@$&*$!!!!

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by mr.lucky405, Jul 21, 2008.

  1. mr.lucky405

    mr.lucky405 New Member

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    i was hoping my first post here would be about something like tires or windscreens, but unfortunately not. i bought an 05 vfr last month, and have put about 800 miles on it so far. been riding HD's for years, but have always wanted a sport bike. i figured the vfr would be a good transition bike. waaay different feel. flat out superior to the HD mechanically. anyway, i was downshifting approaching an intersection and the next thing i know i'm on the ground. i'm still not sure what happened. :/ only been down once before. a kid on a bike popped out from behind a van crossing against a turn arrow. this one was my fault, but i'm still pretty clueless. i admit i was coming in fairly hot, but i had the revs appropriately up while downshifting. tore up my givi hard bag and the fairing, damnit. anyway, love this forum. read a lot of posts here while considering what to buy. it was a big influence. my softail chopper has been getting lonely in the garage lately.
     
  2. alter ego

    alter ego New Member

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    Welcome to the forum..... well it sounds like you are ok but the bike has probably seen better days. You know the scariest part of most accidents is not knowing why. Without that answer it seems like theres no preventing it from happening again. Was there anything on the road surface or possibly on the tire? Were the tires new or cold? That seems like a possible cause to me..... If that front washed which is what it sounds like there was probably something there or your tires were not up to temp yet. I hope thats what it was otherwise there was probably way too much speed!!!!
     
  3. Joey_Dude

    Joey_Dude Member

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    I wasn't there so I can only guess what happened.

    Were you in the middle of a turn? Downshifting too quickly while in a turn can cause the rear wheel to slide.

    Also, check your tires. If your bike still has the original tires I would recommend replacing them with something stickier and grippier. I've been really happy with Conti Road Attacks.

    Sucks dude, but at least you lived to tell about it!
     
  4. drewl

    drewl Insider

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    Sorry to hear that. At least you didn't end up under a semi.
     
  5. wkenneth1

    wkenneth1 New Member

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    I dont know what you mean by 'the rev's appropriately up...'

    I do know that if you let out the clutch too fast when you're downshifting thru the gears you might just break the back tire loose. (I'm gonna guess thats what happened.)

    Sucks though dude. Downshifting thru the gears is what caused my very first wreck. I was in a hurry to change gears and let the clutch right out. I going what some might think fast. I probably was. Broke the rear loose and fell on my touche. Got a nice patch of scar on my leg now.
     
  6. mr.lucky405

    mr.lucky405 New Member

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    it hasn't rained here in well over a week, so there are lots of slick spots. i make a habit of staying out of the middle approaching intersections, but that doesn't mean there wasn't something slippery. the spot was at the entrance/exit of a shopping center, so lots of cross traffic. literally half a mile from my house. i pass through there daily. go figure.

    i noticed quickly that downshifting this bike requires a bit of throttle blip to keep the engine speed up or the rear tire breaks loose a bit. that's what i meant by keeping the revs up.

    and yes, i'm quite happy i didn't end up under a semi.

    this reminds me of a line from hough's book 'proficient motorcycling'. it's not "if", it's "when". sheesh.
     
  7. jasonsmith

    jasonsmith Member

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    I just did that last week. I was on a bridge with metal rails, downshifted to soon and to fast IMO and the back end broke loose. It wobbled to and fro and eventually settled. I did notice however how easy it would have been to lose it at that point. Lesson learned...

    I too think this is probably what happened to you. Glad your ok, bike can be fixed.
     
  8. porcupine73

    porcupine73 New Member

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    Hello [​IMG], sorry to hear about the drop, hope you are ok!

    Were you on the brakes pretty hard at the time? If braking hard of course less traction is available at the rear, and if braking with the rear (or the brake linking braking the rear) available rear traction is reduced even more, then maybe the downshift required more rear traction than was remaining available in the pie?
     
  9. Molsan

    Molsan New Member

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    Ouch, sucks to not know why and thats the scary part.

    Did you high side or low side?

    could you tell if it was the front or rear sliding.
    Can't say i've had the rear tire break out from down shifting, and definitly not enough to slide out on me..
    more details may help.

    glad your okay though, and it's as you say it's not if, it's when.
     
  10. mr.lucky405

    mr.lucky405 New Member

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    it was a low side. i was braking fairly hard while downshifting, so i'm sure there was a lack of good grip in the back. it really just felt like the whole thing came out from under me, so i can't pinpoint a front or rear slide out. might have been a combo. glad to hear i'm not the only one who's gone down in a similar way.
     
  11. WhiteKnight

    WhiteKnight Well-Known Member

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    Sorry to hear you went down but glad to know you are ok. The bike, of course, is repariable. Sometimes it just happens. We know there is a reason, but we cannot always see it. I fellow rider of mine went down in a turn on his Kaw Ninja and he had been thru that same turn numerous times that day, with no other traffic between passes (we were taking vids). One pass thru, his front just washed. He said he would never use Battleslides (Bridgestone) again. Even looking at the vid, it's hard to say why it hapened. Maybe he was leaned a hair more than the other times. We will never know.

    At least you are unhurt and able to ride and that is the most important thing. :thumb:
     
  12. Azamat

    Azamat New Member

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    :welcome:

    Curiously, did you have the clutch pulled in when braking? I can't remember what publication tested stopping distances with the riders keeping it engaged (to prevent a lock-up, I understand) vs. disengaged, and they got shorter stopping distances without power going to the rear wheel. :dunno:
     
  13. mr.lucky405

    mr.lucky405 New Member

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    thanks for all the feedback guys...

    the bike still has the original battleaxe's on it, but the tread looks to be fine. only about 4500 miles on 'em. i've been reading posts here about tires (even before my mishap), and plan on getting something that'll work well on the street and possibly some track days. i'm attending keith code's school in a week and a half at mid-ohio, but using their bike. really looking forward to that : )

    i'm eager to get back out on it today. after a brief look over, it appears to be just cosmetic damage. i think the hard givi bag helped keep things from getting torn up worse. the fairing is scraped up pretty badly, but not cracked or anything.
     
  14. Bubba Zanetti

    Bubba Zanetti Member

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    Have fun a Keith Code's school!

    Let us know how it goes.

    BZ
     
  15. Wideride

    Wideride New Member

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    Mr. Lucky,

    This new bike's a little different, isn't it? I just picked up an 04' a month ago, and I have an 01' Wide Glide in the garage. These 2 bikes are just night and day as far as ride, handling, power delivery, etc, etc, etc. I'm seriously thinking about getting rid of the Harley though. I'm just not sure I need 2 bikes anymore. The VFR seems to do it all. Sorry to hear about your wreck, but I'm glad you're OK. I'm sure my turn's coming.
     
  16. eleman

    eleman New Member

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    If you can, go back and look at the intersection. I ran into something I had not seen before the other day. I was transitioning from one stop sign to another. Just a quick right and there was another stop sign (frontage road to main road). Just as I turned, the rear end slid a bit and scared the shit out of me. Never saw anything until I looked back. There was a little layer of what I would describe as "asphalt dust" in the turn. Blended right in and was very fine and loose. Something like that would drop you in a heartbeat with any speed. I was lucky I was barely moving and was able to recover.
     
  17. vire

    vire New Member

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    Not sure I follow exactly but does sound like the rear broke loose. Only other thing I know that will put you down that fast is too much front brake and having the front tire turn sideways. Saw this at the msf course and it was amazing how fast they hit the ground yet the bike was still pointing straight ahead a milisecond after dumping the rider.

    I may ride differently than most people as I hold the clutch in ahead of time whenever coming to a stop light or sign and when downshifting for slowing not stopping I tend to let the clutch out slowly to make sure I don't have too much power too fast.
     
  18. mr.lucky405

    mr.lucky405 New Member

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    wideride, night and day is the understatement. lol i have a 100" motor in the softail, so the acceleration is similar, but the rest of it is much, much different. every time i get back on the HD now, since i haven't been riding it often, it feels foriegn. i'm amazed at the level of vibration after being on the vfr., and how completely different the steering is.
     
  19. Wideride

    Wideride New Member

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    One of the dumbest issues I have, going from the Harley to the VFR, is that I keep hitting the starter button when I try to turn on my right turn signal. Grriinndd!
     
  20. Molsan

    Molsan New Member

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    I do that going for the horn, no idea where i picked that up.
     
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