my first crash....

[jc.cyberdemon]

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.

[ManaloEA]

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

[jc.cyberdemon]

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

[gregrnel]

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.

[scduc]

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.

[jc.cyberdemon]

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.

[ManaloEA]

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. 

[77south]

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.

[jc.cyberdemon]

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!

[Goat_Herder]

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. 

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)?

[jc.cyberdemon]

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...

[arai_speed]

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! 

[jc.cyberdemon]

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...

[arai_speed]

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 

[zarn02]

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.