Topic: Becareful out there

[SKTP]

So I'm totally fine and my Ducati M800ie is mostly fine (the Honda is still not together). But after 3.5 years of daily driving, I finally went down.

It was doing a left hand turn at an intersection that I have used everyday for 2 years. I was not going very fast (like maybe 8mph) and it totally surprised me. There was a pedestrian crossing where he really should not have been crossing (or trying to cross), that stopped the cars, 2 cars in front of me and the pedestrian turned back. Cars started to move again, I watched the situation and figured there's no way the dude would try to cross again, but he did. Stopping the pick-up in front of me, causing me to slam on my brakes. Out of nowhere my front wheel shot out front under me and I was on the road. It came out of nowhere, I'm still not really sure why it happened I guess I hit slippery paint or oil or who knows?

Luckily I was going pretty slowly and got away with out hitting or being hit by any traffic. I bent my bar pretty good and did some minor cosmetic damage. I have a sprained thumb, bruised shoulder and knee but I'm back out riding today, but it was a real eye opener, be careful out there. Totally random stuff can happen when you least expect it...

*** edit: wearing a padded racing jacket, kevlar gloves, thick jeans and high-tops totally saved me from greater injury. So happy I was wearing proper gear.

[flybox1]

WTF?  no walk signal or crosswalk?
peds are just as bad as cagers!
glad you're ok.  sorry about the bike damage.
probably locked up the front as it was un-loaded (weight). 
prob would have happened in the dry too,  unless ya got ABS!

[mystic_1]

Glad you're OK!

I watched the situation and figured there's no way the dude would try to cross again, but he did.

Never underestimate the stupidity of people.

cheers
mystic_1

[Duke McDukiedook]

Glad you're OK!

I watched the situation and figured there's no way the dude would try to cross again, but he did.

Never underestimate the stupidity of people.

cheers
mystic_1

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.

[Rosinante]

A 53 year-old motorcyclist was killed here yesterday.  His bike launched him onto a pole on an off-ramp.

Wear proper gear.

Be insanely over-cautious.

Know that, even following the above advice, your ass is hanging out in the cool breeze.

[Cuts Crooked]

My boss wrecked his Harley, Sunday. Sounds like a cage hit him coming off I-80, but I don't have the details yet. Broken wrist, broken arm, and six cracked ribs. He's schedualed for sugery to put a metal plate in his arm tomorrow.

[mycb750k6]

what's a cage?

[mystic_1]

Biker lingo for "car".

Likewise, a "cager" is the driver of said cage.

mystic_1

[nancy]

40+ year old rider was killed over here a week or 2 back while riding a Triumph up to meet his mate for a fishing trip. Never got there - rode into a combine harvester's thrashing prongs on the rear of a tractor as it was being towed across the road in front of him, on a blind bend.
One week earlier in same area a 39 year old wrote off his 73 Norton Commando and himself into the side of a farmer's pickup (ute as it's known here) that was cossing his path to turrn into a farm road...didn't notice the bike till it was inside his cab.

[BobbyR]

We have to remeber there is nothing between us and the ground but air, and Sh1t happens you never expect. Glad you are OK!

[Gaither]

SKTP

Glad it wasn't any worse for you and/or the bike. We've all been the victim of some dummy! Oh, and we all know the dummy came back to help you get the bike up and to offer to pay for your injuries and bike damage - "in a pigs eye" he did! All it takes is for some dummy to do something STUPID! Sorry he "got you".

Have to admit, I'm "still learning". You may have unknowingly done what I have almost done more than once. If you are almost stopped, have the front wheel turned even slightly and hit the front brake hard, the forks will compress and rebound hard just as the bike stops. With the wheel turned even slightly, the bike will do its best to bounce you off and lay down. You and the bike are off-balance as it rebounds and the bike immediately gets very heavy. Your foot is too close to the bike to get much of a brace to hold the bike up. May or may not be what got you.

I was bad about it starting out. Haven't gone down like this but have been very close to it. I try to center the front wheel just before I stop rolling - whichever direction I intend to go. And, I try to use the rear brake for that last bit of movement. May not happen to others but it has been a problem for me. I've learned to try to avoid this.

It ain't unique. While stopped at a light, a young fellow rode up behind me. I spotted him in the mirror and looked away. I heard the bikes engine "blip", looked back in the mirror - no bike and no rider visible. He was down! That is what got him - wheel turned slightly - hard on front brake the last foot or so - bounced him off to his left.

Traffic was heavy - light about to turn green. I got out, helped him pick the bike up - he was flustered and embarrassed but OK - likely skinned up his new crotch rocket. When they rebound like that they immediately get very heavy and it's hard to hold 'em up.

Whatever happened, glad it was no worse.

[rhos1355]

They say that statistically your probabilities of having a road traffic accident increase the closer you get to where you live.

[Retro Rocket]

They say that statistically your probabilities of having a road traffic accident increase the closer you get to where you live.

Thats true, i think people relax when close to home and let their guard down......stay alert and stay alive....

Mick

[BobbyR]

My take away from this is that I need an armored jacket. Now Ihave to get off my ass and get one.

[kirkn]

Glad you're OK.

IMO, pointing out how vulnerable we all are is NOT helpful, nor is ranting against cagers, pedestrians, etc!!  Encouraging us to wear all the gear all the time is only slightly better.

LEARNING what happened and PRACTICING to avoid it is the real ticket to not having it happen again.

I agree with Gaither as to what happened, although I suspect the front wheel skated out on you on the compression rather than the rebound.  Circumstances are nearly the same, though.  Slow speed, wheel slightly turned, sudden application of the brake.  Won't take much brake, either, with the wheel turned but no spinning gyroscopic wheel to keep things inertially upright.  And yeah, the paint etc could very easily be a contributor.  It would be very worthwhile on your next trip through that intersection to try and reconstruct exactly where you were and what other contributors there may have been.

The thing to practice is that 'reflex' hard squeeze on the brake.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not dissin' you, but I'm betting that if that reflex squeeze had been 'practiced out' of you, a controlled stop would've kept you upright and still missed the stopping truck.

A very similar reflex action is stomping on the rear brake, sending the rear end off on it's merry own way.  This happened to me in almost exactly the same situation:  left turning, stupid oncoming driver changing up at the last minute, truck in front of me stopping to miss stupid oncoming driver, me 'reflex' stomping on the rear brake, locking the rear wheel and sending it sideways.  Luckily for me, I eventually stopped before hitting the truck and the rear didn't step all the way out leading to a low side.  But again, it was the 'reflex' stomp that did me in.

AFAIK, the only way to 'practice' that out is to practice full-on hard instantaneous braking out in the boonies or in a deserted lot or whatever.  Over and over and over and get the feel for exactly how much strength is required, and get a feel for what your 'grip' feels like when applying how much braking.  Get your hand/wrist/arm/brain "used to" what all that feels like.  Get an idea of how this particular bike behaves under all this.

And of course, watch out for idiots and wear your gear... 

Kirk

[Duke McDukiedook]

Lowside.

[SKTP]

Thanks for all the comments....I am also factoring in brand new front brake pads into the equation...less than 1 week old.

The time after hitting the ground, time is a blur. I swore at the top of my lungs, picked my bike up like it was nothing (I always wondered how hard it might be to pick up?) and got the hell out of there....it seemed like 2 seconds from spill to get-a-way. I'm not even sure if the bike stalled or if I ever let go of the clutch? (That might explain my thumb sprain and inside skinning?) I'm very curious as to what the drivers around me thought about the situation. Not sure if that was the smartest course of action/reaction, but that's what happened...I think it was an excellent/yet crappy reality check.

[nobody]

I narrowly avoided two terrible accidents withing the last two weeks. The first was somebody turning left directly in front of me while I was doing about fifty with no room to swerve or avoid him. I came within three feet of kissing the side of his car as I desperately tried to slow myself. The second was a van changing lanes as I was coming up on his right. I was pushed into the gutter while my rear tire floated around loosely, doing what it pleased, handlebars mere inches from the side of this steel behemoth. Neither driver had an awareness of my presence.

These incidents have definitely made me aware of how truly vulnerable I am on two wheels, it's a scary realisation.

[tortelvis]

My neighbour went down a week or so ago on his Z1000. The bike sits outside in all weather, gets ridden about 3 times a year (he's 19). I arrived shortly afterwards and avoided going down myself. The State Trooper investigating had parked across some minivan's driveway and the minivan was stopped in the middle of the road on a hard right hander waiting to get in. Whay did I stay up and he went down? I don't know for sure what made him brake but there are many dogs that locals let run free and often I have to take avoiding action. I ride to the extreme left on a right hander and vice versa. This gives me more vision to see what's around that bend. Looking at his skid mark revealed two things; he was running to the extreme right of a right turn so had little warning of what was ahead; he obviously locked up his rear brake and never lifted off. The skid mark started at the extreme right and then curved to the left until he appears to have let off and ran it into the ditch on the opposite side of the road from where he started. So wrong road position and panic rear braking did for him IMHO. 100 yards up the road is tight right with a warning sign posted 20mph. A mate went around there going too fast. He left two skid marks as he let up after 1st locking the brakes then braked again, but alas, still too fast for that corner! 100 yards further is a sign with a pic of a farmer on a tractor. Guess what? There is a BUSY dairy farm right there and often I come around that corner to find a bloody great John Deere halfway across the road! The farm is divided by the road you see. So for goodness sake PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD SIGNS!!!! They aren't there just for show!