MISTAKES: A common theme in crashing

[FemmeLaMoto]

I will need to re-read this and re-new my no crash policy. Siiigh.

 

[Jaspet]

First off, great post - I'm ecstatic I found this site and am very much looking forward to learning what I can here. Already learned a lot and I'm still on my first visit to the site.

Yes, wow, I just found this site and it's great to see some excellent riders. Your throttle point is accurate. Also, do street riders really use their rear brakes? I never did really in the dirt, unless messing around, and find myself rarely hitting the rear in the street, and can't remember if I did when in the street years ago. May be I'm riding the street wrong, I don't know, or just riding too slow, I guess.

Secondly - I'm months late on joining this conversation, but by scanning the replies, no one ever replied to the above question about using rear brakes... (if I missed it, my apologies). YES, street riders DO use rear brakes, if braking with correct technique, when traveling in a relatively straight line (no to little lean - but then ANY significant braking is a no-no when involved in any significant lean - only so much traction to go around). Your question begs a recommendation to take an MSF rider safety course for beginners - whether you've got years of riding under your belt or not - you (as I did, even though I'd been riding street for a few years before I finally took it) will learn things there that are not intuitive but are invaluable and even indispensible in keeping you alive and whole on a motorcycle. Other barfers will no doubt have much more experience and expertise to share than I, but from my experience and understanding, the rear brake used in tandem with the front is the most effective stopping technique, when used in proper proportion. 70+% of the braking power is in the front brakes due to the physics of a moving body (bike and rider); the other 30-% can only be aided by the rear brakes - that's why they're there! Trick is getting to know your bike, its brakes and having your rear brake pedal adjusted correctly so you can balance the front and rear braking properly to achieve maximum braking power without locking up the front or rear. Takes practice, but you can definitely stop in a shorter distance using both front and rear rather than just front. Worth taking the time to practice, too.

 

[itisagoodname]

Very helpful info! I was lucky to have heard the "Relax" part before i even started riding. That saved my ass once going through Daly City in the fog. I was taking an off-ramp and there were 3 sets of the slick reflective dots across the lanes going through the turn. Those are quite slippery when wet and i felt the back end slide as i rode across the first set, the front got squirly but i knew enough not to fight it. Sure enough the back slid out over each of the 3 sets but i was able to recover each time. VERY scary especially since i was inexperienced ad the time and it was an overpass with a 25' drop and no shoulder.

 

[xxgr3ddyxx]

excellent write up man. very educational

 

[Swankster]

Over time... I have put my mind in the right frame of mind before commencing my mountain rides.
Unlike the street where I totally pay attention to my surroundings and be on the defensive; I'll first leave my "EGO" at home, something you younger guns likely have a hard time doin, seriously! I've been there, done that.
It gets the better of you believe me.
Although It's a rush to ride aggresive as Shit, it's probably more difficult to ride smart, with discipline and with proper throttle control.
I feel great after riding a smart, brisk pace and evaluating the ride afterwards with a nice cold one or two.
It's those rides where you say to yourself, Holy Shit! I got lucky and entered that turn and others with mistakes.
That stuff catches up to you eventually as the first post implied.
Best,
Swankster

 

[GixSix]

Thanks for the post! Lots of good info.

 

[GirlCurves]

Thank you for posting your wisdom. As a newbie I appreciate the advice of those who know so much more than I do about riding.

 

[Godsdarling]

Awesome post! And avoiding dangerous objects is very true. One of my friends had a brother who laid his bike down and he hit a sign post which severed his leg. If he could have avoided that post he would have come out of it unharmed. As it was he lost his leg at 23.

 

[MotoMatthew]

The best advice I ever got regarding blowing a turn, DY etc. was "You won't make the turn if you don't try to make the turn"(very Yoda like I guess) Many riders before you have made this turn faster than you are now preparing to blow it. If they could make it through, perhaps you can too. If you don't at least attempt it, your failure is guaranteed.

This is the mantra I have in my head as a new rider navigating the twistie stuff. I know for a fact that I'm NOWHERE near the full lean angle of my bike, so if I start to worry I'll overshoot a turn (for my own comfort level, not beacause I'm at the traction level of the bike at that point), I just have to calm down and push the bike further. I know this won't get me through every situation, but I think it's still good advice for someone who still has a bit of chicken strips on their tires.

 

[ThinkFast]

Yes, wow, I just found this site and it's great to see some excellent riders. Your throttle point is accurate. Also, do street riders really use their rear brakes? I never did really in the dirt, unless messing around, and find myself rarely hitting the rear in the street, and can't remember if I did when in the street years ago. May be I'm riding the street wrong, I don't know, or just riding too slow, I guess.

*some* street riders use their rear brakes and tend to under use or skip the front brake because they never learned how to use it properly, resulting in long stops/high sides. Think big heavy cruisers rather than sport bikes, etc. Anyway, your dirt training should be very helpful to you on the street (just don't go backing it in going around corners at intersections in the city ).

 

[Holeshot]

Wow 2 years old and still as fresh to me as the day I penned it! Keep safe girls and guys!

 

[AutoTuneKills]

EXCELLENT POST! great point on everything

 

[David Saint]

One very important thing to remember and practice: MISTAKES aren't usually what leads to an accident, YOUR REACTION TO THAT MISTAKE is.

Iow, when we lose the rear end, that is not what causes are accident, rather our reaction to that action is what puts us on the ground. It's our reaction to something that happened different from what we expected. There is a method to help with recovering from mistakes/ unknown quantities and that's not focusing on what just happened, but what you WANT to happen next.

If we blow a DY corner and end up in the other lane, it's far past the time to concentrate on why we blew the double yellow, how stupid this must look, or getting back on track as soon as possible. What should happen is a process for all mistakes/ unknown quantities (by that, I mean a car pulling out in front, etc). Once the DY is blown, it's time to evaluate the best course to safety. 99% of the time it's going to be riding back to the correct side of the road. Some situations may dictate that's not the best course of action (perhaps you're so far over the DY, you'd be best to pull off the far side of the road and stop if possible). So first, evaluate where you are and what your best course of action is. A common mistake in blowing the DY is to keep the speed up, yet try to get back to the other side of the road as fast as possible. This can exacerbate the issue of an accident as your closing distance from oncoming lane traffic is decreasing quicker not due to oncoming traffic, but due to the overexuberance to get back into the correct lane.

1. CUT YOUR SPEED IF IT'S THE SAFEST COURSE OF ACTION. Modern brakes on cars/ bikes work very well. Opposing traffic will cut their speed as well if they have good reactions. There's no need to accelerate towards opposing traffic if that can be avoided.

2. DO NOT FOCUS ON WHAT JUST HAPPENED. I can't tell you how many times I've instructed/ followed riders who ride off track and back on, shaking their heads and slowing down. The fact of the matter is, there is little danger now that they're back on track. The incident is over and there's another turn coming up. Some will crash in the very next turn due to focusing on what just happened and not what is going to happen next. Once a mistake is made, it's made. Don't rehash the mistake until you're on safe terms. We can't take back time, we can control what happens in the future.

3. FOCUS ON YOUR PLAN FOR SAFETY/ RECOVERY. Many times, depending on the situation, this will be reactionary/ instinctive. When the rear slides, we roll off a tad and try and hook the rear tire up, listening to the engine note as we do so. It's mostly instinctive it happens so fast. When we blow a corner, we have a much more complicated recovery plan, where we need to scrub speed, look for our turn in/ look for our exit, and look for other bikes (this is a track scenario).

4. SIGHT YOUR PATH TO SAFETY. Find a route to safety, by avoiding the biggest risk factor (usually this is an auto). Collisions that are multi vehicle are something I'd avoid at all costs. Spot a clean route and go for that route.

5. ACCEPT THAT YOU MAY CRASH, BUT NOT INTO THE MOST DANGEROUS OBJECT. This is likely going to be a highly controversial point, but there are times when there is just no chance you're not going to crash. Aim to put your bike/ trajectory away from the most dangerous objects. Some people speak of "having to lay it down". This is NOT that ridiculous statement. Your bike will stop far better with brakes than on the ground sliding. However, if you've blown a DY so bad that getting back to your side before hitting opposing traffic is a reality, it may be best to continue on across the stream of traffic. Horrible thought, but if there's runoff on the other side, it may be worth the chance. Yes, you will crash your bike there too, but with less variables. You can (and many many racers do...if you watch moto racing) ride out a run into the dirt. You cannot ride out a collision with an auto/ bike head on.

6. PLAY OUT SCENARIOS IN YOUR HEAD. Play out the "what would you do if..." scenario. Train your mind to respond only to the most important stimulus when in a panic situation when going about daily life. Accident recovery is about being a prepared rider and a mind that can assign critical tasks while avoiding non critical ones. If we blow the DY, let's not panic and lock up the rear brake...instead let's focus on using the front brakes (the bike's still under control) and sighting our escape route.

7. LEARN TO MOVE YOUR HEAD IN PANIC SITUATIONS. Move your head and eyes...take it all in, so you don't target fixate. Mentally assign your brain to handle the most complex task. We don't care about how our friends view us now, nor how embarrassing this is. We care about making it back to safety.

Alright...now let's ride!

Just crashed Sunday before last. No major damage. Avoided catastrophe by relaxing and looking for the safest place for the bike to be... "Find your happy place, baby".

Had less than three seconds to get her into the dried mud and dirt, while avoiding a car, a pole, several trees, traffic on my left, car on my right...and fear.

Bailey Road North EXIT. Hazy. Moderate Traffic. Cut-off by lowered Green Honda Civic.
Could not commit to beginning of turn.

Should have down shifted quicker, braked harder, hit my internal reset button, and dropped into a right turn lean. (Hindsight)

 

[Holeshot]

Dave, I'm glad to hear you're alright! Gnarly shit man...sounds like you did ok considering you're still here posting with some busted equipment. We've all felt that before.

 

[David Saint]

Dave, I'm glad to hear you're alright! Gnarly shit man...sounds like you did ok considering you're still here posting with some busted equipment. We've all felt that before.

LOL. I'm fine.
Rolled two or three times, popped up, picked up my bike and rode off.

Bike has zero structural damage. One cracked mirror. And one cracked corner of windscreen.

Items on their way. It was half dumb luck, a quarter skill, and a quarter fear.

What's really amazing is that you took the time to write something relevant, that is appreciated by so many of us.

Have you written a guide or a handbook, as of yet?

 

[marcoR1]

Let me give you some of my own experience. Mistakes when riding a motorcycle can mean injury or death because motorcycles require alot of experience, skill, and maturity to ride safely. So if you are going to ride a motorcycle especially a sport bike. You need to learn that a common mistake is not part of riding. If you are going to ride a motorcycle, learn to make zero mistakes when you are riding one. Thats part of riding actually and comes with more experience maturity on a bike.

 

[Capt Pie]

2. DO NOT FOCUS ON WHAT JUST HAPPENED. I can't tell you how many times I've instructed/ followed riders who ride off track and back on, shaking their heads and slowing down. The fact of the matter is, there is little danger now that they're back on track. The incident is over and there's another turn coming up. Some will crash in the very next turn due to focusing on what just happened and not what is going to happen next. Once a mistake is made, it's made. Don't rehash the mistake until you're on safe terms. We can't take back time, we can control what happens in the future.

This is HUGE in racing. I started racing 3/4 size Formula cars at a young age, and that was the biggest lesson taught. "for every moment you think about a turn you blew, you just lost a quarter second off your lap-time" After I got that through my thick skull, I pulled my best lap times ever.

Though this post is years old, still VERY valuable lessons here. This was my favorite one.

 

[bigorange1970]

I also believe that you could make most turns in front of you. I was not paying attention riding my R1 and a 25 mph corner snuck up on me while I was doing 70. If I were to stay straight I would have driven off of a 20' cliff into a giant oak tree. I pushed on the handle bar and made it dragging my foot peg all the way around. I wouldnt want to do it again but it made me realize the bike can do more than you think.

 

[LadyRider600rr]

I agree Bigorange! I am still learning to trust my bike around corners. But there have been a couple times where I got really scared and got really low in some corners because it was necessity driven, it was either push my bike to the limit or go off the road or into oncoming traffic. And by doing so I learned mor about trusting my bike. But sometimes, I still forget about how much I can trust my bike. I think though, if you don't have that trust, it can be as dangerous as lack of skill. What do you think?>

 

[Enchanter]

I think that if a rider has to more than occasionally trust their bike to get them through a high stress or high risk situation while riding on the street, then they should re-examine their judgment to see where their mistake actually starts. Having to trust the bike is an indication that the riders judgment and skill are sub-par.