how to crash?

lonesoldier84

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say ur going down....what do you do?

do you let ur body go limp, do you allow it to tense up, do you tuck into a ball as best you can, do you cross your arms over your chest, do you straighten your legs or slightly bend them at the knee, what do you do?
 

DefyInertia

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99 times out of 100 you won't have any time to make decisions like that. most pros will tuck their arms across their chest during a long slide to keep from breaking bones when tumbling.
 
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Hellgate

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1) don't fight it, just let it go, 2) if you are sliding, vs. tumbling, spread your arms and legs out as opposed to balling up. Spreading out puts the friction over a larger area instead of focused on a small point (hip, butt, shoulder, etc), 3) if you think you have stopped sliding, count to 5 and then count to 5 again. (You count twice because you counted so fast the first time you didn't slow down). Once you are sure you've stopped sliding just lay there and inventory your body; Toes? Check, Fingers? Check, Arms? Check, Legs? Check. Slowly sit up, then carefully stand up. Seen guys who've crashed hard, stand up right away, pass-out and fall over.

Getting up needs to be very deliberate and controlled because when you are sliding you have the urge to STAND UP! If you do you will go from sliding into second base to going ass over teakettle and risk breaking something.
 

Nelly

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1) don't fight it, once you are sure you've stopped sliding just lay there and inventory your body; Toes? Check, Fingers? Check, Arms? Check, Legs? Check. Slowly sit up, then carefully stand up. Seen guys who've crashed hard, stand up right away, pass-out and fall over.

Getting up needs to be very deliberate and controlled because when you are sliding you have the urge to STAND UP! If you do you will go from sliding into second base to going ass over teakettle and risk breaking something.

99 times out of 100 you won't have any time to make decisions like that. most pros will tuck their arms across their chest during a long slide to keep from breaking bones.

I would just like to add let go of your bike, LET GO OF YOUR BIKE just in case you didn't hear. Defy is spot on, most of us will just have that OH BUGGER moment and then its down to velocity and friction.

Nelly
 
W

wrightme43

Relax if you can.

The lay there and count to 5 thing only applies if your not in the road. If you are in the road you need to not be there. IMHO opinion anyway.
 

lonesoldier84

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Relax if you can.

The lay there and count to 5 thing only applies if your not in the road. If you are in the road you need to not be there. IMHO opinion anyway.

lol, there's a semi truck bearing down on you, and you are able to move out of the way....but you......must......count.......to.........5 haha
 

Hellgate

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lol, there's a semi truck bearing down on you, and you are able to move out of the way....but you......must......count.......to.........5 haha

I agree if there is a truck do what you can.

I've seen guys stand up while still sliding at 30 to 40 mph, they start doing these HUGE bounding steps like a kangaroo, then they tumble and break things.
 
W

wrightme43

Oh yeah not knocking it at all Pete, just clarifing that if your in the road the first thing to do is get off it.
 

tolgatt

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on the first motorcycle accident of my life,,after 5 years of riding and around 14 years ago,,,when i stopped sliding and tumbling,,,i have stood up quickly to go to the idiot who changed 3 lanes to come right infront of me and make a complete stop to drop off the customer.....as soon as i stood up and start walking like it wasnt me flying over the car and sliding for at least 10 metres....suddenly i lost my sight,,,,everything started spinning and i went blind,,,litterally i was totally awake and still standing up but i was blind,,,,
i had temporary blindness for 20 minutes,,,the ambulance came in and the nurse told me that it was the shock plus the high blood pressure rushing to the brain made the case...after 20 minutes i started to slowly see again and of course it was too late to beat the crap out of the cab driver :) it was a unique experience
 

Hellgate

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Oh, I forgot to mention, the advise I get was for a low-side, high side, well...good luck.
 

Wolfman

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When i highsided, i was busy watching my bike flip 3 times, then thud! Broken Collarbone.ouch! Head always hits the ground first in a high side, followed by collarbone, i think this is because your head is the heaviest part of your body.

Wear a good helmet, and decent gear with armour. I had both this day, and it saved me skin, and my head.

Getting away from the bike i agree is imperative, but avoiding soild immovable objects, like trees, posts, and cars, is also a good move if you can.

Racers are only good at crashing, cause they do it all the time!

I always try to stay as psychically relaxed as possible when on the bike. That will also help you recover your bike from a potential accident situation too.

Other than that just pray that you dont crash, do a course.
 
F

formula154

If you have time to decide what to do, you have time to try to save it. Sliding scrapes skin off. Rolling breaks bones.



say ur going down....what do you do?

do you let ur body go limp, do you allow it to tense up, do you tuck into a ball as best you can, do you cross your arms over your chest, do you straighten your legs or slightly bend them at the knee, what do you do?
 

hunterfz6

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my cousin hit oil going up over a long sweeping over pass. at 55 mph or more. he told me that as soon as he left the bike he started rolling and as he slowed down he came to a fast run then stopped. he didnt have very many bruises or roadrash on him. his pillion was in really bad shape as he bounced, scraped, slid. The 2 times i low sided i tucked and rolled myself, but it was low speed. dont have the balls to go fast enough and try the roll thing out.
 

youngGun

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Keep in mind that all of my crash experience ( wich is quite extensive ) comes from racing dirtbikes for 10 years +1 high side on my FZ.

Unfortunatly the only way to get good at crashing is to, well,... crash,.... ALOT. It is possible to train yourself to tuck and roll, i got pretty good at this, but the best advise i can give is fight the urge to put your arms out to catch yourself ( such as if you were thrown over the bike in a high side) trying to catch yourself only leads to broken bones.
 

Nelly

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With out being to pedantic mate, Your head does not always hit the ground first in a high side. It depends on the angle that the bike is when you get spat off. I was luckier or unluckier than you :( I went up straight in the air like a rocket. I came down in a standing position with my left foot hitting the road first. SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP :eek:

I think though trying to stay as relaxed as possible is a good idea.

Nelly
 

davidsa1

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When I got into my accident there was no waiting to get up. I was on a six lane highway at 5pm, after I bounced off the car I got up and fell right back down my legs were not working. I immediatley looked behind just to see a police car stopped and blocking traffic, I was never so happy to see a cop in my life...
 

Eric334

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Last time I wrecked a bike, It happened so fast that I don't remember anything about it. All I know was I woke up in the back of an ambulance and ended up with 3 crush verebra. ouch!
 

BKKFZ6

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Few years back, I was on a Honda Dream (look it up 110cc) doing 60 km/hr, some idiot motorcyle taxi (yes, the kamakazi's of Bangkok) passed between me an an construction fence, clipping the handle bars so I went right over the front and the bike went left.

I was propelled like a 6'4" log :squid: rolling down a busy street with buses that stop for nothing, I repeat nothing, not red lights, not pedestrians and certainly not for human logs.

I have to say, the rolling seemed to last forever! Monentarily I attempted to slow the roll by spreading my arms and legs... bad idea, the impacts we sever (yes only 35 mph). So... I kept nicely compact and just rolled along praying for no traffic.

Lessoned learned. Don't fight it... roll with it. Praying helps... mine were answered! When in a heavy traffic situation try to get out of the way of on commng traffic. As others say... don't rush, but don't lie there waiting for the next bus to run you over. Crawl, even if you think you can walk, this is no time for bavado, I never seen anyone get medals for jumping up after they just slid 100 meters over asphalt. Crawling keeps your head low and your blood pressure more even. You are less likely to stand up and faint. Again I am not saying you should move at all it you can safely lie and count to 5, 10 whatever. But if you're in grave danger, crawling is better than walking.

Be safe. I took this tumble in short sleeves. Nothing boken, but I left a lot of skin behind. Now I ride with a padded jacket and at 40C it can be hot, but I found an airated one so once I'm moving I cool down. So no excuses for those of you in moderate temperates.... suit up! Live to ride another day!
 
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