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Wiped Out on 1

lilmzsunshiiine

lilmzsunshiiine

New member
Joined
Apr 26, 2013
Location
North Bay
Moto(s)
'10 Ninja 250, '08 Harley Sportser 1200c
Name
Shelby
So my dad took me for my first ride along the coast today, and overall I had a good time, even though I crashed. I'm a very new rider, and this was my first time going through the twisties. Everything was cool until I realized I didn't downshift/slow down enough for a turn. (The sign said 15, I was probably going about 25) I ran off the road just enough to lose traction. I rolled a few times, am a little sore, and my bike isn't so pretty anymore. (However this is why I didn't buy a new bike for my first bike. Lol)
 
wot Beau said :thumbup

Keeping it simple: Look at the solution, not the problem :nerd
 
Look where you want to go and don't micromanage by looking at the road surface close to your bike.

You go where you look and if you're looking down...

Hooray for walking away from it and having an open mind to learn - and riding with your Dad. :)
 
Happy to hear your mishap is a minor one. You never want to hit a turn too hot. But if it ever happens again for whatever reason, go with the turn by leaning into it. Slide your butt off the seat a little and lean into the turn. To do anything else, you would likely reduce your lean which is the opposite of what you to do. Also do not grab a handful of front brake, that can cause a front wheel slide and takes you down.
You are riding with your dad. I am jealous. I hid my 1st bike from my dad for 3 years.
 
Hank Wong said:
Happy to hear your mishap is a minor one. You never want to hit a turn too hot. But if it ever happens again for whatever reason, go with the turn by leaning into it. Slide your butt off the seat a little and lean into the turn. To do anything else, you would likely reduce your lean which is the opposite of what you to do. Also do not grab a handful of front brake, that can cause a front wheel slide and takes you down.
You are riding with your dad. I am jealous. I hid my 1st bike from my dad for 3 years.
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The OP doesn't need to learn about body positioning now, and shouldn't start to hang off the bike if she thinks she isn't going to make a turn. It sounds like she just needs to work on some fundamentals first. I mean pointing your head where you want to go and not leaning the opposite way is fine.

I'd suggest picking up proficient motorcycling and reading it. A great book you can read in an afternoon that keeps it simple and will let you know what you did wrong. I don't think ever mentions needing to hang off to ride well on the street. I mean $12 for the kindle one or $20 for the paper one and it will make your riding so much more fun and safe.

http://www.amazon.com/Proficient-Mo...26865&sr=1-2&keywords=proficient+motorcycling
 
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he? I think OP is a she, what with being called lilmzsunshiine (little miss sunshine?)

of course this is barf, so who knows :dunno :rofl
 
Glad to read you could walk away, sad to hear bike no shiny no more.

But your take away from this experience is a lesson about limits.
It's easy to let a bike get away from you if you're riding over your limit in:
- speed
- skill
- ability to manage the road
- being tired
- being attentive to changes

Again, the good news is you walked away. You want to now focus on what went wrong, why and what can be done so you minimize it happening again.

As a newer rider, just slow down a bit more, enjoy the ride at a pace you feel extremely comfortable. Take a riding class, learn how to control the bike in; turns, objects in the road like deer, braking properly, and what Beau said about target fixation.

But most importantly, slow down a bit, smile and enjoy the ride. :ride
 
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F4iChic said:
he? I think OP is a she, what with being called lilmzsunshiine (little miss sunshine?)

of course this is barf, so who knows :dunno :rofl
Click to expand...

haha.. well you know what happens when you assume. Oh well lemme change my post.
 
aram said:
I'd suggest picking up proficient motorcycling and reading it. A great book you can read in an afternoon that keeps it simple and will let you know what you did wrong. I don't think ever mentions needing to hang off to ride well on the street. I mean $12 for the kindle one or $20 for the paper one and it will make your riding so much more fun and safe.

http://www.amazon.com/Proficient-Mo...26865&sr=1-2&keywords=proficient+motorcycling
Click to expand...

Okay, I'll make sure to pick that up. Thanks!
 
They are similar, but not the same. Target fixation is the situation where when you fixate on a target (typically the place you don't want to go - like off the road), you go towards the target. Tunnel vision is the loss of your peripheral vision and perception of what's around you due to your "adrenaline rush" in a high stress situation. The two together make you crash.

The thing to remember when you feel like you're going too fast into a turn is this. Unless you are really flying, your bike can make the turn. The way to do it is to keep looking as far into the turn as you can. Look at where you want to go, not where you want to avoid and just keep leaning the bike until you go there. If you are really going too fast for the turn, the worse case is you low-side, which is the preferred way to go down if you have to. Read the suggested book and I'd recommend the Keith Code books/movie as well.

Glad you're alright and sorry your nice bike got scraped up. Is it still rideable?
 
danate said:
They are similar, but not the same. Target fixation is the situation where when you fixate on a target (typically the place you don't want to go - like off the road), you go towards the target. Tunnel vision is the loss of your peripheral vision and perception of what's around you due to your "adrenaline rush" in a high stress situation. The two together make you crash.

The thing to remember when you feel like you're going too fast into a turn is this. Unless you are really flying, your bike can make the turn. The way to do it is to keep looking as far into the turn as you can. Look at where you want to go, not where you want to avoid and just keep leaning the bike until you go there. If you are really going too fast for the turn, the worse case is you low-side, which is the preferred way to go down if you have to. Read the suggested book and I'd recommend the Keith Code books/movie as well.

Glad you're alright and sorry your nice bike got scraped up. Is it still rideable?
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Okay. Thanks for clearing that up!

Oh yeah it rides fine, I rode the rest of the ride.
 
Its a common mistake. Glad that your OK.

Remember, they can always turn more than you think, cause the limits are in your head.
 
Just remember the advice here and you'll be better off. Every time you get on the bike you'll learn something new.
 
All good advice and useful advice. But as a fellow new rider I have also learned that sometimes you need to keep it simple. If it was a road unfamiliar to you, on a machine you have just started riding, and the sign said 15 mph, 25 mph is too fast.:)

I too have learned a similar lesson. On my commute home I make a righthand 90 degree turn onto a local street from a road where I'm going 40–45 mph. I was getting a little frustrated as it seemed as though I was always in danger of swinging too wide. Then on the weekend I took the same turn in my car and realized that I slowed to around 15mph. It dawned on me that I was trying to take the turn much faster on the bike. :facepalm
 
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