Eeeek! MASSIVE diesel spill! (Whakatane, 26 February)

[Disco Dan]

Mongrels! I could feel it slipping and sliding! I had already seen it so had slowed and was doing my best to stay out of it, but sheesh! It was Everywhere!! I hope they follow the trail and have a wee word in someone's ear.. Sorry you binned it Disco Dan! I'm glad I saw it in time.

M

Disadvantages of going too fast...

As others said in my thread you can usually smell it before you see it.. then once you know what your looking for it is easy to see it and avoid it. If you have to cross it make sure your upright and keep the power on all the way through, heaps of weight on your pegs etc. Any little 'wiggles' you can tell Ixion about later for him to tell you how minor and normal they are (good onya Ixion!).

[steveb64]

Disadvantages of going too fast...

As others said in my thread you can usually smell it before you see it.. then once you know what your looking for it is easy to see it and avoid it. If you have to cross it make sure your upright and keep the power on all the way through, heaps of weight on your pegs etc. Any little 'wiggles' you can tell Ixion about later for him to tell you how minor and normal they are (good onya Ixion!).

Eh? Dunno about keeping the power ON? Would think that's a fast way to spin up the back wheel? I'd tend to go for a trailing throttle (not engine braking OR accelerating), and stay off the brakes too! Sort of like riding on ice, or wet pipe clay (one of the slipperiest substances known to dirt bikers!).

Relax your arms, and (as Disco said) keep your weight on your footpegs (like you're about to stand up).

[BiK3RChiK]

Will try to remember the weight on pegs bit. I just eased the throttle and no brakes at all! Just easy does it..

Cheers guys,

M

[Iain]

Mongrels! I could feel it slipping and sliding! I had already seen it so had slowed and was doing my best to stay out of it, but sheesh! It was Everywhere!! I hope they follow the trail and have a wee word in someone's ear.. Sorry you binned it Disco Dan! I'm glad I saw it in time.

M

1. If you hit spilled diesel, are you likely to slip even on the slightest lean/corner?

2. If you cannot avoid it, is the best thing to straighten the bike up and ride through?

3. Does it stick to your tires so you might lose it even after riding through it?

4. My Hyosung has a Turbo Boost button like in K.I.T.T. And just like in K.I.T.T it doesnt make me go faster but I can jump random things. I havent figured out how to use it yet as the manual is entirely in Korean and I just end up resetting the clock - but this would be ideal for jumping diesel spills right?

Iain

[gijoe1313]

.....

4. My Hyosung has a Turbo Boost button like in K.I.T.T. And just like in K.I.T.T it doesnt make me go faster but I can jump random things. I havent figured out how to use it yet as the manual is entirely in Korean and I just end up resetting the clock - but this would be ideal for jumping diesel spills right?

Iain

You need the 'Hoff hairstyling to be able to utilise said Turbo Boost button effectively!

[Iain]

You need the 'Hoff hairstyling to be able to utilise said Turbo Boost button effectively!

Unfortunately Im in the process of bringing back the Mac - MacGyver. Although I guess if I keep growing the Mac Ill eventually get to the Hoff.

What about question 1, 2 and 3?

Iain

[BiK3RChiK]

UPDATE! I went to town in the Surf this afternoon and guess what? HOURS after reporting this to *555, it's still there!! What does this mean for the next lot of rain??

[Holy Roller]

Just glad that it wasn't there on Sunday for our wet ride along that piece of road.

[steveb64]

1. If you hit spilled diesel, are you likely to slip even on the slightest lean/corner?

2. If you cannot avoid it, is the best thing to straighten the bike up and ride through?

3. Does it stick to your tires so you might lose it even after riding through it?

4. My Hyosung has a Turbo Boost button like in K.I.T.T. And just like in K.I.T.T it doesnt make me go faster but I can jump random things. I havent figured out how to use it yet as the manual is entirely in Korean and I just end up resetting the clock - but this would be ideal for jumping diesel spills right?

Iain

1/. It's oil. What would you expect?

2/. Yep. DON'T BRAKE! DON'T GAS IT either. See my previous post.

3/. Yes - but not for too long. Err - and as long as it's not too deep! Try and avoid any sudden manoeuvres like swerves or hard braking for a couple of km's. Like you've just got new tyres on, and are scrubbing them in (in actuality - you're scrubbing off the slippy shit).

4/. Only if you don't land in it. Or are in it when you push the button.

[spudchucka]

I believe that if you contact Police (*555) that for any spill greater than 5litres, they require Transit or Fire to turnout and disperse it

You should actually ring 111, spills like that, (as described) are potentially very dangerous and should be treated as an emergency.

[Iain]

1/. It's oil. What would you expect?

2/. Yep. DON'T BRAKE! DON'T GAS IT either. See my previous post.

3/. Yes - but not for too long. Err - and as long as it's not too deep! Try and avoid any sudden manoeuvres like swerves or hard braking for a couple of km's. Like you've just got new tyres on, and are scrubbing them in (in actuality - you're scrubbing off the slippy shit).

4/. Only if you don't land in it. Or are in it when you push the button.

Thanks mate. I have yet to see diesel patches on the road. I live near Auckland Port so I suspect there would be a few around. Something else to look out for while enjoying riding.

Iain

[Ixion]

There's a good chance you'll smel it before you see. Smell is a very underrated survival skill.

On the Westpac ride on Sunday, I smelled diesel as we approached the motorway off ramp.

And sure enough there was a trail of it from the off ramp right round the corner into Wellesley St.

Plainly visible, but I could smell it way before I saw it.

I was surprised at the number of bikes who were prepared to ride over it or even along it. Admittedly, speeds at that point were low, but I prefer to take no chances with the stuff.

[BiK3RChiK]

I contacted our local District Council in the end and they filed a complaint with Opus and Environment BOP, so hopefully that sorts it. The nice lady at the Council said someone would be sent out to clean it up. So here's hoping.

M

[BOGAR]

You can ring 0800 444 449 and report it on there. Its a new Transit thing and once its on there every one who needs to know is rung or emailed straight away. plus it's free to call. Just make sure you tell the call center exactly where it is as they still get it wrong on the odd occasion.
Oh and must say this is only for State Highway stuff, otherwise ring 111.

[Ocean1]

You can ring 0800 444 449 and report it on there. Its a new Transit thing and once its on there every one who needs to know is rung or emailed straight away. plus it's free to call. Just make sure you tell the call center exactly where it is as they still get it wrong on the odd occasion.
Oh and must say this is only for State Highway stuff, otherwise ring 111.

Cheers, now on my phone, I can see a busy time on the Rimutakas in their future...