I was thinking that about some things that might be helpful to new riders out there, and ran across a similar discussion where more experienced riders were giving their opinions on emergency type situations. So I thought New Riders would be a good spot for this. Many of us can't ride right now because of weather,but we sure as hell can talk about it so I'll ask you a couple questions for discussion.... 1. You are traveling down your favorite backroad and coming into a slower corner which means you are braking pretty hard. Suddenly you see sand and rocks in the road. Your bike is still straight up and down but you are braking pretty hard. What do you do? a. Release the brakes and hope that you'll have shed enough speed to get through the turn. b. Grab more brake hoping to shed speed because too much speed is bad. c. Release front brake pressure and dial in some rear brake. d. Imagine butterflies and unicorns will come to save the day. e. Look straight at the sand and hope for the best by doing nothing. f. Other 2. You have entered a blind slower turn. You are carrying pretty good speed because you know the road pretty well. You suddenly see rock and sand all over the road. What do you do? a. Shut the throttle and grab some brake because you just gotta slow down. b. Steady throttle and dial in a little rear brake. c. When in doubt gas it out so you whack the throttle all the way open. d. Imagine kicking the boss in the 'nads. e. Other. Not necessarily looking for the perfect answer, just some discussion from those of us that have had this happen. Just throwing this out there for discussion And to help new riders. These are two situations we have all found our selves in
Is the sand/rocks all across the road, or is it possible to steer around it (if you're under control) as an option? If the sand/rocks are across the entire lane so you're gonna hit it no matter what, that's different then if I can get around it... Just asking for clarification.
Well, for purposes of discussion lets say you have a really small space in there to avoid the debris, since if all you need to do is steer around it, the discussion kinda ends there. Or say its all the way across.
Usually... let go of the front brake, down shift twice, (while keeping the RPMs up), (trail brake if needed) to get the back wheel sliding, wack the throttle to spin the rear wheel and if its a right turn then turn the bars to the left. If its a left turn then turn the bars to the right. (some call this drifting) Lastly, clench my butthole and pray that I hook back up before running out of road. :vtr2: Let the name calling begin...
Well for both, scrub as much speed as possible with the bike straight up and down, downshift, try and turn the bike in at the best spot for the best line through the least amount of debris and roll on the throttle. On top of it all stay relaxed on the machine as it may move around underneath as you go through the crap. BZ
What the noobs do is grab both the clutch and brake levers, jam on the rear brake pedal and go down. What an experienced rider the calibre we have here that are on par with Evel Knevel and other lumimaries would ask, is if the entry speed into that ficticious corner is on the ton or at 25mph. ...and what if the obstacle is a chicken crossing the road or porcupine? Or for the dudes in UK a hedgehog, or for the dudes in OZ a wombat? Or for the dudes in South Africa a pissed off rhino. Or one of those damned rutting mooses who think your bike is something to hump. Randy?
This is the classic approach. I included the butterflies and unicorn response option with you in mind BB This is what Rossi would do, works but may be a bit over the head of a noob. This works after you are off road and have switched to your dirtbike heheheee As I said I wasnt looking for the perfect answer, share your experiences as well as knowledge with new riders. The season is coming up for some us and there will be some new riders out there first pretty day.
Armadillos and possums scare me. I think I have a tendency to keep the bike upright and on the brakes. I"m also really good at fixating on boobs and hazards that might bite me.
Both scenarios are same answer for me. I do pretty much what BZ said. I've done it many many times and it almost always works. I slow down if I can, try to pick a straighter line than I would normally take and let the bike stand itself up and get out of the throttle a bit. Once I go over said obstacle, I start getting back off the bike again and ease into the throttle testing back tire for loss of grip. Once I'm sure it's there, I crack it and go. Kind of on this topic: Last Saturday when we were all riding and got way out on 58 where there was a 90 degree flat turn, I got into a rear slide. The front started to slide just a tad but grabbed almost instantly, the back stayed loose and swung way out to the left. I was already way off the bike. My right foot touched and I thought I was going down. Then the rear grabbed and I had enough time to think "I just might be able to save this". I let my inertia carry me back up in the seat and let the bike stand up more, but I had to let it drift way left of where I was originally planning. I was in the oncoming lane, but I knew it was okay cause it was flat and I could see miles down the road before I even tried the turn that fast. Anyway, my speed was still a little high for unsure grip so I let the bike drift on off the road cause I saw some dirt that looked soft and I knew it would scrub speed fast. I slowed down quick, drifted back onto the pavement, got back on it and didn't lose a position in the line. All this took place in a couple seconds, but for me it was like slow motion.
Good responses gents, It will help us all as we head out on those first season rides. I also try to scout by car or with a slooow ride my favorite loops as the season approaches, looking for new potholes and frost heaves. This is something I picked up about a year ago, since when I lived in warmer climes it was not nearly so much of an issue.
A1. breathe, relax, maintain steady throttle, and lean only as much as the feedback is providing. if you fucked it so bad that you are making a harsh, midcorner, correction....lesson learned A2. ride through it, don't be abrupt in your inputs, throttle as necessary, brakes are bad umkay?...little to light braking input...once again, if you are panicking, too late and another lesson is taught.... .
well for one, if you are looking ahead and have been practicing you emergency braking from time to time in a parking lot. ( both wet and dry ) you should be able to use both brakes and come to a stop before or scrub off enough speed for you to safely run thru it.
Well, since I experienced this scenario to a point (hard to see silt in the middle of an "S" turn or switchback) and it didn't go as well as it could, though it could have gone so much worse, I find this scenario a bit of a flashback question... http://vfrworld.com/forums/trips-events/31212-anatomy-crash.html Given this scenario states I see the debris ahead of time (unlike my crash), I'd start by saying, as this is a fictitious unknown road, one should be going a good bit slower then one would normally ride, in order to assess the road conditions (since you obviously didn't pre-scout as Bear mentioned); I'd kinda combine many of the answers here: Emergency brake (assuming some asshat cager isn't riding my tail), go as wide to the outside of the corner as I can while braking, before hitting the debris, then cut across (before the debris starts) the debris in as straight a line as I can, stand the bike up as straight as I can, off the brakes and throttle, make no quick movements, coast thru the debris, then get back online and start riding again. Primarily, get as slow, as straight, and off all inputs as you can, and coast thru... Well, that'd be what I'd try, if I had time... Reg, your little adventure sure sounded "fun", glad it worked out for you... That wouldn't work so well here, roads are like hallways, with no shoulder and trees right next to the road... Not to mention, the dirt/grass next to the road also has a drop off, so if you go off and somehow save it without hitting a tree, you gotta be real careful getting back on the road.
I've had close to this happen. I was already committed to the corner, leaning into it with the wife on back. Going around a right at about 25 - 30 mph and front started sliding. I let off the brake, grabbed the clutch, slammed my left foot down popping the bike back up and made it through. Injured my ankle somewhat, but was a lot better than going down with both of us onto the curb. Couple of days later was walking normally again.
