respring the shock. New spring should be something like $100 and either DIY or take it off the bike and let the dealer risk injury for the cost of an hour's labour. Racetech has a spring rate "recommender" on their website, though I don't know how new that multistrada is.
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Jul 19, 2012 09:44
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Saga posted:At that weight I would definitely respring the shock. New spring should be something like $100 and either DIY or take it off the bike and let the dealer risk injury for the cost of an hour's labour. On the versions with the electronic suspension your choices are somewhat limited. There's a slightly stiffer spring but I don't know how it will cope with my ample weight + bags + camping gear. The rear shock is probably going to be replaced soon anyway (electronic suspension glitch). Maybe I'll see if they can upgrade the spring when that happens.
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Jul 20, 2012 07:22
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You need two multistradas. If The Great Lorenzo can do it, so can you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSehxjPJEpc
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Jul 20, 2012 13:46
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...I slowly and awkwardly dropped my bike on myself in a parking lot today. My foot slipped as I was putting it down, and I'm pretty sure I flailed all my limbs like an upside-down turtle until I fell over. Luckily, someone was there to witness my embarrassment, because I ended up pinned between my bike and a car, and she had to pull the bike off me enough for me to wiggle out before I could push it back up. Adding insult to injury, I'm anemic, so my legs and hips look like a war zone, and all I can say is "Hurr durr, I dropped my bike on myself."  (Everything on the bike's fine. Because I cleverly used my body to pad the fall.)
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Aug 4, 2012 07:33
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I think I'd rather have a proper crash than a drop like that :/
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Aug 4, 2012 10:59
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I think we all have a stupid drop like that one time or another. A few months ago I was coming to a stop to pull out of a parking lot, and I put my feet down too late. Bike started to tip and got to far and I couldn't save it. I ended up jumping off and my momentum carried me into some woods. I got it back up and couldn't start the thing for five minutes until I realized I had hit the loving kill switch. Ugh.
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Aug 4, 2012 12:02
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I had a spill like that once. I had taken a girl home from a club and had stuck the bike behind her house, not noticing how the ground was loose and sloped towards the house. In the morning when I went to leave, I got on the bike, was trying to be discrete by duckwalking it back around before cranking it, slipped, and managed to have it fall halfway over and pin me against the siding. The last thing I wanted to do was holler for help and have to explain to her parents who I was and how I ended up stuck against their house. Felt like it took an eternity to get free enough that I could right it and get out of there.
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Aug 4, 2012 13:05
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I used to live in a duplex, and I would use a little dirt path in the back yard to get my bike out rather than sqeezing it past my Jeep in the driveway. One day I stalled it as I passed my neighbor's door and fell into the side of the house. They came outside to check if I was okay. I was, except for my ego.
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Aug 4, 2012 15:19
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Well I'm glad I'm not the only one. And hey, at least I didn't do any damage to the car I fell into. Because I fell into it. Not my bike. And at least it wasn't a parking lot off a stupidly busy intersection so tons of people could see me and drive past laughing...not that that happened or anything. My poor ego. It's okay, buddy. We'll work through this.
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Aug 4, 2012 22:16
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Z3n posted:Picking up the throttle a bit would have stopped you from dragging hard parts. Removing the centerstand is a bandaid, considering I have friends who track those bikes with the centerstand on. I'm still pretty new (~3 months, ~1000 miles), but how would more throttle have kept him from dragging? I realize you're supposed to roll-on throttle consistently in corners, but how would that keep him dragging? He could have let off the throttle a bit which would have stood him up a bit (correct?), but also have a loss of traction.
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Aug 6, 2012 03:21
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Think about what the suspension does as you roll on the throttle (hint: it extends).
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Aug 6, 2012 03:23
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28_days posted:I'm still pretty new (~3 months, ~1000 miles), but how would more throttle have kept him from dragging? I realize you're supposed to roll-on throttle consistently in corners, but how would that keep him dragging? Roll on, the suspension "expands" so to speak and keeps the bottom of the bike up higher, for lack of a better way to explain it. Same lean angle with more throttle means no dragging of hard parts.
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Aug 6, 2012 03:25
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Ahh, good point--didn't think about it that way. Thank you gentlemen!
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Aug 7, 2012 04:17
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Does it count as a near miss if I sort of caused a crash tonight? Well, someone else's idiocy and hatred of bikes caused the crash, I was merely the catalyst. It was at this junction on my ride home, heading east and looking to turn right in pretty heavy traffic. I was therefore filtering (lane splitting) on the centreline of the middle of those three pairs of lanes, roughly where the centre of that bus at the junction is at. There was a bus in the left lane and a big van at the front of the right-hand lane, leaving a gap too small for me to fit through to get to the front (the front-right corner of the bus was about 12 inches from the back-right corner of the van), and a blue Astra was on my right hand side. When the light turned green the van moved off first and (as I wanted to be in the right-hand lane of the road I was turning into, as there's a bus stop on the left) I went to nip into the gap between him and the Astra as we moved into the junction (which is a bit dodgy, I know) and as I did a lifesaver was astonished to see the wing of the Astra pretty much in the crook of my knee - I've never seen a car that close while I've been moving, and he was less than six inches from the back of the van. I got into the gap to my left instead (I knew we'd already passed the car and bus in the left lane) and at the same time the van came off the throttle (didn't even brake) because someone was running across the road at the exit to the junction), and the Astra smacked right into the back of him. We all pulled over and Astra man was out of his car and running at me before I got off the bike, literally screaming in my face about how I'd cut him up and made him hit the van and loving bikes always trying to loving push in. I was still buzzing from the adrenaline and just sort of went "buuuuuhhh" back at him. The van driver was pretty chill about it and pulled the guy away from me, just as a police car pulled up (as you can see that road is right next to Limehouse nick). The bus driver also wandered up from the bus stop (all of this had literally taken no more than 45 seconds from the light going green). The police took statements from, and breathalysed everyone (and I overheard them confirming with CCTV control that the cameras at the junction had caught it all). From what they (and the bus and van drivers) said I'm absolutely in the clear (I know that I am of course, but I've been hosed over by insurance companies "negotiating" before), and Astra man is likely - once the black rats have looked at the CCTV and statements - to get at least due care and attention and possibly dangerous driving. To be honest I don't know what I'd done if the van driver hadn't been so chill (or if Plod hadn't turned up when they did, making it now only the second time in my entire life I've been happy to see them), the Astra driver was loving mental. Also a great reminder of why they're called "lifesavers".
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Aug 13, 2012 23:29
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That's my lasting impression from my time in the UK - everyone is very angry, especially on the roads. Glad to hear the dipshit didn't take you out, as he obviously was trying to do.
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Aug 13, 2012 23:52
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Backov posted:That's my lasting impression from my time in the UK - everyone is very angry, especially on the roads. I don't think he actually wanted to take me out (all he'd have needed to do is shift left or just not turn in time and I'd have ended up in the side of a bus), just stop me taking the gap. People doing stupid poo poo to stop bikes filtering seems to be getting more and more common and I just can't put myself in the head of someone who would endanger someone elses life out of such petty loving jealousy.
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Aug 14, 2012 07:38
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goddamnedtwisto posted:People doing stupid poo poo to stop bikes filtering seems to be getting more and more common and I just can't put myself in the head of someone who would endanger someone elses life out of such petty loving jealousy. It's just part of the increasing rise in egocentrism in the western world. "Don't tread on me, but STFU about me treading on you, it's my right to do so!"
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Aug 14, 2012 08:08
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goddamnedtwisto posted:I don't think he actually wanted to take me out (all he'd have needed to do is shift left or just not turn in time and I'd have ended up in the side of a bus), just stop me taking the gap. One reason I like taking the bike is that encountering these people in the car is worse. There are a couple of cars I inevitably run into on my commute who do 40 in a 60 unless you try to legally pass them, at which point they go all Cole Trickle up in that bitch and keep the "hammer down" to the extent of risking a head-on collision. And then they go back to crawling along at 40. When I'm on the Tuono that tactic doesn't work so well and I can happily ignore them. Unfortunately, life is full of arseholes who like to take out their frustrations and personal miseries on whoever is handy. Astra man is fat, middle aged and his wife has left him so darkies are taking are jerbs, kids have no morals these days (other than Linda 23 from Essex phwoar worra stunna!) and motorcycles are causing the breakdown of organised society by not being cars. You know, the usual Daily Mail poo poo. His attitude won't have anything to do with you, you're just a convenient "other" on which to project his fears and insecurities. I honestly wouldn't worry about what he says to his insurance, since statements have been taken at the scene and there is actual camera footage.
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Aug 14, 2012 20:26
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Saga posted:There are a couple of cars I inevitably run into on my commute who do 40 in a 60 unless you try to legally pass them, at which point they go all Cole Trickle up in that bitch and keep the "hammer down" to the extent of risking a head-on collision. And then they go back to crawling along at 40. When I'm on the Tuono that tactic doesn't work so well and I can happily ignore them. Back when I had the Panda, I dreaded running into people like this. Now that I have an additional 90hp and 75nm, it's not nearly as bad. Of course it's no problem at all on the Bandit, just drop a couple of cogs, give it a twist, and they're way behind me. It's still reckless endangerment and around here will cost you 1 out of the 3 total points on your license, plus a hefty fine. It's such a massive dick move and should be punished accordingly.
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Aug 14, 2012 21:02
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What if he actually didn't notice you or expected you to wait behind the bus? If your not technically in a lane, how can someone expect which lane your supposed to be in? Do you have right of way into his lane? It sounds like he accelerated with you, you were all up in his personal space which potentially surprised and drew his attention which caused him to hit the truck. Full disclosure: I have no idea who's right/wrong here.
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Aug 14, 2012 21:48
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Ziploc posted:What if he actually didn't notice you or expected you to wait behind the bus? If your not technically in a lane, how can someone expect which lane your supposed to be in? Do you have right of way into his lane? It sounds like he accelerated with you, you were all up in his personal space which potentially surprised and drew his attention which caused him to hit the truck. What happened is basically the Arstra driver decided that he wasn't going to let twisto into the lane, which he successfully achieved by closing the gap between him and the van in front to nothing. Unfortunately, he was so busy congratulating himself on obstructing another road user that he didn't pay any attention to the van and drove into the back of it.
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Aug 15, 2012 08:26
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Nothing is better than the absolute bliss of giving a thankyou wave to some cranky bastard who just tried to block you from splitting, and in doing so opened up a nice gap on their other side.
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Aug 16, 2012 14:10
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Ziploc posted:What if he actually didn't notice you or expected you to wait behind the bus? If your not technically in a lane, how can someone expect which lane your supposed to be in? Do you have right of way into his lane? It sounds like he accelerated with you, you were all up in his personal space which potentially surprised and drew his attention which caused him to hit the truck. It's a tricky one. Had he actually hit me it would have been a bit of a crapshoot on the insurance unless I could prove that I was outside of the "lane" (which is of course unmarked) that he would have followed through the junction. However, because he was being a dick and ran into the back of another vehicle, I'm pretty much in the clear.
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Aug 17, 2012 12:13
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I was leaving RevZilla's Philly showroom an hour ago and this chick on a brand new Thruxton backs out and drops it right in the middle of the street. I picked the bike up for her and luckily she just busted the shifter and mirror. She starts absolutely FREAKING out about not being able to get home in Washington DC tonight and refuses my help to MacGyver the lever or take her to the train station. She somehow gets on her bike, puts it into first, and wobbles down the street. Where did she go and how is she shifting?  She had a habit of feeding it full throttle and dumping the clutch when starting. The lesson is: don't do that on a lovely industrial side street with more rocks and craters than the moon. 
Fixed Gear Guy fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Aug 18, 2012 |
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Aug 18, 2012 22:10
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:I was leaving RevZilla's Philly showroom an hour ago and this chick on a brand new Thruxton backs out and drops it right in the middle of the street. I picked the bike up for her and luckily she just busted the shifter and mirror. She starts absolutely FREAKING out about not being able to get home in Washington DC tonight and refuses my help to MacGyver the lever or take her to the train station. She somehow gets on her bike, puts it into first, and wobbles down the street. Where did she go and how is she shifting? I've never broken a shifter bad enough that I couldn't at least mangle it to work. Even a little nub or a rod can give enough purchase if the transmission is unloaded. Or, I guess you could use pliers to get the thing into first when stopped, then just get home in first. Breaking off a clutch lever isn't a day-ender, either, if you can disable the clutch switch. (Blown clutch master/slave cyl, broken clutch cable, burned throwout bearing, all equivalent).
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Aug 19, 2012 02:06
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Yeah man, usually a no-speed drop isn't a day-ender but she was really unlucky. For shift levers a butane torch and pliers will usually get ya on the road, but on the Thruxton the shift lever's stick is bolted onto the lever itself, which connects to the tranny linkage via a splined interface. Well the stick broke off and the bolt sheared off leaving her unable to do much of anything but ghetto rig it back on somehow. Dunno what Triumph was thinking on that one. I had no problem shoving my foot against the engine case and forcing the remainder of the lever up or down but she couldn't grasp that. I really feel bad that she was panicking so much. The good thing is that she didn't break or scratch anything expensive. All in all it was a  moment.
Fixed Gear Guy fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Aug 19, 2012 |
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Aug 19, 2012 02:24
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Another 0 MPH crash to add. Seriously, this is the third drat time I've dropped or had the bike fall over. 1: In Garage on center stand: Still have no clue why, but the center stand collapsed while I was around 5ft away, only thing that makes sense is I disturbed it when cleaning the chain and it just took it's sweet time. It was tied too, but it snapped the string cause it was probably too loose/thin. 2: Pulled up to a gas station and didn't lock the side stand in place, so I set it down very gently on it's side. Today: Wheeled it out of the garage started the bike and went to get off to gear up. When I got off I caught my right foot, and put my weight on the bike, on a downhill slope. I jumped up on the one planted foot, but it was too late. This was just as my dad drove up the driveway too, perfect timing if you enjoy being laughed at. No damage from any of this other than too my ego. Folding mirrors and no fairings. I apparently should not be trusted around bikes below ~1 mph.
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Aug 22, 2012 06:40
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Bondematt posted:Another 0 MPH crash to add. Seriously, this is the third drat time I've dropped or had the bike fall over. I had one of those. About 1 week after I got the bike finished and legally registered, I was parked on the side of the road just getting ready to leave. Turned on the ignition, turned on the fuel, turned on the headlight, closed the choke, flipped out the kickstarter, hopped on top and blipped the throttle as I gave it a mighty boot. And because I had left the transmission in gear, the bike scooted forwards six inches, just enough to make me lose my balance and grip. I grabbed fruitlessly for the bars as the bike slowly fell over onto its side, luckily doing no damage beyond breaking the little ball off the end of the clutch lever. 
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Aug 23, 2012 00:03
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I've been riding about a month, and today recorded myself nearly driving into the guard rail I was fixated on. Watching it now it doesn't look like the near miss it sure felt like at the time. But just the same, I'm open to any and all criticism/tips. Edit: Jesus, I fail at embedding too. gently caress it. http://youtu.be/ckHOUKADJ08?hd=1 follow that camel!! fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Aug 27, 2012 |
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Aug 27, 2012 06:27
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follow that camel!! posted:I've been riding about a month, and today recorded myself nearly driving into the guard rail I was fixated on. I don't know how close you thought it was, but that video looks pretty hairy. You know what? You didn't stuff it, you know what you did wrong, and you get to practice doing it right. You're going to go over that incident again and again in your head, that's just human nature. Just recently I had a car stop short in front of me. I fixated on the car, then realized what I was doing and thought, "Oh gently caress, oh gently caress, don't fixate, don't fixate!" I broke the fixation and took my escape route (left turn lane). Making mistakes like you did and recognizing what went wrong helps you make the right action later on.
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Aug 27, 2012 10:36
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What is good about that video though is you seemed to tighten up your line and apply throttle, which most people wouldn't do. They'd chop the throttle and hit the rail, or lowside. so  for that one, but try not to fixate!
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Aug 29, 2012 04:12
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