[Jcates888]

Basically, treat any gravel or sandy areas as you would any other slippery surface - slow down and don't lean any more than you have to. I know nobody wants to slow down and avoid leaning for a turn, but it beats dropping the bike.

[spencer volk]

Feces,Ive been ridin for 25 years...still ok...2 accidents 1my fault because I went around a corner with kickstand down(no switch)and ended up pitching my *** into a fence....that was 10 years ago....so whats my point?
dont mess with the stock safety measures.
don't show off
we bikers are but just goldfish in a pond of pike...
gear up,stay aware,and know your machine!!AMEN

[nny420]

Back when i first started riding ('86) I laid my first bike, a Honda CX500 deluxe, down several times at under 5mph in gravel parkinglots by locking up the front wheel.

Awesome my first bike was an '80 cx500 deluxe... i took it down twice in this mannor. Hence why I always where gloves now. man I thought 80 was fast! I was also 17 at this time. And only rode for the summer.
Jump ahead a couple years I got to use my dads '81 1100 goldwing. Thankfully I never put it down. Only rode it a few timed when he had it... that was 07 last time I rode a bike till I got my kat.
I just got my kat about 3 months ago. And put about 2000 miles on it.
I've had to learn a few lessons

1,2, and 3: I ran out of gas about 3 or 4 miles from town. pushed the bike about a mile...up hill... learned about reserve the next day. But in pushing I dropped it away from me 3 times... after the third time I just sat down on my helmet till some old guy stopped and offered me some gas. I was so mad but no real damage cause I had frame sliders .

4: I was in gravel moving the bike while slightly apart and I was wearing Birkenstock sandals. The Kay was too heavy it just drug me and slowly fell over away from me and my gas tank fell off and dented.

5: I ride every day on the mostly wet oregon coast.and about 2 months ago I took a corner t with as hard a lean as I could... wanted to see how well she does when wet. Well I pushed it to far and she slipped right out from under me. Slid about ten feet from me. Broke passenger peg and right mirror.

6: 4 days after I replaced my mirror about 3 weeks ago I had a guy stop suddenly halfway in the turn lane. I hit my breaks and went down hard. About 40 was my speed. I bounced off my shoulder back up up to a run off hwy101. The Kat took a lot . the right mirror was broken the right fairing was all scratched up my frame slider broke off. That one hurt.;

[edromero]

Awesome my first bike was an '80 cx500 deluxe... i took it down twice in this mannor. Hence why I always where gloves now. man I thought 80 was fast! I was also 17 at this time. And only rode for the summer.
Jump ahead a couple years I got to use my dads '81 1100 goldwing. Thankfully I never put it down. Only rode it a few timed when he had it... that was 07 last time I rode a bike till I got my kat.
I just got my kat about 3 months ago. And put about 2000 miles on it.
I've had to learn a few lessons

1,2, and 3: I ran out of gas about 3 or 4 miles from town. pushed the bike about a mile...up hill... learned about reserve the next day. But in pushing I dropped it away from me 3 times... after the third time I just sat down on my helmet till some old guy stopped and offered me some gas. I was so mad but no real damage cause I had frame sliders .

4: I was in gravel moving the bike while slightly apart and I was wearing Birkenstock sandals. The Kay was too heavy it just drug me and slowly fell over away from me and my gas tank fell off and dented.

5: I ride every day on the mostly wet oregon coast.and about 2 months ago I took a corner t with as hard a lean as I could... wanted to see how well she does when wet. Well I pushed it to far and she slipped right out from under me. Slid about ten feet from me. Broke passenger peg and right mirror.

6: 4 days after I replaced my mirror about 3 weeks ago I had a guy stop suddenly halfway in the turn lane. I hit my breaks and went down hard. About 40 was my speed. I bounced off my shoulder back up up to a run off hwy101. The Kat took a lot . the right mirror was broken the right fairing was all scratched up my frame slider broke off. That one hurt.;

Have you had any training? A lot of his sounds like unecessary heart burn that could have been avoided with some knowledge and skill

[nny420]

Motorcycle safety class is on my list. All my experience is self taught through trial and error and reading forums like this. Can't wait for the class

[randysway223]

A lot of the reason why n00bs drop their bike too, is because they don't have the proper gear. You do need gloves while riding, you do need boots. You do need to treat every bump and loose gravel as a danger. I would say that locking the front brakes is a big deal too. Also, get used to slowing to a stop, put BOTH feet down instead of just one.

[Tempted]

I've been lucky. Only thing I've ever laid down was my enduro in the snow. Came close on the Harley(oil slick) and the 2nd day I had the Katana I learned you can't park it on any down hill slope. It'll roll the stand the second you take your weight off it. Almost hit the ground before I caught it.

I've been riding a while, I'm a noob to this site but not bikes in general, and what I've seen most often is a noob that pops the clutch, then their wrist locks at 3/4+ throttle and dump the bike sideways. So I guess clutch modulation is my guess at the number one reason.

The thing about sport bikes is they have an uncommonly high COG when compared to cruisers. Its necessary, in order to attain the extreme knee dragging angles, that they keep the weight and bulk of the bike up high. Think of a bowling pin. When it sits normally, it is fairly stable. The mass of its weight is down low. This is a cruiser. Now turn the pin upside down and balance it on its head. Its much less stable. This is a sport bike. Its why an 800+lb Harley is easier to ride than a 500lb Katana.

[edromero]

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO
Thing is , man was not really MEANT to travel faster than they can run . So the problem when they CAN move faster than they can run is that what "feels right" , may not actually BE the right thing to do . You learn some of this the hard way , and those lessons stick . Or , you can read about them and practice . Might I suggest something ?

i just finished this one - its excellent

[FotoTomas]

As a new rider I have yet to lay it down for any reason BUT have come close several times with the front brake and a right turn at an intersection with a stop sign. Motorcycle school taught me better but learning to ride the street is different than a closed course. Learning on a Kat is probably not the best way to do it either. Is fun though!

[sekter]

My first drop was during a trip up in N. Carolina. We began riding around and there was a section of road where it went downhill a bit and then a sharp left hander. A bit too much speed on my part and inexperience caused me to run a bit wide and off into the grass I went. Fortunately it wasn't anything serious, and I was actually kinda glad to have been through the process once.

[theweekendhaslanded]

another bike runs into the back of you pushing the bike out from under you.

believe it or not but this happened to me on my riding lessons!! instructor popped his front tyre on my sprocket!

[default]

I've only dropped a bike once, and it was not mine.

Thankfully it was a standing still drop.

Before I attained my full UK bike license, when still on CBT ( for those outside the UK, you must ride no more than a 125cc until you have a full bike license) a friend allowed me to ride his Triumph 955, while he followed on my Honda 125. Obviously I had got away from him, so I pulled into an empty junction to allow him to catch up. I totally, completely, massively underestimated the actual weight of his bike, and at a standstill at the junction tried to turn the bike and it just fell.

Thankfully, no damage. Not a single scratch.

[Zone07]

1. Noobs tend to look down when they come to a stop causing them to lose their balance and going where they look; to the ground.
2. Lack of break control makes them lock their front break at low speeds causing them to shift the weight over quickly and unexpectedly causing them to lose balance.
3. When they go from a stop to a turn; they try to ease on the throttle to take off slowly but stall the bike as they are getting started causing the bike to lean over enough for them to lose balance.

1. Solution: Maintain you field of vision leveled at all times. Scan the ground well ahead of you prior to coming to a complete stop not as soon as you get to the stop; rely on your peripheral vision.
2. Solution: Practice your break response while going straight to get used to your bikes breaking. Also always squeeze the breaks don't snap them. Snapping or stomping on your breaks will lock the wheels.
3. More throttle and less clutch. Rev the bike higher and play with your clutch to ease into the turn. Play with your clutch and gas. Practice doing figure 8 turns in a safe place at low speeds by feathering the clutch and revving a bit high. The movement of the engine keeps the bike more balanced.

[StPeteKatRider]

Gravity?

[Yhearfear]

Id suggest loving ur clutch ur clutch can save ur life in multiple ways just ride safe out there helmet jacket and gloves goodluck take care of that katana