Pot holes/uneven road

[nezorf]

i drive a cage to and from work just thinking of getting a bike but the road is verry cut up in places i know were it is so that fine, but what happens when u r driving along and there is a pot hole? do you swerve, or ride over it and hope 4 the best?

[Ixion]

Well, the general response seems to be that you fall off and then spend the next seek vituperating about the lack of a sign saying "Bump ahead" .

Serious answer, if you see the bump or pothole in time try if possible to change your line so that you miss it. Easier on a bike than in a cage. If you can't , or you don't see it in time, hang on tight. Do NOT brake. Modern bike suspension will cope with almost any bump without major ill effects. Just be prepared for the fact that after the bump you may be heading in a different dierection to what you were before

Petal is an exception to the above statement.Petal does not like bumps. She considers that a dowager of her age and distinction is entitled to a personal bump removal crew. Modern bike suspension may cope, but Petal does not have suspension - an effete luxury.

You are aware that when riding a bike, the act of committing to a corner is capable of creating bumps where none were before?The corner moles. An arcane mystery wrapped in an enigma shadowed by a perplexity.

[Motu]

Mentaly and physicaly ignore them.....

You still know they are there of course,but you don't try and swerve the bike around them,and you don't take your eyes off your intended course.I've hit some pretty freaking serious obsticals in the road.....and got through them.Your bike is a pretty amaising piece of machinery y'know...trust in it.

[Karma]

Try and avoid potholes wherever possible, way I see it, every pothole I hit lowers my spermcount that little bit more...

[Maha]

I find that if you look at an object on the road the bike will head for it, see it, know its there, but dont keep looking at it, hole/rock/road kill? whatever...oh, and never look at a power pole.....:blip:
Not that i have ever hit anything, just heard about it.....:whistle:

[Jantar]

Most of the advice on here has got it right. Look at the road past and to one side of the pothole in the direction that you want to go. That is where your bike will follow. If the pothole is unavoidable, then use your legs and get the weight off your seat. Your bikes suspension will cope fine, and your legs will be your own personal suspension. On a sprot bike that doesn't mean stand up, just get your weight onto your pegs is more than sufficient.

And ixion. From previous posts you have made I do believe that petal's suspension will safely see you right. :yes:

[sunhuntin]

i try and avoid them if i see them....kinda dodge around them. though i do remember reading on here that someday the roads will be perfect and flat and boring. so now i avoid the bumps, but if i do hit one....its no biggie. what i hate are train tracks. ack. those i physically lift my rear of the seat. if you follow the same route often, youll eventually get to know roughly where any uneven patches are, and so avoid them.

remember not seeing one major pothole as i was pulling away from a set of lights. huge bump...thought i was going to china, lmfao. but....in saying that....ive ridden that same road and cant even see where it was....must be one of those moles ix was talking about!

[Colapop]

I think Jantar sums it up best. Avoid potholes as best you can. If you do have to ride over them, partially stand on your footpegs (take the weight off your seat) focus ahead and to the side. Your legs and suspension will take most of the jolts. Swerving will destabilise you and your bike and if you hit a pothole unbaanced the result will be worse than if you focus beyond and ride through it.

[Edbear]

do you swerve, or ride over it and hope 4 the best?



Yup!:doobey:

[Goblin]

Potholes are easy enough if I just lift my butt off the seat a couple of inches & use my arms & legs to cushion the bump, just dont throttle off. It's the big gnarley lumps of seal that get pushed up by trucks that I try to avoid. Have had the odd terrifying tankslapper from hitting those in shady parts of the road. It's ok if you know exactly where they are & can avoid them but if you're on an unknown road and one suddenly appears it can be quite unnerving.

[Squeak the Rat]

One of my biggest oh-shit moments was encountering a pot hole in the middle of a high speed corner with the bike lent over reasonably far. The bars went what felt like full lock side-to-side but I rode through it and somehow stayed on. I was surprised how the bike kept going given the lean. If I had tried to avoid it I simply would have hit it anyway but with the bike out of shape which would probably resulted in a meeting with sir tarmac.

So I agree with Motu et al. If you can leisurely avoid it then do so, else let the bike deal with it. If / when you are good enough to lean your bike near its limit then you might have a problem, but if your doing this on a sports bike then u should probably be on the track anyway.

[James Deuce]

Ask snuffles about riding over pot holes.

Lightweight alloy wheels can be dented easier than you would imagine.

I did the front rim on the TRX in while trying to dodge a hail of fist sized rocks off the back of a road works truck just North of Bulls. Missed them all except one. Only cost about $230 to get the wheel fixed and repainted.

My vote is: avoid at all costs.

[Motu]

It's the big gnarley lumps of seal that get pushed up by trucks that I try to avoid. .

I came across an extreme one of these a few years ago - the seal had been pushed up between the dual wheels of a truck,like your underpants sucked into the crack of your arse,it was nearly 200mm high and pointy on the top.It was right on my line with no real way to avoid it,so I picked the bike up and went over.I was on the XLV750,so had the advantage of longish soft suspension and a 21in front wheel,but the bike was still airbourne with some major action on the bars - I landed on the otherside and layed it down again for the rest of the corner.I think I may have broken the top of it as the bump wasn't as bad as I thought,but it's the biggest thing I've taken out at speed on the road.Commit and follow through....

[Squeak the Rat]

Lightweight alloy wheels can be dented easier than you would imagine......

My vote is: avoid at all costs.

Good point..

Avoid avoid at all cost except at the cost of crashing....

[toymachine]

On a similar note, how do people dead with those lumpy sections of seal on corners (anyone riding the scenic drive will know what i'm refering to)? They're bad enough in my car at speed, let alone on a bike..

[Ixion]

Hang on tight and pray that Helmut von HorniHumper is feeling in a benevolent mood that day.

[Bloody Mad Woman (BMW)]

Seconds and seem like minutes in the situation below. I've left my seat a few time due to potholes - thank christ my rear end found it again!! It's all been said keep your eyes to where you want to be.

[sunhuntin]

On a similar note, how do people dead with those lumpy sections of seal on corners (anyone riding the scenic drive will know what i'm refering to)? They're bad enough in my car at speed, let alone on a bike..

learn where they are and ride to avoid them, or else avoid the road entirely if you can. the back road to marton has two corners which seem like the ground underneath has vanished on the very inside of it....i know its there, and cant really ride to avoid them with out crossing the center line, so i simply avoid that road entirely.

generally, i consider my bike is like an animal....it knows the best path, all i have to do is make sure i stay on and keep her within her lane.

[bert_is_evil]

If you notice the pothole at the last second a quick jab on either side of the handlebars and your bike will dodge around the hole and end up happily upright on the other side.

Of course it's worth practising this a bit at low speeds dodging an imaginary pothole before you try it out to get a feel for how your bike reacts but I find it really effective.

I'm probably going to get a lot of people disagreeing with me here but I actually learned this from the original motorcycle road code (when it first came out about 15 years ago).

[beyond]

Potholes :(

And just as bad, as has been mentioned, is the hollows and lumps pushed up by trucks that are hard to see when travelling fast but turn into major upsetting occurrences.

First big pothole was coming down Ararimu Hill, near Bombay with missus on the back. Right hand sweeper, sun in my eyes, right there in my cornering line before I had a chance to do anything at all. Hit so hard it bottomed out my forks, slammed the back end up in the air and wobbled towards the side of the road. Managed to get her lined up again to finish the corner. Both mirrors slammed down from the shock. Bike took care of it pretty well considering, but it was hard jarring moment and the missus was a little upset.

Next close, sphincter puckering moment, was overtaking a Fireblade out Naike way at around 160kmh, truck subsidence and pushed up seal which wasn't visible till nearly on it. Bike went airborne, came down on some pushed up bits, went into a semi tank slapper as I landed back on the seat, bike slowly straightened out on it's own and allowed me to get things back in order.

Further on the same road, more subsidence from trucks, following a mate and we were both going fast, dropped into the dip with such force it gave my back a good jarring and again unsettled the bike which straightened out on its own again.

Therefore, from experience and numerous holes, dips etc, relax your grip on the bars and allow the bike to sort itself out, which it will do in all but the worst holes and dips which will likely be ditches anyway.

Avoid where possible but don't lose your bike if unavoidable to try and save on damage. Better to bugger a wheel than try to avoid a hole in the last split second and write your bike or yourself off.

[XP@]

Get an adventure bike, they are designed for bumps. A 21' front wheel and a heap of suspention travel smooths over most bumps.

NEVER have your front brake on when you hit a pothole. If you have to hit the pothole then brake first and just before you hit it throttle on a bit. The same applies if you are going to ride over a kurb, some timber, someones legs. Also if you can try and hit it as square on as possible, it stops your front from being thrown to one side or another.

[Ixion]

Nay, sprotsbikes are better. What y'do, is when you ee the pothole coming up, you pull a wheelie until the front wheel is on the far side of the hole. Then drop the front and pull a stoppie to get the rear over. Dead easy I reckon for those sprotsbike fellas. Should be anyway, based on what they say.

[Motu]

And they don't use their titanium toe and knee sliders at all? Seems an awful waste to me...