Locked up and fell at stop sign

[Liist]

So I just noticed a four-way stop and I hit my brakes a little too hard, and the next thing I know I'm on the ground.

Good thing I wore my jacket, so now I'm at the school library and not the school infirmary. My upper right thigh hurts from the impact, and there are some minor scrapes to where the jacket failed to cover over my jeans. There is a very small scrape on my knee, but it didn't rip through my jeans.

Jacket saved my elbow. It would've been pretty bad.

It seems my front wheel is out of alignment with my handlebars. How expensive is it to fix this?

[alex.s]

it depends on what exactly is out of alignment. its easy for the forks to get twisted in the triples, in which case its just a matter of loosening everything up, lining up, then tightening down again.

if your forks are bent its another story. depending on how badly they are bent it could be as simple as taking them to get the stanchions straightened at a machine shop, or replacing the bent fork(s).

if you didnt actually hit anything they are probably just twisted in the triples

[Liist]

Originally Posted by alex.s

it depends on what exactly is out of alignment. its easy for the forks to get twisted in the triples, in which case its just a matter of loosening everything up, lining up, then tightening down again.

if your forks are bent its another story. depending on how badly they are bent it could be as simple as taking them to get the stanchions straightened at a machine shop, or replacing the bent fork(s).

if you didnt actually hit anything they are probably just twisted in the triples

It doesn't seem like anything bad, although I haven't taken a good look at them yet. I didn't hit anything, that I know.

I'll also need to replace the front right blinker. All of this when I'm broke as hell.

I guess I should have been more careful, but would have been way worse if I didn't dress up, especially since it's warm today in Florida.

[Alex]

Do you know if you locked up the front, the rear, or both?

Glad you're OK.

[Liist]

Originally Posted by Alex

Do you know if you locked up the front, the rear, or both?

Glad you're OK.

I locked up the front for sure as I grabbed the lever way too hard. ABS brakes seem to make a whole lot of sense now.

[Nemesis]

Is it possible to lock the front brakes on our bikes?

[Liist]

I don't even know. I just remember it's an oh **** there's a stop sign that I just saw and I must slam my brakes oh no I'm on the ground moment.

[avneet]

Do you have an idea of about how fast you were going when you hit the breaks? Was there a curve up to the stop sign or were you going straight? Do you remember if you might have turned the handle bars while slamming the front break?

Just trying to recreate it in my head to see what may have happened

[Liist]

The road is very bumpy and in bad repair. I was about 20 mph when I had to slam the brakes. I might have turned the handlebars during braking, but not sure. I'm sure on a properly paved road, I would've been fine. Last time I crashed was on a bumpy ass road. It's a massive hazard for bikers around here.

[cbdallas]

This may be the one reason I have for liking the crappy organic front brake pads I just put on my bike. You can grab a big handful of front brake and it won't lock up or do a 'stoppie'.

Sorry about your spill. You gotta be careful with the fronts when you have good pads. :-) Check Ebay, Craigslist and your local salvage shops for a blinker.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Nemesis

Is it possible to lock the front brakes on our bikes?

yep. when i was first learning i locked the front a few times getting on them faster than the forks can react. ive also pulled stoppies before slamming on the brakes too fast. trying to avoid people cutting me off on the highway in traffic. i've learned now that on the 250 you just dont use the brakes and it works better

[Skippii]

Stand in front of the bike, facing it, with the front tire straight and firmly gripped between your legs/feet.notice how much the bars are out of alignment. Then jerk the bars back to how they should be. If it works, don't let the bolts get that loose again. If that doesn't work, loosen the bolts and try again. Then tighten the bolts. Given that the forks moved without you hitting anything, you can probably just push it back without loosening it. I've been surprised how much I've been able to bend the bars back while limping by the side of the road. Either way, tighten them when you're done.
Posted via Mobile Device

[alex.s]

i wish there was a system that we could give points to people. cause skippii would get 2-points! swish.

[nickjpass]

@Skippii works on a bicycle as well

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Liist

So I just noticed a four-way stop and I hit my brakes a little too hard, and the next thing I know I'm on the ground.

Be prepared for the next time.
Need to practice stable maximum braking with front wheel.
It is an important skill to be learned way before traffic forces you to use it.
Sorry about your fall

[Malicious Logic]

Sorry to hear about your fall but glad you're ok. Hope everyone takes this is a wake-up call to not day-dream while you're riding. Sounds like a lot of spills and embarrassment can be avoided by just paying attention.

BTW, Did ya take the MSF? :P