Had a little too much fun.

[Ninja Bob]

Was out late last night enjoying the empty streets. Really carving up the curves my area has to offer. Rolling on the throttle, workin that counter steer. Fun stuff. Eventually I decided I was gonna go to iHop and have some chicken and waffles. Came up to the intersection, ready to cut into this left turn. There was one of those center islands that hide the lane I was supposed to be going into. Didn't realize it until I was about half way through the turn and had to adjust on the fly. After I corrected my trajectory, and went to finish the turn, the bike went into a low side. I don't know if it was because I came in hot and had to adjust last second or what. I don't recall feeling like I hit any gravel or anything. Bike didn't stall. Guess I grabbed the clutch as I went down. Quickly picked it up and put it in neutral. Did a quick once over and got out of there because I saw some cops standing outside the iHop and didn't feel like getting hit with a reckless driving ticket or something.

The damage was minimal to both me and the bike. My left foot got the brunt of the bike's weight. So it's pretty sore, but nothing's broken or swollen.

As for the bike: Scraped faring, clutch lever, bar end, and passenger peg. Busted blinker. (Excuse to finally get some flush-mounts.) Cosmetically the bike did pretty good thanks to my foot and possibly the passenger peg.

Lastly, one major problem. All visible damage is minimal, but I did the no hands test and the bike tugs left. Forks seem straight and undamaged. Frame seems untouched. Any advice?

[akima]

Glad you're ok dude.

My only guess for what caused the crash is that you tensed up your arms and upper body when you realized you had to make a fast steering correction. If you tense on the bars, the front wheel can't move as it needs to, to follow the changing road surface beneath the tyre. This means that the front tyre is being taxed more than it would otherwise be on account of that lacking of free steering movement. If you're leaned over the tyres are already being taxed, so I expect you just reached the limit of grip at that point and down you went.

It's called Grip of Death and is pretty common for new riders (and old riders alike!).

Learn to keep your upper body and arms relaxed at all times. I'm not aware of any scenario where it's a good idea to stiffen up and hold the bars tight.

Hold up your body weight using your legs and your core.

One way to know if your arms are tight is if your elbows are sticking out to the side. Let your elbows drop down towards your hips. This action should help you keep your arms relaxed.

This is all just a guess on my part. Does what I said seem likely @Ninja Bob?

P.S. You're supposed to buy flush mounts before you crash You're lucky they didn't smash a hole through your fairings. I think that happens a lot during low sides on the newgen 250.

[Ninja Bob]

Originally Posted by akima

Glad you're ok dude.

It's called Grip of Death and is pretty common for new riders (and old riders alike!).

This is all just a guess on my part. Does what I said seem likely @Ninja Bob?

P.S. You're supposed to buy flush mounts before you crash You're lucky they didn't smash a hole through your fairings. I think that happens a lot during low sides on the newgen 250.

I honestly can't recall how tense I was. I'd say I was generally riding fast and loose last night. But it can all change in a snap given the circumstances. I've been riding for a little over four years. This is low side numero tres. First was gravel. Second was inexperience combined with a pair of draft beers. This is my first "I don't know". I really should have taken a few minutes to assess what happened.

And you're correct on the flush mounts, but hey, who plans on crashing?

[akima]

Originally Posted by Ninja Bob

I honestly can't recall how tense I was. I'd say I was generally riding fast and loose last night. But it can all change in a snap given the circumstances. I've been riding for a little over four years. This is low side numero tres. First was gravel. Second was inexperience combined with a pair of draft beers. This is my first "I don't know". I really should have taken a few minutes to assess what happened.

And you're correct on the flush mounts, but hey, who plans on crashing?

I've been riding 3 years. Annoyingly I find I'm more likely to tense up when things get hectic... and when things get hectic I really don't want to be tensing up.

I haven't managed to low side so far so I must be doing something right... or maybe my lovely DRII tyres are making up for my bad riding technique

[csmith12]

Glad you're good. Hope everything works out well for ya.

[psych0hans]

You need to get an R6 credit... Please inform the administrators to award you one.

Glad it wasn't worse... Tensing up can really cause serious issues, like running you wide or I to a low side like yours, best to be lose on the bars.

[Ninja Bob]

Bump for advice on the bike tugging left. What could I look for?

[Hero Danny]

Glad you're okay,

Maybe check the tires, possible that you bent the rim or something is dragging.

[Ducati999]

Ninja Bob,
Sorry to hear about the (minor) crash. You stated that the foot/foot peg took most of the crash. If the peg was bent during the crash then you could be placing more weight on that side which could be causing the bike to pull to that side. You should also check the alignment of the front tire. The forks can rotate in the triple clamps during a crash and knock the front wheel out of alignment. Place the bike on the rear stand and run a string from rear of bike past front tire and see if they line up. Let us know what you find. Good luck

[Ninja Bob]

Originally Posted by Ducati999

Ninja Bob,
Sorry to hear about the (minor) crash. You stated that the foot/foot peg took most of the crash. If the peg was bent during the crash then you could be placing more weight on that side which could be causing the bike to pull to that side. You should also check the alignment of the front tire. The forks can rotate in the triple clamps during a crash and knock the front wheel out of alignment. Place the bike on the rear stand and run a string from rear of bike past front tire and see if they line up. Let us know what you find. Good luck

I don't have a stand. I'll have to get a mechanic to look at it. Hopefully, it's not an expensive fix.

And thanks.

[Ducati999]

Originally Posted by Ninja Bob

I don't have a stand. I'll have to get a mechanic to look at it. Hopefully, it's not an expensive fix.

And thanks.

Ninja Bob just a thought, a stand is cheaper than a mechanic and you can reuse the stand without paying anymore. That is if you are comfortable doing your own work otherwise the mechanic is a better deal. You should have a friend hold the bike up then use the string to determine if they are straight since it is a simple fix and save your money for a stand. Feel free to private message me if you have any questions, always willing to help out (that is how i learned)

[Ytse Frobozz]

Originally Posted by psych0hans

You need to get an R6 credit... Please inform the administrators to award you one.

Some guys get all the luck!

[Ninja Bob]

Originally Posted by psych0hans

You need to get an R6 credit... Please inform the administrators to award you one.

Originally Posted by Ytse Frobozz

Some guys get all the luck!

I'm pretty sure this one doesn't deserve a credit. I think a bit more effort in the direction of totaling the bike should be in order.

[Ralgha]

I'll take the credit off your hands if you don't want it.

[Finesse]

I second the forks twisting in the triple tree clamps. You don't need a string. You can get a friend to help you - have your friend sit on your bike and hold the handlebars perfectly straight. Stand in front of your bike and look at the headlight vs. the wheel and see if the wheel seems to be pointing off center when the headlight and handlebars are straight. To fix this alignment, loosen the lower triple tree clamps (I think the Ninjette you can loosen upper and lower because your forks will top out at the handlebar holders and there is no danger of your whole bike sliding right down your forks - this happened to me on my sv...) and man-handle those handlebars straight while you bang the wheel against something solid like a tree or curb. That's the quick and dirty way to do it! Remember to tighten those bolts back to torque spec!

[snot]

Glad your OK. This season had been rough for a lot of riders.