Topped 61....and laid it down

First the bad news...Some old fart ran a yield sign and nearly mowed me down. Laying the bike down was the only way to keep from colliding and possibly getting run over.

Now the good news...I was half a block from the gas station and only going about 25-30 mph. I walked away with only a few scrapes and bruises. I think my bike is OK: big scratch on the fuel tank, small one on the muffer, and the right foot peg is a bit out ot whack. I was able to ride it to the dealership where they are giving it the once-over. The guy did stop and apologized and offered to pay for any damage. Still, kinda spoiled my day! Man, that old saying of "ride like you're invisible" rings extra true today. I'm just glad I had it reinforced semi-gently.

If I had not crashed today, the big news would have been getting 61 mpg last tank

 

Glad you did not get hurt , things can get VERY BAD VERY FAST on a bike.

hey time for some custom paint , sounds great !! woot.

 

Not to be mean, but coming from another biker. There should be no scenario where you HAVE to lay a bike down, if you haven't already you should take a m/c safety class and that is one thing they will reiterate to you many times.

Like you said ride like your invisible and always have an escape route.

 

A bike on its side and a rider sliding on the road will always have a greater stopping distance than a bike on two wheels. So you hit the car faster than you had to.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Go to www.msgroup.org , join up and post a description of your accident. You will get a lot of helpful suggestions, and although they might be blunt that your response was not the best, they will also take the time to explain why. Hopefully, the next time you will avoid a crash.

This is a great website for all riders.

 

Yes, yes....I've already been roundly criticized on another m/c site I visit. I will admit that I could have handled it much better but instinct (panic?) took over. Sorry to seem thin-skinned but I feel like I almost got ran over, scratched up my bike, the other guy violated the rules of the road (he admitted to the cop that he didnt see me or the yield sign) and the most common response from other riders that I've had was - "you shouldn't have laid down your bike."

I'll learn from this and ride more defensively but have been taken aback by that response. I guess I was hoping for a little more empathy.

 

It's easy to criticize when you're not sitting in the seat, huh?

 

Trun10,

Sorry I didn't give you more empathy. Crashing while riding, even a minor drop, is a big deal to the person it happens to. It's also a big deal to those who see it or hear about it as it kind of ruins the belief that nothing will happen.

Yes, experienced riders, once we hear you will be ok, want to help you avoid another similar crash. www.msgroup.org is probably a better forum than here to address that.

Gershon

 

Sorry you crashed, at least you walked away. The old saying that there are two types of riders, those who have crashed and those who will crash, really is true.

Fully expect to get hammered any time you mention having to "lay it down", any rider worth their salt knows that you NEVER have to lay it down. I'm sure this is something you know now.

Me? 41 years old, my first "car" was a motorcycle, a 1984 Honda 500 Interceptor. Road raced for 3 years (Honda Hawk GT and an Aprilia RSV Mille), now prefer riding dirt since crashing, while more frequent, is oh so much more enjoyable. Just sold a 2005 Ducati Monster S4R with a sweet 996 desmoquattro engine, currently looking for a much smaller and more efficient around-town and commuter bike, maybe a Suzuki DR-Z400SM to replace a KTM 625 SMC Supermoto I had a few years back.

Anyway, now go to a parking lot and practice panic braking for a few hours and you will never feel like you have to "lay it down" ever again.

Also do this in the rain (yes, I have done this) and you will be amazed at how quickly you can stop even on wet pavement.

 

Ride with a couple of fingers over that front brake, and whenever you come to a cross street of any kind tell yourself to get ready to brake.

The front brake will save you- brake that sucker as hard as possible and you will be surprised at just how rapidly you can stop. Almost any motorcycle now can stop in 30-35 feet after brake application at 30 mph.Reaction time is a bit under a second- or 40 feet at 30 mph(44 feet per second).The hand over the front brake lever saves several 1/10 reaction time.

Luck,
Charlie

 

I always practice hard braking just before I get new tires. May as well use the tread I have left before I get them changed.

It's not necessary to practice at speeds greater than 20 mph. Doing so may invite a crash trying to prevent one.

If you can practice until the point you leave incipient skid marks like the one in this video I made, then you have it down.

Then when faced with a situation like the one in this video it's possible to react without a crash.

There is a lot to riding and it takes practice to get it right.

 

Thanks for the good advice in the last few posts. I plan to adjust my riding to incorporate that stuff. And I appreciate how it was offered. Trust me, people (at least this person) will listen to advice much more closely if you do not start off by implying they are an idiot.

Lessons learned/re-learned:
1. Stay vigilant even in areas that seem "safe." Be extra careful (cover brake) at 4-ways.
2. Practice my emergency procedures. (Hadn't done em since the MSF course a few months ago.)
3. Make myself as Visible as possible.

 

Trun10,

Sorry if I came across a little harsh at first. And thanks for listening. If you would like to learn more about riding than you can anyplace else, I'd suggest www.msgroup.org . It's a great forum. Flaming isn't allowed, so one can feel comfortable talking about mistakes.

Learning to ride is difficult and many make errors.

Gershon

 

Sorry you had to lay down the bike.

Don't pay any mind to those that tell you not to ditch a bike. With 42 years of riding. Sometimes one has to lay it down.

I remmenber once a Impala pulled right out infront of me. I mean right there. No amount of brake or flea flicker move was going to keep the bike from hitting this car. I stabbed the rear brake, flipped it side ways and let her go. I remember sliding on my back looking up at the bottom of the gas tank of this Impala feeling real good I didn't hit them with my body and the bike hitting them helped to wake them up. My new helment was ruined,,, The bike bent up bad. The car dented. and I didn't even have any rash.

I got to ride a lot this past weekend. Nobody was intrested in mpg in this crowd. Was mostly Harley riders. Man Im so glad I didn't buy one of those last year. Flat out over priced, slow, bad handeling junk IMHO. so i keep tucking it away for a new Roadliner.

 

Thanks P-shack. BTW, 42 years of riding is IMPRESSIVE. Anytime you want to drop some experience/words of wisdom on us, I'll be listening.

T

 

Don't feel too bad- the old saying is "it isn't IF you'll have an accident on a bike, it's WHEN and HOW BAD." Glad this one wasn't worse.
I did about $300 damage to my Triumph a few days ago. I stupidly parked it facing down hill. I was 40 feet away when it fell over.

 

I know this is a fuel economy forum, but I have to comment on this in case someone out there thinks its okay to "lay it down." I have "only" 26 years or road riding experience, at least 30 years of dirt riding, and 3 years or roadracing experience. I have raced WERA, CCS, finished as high as 4th in a D-Superbike race (out of about 40 riders), and was invited to the WERA Grand National Finals. In short, my skills on a motorcycle are fairly advanced.

You never, ever, ever have to lay down a motorcycle. In the time it takes for you to "stab" the rear brake and lay the bike on its side, you should have used BOTH brakes and already have stopped. Also, the weight of a bike creates significantly more friction on the ground than the weight of a rider alone. A 200 pound guy and leather/jeans on asphalt has nowhere near the frictional force of a 200 pound guy, a 500+ pound motorcycle, and rubber tires on asphalt.

And in case that doesn't convince you then here is a real life situation I experienced. I was riding with two other guys. One had a warped front rotor on his bike that he knew about, he had put off replacing it and was just using the front more. We were on the interstate and a car swerved in front of us (the old didn't see us bit), he hit the front not thinking about the warped rotor, so the front locked, tucked, and he fell. This was at maybe 60mph. I nailed my brakes and pulled over. His bike way in the highway a ways ahead and he was WAY ahead, he slid on his back for what seemed like forever.

 

I've been riding since 1973; owned many,many motorcycles- maybe 40 or so (I would buy them, fix them up a bit, and them sell them after having fun with/on them).

I've had several wrecks; they were my fault -leaving the side stand down etc. I doubt that laying a bike down is the right choice, but that isn't what always bothered me about "laying the bike down". What always got me, was how in the world would you have the time to make that decision, and the coordination to manage to do it first time out?? No one actually practices "laying a bike down" and when it came up here, I had to give it quite a bit of thought. If I had decided to lay a bike down, I wouldn't have known how to do it until I thought about it for a minute or two.

Heck, you have to jam on the back brake then countersteer and lean to the side while leaning waaaaaay back. If you just jam on the rear brake and steer or lean to either side, you are likely to get pitched over the bars. I don't think I could bring myself to just lean that bike into the asphalt- even if I thought it was the best thing to do.

I don't think I could manage it first time out. Besides in the wreck I had that involved hitting something hard braking worked(I misjudged an onramp and decided to straighten out and brake rather than steer harder and lean it over more) . I was down to 5 mph or less at impact- my knees dinged the tank, but otherwise no damage. Being filled with Vodka didn't improve my judgement . It was 28 years ago when drinking and riding was common - not smart, but common.

Not taking a swipe at anyone, but how did you manage to lay it down? Did you give it a bit of thought beforehand?


Thanks,
Charlie

 

Honestly Charlie, it was more of a semi-controlled, mostly instinctive, bail-out, nothing planned or practiced. If you really are curious about it, try this thread: http://www.beginnerandbeyond.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3732 It will give you the whole "laying it down" discussion ad nauseam.

I've learned some lessons and I'm moving on.

T.

 

Trun10- thanks. Makes sense - the instinct to move away from the point of impact might be enough. I never had much time- just enough time to get a death grip on the front brake. Funny,I remember hearing this scream/grunt coming out of my mouth right before impact. It just came out !

Glad you are ok- one of life's lessons.
Charlie

 

I know all about braking on a bike. Love the fact that I can stop one at almost painful rates of deceleration. But when a car comes out of a walled off parking lot 10' infront of you. Traffic in the lanes coming at you. The bike is going to hit the car. And Im not going to be on it when it happens.

I hate to hear of a fellow rider laying it down. Be it there fault, the cages fault or hidden dangers like oil or antifreeze on a road surface that can't be seen. Its going to happen.