I have been watching videos on youtube that people have posted about the GS and then started watching motorcycle crashes :sad: and thought I would ask how many riders have laid there bikes down...GS or other? How and why did you wreck? I watched videos of people dumping there bikes in high and low side turns going fast and slow :icon_eek: So far I have never recked but I've had several close call because of other people not seeing me or just driving stupid. I am trying to improve my riding skills and might take a riding class next year. I would like to hear from you as to why you wrecked... inexperience, riding to fast, bad tires, bad road....etc Thanks :cheers:
There is a old saying, there are 2 types of riders. Those that have fallen and those that will.
I have dropped my bike 4 times, 3 of the 4 I jumped off before the bike fell over and was unhurt. The 4th I hit a patch of oil mid turn and my bike shot out from under me, busted up my left side fairing and broke my clutch lever.
Still rode home though!
No injuries from any bike crash other than a bit of bruising. Mainly its all about knowing your's and the bikes limits.
Hmmm...
2 x lay downs at low speed - one due to a massive pile of acorns swept around the back of a round about, and another on a patch of black ice.. definitely a painful exercise, but on both occasions the bike was spared any significant damage (cordura seems pretty tough)..
The near misses for me usually involve a) steel expansion joints on bridges b) that horrible tar seal they use to "temporarily" fix cracks in the road surface.. as soon as it rains...
I guess not riding to the conditions is the usual story for most people.
Dropped my GS 3 times, lowside in the dirt. F800 fell over on some very soft grass.
Dropped it once pretty recently, and had a close call the first time I ever rode it (lady pulled out in front of me, I panic braked and locked up both wheels, but managed to keep it upright).
Thankfully, I never biffed it bad despite having made a few poor decisions in the past 25 yrs.
But I did fall over a few times - twice using front brake on gravel at low speed, once because I forgot to take off a brake disc lock, once because I forgot to put the kickstand down and the bike fell over on me and the bike beside it when I got off. I also almost fell over a couple of times turning the bike around while sitting on it, and once my foot slipped off the centrestand tang and it started to fall over away from me towards another bike. I had a few 'close calls' in traffic over the years as well, but nothing serious.
Looking back on these, it seems that nearly always the source of the problem was being too rushed, and not taking the time necessary to do what needed to be done.
I taught motorcycle courses for nearly 15 yrs, and we always discussed how most 'accidents' weren't really accidental at all, but the result of poor planning and judgement. Certainly the statistics bear this out, wherein something like 80% of motorcycle accidents are single vehicle crashes while negotiating turns ~ too much, too little, too late as the song goes.
I dropped my 150cc scooter once, low-sided it once (there was either oil or diesel on the road), and high-sided it once (rain+crappiest brakes = :technical:).
The first time taking my GS off its centerstand, I lost balance and gently laid it down on my now fallen body... That was fun.
Dropped 2x from knocking it over :(
Laid id down once and vowed to never do it again.
I was bruised bad. I swore I had broke a rid. It hurt to get up or sit down. It hurt even more hiding it from the wife (she over reacts) and I hid the bruises for about a week until she finally seen them and ragged me about it. To this day I never admitted it to her.
My textile jacket, gloves and kevlar jeans saved my skin
WEAR YOURS!!
I have only gone down two times that I can recall, once on my dirt bike, low sided on a corner when I hit a puddle. That one popped my elbow out of socket. The other time was on my VFR750, low sided it on some gravel at about 10-15mph..
GS fell over once at 1mph in the grass. It was raining uphill and I fish tailed.
Why I went muddying I have no idea. Sotally Tober, I swear!
I think I am a bad rider or Seattle streets are just treacherous. I have been down at speed on the GS 4 times. 5 - 50 mph. Rear ended a semi truck once on my NX650 "death trap."
On the GS it was either my fault, equal fault or unexplained loss of traction. It would actually be nice for it to be someone else's fault for once! Close calls every day on the freeway and side roads of Seattle. Also had the back end step out on me many times for close calls when the roads get wet and oily.
That NX just had bad brakes. On the GS I would have avoided a lot of bruising and the concussion.
Crashing isn't fun but it is part of the sport and let's you know how you handle high stress situations. I've learned something from every crash -- that is the most important thing.
Just realized...I ride motorbikes like I wrench on motorbikes. Frequently and clumsily.
If you never strip a bolt, lose a tool you just had, or forget to turn the tank peacock all the way on, you will probably never crash.
Quote from: Bluesmudge on November 28, 2012, 08:10:06 PM
Just realized...I ride motorbikes like I wrench on motorbikes. Frequently and clumsily.
If you never strip a bolt, lose a tool you just had, or forget to turn the tank peacock all the way on, you will probably never crash.
I must be just buying time somehow then...
I've only been down in the grass and dirt with the little Honda 185. Never been down on the street. I got really close jetting around a parking lot on my buddies Triumph Daytona 955i. Caught some gravel, slide and instinctively went to put a foot down. It just about ripped my leg off, but the bike kept going and wobbled a bunch before settling out. After I cleaned up my pants, I decided my first bike would be one with much less power.
When I was 7 or 8, I ran a minibike into the back of a parked car. I've also had plenty of get-offs on my bicycle as a kid. As far as legitimate motorcycles go:
I've crashed 8 or 10 times on an old YZ125 dirtbike when I was a teenager. Usually just washouts, but occasionally I'd be going to fast and run through a corner into some bushes or something. I remember 1 time in particular I was going up a steep hill and lost my momentum. I laid it down and slid partially back down the hill. The bike didn't idle at all, so sometimes it would stall and I'd fall over if I was on an off-camber area or something.
To date I have yet to drop a bike on the street (knock on wood), but did tip my GS over once at a car wash taking it off the center stand. My foot slipped on the wet concrete and the bike tipped over. I think it was within 3 months of buying it. It's been knocked over a few times in the parking lot of the apartment complex I lived at in college also. I came close to rear ending a car in college also. I wasn't paying attention and they stopped short. I got on the brakes, but was too firm on the rear and my back tire slid out a little, but I didn't go down. I've gotten the rear end loose a few times, and almost had a few low speed drops but have been pretty lucky so far. I need to work on my low speed maneuvering I think.
On the street, once. So far. Trying to do a U-turn in a narrowish road, realized i was going a lil too fast so instinctively put some pressure on the front brake. Front locked and over she went. I managed to get a foot down and slow the descent. Scratched exhaust, bent bar end bolt, and snapped off the front brake lever.
Rode 12 miles home with no front brake lever. That taught me to not use the front brake at low speed.
Managed to get the rear to lock a few times, never enough to throw me off, but enough to give me a bit of a scare.
Even rode through a muddy field at a festival where fwd cars were getting stuck without dropping it. Im just lucky i guess :dunno_black:
Quote from: GSF500 on November 28, 2012, 04:35:54 PM
I have been watching videos on youtube that people have posted about the GS and then started watching motorcycle crashes :sad: and thought I would ask how many riders have laid there bikes down...GS or other? How and why did you wreck? I watched videos of people dumping there bikes in high and low side turns going fast and slow :icon_eek: So far I have never recked but I've had several close call because of other people not seeing me or just driving stupid. I am trying to improve my riding skills and might take a riding class next year. I would like to hear from you as to why you wrecked... inexperience, riding to fast, bad tires, bad road....etc Thanks :cheers:
ive never seen a mechanical failure that caused a collision. every collision ive witnessed has been driver and or rider error. majority of collisions were simple lack of attention to surroundings (all drivers) or lack of skillset for the speed traveling (all riders)
my own personal drops have been on road:
not recognizing pinestraw
run wide in turn
gymkhana (lots of errors, mostly throttle control)
offroad:
following too close
excessive speed
excessive braking
every single crash ive had was my own fault. thankfully ive only broken my lega few times, and injured wrists so far. offroad is safer than on road, no doubt.
my gs never suffered more than a scratched case. my cb fell over a lot. the fz was dropped once, at gymkhana. my scooter penetrated a bush in the front yard. my drz has hit everything possible: trees, cars, other bikes, varmits, bushes, rocks, rr ties, signs, people, dropped off cliffs, ramped up cliffs, and generally abused like no other.
you, take a riding course, find a moto gymkhana event, lookup gymkhana on youtube and setup your own. forget the stupid drifting and show boating. focus on the simple skill sets of slow speed clutch and throttle + brakes. learn the bikes limits in a controlled area, gain the confidence of knowing its limits on the road.
never, ever have the fear of tossing the bike away ! youll save many injuries once this is accomplished.
above all, enjoy the ride , and slow down.
Quote from: Calpantera on November 28, 2012, 07:44:00 PM
I have only gone down two times that I can recall, once on my dirt bike, low sided on a corner when I hit a puddle. That one popped my elbow out of socket. The other time was on my VFR750, low sided it on some gravel at about 10-15mph..
Oh ya totally forgot when I rear ended a stopped rental truck when I was passing a bus in SF, that was on a 50cc Honda MB5. That one hurt.. ;)
dropped 3 times... once when I grabbed the brake at full lock trying to back into my driveway, once when I stalled coming away from a stop sign (again at full lock) then immediately after this when I forgot to put the side stand down when picking it up.
scratches on the case and exhaust, bent lever, cracked cowl where the signals go through
these events all occurred before I put 200 miles on the bike.
Great read...!! I have been riding for 15+ years both dirt and street and I'm really interested in LEARNING how to really ride a motorcycle and the GS is great for that... :thumb: I like the fact that it's not super fast crotch rocket like my 750 ninja which was to much bike for me back in the day... :icon_eek: but I had enough common sense to respect it. The GS is perfect for my commute and riding style today and I want to improve my skills to feel better about riding on the road. Thanks for the replies and drive safe :cheers: I almost forgot....I bought proper riding gear this year, A protected riding jacket with lots of pads and Bohn-armor-pants which are really nice. I also plan on buying Dragon jeans + shirt for X-mas. I Know leathers are best but this set up should work if I ever need it but I hope I never find out. :icon_mrgreen:
5 serious crashes. 3 on the track, 2 on the street. Both street crashes involved seriously compromised surface conditions, and potential road hazards.
Be aware of the hazards out there. Develop an index of potential hazards, and a toolbox of survival techniques. But try not to freak out too much.
Never been in a at speed crash Did drop Flick the first day I owned him didn't realize how much mph a at500 had over 250 slipped throttle too hard and off he went into the grass. My second and most painful trying to push to gas station didn't put the kick stand down and lost balance due to uneven pavement . Tore 3 ligaments in my ankle. ATGATT for the win though!
Mary
Quote from: GSF500 on November 29, 2012, 02:13:14 PM
Great read...!! I have been riding for 15+ years both dirt and street and I'm really interested in LEARNING how to really ride a motorcycle and the GS is great for that... :thumb: I like the fact that it's not super fast crotch rocket like my 750 ninja which was to much bike for me back in the day... :icon_eek: but I had enough common sense to respect it. The GS is perfect for my commute and riding style today and I want to improve my skills to feel better about riding on the road. Thanks for the replies and drive safe :cheers: I almost forgot....I bought proper riding gear this year, A protected riding jacket with lots of pads and Bohn-armor-pants which are really nice. I also plan on buying Dragon jeans + shirt for X-mas. I Know leathers are best but this set up should work if I ever need it but I hope I never find out. :icon_mrgreen:
good mindset.
find a gymkhana event (not the stupid sliding mess!) or some moto cops that will open their course to you. you will be amazed how much you will learn in a few hours. and, just how addicting it is. i hope.
press play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjKIxiGei6k
Quote from: Kiwingenuity on November 28, 2012, 04:46:18 PM
The near misses for me usually involve a) steel expansion joints on bridges b) that horrible tar seal they use to "temporarily" fix cracks in the road surface.. as soon as it rains...
I have had the same near misses. A few times on the same bridge that curves down hill. Road tar seals also have been a problem for me during the summer when they are warm and gooey.
First real crash was because I was being a squid and doing wheelies. on a gs500. looped it and watched my pride bounce down the road, destroying most of the bike. Had a fun time rebuilding it though. Lots of road rash, no gear but a helmet. Very, very stupid of me.
Second was a collision at a 4 way stop. was exercising my right of way, and this air head chick just ran me over. Not much damage to the bike, no damage to me.
Other than that, dropped it at 5 mph in some wet grass. Parked it on some hard dirt, it rained and my kickstand sunk in. And was backing it up once on wet, uneven pavement, foot slipped out and down she went.
Fell over at no speed (walking the bike with the engine off, actually) with the Maxim 650 first couple of days I had it. Loose stone driveway, lack of experience balancing heavy two-wheeled objects.
Crashed that one at about 35 miles per hour due to a combination of badly designed crash bars which came with it, and I did not like much but also did not understand that they were badly designed, but which I left on "in case I crashed." (Perhaps they should have been named "help you to crash" bars) - if I or you get bored enough, there's a (not that) long post I made when I first joined the board (or shortly thereafter) about that. Learned that jeans are not protection the hard way. Bent the handlebar, dented the tank, rode home. Here we are:
Quote from: DoD#i on June 05, 2008, 05:06:21 AM
Speaking from personal experience, you want to avoid having anything that's not hinged (like the footpeg) hitting the ground, and you want to make sure that the footpeg is the first thing that hits, and ease up when it does. The margin for error is not great.
Embarrassing personal anecdote: my very first motorcycle came with a set of highway bars/case guards. I did not like the look, but I figured I'd screw up and drop the bike, so I'd leave them on for a while. Rode for a while. Had not dropped the bike yet (I MSFed before I started riding). One day I'm out having a fine time on the delightful twists of NY 327, and then my front wheel is off the ground, I'm sliding along the road, and the bike is sliding away in front of me. The highway bar was lower than the footpeg - when it hit the ground, it pried the front wheel off the road.
Bike hit the far ditch, flipped, bent the handlebar, dented the tank. I rode it home, stripped off the handlebar, ordered a replacement, beat on the tank a bit and painted a patch, and took the $#!&*!! highway bar off. I've been warning people about the hidden dangers of poorly designed accessories ever since - after all, I could have had oncoming traffic and a very different outcome.
That would also be a fine example of "leather works" (my jacket, boots, gloves) and "Denim doesn't" (road-rash on my butt.) Helmet didn't even touch. I ordered a pair of leather pants as well as the new bar.
Dumped the Seca turbo avoiding a car that blew out of a stop sign on a night with a slightly slimy road surface. Even though the car was at fault, the fact that I didn't hit it meant he got away with being an ass. Minor plastic & metal scrapes, a few scuffs on the Aerostich, rode away. Managed to tip that one over on the center-stand (yes, the center-stand) from sinking into soft tar/ground a couple of times.
Haven't dumped the GS yet. And I do mean, yet. Odds are it will happen at some point. I dress for the odds, because accidents really don't schedule themselves around how happy you are to be wearing all the gear or not.
Take the MSF class (or something "equivalent" if you can't get the real thing where you are.) Don't maybe think about it - go do it.
I've never combined drinking (alcohol) and riding, and I stopped playing with "'safe' amounts and waiting times" for four-wheeled vehicles after I'd managed to get by just fine being strict about it on the bike. I like to have my wits about me on the road, I find. And I can be social just fine while drinking tonic water or root beer or ginger-ale or lemonade...
I forgot about the time I dropped the GS at 20 mph in the snow. Snow is fine on a motorcycle as long as you don't have to accelerate quickly, brake or turn :nono:
You're right - did that to the Maxim, too. Roads had been cleared & salted, I was fine on the road.
Parking lot at work was the undoing of that day.
Need a sidehack for winter, I think.
Thanks again for the post....I am more educated on things to look for and not to do :icon_mrgreen:I prefere not to learn the hard way so thanks for sharing your experiance, I believe it can help all of us be safer. :woohoo: I will be looking to take a MSF class in the spring. Drinking and Driving :nono:
When I got my first bike my insurance agent made me come in for a meeting with him before he would give me insurance. I was 17 and had just purchased a Katana 750. He told me there was a 99% probability I would lay down my bike in less then a year. Here I am 13 years and roughly 20,000 miles later, haven't crashed yet. But I know it's coming, eventually. I've certainly had more close calls then I can remember. Most of them on that Katana, which is why I sold it 2 years later and bought a much slower bike, my '75 XS-650, which is what got me into turning wrenches, and got me into parallel twins.
When I rode dirt, crashing was part of the game...if you where pushing yourself. I went 3 years without laying down my last dirt bike because I figured out a pace that I could ride all day, leave most in the dust and make it back to work on Monday. On the street I went down in a corner from too much front brake while riding a grit covered road. That was in 1977, 25 bikes later and 36 years since my last crash, it can be done....find your limit and watch out for the other guy, zero room for error on a street bike.
In 28 years and 400,000 miles of riding on 6 bikes I've had a few drops. Doubt I can remember them all but I'll mention a few. :icon_lol: A week after I got my CB400T 1st bike I touched the front brake while making a slow speed u-turn and down it went. Lesson learned and never repeated.
Don't remember my CB750K 2nd bike ever going down while in motion but it went down twice. Once I parked it at the mall in a place without enough lean and heard it go over behind me as I walked away and another time I parked it and a man started talking to me before I put the stand down and after a long talk I got off without putting it down. :oops:
I had my CM400T 3rd bike a long time and can only remember a couple. Once while making a slow careful right turn I hit the throttle and went down, was on gravel on blacktop and another time I was passing a stopped car on a rough berm to right turn and my front tire hit a large round stone and just rolled out from under me.
Can only remember my CB650SC 4th bike going down once while parked, at Headlands Beach a sudden 50 mph wind gust came in off the lake and hit it from behind and it did a slam dunk with the big Plexi 2 shield on it catching the wind.
I hit the excellent rear disk brake on my GS500E 5th bike the first month I had it when a car started to pull out in front of me and low sided it. I learnd my lesson well and mastered that brake and when a deer suddenly appeared in front of me from behind an on coming truck my covered rear brake slowed me instantly just missing the deer before my right hand hit uncovered front brake.
Only accident I ever had on a bike involving contacting another vehicle was 9 years ago with my GS500 6th bike. I was slowing and just starting to turn from a highway onto a side road when I was hit from behind by a kid in a S-10 pickup. I high sided thru the air across the road and landed my 240# on my left shoulder and rolled a few turns. Got a broken left collarbone that never healed properly, missed 2 weeks riding after that one.
Oh yea, I forgot about 2 other drops. BEWARE OF NON RIDING FRIENDS WHO THINK BIKES ARE COOL.
One was my dipshit roommate who decided to try and move it so he could get a better parking spot, and instantly dropped it.
One was just sitting on it, put the kickstand down but didnt lean the bike enough and it fell right over. On grass luckily, but still bent my brand new shiny clutch lever and broke my bar end mirror.
Near Misses....
1 - was riding along and wanted to make a right hand turn (we ride/drive on the left in Aust). There was a truck wanting to come out of the side street and he was half way across the oncoming lane. This forced me to take the bend later than I otherwise would have. That is when I discovered that Every intersection has what I call a Debris Zone where bits of gravel and stuff collect. Bike started sliding out, but before I had registered it my foot was down on the ground helping me make the corner - I put that down to years of dirt bike riding and plenty of crashes because of that.
2 - Riding around a round-about in mid winter. Very early in the morning. About half way around bike started sliding out. Again, foot was down to keep me up and I rode away. It was either some diesel on the road or a small patch of black ice. My money is on the black ice.
3 - Approaching round-about in the wet. Slowing down, everything going nice. Car on round-about not signalling to come in front of me so must be going straight, right? Nope. Last second decides in front of me it is. Brakes applied a little harder, front locks up ever so briefly as I let it off. Foot had also gone down to better stability and kept me upright.
4 - Lady merging onto busy road. Talking on cell phone. Merging right into me. I'm beeping the horn. Nothing. Didn't slow or speed up, didn't even fuking look to see if all was clear. Forced me to ride between the flowing lanes of traffic until I found a gap I could slot back in to.
5 - Not a near miss but I'll class it as one anyway. I'm at a set of traffic lights. The sequence from my POV is, left right get a go then stop, across from me gets a go, then I get a go. So I am sitting. Left and right have their go then stop. Across from me has its go then stop. I get the green. And like I always do before moving off, I look left and right to make sure noone is coming. As I look to my right I watch as a car sails right through the intersection, didn't slow, just full speed. Light had been red for almost a minute at that stage.
Last road bike crash, long before the GS: Unfamiliar road. With a group. Road is foggy as, corners have water running across them mid apex, leaf debris everywhere. Guy in front of me had a few near misses. I'm thinking, "I hate this road I hate this road, it's so bad someone will probably crash". Five minutes later I'm a little too hot in a corner. In the dry, not an issue. But with wet leaves a good 1 to 1.5 meters in from the road edge. I'm drifting wide, wider, almost around, wet leaves, Forgedaboudit. In the muddy ditch I am. Bent handle bar and clutch. Hope back on and continue riding.
Michael