[RideApart] - The One Time it’s a Good Idea to Lay ‘Er Down

[Ninjette Newsbot]

The One Time it was Good Idea to Lay ‘Er Down

If you’ve been around motorcycles for a while it’s a good bet you’ll have encountered a rider who claimed to have had to “lay ‘er down” – deliberately crashing his or her bike on the theory that doing so helped to avoid more serious injury.

Generally, of course, this is an idiot theory. With the bike upright you at least have the opportunity to apply the brakes, or swerve, or, on very rare occasion, ride over/through an obstacle. Throw yourself from the vehicle, however, and you simply become a moving object with little to no control over where you end up.


Ask any advanced riding coach in the land and he or she will tell you that the “lay ‘er down” technique only makes sense in movies. However, this past weekend, a rider in England may have finally had a legitimate reason for doing it: to avoid a collapsing bridge.

It happened on the M20 motorway (freeway, in American lingo), south of London. A semi-truck carrying a large excavator struck a pedestrian bridge, causing it to collapse onto another truck following behind. At that same moment, a motorcyclist was riding alongside the second truck – so close to the incident that one witness said she initially thought the bridge had fallen on top of him.


But, in fact, according to other witnesses, he had just a split second to throw himself from his bike and slide underneath a small space between the fallen bridge and the roadway. His bike apparently hit the bridge and came to an immediate and unhappy stop, while he slid several feet down the motorway.

The rider was treated for broken or bruised ribs (news reports are conflicting on that point) but is otherwise expected to make a full recovery. No mention of gear was made in news items about the incident, but we’re guessing that if he only sustained rib injuries (it’s likely he would have been travelling upward of 70 mph when the incident happened) he would have been pretty well geared up.

We wish him a speedy recovery and commend him on now having a really bad-ass tale to tell.

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Click here for full story...

[iNOSFERATUii]

So my son should have kept his bike upright and attempted to ride through/over the car that had just turned right into his direct line of path?

I DON'T THINK SO!!!!!

Or perhaps I should have attempted to ride through/over the passenger side door/window of the vehicle that pulled out in front of me!?

Fortunately we both walked away with minor injuries from both of our minor accidents, better to walk away alive and live to ride another day than to attempt to ride through/over an obstacle and DIE, be decapitated, or cut in half!!!!

Sorry, but I'd much rather just lay 'er down than lay me down to sleep permanently!

Originally Posted by Ninjette Newsbot

The One Time it was Good Idea to Lay ‘Er Down

If you’ve been around motorcycles for a while it’s a good bet you’ll have encountered a rider who claimed to have had to “lay ‘er down” – deliberately crashing his or her bike on the theory that doing so helped to avoid more serious injury.

Generally, of course, this is an idiot theory. With the bike upright you at least have the opportunity to apply the brakes, or swerve, or, on very rare occasion, ride over/through an obstacle. Throw yourself from the vehicle, however, and you simply become a moving object with little to no control over where you end up.


Ask any advanced riding coach in the land and he or she will tell you that the “lay ‘er down” technique only makes sense in movies. However, this past weekend, a rider in England may have finally had a legitimate reason for doing it: to avoid a collapsing bridge.

It happened on the M20 motorway (freeway, in American lingo), south of London. A semi-truck carrying a large excavator struck a pedestrian bridge, causing it to collapse onto another truck following behind. At that same moment, a motorcyclist was riding alongside the second truck – so close to the incident that one witness said she initially thought the bridge had fallen on top of him.


But, in fact, according to other witnesses, he had just a split second to throw himself from his bike and slide underneath a small space between the fallen bridge and the roadway. His bike apparently hit the bridge and came to an immediate and unhappy stop, while he slid several feet down the motorway.

The rider was treated for broken or bruised ribs (news reports are conflicting on that point) but is otherwise expected to make a full recovery. No mention of gear was made in news items about the incident, but we’re guessing that if he only sustained rib injuries (it’s likely he would have been travelling upward of 70 mph when the incident happened) he would have been pretty well geared up.

We wish him a speedy recovery and commend him on now having a really bad-ass tale to tell.

More from RideApart:

• Musicians Rock the Indian Chief
• Wait a Second… What’s Going on at Victory?
• What the Europeans Will Be Missing: Honda CBR600RR
• CARB Docs Show New BMW R nine T Models
• MV Agusta, Zagato Reveal Partner Project

*****Related Stories

• MV Agusta, Zagato Reveal Partner Project
• CARB Docs Show New BMW R nine T Models
• What the Europeans Will Be Missing: Honda CBR600RR

*


Click here for full story...

[Floki]

Did laying the bike down keep you from hitting the car?

[verboten1]

the point of keeping it upright is to maintain control and brake/swerve.

[allanoue]

Originally Posted by iNOSFERATUii

So my son should have kept his bike upright and attempted to ride through/over the car that had just turned right into his direct line of path?

I DON'T THINK SO!!!!!

Or perhaps I should have attempted to ride through/over the passenger side door/window of the vehicle that pulled out in front of me!?

Fortunately we both walked away with minor injuries from both of our minor accidents, better to walk away alive and live to ride another day than to attempt to ride through/over an obstacle and DIE, be decapitated, or cut in half!!!!

Sorry, but I'd much rather just lay 'er down than lay me down to sleep permanently!

Generally, of course, this is an idiot theory. With the bike upright you at least have the opportunity to apply the brakes, or swerve, or, on very rare occasion, ride over/through an obstacle. Throw yourself from the vehicle, however, and you simply become a moving object with little to no control over where you end up.

Your tires and brakes are more effective at slowing you down then your leathers. We all know that "had to lay it down" is just a euphemism for grabed a fist full of brake and lost control.

[RacinNinja]

You will ALWAYS slide farther and longer than you can brake.

It's a physics thing.

[FrugalNinja250]

I think in the Brit rider's case, he laid it down because no amout of braking or steering would have prevented him from hitting the beam. Better to slide under it than smack into it face-on. Also realize he probably had less than a second to react. He was lucky that the beam didn't fall flush with the pavement.

[verboten1]

I actually locked up the rear, dumped it and slid under the semi that pulled out in front of me. My face would have been in the side of the trailer, one of those rare cases.

Could I have stopped, maybe. I was new, ground was wet (in front of a truck stop even...) and it worked, but it most likely was the wrong thing to do.

[Floki]

Originally Posted by verboten1

I actually locked up the rear, dumped it and slid under the semi that pulled out in front of me. My face would have been in the side of the trailer, one of those rare cases.

Could I have stopped, maybe. I was new, ground was wet (in front of a truck stop even...) and it worked, but it most likely was the wrong thing to do.

My moms coworker did this on the way to work. The dump truck didn't even know he ran over someone, drug his body and literally shredded him underneath the truck for miles into New Orleans before another car stopped.

It's hit or miss

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by allanoue

Your tires and brakes are more effective at slowing you down then your leathers. We all know that "had to lay it down" is just a euphemism for grabed a fist full of brake and lost control.

I always see it as jumping on the rear brake, locking it, and trying to turn away from the impending impact - resulting in a low-side slide-out.

It's what happens if you are not interested in using the front brake to stop you because you know it will flip you over and kill ya.

[Triple Jim]

Everyone should practice extreme stops on a safe, deserted road once in a while. With good tires, it doesn't matter whether you use the rear brake or not, since the front brake will make it do a stoppie and raise the rear wheel off the ground anyway.

With the Kenda front tire that was on mine when I bought it, the front would skid before I could do a stoppie, but after I put the BT45s on, it stops much better.