dumped my bike today .

[esokitty]

Hey there guys.

Hoping someone could help me figure out a couple of things.  Today, while out riding on quite possibly the NICEST FALL DAY ever, I dumped my bike.

I was taking a right hand turn into a dirt driveway from a paved highway.  I didn't notice the speedometer exactly, but it would be my guess I was going 10 miles per hour to 15.  I was in second gear.  I had braked before the turn, and had no brakes applied.

The next thing I knew, I was down.  The bike was on its right side, and I was on the ground also.  I think my right leg was still under it, but I don't recall that well.  

I was maybe 5-10 feet from where I exited the pavement.

I managed to get out from under it, take my helmet off, cut the ignition off, and regain composure.  But I couldn't pick the bike up.  I tried everything - pushing with my back, applying the front brake - I just couldn't do it.  Luckily a nice man stopped and picked it up for me.  I feel like such an ass- he looked like he was lifting a backpack.  He was a biker too - told me I should sit for a second, let the adreniline dissipate.  Invited me into his house for a soda, but I declined.

Damages:
Bike - suzuki plate scraped off engine cover.  Brake assemby twisted on bars and mirror scratched.  Nothing broken.  Looked like brake fluid had leaked out of the little box on the top and lever full of sand, but I cleaned it out and everything seems to be functioning fine.
Me- bruised right hip and a little road rash (thru jeans - they didn't rip or anything, just some cuts in the bruise where I landed).  I know this is an area which would have been a little padded or at least reinforced had I riding pants on, but those are on the list for my birthday (HALLOWEEN!)

I think I'm ok... A little shakey. Rode about 20 miles home just fine, although a bit trepidatious.  What bothers me most, is I have no idea why I went down.  Usually when something is about to happen, I feel something going wrong, or at least have some idea when it's done.  Not this time.

Here are my questions.

1. any idea what might have made me go down?  It felt just like the same turn i do about 900000 times into my dad's road - same conditions, same feelings, same actions leading up to it.. I just don't get it.  I'm wondering if my rear tire hit a rock or something that just jumped it out from under me.  I just don't know.

2.  How exactly do smaller (or at least weaker) people lift their bikes when they drop them?  I am just unable!

3.  Anything I should worry about damagewise that was not visible to the naked eye?

Thanks in advance, guys.  

~erica

[ollie357]

Bummer.  Hard to say. You were transitioning from paved road to dirt so sounds like your rear tire skidded out from under you. Having done that patch a million times before, maybe you just got a bit too confident and let your guard down.  :dunno:

As far as picking up your downed bike, I haven't had a problem on account of being tremendously buff. :mrgreen:

A small spill like that probably didn't do any major unseen damage. Anyways, are you and the other folks still down for a group ride? I won't be able to do it this weekend. Going deep sea fishing off of Cape Cod!

 

[davipu]

to answer a few of your questions,  there was probably a pea sized piece of gravel that you cought right under the contact patch of your front tire causing it to slide out from under you.  
  to pick up the bike you have to use the two largest muscle groups; your quads and your butt. the holding of the front brake only works when the tire is contacting the ground with some force (either bike weight or body weight) holding it to keep it from sliding. so with the bike laying on it's right side you'd squat down on to your weaker leg with your stronger leg out in front of you to provide pushing force to rock the bike back on to the tires.  at this point your butt should be against the seat, right hand holding on to something secure on the bottom side of the bike like a frame rail, your arm should be locked out as your not trying to lift the bike but steady it with your hands and push it up with your legs.  (now when I say your butt should be up against the seat I am not talking about the part of your butt that you sit on but the part that normally is up against the back of a office chair.  you should almost be able to feel your belt pressing into your skin.  a word of warning though if you go above your belt and try to lift your bike you risk serious back injury. )  now for the confusing part, with your left hand you are going to reach over and grab a fist full of front brake, pulling the handle bar into the tank as far as it will go.  at this point both of your arms should be locked straight out.  you should be able lean back into the bike and rock it back to where the tires are on the ground. at this point you have to push back and up with your legs, straighing your body out and lifting the bike at the same time. the weight of the bike should be held up by your butt and legs (* important note* your arms are touching the bike to keep it from rolling to either side while your lifting it with your legs, not lift the bike)  some times if the bike or you are in gravel there will be a tendacy to slide just keep pushing back untill the tires grip and come to a stop.  sometimes it is hard to get the momentum up to start getting the bike to move, don't worry, your stronger than you think, and once you get the weight off the ground you just take little steps backwards untill there is only a few pounds left leaning against you.  at this point the bike is up, but you are facing the wrong way so you kind of roll/slide to your left onto the tank area trying to stay as far back as possible.  while mataining control of the bike.  switch hands on the brake and reach down to put the kickstand down with your hand.  if your arms are too short or your not comfortable reaching over the bike just get back on the bike and put it down with your foot.  then get off and inspect for dammage, and take a 5 minute walk down to the nearest road sign and back to calm down.
and to answer your last question if it isn't smoking when running, or leaking and all your lights are working you have about a 98% chance that everything inside is fine,  hope that helps.  and if you pay for my gas up there next weekend I'll come set your bike over so you can practice picking it up. :mrgreen:

[Rema1000]

Just glad you're OK!

1. any idea what might have made me go down?  It felt just like the same turn i do about 900000 times into my dad's road - same conditions, same feelings, same actions leading up to it

It is possible that it looked so similar to a familiar road, that you saw it in your mind's eye as being the same, without giving it as careful a look as you would have if it didn't remind you so strongly of that well-known road.  There may be small differences; for example, the shape of the gravel makes a huge difference; or dirt that has a lot of clay in it doesn't need much moisture to become slippery.  

2.  How exactly do smaller (or at least weaker) people lift their bikes when they drop them?  I am just unable!

I think there was a similar discussion at http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11743

Not all riding clothes have hip pads (the JR "Ballistic" and Aerostich Roadcrafter for example); but I'm sure now you'll be checking for that.

[esokitty]

Ok, so after I posted this, I had to hop on the bike and bring it to my dad's and swap it for my truck (job interview tomorow, and don't want helmet head!).

Guess what!  I dropped it AGAIN!  

My dad lives about 2 miles down a class 6 nonmaintained road.  At the beginning is a very steep (i would guess 45-50degree angle) hill covered with loose rock and washboard.  

Now, I've gone down and up this hill many MANY times before, but this time I was VERY nervous abou it.  Everything just felt wrong and I even stalled the bike out going down it, and at another point had to put my feet down because I felt like I was about to dump.  Just felt terrible the whole time, and about 3/4 of the way down it happened.  My front tire hit a rock and the whole bike jumped to the left and there I was again, down with the bike on the right hand side.  Deja Vu I thought, after screaming swearwords about 40 times.  :x

This time I bruised up my right shin pretty bad.  But somehow, I was able to lift the bike!  I think it was probably the thought of having to walk 2 miles to his house, leaving my bike lying on it's side in the middle of a hill (no cell phone reception!).  I think it also helped that there was a wheelrut in which I had the tires and could kind of push against that.  Maybe the hill helped too.. or maybe I was just like the incredible hulk - so pissed I found some superhuman (or more like super-erica) strength!

Now, I'm chalking this fall up to technique.. and neves.  My back was all tight from the previous fall and I was VERY nervous about doing it again, so I'm sure that's what made this time different.  I'm sure I was tense and tight in the arms and shoulders and any little bump/wiggle which before I would have just rolled with was feeling like the end of the world to me!

Rema1000- Thanks for the suggestions and the threadlink.  You bet whatever pants I get will have hip pads.  Now I want taller boots too!  I think you're right about the not paying enough attention.  As I discussed the fall with my dad, I came up with a few things.

1. I was looking at the barn at the end of the road, trying to decide if the person I knew who used to live there still did, and probably wasn't thinking 100% about what I was doing.
2. I'm starting (or actually more like it WAS starting) to get a little more confident on the bike.  I've put 1000 miles on it since I started riding in June, and have just been telling people how natural it was starting to feel.  He had just commented the day before (after riding behind me in a car) that I was swerving potholes too agressively, and might be getting 'too big for my britches'.
He suggested that maybe a better technique would have been to swing out into the lane, then hit the dirt more direct/straight on, instead of at the slow angle I was taking it.  He suggested that if I tried to lean slightly more than I should have while the bike was changing terrain than that's mostly likely what caused me to go down.  Makes sense to me.

I geuss it's good I'm feeling like i've lost all my confidence now. Heh.

Davipu - Thanks for the narritive on how to pick the bike up.  I was actually thinking, I wish there was some way I could just lay it down a bunch of times and practice picking it up. :lol:  You're welcome to join us on the GS ride I'm trying to put together for next Sat - but I'm unemployed, so no gas money from me!  

Ollie - Thanks, mr. Buff.   :kiss:   SUCKS you're fishing next weekend - I think we're going to try and do that ride on Sat - see the thread in the meet and greet.  And you're right - im becoming more and more sure it was just overconfidence combined with not paying enough attention.  Cancel your fishing trip, and I'll see you Sat!

[davipu]

if I get time off and my valves adjusted I'll think about it, but then again I might just go on a drinking binge and kill the whole weekend that way, who knows?

[esokitty]

Davipu -

after a little more poking around and reading about some of your other shennangins, I see you're not kidding!  When I first read your reply I was like HAHAHAH.  North Carolina to NH in a weekend, ahahahaha.

But given your other journeys thats like nothing, right?  If you make it up here theres at least a round on me!

[davipu]

it's only like 8-9 hours, depending on traffic.  you got to love these east coast states whare you can go through 5 in a afternoon. they are all like this big ( ).  you go out west and you might get 3 if you start before the sun comes up and ride untill you pass out.

[The Buddha]

Oh damn... sucks, the GS makes a lousy dirt bike doesn't it... glad to know you are not too badly hurt... gravel falls are easier than the ones on the road... Anyway... on dirt/gravel... shutting throttle is just as bad as braking... cos the tires still lock up...
And davipu...when I moved to NC from CA 2 years ago... I started driving ~4pm on one tuesday, and we were supposed to be in NC following monday. I drove to ~9pm, moteled it, and drove the whole day wednesday and on thursday morning I was still in damn california... Man was I in shock...
Cool.
Srinath.

[Roadstergal]

Ja, you can't shut the throttle on gravel.  I once had to do a lap around the outside of PIR, one long winding gravel road, and I made myself keep the thing 15 or over the whole time.  Sucked.  Sorry about the fall...  I think maybe your wariness the second time around made you drop the speed too much?

[Mountaineer]

Anything loose, like gravel or dirt, or wet leaves, is like riding on ball bearings. This happens to me all the time, riding little black top roads way out in the country in WV. I always slow way down, like second or third gear or less depending on the looseness, and try to maintain the bike straight up, in a straight line, because any kind of leaning or turning won't work unless you're crawling.

Going downhill on loose dirt or gravel, you have to rely on the rear brake only, and preferrably be in second gear (first on really bad, steep stuff) and let the engine help. Stay completely off the front brake, or use it just a tad, because when the front wheel locks up you're over. You can slide with the rear wheel locked occasionally and still be upright, but not the front.

Going uphill is a whole lot easier as long as you can maintain traction. Don't let the wheels drop into a rut, stay on the high and dry side of the road! Even if it's the left side!

[Ed_in_Az]

 

[scratch]

Considering the fact that I have no dirt riding experience, I would still say to keep the bike as verticle as possible, slowing to such a speed that allows.

The least expensive pants that I have found with hip pads and adequate protection everywhere else is the Fieldsheer Astropants at $100 from Newport Cycles (maybe on sale for $88.). CE approved knee and hip armor, 500 denier. Note that these pants are not overpants.

Hope you feel better.

[Laura]

Sorry you fell, but glad you are okay. At least you were able to get the bike up the second time:)

Laura

[kyzee]

Glad that you are ok. Hope these small isolated incidents did not dampen your resolve to ride.  Can you tell us what tires you got on your bike? You may also need to check their condition as well.  for the kind of road you are riding dialy, changing to the more touring oriented tires may help.

[VTNewb]

Glad you're ok! Just take it easy and stay away from dirt  
I dropped my GS400 on dirt so many times because of silly vermont roads    

on my Maxim now I just go really slow on dirt