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Old February 13th, 2017, 06:03 PM   #1
TheOrigninalNinja
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Fear Is Not My Friend

Hey,

I crashed a month ago while riding with a new buddy of mine. I've only been riding about 8 months now, but because I've made my Ninja my only vehicle I'm decently versed in the riding world. My friend bought a Ducati Monster, and he asked me to help him learn. I'm sure many seasoned riders already see the issue here, but I was completely unaware. The person who taught me to ride was very firm with the "fear kills" lesson, and it saved me many times when my cute little ninja brakes didn't cut it. I took that experience for granted. Off the line, my friend's pure power no finesse bike left my engine screaming to catch up. Being used to trying to keep up with my uncle's track tested BMW superbike, I went straight into race mode. My friend when presented with a right-hand yield sign and no oncoming cars played it like a car. He braked hard and I was still looking left. I accelerated straight into his back tire. My knees and sensitive lower contact point were hit pretty hard, but I walked away. My friend had his bike taken out from under him and simply sat down on mine. His gas tank was pretty wrecked, but I should have totaled my bike.

I have done all my own repairs/maintenance as I've found it to be somewhat of a catharsis. So I didn't make a claim in the hopes that my 22-year-old, new rider insurance wouldn't go higher. The entire repair resulted in new forks, a new radiator, a new triple-tree down-stem (I had actually snapped the fork out of the lower holder), new upper fairing, and new foot pegs.

When I completed the reassembly I found oil leaking from the front end of my bike after a short ride. The valve cover was cracked on the right side because the frame slider bolt wasn't tight enough to prevent it from being slammed back into the engine. On such a short slide (3ft or less) that should not have happened, leading me to believe the previous owner had not tightened the slider at all.

The total was only about $540 dollars and two days of repairs, but the valve cover was another $30 (plus one more day).

So yeah, I guess the message is it doesn't have to be "your fear that kills." Also, always make a claim just in case, even if you're a broke a#$ college student.

Ride Safe,
Mike
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Old February 13th, 2017, 06:36 PM   #2
Abu_Mishary
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Hey Micheal... sorry to hear that. But at least you are ok.
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Old February 13th, 2017, 06:39 PM   #3
Triple Jim
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I was only a little younger than you when I looked in a mirror too long and rear ended a Datsun hard enough to make its back doors not close properly. It taught me to watch what's going on in front of me! Slow down and leave "race mode" to the track, where you can have tons of fun without so much danger of dying.
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Old February 13th, 2017, 07:28 PM   #4
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Cool

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOrigninalNinja View Post
....... I've only been riding about 8 months now, but.......
Welcome, Mike !!!

Keep calm and ride on .......... 8 months are just the beginning.
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Old February 13th, 2017, 08:09 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOrigninalNinja View Post
Hey,

Being used to trying to keep up with my uncle's track tested BMW superbike, I went straight into race mode.
say what?
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Old February 13th, 2017, 11:33 PM   #6
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I don't wanna be rude, but it doesn't sound like it has much to do with fear and has everything to do with negligence. The ones that don't mess you up too bad are the ones that you can learn from.

Try not to die. Stay safe.
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Old February 14th, 2017, 12:20 AM   #7
CaliGrrl
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Glad you're ok and your bike will be back on the road.
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Old February 15th, 2017, 03:47 AM   #8
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It's good it wasn't worse man... Be safe out there
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Old February 15th, 2017, 05:44 AM   #9
adouglas
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Hello and welcome!

Pics or it didn't happen

In all seriousness, though:

22 years old... 8 months of riding... "full race mode"... "fear kills" advice saving you "many times when my cute little Ninja brakes didn't cut it"... engine "screaming to catch up"... rear-ending your friend so hard it snaps the lower triple....

Dude. Slow down. Please. When I read a post like yours all kinds of warning flags go up. It really looks like you're riding at and just a bit beyond your skill level.

Surviving is a wonderful thing and you'll have decades ahead of you to enjoy riding. I just turned 58 and I've been riding for 31 years. Never crashed in all that time, not even once. Yeah, I've dropped a bike or two at zero speed but never an accident, and I ride on the track and commute on a GSX-R750 every day the weather is nice.

People will tell you crashing is inevitable. I disagree. Sure it happens. It might happen to me next time I ride. If it does I won't be surprised. But I refuse to accept that I WILL crash.

Advice from those far more knowledgeable than me is to ride at 75% of your skill level, whatever that may be. That gives you a margin. If you do, the "saved me many times" close calls, the "oh SH!T" moments, the unfortunate outcome you've already experienced... those things won't happen in the first place as a rule. When they do, it's because of stuff that's utterly beyond your control no matter how cautious and in control you are. Speed will come. Be patient... the goal in life isn't to get there first. It's to get there alive. A race mindset on the street is a proven way to get killed.

It's really good you came out of it mostly unscathed aside from your "sensitive lower contact point" (ouch) and that your only transport is repairable, but I hope what you learn from this is to dial it back a bit.

Ride on!

PS: If you hang out here you'll run into some really awesome riding skills advice from people who really do know their stuff, including racers, instructors at Mid-Ohio, California Superbike School coaches and MSF instructors.

One of their favorite techniques is to ask questions to get you thinking.

So: I believe your collision was totally avoidable. What could you have done differently to prevent that accident? I can think of three things right off the bat. What do you believe they are?

PPS: Finesse isn't in the bike. It's in your brain and communicated via your right wrist. Any monkey can twist the throttle all the way. It takes a skilled rider to NOT do that.

PPPS: ATGATT. Maybe you do, maybe you don't. But if not, hopefully this has opened your eyes a bit.

PPPPS: Stick with the Ninja and learn how to ride it well... it'll teach you a hell of a lot more than a bigger bike will and you'll have more fun in the process.
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Old February 15th, 2017, 05:53 AM   #10
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Forgot to mention, re fear:

Fear triggers survival reactions (SRs) and those are what get you into trouble. Riding at 75% means you won't get scared (the odd deer/child/clueless cager notwithstanding), and the SRs won't trigger to begin with.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend Kieth Code's Twist of the Wrist II, both book and video. The early parts of the book are all about fear and what it does to you. Very much on-topic given what you wrote.

Edumacation is good.
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Old February 15th, 2017, 07:33 AM   #11
jkv45
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You were definitely operating above your skill level, and also leaving no margin for unexpected events.

Often that can end worse than it did for you.

Consider it a lesson learned.

I think most of us have done it (I have), especially after riding for a short time without incident. We start to think "I've got this", and soon step over the line we didn't know was there. Hopefully after the first incident we wake up and realize what we are dealing with and start riding in safer and more controlled manor, leaving plenty of room for unexpected events.
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Old February 15th, 2017, 08:25 AM   #12
highvoltj
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re: Fear

Glad that you and your riding buddy are okay! As you found out the hard way, it only takes a split-second of not being aware of the road ahead to create a potential hazardous situation! One thing that my Father taught me when he was teaching me how to ride motorcycles was "Alway's look where you want to go, Not where you don't want to go." That has stuck with me through all of my year's of on and off-road riding, and probably saved me a time or two!
Glad your bike is back on the Road!
CHEER'S!
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Old February 15th, 2017, 10:30 AM   #13
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I don't know what this has to do with your buddy being a new rider.

You rear ended a motorcycle with another motorcycle.
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Old February 15th, 2017, 11:00 AM   #14
adouglas
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More to the point: What's the difference between driving a car and riding a bike? The other guy "played it like a car" and braked hard. Why is a bike any different?

The image this presents to me (no evidence, just inference from what was written) is that a bike is so small and can accelerate so fast that you can zip into a time/space gap that a car cannot.

While true, this is not safe riding practice most of the time. It suggests an amped-up, aggressive mindset. Squids do this a lot. I just LOVE it when I'm cruising along in my car and some jackass passes me IN MY OWN LANE at +30 mph. Not saying this kind of nonsense happened by any means. But the question of why "playing it like a car" was unexpected remains.

Having said this, it's not necessary to ride like a grandma. Yeah, I do routinely break speed limits and no, I do not leave six car lengths at 60 mph all the time. But there's a difference between fast-but-responsible and dive bombing traffic.
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Old February 15th, 2017, 06:20 PM   #15
Abu_Mishary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adouglas View Post
More to the point: What's the difference between driving a car and riding a bike? The other guy "played it like a car" and braked hard. Why is a bike any different?

The image this presents to me (no evidence, just inference from what was written) is that a bike is so small and can accelerate so fast that you can zip into a time/space gap that a car cannot.

While true, this is not safe riding practice most of the time. It suggests an amped-up, aggressive mindset. Squids do this a lot. I just LOVE it when I'm cruising along in my car and some jackass passes me IN MY OWN LANE at +30 mph. Not saying this kind of nonsense happened by any means. But the question of why "playing it like a car" was unexpected remains.

Having said this, it's not necessary to ride like a grandma. Yeah, I do routinely break speed limits and no, I do not leave six car lengths at 60 mph all the time. But there's a difference between fast-but-responsible and dive bombing traffic.


If only I have the "find this post is helpful" button, i will click it thrice!
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