Had to lay the '04 down...

I thought I spotted a family resemblance.

 

Thanks gang. I feel like family already! I asked a question to a member of the group over the phone recently. He replied simply, "slow down", which is what I did and felt was the appropriate action; however, I pose this question here rather than start a new thread. When there are ripples in a curve like gathered carpet, how do you handle that at speed? It's not so much for the places I've traveled and am aware of the danger, but those places I encounter on the fly. Here in rural Mississippi, there are several places on my daily commute that I encounter such hazards and poor roadways. These ripples even destabilize my truck! Man I gotta find some folk with whom I ride. So hard this time of year.

Oh yeah, the VFR is a pig is so funny. I always look at the '04 when I park her and reply out loud, "portly you are", in my best guttersnipe.

 

Is there any warning before these ripples? (i.e. some caution sign or lowered recommended speed?) If not, they probably aren't that crazy. You could lift your ass off the seat, which is what you should do when going over speed bumps and such.

 

#1 rule for riding or driving over uneven/washboard surfaces, straighten up.

If the irregularities are mid-corner, rule still applies, adjust your line and speed accordingly. And yes, stand on the pegs if you're comfortable, but only seasoned riders would do that at a lean.

The only way one can learn how to deal with this stuff is plain experience, as road conditions will vary with your locale.

 

I think everyone that wants to ride a motorcycle on the street should put in 1 good year in the dirt first.

 

"portly you are" LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I highly recommend studying the preeminent sportbike periodicals and videos. Before I got my VFR (first motorcycle) I had several magazine subscriptions and all of the sport bike books by Code, Pridmore, et al. By the time I got on the bike, I was able to imagine and feel what the text was talking about.

The reason I though of this is that one of the magazines just had an article by one of these guys, maybe Ken Condon (?) about concrete meeting asphalt in the middle of the turn. In addition to what the guys wrote above, if you are crossing any sort of ripple, attack it at the steepest angle possible. You probably learned to cross railroad tracks as close to a 90° angle as you can, and the same goes for those road seams. The best mag is Motorcycle Consumer News. In the other magazines, ONLY the articles by these expert riders are worth it. I am not into all of the product reviews, ads, and tales of other peoples' rides. But sometimes getting a mag because Pridmore writes an article is worth it. Also, those expert guys have blogs. Check out keith Code's superbike school blog. It's all about turning and technique, and certainly the racers that hang out there have something for us to hear.

In the MSF course they teach "do not brake while turning" and that is a key to your mishap. In your head imagine the bike leaned over, left or right. You hit the brake, the bike, due to centripetal force, flings FAST the other way. So as you learned even at a crawl of a speed, that rotational force is monstrous. Thus practice quickly straightening the bike and the emergency stop.

You are right. This group is the greatest. I cannot imagine a group providing more support than these guys.

 

I hope to move to a rural area where I can do that in my backyard.

My neighbor, just one of the many 50 year-old burnouts that hangs out there with no job, rode his motorcycle over last winter while it was snowing. "Yea I grew up on dirt. Just ride the snow like you're on mud." LOL

 

I agree. Read a shitload of magazines and the next thing ya know, you're one of the fast guys.

 

Even the best of "families" have some, for want of a better word, dysfunctionals. BB in his best third person persona, says get your ass to an MSF course. If you have not ridden for several years you are rusty and the changes in bikes has been more than a significant factor in riding. Pulled in the clutch? What was that for?

Without more specifics, busting your ass may have been caused by somebody at the gas station trying to wash spilled gas away with water from a concrete pad. That and the accumulated dirt and whatever can make for a slick surface. Hauling down on any type binders is gonna put ya down.

 

I used to like my wurst at Major League ball games but they got so expensive I just pack a sandwich in an inside pocket. Probably a felony in some places...

 

Yes, but one more won't make much difference:banana:

 

Oh my, a hot dog lawyer too.

 

I've read so much on motorcycling that it's sick. I'm a researcher and mechanic by nature and an engineer, mathematician, and researcher by field and occupation.

I didn't post the question correctly, as I was lifting off the seat on the first ride and still do with all the railroad tracks and such. Cruised at 80 mph on a naked '99 crossing bridges and such remebering those instructions for the permit. In addition I understand the reasoning mechanically (statics and dynamics) behind crossing grates and such. Kinda a no-brainer.

What I failed to mention was that these gathers are in CURVES and are really deep and somewhat keen. Should I just have faith the suspension will do its job? Or slowing is the only option? Definitely dont want to be at speed and brake heavily while in a lean or close the throttle completely.

 

Studied EE, worked in scientific labs, and study everything to death as well. We have a lot in common, except that I hate math. Which is fine because wife is a math genius so I can go to her for that end.

So since I should have asked for detail before opening my fat mouth as usual, do these ripples go in all directions, or all perpendicular to travel, or ?

Is the suspension stock or upgraded? The stock is overly harsh under the smallest bumps and does not do a great job of absorbing the shock and keeping the tire against the ground. So correctly riding and relying on the stock suspension is tenuous at best. In that case I would say slow down for sure, as space between tire and road is what it is, which is unpredictable lateral movement in a curve.

 

We should be eternally indebted to those who learn to ride from reading books and magazines. They usually don't last long, freeing up the roads for the rest of us unlettered dolts.

 

One look at BB and the jury says Guilty of Everything as they say Einstein BB=GOE squared.:stickhorse: and Recommend not to waste jail space on trolls.

 

I mildly object to the title of this thread. It makes it seem like the OP made a decision to lay the bike down in the face of a collision. In virtually all cases, keeping the bike on ITS RUBBER AS LONG AS POSSIBLE is the better choice. Tire traction during braking is superior to plastic scuffing across asphalt. Semantics?

 

that is true rubber stops fastest all ways.

 

The answer is absolutely... maybe.

This is a highly subjective question.

Think about the number of factors here, bias loading front-to-rear, tire condition/available grip, surface material AND conditions.

Your suspension- will it flutter, or float- are the preload and rebound settings correct- is it over, or under-loaded, etc.

The frequency of road imperfections naturally varies with speed, will the suspension have time, or not, to regain contact?

Do you have a clear line if you misjudge and end up needing to go wide?

I've had animals cross in front of me mid-corner, I'm willing to bet most riders have. Almost nothing will mess up your rhythm worse than that.

I've been too fast into blind corners where the pavement became dirt -with no warning.

I'm leaving out thousands of scenarios obviously...

So the question should be: what percentage of those variables do you feel you have control over at any given moment?

I'll give you a hint, it's always going to be fewer than you think, no matter your skill level.

Overall there is only saddle time, mileage is the best teacher, by miles!

 

Yep, agreed!

I had my dirt training, on a street bike. 17 years old with a Suzuki GS550, and lived on a lake surrounded by dirt roads.

I spent a summer just prior to getting licensed learning the dos and don'ts with a 500 pound "dirtbike"
Buddy had a Honda 450 twin lol and we didn't care that we couldn't ride on the road, cuz we could ride!

Not many MSF courses will cover loose-sand, or whipped-cream mud manuevering...

Of course you could always do the dirt thing with an actual dirt bike, but where's the challenge there?