Hit the 1000 mile mark today then nearly went down

mapolley07 · December 8th, 2011, 08:19 PM

It finally stopped raining here in lovely Southwestern, Ohio and I had the day of work, so I decided to pull the bike out. It was cold as hell, in the upper 30s, but I decided to ride anyway. What can I say? I love riding.

I was out riding and I noticed I was riding kinda sloppy, dunno if it was the cold or if I was tired, but I decided to turn around and head for home. I stayed out long enough to hit 9742 miles though, 1000 miles since I bought it in mid-October.

I was freezing so I stopped by my friend's house, and she graciously let me come in and warm up and fed me some nice chocolate cake fresh out of the oven......YUM!!! haha

Anyway, I left her house and headed home, riding roads I ride every time I take it out. It was about 5:30 PM, so there were a lot of people out on the roads commuting home, and it was getting close to dark, but still plenty of light left. I was about 3 miles from home when a cager tried to kill me.

I was coming down a hill, doing the speed limit, maybe a couple miles over, but safe speed nonetheless. I was approaching a side street where a car was stopped at a stop sign waiting to make a left turn. I watched his head turn left toward me, right, then back toward me, and he proceeded to start to pull out in front of me

I swerved left toward the turn lane then slammed on both brakes. I locked up the front brake and the handlebars went crazy and I felt like I was going to highside over the handlebars into the oncoming lane

. Luckily that dumbass cager had stopped only halfway into my lane and I was able to let off the front brake and let the bike settle down and I managed to stay up.

Scared me to death, I could have sworn I was about to faceplant into the pavement and get a good test of my gear. I came away just fine, and rode home, but my left foot slipped off the peg and scraped the ground in the process, makes me really want to look for good boots and pants now.

My first thought after regaining control? I probably did something wrong in that panic stop that caused the lockup, I can't wait till MSF courses open up in the spring!!

Jiggles · December 8th, 2011, 08:23 PM

You need to slowly squeeze the front brake. As you start braking more weight is put onto the front which gives the front tire more traction and allows you to progressively brake harder with it. The same is true of the rear brake only opposite, weight is lifted off the rear brake giving it less traction and less stopping power.

mapolley07 · December 8th, 2011, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiggles

You need to slowly squeeze the front brake. As you start braking more weight is put onto the front which gives the front tire more traction and allows you to progressively brake harder with it. The same is true of the rear brake only opposite, weight is lifted off the rear brake giving it less traction and less stopping power.

I know to brake progressively, I do the same thing in my car, but I don't know how progressive I could have been given how little distance I had to stop if the car had pulled all the way out in front of me.

I just reacted and grabbed the brake, hard. Funny thing is that when I was on some backstreets earlier today I was practicing hard stops using both brakes. Never had to jam on them this hard though. I definitely need more panic stop practice though.

Jinx250 · December 9th, 2011, 08:13 AM

Most riders do not realize how much front brake you can use before the wheel locks up. Everyone says "I was pulling HARD" during practice. And some actually do. But most don't. The key is to practice super hard, like at the threshold of washing out the front, so you know where that limit is. The second key is to apply the brakes smoothly. You can't slam on the brakes on a bike like a car, unless you have ABS, but I sitll wouldn't recomend it. AND. If you've upgraded your brake lines to SS or pads to HH or both, then you REALLY need to practice, because there's very little if any wiggle room with the upgraded brakes.

Malicious Logic · December 10th, 2011, 08:44 AM

NOW I see why people always preach MSF on this forum....it gets old but so does reading near creashes/crash reports and discovering they didn't take the course. Glad to hear you're ok though and it since you didn't go any further on the topic, I'm assuming you were able to keep pretty calm after the idiot behind the wheel somehow didn't see you.

mapolley07 · December 10th, 2011, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

NOW I see why people always preach MSF on this forum....it gets old but so does reading near creashes/crash reports and discovering they didn't take the course. Glad to hear you're ok though and it since you didn't go any further on the topic, I'm assuming you were able to keep pretty calm after the idiot behind the wheel somehow didn't see you.

Yeah, I kept my calm. I was shaken up but I rode on home. I was mad at that idiot more than anything. And about the MSF course, I intend on taking it, always have. I bought the bike in October with money that came ion from a car accident settlement that I hadn't expected. I got more than I expected so I went ahead and bought a bike, but by that time the MSF courses were over for the season, so I have to wait until spring.

However, I have been reading up a ton for the last several years, and I practice skills everytime I ride. I take the decision to ride very seriously and can't wait to take the class. Registration opens in February and classes begin in April I believe.

mapolley07 · December 10th, 2011, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jinx250

Most riders do not realize how much front brake you can use before the wheel locks up. Everyone says "I was pulling HARD" during practice. And some actually do. But most don't. The key is to practice super hard, like at the threshold of washing out the front, so you know where that limit is. The second key is to apply the brakes smoothly. You can't slam on the brakes on a bike like a car, unless you have ABS, but I sitll wouldn't recomend it. AND. If you've upgraded your brake lines to SS or pads to HH or both, then you REALLY need to practice, because there's very little if any wiggle room with the upgraded brakes.

Thanks for the advice. I will practice more and really find that limit.

December 8th, 2011, 08:19 PM	#1
mapolley07 ninjette.org member Name: Matthew Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Join Date: Nov 2011 Motorcycle(s): 95 Kawasaki ex250f Posts: 17	Hit the 1000 mile mark today then nearly went down It finally stopped raining here in lovely Southwestern, Ohio and I had the day of work, so I decided to pull the bike out. It was cold as hell, in the upper 30s, but I decided to ride anyway. What can I say? I love riding. I was out riding and I noticed I was riding kinda sloppy, dunno if it was the cold or if I was tired, but I decided to turn around and head for home. I stayed out long enough to hit 9742 miles though, 1000 miles since I bought it in mid-October. I was freezing so I stopped by my friend's house, and she graciously let me come in and warm up and fed me some nice chocolate cake fresh out of the oven......YUM!!! haha Anyway, I left her house and headed home, riding roads I ride every time I take it out. It was about 5:30 PM, so there were a lot of people out on the roads commuting home, and it was getting close to dark, but still plenty of light left. I was about 3 miles from home when a cager tried to kill me. I was coming down a hill, doing the speed limit, maybe a couple miles over, but safe speed nonetheless. I was approaching a side street where a car was stopped at a stop sign waiting to make a left turn. I watched his head turn left toward me, right, then back toward me, and he proceeded to start to pull out in front of me I swerved left toward the turn lane then slammed on both brakes. I locked up the front brake and the handlebars went crazy and I felt like I was going to highside over the handlebars into the oncoming lane . Luckily that dumbass cager had stopped only halfway into my lane and I was able to let off the front brake and let the bike settle down and I managed to stay up. Scared me to death, I could have sworn I was about to faceplant into the pavement and get a good test of my gear. I came away just fine, and rode home, but my left foot slipped off the peg and scraped the ground in the process, makes me really want to look for good boots and pants now. My first thought after regaining control? I probably did something wrong in that panic stop that caused the lockup, I can't wait till MSF courses open up in the spring!!

December 8th, 2011, 08:23 PM	#2
Jiggles Jigglin' your Jiglets Name: Sean Location: San Jose, Ca Join Date: Jun 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2009 K1300S, 2013 Ninja 300, 2011 Ninja 250R, Faster than Unregistered's ninjette Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 1 MOTM - Apr '13	You need to slowly squeeze the front brake. As you start braking more weight is put onto the front which gives the front tire more traction and allows you to progressively brake harder with it. The same is true of the rear brake only opposite, weight is lifted off the rear brake giving it less traction and less stopping power. __________________________________________________ If the Ninja 250 doesn't have enough power for you, then you don't know how to ride it. AFM #676 Supersports are for n00bs

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December 9th, 2011, 08:13 AM	#4
Jinx250 Smoker Name: Bob Location: SoCal Join Date: Dec 2010 Motorcycle(s): Guess.... Posts: 556	Most riders do not realize how much front brake you can use before the wheel locks up. Everyone says "I was pulling HARD" during practice. And some actually do. But most don't. The key is to practice super hard, like at the threshold of washing out the front, so you know where that limit is. The second key is to apply the brakes smoothly. You can't slam on the brakes on a bike like a car, unless you have ABS, but I sitll wouldn't recomend it. AND. If you've upgraded your brake lines to SS or pads to HH or both, then you REALLY need to practice, because there's very little if any wiggle room with the upgraded brakes.

December 10th, 2011, 08:44 AM	#5
Malicious Logic hates stupid people Name: Mark Location: Oklahoma City Join Date: Aug 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2005 ZX6R Posts: 860	NOW I see why people always preach MSF on this forum....it gets old but so does reading near creashes/crash reports and discovering they didn't take the course. Glad to hear you're ok though and it since you didn't go any further on the topic, I'm assuming you were able to keep pretty calm after the idiot behind the wheel somehow didn't see you.