Hi All,

I just thought I'd share something about a (rider caused, low injury) crash that I had yesterday. Maybe I could get some feedback too.

I was riding along a twisty mountain road (skyline blvd south of 92, for those of you who know norcal), and decided to take an even twisier road (pagemill) to get to palo alto. I had never been on the road before, and once I got on it I coulld tell that maybe it wasn't the best idea to be on this particular road since I just started riding a few weeks ago. I was trying to take it slow, though, and practice Hough's "slow, look, lean, roll" technique, with an emphasis on not turning too early.  I kept freaking out when I was leaning because a lot of the road wasn't paved very well. On this one particular left turn, after making the turn at the apex and feeling ok, I quickly found that I was running out of road in the straight section because I was going wide and the shoulder was narrowing. I made a bad situation worse by panicking and not pushing left on the handlebars.  I don't rembember exactly what I did, but I think I tried to twist the handlebars left as if I was riding a slow moving bicycle, and brake.  Once I hit the gravel on the shoulder it was all over, and I crashed into the street and landed on my left side. ThankfullyI was wearing my alpinestars jacket, otherwised I might have broken my shoulder or something since I landed directly on my left shoulder with my bike on top of me. The only injury I got was a cut knee though. Unfortunately, my bike got a bunch of cosmetic damage on the left side  Actually, I hope the damage is just cosmetic. Any particular type of more serious damage I should check for?

Some things I could have done differently to prevent the crash:

* I took "don't turn too early" a little too far. I shoulld have turned a little bit earlier to avoid the edge of the road.
* Although I looked where I wanted to go, I didn't choose a path to get there. I focused on getting to a point down the road, but I didn't figure out, and stick to, a particular path.
* I shouldn't have ridden with such a bad hangover. I had drank a lot the night before, and could tell my body wasn't at its best when I set out. Bad idea to go on such a twisty, unfamiliar road in such a state. If I had been in a better state of mind, I might not have panicked at the shoulder, and instead been able to lean left at the right time.

Things to do:

* Practice swerving.
* Practice "slow, look, lean, roll."

Welcome to the board!

I'm sorry to hear that you had your first "Pandy Moment".  IMO, the major factor contributing to your downfall (no pun intended) was the hangover.  You couldn't think clearly, therefore couldn't ride at your best.

Quote from: shobogenzo on September 04, 2006, 09:58:13 PM
ThankfullyI was wearing my alpinestars jacket, otherwised I might have broken my shoulder or something since I landed directly on my left shoulder with my bike on top of me.

dont think your jacket necessarily saved your shoulder. I had the same crash, same jacekt, and ended up with a broken collarbone.

It sounds like you know what you did and, more importantly, you know what you should have done. practice...
glad you werent hurt badly.

Glad you're okay. Many new riders will take turns wide because they are scared of leaning the bike too far and sliding out, but in reality you can usually drag the footpegs or centerstand before you skid out. I'm not sugesting that you try to do this anytime soon, but if you come into a corner hot, the most important thing to do is not pannic. Just keep looking through the turn (not the shoulder) and just lean a bit further.

If this was a right turn, you could have gotten in a head on  It sounds like you have the right idea, just take it easy (on the bike and the booze  )

As far as things to check on the bike, make sure your battery hasn't spilled. If the vent hose is missing or cracked, acid can spill and start eating everything. Rinse everything down with water (now!)  and allow it to dry if you think the battery spilled. Other than that, just take off the sidecover and make sure the wiring isn't too torn up.
Ride safe

Hangovers suck.........................

Yeah I don't ride until I'm alive again.

Always, always consciously use countersteering in every turn.  That way, when the s#!t hits the fan, it will be automatic and you won't be tempted to turn your handlebars into the turn.  It's saved me several times when I've target fixated on the curb and not where I'm going. 

Quote from: shobogenzo on September 04, 2006, 09:58:13 PM
I made a bad situation worse by panicking and not pushing left on the handlebars. I don't rembember exactly what I did, but I think I tried to twist the handlebars left as if I was riding a slow moving bicycle

I made the exact same mistake and a concrete barrier let me know about it.

im a new rider and I wldnt dare do twisties yet, especially with a hangover.  Glad ur ok.

Glad your alright, and i havn't ridden with a hangover yet.  Hell i take the cage when i am really groggy in the morning, just don't want to take any more risks that i already am.  Ride safe and be careful man.

Glad you're allright.  I know that road pretty well.  Going downhill is one of the toughest things to do as a new rider.  That road is not that bad (in the middle).  As a new rider, though, those bumps can be unnerving.  Having dirtbike experience helps going down bumpy roads (get your butt off the seat).  Now, here's the tips:
Pinch the tank with your knees, this gives you a pair of contact points with which to use leverage to...
Flex your back to get your upper body weight off the handlebars, it's no good fighting yourself when the weight of your body is being distributed to Both handgrips; get your weight off the bars so you can Steer!  You're still going to need your elbows bent so you can still absorb bumps and push on the bars (one end or handgrip) to initiate a turn.
Weight the pegs - Get the balls of your feet on the pegs.  This gives you the leverage to pinch the tank and get your butt off the seat a little, also weight the outside peg (if your turning left, put more weight on the right peg), this'll help stabilize the bike, and is really helpful in the rain (or, if there's a wet spot on the road).

Let me know next time you want to ride up there.

And, Welcome!

Welcome to GSTwin, and glad you aren't hurt too badly.   

P.S. Don't listen to annguyen1981. "pandy moment" = falling over at a stand still...not crashing!   

In addition to what's already been said, if you only started riding a few weeks ago, I would be hesitant to take any of the roads off of Skyline. Skyline itself, especially between Alice's (84 & 35) and four corners (9 & 35), is a good road to learn on. The twisties are much milder, and the pavement is pretty good. Most of the roads branching off of Skyline are much tighter and more technical.

Also, I would suggest that when you go for a ride, pick a single topic and focus on it: lines, countersteering, leaning, etc. They are all related, and it is very easy to get caught up in thinking about too many things. I found this to be especially helpful when I first started riding.

Quote from: brett on September 05, 2006, 01:43:42 PM
Also, I would suggest that when you go for a ride, pick a single topic and focus on it: lines, countersteering, leaning, etc. They are all related, and it is very easy to get caught up in thinking about too many things. I found this to be especially helpful when I first started riding.

I'll second this.

When I was at the track I picked one thing to concentrate on for a few laps. Breathing, lines, counterstearing, leaning the bike properly, looking through a turn, foot placement, shifting points, throttle delivery and control, being smooth, side to side body transfers, weight distribution, bar and foot pressure, etc; it all plays a big part in how the bike operates and tracks in a corner, but as you can tell there are a LOT of things there! Work on one, maybe two things at a time. For example, work on starting wide, hitting the apex of the turn, and exiting wide by using your bike's power to accelerate you out of the turn. While you're doing this you'll learn that in order to make the turn well you'll have to look through the turn, but it will be pretty much automatic by then (you won't even realize you're doing it).

Turn-in points might be a good one.  It's also called the Two-step.

First step is to pick a point where to turn.  This point should be on the outside of the turn.
This is where you should have all of your braking and downshifting done.

The second is to turn (pretty easy huh?) (this would be where you look, lean, and roll on).

There's a lot more to it, but they are details to the big picture, they become more important as you go faster.

Also, came into this: http://www.southbayriders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32206

Quote from: Egaeus on September 05, 2006, 07:08:25 AM
Always, always consciously use countersteering in every turn.  That way, when the s#!t hits the fan, it will be automatic and you won't be tempted to turn your handlebars into the turn.

+1

Glad to hear your ok.

You just have to love the advice a motorcycle foru like this provides about good riding tecniques. Thanks to the GSTWINS members 

We want to keep you around. 

Hi All,

I really want to thank you all for your comments and suggestions. The advice given will definitely help to make me a safer rider. Thanks!