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How do you drive on fresh pea gravel?

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  • #1

    How do you drive on fresh pea gravel?

    I was riding home last night.... 9 miles of fresh pea gravel, and there was no turn off roads to escape. That was about the scariest drive I've ever had, especially in the corners. I wasn't going fast, so I just waved people pass me. Is that protocol, or am I driving like a woosie? I didn't have the courage to go above 35-40 MPH, because it felt like it was going to slide out from under me. Also, there were a few miles of 1 way traffic, so I ended up sitting for a while. I shut the bike off because I was afraid it was going to over heat... Is that the correct thing to do? I was sitting for about 10 minutes at a time. I changed my route so I don't have to go through that again, but it sure caught me off gaurd. Getting pinged in the neck by pea gravel by a cage going 65mph the other direction sucked too

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  • #2
    It sucks...


    There is a section of 2222 here in Austin I keep forgetting really sucks.
    It's oiled pea gravel. Solid but OMG.
    You don't feel like the tires are gripping and the front follows every
    little groove or inconsistancy..
    I took it the other day and went about 20...

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    • #3
      I think you did exactly what you should have...you played it safe and that was the best bet. I myself do not like riding on gravel and it can be a scarey experience. I would try to avoid that route if all possible from now on but I believe you did the right thing. Yea you probably could have went faster but its not worth the risk to find out. As for the bike overheating you probably didn't have to stop and shut it off unless it started getting a high idle to it but once again better safe than sorry. It sounds like you made the best decisions in this case and it wasn't a bad idea to wave the cars ahead of you..the last thing you need it some cager on your butt.


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      • #4
        Its better to be safe than sorry. 9 miles of gravel road where is that at.






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        • #5
          Originally posted by letsride
          Its better to be safe than sorry. 9 miles of gravel road where is that at.
          Hwy 63 between Red Wing (yes, the shoes and the pottery) and Lake City, MN.... along the Mississippi. Normally a nice ride.... Wierd part was, in the morning it was just fine... Ride home, not so much...

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          • #6
            Gravel and Dirt and other crappy things

            Gravels deifnately not fun if your not expecing it, and even worse in a corner but if your prepared its generally not that bad if your careful.

            More or less common sense but In that type of situation its best to rely on the back brake more than usual when you need it. You can lock up the front safely but for some reason only when the back is locked up first. Never use the front in a corner on gravel at any speed.

            Its all feeling really, my first ride running into a gravel road this year was a surprise but I purposly locked it up a few times and gave it too much gass here and there to explore how the bike reacted (new bike this year and its been like 10 years since I rode) and after 5-10 minutes i was pretty comfortable.

            Still lots of variables though, Depth of gravel, shape, whats underneath, wetness...

            my 2 cents.

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            • #7
              here in madison, there are two seasons, winter and construction.

              don't worry about going slow, allow for other motorists to pass you (leave room for them to pass, give them a signal, ect). i take my time with gravel, since i've heard way too many, "i spilled on gravel" stories.

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              • #8
                here in florida i live one several hundred acre farm and my house is in the middle there is a section about 100 yds long on sugar sand and it is always a experiance to ride on it but gravel road 9 miles long man you guys up north are tough






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                • #9
                  I've been dirt-bike riding for 30 years, and riding a street bike with performance tires on gravel scares the cheese whiz out of me still.
                  MikeG
                  Central Oregon
                  2006 Suzuki GSX600F
                  (That's a Katana for non-insurance-agent people!)

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                  • #10
                    Gravel road are really hard to negotiate. Heck, I don't even like groomed roads, especially when I had the Dunlop 205 tires on the bike. The front tire has that vertical groove that tracks along the surface making difficult to control the bike.
                    "The secret to life is to keep your mind full and your bowels empty. Unfortunately, the converse is true for most people."

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                    • #11
                      i've done alot of riding out on chip'n'seal / gravel roads in the middle of nowhere and it's always pretty stressful.

                      the main thing that i had to remember is to just forget about using the front brake on gravel. don't look at it, don't touch it, or even acknoledge it's existance. it will wash out from under you in a heartbeat... and i have the rashed fairing to prove it.

                      as for upsetting other motorists... they can get over it. don't follow them to close because they will throw all kinds of stuff up at you both accidentally and sometimes intentionally.
                      I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death. - George Carlin

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                      • #12
                        I've been reading an excellent motorcycling book, Street Strategies - A Survival Guide for Motorcyclists by David Hough.

                        He describes a situation where you enter a gravel road and the front wheel starts to plow in the deep gravel. Your instinct is to slip the clutch and reach out with your feet to help prevent a spill. But that doesn't work. He suggests you shift more of your body weight to the footpegs which places your weight lower and allows you to keep the bike more vertical. Choose a track that appears firmest, keep the engine pulling, and have conficence that the bike will plow through.

                        Sounds easy, but I'll bet it takes a lot of confidence to keep your feet on the pegs and hand in the throttle.

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                        • #13
                          Yep it sucks,,nothing you can do but what you did..notice the a-holes in the cages just wiz by you without a care in the world??

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                          • #14
                            That is one thing that always pi$$ed me off about MN, was that pea gravel stuff, and not putting up any sinage to let you know it was going to happen. They did that all over the UofM campus, and if I rode to work, I was screwed.

                            I would really look into making a complaint to the county that they should at least put signs up in advance so motorcycles can plan a different route. I can't beleive they did that on such a main stretch of road though down there.
                            Kan-O-Gixxer!
                            -89 Gixxer 1100 Engine
                            -Stage 3 Jet Kit / KNN Pod Filters
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                            -Various Other Mods

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                            • #15
                              I'm sorry, but I have to ask. What is pea gravel? Is it on unpaved roads? I grew up in NYC and have been living in South Florida for almost 15 years and I've never hit a gravel road that I can remember.

                              Only roads I really hate riding on down here is on the grooved pavement. Makes me clench my jaw a bit on clear days, but makes traction better on those torrential downpour days (June - September; 3:00 - 5:00 every day).
                              ****** WAS...Ma Ma Ma My Katana ******


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