Ducati Monster Forum

I have a 6 mile commute from home to work each way, so instead of getting the S2R out to make this routine trip, I had decided to start riding the Buell.

Monday, I am taking a right hand turn that I have taken every day since I started riding in May and I lowside the bike at maybe 10-15 MPH. I get up, no major injuries (ATGATT) and the bike starts back up and seems ok, just a slightly bent break lever. All afternoon and evening, I am trying to figure out what happened. I went down so fast I didn't have time to react. It wasn't that I didn't know how to react, just that I was down before the bike let me know that I had lost control.

The next day, I stop at the intersection and look for a reason that I lost control. Sure enough, I think I have it all figured out. For the last few weeks, I have been working on my cornering in controlled situations. I really felt like I knew this corner (having ridden through it over 100 times) and was pretty low through the turn. I look at the apex of the turn and what do I see but a manhole cover. I must have started to roll on the throttle when the back tire hit this and pow, down I went. At least it was the Buell and not the Duc and I was very lucky to just have a sore shoulder and a couple of bruises.

I have to wonder if I had been on the Duc if I would have dumped the bike. There is so much more grip in the rear and I have felt the back end break out a little on the Duc under acceleration and it never felt like it wanted to go down, not like this accident felt at least.

Sorry to hear about your lowside. :(  Glad you and your bike are relatively intact though. [thumbsup]

You say you've ridden this corner over 100 times...was that mostly on the Duc, mostly on the Buell, or on both?

Also, is it possible that it was wet when it happened?  Manhole covers can get really slippery when wet.

I have only been on the Duc for 2 weeks, so almost all of the runs through the corner were on the Buell. I think that all of the grip of the Duc had my confidence up and the bike could handle that much lean, unless something went wrong. We haven't had any rain, but there is a chance that the sprinkler came on, but it was the middle of the day and we are under watering restrictions. I just was at the limit of traction and hit the slippery cover.

Lesson learned... I hope. My shoulder hurts, but not bad really when I ride, which is super nice. Gotta get back up on the one that threw you off!

 Glad you are okay. Limited traction sucks, you just loose it and not even realize it until your bikes on the floor. I lost my front last night and ended up underneath a car. Stay safe and atleast it was just a Buell!!

Are you ok? :-\

Indeed. I hope that you and your bike are ok?

both fine.

How  is your buell? Which one is it? pics?

oh it is my learner bike, a 2001 buell blast. and well, it did just what is supposed to do. it gets picked up, bent back into shape and ridden home so long as the rider is able to.

the fall probably would have totaled the duc. -=smirk=-

My guess is that you are getting more comfortable on the Duc -- taking turns a little harder/faster than you ever have before.

You stepped back down on that tiny rear tire, shitty tires, and crap suspension and hit that turn like you were still on the Duc. Poor little Blast just couldn't handle it.

How early into the ride was that turn?  How cold was it?  If the tires aren't warm, they'll break traction really quick... especially in a turn when you get on the throttle. 

Happened to me once, with the rear tire breaking free but I rolled on the throttle and kept the bike up--- and right into the center medium curb where it bucked and threw me into oncoming traffic.   [bang]

I went back the next day to analyze the fall and this is pretty much the exact same decision I came to. I was way over in the turn, to be honest, way deeper than I needed to be for a commute into work. After just 2 weeks of riding, I was starting to get used to the extra grip, suspension and power of the Duc. The Blast has none of these things. Oh, and in case the people reading this thread don't know about the size of the Blast rear tire, I will take a picture tonight of them side-by-side just for a really good laugh. It is like having a front tire on the back. Oh, and the new tire is probably still a little slick with less than 200 miles on it. Perfect f-in storm...


It seems like you came out of your high-side OK though. Sorry to hear about your throw.

 The tires weren't completely cold, but were not what I would consider "warm" and I got on the gas at the wrong point in the turn. They broke at basically the apex of the turn where the manhole cover sits waiting to eat 2-wheelers. I had the Duc break out a little bit making a left turn into traffic, but it was a completely different situation. I felt the back end slip out a little but recovered right into the lane I was turning into. That slip was probably just a bit of oil on the surface and I wasn't over at all, just taking off from a stop sign at a reasonable launch speed.

Actually -- it is.

The Buell Blast comes with a 120 REAR tire... the front is only a 100.

As I general rule, I don't practice riding techniques in city traffic.  You just never know the road conditions, particularly at the apex of turns where all the muck, oil, dirt, squashed cats, leftover wrappers, masturbating crackheads, etc, tend to gather.  I just assume that the traction on commuting streets is compromised and try (and fail) to ride like it. 

Glad you're ok and that it wasn't the Duc that took the beating. 

Thanks! I too am glad the more expensive ride is the one that was upright.

And I do have to say that the primary lesson that I learned from this crash had nothing to do with technique or theory. The lesson I learned was the one expressed by Spidey, that traction on all commuting streets is compromised and I should ride as such.

Any kind of steel (manhole cover, steel plate, railroad tracks, grates) can get slicker than greased moose poop when it's soaking wet.  There is such a huge difference between how much traction you have on wet pavement and how little traction on wet steel that it's very easy to slip.  I avoid all steel surfaces I can in the rain and if I have to cross them I remember what I learned in the MSF course about crossing wet steel or ice: aim straight ahead and pull in the clutch.  Get back to turning, accelerating, or decelerating when you're back on pavement.

Scott

Every year I read at least half a dozen stories about fairly new riders seeing how far they can lean their bike over in a fairly low speed turn and then wondering why they lost traction and crashed it.  More often than not it is in fairly cold conditions.

The biggest mistake is in going for lean angle instead of just seeing how smoothly you can make it through the turn.  I'm always trying to get through turns with the minimum amount of lean overall.  And I'm especially sure to reduce the lean requirements if there is paint, metal covers, or brick sidewalks in the middle of the turn.

You might have saved it on the Monster, but you might have been able to get even more lean angle which would have produced the same result.

I'm quite certain that you could benefit from reading Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough.  He covers many different road hazards and how to deal with them.  If you haven't read the book, get a copy and study it.  If you have read it, read it again.  It will make a difference in how safely you are able to ride.

Funny that you mention that book. I was starting to read it just before the accident and have since seen several decisions that were not ideal leading into the crash. The good news is that I have the opportunity to demonstrate that I have learned lessons from it.