A lesson on braking

[YellowDog]

CONFUCIUS SAY:
“Learn from the mistakes of others. Not possible to live long enough to make them all yourself”

Regarding the insurance, do read you policy before talking to them. If I was to say I damaged the bike at a race track, my insurance would not pay. Yous may be the same.

Thank you for the lesson and good luck with getting back on the track again.

[Taz]

Good to hear you're o.k. mikkel, makes me glad I have ABS & a BMW funny front end that can't dive.

Have used ABS twice in anger so far.

I'm a huge fan of that funny front end on my BMW but mine doesn't have the ABS. The lack of dive under brakes and the fact that the suspension still works as it should with it's full travel even when braking hard is a huge bonus in my opinion.

[homer]

I'm a huge fan of that funny front end on my BMW but mine doesn't have the ABS. The lack of dive under brakes and the fact that the suspension still works as it should with it's full travel even when braking hard is a huge bonus in my opinion.

Strange you say that ,reminds me of when there was a lot of hype about anti dive fronts and i dont know what happened to it , I thought its was almost going to become a standard feature all most bikes.

[madbikeboy]

Mikkel!!

Well, fuck it, the laws of gravity mean you're going to hit the deck sooner or later - I'm stoked that you did it in a controlled environment and didn't get squished by some dumb cager...

keep practising regardless of this result, the time spent learning to brake are priceless - I've had a couple of close calls where I would have been toast, some bruising and some gear is a small price to pay.

pity there's not a binning donation box eh?!

[Mikkel]

+1 to alpinstars then aye?

Don't tell your shoulder and hip i said that though!

My hip and shoulder (indeed entire body) shivers with the thought of not having had any armour... Today I'm stiff and sore - nothing too bad mind you. I hope it loosens up a little bit when I start moving around though.

So yes, I can't praise the gear enough.

The bike disappeared out left from under me and I just held on to the handlebars and did a face/shoulder plant and slid a little bit. Then I rolled onto my back and slid along there until I stopped. Quick reality check, all parts there, still breathing, no significant pain - FUCK! MY BIKE! (the rear wheel was still spinning...) Jumped up and got her up and off the tarmac.

aprox 30% of his braking ability

30% ??? I'd like to see the bike where you still have 30% of your braking capability on your rear tyre under heavy breaking! Yesterday we were told (although it's not hard to figure out) that on a sportsbike theres no reason at all to use the rear brake... If you do pull a small stoppie then the balancing effect of the angular momentum on the rotating rear wheel may be what saves your arse in a hairy situation.

Regarding the insurance, do read you policy before talking to them. If I was to say I damaged the bike at a race track, my insurance would not pay. Yous may be the same.

My insurance policy does indeed say it doesn't cover my bike on the track. I am still going to ask them whether their company policy is that they are against rider instruction in a safe environment.
I have a bunch of witnesses that can testify that the spill happened at less than 100 km/h during a braking exercise.
Yes, they can dismiss the claim if they want to - my mission is to make them want not to dismiss it.
If I should not succeed I will definately be looking for another company.

Well, fuck it, the laws of gravity mean you're going to hit the deck sooner or later - I'm stoked that you did it in a controlled environment and didn't get squished by some dumb cager...

Yeah, I've hit the deck before - this was the first time on a motorcycle though.
I've hit the deck face first at 70 km/h wearing less safety gear than yesterday... But then again I guess waterskiing is a different ballgame altogether! (The cartwheels where spectacular and I was still pretty battered)

[All]

Have you ridden since? I find that taking a fall tends to damage the confidence a bit.

[All]

Also, good point about the race track and the insurance; my policy is the same. I can't claim if anything happens when I'm on a track.

[onearmedbandit]

Bummer to read that Mikkel, but as others have said at least you were in the right enviroment. Do you have contents insurance? If so your gear including helmet will be covered under that. State were very obliging when I had my off, asking me if there was anything else I needed to add (they convinced me to add my gloves to the claim!) as it was only one excess, and they paid out within a week.

[Mikkel]

Have you ridden since? I find that taking a fall tends to damage the confidence a bit.

Well, I finished the braking execise we were doing when I did my spill.
When I came back into the pits I went into a mild state of shock. Everything seemed to be deja vu and all of the time it was as if there was a dream super-imposed ontop of it all. After I was comfortable that I hadn't suffered a mild concussion I still decided to sit out there rest of the day for one main reason: my helmet needed to be replaced.

I'm not apprehensive about getting back on the bike. I am not too disappointed I'll have to be without a bike for a few days as the stiffness and soreness seems to be settling in...

Bummer to read that Mikkel, but as others have said at least you were in the right enviroment. Do you have contents insurance? If so your gear including helmet will be covered under that. State were very obliging when I had my off, asking me if there was anything else I needed to add (they convinced me to add my gloves to the claim!) as it was only one excess, and they paid out within a week.

Cheers mate!
I'll have a chat with them tomorrow. I hope they'll consider covering the bike since it was a proper course with instructors and everything...
But yes, my contents should cover my riding gear and I think I'll aim to get my helmet, gloves and leathers replaced. We'll see how it goes.

[discotex]

I'm not apprehensive about getting back on the bike. I am not too disappointed I'll have to be without a bike for a few days as the stiffness and soreness seems to be settling in...

Don't be so sure until you're actually doing it. You'll probably find your body reacts even though you're fine mentally. Best to test your reactions to heavy braking before you need it or you might find you freeze up.

[Mikkel]

Don't be so sure until you're actually doing it. You'll probably find your body reacts even though you're fine mentally. Best to test your reactions to heavy braking before you need it or you might find you freeze up.

Indeed. I certainly intend to take a time off when I get my gear back and just go and do a lot of heavy braking...

And I'm specifically going to train the scenario where you start lifting your rear wheel - practice how to release pressure on the brake and reapply it progressively.

[discotex]

Indeed. I certainly intend to take a time off when I get my gear back and just go and do a lot of heavy braking...

And I'm specifically going to train the scenario where you start lifting your rear wheel - practice how to release pressure on the brake and reapply it progressively.

That should have any PTSD style reactions nailed in no time.

(but we better not call them stoppies eh)

[SVboy]

Huge ups to Mikkel. We didnt see the crash,but saw the bike on the ground a millisecond later. He handled the situation really well, in all respects. He knew what happened, was concerned about others, but also put sensible parameters around his own safety. He made sure Paul and myself still had a brilliant day, despite his misfortune. It will be better next time mate! [And boy, am I going to focus on my braking skills, too!]

[James Deuce]

Oooo Bugger!

Harsh way to learn how to do stoppies!

Glad you;re all right though.

[jrandom]

My insurance policy does indeed say it doesn't cover my bike on the track. I am still going to ask them whether their company policy is that they are against rider instruction in a safe environment.

They probably won't pay out.

It's not a matter of whether they're against rider training, per se, it's simply the fact that they offered a policy with cover and premiums that didn't take into account any risks involved in rider training activities.

Something can be entirely laudable and safe, but if you don't actually contract with your insurer to cover incidents during that activity, an after-the-fact appeal to them for some money when something goes wrong during it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Anyway, you're now aware of the value of trackday insurance cover! Time to call Kiwibike and see what they can do for you.