GStwin.com GS500 Message Forum

:x
well, I didn't really panicked, but my body did I guess.

Not 10 minutes ago I was taking the last turn on a stop sign to get home. I'm doing about 15mi/h on a corner I know very well and I take daily

Then, I feel a loss of traction on the front tire, so my body reacts without me even making a conscious effort. I lost traction for like the fraction of a second, and yet, my right foot tried to reach the ground (turn was to the right).

Of course, the bike immediately got traction back, so I reacted quickly and pulled my leg back up, but not before my shoe touched the ground for like 1/8 of a second.

Some old guy who has been riding motorcycles for years and years told me that something like that may happen one day, and that I should not overreact, because the tires would get grip (just like it happened) almost immediately. But still, even with that advice I couldn't stop my body from reacting... I guess from years and years riding bicycles.

Anyway, I was (and am) very upset about that  :x  :x
Isn't there a safe way to practice this 'loss' of traction to get used to the feeling?

darn it!

What ... That is dirt track style foot dragging ... I do it all the time ... OK that might be enough reason to not consider it a good practice ...
Cool.
Srinath.

wow, my toe hurts  :o

Riding a dirtbike is the only way I know how. Front end washouts are rare, most that you can do is to stand the bike up more. Maintain throttle so that it pushes the front end out of the low-traction area. If you chop the throttle, it will put too much of a load on the front and you will go down. It also upsets the chassis. So does braking. Grab the fronts, you're almost guarateed to go down (it stops the front wheel from turning and that stops the tire from searching for traction). Tap the rear - same thing. If you add throttle, you'll make the load lighter on the front and it will just want to slide out from under ya.

Something an old motorcyclist told me once, "Never put your foot down...that's how you break a leg." From that I learned how to use my body to control the motorcycle.

Hope your toe feels better.

police buddy of mine takes his patrol harley into sugar sand for balance practice *shrug*

best practice is real world experience, sadly, that kind of experience can be deadly and some of the "newly hatched turtles" dont make it out to the sea before being eaten..

anywho ive had countless slideouts....always scare me but I have trained myself to not have any knee jerk reactions ,,usually just keep on the gas (dont accelerate) and try to stand it back up if the corner has that option without endangering yourself more

you will always clear the sand unless (like me) your so unfortunate when i started on the gs i found sand in a corner that a dump truck spilled out close to the same color as the concrete (i wasnt watching) and it stretched the whole length of the road so there was no hope for me once the reaction began

hmm, Mounting slide bike outriggers to the GS for slide training.

I believe the same thing happens to me a lot in the fall. My tyres get so cold and so hard that they loose a lot of grip and I can feel them sliding as I go through turns, its very unnerving...

I lost traction on my front wheel in a turn about a month ago. It scared the absolute crap out of me. I was very very frightened. I know how you feel. All I can do is give a +1 to the advice already given.

i've had it happen lots of times, mainly from wet or freshly painted lines on the road. Just keep the throttle steady and as soon as you clear the slippery spot the tire will grab again.  Unless of course you run across an entire turn ocovered in sand and in that case you just hope for the best.

Jake

I have put my foot out twice during a front slide.  Both times doing a 90 deg. turn at 10 to 15 Mph. and hitting a tar snake.  Those little 2 inch slides seem like 2 feet.  Not sure where I gained the instinct....or "muscle memory" cause I know better than to put my foot down when that happens.

Quote from: '04gs500fbest practice is real world experience

yep. the more you ride, the more you're likely to have those occasional, brief moments. And the more they happen the more confident you will get in being able to recover so you wont have that knee-jerk reaction as often. You're afraid of falling and thats a natural reaction, esp if your background is on a bicycle. Happened to me too. It wont happen forever.

my toe feels much better, and now I have an idea to avoid this to happen again.

I introduce you, my GSF mod:

















(http://tinypic.com/im2c5u.jpg)
:thumb:

:)

My last "potential low-side" event was when I cut an apex at a traffic light.  I'll never do that again -- road debris (sand, dust, etc.) had accumulated and my front lost traction.  As with you, it bit immediately after, but my right foot also reached out to prepare for a hit.

Self-preservation -- a tough habit to break.

I did the same thing once.  It was like the 2nd time I had ever ridden my GS.  I actually did put my foot down too.  I thought at the time that I was able to right the motorcycle by doing this.  It sounds like it just did it on it's own and the correction in attitude was done by the front tire.  

Anyway.  I stuck my foot out once in the MSF course and I got yelled at for it.  

I haven't had this happen since that first time and I fear that I may try the outrigger technique again if it does.   :oops:

Quote from: subcIsn't there a safe way to practice this 'loss' of traction to get used to the feeling?

If you were in Seattle I could show you a few places to ride in the rain...

Thin Metal Strip in Road + Rain == Very Short Heart Attack

Quote from: RVertigo

Quote from: subcIsn't there a safe way to practice this 'loss' of traction to get used to the feeling?

If you were in Seattle I could show you a few places to ride in the rain...

Thin Metal Strip in Road + Rain == Very Short Heart Attack

Haha, Seattle. Last time I was there I saw sections of road under construction that looked like runoff ditches with boulders in them. the DOT had nicely put up "motorcycles use extreme caution" warnings.  :lol:

I see those Motorcycles Use Extreme Caution up everywhere.  And I always think, "Yes, we do."

There's an "Extreme Caution" sign when you enter the state...  It pretty much applies to the whole state...  And not just 'cause the roads suck.   :lol: