My first drop - learning experience.

[Version_II]

O.K 4 days into riding the bike had my first drop :bye:
This is what happened.
Going up Stuart St Dunedin, hard uphill left hand bend turn off, leading up to a round about at Roslyn.
Camber on road sloping down to the left as well.
Made it up round the bend to the give way at the top.
Was leaning into the turn a wee bit as it was sharp and steep uphill.
Checked for traffic from the right. Car headed through the roundabout without indicating.
Head was looking right.
Bike was leaning a bit left.
Tapped the front brake to stop and let the car through.
Balance went front and left.
Put my foot down to steady but the road sloped down and to the left so bike leant over more as my foot went down.
So here I was centered over the front left of the bike, left foot down on a hard lean.
Pulled and leaned all I could back to the right, but it was too far gone.
Rolled over with the bike onto the ground to the left.
Was stationery so only busted indicator lense and the knob bit off the end of the clutch lever. Buld in indicator fine.
I was fine.
Trying to figure out what to do different next time.
My guess.
Focus on stopping safely first, then check for traffic.
Stop the bike straight up not on a lean.

With the help of the motorist behind pulled the bike back up and I was on my way again. Knock to the confidence, but rode around for 20mins after that settling myself back in.

Any pointers welcomed?

Basically need to practice low speed turning and stopping more in a carpark.
Will do this on the weekend.
Also getting balance right. Quite tricky part of the road where I had my spill.
Very steep uphill right hand curve with give way half way through the bend.
Might just avoid that bit of road for now.
My bike (GT250R) seems to will you to lean forward.
Im guessing since the traction is all at the rear you should keep centered or even a bit back from center when riding to use your body to balance the bike.

[Ixion]

Don't fret too much about that. There's not a biker alive who at some stage hasn't had the "ooohhheeer where the F's the ground gone" moment.

Obvious solution, in such a position put right foot down not left. Which means not using the rear brake for the stop of course. Blame the stupid Yanks for that, forcing bikes to have to brake and gear levers on the wrong side .

And as you say, stop upright , with bars slightly right.

Shrug, note and move on.It's not a big deal.

[NighthawkNZ]

First of all good to hear you are ok and not to much damage to your ride...

Roslyn is a prick of a spot on the best of days... The camber is wrong, its a fucked up round about and the traffic is well typical cage driving...

If you want I can go with you on a ride or two and give some pointers... and or go find a car park somewhere and do some practise slow riding and turning...

[Version_II]

Thanks:sunny:
Just getting used to not trying to do everything at once on the bike.
Stop - turn - look - balance - indicate - clutch
Just a learning to ride thing.
I expect a few more lessons yet, but taking it easy.
Got the lense replaced this morning and applied my first piece of insulation tape to my bike.
Kinda like christening it really :laugh:
Will get clutch lever replaced after xmas.
As well as get those protective pants i've been saving for.
The weather is wet and windy down here as well, and I thought I should give riding in rough conditions a go when the spill happened.
In a way im glad I did it.
Rest of the ride was flawless.
Practiced good following distance and stopping HEAPS earlier.
All fine.
The gusts of wind are a bit freakish at times.
Carpark work definitely I think next time.
Then go from there.:Punk:

[Lteejay]

I think your great just for getting on the road, as my very first movement on my bike last night was only laps around our underground carpark

Lets us know how the rest goes and hand on any great skills you learn.

[Drum]

Pointers??.......practice, practice, practice!

[The Stranger]

Thanks:sunny:
Just getting used to not trying to do everything at once on the bike.
Stop - turn - look - balance - indicate - clutch


It's perhaps not so obvious, but when the bars are turned to the left, the COG moves to the right and the bike is thus left heavy. Footing aside, you may find it easier to come to a complete stop with the bars straight and take off with the bars straight (where possible), then turn, particularly whilst learning. The times this weight shift really has a bearing is if you just take off then promptly have to stop again.

[Motu]

A case where a little bit of off road training would of helped - always foot on the uphill side.And unfortunatly for road riding,as Ixion mentioned - the land of ''Freedom of Choice'' removed our freedom of choice to have a left foot brake,so on the road the uphill side will always be the brake side.This still pisses me off.

And yes,it still happens to experianced riders - my last experiance of missing ground was this century....fortunatly all who witnessed my mistake have now had their throat cut,some pointing to Mecca.

[Disco Dan]

A case where a little bit of off road training would of helped - always foot on the uphill side.And unfortunatly for road riding,as Ixion mentioned - the land of ''Freedom of Choice'' removed our freedom of choice to have a left foot brake,so on the road the uphill side will always be the brake side.This still pisses me off.

And yes,it still happens to experianced riders - my last experiance of missing ground was this century....fortunatly all who witnessed my mistake have now had their throat cut,some pointing to Mecca.

You still going on about that?? hehe

Turn your engine around or something and ride it backwards... :innocent: :shutup: :shutup:

[Motu]

Been ''going on about it'' for over 30 years,it's still a dumb idea so no reason to let up.I've still got one bike left with left foot brake and down for up shift pattern....I'll keep it to remind myself of what bikes should be like if the Yanks hadn't of removed my ''Freedom of Choice''.

[Ixion]

Yes. It pisses me off too. rather as if the Yanks had demanded that every car manufacturer put the steering wheel on the left .

Cultural imperialism, can we say.

[Motu]

They go on about their ''Freedom'',and yet they have more laws governing their citizens than the rest of the world combined,and then try to impose them on the rest of us.

If I lock up on a wet road and the bike steps out to the left on the camber,then I want to put my right foot down on the deck and do a proper job of controling the slide.I don't like my inside leg on the brake.

[Chisanga]

Carpark work definitely I think next time.

All the carparks are jammed full of crazy xmas-rage infested cage drivers right up until midnight :( Bah humbug!

[rwh]

Obvious solution, in such a position put right foot down not left. Which means not using the rear brake for the stop of course. Blame the stupid Yanks for that, forcing bikes to have to brake and gear levers on the wrong side .

Um - their laws don't apply here, right? And presumably it makes sense for them, riding on the right. Perhaps we should blame the bike manufacturers for not making different bikes for different markets? Or perhaps our own lawmakers for not requiring them to be the other way round here?

Personally, I haven't had that much problem - the two drops I've had from the ground being there weren't facing straight along the road anyway (u-turn on a hill, and on the driveway at home), so matching the brake to the camber wasn't the issue.

I'm quite happy, however, that almost every bike I'm likely to ride has the brakes and gears in the same place (though the little B120 I did my BHS on had the gears upside-down).

Richard

[rwh]

Yes. It pisses me off too. rather as if the Yanks had demanded that every car manufacturer put the steering wheel on the left .


Don't we have laws requiring that the steering wheel be on the right (for new cars, anyway)?

I'm as anti-American (or more so) as the next guy, but making laws to suit their own circumstances seems fair.

Applying somebody else's laws where they don't fit is the silly bit.

Richard

[Motu]

It's no coincidence that the British bikes were all left foot braked,they drive on the left same as us and it's the natural way to do it.It also splits the braking function right/left with foot and hand brake - this is more natural and it's easier to modulate the two with this split.The down for up shift pattern is also better,which is why the racers use that pattern.But Triumph were always down for down,and the most popular bike at the time.

When the Japanese entered the motorcycle market they had to export,and the US was where they were aimed for....so they used the right foot brake.I don't know why the Yanks made the law change that all motorcycles had to have the same control functions - but the early '70's was a bad time for motorcycle deaths with the new ''superbikes'' on the floor ready for kids to jump on and ride.They couldn't make their citizens wear helmets,under go training and limit the bikes they rode like the rest of the world did,so mabe they saw control confusion as being a contributing factor in motorcycle deaths and their only option was to legislate at the manufacturing level.

Some bikes of the change period had options for either side - my Guzzi Stornello has the gearshaft on both sides.

[KLOWN]

My bike (GT250R) seems to will you to lean forward.
Im guessing since the traction is all at the rear you should keep centered or even a bit back from center when riding to use your body to balance the bike.

The reason your bike is 'willing' you to lean foward is because that is what you should do when cornering, your weight should be on the front wheel.

[Version_II]

Ahhhhh o.k. so keep forward not back.
Was cruising around some sweeping turns the other day and noticed that if I was head down leaning over the tank, i would understeer and end up taking the turn wide.
Had to flare up and lean back to get the bike to turn harder.
Doing about 80kms so not taking the corners too fast.
But perhaps with sitting up the bike naturally slowed with the air resistance, therefore was easier to turn.
I guess not all corners are speed signposted either so better safe than sorry.
Been out for another quick spin around town.
My clutch control is getting better every ride.
Just easing it out and finding that point where it engages.
Still getting used to the throttle.
Not so much over revving as letting it roll back gently instead of dropping it when changing gear.

[KLOWN]

do you know about counter steering? If not here is a brief run down. Turn your front wheel to the left and the bike leans to the right, so you go right. Turn your wheel to the right and the bike leans left so, so you go left. I know it sounds stupid but thats how it works, you'll find it easier to turn if you don't fight it alos leaning FORWARD and left/right will help you turn easier. Took me quite a while to get used to this but when you have it you can just turn the handle bars and you don't have to put so much effort in leaning. Just take it slowly and practice and you'll get the hang of it.

[Kwaka14]

Ahhhhh o.k. so keep forward not back.
Was cruising around some sweeping turns the other day and noticed that if I was head down leaning over the tank, i would understeer and end up taking the turn wide.
Had to flare up and lean back to get the bike to turn harder.
Doing about 80kms so not taking the corners too fast.
But perhaps with sitting up the bike naturally slowed with the air resistance, therefore was easier to turn.
I guess not all corners are speed signposted either so better safe than sorry.
Been out for another quick spin around town.
My clutch control is getting better every ride.
Just easing it out and finding that point where it engages.
Still getting used to the throttle.
Not so much over revving as letting it roll back gently instead of dropping it when changing gear.

Sitting up actually loaded up the rear suspension and unloaded the front suspension which made the bice turn easier, try (a gentle) application of throttle as this achieves the same thing without changing the attitude of the bike drasticly, but be smooth with the throttle as sudden hard accelleration through a corner can have some other issues...

[Virago]

Hi Version II, just caught up with this thread.

If you're looking for a quiet spot for low speed start-stop practice, try the Invermay campus out on the Taieri. Very little traffic around at the weekends, with lots of little access roads and carpark areas.

A good excuse for a fang over Three Mile Hill too..........

Good luck.

[86GSXR]

do you know about counter steering? If not here is a brief run down. Turn your front wheel to the left and the bike leans to the right, so you go right. Turn your wheel to the right and the bike leans left so, so you go left. I know it sounds stupid but thats how it works, you'll find it easier to turn if you don't fight it alos leaning FORWARD and left/right will help you turn easier. Took me quite a while to get used to this but when you have it you can just turn the handle bars and you don't have to put so much effort in leaning. Just take it slowly and practice and you'll get the hang of it.

True, counter steering will be one of the most important things to master if you want to get your cornering right. Get out there and try it, just remember that the handlebar movements need to be quite small and subtle not large. Also, if you decrease power during the turn the bike will lean further into the turn and if you increase power the bike will tend upright. Look into the turn too, and the bike will follow. Try not to focus immediately ahead, although watch out for gravel, white lines etc. Take it slowly until you're comfortable.

[Animal]

Any pointers welcomed?

Um... okay, here's a pointer: Be patient. Your experience will grow a little more each time you ride. Oddball cambers, slippery manhole covers, wet paint, diesel spills... they're all a potential trap, and I think most of us have had some unhappy memories of those. But don't lose sleep over it, you'll soon be subconsciously highly aware of these traps, and react accordingly to avoid falling into them.

By the way, welcome to KiwiBiker. Good to have you aboard.

[Swoop]

All the carparks are jammed full of crazy xmas-rage infested cage drivers right up until midnight :( Bah humbug!
Huh? Where's the problem here?
2 wheels = ride right up to the door and park. Simple.
I also love the look on the faces of the cagers when you pull off that "something special" that they have no comprehension of doing... through the bollards, park in an obscure place nobody would think about parking , then stroll casually into the shopping mayhem.:shit:

[Toaster]

After a bit of practice in a carpark I'd really recommend conquering the very same intersection. Go through it heaps and make sure you get ya confidence back quick.

[MotoGirl]

With so many bastard intersections around, I've learnt to look what's coming, and slow down to approach the intersection in time so any traffic has passed! If I do have to stop, I shuffle over on the seat so I get a good footing on the road and I never position my front wheel in the same direction as the camber of the road.

I'm reluctant to put my right foot down - I was taught that you'd fall into the line of oncoming traffic if you slipped and fell over, hence the reason for putting down your left foot.

[gamgee]

with that offramp thing from stuart st I usually swing round it so I come up to the give way over to the right as it seems less steep on that side, but yeah it is a bitch of an intersection to need to stop at, but seeing as I live up there, i've got that whole little maze and the lines to take through it pretty sussed, it's actually pretty fun to go for a little thrash through there at around 9pm when it's dead quite on a weeknight

[Guitana]

Practice, Practice, Practice!!!! Avoid white lines and Diesel monsters at all times always scan the road ahead for potential hazards!

[Guitana]

Practice, Practice, Practice!!!! Avoid white lines and Diesel monsters at all times always scan the road ahead for potential hazards!
Enjoy the Freefall while it lasts the next bits gonna hurt!