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crashed bike @ 60kph...WOWZERS!!!!

Thanks for that report. As another poster said, reading detailed descriptions of problems others had makes me more aware of potentially dangerous situations. Gravel is one of my most significant worries. I've never ridden dirt or really lost traction, so I'm not at all comfortable if there is any "give" in hitting gravel on a turn, or if you are just automatically in trouble. I assume the latter. Since becoming sensitized to gravel as a major hazard, I've really been going slow in the twisties. Not as fun, and I see people hauling ass on these roads leaned over 45 degrees. Looks to me like these riders, regardless of their skill, have zero margin of safety if they come across some gravel. I'd be interested if anyone thought gravel was a hazard that skill could overcome or if it's really just bad news no matter what.
 
man when ur leaned over and hit gravel ur gonna hit the ground simple as that. i dont care how much skill you have the bike is just gonna instantly fall when the front tire slips out. Unless of course you have the ability to project your arms like Inspector Gadget out in front of the bike to hold it up and then whip it upright again, lol. methinks in that situation ur fudged no matter how good you are. If youre not turning so significantly or if your speed is low i think skill makes a difference.

but take everything i say with a grain of salt, as im a newb that dumped his bike on gravel haha
 
Sorry to hear about your off.

I think if it's a large patch of gravel you're gonna be screwed, but if it's a small patch and you're not fully leaned over, which you wouldn't be at 60km/h unless it is a very tight bend then as long as you don't come off the throttle you should be able to power over the gravel and get traction, then you just have to be careful you don't high-side when you get traction. If you come off the throttle or even worse brake, then you're going down.

Anyone else with experience of recovering on gravel?
 
bluenova said:
Sorry to hear about your off.

I think if it's a large patch of gravel you're gonna be screwed, but if it's a small patch and you're not fully leaned over, which you wouldn't be at 60km/h unless it is a very tight bend then as long as you don't come off the throttle you should be able to power over the gravel and get traction, then you just have to be careful you don't high-side when you get traction. If you come off the throttle or even worse brake, then you're going down.

Anyone else with experience of recovering on gravel?
Click to expand...

I have actually hit a big stone in a really sharp turn one time. It was really odd. I had just cranked my shock from 3 to 5 as well so it was terrifying to have the back tire come off the ground for a split second. I have pondered this for a while now as to why I didn't go down. It happened so fast I didn't have time to brake.

It is responses like these that help us all learn from our own and others mistakes. I never thought about the fact that keeping on the throttle saved my butt. Thanks for the advice.

Lonesoldier84- I am glad you are alright! Man I know how you feel. Laying in the hospital bed is no fun. I have some permanent damage on my leg from my wreck so I am glad you are ok!!!!!

Do you really think that you need to get rid of the bike though??? The bike reviews say the DRZ400 is ideal at delivering strong, low end torque and you can go down on gravel on anything with two wheels.

Whatever you are comfortable on is what is important but I don't think you should give up such a great bike as the FZ6!

Glad you are ok!!
And what a great reply - I learn something new everyday!
 
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Whenever I see gravel, I consider it to be a zone where you can only go straight. There's just not enough friction available for turning or braking on gravel.

I understand the pros may know how much friction is available; allowing them to make slight turns or stops on gravel patches. However, I'm not willing to guess.

Claud took 4 PSI out of both my tires the other day. He said it would help with the gravel problems. A little.
 
wowzers-1.jpg

Em....

What?

Yes I feel sorry for you falling off but if all you guys drive on the right hand side of the road and you indicate that you were in fact on the left...then its your own fault. If you were on the right and poisitioned correctly (going at the correct speed) you should have definately been able to avoid that. Anyways, as I said i'm going by your image.

Still its a shame about the bike...and you of course.
 
Oh dear...I think there's a bigger problem than the accident.

I have a question:

Why don't you keep the FZ6? You could align the wheels, remove that squeeking sound and leave everything else the way it is!

So what if the thing is a little scratched up? Nobody else is going to care.

I think the biggest problem with people nowadays is they do too many things based on what somebody else thinks. I mean, if you really like the FZ6 than just keep it! Do what YOU want.

I could see it all now. You could engage in some conversation that goes something like this:

"Yo! Lonesoldier84! What the hell happened to your bike?"
"I skidded on some gravel going 60k"
"No way! Damn. Glad you're okay, but what about your bike?"
"Me? I'm keeping it."
"Whoa! Really? But it looks like grated cheese!!"
"Yeah? So? ...and I'm going to leave it like that too."
"No way! But...it looks kind of wrecked man...."
"It's my FZ6 and I'm keeping it. The scratches and stuff are mine too! I own them!"
"Wow man! That's freaking cool..."
"Damnright it is! I'm proud of it"

Personally, if I saw somebody do this, I'd have a ton of respect for them. I mean, they're appreciative about everything they've got; good and bad. I don't want to sound like Jesus here, but I couldn't make my point without the form of a musical.

Good luck with the FZ6. Whatever YOU decide to do with it
 
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I kept my bent and scratched up tank, scratched up stator cover & passenger grab rail after my crash... ppl look at the bike and usually think "pfff showroom bike"... then they look closer and see that the thing gets ridden everyday... and quite hard too :)

Cheers to Elm's comment ^...

That being said, fix up what`s unsafe and the minimum that`ll make the bike look good to you and keep the rest until the next crash! :thumbup:
 
ok, im not deceiving anyone. when they come to look at the bike if they dont see the mangled front fairing and scuffed up side then they are truly oblivious haha. all im fixing is the bent rear brake lever...maybe. the screeching noise was just dirt trapped in the front brake according to the mechanic. the bike is structurally fine 100% as I cushioned its fall with my leg.

as for keeping the bike I may keep it, I really do want to keep it, and since I can get my hands on my cousins DRZ anyway it wouldnt make the biggest difference in the world anyway. This little experience did teach me a lot about having overconfidence in my ability. In any and all questionable situations I take the safest option whereas before I had a touch more of a gung-ho attitude.

As for fixing the bike or not fixing the bike. If I sell it (which I may not) its up to the buyer to fix it just a couple fairings and some buffing. If I keep it, Im probably gonna drop it again and I dont want to replace the fairing again so Ill just keep everything as is. Besides, as much as Im attached to the bike and feel as though ive injured her.....I was equally injured as well, and as much as I love her she doesnt deserve better than me haha. If I came away bloodied and bruised so did she. In a couple years Ill fix up all the dents and cracks I put into her, or just keep her for the ages in battle-scarred condition...and buy a new sexy ducati 848 at that point which I will polish with my tongue.

Thing is, someone had a good insight that if I do get the DRZ ill end up going faster on it than I will ont he FZ6 because Ill be more comfortable mentally pushing the DRZ much harder than I am the FZ6...which I think is true. I think instead of getting a DRZ to ride hard off road, and harder than pedestrian-style on-road (but not unsafely like zig zagging thru traffic etc)...taking it a touch easier on the FZ6 might be the best option.
 
Sorry to hear about your crash...but glad to hear your gear saved you from serious injury. Gravel can be a real horror story for us two-wheelers....I've experienced a couple of shaky moments on it myself (as I'm sure most of us have).

Hope you mend quickly and are able to get back in the saddle again soon.
 
as for the comment about riding on the wrong side of the road i wasnt. I was changing lanes into the turning lane.

turning into a road which leads to a small man-made lake in an urban area. turn off was from a main road. south east edmonton, alberta, canada.

intersection of 50st and 44ave to be exact

(heading southbound on 50st turning right)

111.jpg
222.jpg



wow you can actually see the gravel from space haha its right there, the part i hit was hidden on the lane markers but you see the big blob in the intersection itself
 
Selling because you crashed is only a solution if you give up motorcycles all together... else it's not a solution since you will crash again... and again...

+1 on the comment that the DRZ is not necessarly better... remember, it`s when you get comfy on the bike that accidents happen... no matter what the bike really.

Crashes are not a bad thing, they are good learning experiences as long as you come out of them ok... just keep the FZ and crash it another 2 or 3 times.... then only consider buying the 848 :D

That's what I am doing.... I got 2 check marks already... next time I crash will fulfill my quota and I`ll be able to move to the Duc :Sport: j/k
 
Not having a dig at you over this lonesoldier84...you never did mention that you were on a motorway/freeway or whatever it is you call that type of road over there! :) Ok the only thing I can fault which you probably already now is that if you crossed over from the left to the right to take that turn then you probably left the lane change a tad bit late. If you had done it earlier you would have missed that gravel patch, lined up correctly and had the time to see the gravel and make the turn safely. Ok its all well and good after the incident but at least next time you'll always remember to be extra careful when approaching bends where gravel may spill onto the road from trucks/or any other vehicle! I'm not without fault though, its all luck and experience. Only on Saturday I made a left turn (we drive on the left here) from a secondary road onto a tertiary road and failed to notice the gravel. I had only begun to accelerate at the time. Now I know you said that when you hit gravel you have no chance...but you do...if your lucky and if your prepared. You can go through gravel no problem if you enter it directly and add no extra power to the engine, if you enter it at an angle you still have a chance if the patch isn't long/wide. Your patch was long and the angle you hit it at ment all you were going to encounter was more gravel. My situation at the weekend was when I was leaning to my left, the gravel was in front and my wheel slid out to the right but passed over the gravel and gripped the tarmac before I had actually been pushed too far over to the right...so I was able to keep the bike up. I have good experience on gravel, nearly wrecked my first bike on one so I learned quickly from that. DONT sell your FZ6, you'll live to regret it. You're better off putting some money into training which will help in your riding technique and allow you to be more aware of dangers like this. Gravel is a common feature on our roads and when you have good observational skills you'll be able to see and avoid it nearly all of the time...
 
scorph, man that is truly a worthwhile post to read

"Ok the only thing I can fault which you probably already now is that if you crossed over from the left to the right to take that turn then you probably left the lane change a tad bit late. If you had done it earlier you would have missed that gravel patch, lined up correctly and had the time to see the gravel and make the turn safely."

that is exactly what happened. plus one other thing i noticed myself doing which in hindsight contributed to the crash....I pull in the front brake when I want to turn and slow down at the same time, usually only a touch, but in situations when i need to turn a lot and slow down a lot i give it a touch too much sometimes, not enough to lock the wheel or cause a highside, but enough that if i hit gravel while doing it the front-end of the bike will washout. (dont know if that is correct use of the term washout if that term even exists but u get what i mean).

Also it was not a freeway, our main roads look like freeways cuz our city is so damned spread out. that is a road that cuts through suburban areas and is the road onto which all the neighborhood roads intersect with and it takes you to the freeway (just north of that picture)

P.S. after spending another day on the FZ6 today (first real ride after crash) I found myself realizing just how attached I have become to the bike. I dont think I could part with it. If i did id just regret it like you say. Man this bike makes me happier than ive been in yeeears.

My riding technique today was 2 million times more careful. I am amazed I didnt suffer a more serious injury in my rides up till now. While I thought I was being EXTREMELY careful before, I was not TRULY taking into account my inability to deal with emergency situations. If I had been confronted with gravel with other cars around say in a left turn could have been ugly. I could have saved the bike if I knew what to do on gravel better which i didnt. Also, my use of front brake and touch-too-aggressive riding was a formula for disaster as well which I have caught myself doing and changed. If I cannot stop comfortably without panicking and straightening/braking/turning/straightening/braking/turning then I am going way too fast. I had been riding way too fast for my abilities. Today's riding was full of me SEEING myself crash in many situations in a way i wasnt doing before. I really started taking intensely more safe courses of action than I had been previously. Hitting the pavement has a way of making you reassess just how good of a rider you actually are. The FZ6 was just too reassuring before this. I went from super-noob to feeling like I was a much better rider than I was when I got comfortable, and now I am still VERY comfortable on the bike but much more honest with myself....which manifests itself on things like approach speeds and braking technique and bike positioning when braking.
 
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LS, that post you just made is full of insight. As a noob myself (8 mo in the saddle), I doubt I could handle an emergency situation like that effectively. As fun as is it is to burn around the corner, I'll have to be saving that for later in my riding career.
 
approach im taking now is i find every possible emergency I will be confronting and if I cant deal with it successfully and smoothly then i am either riding too fast, not being careful enough approaching the potential hazards whatever they are, or being not mentally alert enough.

the last one happens sometimes when your brain is in shut-down mode and you may be riding slow enough to handle things, but if an emergency did happen if youre not mentally ready for it its the same thing as going too fast for it. one way or another youre not prepared.
 
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