Different situations . Some people tell you to hang on and ride it out , other say push the bike away and just slide . But every accident's different ...

I can't tell you how to fall on a bike cuz I haven't been there. But when I am too drunk to stand up, I like to fall face first into a huge set of knockers. If none are available, a soft couch or a bed will do. However, 9 times out of 10 it is one my face or ass in the dirt.

I know when I belonged to a bicycle club they always told us to go down holding onto the handle bars because alot of people who fell had put out their hands to stop the fall, (natural reaction) but ended up breaking their collarbones. Like md86 said, every situation is different.

IMHO:

Seek a KungFu or Jujitsu dojo in your area and sign up. Then tell the instructor that you are specifically interested in learning to fall well (toss & roll out), specifically for potential motorcycle accidents. Enjoy the other parts of the instruction as long as you are at it!

Yes, every accident is different, and in very few cases will you really have the opportunity to maximize your learnings, but it did let me walk away from a magnificent highside with just a scratch rather than being dead -- it's those extreme cases where it can really make a difference.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

I know I made a joke of the post....but seriously, when the time comes I doubt you are going to have the time or the nerve to try to do what you think it is you have to do. In the split second it takes for something to happen, 99.9% of the time physics dictate what you are going to do. and besides, trying to "do things" just result in even more harm....like trying to dig your heels in to stop sliding down the road on your butt. the rash on you ass can result in a flip on your face. that is the reason drunk drivers survive so many wrecks without injury....the are "loose". so about the only way to really protect yourself in a spill is not to spill at all. but I must confess I am not sure about hanging onto the handlebars like katman05 mentioned. It might work ok on a bicyle, but I think with travelling at hwy speeds I will take a broken collar bone over my my head planting into the pavement. Even if it reduces the impact by 50%, it will be a small price to pay over head injury. But depending on the spill, there is a good chance your grip will be ripped from the grips anyway.

Obviously, I can't speak for any experiences except my own, but I will say this:
In seriously drastic situations, the sudden adrenline rush slows time dramatically. People can review pretty much their entire lives in the fraction of a second in this state (I know I have). They can also use any advantage they can get if they find themselves in such a situation.

In my particular case where it made the huge difference, it was knowing that I had to get as far away from the bike as possible (highside happening, no way to stop it at that point), so I literally launched from the bike like a diving board, using all my leg strength to push me up and away (purely fear -- because the idea of the bike striking me as it cartwheeled scared me far more than the idea of me smacking the ground by myself). Then, mid-flight, bike cartwheeling somewhere behind me, with seemingly almost infinite time on my hands, it was thinking about how to best land -- which where the martial arts training came back in and made my decision for me: yanking my limbs into position for a proper fall-tuck, tucking my chin against my chest, hitting the ground like a soccer ball and rolling, then bringing my arms out and slapping down with them (at the same instant I straightened my back out again) to stop the roll. The bike came flipping along behind me, then skidded another dozen or so bike lengths to end up just a few inches shy of me. Probably the best damn combination of snap-emergency-decisions I've ever made in my life, and I know very well that I could have died that day. The fact that I walked away unscathed is virtually miraculous, and if I was a more religious person, I would claim God intervened for me...

If you are going into a high-side or low-side and it's committed (i.e. - it'll happen no matter what at that point), IMHO, do not try to hold onto the bike -- try to distance yourself as far from it as possible. Your body might help cushion the bike from damage, but it's far cheaper to replace or repair a bike than it is to fix you.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

I guess I can relate to that. I was only speculating. I have no experience except on moto-x.....and in my experince, I didn't have time to do squat. It was "smack"...into the dirt.
But then again, the speeds are not the same and a moto-x does not react the same way as a streetbike does an asphalt.

No hang time for you, 'eh?



Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

My last crash, one second I was slowing down, the nexy I was going over the bars, and then somehow I managed to come back down, and land on my feet.

Physics is pretty crazy.

the best thing ive found.. (5 crashes now lol)

is stay relaxed (hard i know) as posible, you tend to break bones a lot less.

i learnt to roll much as posible, with skateboarding (falling from a 10ft wall at speed will teach you lol). im yet to break a bone skating, and every accident bar a lowslide ive just stayed relaxed and rolled with it, and come out with only minor bruising and scratching.

in the lowslide case, just slide with your arms and legs up, having them hit the ground can cause you to tumble and cause breakage.

cheers.joe.

In a low side crash let the bike go...lift your legs and if possible slide on your butt and elbows. Most jackets have lots of protection in the elbow area just for that. Never try to stop the slide...just slide feet up till you stop.

Everyone that I've talked to always says to make certain that you've stopped moving before attempting to get up.

that's where instinct comes in. In JuJitsu they teach you how to fall properly (like CP said). when I fell off a horse (bloody thing decided it wanted to run up and then down a hill with me on it) I just instinctively rolled out of the fall and got right back up on my feet (coulda been a nasty spill - he was going fast !). and when I crashed on the bike I fell "properly" and ended up only getting my knees banged up - like CP said, most ppl tend to reach out with their arms to break the fall which causes them to either break their wrists or collarbones (same thing with snowboarders) but I managed to have no upperbody damage (cuz I landed on my forearms with my head turned to the side).
the trick is practice...you have to practice these things (in the dojo...not on the bike :P) so that they come naturally and you don't have to think about it (if you have to take the time to think about it it's too late).

is there a right way???dont wear shorts!