In the midst of all this crash-talkin', let's all share something we've learned from our crashes!

I learned that my bike DOES have a lean limit. I also learned to watch the mountain corners for dips in the road...pesky bottoming out suspension! :o


Oh, and my 0 mile per hour drop, I learned as a brand noob (probably my 2nd or 3rd ride out by myself) not to try to back up going up a steep driveway, especially when there's a slight curb to back over! :o

I learned that you can never be too cautious when it comes to gravel/loose dirt on a road.:o

I learned that a new set of tires for every race is cheaper than straightening out the frame.

i learned next time, remember the plate number of the bastard that hit you

dont follow so closely... they WILL brake check a bike... even on a highway

Oil is slippery.

wasps can/will attack you at a stop sign

Painted lines don't offer that great of traction.

I actually learned a ton from crashing (Not that I would recommend it -_-). Having video got me some much appreciated critiques from the guys here about the importance of line choice, and that helped me pinpoint my biggest mistakes so I wouldn't make them a second time. And it made me read Twist of the Wrist II, which taught me I was pretty much doing everything wrong from body position to throttle control, and it made me slow down and take corrners much more methodically. AND it made me realize that if performance riding was my aim, the canyons were not an okay place to do it.



.... In actuality, crashing worked out surprisingly well for me. I don't want to do it again, but I'm glad my wake up call didn't kill me :D

I've learned I've invested more money fixing the bike than what I paid for the bike brand new. :(

Crashing sucks pho sho but gad dang is the bike fun to ride! :p :thumbup:

wasps can/will attack you at a stop sign

This is extremely unfortunate and It confuses me as to how/why a horde of wasps would be crowded around a stop sign! :eek:

This is extremely unfortunate and It confuses me as to how/why a horde of wasps would be crowded around a stop sign! :eek:

Road crew trimming trees disturbed a large nest just before I road through. Me and wildlife don't get along very well. I have been attached by the following; wasps, owls (3 different times, wow right?!?!?!?), dogs and large turtle (whole other thread on this).

Oddly enough, I have scuba dived with sharks without incident. Go Figure :confused:

Oddly enough, I have scuba dived with sharks without incident. Go Figure :confused:

I'm about to go do this for the first time in a week in Hawaii :D

From the same crash:
- sand sucks
- don't ride past your limit
- slow the (*&^*^ down

I have learned that a literbike can NOT keep up with 200, 250, and 350cc bikes. Try to keep up, and you will crash.

(When those bikes are dirt/dualsport bikes and the ride is through rivers, mud, and rocks.)

Always wear gloves.

hospital bills are expensive

hospital bills are expensive

LOL! +1 for you!
Thanks for the laugh:thumbup:

1. If it looks wet, treat it as though it is. Don't assume it's dry.

2. Don't ever drift off in thought and forget what you are doing. Riding requires 100% of your concentration, a lapse in thought will result in something stupid happening.

hospital bills are expensive

Depends on your medical insurance. Mine covered all my expenses/bills/etc....well except for my co-pay Dr. visits ($20).

i learned next time, remember the plate number of the bastard that hit you

definitely +1. When i lowsided it was because a guy cut me off in the rain. i had to swerve and my front tire slid out while braking. however, due to falling and sliding, i didnt even think to look at the guys plate...he clearly saw that he made me fall and he just drove away...:mad:

Gear does not gurantee you will not get hurt. IE, you can still very easily break bones, but it sure goes far in reducing or eliminating road rash!

That despite what the ground has been telling me in our conversations, IT WILL NOT BE FORGIVING.

The ground is a damn dirty liar.

That despite what the ground has been telling me in our conversations, IT WILL NOT BE FORGIVING.

The ground is a damn dirty liar.

So is the hooker that told you she didn't have AIDs

So is the hooker that told you she didn't have AIDs

http://www.youtube.com/embed/YSDAXGXGiEw

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o86/draggardevir/msc/threaddirection.jpg

Back to topic....

To get the thread back in the right direction:

-NOT to fixate on a side of the road with this "I think I'm gonna hit it oh **** oh **** I think I'm gonna hit it" running through your head.
-Look into the turn! omg why wouldn't I.
-SLOW DOWN on 90 degree turns on the roads you've never ridden before!
-Bike is NOT as heavy laying on top of me as I thought it would be.
-Learned that my mom has heard of the term "squid" when she used it while lecturing me on riding outside of my abilities >.<

So much from one crash :)

-always look thru the turn
-don't ride beyond your comfort
-crashes suck cuz you gotta fix your bike!

To get the thread back in the right direction:

-NOT to fixate on a side of the road with this "I think I'm gonna hit it oh **** oh **** I think I'm gonna hit it" running through your head.


:happy130:

-Learned that my mom has heard of the term "squid" when she used it while lecturing me on riding outside of my abilities >.<


:rofl:

We sure have all learned a lot the hard way! Another lesson I learned the hard way was not to brake while the bars are turned when stopping. Oops. :) Rear brake is ok to use while the bars are turned. Front brake is quite a no-no!

Last night i had an opportunity to apply what I've learned from my recent crash to avoid another one.
i was coming off interstate at 70mph. I was following my friend thinking that it was a different exit. The one i was thinking about has a nice straight ramp for about a quarter of a mile, and I was planning to slow down there. Unfortunately, we were at a different exit...When i saw the name along with recommended speed of 25mph, my heart sank. This exit's ramp literally wraps around itself making it a VERY sharp turn that is also surrounded by metal guards. I grabbed the brakes which locked at my front wheel...and here I am, sliding for the guard mentally preparing myself. I don't know how my brain managed to think so much in such a short period of time, but I suddenly decided that I was not going down. i let go off the brakes, let the bike recover itself, and was good to go :)

1. Dont touch the front brake when on loose gravel.
2. Unmarked Speedbumps in the dark suck.
3. If the rear end gets loose, stay on the throttle.

My lesson I learned from crashing my first 250R was that tar strips on the road are evil, and so are Progressive Insurance monkeys....

I was going around a downhill left hand turn, and both the front and rear tire rode across the tar strip while the bike was leaned over and the whole bike slid a foot to the right....while leaned over....my eyes almost popped out of the helmet and my stomach dropped out.

So I straightened up and tried to slow down, but there wasn't enough straight road left to do that, so I ended up going into a shallow ditch. That wouldn't have been too bad....except for the 4 foot wide tree growing at the end of the ditch.

I was full on both brakes but still hit the tree around 15mph nose first. Ended up breaking the right mirror off, cracked the nose in half, broke the front fender in 3 pieces, bent the fork tubes, and bent the crap out of the left mirror with my leg as I went up over the tank and into the tree myself sideways. The bike was surprisingly still ride-able at that point.

I was more pissed than anything and spent the next few minutes swearing nonstop at myself, at the tree, and at the idiot who laid tar strips in the middle of an off-camber downhill left hand turn. And yes, I had that "Days of Thunder" moment just before the crash when the line from the movie went through my head...."awww ****, this is gonna hurt...".

The padding in my jacket saved me from a broken left arm/shoulder, there's a nice scratch in my helmet, and I had bruises down the inside of my legs.

The Progressive Insurance monkey faxed me a list of parts that needed to be repaired.....half of which weren't from the 250R at all, things like mirrors from a ZX14, and a 4 carb bank from the ZX6R.....he tried to undercut me and screw me out of a new bike at every possible turn until I asked to speak to his boss. That's when I finally got a decent settlement offer from them.

Don't help ducks.

(learned from Skippii's thread)

Don't help ducks.

(learned from Skippii's thread)

bwahaha. unless its THEduck... well even then his latest video is kinda scary. heehuck!

wasps can/will attack you at a stop sign

I had a good laugh just now, thanks! :clapping:

I learned to slow the f@!# down and avoid target fixation.

As an aside: I keep my broken parts on my workbench as a constant reminder of what can (or did) happen. Seeing them before every ride helps me get my mind 100% focused on the ride.

1.) stupid hurt......alot...:eek:
2.) protect the bike, you heal, your bike doesn't...:p
3.) don't repeat the same mistake, make new one....:thumbup:

but yea..bottom line is ...crashing sux...

1.) stupid hurt......alot...:eek:
2.) protect the bike, you heal, your bike doesn't...:p
3.) don't repeat the same mistake, make new one....:thumbup:

but yea..bottom line is ...crashing sux...

Um, the bike is a $3000 hunk of metal, plastic, and rubber dude. You don't heal from all injuries. If you think you're invincible, that could be a problem for you on 2-wheels.

Agree 100% with:

Boosted139! "I learned that you can never be too cautious when it comes to gravel/loose dirt on a road." :o

Volnaya "Bike is NOT as heavy laying on top of me as I thought it would be." :thumbup:

and gt_turbo "crashes suck cuz you gotta fix your bike!" :mad:

On my own... If you're really worried about a specific problem, it will eventually get you! (Damn, I should've swept up that gravel at the end of the block that I cursed at everytime I went by it...on my bike and in my truck! - I knew it would get me...and it did.)

Including my near misses, of which there have been far too many over the years, my top lessons learned:

1. Don't override my stopping distance. If I can't see more than 66 feet in front of me, don't go faster than 40. If there is a potential hazard 35 feet in front of me, I slow down to 30.
2. Small increases in speed mean large increases in stopping distance. When in doubt choose safe over looking cool.
3. Never have sex with super hot race promotion girls on your ninja while doing hotlaps. Ok, that never happened but it would be dangerous.
4. Don't take for granted that my road will be a clean, hazard free surface, even if it was yesterday. If I can ride at 90% of the bike's potential on the track, dial it back to 50% on the street to account for unexpected things that don't happen on the track.
5. Similarly, never assume that a car is going to act rationally. Instead, ride with paranoia that every car is going to do everything it can to kill me.
6. When I am being chased by paparazzi because of how awesome and famous I am, be sure not to go through those tunnels under Paris at super high speed. No, wait, that was Princess Di, not me. Nevermind.
7. All the gear, all the time.
8. Analyze each ride for what went right and wrong. Keep learning.

+1000

I will add, always have a "noob" mentality. Always be ready to learn a new skill, a different way of riding or approaching a situation. Never close your mind off to new ideas and perspectives. When you think you know it all, you often lose it all. That in itself is the lesson I try to remember...

It hurts.

What lessons have you learned from crashing?

Crashed once,got caught in the bike. I learned that it doesnt feel good to have your knee cap grinding against the asphalt. And the ninjette is one heavy mofo when it lands on your arse.

2. Unmarked Speedbumps in the dark suck.


Bryan, be carefull of the old publix parking lot off Russel prkwy. I caught air off the speed bumps they decided not to paint. Scared the tiger's blood out of me. Got a mad adrenaline rush after I landed smoothly though.

duh.... I learned not to fall anymore.

If you're the only person involved, pick up the bike and ride the hell away before any bystanders try to "help."

I learned to hold the bike by both handlebars when walking it somewhere and lean it towards you with the kick stand down :)

I learned to hold the bike by both handlebars when walking it somewhere and lean it towards you with the kick stand down :)

We know you learnt that lol ;)

look more. lean more.

i learned next time, remember the plate number of the bastard that hit you

x2:mad:

Road crew trimming trees disturbed a large nest just before I road through. Me and wildlife don't get along very well. I have been attached by the following; wasps, owls (3 different times, wow right?!?!?!?), dogs and large turtle (whole other thread on this).

Oddly enough, I have scuba dived with sharks without incident. Go Figure :confused:


A turtle plz give me the link to that tread I wanna read that lol wow I laughed so hard over that haha

So to this date I have yet to have a crash(knock on wood) but I have had a couple of oh **** moments lol the big one is downshifting while leaning...not a good ideal. thought I was in 3rd on the bike really in second...dumping the clutch at 15 mph to 1st gear leaning...I didnt wreck but I needed some new tighty whiteys

What have I learned? Wear as much gear as you possibly can.

The reason I say "as much as you can" instead of "ATGATT" is because I don't even have enough gear to be considered "ATGATT." I have enough to fit the "MTGATT" (most the gear, all the time) bill.
I just need some body armor and riding boots. I should be good then.
Right now, I just have a Scorpion EXO400 helmet, Scorpion gloves, Scorpion textile jacket (I need to switch to leather as soon as possible), & Alpine Star ankle high boots.

I've never crashed, but here are some things I've learned riding the streets of NYC:

1) Look where you want to go, don't fixate on anything... no matter what!

2) Always look for an escape. Especially when stopped at an intersection.

3) Ride how you feel comfortable, not to impress your friends or family.

4) Don't break while cornering. Slow down when taking an unfamiliar route or hitting a curve for the first time. Always expect the unexpected.

4) Look up the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Take the Basic Rider Course when starting out and the Advanced Rider Course when you feel comfortable riding.

5) Always wear all your gear, especially bright/reflective colors to be seen at night.

6) Respect cagers and accept that you are a minority on two wheels. Ride like you are invisible and everybody is out to kill you.

Gravel is not your friend :(

Dont ride above your limits.

Gravel is not your friend :(

This one is true my intructor in my riding training class said you dont want IG "imbedded gravel"

Dont ride above your limits.

I learned that the hard way, today :o

I've never crashed, but here are some things I've learned riding the streets of NYC:

1) Look where you want to go, don't fixate on anything... no matter what!

2) Always look for an escape. Especially when stopped at an intersection.

3) Ride how you feel comfortable, not to impress your friends or family.

4) Don't break while cornering. Slow down when taking an unfamiliar route or hitting a curve for the first time. Always expect the unexpected.

4) Look up the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Take the Basic Rider Course when starting out and the Advanced Rider Course when you feel comfortable riding.

5) Always wear all your gear, especially bright/reflective colors to be seen at night.

6) Respect cagers and accept that you are a minority on two wheels. Ride like you are invisible and everybody is out to kill you.

+1000 :whatshesaid:

+1000 :whatshesaid:

Unless you are the divine mistress of 999 minions willing to vote in your favour then you only get a +1!! ;)

Don't drive when tired. Dirt on the road is hard to see at night, especially on twisty mountain roads.

I've never crashed, but here are some things I've learned riding the streets of NYC:

1) Look where you want to go, don't fixate on anything... no matter what!

2) Always look for an escape. Especially when stopped at an intersection.

3) Ride how you feel comfortable, not to impress your friends or family.

4) Don't break while cornering. Slow down when taking an unfamiliar route or hitting a curve for the first time. Always expect the unexpected.

4) Look up the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Take the Basic Rider Course when starting out and the Advanced Rider Course when you feel comfortable riding.

5) Always wear all your gear, especially bright/reflective colors to be seen at night.

6) Respect cagers and accept that you are a minority on two wheels. Ride like you are invisible and everybody is out to kill you.


#6 reminded me of another lesson.... Don't flip off cagers when they cut you off. I did this and he tried to ram me with his car, then followed me into a resedential area still trying to hit me. Fortunatly I escaped.

Oil is slippery.

So are antifreeze (CBR125r) and sand (CBR954rr).

This has taught me (antifreeze) that when riding at night when the road surface is difficult to determine, make sure that you ride well within the limits of grip and leave lots of headroom to deal with a sudden unanticipated loss of traction.

This has taught me (sand) that when riding on cold tires and cold roads early in the season, there is less grip and smaller things than you think can result in a loss of traction.

Both have confirmed for me that quality gear and wearing it every ride can go a long way to preventing and lessening injuries.

wasps can/will attack you at a stop sign

This is extremely unfortunate and It confuses me as to how/why a horde of wasps would be crowded around a stop sign! :eek:

It never fails. Even years later, Yellow Jackets are intensely attracted to 2008 Candy Plasma Blue in the Fall. They appear instantly even when you stop for a moment.

Lesson#1: Grass has the same traction as ice. :)
Lesson#2: Gravel looks solid but the kickstand will still sink in it.
Lesson#3: Never, ever assume drivers see you, though their mirrors and windows may lead you to think otherwise. I got hit head on by a driver in a truck who had a perfect view of me in broad daylight on a perfectly sunny day. Her first words? "Where did you come from?" She first saw me as I was bouncing off her hood...

Ninjette is not a bicycle! Always put the sidestand down before dismounting :)

Dropped the Ninjette within first 5 minutes of delivering her home. Felt like an idiot.

Hopefully first and last time.

Ninjette is not a bicycle! Always put the sidestand down before dismounting :)

Dropped the Ninjette within first 5 minutes of delivering her home. Felt like an idiot.

Hopefully first and last time.

I never thought about it but I've come to realize that I sometimes don't put my kickstand down before dismounting. Wouldn't matter much on a bicycle though.

I didn't want to wear funky pants, but knee takes the biggest hit on your typical accident.

Having a passenger makes the bike much harder to control.

Add trying to show off to have a little fun can spell disaster.

Even though it's Florida, wear the damn jacket, knee pads would've helped, too.

Adrenaline makes you feel like superman. Don't get up and do too much. You'll pay for it as soon as you lie down on a bed of some sort.

Don't do a walking U turn, just turn normal. Dont pull over and use the front break on grass when doing 20mph.

trolley tracks in the rain are really slippery ... lesson just learned :'[

Hidden tall curbs will catch you (your brake pedal) off guard in u-turns.

Close calls:
1. target fixation will mess you up in the middle of a turn or anytime while riding.
2. Focus on riding and not daydreaming. If you're tired, don't ride.
3. Painted lines and tar snakes offer no traction.

A turtle plz give me the link to that tread I wanna read that lol wow I laughed so hard over that haha

So to this date I have yet to have a crash(knock on wood) but I have had a couple of oh **** moments lol the big one is downshifting while leaning...not a good ideal. thought I was in 3rd on the bike really in second...dumping the clutch at 15 mph to 1st gear leaning...I didnt wreck but I needed some new tighty whiteys

Too funny

Observe the road ahead for slick spots or things you need to avoid, but don't fixate.
Be on high alert
Don't flip off truck drivers

That I'm not perfect and I admit it. LOL

Flare burning in the middle of the road as you enter a tunnel might indicate that there is a sheet of ice covering the road inside.

Yup, that's one that would definitely stick in the mind going forward. :)

Flare burning in the middle of the road as you enter a tunnel might indicate that there is a sheet of ice covering the road inside.

Brings new meaning to the old idiom, you're on thin ice.

And ooh, that's a definite lesson to keep in mind. That would SUCK!

Tunnel closest to the top of highest point on road between Gatlinburg Tenn and Cherokee N.C. Freak snowstorm happened as me and my previous wife were camping in Gatlinburg Tenn. Had to go up mountain to get home. Snow began at higher elevations. Blizzard at top. I passed row of about 50 parked cars * including Ranger*. He hit siren and I kept going. I saw flare, but was frozen cold out of my mind. Hit ice right away and did a 180. I remember saying to myself... self your bike is going backwards. I put both feet down and made it about 20 feet before losing it. Somehow ended up standing on engine with one foot as I hit the wall 2 to 3 times. Wifes leg trapped under bike. She never hit wall, I don't know how. I was 19, 20 years old. To date worst wreck. Ended up ridng bike home.... still ride the bike 23 years later- owned same bike 27 years. Wifes leg black and blue. Ranger banned me forever for riding in Smokey Mountain Park.. too busy helping other wrecks to ticket me. Let me sit there for about an hour before he let us go. True story. I was just a kid, stupid mistake....educations can be expensive. Glad Ranger forgot me as it is one of my favorite roads :)

Tunnel closest to the top of highest point on road between Gatlinburg Tenn and Cherokee N.C. Freak snowstorm happened as me and my previous wife were camping in Gatlinburg Tenn. Had to go up mountain to get home. Snow began at higher elevations. Blizzard at top. I passed row of about 50 parked cars * including Ranger*. He hit siren and I kept going. I saw flare, but was frozen cold out of my mind. Hit ice right away and did a 180. I remember saying to myself... self your bike is going backwards. I put both feet down and made it about 20 feet before losing it. Somehow ended up standing on engine with one foot as I hit the wall 2 to 3 times. Wifes leg trapped under bike. She never hit wall, I don't know how. I was 19, 20 years old. To date worst wreck. Ended up ridng bike home.... still ride the bike 23 years later- owned same bike 27 years. Wifes leg black and blue. Ranger banned me forever for riding in Smokey Mountain Park.. too busy helping other wrecks to ticket me. Let me sit there for about an hour before he let us go. True story. I was just a kid, stupid mistake....educations can be expensive. Glad Ranger forgot me as it is one of my favorite roads :)

Wow, wow and wow :eek: You'll be telling that to your grandkids I bet.

Were you surfing on the bike for a bit then?

:rotflmao: at highpsiguy. Great story. :thumbup:

Wow, wow and wow :eek: You'll be telling that to your grandkids I bet.

Were you surfing on the bike for a bit then?

Yes somehow, someway... bike was laying on its left side. My right hand was holiding upright gas side of bar-left hand grabbing something on top of engine...one foot on engine- other leg flailing about. I remember clearly looking at my wifes right leg under bike-her dragging on her back on road. I saw wall coming and braced each time. Nothing I could do but ride it out. It must have been a really large sheet of ice. I picked bike up off of her, checked her out, pushed bike to other end of tunnel where a Ranger was standing there waiting on me. It was very cold and we did not have right gear at all. The snow was blowing up thru tunnel like "snow snakes"... if you have seen em then you know what they are. The Ranger was cussing the hell out of me. We were allowed to leave like I said about an hour later. We ended up back in Cherokee where it was in high 50's low 60 degree temps. The wreck was so bad that it drug my left side engine guard so bad that I just removed it. The CX500 heads stick way out on either side, its probably what saved her leg from more damage. True story here, glad you guys are enjoying it! I guess what sticks out most in my mind is how one second we were headed up thru the tunnel. The next second I was looking at just where I came from going backwards up thru the tunnel. I honestly believe I must have ridden 20 or more feet BACKWARDS before it fell over! I don't know how I did that... its gotta be against some law of physics. Was surely not my skill. I truly hope that I don't have any more wrecks to talk about here later!

Wet leaves+under front wheel+squeezing front brake= OUCH! :(

highpsiguy: Despite what ever mistakes you made, it seems a bit irresponsible for the Ranger to keep you out there in those low temperatures when your wife was injured. He could have turned one problem into two.

highpsiguy: Despite what ever mistakes you made, it seems a bit irresponsible for the Ranger to keep you out there in those low temperatures when your wife was injured. He could have turned one problem into two.

Na, I felt like I got off easy. There were several people who had slid off highway in their cars above tunnel. He really had his hands full. I was just a dumb kid who got a lucky break. I have been better prepared for weather ever since... also a big fan of engine crashguards and lookng at the weather before I leave for a trip.

I was just a kid, stupid mistake....educations can be expensive. Glad Ranger forgot me as it is one of my favorite roads :)

It's one of my favorite roads too. :) Glad he forgot about you! Wow, great lessons shared. Scary to think back on our "noob" days. Thank goodness our 250s can be so forgiving!

It's one of my favorite roads too. :) Glad he forgot about you! Wow, great lessons shared. Scary to think back on our "noob" days. Thank goodness our 250s can be so forgiving!

I'm still in my "noob" days :p

I don't really push the bike though, so I probably don't have too much to be scared about... I think :dizzy:

If I had started riding when I was in my teens I'd have created way more danger.

Good point. I always try to consider myself a noob so I stay in a constant state of learning, but thinking back to my cluelessness as a beginner is kind of frightening! :p

I could post some gory pics from my '94 accident that left me paralyzed from the knees down & other residual effects (I'm ambulitory with the aid of braces).
What did I learn....if your mentally prepared, don't give up your dream & passions. I didn't give up riding.
Yup, hospital bills are very expensive. 10 plus operations, over 90 units of blood, & a total of 5 months in the hospital. My total bill was 2.3 million. "OUCH", but I didn't have to pay that much, just 108K out of pocket.

Also, things happen for a reason....my accident file was used to help save someone's life 5 years later due to similar injuries. Who was this person....Stephen King of course, when he was run over in the summer of '99.

Life is good, just open your eyes to it.

This is me & my ZX-7 before the accident
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1o7Yrtgqx4w/SJO_QNkh6JI/AAAAAAAAEDU/POHvjI08MjM/s357/Luni%252520%252526%252520ZX-7.1.jpg

This is the bike or part of the bike after the accident
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wAQ4r9MNwX0/SJO_Zj-YNqI/AAAAAAAAEFM/AZhZ8obdevY/s518/Crash%2525204.jpg

My leg in the "Tin Lizzy" fixator which was severed.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2Yp_46syo_w/SJO_kWDyIAI/AAAAAAAAEIE/jNe-igP-12Q/s430/Crash%25252029.jpg

Anyone curious about my accident or all of them in chronological order from '84-'97, take a look at my Picasa (https://picasaweb.google.com/LunaticTim/LunaticS94Crash#) site.

wow dude...and you still ride? I gotta hand it to you man, you're the freaking MAN!

wow dude...and you still ride? I gotta hand it to you man, you're the freaking MAN!

I thank you, but I don't feel that way. I could have been much worse off and consider myself lucky.
I mostly ride my Vulcan 2000 (2053cc) cruiser since it has a heel/toe shif so I can shift normally.
The Ninja in my collection was a project and a 2nd bike for the wife (I've always wanted one and this was a great excuse) to ride, but I have fun on it also. I have to upshift by hand, but it's a blast running around town on it.

There seem to be 3 categories of crashes. #1 I didn't watch what I was running over. #2 I was going too fast. #3 Another driver trashed me. It looks like 70-80% of "crashes" are #1 gravel/stones, a stick, an oil patch, a curb. Basically just stuff you CAN run over, but not carelessly. Very few seem to be "an SUV sideswiped me". It seems as if they are caused by a mind lapse for the most part. Just not paying attention to where their front wheel is going. I'd love to say "If you were obeying the speed limit it wouldn't have happened". But that doesn't seem to be the case in most dumps. Most are "I was dumb, and hurt my bike".

Then there are the serious ones. #2 and #3 crashes. I'd say at least half of them are going over the speed limit crashes. The other half are where "An idiot in a cage was involved" type wrecks. As for the going too fast ones.. If you are breaking the law and crash, it doesn't matter that much to me. Save it for the track. I'm not here to help you increase your skills to the point you can go way fast on public roads and not get hurt. You might not crash, but you will give me a bad reputation by breaking the law all the time. If you crash it will hurt my insurance, but maybe you'll learn. Go way fast on public roads and crash is ok with me. See Darwin's work on natural selection.

The accidents where you are tooling along and get squished by an idiot in a cage all I can say is ride scared. All the cages want to kill you. They are old and feeble, they are texting, they don't use their mirrors, they are in a hurry, or they are just dumb. Ride scared and keep some distance between you and them. Having them telling the police "I didn't see him" isn't going to help you a bit when your bike is totaled and you are dead or paralyzed. You are not Superman, your bike is small and fragile and so are your bones. Ride scared! There is a very small percentage of "a deer jumped out in front of me" but it is very small. I won't address acts of God/Karma because there is little defense from them besides gear.

If you pay attention to what your front wheel is about to run over you avoid many crashes. If you keep your speed legal you avoid many more. And if you ride scared you avoid many. This is why you run into some old guy that has been riding for 40 years and never really had a wreck. It is also why some young people have had 3 already. It isn't just luck. Use your brain.
Enough of a rant. Feel free to correct me..:)
- Joe

JoeLansing: I'm not sure that being "scared" is the best idea. "Cautious" maybe.

Being scared and in a state of fear seems to make people act irrationally. eg: "OH NO: the terrorists!! Quick take all my rights away!" or "OH NO: I'm being attacked: Quick, curl up in a quivering ball and hope the attacker magically disappears." or "OH NO: my wheels are loosing traction: I really hope I don't end up in that ditch... that ditch... that... * crash *"

I have personal experience with that last example :rolleyes:

I think we can make good decisions without needing to be scared. Further more: I think being scared is often detrimental to making good decisions.

How do you run over a curb?

Never go on gravel! Ever!

Never go on gravel! Ever!

Better yet, learn how to ride on gravel. Don't avoid it because there will be times in your riding career where you may encounter it on the streets and be forced to ride in it. Gravel can be fun! Just weight your pegs and stay totally loose on the bars, and do NOT use the front brake. Hubby and I ride gravel roads all the time during our country rides. Our bikes can handle them if the rider knows how!

Better yet, learn how to ride on gravel. Don't avoid it because there will be times in your riding career where you may encounter it on the streets and be forced to ride in it. Gravel can be fun! Just weight your pegs and stay totally loose on the bars, and do NOT use the front brake. Hubby and I ride gravel roads all the time during our country rides. Our bikes can handle them if the rider knows how!

What do you mean by "weight your pegs"?

I find it easier to have most of my weight off the seat and on the pegs. It lowers the center of gravity and just seems smoother on gravel. It's quite a workout for your quads, but it really helps stabilize the bike.

Cool, thanks for the tip. Will try it out. The car-park for my new place of work has a gravel surface, so I have plenty of time to practice.

Cool. I hope it helps! Use your knees to absorb the shock so no tension gets transferred to the bars. Weighting the pegs helps with that too. :)

Warm your tires before turning hard. Also, yes, that is a rear brake, and respect it because messing with it is the quickest way to be thrown off in a highside. Don't downshift *that* quick if you don't know exactly what your doing. Watch out for a soaking wet log of newspaper bag on your driveway. When pushing bike up doorstep into living room because it is going to rain make sure you don't slip and hit a flower pot and crack your fairing. Yep, thats about it!

^ lol @ your really specific lessons. That flowerpot is patiently waiting for a second go at smashing your fairings :rolleyes:

From two crashes on public roads I learned that I would probably rather be at a racetrack where it's "safe."

The Tank is a lot harder than my knee!!!!!!!

I was On my way to the bike shop to get some service parts for my Honda VF750 saber doing a U turn ( here they have U turns that go under the highway ) and the U turn had about 3 to 4 inches of water across the road which had been there long enough that the concrete beneath was green and slippy. I was taking it slow as to avoid touching the brakes and the bike stopped suddenly and i was on the floor in the water with the bike on top of me and a dent in the tank from my knee.

After investigation we found a caliper had been sticking and had locked on which i hadn't noticed on braking before the turn from around 60 mph to about 10

The Tank is a lot harder than my knee!!!!!!!

I was On my way to the bike shop to get some service parts for my Honda VF750 saber doing a U turn ( here they have U turns that go under the highway ) and the U turn had about 3 to 4 inches of water across the road which had been there long enough that the concrete beneath was green and slippy. I was taking it slow as to avoid touching the brakes and the bike stopped suddenly and i was on the floor in the water with the bike on top of me and a dent in the tank from my knee.

After investigation we found a caliper had been sticking and had locked on which i hadn't noticed on braking before the turn from around 60 mph to about 10

That sounds really annoying!

Have you got a bigger picture of that bike in your avatar image? I'm curious about what it looks like. It looks kinda 80s-futuristic!

That sounds really annoying!

Have you got a bigger picture of that bike in your avatar image? I'm curious about what it looks like. It looks kinda 80s-futuristic!

sorry i dont i just got it from an avatar web site :D

sorry i dont i just got it from an avatar web site :D

Boo! That sucks.

Damage to my bike is better then damage to me... dislocated my shoulder again when i 1st got the bike... it still hurts.. my bike= $45 for new blinker

I have learned two main lessons:

1) That water is the best lubricant for rubber / steel.

Demonstration of that physics fact: Crossing a rail track that was not perpendicular to the road while it was raining.

No braking is necessary; the front tire just happily follows the direction of the rail track (while your helmet hits the road).

Solution: Change your path direction (within the limits of your lane, if possible), so you cross over in a perfectly perpendicular manner.

2) That the best advice about the less dangerous state of mind for a street motorcycle rider that I've read came from Bruce Lee:

"Do not be tense, just be ready, not thinking but not dreaming, not being set but being flexible. It is being "wholly" and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come."

I have learned two main lessons:

Totally love your lessons! :thumbup:


1) That water is the best lubricant for rubber / steel.

Demonstration of that physics fact: Crossing a rail track that was not perpendicular to the road while it was raining.

No braking is necessary; the front tire just happily follows the direction of the rail track (while your helmet hits the road).

Solution: Change your path direction (within the limits of your lane, if possible), so you cross over in a perfectly perpendicular manner.


I watch a vlogger called ashf00t (http://www.youtube.com/user/ashf00t). Only time she's ever been down was when the physical properties of steel train tracks, rubber tyres and water were at play. Good lesson.


2) That the best advice about the less dangerous state of mind for a street motorcycle rider that I've read came from Bruce Lee:

"Do not be tense, just be ready, not thinking but not dreaming, not being set but being flexible. It is being "wholly" and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come."

That's a really awesome quote! I'm saving that one.

Bruce Lee :p

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o86/draggardevir/msc/threaddirection.jpg

Back to topic....

Hahahah that' picture said it all

Dont lend the bike to a pal, even for 30 mins. Thats a crash waiting to happen.
Fixing up a bike is an expensive affair.

What I've learned from crashes, slides & near misses:
1) no matter how well you react to a situation there's always something else (like a wet patch of tar 2in across) that will catch you.

2)Irish mountain roads disintigerate into gravel over winter.
3)You can supermoto slide a ninja, it's probably not the best way to corner tho

4)Keeping pace with an 08 fireblade is fun, trying to match it's braking power on the other hand...


I met up with a few lads at a staging point for a charity run, the group got split up & I ended up following a lad (Stu) on an 08 blade who knew the route better than I did. on the final run in both of us were doing indicated 100mph, Stu leading the way realised we were about to overshoot the unmarked petrol station enterance dropped anchors & hit the indicator to turn in for the charity ride out's meeting point.
I rolled off, kicked it down 6->5 & the bike accelerated, hit the limiter & backfired as I passed the blade. I got it down another 2 gears & to a just about down to reasonable pace before I tucked it in to the petrol station forecourt.

akima the bike in that avatar is a 97/98 zx6r

what i learned from crashing...


the correct way to take a corner:
brake.
point the bike.
pin it.

1 crash = don't learn to ride your ninja when it's wet and about -2 ...=icy

Last summer I took out my 02' Monster 750 to meet up with a friend for a little road trip. On my way to meet my buddy 20 miles into the ride I was behind a large box truck keeping my distance and going approx 30 mph. Suddenly someone pulled out of a parking lot in front of him causing him to stop short.By the time I realized what was happening I was approx 30-50 feet from him and I panicked. Grabbed the front brake and then suddenly I was going down on my left side. I managed to get on my back and as the bike's sliding away from me. I remember thinking $hit, I hope the car behind me is paying attention, I completely loosened my body and prepared for a deadly impact.

Didn't let go of the bike until I was close the floor, I immediately got on my back, bent my knees and put my heels down. Wore a textile riding jacket. Wore a helmet. Kept my head off the pavement. Kept body loose in case impact.

I snowboard and am used to falling, when I fall, I dig my board broadside into the snow with my knees bent to slow down / stop. I also put my palms down, I wasn't wearing gloves and didn't feel the road eating my hands. I was also not wearing any impact protection or riding pants. This accident could have killed me. I was also wearing an open face helmet.

I walked away with road rash on my palms which took 2 weeks to heal. Minor rash on my left leg and elbow.

I should have been paying more attention to the traffic ahead, I should have not grabbed the brakes and came to a controlled stop, I did have plenty of room to stop.

I now have a full leather jacket, riding gloves, knee/shin protecters, kevlar pants, riding shorts, a full face helmet & riding boots

The damage was extensive, bars bent into tank, Tank rash and huge dent, Left rearset shattered, Shifter bent, Clutch lever and master cylinder with severe rash, rear cowl rash, Headlight rash, engine cover rash.. In total $3,300 worth of damage according to the adjuster.

Please ride safe, wear full gear.

1. Hitting a pot hole and then leaning on a sewer plate while just entering a corner can still make you kiss pavement.

2. You can never go too slow around a corner.

Me and wildlife don't get along very well. I have been attached by the following; wasps, owls (3 different times, wow right?!?!?!?), dogs and large turtle (whole other thread on this).

Oddly enough, I have scuba dived with sharks without incident. Go Figure :confused:

3 owls? Have you thought about a different haircut? It's obviously being mistaken for a rodent or other small animal of some sort.

I learned that you shouldn't call the person who hit you a ****head dipshit cum bubbling **** unless you have full mobility, you may need their help. :thumbup:

3 owls? Have you thought about a different haircut? It's obviously being mistaken for a rodent or other small animal of some sort.

I am thinking nest... but it don't matter much anymore, I am loosing it cause I am old. :rolleyes:

I snowboard and am used to falling, when I fall, I dig my board broadside into the snow with my knees bent to slow down / stop. I also put my palms down, I wasn't wearing gloves and didn't feel the road eating my hands. I was also not wearing any impact protection or riding pants. This accident could have killed me. I was also wearing an open face helmet.


I too snowboard, but I've gotten very used to sliding on my back, lightly scraping heelside edge into snow, and most importantly, crossing my arms across my chest. Yesterday when I crashed, that same instinct kicked in, and when I got up, I noticed that my gloves, albeit dirty and grass stained, were not shredded at all. My textile jacket also was surprisingly fine for sliding across pavement. Not even a scuff mark!

Biggest thing I learned is from now on, to always treat unfamiliar curves as carefully as possible (even familiar ones too), and to start scanning the road for debris. I also learned it's a bad move to try to claim from the insurance for your bike. I cancelled my claim because I thought they were going to total my bike regardless of the damage (hopefully) being just cosmetic. I'm just going to fix the thing myself.

^ Who needs fairings? :p

lol I DO I DO.

btw, my turn signal popped off..a kid who helped me kind of put it back together and it works fine..but its just a little loose now, like you can pull it off..

i figure it'd be ok just to super glue it on? lol

I don't see a problem with that

where can i get fairings from? i'd like to stick with OEM fairings. probably will only fix the front cowling because that has the worst noticeable damage, right below the headlight..the rest is little stuff which I could careless about in the short term.

Not sure, but I'll bet the search button can help you out ;)

Not sure, but I'll bet the search button can help you out ;)

hahaha..it could..but google search FTW! kawasaki parts house. 303 bucks for the front end. meh..could be worse. i remember when a cop busted my sideview mirror on my brand new, 1 month old car. That was 300 bucks too. What's with my vehicles getting wrecked within 1 month of having them?? LOL

$303 for a front cowel? Screw that, tape it up and ride

lol yeah maybe ill get some green duct tape and go for it. my pride already got steamrolled, might as well have it as a badge of honor

DO you want to spend $300 fixing a piece of plastic that you will probably break again?

DO you want to spend $300 fixing a piece of plastic that you will probably break again?


DO you want to spend $50,000 fixing a femur in your leg that you will probably break again? :rolleyes:

touche lol

im going to hold off on fixing plastic stuff until i can get the front wheel straightened out lol

edit: and due to the rain, im going to be content sitting inside eating chef boyardee!

DO you want to spend $50,000 fixing a femur in your leg that you will probably break again? :rolleyes:

I had titanium reinforcements put in, it wont be breaking again

I had titanium reinforcements put in, it wont be breaking again

so really what i should do is buy titanium fairings? lol excellent idea

No, fix your fairings then layer them in carbon fiber/kevlar

Naw, get clear plastic fairings....
http://www.ducati.ms/forums/attachments/superbikes/59258d1259841991-ducati-999-749-clear-fairings-999-clear.jpg

whoaaaa thats pretty sweet actually. carbon would look cool too. i was thinking maybe ill just duct tape and spray paint everything a metallic gold. That way I can be blingtastic

(kidding!!)

I could post some gory pics from my '94 accident that left me paralyzed from the knees down & other residual effects (I'm ambulitory with the aid of braces).
What did I learn....if your mentally prepared, don't give up your dream & passions. I didn't give up riding.
Yup, hospital bills are very expensive. 10 plus operations, over 90 units of blood, & a total of 5 months in the hospital. My total bill was 2.3 million. "OUCH", but I didn't have to pay that much, just 108K out of pocket.

Also, things happen for a reason....my accident file was used to help save someone's life 5 years later due to similar injuries. Who was this person....Stephen King of course, when he was run over in the summer of '99.

Life is good, just open your eyes to it.

You are a deadset legend mate.

I had titanium reinforcements put in, it wont be breaking again

That leg is liter bike ready then!

That leg is liter bike ready then!

Which is why I'm getting one :D

I learned that Gravel is my enemy. Gravel WILL try to kill me any chance it get's. and if i am ever going to upgrade to a ZX-14 someday, i need to make sure that i subconsciously am in constant avoidance of it. Because in a car... Gravel is nothing, on a bike however... that crap will mess the bike, and me up.

I learned that Gravel is my enemy. Gravel WILL try to kill me any chance it get's. and if i am ever going to upgrade to a ZX-14 someday, i need to make sure that i subconsciously am in constant avoidance of it. Because in a car... Gravel is nothing, on a bike however... that crap will mess the bike, and me up.

It's fun on a dirt bike.

nickjpass: long time no see :p :welcome: back

yeah gravel aint mean no thang~ just giver more gas

nickjpass: long time no see :p :welcome: back

Thanks by the way! :) :p

Dont brake hard when road is wet!!!

New lessons learned: One finger brake on dirt bike...two is too much (I've fallen two times from locking the front in a corner...)

Second Lesson: Put foot out in corner if there is even a slight thought that you should, otherwise you fall and hit you thigh on you handlebars. :)

Third Lesson (This one is for you alex.s) Pinning it doesn't ALWAYS work...very rarely does it NOT work lol

Lessons learned.

when pinning it doesn't work: trying to turn in even more when the rear wheel is already sliding

At that point I usually start spreading my wings.

OMFG. i want clear bodywork.

Lessons learned.

dude, just don't grab at the brake lever, and get your weight back. Go mountain biking. You'll get a great feel for the front brake.

I made an attempt at trail braking into a corner lol obviously it was too much...and both times I didn't grab...I never grab anymore lol I just use to much brake.

You're supposed to trail off as you lean into the corner. That's why it's called trail braking. Again, ride a mountain bike. You get a great feel for sliding.

Wait, isn't that what you're supposed to do on dirt bikes as well? :p

It's fun on a dirt bike.

Unless you're my riding buddy following my CR500 and a Niagara Falls of gravel (aka shrapnel) rofl.

You're supposed to trail off as you lean into the corner. That's why it's called trail braking. Again, ride a mountain bike. You get a great feel for sliding.

Wait, isn't that what you're supposed to do on dirt bikes as well? :p
It's not like I don't feel my bike sliding...I just occasionlly make a mistake...and end up falling down lol It's happens pretty easily once you try to do it at quicker speeds :p
Unless you're my riding buddy following my CR500 and a Niagara Falls of gravel (aka shrapnel) rofl.

Oh god. lmao

Not a CR500...but still a cool pic lol

http://emotoman.com/bikes/Greg_roost_sm.jpg

nick, traction feels very different on asphalt than it does on dirt. on dirt you are basically constantly sliding. on asphalt there are basically 3 stages before you are really "out of control"... you start off with 100% traction... riding in a straight line doing nothing... bike does nothing unexpected does exactly what you want, then comes pressure walking like under braking or hard in the turns.... you'll feel all of the sudden the front of the bike goes away from the turn an inch or two. if you are on the gas, you aren't on enough gas. if you are on the brakes, don't worry too much about it. after that it starts skipping, this is what most people think of as a slide but its still got plenty of traction... this is where you usually are on dirt, and on asphalt this is where those cool black streaks come from. if you go past that stage you basically lose traction and the bike slides away like in my avatar... actually my avatar is a good example; i had spent street tires on the track (bad idea) and i was dancing between the first and second stage of sliding until i hit the only real crest on the track and my available traction plummeted. that combined with not enough gas (i was maybe half gas) meant my front tucked and the bike slid away

one thing to keep in mind is what they call 'points of traction'... maybe thinking it of traction currency would be easier... you get $100 of traction. braking at half force takes --lets say-- $50... turning in slowly takes --lets say-- $20... so turning in slowly at half brake is only $50+$20 = $70... haven't spent all your traction... but what about braking at full force, $90, and trying to turn in quickly, $35,... well guess what buddy you owe $125 of traction and you've only got $100. have fun sliding! every thing takes traction... if you are going to use a lot of traction up, use only that traction... don't try to spend traction here and spend traction there, you will run out of traction real fast. also keep in mind the traction points for your front tire and rear tire are separate... gas moves traction points from the front to the rear... brakes/slowing down; the opposite

set your speed, point the bike, pin the throttle.

also i think part of the point of trail braking is to have weight on the front tire so you can do a quick turn-in... otherwise if you let go of the front brakes completely before turning in the front has much less traction and when you twist the bars, you can feel it slide for a split second before it catches and turns in... if the forks are down it wont slide before it starts turning.

Great posts, Alex !

Trail braking on track explained by Keith Code:

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=3208&#entry25618

Steering is less effective on loose surfaces like sand, and the front tire tends to dig into it rather than leading the bike in a different direction: it is way too easy to overwhelm that front tire.

That is why, steering is frequently accomplished by skidding the rear tire, so pointing the nose of the frame in the new direction while the front tire still rolls in the previous direction, like supermoto riders do even on asphalt.

duhOIQVXHeY

...
one thing to keep in mind is what they call 'points of traction'... maybe thinking it of traction currency would be easier... you get $100 of traction. braking at half force takes --lets say-- $50... turning in slowly takes --lets say-- $20... so turning in slowly at half brake is only $50+$20 = $70... haven't spent all your traction... but what about braking at full force, $90, and trying to turn in quickly, $35,... well guess what buddy you owe $125 of traction and you've only got $100. have fun sliding! every thing takes traction... if you are going to use a lot of traction up, use only that traction... don't try to spend traction here and spend traction there, you will run out of traction real fast. also keep in mind the traction points for your front tire and rear tire are separate... gas moves traction points from the front to the rear... brakes/slowing down; the opposite

set your speed, point the bike, pin the throttle.

The month just started and I think we already have our Post of the Month from our Ninjette.org Member of the Month (http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?p=596100#post596100) front-runner!

Practice at 85%

alex.s that was like poetry lmao

Great posts, Alex !

Trail braking on track explained by Keith Code:

http://forums.superbikeschool.com/index.php?showtopic=3208&#entry25618

Steering is less effective on loose surfaces like sand, and the front tire tends to dig into it rather than leading the bike in a different direction: it is way too easy to overwhelm that front tire.

That is why, steering is frequently accomplished by skidding the rear tire, so pointing the nose of the frame in the new direction while the front tire still rolls in the previous direction, like supermoto riders do even on asphalt.

duhOIQVXHeY

Man I love that stuff. If I was only 30 years younger and made out of rubber like I was then, I'd be all over that :D

:bump:

Back in 2012, I learned how to pick up my bike and ride it the rest of the way around Road Atlanta without a right footpeg.

Don't use the front brake in sand.

Don't use the front brake in sand.

Or grass. Thanks Road Atlanta for that lesson! :thumbup:

Ninja 250 is not an ADV bike, even if the ground clearance is fine low speed torque is negligible. It can't hillclimb worth squat.

I don't understand the fear of gravel. Loose on the bars, and you already ditched those stock tires, right? Usually run about 80-85kph if the road's in reasonable shape, now that I've got BT45s. On those stock tires-that-shall-not-be-named, did not do 80 ever... 50-60 was manageable but sketchy IIRC.

what have i learned from crashing...

* avoid other people
* it isn't over yet
* never give up
* don't let mistakes be an excuse for more mistakes. try to do correct things 100% of the time even if you have made mistakes.
* just because you are scared doesn't mean the bike is (ie- the bikes performance specs stay the same... temporary things are temporary. continuing to do correct things will usually work out)
* if the choice is between guaranteed failure and maybe failure, take the maybe. you might be surprised. if the maybe involves a cliff, it's not a maybe.
* if you're on the track and the choice is between running off and doing something you think wont work, don't be scared to run off. i have run into the dirt topped out in 5th and although my jimmies didn't like it, i kept it up fine and was able to rejoin. but seriously you're on the track so if you're going at a reasonable pace, go for it. crashing on track isn't that bad. but don't go for crazy passes. nobody likes that asshole.
* when you run off track... straight up and down. throttle just barely cracked open so it doesn't have much engine brake. you can ease into brakes or turning once you are firmly on the new terrain.

^good ones....
I learned... if you feel uncomfortable in any way, just slow down. Or pull over for a sec. JUST DO IT. No one ever crashed cause they took a breather in a parking lot or rode closer to the speed limit or stopped chasing the faster riders in front of them.

Don't leave your bike behind your best friends dads car, he will forget it is there.

Dont ride when there is potential for black ice, and put your kickstand down when you get off the bike.

I've learned having the skill and experience to ride a particular bike doesn't mean you have the maturity to..

It's a simple one and something I already knew this before I crashed, but hadn't fully internalized it: Look where you want to go, not where you don't. Target fixation is a b**ch.

-look where you want to go.

-avoid the front brake on dirt or gravel.

-Look as far ahead as possible, and always keep your eyes moving.

-don't brake for small animals on gravel. you can hit the animal and keep going, or you can wreck your bike and yourself, and still manage to hit said fuzzy animal in the process.

-Even the nicest dog will try to kill you if you ride by them on a motorcycle and they aren't leashed/fenced in.

-always keep a light touch on the handlebars.

-Thinking about a crash tends to make one happen.

The red mist will have you layin' down faster than gmaws thick gravy on Sunday morn'.

I've learned that the right gear really is worth it's price. No more excuses to squid!

I learned that road rash hurts more than you think, and 50 dollars for a pair of compression shorts with padding is worth every cent. Wish I had them on before lol

I learned that nylon melts quickly and hurts to pull out of road rash.

http://alexpop7.weebly.com/uploads/3/6/7/7/3677036/4072027.jpg?214

edit: choneofakind

just saw your post above lol

This is a great question because I think that all too often people crash and just sort of blow it off as something that just "happens." I've had so many conversations with people where they say, "ya, I crashed, no buggy." but when I ask them what happened or what they did wrong they have NO IDEA.

I think it's important to take a good look at each crash, or even almost crash and figure out what you as the rider did to contribute to it happening and then figure out what you can do differently so that it doesn't happen again.

I remember high siding a few times in my early days of racing and not having a CLUE as to why I crashed. It wasn't until I took CSS as a student that I learned that I was chopping the throttle when the rear end was sliding and that was the cause of me going airborne all the time. After riding the slide bike and learning more about how to control rear end slides I was able to prevent them from happening again (most of the time).

I clearly remember the first time I was able to save myself from a high side because of the fact that I knew what to do if the rear end slid. I was at Laguna Seca in my early days of coaching with CSS and I was chasing a really fast student. He had been riding for about 10 mins and his tires were warm where as I had just pulled onto the track, bone cold tires, and took off trying to catch him. on the exit of turn 5 I gave it a bit too much gas and the rear went completely sideways and I remember saying to myself, "don't chop the gas, don't chop the gas!!" and I rolled held it steady and slightly rolled off until the slide subsided and I kept going. I was so excited that I had just SAVED myself from a nasty crash because of my fairly new understanding of what a high side actually was :dance cool:

Anyone else have any stories about utilizing a skill (learned from a previous crash) to prevent another one :D

Cheers,
Misti

I learned to keep my cool, always have a police officer document the accident(unless you are afraid of the good old too fast for conditions ticket)

Asses yourself, for injuries, equipment damage and situation implications.

Also - Get insurance. Get better insurance. and then get even better insurance

Anyone else have any stories about utilizing a skill (learned from a previous crash) to prevent another one :D

Cheers,
Misti

Hey Misti!
Yep, I've got a few of those! I always pick my crashed apart, knowing it's my fault first before blaming the bike in anyway. I think humbling ourselves rather than immediately blaming the bike or the track or another rider is the best way to learn.
My first track crash was at Little Talledega. I looked TOO far too early through a decreasing radius corner and missed a turning point. I ended up wide and on the gator strips at too high of a speed for my lean angle, and the suspension bottomed out. That one hurt a bit. Since then I was always more careful to get my bike pointed in the direction it needed to be before shifting my gaze to the next turning point.

At Road Atlanta I learned, even if there's a wall coming at you really fast while you're in the grass running off the track, even the smallest amount of front brake at high speed isn't a smart move. I remembered that the next time I rolled off track (hey, that was at Jennings with Alex and Chris!), and I made it unscathed, keeping the rubber side down. :)

running off into grass really sucks

Especially in a corner with little run-off before running smack into a concrete wall (Corner 7 at Road Atlanta).

Don't ride while you are exhausted.
Get enough sleep the night before a long day or trackday.
Don't put everything off until the day/night before the trackday.
Wear good gear.
When you are wrong, stay wrong. Don't try to immediately get back onto the track while at speed. Slow down, get back on and then speed back up.
Have medical insurance. (I was lucky enough to not have to learn the hard way)

Hey Misti!
Yep, I've got a few of those! I always pick my crashed apart, knowing it's my fault first before blaming the bike in anyway. I think humbling ourselves rather than immediately blaming the bike or the track or another rider is the best way to learn.
My first track crash was at Little Talledega. I looked TOO far too early through a decreasing radius corner and missed a turning point. I ended up wide and on the gator strips at too high of a speed for my lean angle, and the suspension bottomed out. That one hurt a bit. Since then I was always more careful to get my bike pointed in the direction it needed to be before shifting my gaze to the next turning point.

At Road Atlanta I learned, even if there's a wall coming at you really fast while you're in the grass running off the track, even the smallest amount of front brake at high speed isn't a smart move. I remembered that the next time I rolled off track (hey, that was at Jennings with Alex and Chris!), and I made it unscathed, keeping the rubber side down. :)

I'm glad you take the initiative to pick your crashes apart and figure out what went wrong!

You make a good point when you say that you looked "too far, too early." This is actually a common mistake and I think it stems from the concept of "look through the turn." I hear people say that all the time and while it is important to "look through the turn." I think it is equally important to mention that you need to look through the turn in stages in order to ensure that you make it to the points that you are aiming for. If you try to look foo far too soon then you can miss your turn in point or you can get lost in the middle of the turn.

What do you think is a better plan of action? Or how do you look through the turn in a way that doesn't leave you missing turn points or getting lost mid corner?

Asphalt hurts (even with gear)... :crash:

And reinforced NOT to take ANYthing for granted when it comes to what people in cars may or may not do...

Don't let yourself be pressured by others just to try and maintain distance with the group and never trust the cars around you. I trusted a car to merge while I looked away for several seconds, turned out they gave up and came to a stop in front of me.

I learned about the SMIDSY

Asphalt hurts (even with gear)... :crash:

seconded, I have scars through my jacket where there was rubbing (slightly loose reinforced areas due to winter use w/jackets underneath stretching it) from my last street down.

what I learned from that down was to not allow myself to become distracted in a corner where I know there's gravel there and you have to stay on the car lines to avoid it. Loud noises like barking dogs tend to get your attention easily.


My last track down taught me quite a bit more, it taught me that my mentality was wrong (at least until I'm racing and have the skills to be racing) as well as that my body positioning needed work. Was a typical at speed lowside with no run off in the second fastest corner at the track. I feel as though with better body positioning I could be just as hard if not harder on the throttle through there. I'm also not sure if I dragged my peg which lifted the rear slightly or if I lost the rear first but I was definitely leaned over more than I would normally and more than I've been since

\
You make a good point when you say that you looked "too far, too early." This is actually a common mistake and I think it stems from the concept of "look through the turn." I hear people say that all the time and while it is important to "look through the turn." I think it is equally important to mention that you need to look through the turn in stages in order to ensure that you make it to the points that you are aiming for. If you try to look foo far too soon then you can miss your turn in point or you can get lost in the middle of the turn.

What do you think is a better plan of action? Or how do you look through the turn in a way that doesn't leave you missing turn points or getting lost mid corner?

"Looking as far as possible had always worked for me on the streets, even in tight mountain corners. On an open track with no obstructions, you can often look 2-3 curves ahead, and though keeping your wide-scope vision in check..."Seeing" as far as possible doesn't mean to literally point your nose in the direction and "look" as far as possible. I like how you worded it, do it in stages.
That was my most painful track lesson, that here IS a limit to "look ahead as far as possible".
After making the mistake, I'm able to pick better apex turn in points and stagger my gaze as I move. I look at a spot until I know my bike is pointed there and going in that direction before I look ahead to the next turn-in point.

Your tires aren't warm during commutes.

Jesus loves me

Don't brake hard just because you have knobbies.

Jesus loves me

Well, ain't that just sweet? :thumbup:

150cc Scooters don't lean over in gravel very well..

:rolleyes:

:doh::rotflmao:


:crash:

"Looking as far as possible had always worked for me on the streets, even in tight mountain corners. On an open track with no obstructions, you can often look 2-3 curves ahead, and though keeping your wide-scope vision in check..."Seeing" as far as possible doesn't mean to literally point your nose in the direction and "look" as far as possible. I like how you worded it, do it in stages.
That was my most painful track lesson, that here IS a limit to "look ahead as far as possible".
After making the mistake, I'm able to pick better apex turn in points and stagger my gaze as I move. I look at a spot until I know my bike is pointed there and going in that direction before I look ahead to the next turn-in point.

Love the last paragraph. You pick apex points and stagger you gaze as you move. You look at a spot until you KNOW YOUR BIKE IS POINTED THERE and going in that direction before you look to the next point. Perfect.

That is how we teach it at the school and sometimes it may feel a bit choppy at first like you are connecting the dots but as you get more comfortable with your points and with moving your gaze smoothly from point to point it will begin to feel less choppy and more fluid and smooth. This way you don't risk getting lost mid corner or trying to look too far through the turn. You look to where you want to go and when you know you will get there you look further ahead.

This is different from maintaining a wide view which is also very helpful. How is widening your vision in addition to looking at your reference points useful?

:dancecool:

Glass top bistro tables explode if you hit them while spinning your tire in the grass... Stupid is as stupid does!
Aaaaaaand make sure there are no water hoses in the grass to help you into said bistro table.

and why were you spinning your tire in the grass?

...

and why were you spinning your tire in the grass?

...

My cousin was actin crazy running around, so I was gonna spin my tire a bit, caught a waterhose an it steered me into the exploding table :/ I coulda possibly drinking, but I didn't leave the yard driving :thumbup:

well that kills my "wheelie through a glass table" idea

:rotflmao: that guy never did post the pic of when he wheelied into the side of his garage :(
Do it through a big window like in the movies yo!!!

lean, lean and lean harder!!

lean, lean and lean harder!!

sounds like marquez' philosophy, lean until the tires aren't on the ground then lean more to put them back on the ground

sounds like marquez' philosophy, lean until the tires aren't on the ground then lean more to put them back on the ground

lol I do want this helmet...

http://www.fowlers.co.uk/shop/content/images/thumbs/0007676_shoei-nxr-marquez.jpeg

http://www.formotorbikes.com/images/small/shoei/marc-marquez-shoei-nxr-rear.jpg

The other day I took an on ramp hard...had an "Oh **** the guardrail moment"...then it was "Oh ****...I never knew I could lean that much" :dancecool::dancecool:

I want several of the rossi helmets personally, those designs so sick

http://static.webshopapp.com/shops/006930/files/005047110/agv-corsa-valentino-rossi-the-turtle-helmet.jpg
http://www.motorhelmets.com/media/products/agv/2009-09/ss_size1/helmets-agv-street-gp-tech-rossi-5-continents.jpg

I learned that going straight off the road isn't the same as the runoff on a track... Ya might wind up in a pond

I learned to listen to that there gut. I also learned that even with loads of experience, idiotic moments can sneak in there and remind us we're still human.

I learned I can break.

I learned one split second of lack of focus can be traumatic.

All of this I thought I had already learned, but I learned that apparently I hadn't.

lesson learned: less throttle, more clutch, keep 2 fingers on clutch, 2 on the bar.
Price of lesson: $3,849.72, 6 weeks down time from fractured arm, fractured ego.

lesson learned: less throttle, more clutch, keep 2 fingers on clutch, 2 on the bar.
Price of lesson: $3,849.72, 6 weeks down time from fractured arm, fractured ego.

what did you do? loop it?

:( Michael

jeez, hope you didn't get run over at the start.

alex.s I really wish I had a story that cool! Just one of those aforementioned lapses in concentration. I was just taking off a little quickly from a stop sign, a block away from my destination (home) and my hand was not as smooth as it should have been.

I know how I hurt my arm, landed slightly off from flat on my back and put pressure on it. I was wearing my Joe Rocket jacket but armor wont save stuff from too much weight on it. Now, how my right big toe got fractured as well, I dont think I will ever know... I was wearing my heavy leather/steel toe high top tactical work boots. I landed on my back, not my feet. And my feet were the last things to leave the bike.

Surprisingly, my butt didnt start to hurt untill 2 weeks later when I got the estimate from the dealer... Coincidence?

Lessons from crashing:

Dont blame the bike or pavement, find out what i did wrong.

You will never forget the sound. The scraping sound is deafening.

what if you are already deaf?

what if you are already deaf?

Been there, seen that this year too. The deaf riders rail just the same. :rolleyes:

what if you are already deaf?

You still feel the vibrations, you'll never forget that.


source: I have mild hearing loss that was worse as a kid and predicted to be worse so I have met multiple deaf people and chatted with them about their experiences to understand it better, typically by using a pad and paper because signing is difficult as hell.

hearing has never been my strong suit, i remember more of the sudden slowing rate of speed and sometimes the sense of floating.

that low rumble thudding, a medium pitched sound that might be cardboard tearing, with a slightly higher pitched cardboard dragging sound, and this sheering tire sound like someone is dragging their tennies on the hardwood. with a high pitched grinding screech and lots of little ticks and plunks.


you never forget that sound.

Wow, I actually played that whole thing out in my head just now...

how very, very fleeting life can be, how you happen to randomly land will determine recovering or never recovering, and dying from a wreck isn't the worst thing that can happen to you. And somehow, for some reason, we'll tempt fate again, because [insert meme here].....

I learned cold tire crashes can happen at low speeds.

Road crew trimming trees disturbed a large nest just before I road through. Me and wildlife don't get along very well. I have been attached by the following; wasps, owls (3 different times, wow right?!?!?!?), dogs and large turtle (whole other thread on this).

Oddly enough, I have scuba dived with sharks without incident. Go Figure :confused:

Seems I am not the only one with terrible luck in KY...

JWdoUY5IgrE

Seems I am not the only one with terrible luck in KY...

JWdoUY5IgrE

Who knew you had to water your chickens!

Most of my crashes have happened in the garage. Sometimes I can take two bikes out at a time. I just dropped my Harris, pulling it out on the rear stand it fell off the stand when I hit the ridge between the garage and driveway. Only broke the clutch lever, but still!

I learned that applying the front brake while turning over sand on near-bald tires is a bad plan.

Oh, to be young again. Fortunately now I'm more (less?) sane and don't run into new things blindly, such as riding!

lean, lean and lean harder!!

Well, sometimes this works but I think there are better techniques to learn or focus on than lean and lean harder. What about proper steering techniques, quick turning and body position that help get you around the corner safely? What about avoiding mistakes that cause you to feel like you have to lean harder?

What is the most common mistake that riders make that cause them to have to add lean angle mid corner or lean harder in order to not run wide?

Lessons from crashing:

Dont blame the bike or pavement, find out what i did wrong.

Absolutely. Figure out what you did wrong.

I learned that applying the front brake while turning over sand on near-bald tires is a bad plan.

I burst out laughing when I read that, thanks :D

Really: I don't think people need to learn that anymore than they need to learn not to dive head first, blind, into open manholes in the street.

Some possible things someone could learn from a situation like the one you described would be to constantly observe the condition of the street and to keep their speed below that which is required to safely ride the observable road. Also: that it's generally better to react and adjust before a potential dangerous situation arises to avoid it, than it is to wait until an actual dangerous situation occurs and react then.

Really: I don't think people need to learn that anymore than they need to learn not to dive head first, blind, into open manholes in the street..

YFLAfHk41FM

OK. I take it back.

1) buy an arai
2) never go commando in case they have to cut your pants off
3) carry your health insurance card with you
4) don't attempt to remove mx boots if you suspect a broken leg or you could literally pull your leg apart

It doesn't really hurt until you get old. Then all those mishaps come back with a vengeance.

dont follow so closely... they WILL brake check a bike... even on a highway

Tailgating on a motorcycle is as stupid a "lane splitting". I don't care what bike you ride, a car can stop in a shorter distance than a bike.

Bill

Tailgating on a motorcycle is as stupid a "lane splitting". I don't care what bike you ride, a car can stop in a shorter distance than a bike.

Bill


However; if it's a VW Beetle you can ride right over it, or a Prius, you can ride right through it.

However; if it's a VW Beetle you can ride right over it, or a Prius, you can ride right through it.

Dang! Good point Will!

Bill

Lane splitting is actually safer in stop-and-crawl traffic than being in the lanes where cars are likely to crush you. Splitting, most traffic is relatively stable and the bike is safely in the middle. You watch for cars changing, but once traffic stops people don't change as much. Plus, they're stopped so they can't just jump over. They have to plan it at least a little, which gives time to see them.

Lane splitting is actually safer in stop-and-crawl traffic than being in the lanes where cars are likely to crush you. Splitting, most traffic is relatively stable and the bike is safely in the middle. You watch for cars changing, but once traffic stops people don't change as much. Plus, they're stopped so they can't just jump over. They have to plan it at least a little, which gives time to see them.

I was just waiting for a comment from a So. Cal. biker. Lane splitters are also likely to pass on the right on a freeway. Another really stupid thing to do on a bike or automobile. I nearly creamed a biker a couple of years ago. If I'm not driving with my hair on fire I poop along at the speed limit. If I'm holding up traffic I pull to the right lane. One day I'm pooping along the freeway and decide to occupy the lane to the right of me. I look to my right to make sure nobody's in my blind spot - it's cool, I'm clear. I put my right signal on and begin to pull to the right. I looked over my shoulder as I began my turn and and bingo, there's some $$$hole probably cranking 80 M.P.H about to pass me on the right. If I hadn't looked at the last minute he would have been having lunch with the Lord.

I'll keep you in my prayers hot rod.

Bill

I was just waiting for a comment from a So. Cal. biker. Lane splitters are also likely to pass on the right on a freeway. Another really stupid thing to do on a bike or automobile. I nearly creamed a biker a couple of years ago. If I'm not driving with my hair on fire I poop along at the speed limit. If I'm holding up traffic I pull to the right lane. One day I'm pooping along the freeway and decide to occupy the lane to the right of me. I look to my right to make sure nobody's in my blind spot - it's cool, I'm clear. I put my right signal on and begin to pull to the right. I looked over my shoulder as I began my turn and and bingo, there's some $$$hole probably cranking 80 M.P.H about to pass me on the right. If I hadn't looked at the last minute he would have been having lunch with the Lord.

I'll keep you in my prayers hot rod.

Bill


You need to reread that post. Strawman arguments mean nothing.
There is a reason cop's split in Cali, it is safer. Know your stats. Most of the world allows splitting because it is safer.
One caveat: where splitting is not legal, some people will try to take the law into their own hands and cut into you. Attempted manslaughter is a bigger no-no than splitting and why I do not split in PA.

2) never go commando in case they have to cut your pants off

bwahaha! Facetious, or actual life experience? :lol:

I don't know that lane-splitters are more likely to pass on the right. Everybody passes everywhere here; I'm not sure I'd notice right-side passing more than anything else.

My splitting is done sanely, 10-20 mph faster than traffic, and generally only when traffic is moving very slowly. You can do splitting sanely, or you can do it like a nut. Choices. Like most things.

I don't know that lane-splitters are more likely to pass on the right. Everybody passes everywhere here; I'm not sure I'd notice right-side passing more than anything else.

My splitting is done sanely, 10-20 mph faster than traffic, and generally only when traffic is moving very slowly. You can do splitting sanely, or you can do it like a nut. Choices. Like most things.

I'm too old to try it and being retired I'm never in a hurry. Hell, I won't even ride with another bike side by side, I want ALLLL the road. I'm sure you're sensible when lane splitting. You made mention of being sandwiched between two cars. That's why I always hug the center line riding and at a stop - I might have an escape route around the car in front of me.

Bill

People usually only pass on the right because some *** is slowboating in the left lane. It's not only lanesplitters, I pass on the right here all the time in my car because morons poke along in the left lane.

People usually only pass on the right because some *** is slowboating in the left lane. It's not only lanesplitters, I pass on the right here all the time in my car because morons poke along in the left lane.

Oregon must be like where I used to live - New Jersey. In NJ there seems to always be some blue hair in the far left lane.

Bill

I actually ride with a club in "formation" somewhat frequently so riding near another bike doesn't phase me at all. Even when it's a couple of us, two or three bikes, we ride in the same formation. Solo, I'm pretty good at "defending" my space when I want to. And the rest of the time, I'm in "ghost" mode. I'll be past you before you know I'm there.

I assume I'm invisible, and that someone is likely to take my space if given any opportunity, so stay out of the danger zone as often as I can.

I'm in "ghost" mode. I'll be past you before you know I'm there.

I assume I'm invisible


I'm going to use this if I ever get pulled over by the police.

I'm going to use this if I ever get pulled over by the police.

Or, you can bungee a lunch box to your seat and tell him you're late for work. One day in Rochester, N.Y. a friend of mine and myself were feeling frisky and were blasting along Route 104 at about 80 M.P.H. on our Kaw 500 triples and got pulled over. The cop checked our paperwork and then asked us if we were on our way to work and almost in unison we said "Yes". We were about 1/2 a mile from a Xerox Corp. manufacturing facility (no lunch boxes). He handed us back our paperwork and told us to slow down. Lucky day.

Bill

I'm going to use this if I ever get pulled over by the police.

::giggle:: Or tell the cop you're needing to pee really badly and need to get to an exit.

::giggle:: Or tell the cop you're needing to pee really badly and need to get to an exit.

Good one! Here in Michigan the cop would remind me that since I'm a guy the whole world is my urinal and point to the ditch.

Bill

They'd encourage you to pee in public? Wow. Here you'd get arrested! LOL! Or at least hassled.

One of my friends got a $150 ticket for public-urination on State St. in S.B. They really are pretty uptight there, with all the blue-hairs and all.