yay. i'm no longer a crash virgin

[phrills]

not so much crash, but fall..

so here it is..

i was leaving a xmas even dinner and was making a left turn.. i was going a little faster than i had to into that turn at about 20 mph.. then woop.. out goes the bike and down i go.

it was quite an interesting experience. maybe someone can tell me why you guys think the i went down? me going too fast? tires cold? i dont know.. i just want to learn from this and move on

moreover, im a little discouraged as a rider as well.. i was really disappointed at myself after i did that. and now im also a little hesitant.

gear: shoei rf100, joe rocket super ego, jeans, sneakers

results: rashed left hip, knee, and ankles

ps: words of encouragement are much needed if possible

 

[brichter]

Going too fast.

<edit>Perhaps I was too brief.

Rule #1: Rider must adjust speed for all conditions present at the time of his riding the motorcycle. If you were riding on cold tires, you should have been going slower, hence the cause of the crash was going too fast. :teeth

As others have pointed out, crashing will occur at some point in your riding career. I guess you've learned the value of good gear now, time to catch the big sales on Tuesday and fatten up the "Gear Section" of your closet. Personally, I wear jeans on my commute to work, everything else is moto-specific gear including CE armor in my jackets. Under my jeans are full knee/shin guards, I just pop them out when I arrive. I haven't had to crash test them yet, but then, we don't actually plan to use gear when we ride, do we? Any time I may have a tendency to speed things up a little, out come the leather lowers.

Sounds like you got a gentle reminder from the mc rider gods, and you're not too badly injured and have taken notice. Good job and get back on it. :thumbup

 

[Frisco]

Sorry about your little spill!

Did you analyse the scene? Probably a bit of gravel on the road, would be my guess. You may feel stupid, but everyone who rides has done this sort of thing. My best advise is to do your best to understand what happened and learn from this experience.

CJ

 

[Frisco]

Also, post up so others can avoid the same mistake.

CJ

PS - sorry for the double post

 

[Ironbutt]

Here's words of encouragement and some humor. Don't worry about this get off, you've learned three valuable lessons. One is possibly riding to fast for conditions. Two is not having on gear to protect you from the rash. And three.. Knowing now that the another reason we wear full face helmets is? So that noone will know who you are, when you go down. :shhh

Kidding aside...

If you feel hesitant maybe attending another riding class will help shore up some of the basics but if you think you have that covered then it'll help to know crashing happens to the best of us. That's why there's so much protective gear out there.

 

[MrCrash]

i was leaving a xmas even dinner and was making a left turn.. i was going a little faster than i had to into that turn at about 20 mph.. then woop.. out goes the bike

Just like ya said. Cold tires and going a little too fast, and you've got problems.

There are some traction management techniques you could apply that would have helped, (weight on the outside peg, standing the bike onto the slide using your bars and outside footpeg) - but as you know, things happen rather quickly when there's not a lot of traction to work with.

Sounds like you're ok for the most part. Might want to look into wearing moto-x knee and shin guards under your street clothes if you're not going to be wearing leathers.

 

[Ratters]

Well, the first lesson is to get some leathers.

But just get back on and go. You were as others said probably going a little to fast on cold tires, they take a long time to warm up in this cold weather. Plus there can be moisture on the street or leaves or gravel or you went over a damp pot hole. Most of us have gone down at some point. Just get back on, learn from your mistakes and go on riding. Try to get out early tomorrow before the rain starts.

Make sure to check your bike thoroughly before your ride to make sure you haven't bent or broken anything important.

 

[phrills]

thanks so much guys for all the input and support; it's always something i can rely on here.

anyhow.. i did end up breaking off my shifter. so i must order another one of those..

again.. thanks so much. im definitely going to re-evaluate everything over and over so that this situation would be less likely to happen again.

 

[Abunai]

I find myself riding faster when i'm feel'n the chills. Dressing warm keeps me from rushing things.

 

[redline]

Thanks for the write up. I wanna hear more about the type of turn. Was this a standard 90 degree right at an intersection? Were you turning right from a full stop (like exiting a driveway?)

The reason I ask is because I see some people hit the throttle while they're still leaned over. If conditions are good, you can get away with it, if not, I think you fall without time to save the bike. Although it's normal to apply a little throttle through the turn, I usually wait until after the apex of the turn (as the bike is straightening up) to really roll on heavy acceleration throttle.

 

[redline]

Oh, PS. RE: "moreover, im a little discouraged as a rider as well.. i was really disappointed at myself after i did that. and now im also a little hesitant.
"

When I feel like that, I cruise to the same spot and take the turn about 10 times in a row or more at extra slow pace until the turn no longer seems so foreign. Usually, in the process, I find something about my technique that needs work.

Don't be too rough on yourself. You recognize that you have an area to improve on. Go back and improve on that mistake and you'll be a better rider for it. Look at the bright side: slow crashes hurt less. I'll take a 10 mph crash over a fast crash anytime!

 

[phrills]

Thanks for the write up. I wanna hear more about the type of turn. Was this a standard 90 degree right at an intersection? Were you turning right from a full stop (like exiting a driveway?)

The reason I ask is because I see some people hit the throttle while they're still leaned over. If conditions are good, you can get away with it, if not, I think you fall without time to save the bike. Although it's normal to apply a little throttle through the turn, I usually wait until after the apex of the turn (as the bike is straightening up) to really roll on heavy acceleration throttle.

it was just a normal 90 turn onto a street from a full stop.

i actually was throttling through out the whole turn.. i never thought of that. thanks so much for the feedback. now that i know that, it'll be ingrained in my head!

 

[phrills]

Oh, PS. RE: "moreover, im a little discouraged as a rider as well.. i was really disappointed at myself after i did that. and now im also a little hesitant.
"

When I feel like that, I cruise to the same spot and take the turn about 10 times in a row or more at extra slow pace until the turn no longer seems so foreign. Usually, in the process, I find something about my technique that needs work.

Don't be too rough on yourself. You recognize that you have an area to improve on. Go back and improve on that mistake and you'll be a better rider for it. Look at the bright side: slow crashes hurt less. I'll take a 10 mph crash over a fast crash anytime!

Thanks for the words of encouragement and support; very much needed. A community like this is just what everybody needs.

 

[greener]

Have you taken the MSF course?
If not, I highly recommend it.
Think of it as a few hours of proactive crash analysis that spares you from actually having to crash first

 

[plambert]

moreover, im a little discouraged as a rider as well.. i was really disappointed at myself after i did that. and now im also a little hesitant.

gear: shoei rf100, joe rocket super ego, jeans, sneakers

results: rashed left hip, knee, and ankles

ps: words of encouragement are much needed if possible

I totally understand what you mean about the disappointment and other negative feelings. I wiped out on Sun. for the first time, and it really bummed me out (as a new rider taking pains to do everything the right way). Same as you, low speed, with little damage. I guess you feel better over time, and it's good to think of it as a learning experience.

(I'll post my crash up here a little later too.)

 

[Honey Badger]

My first lowside was similar - only not from a complete stop, but a left turn onto another street.

At the time, I knew cold tires and cold roads had something to do with it. After a while, I also realized that I had target fixation and poor body positioning for cornering.

The first three you can fix immediatly and keep in mind. Body positioning, and learning how, and when, to weight your pegs will come with time.

There are several things you can take from this - factor in unknowns (weather, oil, etc), and adjust for visibility. Get more gear (took me awhile to get it all - I had a textile armored jacket, helmet, heavy jeans, and workboots - , but I also didn't end up rashed). Analyze what happened. Realize that things happen really fast.

And here's how you can avoid my second crash don't overestimate your abilities. Just because you're learning how to corner better, and getting all kinds of new ideas, does NOT mean that it is habit, and when you REALLY need it (as in unannounced switch backs), it won't be there....

Keep riding, just take it slow. Took me a little while before I was comfortable again - my hubby had a worse crash his first time, and he's still taking his time (granted, he doesn't ride as much, either - miles make a difference).

Too many of us have been there (in my case, more than once), but if you live, learn from it. Keep in mind though, that you were lucky, and take your time from now on.

 

[scalvert]

The thing which still amazes me is how much better a rider I am now (2 years AFM, 6 years/75k miles street) than I was even one year ago. While I understand the frustration you feel, it's important to learn that riding requires a fairly deep set of skills. That is, the things you need to do to control a motorcycle year in and year out in a variety of conditions require serious time, reps, and effort to master.

We've all been in your shoes and it's not easy. The best thing you can do is to learn all the lessons this crash has to give and ride on. Take comfort in the fact that while, yes, you did make choises that led to a loss of control and crash, you also made choises that kept the damage to yourself and your bike to a minimum.

After straightforward application of the basics, there are an array of techniques/habits/skills which you'll develop over time making these sort of incidents less likely but still very possible:

1) Situational awareness. At night, in the cold, reflexes are poor, motor control less than optimal, visibility for spotting dirt/water/leaves/etc is reduced, and tires and pavement have less grip. All these are worst at the beginning of a ride. It's important to actively assess these sorts of situational risks and scale your speed and line choises accordingly.

2) Throttle control. Nobody is as smooth as they could be. Even the top AFM riders are ham fisted hacks commpared to GP racers, and neither of us are top AFM'ers. Never stop working on your ability to make all control inputs feel as continuous and seemless as sliding an ice cube down a pane of glass. In this case I'd bet money that a smoother hand could have found more traction.

3) Mental focus. Combining a bike and daily life is it's own skill. You might be tired, cold, worried, getting sick, angry at your dog, etc, but on the bike none of that matters. Making certain you've got your mind 100% on riding is harder than it sounds and only happens if you constantly work at it. Time and experience will make it easier, but only if you can avoid complacency.

4) Feeling the bike. Bikes really do talk, but the language is subtle. A tire at 60% of availible grip and 80% do feel different. It's the rider's job to learn the tiny vibrations and subtle signals that a tire gives when it's headed from trouble. The next time a tire tries to slide on you and you'll probably feel it coming a bit sooner, maybe soon enough to catch it.

I'm a strong believer in the value of track time, even for riders with no interest in racing or even sport riding. The racetrack is an environment where all the harder skills of riding can develop rapidly. I say a decent set of off the rack leathers and a weekend at the track would be a perfect way to put the emotions of the crash behind you while learning the skills that will help you avoid the next crash.

 

[shw911]

and remember to buy the best gear you can afford. Forgetting that your legs can get hurt also is a mistake. If you HAVE to wear jeans, please get some knee/shin guards AND some hip protectors like the 661 bomber shorts with built in hip pads. It's only about $60, but getting rash on your hips isn't hip. LOL