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Chriskory posted: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. Now for the harsher bit...You just got a new bike right? If I was you, I'd consider whether your new bike led you to make an error or just contributed because it reacts differently than your old bike. Gravel can be scary, but just saying "I washed out on gravel and that's that" doesn't give you any room for learning where you might have made an error. It took me a while to realize that it was me who messed up on my first real crash. I also used to be terrified of gravel and of slipping around, and my solution for that was to go and slide around as much as possible. I hit up gravel roads and even steer towards stuff in the road for a little slidey fun. As long as your smooth on the inputs and you have your weight in the right place you'll slide a bit but come out alright. I'm not trying to be a jerk, just constructive.
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Apr 5, 2013 17:44
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 00:53 |
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Stay on the throttle and anything short of a full on gravel trap will just cause the bike to scoot around a bit. If you let off the throttle, you load up the front tire, it washes way out of line, and down you go.
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Apr 5, 2013 17:46
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I really need to make up some "KEEP CALM AND THROTTLE ON" stickers to put on my tank to remind myself of that.
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Apr 5, 2013 17:58
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Survival Reactions aside, I checked my tire pressure and they were really low. When I'm riding my bicycle low pressure=more work, so I check it every ride, but I never thought to top off my motorcycle and I feel like a dolt. Chriskory fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Apr 5, 2013 |
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Apr 5, 2013 18:30
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I really hate gravel in turns. I also have traumatic memories of lowsiding in sand to work through. I was heading home from a guy's house on an unfamiliar cycle, he recommended a nice twisty mountain route but mentioned 'watch out, there's some salt down.' He didn't mention in his neck of the woods they put salt down in golf-ball sized blocks. Bouncing the tires over those mid-corner made for an interesting time.
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Apr 5, 2013 22:53
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I decided that the only proper way to commemorate hitting the 1000 road mile mark would be to stuff my bike into a corner. A downhill right followed by a blind double apex left. I make the right, stand the bike up, downshift, go to turn in and... nothing. I just freeze like a deer in the headlights. The SRs start kicking in. I'm target fixated straight ahead, I'm on the brakes, and just as these stories always go, I reach the soft shoulder and promptly lowside. Minimal damage, thankfully. Left turn signal, scraped up fairing and a scuff on the palm of one of my gloves. I dusted myself off, went back to the top and re-rode that section (relatively) flawlessly a half-dozen more times. I can't figure out why I choked the first time. I need more practice, no doubt.
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Apr 8, 2013 01:02
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Lowsided a few days ago on this gradual right hand bend. I had been rolling along at a fairly good clip up until about 20 seconds prior. I backed off on the straight before it because the road wasn't in the best shape and I didn't really want to push my luck. Ironically by backing off I got out of "aggressive corning mode" and wasn't paying super close attention to the road surface and wasn't making too much effort to keep the load off the front tire. The multistrada is REALLY unforgiving of sloppy throttle control and as I rolled through the corner with not quite enough throttle I encountered a massive gravel patch. The front tucked and down I went at an estimated 40MPH. The only reason I know this happened is through recollection and looking at the road after the fact. In real time I had just backed off the pace and my thought process went something like this "Man it's humid, my stupid visor keeps fogging. *enter turn* I wonder where I'm going to get breakfast? Hey, why am I suddenly on the ground?" I never even realized I was in trouble until I was on the ground. I ended up with some roadrash on the right knee and a sore left shoulder. The bike took a bunch of cosmetic damage to the right side. The throttle tube and bar managed to grind themselves together though friction necessitating that I cut the last few CM of the throttle tube off to restore normal operation. The break master cylinder somehow got pulled away from the bars causing it to yank free of one of the mounting screws stripping they cylinder. I was able to repair the throttle to normal operation and ziptie/duct tape the master break cylinder together to the point where I could limp it to a dealer where they could use a helicoil to solve that particular issue. All things considered I got lucky. A combination of sloppy riding and gravel dumped me on my rear end but neither the bike or I took significant damage. I was actually in the middle of a road trip, and while the crash screwed with my trip schedule, I continued to ride the bike without much of an issue for another 3 days before finally making it back home. Gear report: Helmet: Never touched the ground. Don't remember it touching and no physical evidence that it happened. Jacket: First gear kilimanjaro. I slid on the right side of the jacket for quite a ways. Some of the textile panels have a few rips and scuff marks, and the various snaps and toggles have some damage but it held up extremely well. I did have a very sort left shoulder which is weird considering it never even hit the ground. I suspect that when the front tire tucked the bars snapped full right which yanked my left arm outwards causing the damage. There is zero evidence of a crash on the left side of the jacket. Gloves: Technic violators. The armor on right right one got a little scraped up but other than that no damage to the gloves or me. Boots: Sidi Vertigo Megas. Same story as the gloves, a couple of scrapes and scuffs but no other real damage. Pants: Firstgear HT over pants. Although the pants protected my knee from a lot of damage, they failed catastrophically. Had this crash occurred 10 MPH faster there would be significant damage to my knee. The pants fit my waist but the legs of the pants were always a little loose which let the armor float around a bit. When I came off the bike the knee armor did just that and offered zero protection to my knee. The mesh of the pants failed in a truly epic way, there is a tear over 8 inches long and wide enough that it's larger than the main "tube" of the pant leg. I will never again buy pants where the armor does not fit SECURELY in place.
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Apr 8, 2013 08:10
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Eep! I have the HT overpants shell. However, they seem snug enough once I cinch up the ankle straps.
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Apr 8, 2013 12:31
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KodiakRS posted:Pants: Firstgear HT over pants. Although the pants protected my knee from a lot of damage, they failed catastrophically. Had this crash occurred 10 MPH faster there would be significant damage to my knee. The pants fit my waist but the legs of the pants were always a little loose which let the armor float around a bit. When I came off the bike the knee armor did just that and offered zero protection to my knee. The mesh of the pants failed in a truly epic way, there is a tear over 8 inches long and wide enough that it's larger than the main "tube" of the pant leg. I will never again buy pants where the armor does not fit SECURELY in place. Walking away with a small bit of rash sounds like pretty good performance. I rashed my arm crashing at maybe 60mph at the track wearing a leather suit. Anytime you go down at a pretty high speed textile is going to explode.
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Apr 8, 2013 19:37
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If you're getting rash through your gear, it doesn't fit right. Which unfortunately is the reality for most gear unless you get it custom made.
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Apr 8, 2013 23:11
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Z3n posted:If you're getting rash through your gear, it doesn't fit right. Which unfortunately is the reality for most gear unless you get it custom made. Most of the damage to my knee (it was all rash) could have been avoided if my knee armor had stayed in place. It still kind of boggles my mind why the gear manufactures don't get this and don't offer ways to not only adjust, but to secure armor. Especially armor in the knee area. Oh, and the mesh part of the gear that was between my knee and the ground failed spectacularly. I wouldn't say I got the rash through the mesh, I'd say the mesh failed exposing my knee to the ground which resulted in the rash. But yeah, if the pants had fitted properly it wouldn't have mattered because my knee would have been covered by armor.
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Apr 9, 2013 00:47
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KodiakRS posted:Most of the damage to my knee (it was all rash) could have been avoided if my knee armor had stayed in place. It still kind of boggles my mind why the gear manufactures don't get this and don't offer ways to not only adjust, but to secure armor. Especially armor in the knee area. after crashing and getting some knee rash, I've decided to buy and wear these to avoid that problem. My jean armor never felt right, so I'm just attaching it directly. http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=13049
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Apr 9, 2013 01:04
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My friend here had his neighbor bring over his newly purchased 70's kick-only HD (not the one in the background, that's his bike). Had a good bit of kick-back, whipped up and snapped his tibia and hosed up his knee. He's going to surgery as I type this.  "Sometimes a kick only 70's chopper breaks your loving leg......FTW. #ouch #rumandpineapple #vacationtime" Edit: "repairs include bone grafting and installing permanent hardware" 
Nerolus fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 18:14
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Holy poo poo
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Apr 9, 2013 18:15
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Nerolus posted:My friend here had his neighbor bring over his newly purchased 70's kick-only HD (not the one in the background, that's his bike). Had a good bit of kick-back, whipped up and snapped his tibia and hosed up his knee. He's going to surgery as I type this.  not even a thumper, holy poo poo.
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Apr 9, 2013 18:19
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I mean, I'm pretty sure I've cracked a metatarsal before with kickback from my Enfield one cold morning (limping for weeks - I was thrown a bit) but never had a full-on leg breakage. I guess the old Harley "grab more earl" guys are right sometimes.
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Apr 9, 2013 19:00
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Motorcycling is dangerous y'all.
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Apr 9, 2013 19:02
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Nerolus posted:My friend here had his neighbor bring over his newly purchased 70's kick-only HD (not the one in the background, that's his bike). Had a good bit of kick-back, whipped up and snapped his tibia and hosed up his knee. He's going to surgery as I type this. Man that dude is seriously trying far far too hard.
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Apr 9, 2013 20:33
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If he looks instagram bad rear end enough maybe people won't notice he broke his leg kick starting a bike. I saw an old harley catapult my friends dad one time but you'd have to seriously stiff leg it or something to do that much damage.
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Apr 9, 2013 20:36
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n8r posted:Man that dude is seriously trying far far too hard. I dunno why, but this is what I pictured you looking like 
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Apr 9, 2013 22:17
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front wing flexing posted:
Think: pair of thumpers attached to the same crank. I have a mighty bruise from where my 175 Honda kicked back and just barely missed my leg pad; I'd hate to have a Harley do that. SaNChEzZ posted:I dunno why, but this is what I pictured you looking like Maybe he does without trying.
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Apr 9, 2013 22:29
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clutchpuck posted:Think: pair of thumpers attached to the same crank. I have a mighty bruise from where my 175 Honda kicked back and just barely missed my leg pad; I'd hate to have a Harley do that. I've always had a harder time with thumpers.
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Apr 9, 2013 22:36
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SaNChEzZ posted:I dunno why, but this is what I pictured you looking like I like Aprilias and old two stroke Yamahas - things that are actually cool not old rape vans and Harleys which are just trying to be cool.
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Apr 9, 2013 23:05
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A Harley rider injured before a lowside? Pretty impressive.
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Apr 10, 2013 00:42
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n8r posted:I like Aprilias and old two stroke Yamahas - things that are actually cool not old rape vans and Harleys which are just trying to be cool. That doesn't influence the picture in my mind of n8r however.
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Apr 10, 2013 00:48
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Xovaan posted:A Harley rider injured before a lowside? Pretty impressive. He hasn't yet learned the fine art of "droppin' 'er" when a squirrel crosses his path.
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Apr 10, 2013 02:46
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Without the truck in the background, the caption oughta be "My dad after 'Nam."
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Apr 10, 2013 06:38
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Rugoberta Munchu posted:Without the truck in the background, the caption oughta be "My dad after 'Nam." 
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Apr 10, 2013 17:10
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Dropped my GS like a noob today Stopped in the parking lot and the space banked to the left a little too much and I couldn't keep the bike up 
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Apr 13, 2013 06:19
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Hopefully none of you got cut off by a Sentra yesterday near DC right in front of my work.  He got backboarded out, on his side (not sure what this signifies but it seemed weird for him to be on his side, shoulder injury?). On the other hand, firefighters said the guy was talking and could feel all his fingers and toes, so there's that. The gear that I could see got torn up (armored textiles and a full face) but there was no blood; probably went down around 40 mph. All my coworkers (most of the bystanders) thought he was dead (since he did the right thing and didn't try to get up) until I just walked over and asked the guys about it.
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Apr 22, 2013 04:54
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Last night I discovered that while they are an excellent form of road based transportation, motorbikes do not make particularly good tractors. Was heading down this road in front of a friend on our way to Squires and came off about point B. It was twilight as I was riding down it and I think it threw out my depth perception a little making me feel like I was coming in to the corner too hot. I got on the brakes but made the mistake of fixating on the verge instead of around the corner. I came off the brakes and stood the bike all the way up just before I hit the verge which I think helped me land upright in the field. Fortunately it had the consistency of sand helping to scrub off what little speed I had left. Unfortunately just as I thought I was going to ride it out the front tucked underneath me sending us both down. I think I probably should have switched my braking to the back rather than the front once I hit the field but that didn't occur to me until I was lay on the floor. As I said I was pretty slow by the time the bike went down so the only damage is my bars have been bent a little out of true and my ego took a bit of a kicking. All in all I think I got off fairly lucky. I'm still a little stunned I managed to gently caress it up, it's hardly the most complicated turn on the road 
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Apr 25, 2013 13:34
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Sounds like you made it out alright. That's a pretty common thing to happen.
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Apr 26, 2013 00:38
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nsaP posted:Sounds like you made it out alright. That's a pretty common thing to happen. I would say most riders have mooted it at one point or another, if not as spectacularly as the baron. I know I have. Remember to always be looking where you want to go. That doesn't mean just look at one point either, constantly be updating your point of reference. This will avoid target fixation in two ways, one, you're looking where you want to go always, and two, even if you do fixate on that ditch, box truck, large dog or what-have-you, you'll hopefully shift to the next point of reference after panic focusing for that split second. It's super unintuitive but with practice it makes figuring out your line and sticking to it without panic reactions a lot easier.
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Apr 26, 2013 04:14
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One of my good friends went down today on a road I'm on daily. He's only been riding since X-mas. Was headed out of town on the road leading out to the highway and had a car pull out on him in the 90km/h zone - 56mph - he hit the brakes and locked the front, let off and reapplied but he wasn't far off when the car pulled out, braking would have only slowed him about 10km or so anyway. Ended up hitting the back left lights of the car as he swerved and went over the handlebars, landed on the road and skidded onto the side of the road. Ended up breaking his left wrist, going to have to get some bars put in, and got some rash on his knees (he was headed home from work in jeans). Was wearing boots, gloves, jacket and helmet. His jacket got a big tear in it, not sure how the rest of his gear held up. He just popped in to say hello on his way home, I'll throw pics of gear/bike up when he puts them up. Thankfully he's alright, all things considered. Could have been a lot worse. He's not sure if he'll get back on the bike, or just stick to cars, we'll have to see.     
Shimrod fucked around with this message at 12:26 on May 1, 2013 |
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May 1, 2013 10:22
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Shimrod posted:
Glad to hear he is alright  As another new rider, I seriously need to stop reading this thread. I keep going from "the risks are so overblown and can be mitigated" to thinking about gruesome crashes in my head.
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May 1, 2013 16:52
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icebeam! posted:Glad to hear he is alright Gruesome crashes are a real possibility you have to accept, take steps to mitigate, and move past. I broke the gently caress out of my ankle a couple years ago, but I was wearing hiking boots. Now, every time I get on a bike, I strap on expensive, protective riding boots. I think about the reality of gruesome crashes every time my leg hurts, but that drives me to be a safer rider.
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May 1, 2013 16:58
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Shimrod posted:One of my good friends went down today on a road I'm on daily. He's only been riding since X-mas. Was headed out of town on the road leading out to the highway and had a car pull out on him in the 90km/h zone - 56mph - he hit the brakes and locked the front, let off and reapplied but he wasn't far off when the car pulled out, braking would have only slowed him about 10km or so anyway. Ended up hitting the back left lights of the car as he swerved and went over the handlebars, landed on the road and skidded onto the side of the road. I love rashed helmet pics because had he not been wearing that he would not be so chipper. Helmet save FTW!
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May 1, 2013 18:18
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The offending driver should be required to get LOOK FOR BIKES tattooed to his or her forehead.
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May 1, 2013 18:43
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Safety Dance posted:The offending driver should be required to get LOOK FOR BIKES tattooed to his or her forehead. POOR IMPULSE CONTROL
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May 1, 2013 19:42
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| # ? Jun 6, 2024 00:53 |
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Bloody hell good thing he was wearing a helmet judging by the state of his lid, how did his bike fair?
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May 1, 2013 20:03
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