Day 1: Dog trouble

[50km/h Demon]

Hi all, just bought my first bike yesterday and gave it a whizz round the hood.
Aside from the stalling and leaving the indicator on after turning corners, I ran into my first dog incident already.

These little 9 year-old girls didn't have their dog on a leash and it was on its own on the other side of the road. It heard me, perked its head up from the urine stains it was sniffing, then started giving chase to me! I remember the road code saying I should speed up since dogs can't catch me, so I did. But the car behind me nearly bowled the silly thing over.

Was there anything I could've done differently to put neither of us at risk? (Besides walking up to those girls and unloading an earful of obscenities for not putting their dog on a leash?)

[CookMySock]

Forget about the safety of the stupid dog. Just look after yourself.

Steve

[Toaster]

Your priority is not to crash. Stuff the dog.

[Nasty]

The girl and her family didn't have dit on a leash .. they should expect that it will die from their stupidity ... it is not your problem ... you are your problem ...

[Pegasus]

I would go for the ear lashing for the little girls (hopefully drum some common sense into them for future reference). Why is it that people think that they have some sort of right to impose their dogs on other people? :angry2: And I am a dog lover.

More important to get yourself out of there safely though.

[tate35]

I do'nt think there is much more or anything different you could have done....you safety is first :) I had the same thing some months ago....I just sped off and did'nt look back :rolleyes:

[tate35]

Oops and welcome to KB and congrations on your first bike :)

[CookMySock]

If you HAVE TO run into the dog, hit it square on with your bike upright and the bars straight. Stay seated, hold the bars firmly, and brace yourself on the bike for the impact.

You stand the best chance staying on the bike this way. You will probably ping it real harrd with the middle of the front wheel and knock it down the road and out of your way, so watch out if it ends up in front of you again as it will be on the ground and under your wheels this time. Usually you don't ping it straight ahead - usually you will knock it to one side.

Dogs aren't normally this stupid - this is a sheep or cat thing. Also dogs will back off if you have a really loud exhaust.

Steve

[EJK]

Your life is far more important than a stray dog's.

Kill the dog if it means survival.

[50km/h Demon]

It was such an adorable little one too, the type that'd either hop into your lap when you're on the couch or squeeze under your feet to make a good footrest.
But I see your point guys, the dog should've been on a leash in the first place and the situation was beyond my control (and should've been under the control of those little unsupervised girls).

Cheers guys.

[Smifffy]

A decent blast on the horn can sometimes give them (and the girls) a b it of a fright and a wake up - causing them to turn away from you. Let it get hit by the car, then it's someone else's problem.

[CookMySock]

It was such an adorable little one too, the type that'd either hop into your lap when you're on the couch or squeeze under your feet to make a good footrest..hey hey! you're making us feel bad now.. I suppose it was white with really curly fur? Need beer fast!

Steve

[BuzzardNZ]

I had a large rottie come at me, I just put my leg out and booted it in the face as I speed past it. was lucky that it never got in front of the bike and came at me from the side.

[50km/h Demon]

hey hey! you're making us feel bad now.. I suppose it was white with really curly fur? Need beer fast!

Steve

Haha, don't worry mate the little dog's fine the last time I saw it!



I had a large rottie come at me, I just put my leg out and booted it in the face as I speed past it. was lucky that it never got in front of the bike and came at me from the side.

Yikes, good on ya for still being here!

[50km/h Demon]

I just dropped my bike for the first time yesterday *cry*
And dammit I was so keen on proving my mate wrong.

[hayd3n]

I just dropped my bike for the first time yesterday *cry*
And dammit I was so keen on proving my mate wrong.

of its stand?
low speed?

[Bald Eagle]

It was such an adorable little one too, the type that'd either hop into your lap when you're on the couch or squeeze under your feet to make a good footrest.
But I see your point guys, the dog should've been on a leash in the first place and the situation was beyond my control (and should've been under the control of those little unsupervised girls).

Cheers guys.

forget the dog put the bloody kids on a leash

[50km/h Demon]

of its stand?
low speed?

I U-turned too slowly. Such a rookie mistake.
Thankfully I was practicing on an empty street at the time.

[quickbuck]

I U-turned too slowly. Such a rookie mistake.
Thankfully I was practicing on an empty street at the time.

Yes, a rookie mistake...
BUT there is no such thing as too slowly....

Now, please don't take this the wrong way (Have to put that as many people do take things the wrong way on here....),
but it wasn't the lack of speed that caused you to drop the bike. I will try to explain:

What it was, was a small lack of throttle/ Clutch control, and you looked at the ground... Or not squarely over your shoulder.

KEEP YOUR HEAD AND EYES UP!!! Quote from SGT Wayne Christie (NZ Police).
Along with that, you should operate your throttle and clutch smoothly... NEVER touch the brake while in a turn.

See, you can turn a BMW 1200 full lock in a circle doing about 0.5 km/hr.... It is all experience.

Now, it is great to hear you are practicing. Well done for that.
Hope the bike isn't too broken up.... Most importantly, you didn't get hurt under it.

[CookMySock]

KEEP YOUR HEAD AND EYES UP!! [...] operate your throttle and clutch smoothly... NEVER touch the brake while in a turn. quickbuck is right.

For myself, I don't like fiddling with the clutch when I'm busy concentrating on stuff. I just move my ass to the outside of the U turn, look as far back over my right shoulder as I can and eyeball where I want to go, and just tip in and go. If you feel the need - quickly check that you are not going to collect the kerb with your front wheel, but otherwise don't look down - keep looking where you want to do. If you feel the bike tip in too far and you run out of steering lock (a common occurrence on the GT250R) then just dribble on a small amount of throttle and the bike will stop tipping in deeper - just like if you had turned toward the turn with the bars.

Steve

[50km/h Demon]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I took my eyes off where I wanted to go because my turning angle was too wide and it looked like I would hit the curb. I looked at my wheel's angle for a half-second to check whether it would hit or not and that's when my clutch-hand reflexively pulled to slow down. Lack of throttle, not looking at where I wanted to go, you guys have nailed it to the T.

Thankfully, other than a slightly loose mirror and a barely noticeable paint-smudge (as in I could get a towel and polish it away), everything's fine. I stuck my leg out, which decreased the falling velocity. Saved my bike from a thud too. I was walking on a slight limp yesterday but now my leg's back to 100% too. So all good =D

[CookMySock]

[...] that's when my clutch-hand reflexively pulled to slow down. Ah well no real harm done, but yeah thats why you get your hand away from the clutch - because it forces you to think about it, and leads you to believe that it is part of the solution, when it is more part of the problem.

I used to be adamant that I wouldn't drop my bike, but I have three times in two years. Oh well.

Steve

[R-Soul]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I took my eyes off where I wanted to go because my turning angle was too wide and it looked like I would hit the curb. I looked at my wheel's angle for a half-second to check whether it would hit or not and that's when my clutch-hand reflexively pulled to slow down. Lack of throttle, not looking at where I wanted to go, you guys have nailed it to the T.

Thankfully, other than a slightly loose mirror and a barely noticeable paint-smudge (as in I could get a towel and polish it away), everything's fine. I stuck my leg out, which decreased the falling velocity. Saved my bike from a thud too. I was walking on a slight limp yesterday but now my leg's back to 100% too. So all good =D

You can also lean to the outside of the turn when doing such low speed manouvers. Thsi helps balance the bike too.