My first drop - learning experience.

[Version_II]

O.K 4 days into riding the bike had my first drop
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:Me]

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
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
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.

[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:Me]

Thanks
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...

[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