Rider down

[soccerlawn]

All right, I just posted this at DSB and copied it here, because I don't want to type up the info agian. So basically this is the first time I fell, here is the story.

Yah so who else had a chitty day, ohh yah that was just me. Any once I got the bike home I took off all the fairings, holy hell there is so much dirt and grass stuck everywhere. The engine, frame, fluid line are all good. But it needs a lot of tlc. I already bought pegs, mirror, lever, and rear brake from ebay.

So I screwed up, heres the story, I was behind tranner and I entered the curve to fast and caught up to him. I thought I got pretty close, I am sure that the more experienced wouldn't have worried, but me being a noob panicked and let off the throttle, as soon as I did that the bike stood up. I immediatley new I f-ed up, and got back on the throttle and continued to look through the curve, but a combination of not enough lean and not enough time put me in the gravel on the shoulder, and I slid down the grass area.

The one positive is that I slid on damp grass instead of pavement or gravel so I am okay, my wrist is still a little sore, I'll give it a day or so and see how I feel.

The house owners came out and said that several motorcylce mishaps have happed there, one resulting in a fatality.

Thanks to all the riders that stayed there with me and helped load her in the truck.

[ZukiFred]

Sorry to hear about your getoff..
Glad to hear that you are ok!!

[KSlawman]

Wet grass, does not get much better than that. Glad your OK, and the bike will fix.

[TheKlic]

Well, you're learned a lesson, it's all part of it.

[omega0003]

Glad you're ok. It could have been much worse.

[soccerlawn]

So if I am catching a rider in a corner do I lightly apply my rear brake while adjusting my line?

[Moparict]

Good question!! Inquiring minds want to know. I have eased out of the throttle and never had any trouble. I have never just "let off".

[teddy]

Don't use the rear brake unless you want to slide out again. The slightest amount of too much rear brake in a hard corner lean will lock up your rear tire and bring the rear end out in front of you. Remember, when you are in a hard lean like that, your tire contact patch is very minimal. Light front brake or pull in the clutch to keep the momentum of the lean while no longer accelerating. Better yet, go get Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist 2 book. It explains in detail what to do in situations like that where a panic reaction such as yours normally takes over, and what you should train yourself to do to correct it. Just my two cents....

[md86]

Opinions are like .... how's that go again ?
Yeah , the books will tell you to start by giving a LITTLE rear brake to tighten up your line . Or you can stand it up as you start breaking , and theoretically be at full brake mid-corner if you do it right . But just letting-off without anything else WILL upset the chassis . It'll make the bike lower , which can make you touchdown some hard parts .

[The CyberPoet]

I apply a bit of back brake if I need to tighten up my line mid-turn. We're not talking about much brake force -- definitely nothing close to dropping serious speed -- just enough to skim the rotor and force my line tighter.

Yes, there are conflicting schools of thought on this method. Some racers use it, some don't. Some instructors use it, some don't. Some riders use it, some don't. There are two basic screw-ups in judgement as to when to use it:
1. don't use it if you're already so far over that your knee & elbow are next to the ground (at this point, your tires are too close to their edges to wisely use it usually unless you have a lot of experience), AND
2. don't use it if you're not familiar enough with the bike & riding to be able to understand the difference between a little brake input and a lot of brake input (this is often why instructors say don't do it -- not "never do it", just don't do it as a newb). We don't want you stomping it in a panic-reaction.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Kat-A-Tonic]

It could have been a lot worse. Trust me, I know.

[soccerlawn]

Thanks for the comments guys.

[slayergsxf1]

Don't use the rear brake unless you want to slide out again. The slightest amount of too much rear brake in a hard corner lean will lock up your rear tire and bring the rear end out in front of you. Remember, when you are in a hard lean like that, your tire contact patch is very minimal. Light front brake or pull in the clutch to keep the momentum of the lean while no longer accelerating. Better yet, go get Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist 2 book. It explains in detail what to do in situations like that where a panic reaction such as yours normally takes over, and what you should train yourself to do to correct it. Just my two cents....

+1 and then some......

[cyclechris]

Yeah,
That's a tough one to know unless you've practiced and how often you want to practice that???

Maybe some hard braking practice in a big parking lot might help, you know just to get the feel for what you can do, where you can push the bike. Track time might be good too.

Better yet don't push that hard on the street, it's just not the place for it. Then again it is very easy to get a bit past ourselves from time to time, just try to keep those occurrences down.

I'm really glad it ended up as it did with you falling on pretty soft stuff and not hitting anything like a rail etc! I hope you wont be too sore. I know for me, a couple days later was the most painful time!