Tested out my new Engine Guards

[ejether]

Took my first ride since I installed Givi engine guards... I guess it was a good thing too.
I was turning left in a neighborhood and hit a river rock/cobble that had made its way into the street. The bike hopped, leaned over more and I grabbed the front brake and down we went :-(

All is well, engine guards did their job admirably, the Givi side cases kept the rear of the bike from hitting the ground. (Givi armor I guess). I am fine, didn't get caught under it or anything.. Life is good really.

The oddest thing though, a kid saw me, and must have screamed or something b/c his mom came out, glared at me, and brought the kid inside... Didn't ask if I was ok, or offer to help, or get someone to help. Very weird. Who goes outside, sees a motorcycle on the its side in the middle of the street and pretends like it doesn't exist? :spank:

Oh well.
Now, I'm not the most experienced rider, and I know that grabbing the front brake like I did was a bad idea. What could I have done to keep me from dropping the bike? I feel like the situation could have been recoverable if I had a little better instinct for what to do.

 

[IndyFZ6]

Definitely sounds like you had a little panic attack. Not unusual for inexperienced riders. One of the easiest wrecks to have is hitting loose gravel or rock in a low speed turn especially in a neighborhood or a parking lot entrance. Hard to say if it was recoverable or not, but the best thing to do is to keep you head up and scanning all the time for things just like the rock that got you. How fast do you think you were going? Also, when you say the bike hopped, meaning the handlebars jerked, as would be common if you hit a rock, etc? Or did the front wheel just wash out on you?

Anyhow, learn from it and try not to make the same mistake twice. Most important is you are ok and sounds like bike is not bad either.

 

[QwickFliCk]

Givi engine guards ftw!!!! :blaa:

 

[Cameronhall]

:needpics:
please

 

[darius]

Oh well.
Now, I'm not the most experienced rider, and I know that grabbing the front brake like I did was a bad idea. What could I have done to keep me from dropping the bike? I feel like the situation could have been recoverable if I had a little better instinct for what to do.

That sucks. I washed my front tire at low speed on my 250 despite being smooth. Fortunately I immediately released the front brake and with my feet down, wrestled the bike back up before it fell.

I went back over what happened and found these factors that contributed to locking the wheel:

1. Braking using solely the front brake coming to a stop uphill
2. Old rubber- front
3. Mismatched tires (had just replaced the rear only)

I replaced the front tire and am now biased towards the rear brake on uphill stops. Since switching to the FZ6, I put new Pirellis on it in short order.

I figured the more things I do to reduce risk, the bigger safety margin I'll have.

Glad you're ok! I may hit you up for a ride soon.. :thumbup:

 

[darius]

The bike hopped, leaned over more and I grabbed the front brake and down we went :-(

Read this bit again. Next time twist the throttle and look where you want to go. Bikes are self correcting and giving it gas will stand the bike up.

If you stop while leaned over you better have good tires, long legs and strong arms..

 

[Erci]

What could I have done to keep me from dropping the bike? I feel like the situation could have been recoverable if I had a little better instinct for what to do.

Best thing you could have done: absolutely nothing.. if you had stayed on your course without chopping the throttle and touching the brakes, you would have had a much better chance of riding it out. Applying front brake in iffy conditions is a no-no. Grabbing front brake in any conditions is a no-no.. it has to be applied progressively. Have you taken a MSF course?

Very glad you weren't hurt and the bike came out of it well. Sucks about the people acting odd around bikes.. this too is common.

 

[FZ6 Naked!]

The oddest thing though, a kid saw me, and must have screamed or something b/c his mom came out, glared at me, and brought the kid inside... Didn't ask if I was ok, or offer to help, or get someone to help. Very weird. Who goes outside, sees a motorcycle on the its side in the middle of the street and pretends like it doesn't exist?

Was it a bad neighborhood or something? What a jerk!

Anyway, awesome choice on the Givi bars and I'm glad they helped! I bought mine and (knock on wood) won't need to learn how well they perform.

I had an old '82 Maxim many moons ago and laid it down twice at slow speeds while turning because of front brake. I love cars in parking lots. They're always so patient and observant... The front tire would wash right out due to bad rubber and loose gravel from sanding the roads months before

I've only attended two motorcycle safety courses (years apart), but I would think the recommendation would be to change nothing while in the turn. Just get it upright and then perform emergency braking. Someone with much more gooder brains will correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[ejether]

Thanks for the thoughts all. Its pretty much the same conclusion I came to. I do have a bad habit of stabbing at the front brake, and even though I "know" better, stopping just seems like a good idea. When I say "not very experienced" I mean riding a couple years. This is the first bike I've had where I've gotten to spend more time riding it than fixing it though, so a couple years is really only around a thousand miles. I'm really looking forward to doing some more miles this year though.

The really stupid thing is that I knew the rock was there, I SAW it.
I thought I was turning before it, and though the front tire did sort of wash out, it caught and I probably could have ridden it out. :spank:

Oh well, I'm glad there is no major damage, I'm fine, bike it fine. I'll call it learning and make sure it doesn't happen again.

Those of you who require pictures will have to wait, I'll try and get some tonight though.

Glad you're ok! I may hit you up for a ride soon.. :thumbup:

Do it!

Read this bit again. Next time twist the throttle and look where you want to go. Bikes are self correcting and giving it gas will stand the bike up.

If you stop while leaned over you better have good tires, long legs and strong arms..

I have good tires and strong arms and medium length legs... damn genetics

Grabbing front brake in any conditions is a no-no.. it has to be applied progressively. Have you taken a MSF course?

I did take the Oregon Motorcycle Safety Course, a couple years ago when I got my endorsement.

Was it a bad neighborhood or something? What a jerk!

I've only attended two motorcycle safety courses (years apart), but I would think the recommendation would be to change nothing while in the turn. Just get it upright and then perform emergency braking. Someone with much more gooder brains will correct me if I'm wrong!

Just your average suburban neighborhood where kids play with rocks in the street.

 

[callmegandhi]

Its been said but stay in the throttle or grab some. A moving motorcycle wants to stay up, and if you hit the gas the centrifugal force will keep the bike upright.

 

[ejether]

For you pictofiles...

I'm really impressed with how the E46 cases held up to the drop, though it was low speed, it was only cosmetic damage.

 

[ste]

Took my first ride since I installed Givi engine guards... I guess it was a good thing too.
I was turning left in a neighborhood and hit a river rock/cobble that had made its way into the street. The bike hopped, leaned over more and I grabbed the front brake and down we went :-(

All is well, engine guards did their job admirably, the Givi side cases kept the rear of the bike from hitting the ground. (Givi armor I guess). I am fine, didn't get caught under it or anything.. Life is good really.

The oddest thing though, a kid saw me, and must have screamed or something b/c his mom came out, glared at me, and brought the kid inside... Didn't ask if I was ok, or offer to help, or get someone to help. Very weird. Who goes outside, sees a motorcycle on the its side in the middle of the street and pretends like it doesn't exist? :spank:

Oh well.
Now, I'm not the most experienced rider, and I know that grabbing the front brake like I did was a bad idea. What could I have done to keep me from dropping the bike? I feel like the situation could have been recoverable if I had a little better instinct for what to do.

Glad to hear you ok,only thing hurt was your pride
try not to use front brakes when you banked over cos they can cause a fall
also you should consider doing a safety course
these guys can show you how to avoid trouble, and what to do in event of a whole host of incidents
plus some insurance companies will give you a discount for doing such a course

 

[sherry]

I too gently laid it down in a slow manoevering turn during my first practice, really gratefull for my new frame sliders! Front brake is not your friend at low speed! Front brake is not your friend at low speed! Front brake is not your friend at low speed. I hope I get this now...is it because of riding a bicycle, that it seems automatic? IM NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE :spank: my brother says anyone who says they haven't put their bike down is lying...is there a thread on this somewhere?

 

[ejether]

I too gently laid it down in a slow manoevering turn during my first practice, really gratefull for my new frame sliders! Front brake is not your friend at low speed! Front brake is not your friend at low speed! Front brake is not your friend at low speed. I hope I get this now...is it because of riding a bicycle, that it seems automatic? IM NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE :spank: my brother says anyone who says they haven't put their bike down is lying...is there a thread on this somewhere?

I agree, I cycle to work regularly. Its how we do it in Portland and I grab at the front brake all the time... ARGH!! THE FRONT BRANK IS NOT A FRIEND AT LOW SPEED!!!

 

[Rebuilt]

I too gently laid it down in a slow maneuvering turn during my first practice, really grateful for my new frame sliders! Front brake is not your friend at low speed! Front brake is not your friend at low speed! Front brake is not your friend at low speed. I hope I get this now...is it because of riding a bicycle, that it seems automatic? IM NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE :spank: my brother says anyone who says they haven't put their bike down is lying...is there a thread on this somewhere?

Ive done the same TWICE :spank:

First time was early days n tried to turn whilst backing into a space ... the bars went just to far round n i lost it ... put it down an inch or so from ground ...this was bad enough but unfortunately found the front brake lever also snapped under the pressure .
Therefore front brake was neither friend nor of use for min ... still rode it home carefully though n replaced lever next day .
Tis amazing though how people sit there gormless and watch whilst you struggle to lift the beast :spank:.
Second time was again just manovouring back a little when grabbed brake without thinking n that was it ... same thing went down to couple inches from ground before letting go ... in these case was very lucky .
Both at next to zero mph and stupid but if your going in you`re going in .
luckily though i got the crash stalks on the bike they saved damage thankfully (except first time ) .
Since then i a lot more aware and learnt from experience ... :thumbup: ...hopefully .
Seems though the slow speeds are the worst ... put a little throttle back on n as people say above the bike seems to self right

 

[ste]

i watched a video on u tube showing how to pick up bike if it falls.
looks easy enough to do
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPjYweKeiLk]NB's F6550GS - How to pick up a motorcycle - YouTube[/ame]