Ducati Monster Forum

went down pretty hard today, was back road riding on a n unfamiliar road and the road opened up into a great strait and so i hammered it up to about 80-90 mph, corner comes out of nowhere and its was really tight. i locked up the rear and went off into some grass (luckily). almost kept it up but the front wheel tucked and i went down on my left side, bent my left bar and pushed it into the side of the tank leaving a small dent, also rashed up my front signal,mirror and brake fluid reservoir, also my slip on got a couple of scratches. the only damage to me is my shin is scraped up from my leg getting caught on my right handlebar. i immediately got up and took off. returned to the scene to inspect what happened. found i loked it up about 50 feet before i hit the grass then another 50feet through the grass and about 10 feet where the bike slid. I know what i did wrong....speeding on unknown road+target fixation+locking up the rear = crash! in my defense there were no sign warning of the upcoming corner. also about 10 feet at the end of the corner there was a stop sign that i wouldnt of had time to stop for so i guess i kind of got lucky to crash on the corner and not out into traffic and hit cars. im glad not much damage to me or my bike and was able to ride home and straighten my bar when i got back. was also glad to be wearing full gear except for wearing regular jeans.

Good to hear that you were able to drive away almost completely unharmed.

i walked away with a smile knowing it could have been worse........

Glad you're okay. I'm old, I ride my Monster basically around town, getting on it here and there, but mainly I ride it like a moped.

Great to know you are ok. I did something similar last year. The whole "target fixation " is really difficult to over come. Now that I've had some time to think about it, I got a little nervous and my eyes went from looking to where I wanted to go to looking to where I was. I stll find myself doing that from time to time, but now I know what damage it can cause and correct it.

i doubt i would have made the corner even if i looked through it, its very sharp and like i said there was no warning of it or the stop sign. I would like to petition the town to put a sign up, kind of hard to explain that i was speeding and that led to the crash, but in my eyes regardless of speed there should be a sign.

Petitioning for a sign is a good idea by all means. You should not have to give an excuse, other than you were driving on that road for the first time, and was surprised by the turn and could have been severely injured or killed.  [thumbsup]

When I get a chance to get on my bike and take a spin in the countryside, there are plenty of little ups and downs in the terrain.  They aren't really hills, but they are just enough to hide what the road is doing on the other side of the rise.  In these cases I look to the telephone and power lines to give me a clue.  They are along the side of the road, and they are a 20' high signpost suggesting what the road is going to do next.  They sure aren't infallible because at times they do cross the road, but any clue is better than none. 
    Also, I never ride fast on a road until I have ridden on it at a regular pace.  But that's just me riding like a grandpa.

thanks for not killing me with rude comments like i just got on another forum... i got things like learn how to ride a motorcycle......dicks!

Well, he was probably going a little too fast to safely navigate thru that bend and the following stop sign.  Would a reminder sign be necessary when going the speed limit (or near the speed limit)?

it could help....i saw a couple other marks on the road and in the grass where other had gone down so im guessing im not the only one that could have used a sign...

Glad your ok. From reading your "locking up the rear" I would think you never used the front brake? Or don't feel comfortable using the front brake?

The front brake is about 70% of your stopping power so ditch the rear brake, unless you are parked on a hill and start getting used to using those two big ass rotors found in front of the bike.


Ohhh and learn how to ride a motorcycle!  :P

thats the funny thing i never use the rear brake! i just kind of went stupid when i knew i wasnt going to make it...other than that its all front, im pretty sure i did squeeze the front brake but released it a bit when i got on the grass to avoid from tucking the front, when i wasnt slowing down much on the grass i grabbed the front again and went down..overcoming instinct is difficult especially when I dont need to emergency brake that often...

Then that just plain ol sucks!  When panic strikes it's hard to make good decisions.

When going too hot into a turn you have two choices:

1) Stick with the turn and try to make it - potentially crashing.

or

2) Panic, brake, run off the road - potentially crashing.

I will always pick the first choice, you just might surprise yourself and make the turn w/no issues (well, maybe soiled pants).

Be glad you walked away  [thumbsup]

My first real crash was something similar to this. The lesson: Go slower than you think you need to on unfamiliar roads.

(Was also glad I was geared at the time, and convinced me to make gear a regular habit.)

Glad you got away without real injury, and the bike was too badly damaged.

A smile and a lesson learned is alright in my book. :) 
make the beast with two backs those other guys who chastised you.  We all make mistakes and to err is human.  Some people forget that. 

Ignore those who gave you crap.  It sounds like you've learned a big lesson, it sounds like you have a good attitude about it, and since you are still alive you learned it the easy way.

Mike

Glad that both you and the bike didn't incur too much damage.

Maybe you can request a warning sign, but don't tell them you were doing 80-90 and crashed.  What happened to you can happen to the best of riders when taken by surprise.

Learn to ride a motorcycle dick!!
























There, now we have that out of the way :) Nah, just be careful, especially on unknown roads. Glad to hear you're ok and good luck getting it back together.

been there done that...
went down a curvy road and didn't know it. corner went into a decreasing radius...  [bang]

okay get ready for some pics...posted these on the other forum

this is the start of the straight....
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5227/p0722111436.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/204/p0722111436.jpg/)

midway...
(http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3797/p07221114361.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/35/p07221114361.jpg/)

toward the end
(http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/5994/p0722111437.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/824/p0722111437.jpg/)

the end
(http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7109/p07221114371.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/534/p07221114371.jpg/)

(http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/2789/p07221114401.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/695/p07221114401.jpg/)

(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/3495/p0722111441.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/109/p0722111441.jpg/)

(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8708/p0722111438.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/7/p0722111438.jpg/)

where my bike rested..
(http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/4492/p0722111439.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/836/p0722111439.jpg/)

it comes up by surprise...and those tire marks across the grass in the last pics werent from my car and happened after my crash, dont know if someone else missed the corner or if they meant to drive over the grass...
the road looks like it continues but is actually another road...

Glad that broken down car wasn't there when you crashed.  We all drive fast sometimes but I am not sure I would go 80-90 with those driveways there.  I am glad you are ok.  I can see how that corner could sneak up on someone unfamiliar with the road.   I think that the fact there is a road on the other side of the grass makes it deceiving.   

Jim

yup shouldnt have been going so fast, those driveways are at the very end of the road and had actually eased of throttle as soon as i saw them if i was going 90 at the point i saw those houses and beyond i would have never had time to slow down at all and probably would have ended up in the road across from the grass. the corner comes up quick, oh and its not broken down, the relay for the a/c is picky and needs to be tapped on every once and a while...

My first reaction was "I saw that coming a mile away..." but we all know the story already so that's a bit unfair to say. My next reaction was "If I did the same thing, by the time I hit the grass I would have been back on the throttle and cut across to the other road!" I would have made my Monster do some Scrambler duty and just kept going (whilst shitting my pants I'm sure).

I'm not judging here, and maybe I'm spoiled with the roads we have access to in California, but I would have NEVER ridden that road fast/hard. Too many houses and look how shitty the surface is! EWWW gross! (haha)

Now that I see the pics, I hope that I would not have done the same. Living in a rural area, and riding roads with lots of trees has taught me one thing, go slow. I have encountered way too many deer that just appear out of nowhere. Especially if you have loud pipes. It some times spooks them from their resting spot and they start to run. But like the rest have said crashes happen. We are only human and speed is one of those things that we just cant live without. Take it as a lesson learned. oh yeah, hind sight is always 20/20.

After seeing the pictures I'm starting to think the guys on the other board had a point!  [laugh]

Going the speed limit, you would have seen that curve in the road with plenty of time to deal with it. Speeding that fast on a road with houses, let alone a road you're unfamiliar with, is asking for trouble.

After see the pics, I stand by my post.  If you were going anywhere near the speed limit, you should have seen the bend coming up.  Anyway, count your blessing this time.  Be careful and slow down...  you don't know if next time it's a car pulling out of the driveway or a little kid running after the ball...

Compared to what we ride on in NYC that is one smooth road.

 :-X

Oh I know... my S2R1k lives in Brooklyn so that's what I ride on the East Coast. NYC roads are inSANE.

tell you that stop sign mid corner is what is wierder. i mean the whole intersection/road is kind of an illusion. i think i would have been vary wary of that road and a bit more cautious as well.

your right i didnt know the road, all the way leading up to those houses there are no houses to be found, only after that stretch and toward the end of the street is where the houses are, and i now know that and wont be riding like that on that portion of road again. I still think there should be some sort of warning knowing that people are going to speed on what appears to be a mile stretch of straight road. either way its an optical illusion how the road looks like it goes on but instead turns rather sharply. I was in the wring and i admit it, but street signs should be posted in dangerous areas.

I'll agree on warning signs for that left turn and a warning that a stop sign is coming in the middle of that turn... but not because 'knowing that people are going to speed'. that in no way the responsibility of the city/road owners. that corner is deceiving even just from still pics, so signs clarifying it should have been there.

After seeing those pictures, I would argue that a sign is definitely in order. I can imagine a person going through there at night, speed limit or not, and still not seeing the the road. It would be an optical illusion seeing headlights coming at you in the distance and you just assume that there is road between you and them.

+1

The worst crash I ever had was going to fast on unfamiliar roads.

People who told you to learn to ride the bike are partially right. Riding a motorcycle isnt just about knowing how to giddyup & go its about reading the road too. Roads like that with trees & houses on the side are a no go. A kid or a pet could come running across the road with no warning and you could end up splattered on a tree trunk. 

Im glad your ok and happy modding! [thumbsup]