Take it carefully on the road over winter

[Viking01]

Was off to work at 7 on the Honda this morning. While the roads in the hills above the Hutt were damp, I was taking it very carefully. A gentle bend in 2nd gear about 35km/hour, and then BANG - I'm lying on the road with the Honda on top of me. No warning whatsoever. More damage to the Honda than me, but a bit upsetting to have my pride and joy with gouges in the fairings and engine casing. All repairable. I'm a careful person, but this happened in a flash. Take it carefully out there over winter.

[st00ji]

so what went wrong?

[AllanB]

so what went wrong?

"and then BANG - I'm lying on the road with the Honda on top of me"

Hondas are gay - that's what happened!

OK - I take the piss, bad luck and sorry to hear of your spill. It is a timely reminder to keep our eyes on the road.

[Blinkwing]

Probably went over a smooth spot or wet patch in the road. Sucks when that happens.

[BMWST?]

was a rare day in welly.Really heavy frost even some trace of ice on the road near our place.The hutt valley would have been worse.

[Viking01]

To answer an earlier question what happened, I have no idea. It was a gentle bend, and tracked the line I normally do (where the chip is coarse and gives better grip, avoiding the manhole covers). Conscious that it could be more slippery this morning - and proved it right. The thing is that the roads looked no different from normal (slightly damp). The wife works out at Porirua, and she said the over-bridges were white with frost. Talked with a mechanic from the Lower Hutt Honda dealership who lives over in Wainui, and he said it was wicked out there this morning. Even when coming back up the Normandale hill this afternoon at 1:30pm, I encountered a car which was slewed sideways across the width of the road.
All I can say is 'Bugger'.

[pete376403]

was a rare day in welly.Really heavy frost even some trace of ice on the road near our place.The hutt valley would have been worse.
Ohh yes!. Turned on to River Road from Whakatiki street at about 40km/hr in the work van, initially the front wheels sledged sideways for a bit, once they gripped then the back of the van slid around. Interesting moment.

[Trudes]

There was ice all over the roads around here this morning, I'm surprised there aren't a crap load more of these threads from Welly folks after this morning. Bad luck mate, glad you're ok though.

[blackdog]

left stokes at 6am this morning was white everywhere. had a lady at wk said her son slid off the haywards and the car was a write off.....

[Spearfish]

Just a question or two for those in the know.
If your ride is used as a commuter do you change tyre types for winter?
Is the difference really that much better between types, considering what surfaces are usually giving some problems?

[OutForADuck]

Ice or Diesel? Two of us were taken out round back of Taupo over the long weekend.... both of us went down faster than you could blink and we also were taking it easy.

Turned out to be diesel on the road in our case, floating on the rain!!!

Good to see you are ok dude.... harder to fix the body that bolt new bits on a bike.

[Gibbo89]

Just a question or two for those in the know.
If your ride is used as a commuter do you change tyre types for winter?
Is the difference really that much better between types, considering what surfaces are usually giving some problems?

interesting question, i'm sure if people could afford it then they might have extra sticky tyres for winter?

i also wonder about tyre pressure, some believe that its good to have softer tyres to have more tyre on the road in the winter. i reckon this makes the bike feel unstable and makes me more nervous about bailing on the bike. so i check the pressure regularly on my tyres...

[miloking]

Was off to work at 7 on the Honda this morning. While the roads in the hills above the Hutt were damp, I was taking it very carefully. A gentle bend in 2nd gear about 35km/hour, and then BANG - I'm lying on the road with the Honda on top of me. No warning whatsoever. More damage to the Honda than me, but a bit upsetting to have my pride and joy with gouges in the fairings and engine casing. All repairable. I'm a careful person, but this happened in a flash. Take it carefully out there over winter.

Where were your frame sliders that day, at home? I dont see a reason on having nice bike without them! (even for the chance of bike falling over in a garage)

[carver]

you need to ride faster, riding like a pansy will always have bad consequences

[BMWST?]

Ice or Diesel? Two of us were taken out round back of Taupo over the long weekend.... both of us went down faster than you could blink and we also were taking it easy.

Turned out to be diesel on the road in our case, floating on the rain!!!

Good to see you are ok dude.... harder to fix the body that bolt new bits on a bike.

diesel is almost as slippery as ice...i reckon the op slid on a bit of black ice,a rare occurence in welly

[george formby]

Just a question or two for those in the know.
If your ride is used as a commuter do you change tyre types for winter?
Is the difference really that much better between types, considering what surfaces are usually giving some problems?

If the roads are icy, black ice, slick with diesel or general winter slime, moss, crap & standing water nothing grips. Spend your money on engine bars & crash bungs.

[Jantar]

interesting question, i'm sure if people could afford it then they might have extra sticky tyres for winter?......
If you are going to change your tyres for winter riding then you are better off with touring tyres rather than sport tyres. You want tyres that will heat up quickly and hold their heat. Most of the sticky tyres actually have to be ridden hard to get them hot enough to work. So in this respect Carver is actually close to right. Sticky tyres and ride hard, but don't be suprised when you crash, or touring tyres and take it easy.

[Chrislost]

interesting question, i'm sure if people could afford it then they might have extra sticky tyres for winter?


no,
NO
NONONONONONONONONO
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


Sticky tyres are designed to work hot...

winter is cold...

get a set of touring tyres for winter.

[crazyhorse]

just ride to the conditions....................... :scooter:

[Madness]

......................and if they change increase your speed.

And watch out for Pheasants. I found out today they are pharking stupid animals.

[Jantar]

If you are going to change your tyres for winter riding then you are better off with touring tyres rather than sport tyres. You want tyres that will heat up quickly and hold their heat. Most of the sticky tyres actually have to be ridden hard to get them hot enough to work. So in this respect Carver is actually close to right. Sticky tyres and ride hard, but don't be suprised when you crash, or touring tyres and take it easy.
I should add that for the ride in this thread http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/125055-How-cold-is-cold I was using Pirelli Scorpions, an adventure/touring tyre.

[Viking01]

Interesting to see the comments in response. Two points to mention: (1) While the tyres still had reasonable depth (at least 3mm on front ), I had had the Honda booked in to have a set of Continental Attacks fitted the following week-end. Had looked at PR2's and the Attacks, and decided to go with the Attacks. Living at the top of a hill, I am always careful first thing in the morning with cold tyres on wet surface. (2) Had looked at frame sliders earlier, but the fairings (with side mounted radiators inside) seemed to preclude fitting them. No obvious place to mount them. Searched the Web for information. When I asked at the local Honda dealership, there was a general lack of information - they either had not done so in the past, or could not figure out how to do so. Would have been happy to have them fitted. Cheers.

[miloking]

Interesting to see the comments in response. Two points to mention: (1) While the tyres still had reasonable depth (at least 3mm on front ), I had had the Honda booked in to have a set of Continental Attacks fitted the following week-end. Had looked at PR2's and the Attacks, and decided to go with the Attacks. Living at the top of a hill, I am always careful first thing in the morning with cold tyres on wet surface. (2) Had looked at frame sliders earlier, but the fairings (with side mounted radiators inside) seemed to preclude fitting them. No obvious place to mount them. Searched the Web for information. When I asked at the local Honda dealership, there was a general lack of information - they either had not done so in the past, or could not figure out how to do so. Would have been happy to have them fitted. Cheers.

Oggy Knobs make sliders for your VFR.... (i have same brand on my CBR, together with swingarm sliders) ...have a look into it, they are little pricier but they repay themselves in even one low speed crash. But try to avoid any cheaper "no cut" sliders as they usualy bend and can cause even more damage...

[Viking01]

Hi, Thanks for comments on Oggy Knobs. Had looked at these earlier. I was definitely trying to avoid cut-outs within the fairing. There seemed to be two positions that they could be fitted: (1) screwed roughly above the footpeg (2) at the rear of the triangular opening in the fairing, beside the radiator. The first position did not tlook much use in a slide - in fact, my thigh probably did a much better job last Monday ... 8-) . The second position looked much better, in that it pushed the pivot point much further forward. However, it did not appear to be bolted directly through to the frame, and looked as though it could collapse into the radiator. The best website reference I could find that discussed pros-and-cons was:
http://vfrworld.com/forums/general-vfr-discussions/11419-oggy-knobs-anyone.html
Guess that it's a bit of a trade-off as to which components end up getting damaged. Thanks for your comments. I'll do some more investigation. Cheers.