Bet you saw this crash coming..

[ninja250]

OK I'm posting this even though I'll probably take some heat so bare with me. I have to deal with this on my end already so I don't need more drama.

Yes, I learned from my mistakes.

Some things I learned:
When you already had a close call earlier, it's time to stop.
When it's been 10 years since you romped your hometown roads, you need to relearn them. Not just a once or twice over... 50-100 times.
Need to be extra careful where you play around.
You won't listen until you learn the hard way.
You need to be absolutely sure to set yourself up right for each and every corner.. This is easy to skip because the room for error is marginal.
Yes the stock tires work, but they will bite back eventually.
Don't slam on your front while dragging on crap tires. It will start chirping.
and most of all DON'T PANIC!

Now for what I feel was the cause of this crash...
1) relearning the old roads with too much force. (not enough practice in this location)
2) Set up way too early on the corner.
3) bad line
4) didn't break enough for the corner
5) I panicked and stood it up after the front brake failed to work (front tire started chirping and skipping but didn't cause tank slapper)
6) Should have kept it leaned in, no brakes and rode it out just fine (see cause 5)
7)Irresponsibility and thoughtlessness of others.

Now for the video. How stupid right?! Ah well live and learn. At least the bike still works.

Link to original page on YouTube.

And pics.
I have everything coming to fix the crash besides a new frame.
That one will set me back $1000. Crash total cost $2200 to get me back to straight metal and paint.






replaced those with rearsets


Bent bars. Replacement clipons coming.


I think this is the spot where I kissed the rail


Even my iphone got some cool scars


more shogun slider bends


forks tweeked (already fixed that yesterday)


Yummy bent frame


tweeked head tube. lol


So pretty much have all the parts besides the new frame and some plastics.
I straightened everything out yesterday and rode it around on the freeway just fine with the bent frame. I can still ride it while I repair it. This gives me a good reason to upgrade a bunch more crap on it along the way.

Maybe I'll do a DIY frame swap. lol

Thanks for looking at my crash, even though nobody was there to see it at the time. Seriously I learned my lesson. I knew it was coming too so can't say I didn't. If you ride any type of two wheel vehicle for long enough, you will fall off of it. It's just a matter of when. Some will do it faster than others too.

How do I feel?
Fine now. Few bruises and a scraped up hip. Day after the crash I felt like I got my ass kicked by 5 dudes kicking me in the fetal position with steel toe boots though. It was all bruises and muscle tears. See this thread in the gear section for damage to my gear.

Always wear your gear and do your best to ride responsibly.
I will be fixing my bike and riding again in no time.
Takes more than that to keep me off two wheels.

[bdavison]

Any crash you can get up and ride away from was a good crash...

Those frame sliders really didnt do squat did they.

[ninja250]

Eh, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.
I think the guard rail had some say in that too.

[JeffM]

Ouch! glad your ok.

< on soapbox > Watched the video earlier this morning. Thought about it and the thing that keeps coming up in my memory is not the actual crash, but the one you could have had when you crossed the centerline at 00:56 in the video. Public roads are not racetracks. < off soapbox >

[Momaru]

Oh man, that sucks monkey balls, right after you replaced the sliders...
Very glad to hear you're okay KC, even if it did cost a bit o' skin and a lot of soreness.
Sounds like you're on top o' the repairs, I'm sure you'll have her back in fine shape in no time. Surprised it's still rideable with tweaked forks, head tube and frame though. At least you'll have no shortage of things to do on the bike while you heal.
RE: the gear, isn't that the vent switch that you just fixed that took the brunt for your boots? Looks like Dainese and Shoei stood up to their good rep too.

[Apex]

Glad you made it out ok!

[karlosdajackal]

Originally Posted by ninja250

Now for what I feel was the cause of this crash...
1) relearning the old roads with too much force. (not enough practice in this location)
2) Set up way too early on the corner.
3) bad line
4) didn't break enough for the corner
5) I panicked and stood it up after the front brake failed to work (front tire started chirping and skipping but didn't cause tank slapper)
6) Should have kept it leaned in, no brakes and rode it out just fine (see cause 5)
7)Irresponsibility and thoughtlessness of others.

Dude glad your reasonably ok . I only watched from the start up to the crash, and watched the crash about 3 times. You can't tell a lot from that camera angle. But I'd forget reasons 1,2,3 and 4 straight away, reason 7 I don't know what your talking about. I'm interested not in reason 5 or 6 but how you got yourself in that situation where you panicked, and I don't think any of your reason have it covered.

Anyway what i notice earlier in the vid is that you changed gear in turn which I'm occasionally guilty of too, but we know its not a great idea, but nothing to do with the crash, although seems like you pulled the clutch for the crash which costs you stability also. (14 seconds, 48 seconds for the upshifts mid turn).

I did notice you chopping the throttle off and decelerating into turns which is lethal, especially at 40 seconds in your negative throttle all the way around that turn, ok its due to the car but you should not have been that close to him in the first place, hes in shot from 34 should have hung back until a straight piece of road. Then you blast past him where you don't really have enough room and enter the next turn again on negative throttle with lots of lean.

When you go in off the gas and overload the front wheel you end up leaning more than necessary to compensate, that's why when you get on the gas the bike appears to turn in more as the balance of throttle puts the weight where the bike expects it to be.

Luckily you get on the gas soon enough but then you do another mid lean gear change. Next turn at 55 seconds again off the gas all they way, and I'd say at that point it was close to going wrong, by this point in the first viewing of the vid I'm starting to predict you running wide into something. For the kink right at 1:12 again off the throttle all the way through it. Then for the crash you chop the throttle on, then off, then on, it like you pull the clutch+brakes then crash.

You got away with it on the faster turns as you could theoretically go round those at 100mph but because they are sandwiched between other turns your going much slower than you could so overloading the front of the bike does not have such a big impact as you are still within 50% of the max the bike can take. On the slower turns the margins are much smaller. So my viewing of why you got to the panic situation (never mind what you did when it all went wrong, why it all went wrong is more important)

1) Poor throttle control - either off or off/on/off in turns causing more lean angle to be necessary to turn the bike, should roll in a single smooth action.
2) Slow turning of the bike - because of reason 1 the bike is start to lean but not much is happening regarding turning and your leaning more and more to compensate. If you get on the gas a little the bit instead of leaning more the bike will turn. But instead your staying off gas, leaning more and more but still going relatively straight. Look at the clip around 45 seconds and watch the bike react when you get on the gas, it turns more than you expected and you end up picking it up and up-shifting.
3) Poor planning - you should be reading the road and hazards ahead and planning for them rather than reacting to them. The incident with the car where you saw him ahead but ran right up his tail then overtook him in a totally inappropriate place causing you to charge to fast into the next bend tells this story. By the way if a car was coming the other way round that bend
4) Yes at the time of the crash you reacted poorly and this is really hard to fix, but if your doing 1,2 and 3 all the time you have no hope in hell of reacting properly when the dung hits the rotating blower thing

I have made all the same mistakes myself many times and got away with it. After 2400 miles and reading a twist of the wrist 2 front to back about 10 times I can see that. In fact I caught my mistake on video and I also show how i correct them (day after getting that book )

Link to original page on YouTube.
You can see first run it really goes bad when i chop the throttle
2nd is a bit better, but I still have not read the book, on this run though the bike turns in when i give it gas, case in point!
The i show some other turns and other mistakes I'm making the same as you, off gas in turns, not great planning ahead or reading of the road.
3rd run, same as 2nd only i've read the first 4 pages of twist 2, now faster and with more gas and less lean and higher speeds You can see at the first part I chopped the throttle for a second and quickly realized if I don't think its going to make it i need to do the opposite and get on the gas and sure enough the throttle turns the bike. I done this turn at double the speed last night instead of hitting 60 at the bottom I was at 85 and had to brake hard to get down to the speed limit of the main road :O

Like I say, glad your OK and hope you get back on a bike when your good and ready. I'm hoping some of what I written here is useful to you and makes sense. I commend you for uploading the vid also, I think a lot of folks would say nothing and fix it quietly. Could just as easily of been me a few months ago, hopefully now I'm working on me it will stay shiny side up.

P.s. I'm enjoying the bike way more since reading this book too, even if you think you'll never crash its worth getting. I don't like the way its written the cover or the formatting, but the info is pure gold.

[addy126]

"7)Irresponsibility and thoughtlessness of others." how did this make it into the list... there was no one around you..... just 2 hot into an extended turn..... and u just ran out of room.

OMG and did you leave the scene of an accident???? and its on tape? Did you bump your head man!

Anyway glad to see you are okay and getting the bike back together, sucks that it was a 2010 model..... my heart goes out to you....

[CC Cowboy]

I only watched up to the crash. I didn't read your entire posts so I hope I not telling you something you already know but here is my two cents.

I believe you had the camera attached to your helmet. I noticed a large weed or bush growing in the guard rail. That's all I saw through the entire crash. You used it as a target and nailed it.


With all the people on this site crashing and spending tons of money on repairs, you would think that an investment into California Superbike School (since you're in socal), or any other school (for those that live elsewhere) would be a cheap investment, and coulds save your bike, and might save your life.

Crashing sux, leave it to the professionals.

[ninja250]

Originally Posted by Momaru

RE: the gear, isn't that the vent switch that you just fixed that took the brunt for your boots? Looks like Dainese and Shoei stood up to their good rep too.

Yeah just fixed that vent.

Originally Posted by karlosdajackal

Dude glad your reasonably ok . I only watched from the start up to the crash, and watched the crash about 3 times. You can't tell a lot from that camera angle. But I'd forget reasons 1,2,3 and 4 straight away, reason 7 I don't know what your talking about. I'm interested not in reason 5 or 6 but how you got yourself in that situation where you panicked, and I don't think any of your reason have it covered.

Anyway what i notice earlier in the vid is that you changed gear in turn which I'm occasionally guilty of too, but we know its not a great idea, but nothing to do with the crash, although seems like you pulled the clutch for the crash which costs you stability also. (14 seconds, 48 seconds for the upshifts mid turn).

I did notice you chopping the throttle off and decelerating into turns which is lethal, especially at 40 seconds in your negative throttle all the way around that turn, ok its due to the car but you should not have been that close to him in the first place, hes in shot from 34 should have hung back until a straight piece of road. Then you blast past him where you don't really have enough room and enter the next turn again on negative throttle with lots of lean.

When you go in off the gas and overload the front wheel you end up leaning more than necessary to compensate, that's why when you get on the gas the bike appears to turn in more as the balance of throttle puts the weight where the bike expects it to be.

Luckily you get on the gas soon enough but then you do another mid lean gear change. Next turn at 55 seconds again off the gas all they way, and I'd say at that point it was close to going wrong, by this point in the first viewing of the vid I'm starting to predict you running wide into something. For the kink right at 1:12 again off the throttle all the way through it. Then for the crash you chop the throttle on, then off, then on, it like you pull the clutch+brakes then crash.

You got away with it on the faster turns as you could theoretically go round those at 100mph but because they are sandwiched between other turns your going much slower than you could so overloading the front of the bike does not have such a big impact as you are still within 50% of the max the bike can take. On the slower turns the margins are much smaller. So my viewing of why you got to the panic situation (never mind what you did when it all went wrong, why it all went wrong is more important)

1) Poor throttle control - either off or off/on/off in turns causing more lean angle to be necessary to turn the bike, should roll in a single smooth action.
2) Slow turning of the bike - because of reason 1 the bike is start to lean but not much is happening regarding turning and your leaning more and more to compensate. If you get on the gas a little the bit instead of leaning more the bike will turn. But instead your staying off gas, leaning more and more but still going relatively straight. Look at the clip around 45 seconds and watch the bike react when you get on the gas, it turns more than you expected and you end up picking it up and up-shifting.
3) Poor planning - you should be reading the road and hazards ahead and planning for them rather than reacting to them. The incident with the car where you saw him ahead but ran right up his tail then overtook him in a totally inappropriate place causing you to charge to fast into the next bend tells this story. By the way if a car was coming the other way round that bend
4) Yes at the time of the crash you reacted poorly and this is really hard to fix, but if your doing 1,2 and 3 all the time you have no hope in hell of reacting properly when the dung hits the rotating blower thing

I have made all the same mistakes myself many times and got away with it. After 2400 miles and reading a twist of the wrist 2 front to back about 10 times I can see that. In fact I caught my mistake on video and I also show how i correct them (day after getting that book )

Link to original page on YouTube.
You can see first run it really goes bad when i chop the throttle
2nd is a bit better, but I still have not read the book, on this run though the bike turns in when i give it gas, case in point!
The i show some other turns and other mistakes I'm making the same as you, off gas in turns, not great planning ahead or reading of the road.
3rd run, same as 2nd only i've read the first 4 pages of twist 2, now faster and with more gas and less lean and higher speeds You can see at the first part I chopped the throttle for a second and quickly realized if I don't think its going to make it i need to do the opposite and get on the gas and sure enough the throttle turns the bike. I done this turn at double the speed last night instead of hitting 60 at the bottom I was at 85 and had to brake hard to get down to the speed limit of the main road :O

Like I say, glad your OK and hope you get back on a bike when your good and ready. I'm hoping some of what I written here is useful to you and makes sense. I commend you for uploading the vid also, I think a lot of folks would say nothing and fix it quietly. Could just as easily of been me a few months ago, hopefully now I'm working on me it will stay shiny side up.

P.s. I'm enjoying the bike way more since reading this book too, even if you think you'll never crash its worth getting. I don't like the way its written the cover or the formatting, but the info is pure gold.

There is a lot of things I can agree and a lot I can disagree with you on here.
I have over 20,000 miles on sportbikes up to 600cc and am able to somewhat analyze a situation. I've taken GSXR's to San Francisco from LA many of the twisty roads in between, then from SF to Sacramento and back to LA in one weekend.

I think you are reading a lot into this re shifting up and down in corners. You can see I was not bucked while shifting. I do realize how dangerous this can be if you aren't completely smooth about it. Traction is easy to lose while shifting and cornering.

You are correct, the video dampens the situation. You will notice I had the ability to go way wide at the beginning of the turn, rather I stuck to the inside and had my knee down much too early. It was a major early apex situation. If I would have set up wider and apexed later I would have had the corner.

Also, if I would have approached it with less speed I could have taken the same line without incident, although not likely on me knee.

I didn't have any incident while chopping the throttle off and on in the corners. Again unrelated to the accident I believe.

The video fails to show exactly the chirping I speak of. When you relate to the loading of the front wheel above I believe you may be more along the lines of correct here, although hard to comprehend everything that happened as it happened so fast.

Traction was definitely also a factor. I did not stand the bike up and point it at the rail until the front tire lost traction. This was the chirping I stated I felt. Once I stood the bike up again, I applied the brakes and turned in just a slight bit more to point away from the rail for the hit. At this point, I applied the fronts and got more chirping, then into the dirt and into the rail. The video barely shows the jumping from the "chirps" of traction loss as this camera combo seems to dampen vibrations completely.

Poor planning and I forget what the other thing they said was looking ahead or reacting ahead or something like that. Hazard planning or something. I heard it somewhere else before. Also could have done me some good to get more practice on this road first.

Thanks for the comment about uploading the video. I'm not proud of this at all. I even knew it was coming and still did it.. so yeah.. I'm an idiot for this one.

I will read through your advice several times more I'm sure and see what I can compare. I prefer first hand experience over books but it's clear I still have much to learn so won't shoot the idea down at all.

Originally Posted by addy126

"7)Irresponsibility and thoughtlessness of others." how did this make it into the list... there was no one around you..... just 2 hot into an extended turn..... and u just ran out of room.

OMG and did you leave the scene of an accident???? and its on tape? Did you bump your head man!

Anyway glad to see you are okay and getting the bike back together, sucks that it was a 2010 model..... my heart goes out to you....

When you don't think of how your motorcycle crash might effect other people in your life you are being thoughtless of others. When you still owe half your motorcycle in payments, you are being irresponsible by horsing around on it.

I left the scene of a bike drop without injury or incident. I'll be fixing the damage myself. Complete restore. It's as if I tipped it over at a stop sign. I'll notify everyone when I swap the frame.

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I only watched up to the crash. I didn't read your entire posts so I hope I not telling you something you already know but here is my two cents.

I believe you had the camera attached to your helmet. I noticed a large weed or bush growing in the guard rail. That's all I saw through the entire crash. You used it as a target and nailed it.


With all the people on this site crashing and spending tons of money on repairs, you would think that an investment into California Superbike School (since you're in socal), or any other school (for those that live elsewhere) would be a cheap investment, and coulds save your bike, and might save your life.

Crashing sux, leave it to the professionals.

Camera was attached to the bike via RAM mount.

It all happened so quick I didn't have time to focus on anything but my brake lever and "Oh Sh*T! Here it comes!"

I was in contact with Richard about new racer school less than 7 days prior to this.

At least I didn't cry like that cop who crashed his bike. lol

[Roostre]

Good on 'ya for manning up and letting others learn from this!


I believe number 7) confused me also!

Maybe you mean that "you are being thoughtless TO others."

The post made it sound like you were blaming the cars or something...

Anyways, glad you survived it, learned from it and passed your knowledge on!

I never heard of Twist of the Wrist 2, but now it will get ordered tonight!

Only $14- http://www.amazon.com/Twist-Wrist-Ba.../dp/0965045021

[Flashmonkey]

Hey glad you're ok! It's hard to see much of anything in that video...especially with the sound off...but it definitely seems that you just pushed a little harder than you were ready for. It happens and it's a good thing that you're still walking around talking about it after the fact.

But ya I'll put a +1 up for the racer school idea. Pushing hard like that on the street requires good technique, but it also requires consistency. Too many things can go wrong too fast, and a lot of your "inputs" have to almost be second nature.

This may not have been the first time you've dragged knee on the streets, but each time you do it you're taking a huge risk because of all of the external (ie: out of your control) elements involved with riding on a public road. This is compounded if your riding is "rusty" or varies with fatigue/mood/etc as well.

Good luck with the repairs!

[edbro]

I don't know, it wasn't the greatest line to take around that corner, but it seemed like you would've pulled through if you kept it leaned over. Hard to tell really, anyways, glad that your okay!

[Alex]

Glad you're OK. What does the electronic lean angle sensor read when the bike's on its side?

[backinthesaddleagain]

Originally Posted by Alex

Glad you're OK. What does the electronic lean angle sensor read when the bike's on its side?

I am thinking it says "pick me up."

[kevlarorc]

but hey, at least you got it on camera!

[Betlog]

Dang KC, that sucks but you're responding to the situation in a very adult and professional manner

I am sure you will only grow as a motorcyclist after this. Good luck with the fix bro. A DIY frame swap sounds good.

[cnichols79us]

Originally Posted by Roostre

Good on 'ya for manning up and letting others learn from this!

Really glad your not seriously hurt. Admire you for analyzing it and SHARING it for others to learn from. Thanks and Ride Safe!

[Cedilla]

The sound the bike made when it hit the guard rail was brutal. At least the guard rail stopped you before you went off what looks like a steep drop off. Also I liked how seconds after the crash you're picking the bike back up and riding away.

[ninja250]

Yeah too bad I don't have the external camera view.
Wish I could see myself slide. I did a break dance spin on my back and left shoulder.
Here's video from going up the same road earlier that day.

Link to original page on YouTube.

That road is weak too. Just wasn't used to it is all and forgot the brake before you turn rule. Shouldn't have been riding it like that. Wait till you see my video from the canyon on the other side of that hill. I'll get that one uploaded later. The other video I have yet to upload is the one where I had the previous close call I was talking about.

[jcgirl]

KC, I'm really glad your ok. Bikes can always be fixed. Sometimes we all gotta learn lessons the hard way. Hope this can help us all be better riders. Thanks for posting the vid.

[ninja250]

Same thing every time I crashed any bike throughout my entire life. Dirt bikes and dirt jumping or flatland bicycles alike. A little bit of rash and a bunch of bruises.

My original thought was:
"OK, coming in a little hot, tap the brake and you'll be fine."
Like I've done many times before.
This time for some reason the tire started chirping (repeatedly losing traction) and I freaked out and stood the bike up instead of keeping it leaned in.
My next thought was:
"Guard rail... 12 O'clock. Better try and turn and brake one last time to prevent total disaster"
At this time I did so and the bike chirped more and then glanced off the rail, then the bike and I spun out like a couple ballerinas on speed.
Just after hitting the ground I thought:
"Well, I've felt worse than that but I'm still sliding. Is this the part where it's about to hurt really bad when I dead stop?"
So I closed my eyes, balled up into the fetal position while doing a spin on my shoulder/back/backpack and came to a stop neatly wedged between the ground and the guard rail with minimal impact. (back protector/backpack hit first)
Then I thought:
"Lights back on. All bodily systems check. Did anybody see? Get up and pick up the bike. Damn will it roll? Now what do I do? Get on it and pop the clutch and get the F outta here!"

I think that's pretty much it.
I stopped at two turn-offs down the road straightening things out and checking my sanity while discovering my bloody hip. Never let out a single word or yelp or bead of sweat or anything.

Could have been a heck of a lot worse.

[backinthesaddleagain]

Glad it wasnt worse. Imagine hitting the rail head on and getting launched. Some years back here a new rider on a literbike. Was going through a highway ramp in the city, hit the rail head on and got launched to the road below. Unfortunately he didn't get to tell his story.

[pedaltothemetal]

Casey,
Glad you are OK!
Really hurts to see your bike like that, but knowing you that will be remedied
very soon!
Main thing you are OK!
Thanks God!

[binlagin]

Jesus!!!! Dude!! I'm glad you walked away from that one! I defiantly put myself inside your helmet while I was watching this and man... like everyone else... I'M GLAD YOUR OK!!

This defiantly has soberer'd me up and I will wait until my track day on may 11th to really try and apply what i learned over the winter.

[Timm3h]

Glad you are okay.

I still replay my accident over and over in my head and get chills sometimes.

As long as you learned from your mistakes, that's important.

I know it is hard, and I probably don't have to preach it to you, but as everyone is saying take it to the track. What if that was a minivan full of children instead of a guardrail or someone on a bicycle? I know we are all guilty of pushing our bikes here and there but it seems like you do it all the time. Take it easy.

[ninja250]

Originally Posted by Timm3h

Glad you are okay.

I still replay my accident over and over in my head and get chills sometimes.

As long as you learned from your mistakes, that's important.

I know it is hard, and I probably don't have to preach it to you, but as everyone is saying take it to the track. What if that was a minivan full of children instead of a guardrail or someone on a bicycle? I know we are all guilty of pushing our bikes here and there but it seems like you do it all the time. Take it easy.

I don't push it nearly as much as it would seem.
The only time you see me ride is when I push it because otherwise the videos would be boring. Lol
I agree, not the best place to play around. Although I couldn't even afford an exhaust for $300 let alone a day on the track, I was trying to get out there anyways and gearing up.
Now I'm spending track money on repairs. I'll get there eventually. Just a little set back.
Posted via Mobile Device

[mikedabike64]

it almost looked like a double apex

[miks]

Glad you're alright, and hopefully the repair of the bike comes along nicely and smoothly.

[Zombiphone]

Eesh, that's brutal. But everything's better when you get it on tape Well, provided you survive to watch the playback. It doesn't really make crashing suck any less, but at least you can analyze it later and get some outsiders' perspective, so you can come out even just a little wiser.

Really sucks to see your bike like that, but at least you were both in good enough shape to ride home. The possibility of crashing and being totally stranded in the middle of nowhere has always been one of the scariest things about riding alone in obscure canyons to me, so at least it worked out in that regard. Take it easy and give yourself some time to heal up before you worry too much about your bike.

[rockNroll]

Just my 3 cents...

Pure panic, looks like you could easily take that corner faster than what you were going. Work on your lines... think about the corner before you're in it.

Glad you're above ground... it could have easily been worse.

[ninja250]

Morning after the crash I was already ankle deep in removed fairings and crash pieces making sure the bike is still rideable. Then I rode it 200 miles that same day with my bruises.
Seriously it would take a lot more than that to keep me away from fixing the bike the second I pick it up off the ground. I was working on it before the swelling even kicked in. It's perfectly rideable right now, just waiting on the bars and rearsets so it's not so goofy feeling. Of course the bent frame is odd too but I have to learn to like it until I get the good one in.

It's still rideable right now and I'll be riding it later today and all weekend. This is one tough little bike. I was back on the horse in a matter of seconds.
Posted via Mobile Device

[ninja250]

Ps
panic was definitely part of the equation, but not until I lost traction. The video does not show the front tire Chirping.
There is black tar throught Asphalt on this corner, I visited it yesterday. I'm willing to belt it helped cause this accident.
Posted via Mobile Device

[adri99an]

KC--we need to talk.....not now because my wife is yelling at me but I will post soon...glad ur okaayyyyyyy.......did the shadow sneak up on you...I know when I go from sunlight to shadow---its hard to adjust.....

There have been many a times when I'm up at GMR alone and some days the bike doesn't do what you want it to do and you have a close call....that's when I know I just need to ride my ride.....close calls tell me the Grim Reeper is tapping me on the shoulder....

[sixer]

EGADS! nin glad you made it out alive... riding is no joke... good luck with yer bike man...

[DarkNinja52]

glad to hear youre okay, ill post up a pic of my bike when i find my camera.. it'll make you feel better.. itll prob make me cry, but youll def feel better

[Tigress]

I'm definitely glad you can post on here and tell us your story so it will help others. I saw your gear, and it did its job. Sounds like your bike will be fixed in no time at all. Take care.

[petiteninja]

sorry to hear about your crash, i hope your road rash is healing well. neosporin is your friend.

just wondering...did you upgrade your front brake cable to a stainless steel line, ie. galfer or speigler?

[ninja250]

Yes,
I upgraded the lines and pads with Hel lines and EBC HH pads.

What I failed to upgrade was the fork internals and tires to match.

I was able to replicate what happened today during my 250mile ride on the bike. It was fork dive from me applying the brakes while dragging that caused the stock tire traction loss/tire chirping and ultimately me to panic and stand the bike up straight. I've never seen a fork dive like that on any of my bikes so I was not ready for it and panic at that speed was natural. I did not target fixate on a bush.. The bike chose it's own course once I panicked.

My panic went away quickly as I tried to turn it from the rail one last time but it was already too late. The road surface did not help any either.

It's extremely easy to dive the fork into traction loss on this bike. I did it today multiple times but let off the brake again immediately to regain traction. Only, I was not full tilt on my knee in a corner with guard rails on it this time.

The videos make the whole thing seem a bit slower than it was for some reason. You can't be doing 25 mph on your knee on a huge sweeper like that. I must have entered that corner at 40mph or so. Maybe faster. Not 100% sure.

[almost40]

I watched the vid and what struck me as interesting was that I could see your head in the mirror even during tight cornering. By the look of your shadow, I would have to add Improper body position to your list of mistakes.

Take a few Trackdays and LEARN.

I souldnt have been able to see your helmet in the mirror if you were in the correct body position. You had half your butt off the seat which is fine, but you head remained over the top of the bike which is a NO-NO