I hate trackdays

[bobsmith]

I would love to get on a track... I really do, but it seems that whenever I set my mind to get to a track day, some always happens to prevent me from doing so.

Last year, it was an idiot on a van taking me out the week before manifield track day, then a few weeks ago I had chest infection, and this time....................

I managed to take myself out all on my own.

Was travelling back to Palmy from Auckland yesterday. It was pouring down with rain but that was fine, the road was pretty soaked and my BT45s were giving me fairly good grip and feel through them and for the first time in my biking life, I was having fun riding in the rain...

Then as I was approaching Taumarnui, I noticed my rear skipping around a little and it was getting a little dicey so I slowed right down to a nana speeds. I went around this one right hander and as I was coming out I added ever so slight bit of power and next thing I know my rear wheel is to the left of me. I'm thinking "Hmmm I've seen this on TV, and this usually don't end good" and stood up a little on pegs trying to prevent the bike from falling to the right and reduced the throttle (which I'm thinking now was the critical mistake?) then boom! I'm guessing the tyre gripped again. In any case I was thrown forward over the bike and got my own bit of airtime until I landed face first onto the ground and skidded on my left hand side face first.

It's funny, as I was skidding along I actually thought "shit if I keep skidding on my left hand side it's going to wear through my jacket and pants" so I tried to flip myself over (who knows how I expected to do that) and all that did was roll me around 360 degrees and I continued to skid down the road on my left hand side... Then, it was a crawl to the side of the road to get off the road and looking back thinking I gotta do something about that bike... So I was checking myself over on the ground bit by bit to see if I could get up being amazed at I didn't seem to have broken anything when I heard a car screetch to stop within inches of hitting my bike. Well at least someone was here to call 111... Then they get out of the car and just looks at the bike... Luckly someone else came around the road soon who knew what they were doing and called 111 for me. The ambo came checked me over and got me to the hospital. Luckly I didn't break any bones and seem generally okay besides road rash on my arm and my hip. The road didn't seem to have eaten all the way through the jacket and the pants but the rash was still there nevertheless.

Now trying to organize for me to go home was the fun part. I couldn't get anyone at Palmerston North to pick me up (understandable) so I fiancee ended up having to come get me from auckland. Lucky I suppose because I needed help getting into my cloths this morning... Now have to go find a flight back to Palmy ASAP since I gotta get back to work and I'm running out of sick leave.

I have to say though I was very glad I was wearing all my gear, though I thought my leather would have protected me better my cordura did a pretty good job. but I was especially happy I was wearing a full face helmet. If I was wearing an open face helmet, my face (especailly my chin) would have been ground off for sure. My cordura jacket, pants, and rev-it leather gloves and my helmet are write offs and the only thing that survived the fall was my boots and back protector.

I do have a question for more experienced riders though. What should the correct action be when you're faced with a situation like this where you rear wheel decides to over take the front?

okay going back to lie down now... I don't recall ever having every single muscle in my body so sore... (my neck in particular refuses to move at the moment. Suppose I shouldn't have landed head first....)

Ride safe!

Oh yeah, I heard that my engine casing was ground off and my tank was punctured too... The most tragic bit was that my bottle of V which was in my tank bag completely shattered and went on all my cloths, etc... Should have got a v in a can.

[placidfemme]

Sorry to hear about your bin... and right before another trackday too... at least you walked away from it with minimal injuries... you live and you learn and come off better for it in the long run!

[Ivan]

Gutting to hear this.


Sometimes you cant help thesethings the bike and the water and the tires and the road all comes into this.

Oil down on the corner,


great to hear you were wearing protective gear and it saved you

[MSTRS]

Sorry to hear about your bin... and right before another trackday too... at least you walked away from it with minimal injuries... you live and you learn and come off better for it in the long run!

Did you mean to say that:shit:
Sorry 'bout your bin BS and you are right...buttoning off was the critical factor. Watch the motard guys for technique in rearwheel slides.

[placidfemme]

Did you mean to say that:shit:

yeah... but I didn't realise the pun lol

[Hans]

Glad to hear you're basically ok. And don't worry, you'll make the one in May no problems...

[The Stranger]

I do have a question for more experienced riders though. What should the correct action be when you're faced with a situation like this where you rear wheel decides to over take the front?


If the back end is sliding it is tempting to dump the throttle to stop the slide and return things to "normal" however it will often return things to normal very fast and very violently and flick you off. You are generally better to ride it out if possible.

Any ideas what caused the loss of traction? A few weeks ago I went down to see DMNTD. It was dark and hosing down around Ngatea. I was on the GSXR and they have shit headlights anyway. I would be at a steady pace of about 100kph and the rear would frequently just spin up and start fish tailing. I put that down to tar bleed, which under the circumstances I just could not see.

[NordieBoy]

Letting off the throttle wasn't good - tyre grips then highside.
But it's what I'd do too.

In theory keeping the gas on or just letting it off a bit may be better and you may recover or just lowside which is easier on you and the bike.


Opening a can of very shaken V after an accident where your nerves are a bit touchy may not be a good thing :D

[imdying]

All practice mate, sounds like you've learnt a whole heap :yes:

[bobsmith]

not sure what caused the loss of traction. Pretty sure I didn't run over anything but the police did say that it's the first little bit of rain they'd seen for several weeks and it wasn't enough to really really soak the road and get all the slippery stuff off.

there was absolutely no warning that I could sense with my limited experience and still can't think of any tell tail signs that my tyre was letting go besides the funny feeling I got when the rear swung around and the bike revved up. The tyres were giving me good feedback just half an hour ago in the rain. I had slowed down just before I fell off due to my tyre being skittish without any feel to it though. So i'm thinking perhaps just really slippery road...

Keeping the throttle on to ride it out seems a good advice but probably one that's harder to do. Hopefully next time I can keep my wits about me and won't close the throttle.

thanks everyone for your kind words.

[Hans]

You might find this little trick useful: When you know something of this sort could happen, you repeat the necessary steps to yourself aloud. I.E: "when the back comes unstuck, I will shift my weight, and I won't close the throttle even though I will want to. It might sound like a lot of mumbo-jumbo, but it's a technique used in a lot of occupations, where a procedure is to be followed precisely and immediately. As an example a lot of pilots will go through this at least in their heads, when they are on final approach and they need to get mentally ready for the possibility that they will have to execute a go-around.
It does work.
Ask 86gsxr. He's in Palmy and should be able to give you a few tips on mental prep.

[kiwifruit]

bummer about the bin..... its really hard not to back off when the rear goes, it kinda a reflex thing

[aff-man]

mate sounds like you came off pretty lucky for a highside, usually the collarbone goes. Pity about you missing out on the track day though.


As for how to stop it well you can try keep on the gas and ride it out but if it does grip while you're still on the gas you'll be flung off harder. Was coming home the other night just tootling about, turned into this road which has a sweeping slightly downhill right hander. Gave the bike a squirt the front came off the ground about 5cm but then the rear stepped out a looong way. The only reason I didn't highside was the front was sliding sideways when it came back down... I just kept a bit of gas on and held on for the ride... Sometimes you just get lucky.

[Drew]

If you're gonna try and ride a slide out, there is more to it than just keeping the gas on, for a while there, I had an innapropriate rear tyre on the thou, so I started drifting it on purpose. When you're doin that, sure enough, keep it gassed, but a rear end slide is a different thing completely, because the wheel is not spinning fuck all faster than the bike is travelling. The correct response to a slide, imho, is to ease the gas off slowly, not snap it off and cause a highside. Trying to turn an accidental slide, into a deliberate drift, takes discapline worthy of a GP ride. So go with the tried and true.

What I'm trying to say, is in a drift, even tho the rear tyre is spinning, you are still accelerating, so if you stay at a constant throttle, the bike speed catches up to the tyre, and it'll still flick ya off. You need to keep rolling the power on.

[N4CR]

someone will probably have bet me to it but when you start getting overtaking syndrome dont just whack throtle off especially when sideways or you will highside, just leave it on till it sorts it self out (usually does) or feather it back gently and it starts to kick back in line.standing up would make it more likely to throw you off maybe??? unsure. would be good for legs to dampen shock though depends on situation.

[86GSXR]

Holy mother of God Jason! I heard you had an accident, no details were forthcoming, but I figured it was bike related and that if you were well enough to ring in then you were probably OK. Glad to hear you are! Are you? I suppose the bike is pretty much trashed then. Shit!

[DemonWolf]

Sorry to hear about the bin... Never had much practice with the rear sliding out and overtaking, though have experienced the rear stepping out a couple times during overtaking maneuvers in the wet with large patches of tar... scared the bejebus out of ya.. instinctively close the thottle(bad move eh), normally trying to hang on for dear life... I try not to close the throttle all the way.. but it happens very fast and by the time the brain is thinking freely again its all over and I've past and riding on... hopefully it'll keep being that way!!

[cowboyz]

real bummer dude. Glad you are relatively ok. heal quick go you can get back out on some ashhurst rides.

You seem to have done most things well. There is no substitute for experience. It is all fine to have the theroy about what "should" happen or what you "should" do but the fact of the matter is that most inexperienced riders (saying in the least condenceding way I can) panic when the bike does something that is not expected. Added to which as bikes get more powerful things happen faster.
The good points is that you identified that the conditions were changing and altered your riding to compensate. Good work. The bad point is when riding on roads rather than track, road surface and 1001 other factors come into play. Controlling a slide is something that you have zero time to "think" about what needs doing and knee jerk reactions result in departure from the bike.

Put it down to experience and hopefully next time your bike misbehaves you can tame it before it throws you off.

[Black Bandit]

Sorry to hear about the off. :shit: Yeesh - high siding ... probably on of the worst ways to go. It's not like it's something you can really "practice" very easily without making a rather sorry mess of yourself and bike. I guess it's true what they say in Twist of the Wrist - you just gotta tame that survival response which in this case was shutting off the throttle. Not easy for sure. Hope you recover soon!

[bobsmith]

Thanks guys.

Allister, I'm doing fine. I've noticed that everything seems to be getting more and more painful as I go on but at least they're all superficial wounds and i'd be able to keep on flying. The more I think about it the more I realise I was bloody lucky to walk away from it (well sort of, I was carried away in an ambo but I'm walking now...) The only people that could pick me up from Taumarnui were from auckland so I'm stuck here for the moment but got a flight ticket back to Palmy on Thursday so I can get back on with flying and work.

Hehe, hopefully the bike isn't a write off because I don't think my fiancee is going to let me buy another bike for a few months (not that I would be able to afford to...)

Had to tell my mum today....... bugger....... (she never wanted me to get a bike in the first place)

[86GSXR]

Great to hear you're alright Jason! It's amazing the 'distancing' effect that shock and adrenaline can have after a trauma isn't it. And it's not pleasant when it wears off so take it easy for a few days won't you:yes:

Also pleased that your bike may be fixable, but yeah, I guess this counts you out of the next track day. That's a shame but there will be others, and the Ashurst rides too!

I know what you mean about your Mum. Mine threatened to take any bike I ever got apart, but she was great when I got my first one:yes: So I hope your Mum is OK in every way too:yes:

I hope this won't put you off bikes as you ride really nicely. Enjoy your unexpected stay in Aucks, and we'll see you when you get back down here:yes:

[hurricane_r]

nothing beats holding the throttle on, gp styley, although yes first reacotion is to throttle off, i soon learned after getting tank slaps and having my feet come far off my pegs, but when u hold it on if u dont get too much of a angle you can self correct, and look cool while at it,

i love trackdays, lets hope i dont bin my new bike, good to hear your ok m8, thats the most important thing,

[bobsmith]

I hope this won't put you off bikes as you ride really nicely. Enjoy your unexpected stay in Aucks, and we'll see you when you get back down here:yes:

Never!

Hehe, when I woke up yesterday morning (the morning after crash). After doing the usual oh shit it hurts look at me I'm seeking attention which is why I crashed obviously thing, I declaired to my fiancee that we're going bike shopping. HAHA you should have seen her face then!

[86GSXR]

Ha Ha, classic!:yes:

I have a cheaper solution for your need for attention though. Keep your old bike and whenever you feel the need just lie it down on the road somewhere and pretend you've crashed. You may even get a HELICOPTER ride if you pick your location right :yes: :rockon:

[hurricane_r]

hahahaha, im sure we have al thought about that one, :P

[bobsmith]

Ha! That's a great idea!!!

Perhaps I should sell the damaged items on trademe for anyone who wants a free helicopter ride in a rescue helicopter. hell, if they'll buy red paper clips they must want damaged gear right?

[KLOWN]

sucks to hear bob, glad to hear your still ok though. You need a lift to the airport? the only thing is that it would have to be on the back of my bike.

[bobsmith]

Thanks klown but no, the great thing about auckland is that all my family and friends are here so already got that sorted. Better leave for the airport now.

Thanks everyone for your support!

[Korea]

From your account, sounds like you got a lot of thinking done in a very brief moment (somewhere between "whoops" and "crash").
Glad to hear there's no permanent personal damage done.

Rest up, take it easy :niceone: