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Low speed drops thus far: tried to pass between two bollards with my panniers, resulting in my tank bag sounding the horn to let every German in the vicinity know what happened. Spooked by a speeding car while initiating a 90 degree turn in full touring kit and promptly parked it in the grass pannier first. Slowest drop ever. Filtering past some slow moving traffic while trying to simultaneously turn hard and accelerate on paint in the wet to catch a spot up ahead. It was immediate and my keys put a hole in my trousers. It also fell of a cruiser lift while in a storm at night. It was already blowing when I told myself to continue in the morning. In all honesty, none of those I could call beginner mistakes. Don't go brand new for your first people.
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Mar 15, 2013 20:06
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Angryboot posted:EDIT: or this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQIpxtTUY00 I remember downloading this video as an MPEG something like 15 years ago. I'm talking pre-kazaa.
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Mar 15, 2013 20:08
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An acquaintance of mine, having never sat on a bike before, managed to disgustingly overspend on a raked out 'custom chopper' and then total it on a highway onramp on the way home because he had no real idea how to make it turn.
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Mar 15, 2013 20:20
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Snowdens Secret posted:An acquaintance of mine, having never sat on a bike before, managed to disgustingly overspend on a raked out 'custom chopper' and then total it on a highway onramp on the way home because he had no real idea how to make it turn. First step in making a turn: 1. Don't buy a raked out chopper
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Mar 15, 2013 20:33
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Geirskogul posted:I remember downloading this video as an MPEG something like 15 years ago. I'm talking pre-kazaa. Didn't realize it was that old. Was trying to find this one video I saw like a year ago where a guy on a new ninja 250 failed to take a left turn from the drive way right into the curb but I haven't been able to find it.
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Mar 15, 2013 20:41
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It took me until I was selling my first bike to drop it. Luckily I had just forgotten to put the kickstand down and there was no damage 
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Mar 15, 2013 21:08
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I'm not dissing on people dropping bikes. poo poo happens. I dropped my Enfield something like three or four times at stop signs. One second, I'd be sitting at the sign watching cross traffic and checking my mirrors, waiting for an opening. A second later, the bike would be on its side with me standing over it. Absolutely no recollection of the in-between. And let's not even talk about the time I tried to ride into the back of a pickup on a reinforced 2x12 (hint: it ends with a big, sidewalk-staining puddle of gasoline on the ground). Good thing I have a gigantic front crash bar and hard-framed rear panniers.
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Mar 15, 2013 21:20
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_Dav posted:I got my lace stuck on my shifter and fell over since I'd never tried putting my right foot down infront of my house. Did this same thing second time out on my first bike. Stop sign, put left foot down, wait its stuck, oh drat im going over, poo poo.
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Mar 15, 2013 23:07
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I launched my YZ85 into a metal fence the first time I got on it... I think I was like 10 or 12 at the time.
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Mar 15, 2013 23:14
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First time I was on my 250 I fixated on the gutter and then said hello to the road. Good times.
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Mar 15, 2013 23:18
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My first bike, I never dropped once. My second bike, I laid it down on both sides and ended up busting the plastic. My third bike, I've washed the front out once, and gently laid it to rest on either side a couple of times in the parking lot. The guards and luggage took all of that damage with minor scraping. Though if the trend continues, my eventual fourth bike is going to end up in a tree.
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Mar 15, 2013 23:56
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I appreciate the feedback guys. I'm hoping to get some riding in this weekend, I'll definitely be practicing my low speed turns. Oddly enough, I was heading for a parking lot to do drills when I crashed. After reviewing everything, I think just a little more lean and some throttle and a whole lot less panic I would have been fine. Lesson learned, now it's time to get back on the horse.
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Mar 16, 2013 05:10
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I crashed my Ninja 250 heaps of times, in a variety of ways By the time I was done with it most of the bike was parts of other bikes. By far the most embarrassing one was when I came to a stop at an intersection and my jeans got caught on the footpeg so I couldn't get my foot down, Down I went.
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Mar 16, 2013 05:21
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Haven't crashed my ER-6.  ...yet. 
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Mar 16, 2013 14:09
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I was pulling into the apartment complex where I live and decided to hop off my bike with a bit of flair, as I was coming to the security gate swinging my right leg over the bike and then hopping off with my left, and walking the rest of the way. Except that day, the one time I didn't bother tucking my pants into my bike boots, my pants got snarled up in the footpeg and instead of coolly hopping off my bike to stunned and aroused applause from my audience of Chinese students and a drunk guy vomiting on a car I just fell flat on my back, twatting my helmeted head off the floor and pouring petrol all over my jeans. And a mirror snapped off! probably my second worst sub 2MPH crash of all time. I don't try to do cool things any more, the universe punishes me severely and immediately. On new years day a guy on a scooter tried to outrun me from a red light and he slipped in some black ice and a guy in a van destroyed the scooter, and hosed up his van, no doubt. I stopped to make sure he was ok and then rode off. Don't race people in winter, even if you're on the powerhouse that is a 50cc Vespa.
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Mar 18, 2013 07:44
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meme posted:even if you're on the powerhouse that is a 50cc Vespa. Hey, a guy on a bike raced me on my Enfield the other day. He won, but I concede that it was fair. Never seen a person pedal that hard in my life. Don't know what a 50cc Vespa would do.
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Mar 18, 2013 08:08
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So the moral of the story is, I should definitely get crash bars for my first bike?
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Mar 18, 2013 20:54
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And/or sliders. And bar bumpers.
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Mar 18, 2013 21:21
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I'm getting a cruiser so I'm guessing bars. What are bar bumpers?
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Mar 18, 2013 21:26
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Pardon me, I checked and I guess the correct term is bar end sliders. Still new to this myself. 
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Mar 18, 2013 21:30
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spixxor posted:So the moral of the story is, I should definitely get crash bars for my first bike? Go ahead and buy yourself two shifters, two clutch levers, two brake levers, and two brake pedals, while you're at it. Those are crash-disposable items anyway. I did that after the second time I put my bike down, and I've still got everything left, so it's the best kind of (perverse) insurance to ensure you don't crash again.
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Mar 19, 2013 09:15
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You get a discount buying in bulk?
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Mar 20, 2013 04:20
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aventari posted:You get a discount buying in bulk? I'm not sure buying a spare counts as buying in bulk, but most mechanics I know will haggle.
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Mar 20, 2013 04:37
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aventari posted:You get a discount buying in bulk? $15 lever + $15 shipping 2 or 3 times, vs 6x$15 lever + $15 shipping once. I'm working in industrial supply at the moment, and our supply guy is a big fan of "pre-expended material." It's stuff you're >85% sure you're going to need at some point on the project, is pretty cheap (relatively speaking), and when it goes, you'd like to have it immediately. So at the beginning of the project, we just buy them all and put them in bins. When the project is over, we look at the stuff we've still got left, along with the stuff we had to order more of, and use that to generate the pre-expend list for the next one of these. So cheap, small stuff like levers, I leave lying around, just in case I'll need one. It's not really about saving money, so much as saving time and getting back on the bike. babyeatingpsychopath fucked around with this message at 09:57 on Mar 20, 2013 |
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Mar 20, 2013 09:53
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Bleh. Dropped my Versys on the way to work. I live in a canyon and the road from my house to the main road is a really, really steep grade with a couple blind-ish turns. (Example: When going up one time I missed a turn and rather than do a U-turn, I figured I'd just slowly roll the bike backwards the six feet to the turn entrance. It actually skidded the front tire any time I used the front brake to control the descent.) Since when I'm heading down there's so much weight pitched forward, I've been telling myself to use the front brake to regulate my speed, even though I'm going under 10 mph. I also make it a habit to slow down where the turns intersect with other roads, because no one bothers to look around the corners and I almost got hit one time. This confluence of poo poo got me this morning. Was almost at the bottom of the hill when I came across an intersection, looked right and didn't see anyone, then looked left and saw a sedan turning toward the road I was on. Since I was already going pretty slow and had my hand on the front brake, I pulled a bit more and managed to lock up the front, which rolled the bike over to its side. Since the hill was so steep when I put my foot down all I caught was air, and down I went. The hard bags got a bit scratched but the bike is fine and I headed off to work. Honestly I'm not really that upset about it. It's a tall bike that I'm still learning on a bizarre road and I've learned that cheating with the front brake is stupid and I shouldn't do that anymore. One question I have, though, is about the rear brake. I know it only provides like 30% of your stopping power, but I feel like I actually can't provide enough pressure on the lever to get the most out of the rear brake. For instance, if I were to use only the rear to stop the bike, I'd barely stop faster than just engine braking. Is this normal? The pad itself looks fine, so I'm guessing I need to adjust the level a few degrees toward my boot. The side effect, though, is it means it'll be easier to lock the rear. Is this advisable?
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Mar 28, 2013 18:22
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Ok, so...something is going on here beyond just the normal. If you're going down the hill, you are going to have more weight on the front and that should allow pretty significant front brake application. Given that you locked the front, I'd either say that your suspension was bottomed out when you applied the brakes and a small bump caused you to lose traction, or you grabbed a handful of brake and that caused the front to lock. Going down a hill, the rear brake will provide even less stopping power because there's not as much weight over it already, but that doesn't change that you should have enough modulation on the rear brake to be able to lock the rear, so definitely adjust it and then go out and practice braking until you ingrain the habits of not grabbing a handful of brake, but progressive, smooth, and quick application.
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Mar 28, 2013 18:34
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Yeah, I agree I did something wrong, especially since all I remember about the transition from upright to oh-poo poo is "it happened so fast." I don't think my suspension bottomed out - didn't hear it or feel any abruptness in the bars - so I'm pretty sure I grabbed too much front or was more leaned over to turn and that compounded the problem. I was already on the brake just to keep my downhill speed low, so when I saw the car I probably panicked and pulled too hard. I'll get some practice time in this weekend. This is funny because my low speed turning at parking lot speeds and stuff has been getting pretty good, but clearly I need to spend more time getting used to my brakes.
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Mar 28, 2013 18:43
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Monkey Wrangler posted:Yeah, I agree I did something wrong, especially since all I remember about the transition from upright to oh-poo poo is "it happened so fast." I don't think my suspension bottomed out - didn't hear it or feel any abruptness in the bars - so I'm pretty sure I grabbed too much front or was more leaned over to turn and that compounded the problem. If you grab your front brake while leaned over you will go down. You have to straighten up first if you're going to go to an almost stop or full stop. Also engine braking in first gear and rear brake should certainly be enough to ease you down any incline you experience on the road, so if that's not doing it there's a problem. Also remember that if you go into a turn fast enough that you feel the need to use the front brake halfway through you messed up. Slow in fast out. Especially applies to places like intersections and blind turns. You really want to be safe slow it down even more to give yourself more time to react to these things. Covert Ops Wizard fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Mar 28, 2013 |
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Mar 28, 2013 19:32
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Covert Ops Wizard posted:If you grab your front brake while leaned over you will go down. You have to straighten up first if you're going to go to an almost stop or full stop. Also engine braking in first gear and rear brake should certainly be enough to ease you down any incline you experience on the road, so if that's not doing it there's a problem. I was going about 10 mph. The more I reconstruct this and get your guys' advice, it sounds more and more like I had a few problems:
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Mar 28, 2013 19:48
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Monkey Wrangler posted:I was going about 10 mph. The more I reconstruct this and get your guys' advice, it sounds more and more like I had a few problems: I'm glad it was an inexpensive lesson. I know I learned the consequences of using the front brake to stop while turning a similar way.
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Mar 28, 2013 20:02
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Had a good pants-cleaner today. Hauling up a nice, clean two laner set of twisties on a farm road, get into a nice open two lane straight section. Probably 70 mph or so. Going the other direction is a late model gray CRV, get to within about 5-6 car lengths, she decides to take a left, no intersection, no signal, nothing. Just decides she's going to turn into a field. Across my path, at 65-70. Yea, full lock, full stoppie. Rear end comes down hard, fun wobble tank slapper, close enough I could touch the side of her car and see two car seats in it. Nothing going through my mind besides "drat, this is gonna hurt". Kept going about 20 mph or so. Decide, okay, "what the gently caress", loop around and follow her. She stops, I figure I'm gonna tear into something. She gets out, and unfortunately utilizes her talent of being ~26-27, cute and bawling her eyes out. So of course, I go from pissed off to trying to calm her down, she is absolutely freaking the gently caress out, going on about how her folks had the exact same thing happen to them on a harley, how bad they were hurt, etc. and just almost inconsolable. So yea, in the span of about a minute I go from being a hood ornament into holding this chick and telling her it's alright, making sure she's okay. Seriously, how does that work?
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Mar 30, 2013 20:43
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ThatCguy posted:Had a good pants-cleaner today. Wow. You did the right thing under pressure twice today. Good for you, man. Very glad that didn't turn into a much worse day for both of you. I rather suspect she won't make that mistake again.
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Mar 30, 2013 20:55
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sofullofhate posted:Wow. You did the right thing under pressure twice today. Good for you, man. Yes, comforting stupid people that nearly kill you sure is the right thing to do.
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Mar 30, 2013 21:15
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Backov posted:Yes, comforting stupid people that nearly kill you sure is the right thing to do. Eh, at that point what else was I gonna do? I was almost smiling and laughing at that point. She was freaking the gently caress out and thinking she killed someone. Hell, if there weren't kids in the car and a ring on my clutch hand, might have made for a hell of a penthouse forum letter.
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Mar 30, 2013 21:33
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Backov posted:Yes, comforting stupid people that nearly kill you sure is the right thing to do. He gave the driver an experience that will (hopefully) make her drastically more aware of and conscientious towards motorcyclists, because she comes out of it thinking "I could have killed that friendly man today", instead being frightened to death and hating motorcyclists more because "I got yelled at by a terrifying angry hooligan nihilist biker."
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Mar 30, 2013 22:28
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I was heading out on some country roads today, took a right turn and found some gravel in the road. Bike went down and I slid about 10 feet. I had full gear on besides the jeans I was wearing, the only part that's hurting now is the road rash on my knee. My Cycle Gear Dainese gloves also split open at the palms, SMX boots are pretty scuffed on the toes too, but serviceable. It happend really quickly, the moment I realized the loss of traction I was underneath the bike. A woman who saw the accident rolled her window down and asked if I was okay, I thumbs up and she drove off. Then a guy stopped and helped me pick the bike up, made sure I was okay ect. I don't know how I could have prevented it, I'm scared of loving mystery gravel now. Also, should have had my kevlar jeans on obviously. 
Chriskory fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Apr 5, 2013 |
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Apr 5, 2013 02:54
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If you don't give the bike any sharp throttle/brake/steering input on gravel, you'll feel a shimmy, but you'll stay upright. The only caveat is that it can't be a huge washout of the stuff or you're probably boned.
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Apr 5, 2013 03:24
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Plus try and keep the bike as upright as you can, obviously that's easier said than done in some instances, but the second you notice it try to get as upright as possible.
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Apr 5, 2013 04:47
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That's basically how I crashed. Just replace gravel with asphalt-colored silt. Front end washed out and I was down before I could say "Dammit!" There isn't much you can do save for tiptoeing around every unfamiliar corner.
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Apr 5, 2013 06:15
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Rugoberta Munchu posted:That's basically how I crashed. Just replace gravel with asphalt-colored silt. Front end washed out and I was down before I could say "Dammit!" There isn't much you can do save for tiptoeing around every unfamiliar corner. Pretty much. I came across the dreaded giant-washout-of-asphalt-colored-gravel-in-the-middle-of-a-blind-corner about halfway through this section of a several hundred mile ride. As I watched my bike spin away from me down the road, I distinctly remember thinking man, it's a long walk back into town. Then I thought, oh, right, DRZ, and wheelied off into the sunset. If I hadn't been hauling rear end, would I have had a chance to see and avoid it? Maybe. But I definitely wouldn't have had the pillow-soft lowside touchdown because I was leaned way the hell over. 
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Apr 5, 2013 17:30
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