Mistake of a New Rider

AcesLA07

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I laid my bike down a few days ago. I topped a hill only to find the guy I was riding with considerably slowed down and a cop car on the left side of the road. I panicked and accidentally locked the rear wheel down and went skidding sideways. Then I got thrown off the bike somehow (not sure how...maybe I let off the rear brake causing a whiplash effect???) and went sliding like 50 ft into a ditch while my bike slid into the cop car. Once my rear wheel locked up should I just have kept it lock and rode it out til I stopped sideways or what? Also, how should I have avoided this situation all together?
 

cbzdel

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I am a new rider myself, this is something that always worried me, so I always try to go light on the rear wheel..

whats the ending of the story, the cops reaction to the whole event.
 

jrf

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Slow Down would be my first thought. I'm not trying to be an Arse or anything and you didn't really mention how fast you were going so if you weren't going fast disregard my first statement.

Cresting hills can be pretty dangerous cause you have no idea if something is there.

From what you posted it sounds like you were cresting a hill while in a turn if this is the case you need to use extreme caution.

As far as locking the back brake, all I can say is that each instance is different. If you woukd have kept it on you might of still wrecked but instead of highsiding you may have lowsided.
 

AcesLA07

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He was freaked out after watching my body slide 50 ft haha. But he was very nice. He knew we were going too fast but didn't care and called for emergecy help immediately and stayed with me until they got there not letting me move, etc. After I left in the ambulance my dad said he was very nice and didn't want to file the police report of my bike sliding into this car bc he knew it would cause my insurance to go up and points on my record, etc. Very nice guy.
 

MyFirstBike

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wow, that's extremely nice of the cop....he must have owned an FZ6 at one point i bet...lol...maybe he's even on this forum...WHO KNOWS??
 

AcesLA07

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Slow Down would be my first thought. I'm not trying to be an Arse or anything and you didn't really mention how fast you were going so if you weren't going fast disregard my first statement.

From what you posted it sounds like you were cresting a hill while in a turn

It wasn't on a turn just a straight stretch. I was trying to keep up with the guy I was riding with on a gsxr 1000 and he's a more experienced rider than I. So we were going a little fast. Not exactly sure what speeds tho.
 

MyFirstBike

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so a gixxer 1000 was ahead of you...i think i can run faster than those bikes...hahaha....what he needs is a hayabusa...that's the future bike right there..
 

jrf

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It wasn't on a turn just a straight stretch. I was trying to keep up with the guy I was riding with on a gsxr 1000 and he's a more experienced rider than I. So we were going a little fast. Not exactly sure what speeds tho.

First off that cop was awesome:rockon:

Secondly I did almost the exact same thing you did this last weekend so I should be taking my own advise.

I was out with some guys that ride way better then me. I was second in line came threw a curve a little to hot and started going staight, well the main road went to the left and I ended up on a side road that was covered in gravel. I locked up the back brake and just started sliding, i couldn't hit the front brake because of the gravel so I almost slide right off the road, but luckily stoped about 2 inches from the ditch.:spank:

Man I felt stupid.
 

cbzdel

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It wasn't on a turn just a straight stretch. I was trying to keep up with the guy I was riding with on a gsxr 1000 and he's a more experienced rider than I. So we were going a little fast. Not exactly sure what speeds tho.

i hate it when you ride with an experienced rider and they still push it knowing you cant do it... kills the ride, as you know lol
 

s4mt3k

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I am not an experienced rider (this is my 2nd season). Last summer though, I was going downhill with my buddy on his R6 and we were both going over the speed limit (i'm an idiot). A bunch of cars suddenly slowed down in front of me and I kind of panicked and got on the brakes.

I took the Motorcycle Safety class and one of the things they taught us was not to let go of the rear brake in a situation where the rear brake locks up. They said it would be safer to try to stop hard with the front brake and ride out the rear slippage to avoid getting high sided.

Surprisingly enough the training actually kicked in and I stayed on the brake until i had considerably slowed down and the bike straightened out.

It was a very close call. I'm much more careful now.

I got a few friends that are stunt riders and I'm not saying they speak words of wisdom but a couple told me to just take my bike out somewhere safe and practice locking up my rear brakes and really hard stopping. They said that the more comfortable I am the safer it will be on the road. Makes sense I think.
 

Mexi-can't

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Ride you own ride, don't be tempted to ride beyond your limits. :spank: I have friends that ride far more aggressive than I do too. Just let them run on ahead and concentrate on what YOU'RE doing. Heal up, learn from your mistake, and be thankful you didn't send your bike off like a missile through an oncoming car.
 
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DefyInertia

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Sounds like you were riding way beyond your abilities. Go practice some emergency braking and in the meantime know that if you continue to outride your skill level you will continue to crash. Stopping in a straight line is pretty basic.

EDIT - glad you're ok...you're one lucky dude!
 

larryinpa

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Cresting a hill, blind curves and riding behind a tractor trailer are 3 places where I use EXTREME caution.

You were playing catch up - he would have waited for you...
 

99vengeur

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Never, ever ride beyond your skill level!!! :spank::spank:

If they are true friends or good bikers, they will either 1) ride at a pace that suits you, or 2) ride ahead but periodically pull over and wait for you. This is how I ride and it is much more enjoyable this way. I can concentrate on learning at my speed rather than at someone else's.

I'm glad you are ok and that the cop was looking out for you and your best interests.

Ride safe, please! :thumbup:
 

AcesLA07

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Thanks guys, great advice. Yes I was riding beyond my capabilities. And yes I'm very lucky. It was a hard crash and to not have broken anything and only have a few road rash places is awesome. I need to practice hard braking in a parking lot for sure. What should I do just get it up to 2nd around 30 mph and then hard stop?
 

99vengeur

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Thanks guys, great advice. Yes I was riding beyond my capabilities. And yes I'm very lucky. It was a hard crash and to not have broken anything and only have a few road rash places is awesome. I need to practice hard braking in a parking lot for sure. What should I do just get it up to 2nd around 30 mph and then hard stop?

Try it at slow speeds first. Once you are comfortable with the brakes, begin to up the speed by about 5 mph. Once confident at that speed, increase it again. I've done hard braking/emergency stopping at 40 mph...although this wasn't practice, it was the real thing. :eek:
 

paulinus

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When I got my FZ I sold my Bandit 400 not long after to a friend of mine. Actually, his wife bought it for him as a Xmas present, but that's neither here nor there. The majority of my non-solo riding since December has been with him. His comfort and skill level have come a long way, but he's still not as comfy riding as I am. For that reason I let him lead unless he has no clue where we are going. That way he gets to set the pace and stays within his comfort level.

When I do lead, we discuss it first and I make sure he knows I will wait on him if I get overcome by the urge to be spanky. Dude should let you lead until you are more comfortable and proficient.
 

Ryan T

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From doing a lot of reading and I do mean I lot (I was deployed when I decided to get my FZ6, so all I had to do in my off time was read, workout, eat and sleep).

It is quite evident that a great deal of accidents occur cause riders are:
1. Riding beyond there abilities
2. Riding too fast for conditions (road, weather, area, etc)
3. Not paying attention
4. Riding to "keep up" with more experienced riders
5. Trying to be noticed (EGO)

All of us have done one, probably all of these at one time or another. We all must be proactive in breaking the "crash chain".
 
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