Fell off. What went wrong?

[DarkLord]

One thing I've been trying, when making a tight turn, is although I've got the handlebars pointing right (if I'm turning right of course) and I feel the weight starting to dip over to the right a little too much, is I put a little bit of pressure on the left handlebar, to counter steer and shift the weight slightly more towards the middle, so even though the bike is still turning right the weight is balanced towards the middle a little more.

I've been practicing it regularly on my Whoflung and it works really well.

Hope that is of some help to you?

cheers

DL

[MarkH]

the bike didn't skid out from the front or anything. I was barely moving! It was 'just rolling' and It 'laid' down. I must have leant over to the point of no return without enough forward momentum. I will not do this again...i hope.

Bike too heavy for your level of experience? Only solution is to practise more and gain the experience you need.

[OutForADuck]

You grabbed the front brake.
...

The clutch, throttle and, if absolutely necessary, rear brake, are your friends during U-turns.

The front brake is not.

....

Hate to disagree but trying to balance a big bike on the throttle and clutch is a very advanced move.. a little to much throttle or clutch etc and you've lost it.

Better technique for slow speed handling, Set throttle to slightly faster than idle and lock it there (use your thumb against switch block if you want to). Slip clutch so that bike moves forward but a little back break will stop it and lock it there (tighten fingers together if you like).

Now use that back break to control your speed and enjoy the stability of a spinning motor (gyroscopic effect) and constant taught drive (drive against chain and brake) whilst all you have to concentrate on is turning the bars..... OH yeah and that balance thingy

Doing the above I have been able to teach newby's to turn a sports bike lock to lock in no time flat!!!

When you start out you'll probaby want a bit more revs and a little more clutch slip but you'll soon find a really nice sweet spot.

[Usarka]

Road slightly sloping to right (slightly). About half way through turn and its tipped right over??

To the right as in the direction you were going before, after or during the turn?

I was barely moving! It was 'just rolling' and It 'laid' down.

Go faster

Throttle = constant
Back brake = constant but use more if need to slow down
Clutch = speed control
Head = on shoulders, facing intended destination

[jrandom]

trying to balance a big bike on the throttle and clutch is a very advanced move.

ZOMG, does that make me a 'very advanced' rider?



Oh, no, wait, I can't stay upright either.

Back to the old drawing board.

[idb]

How easy do you reach the ground?

Are you a scrawny shite or a fat bastard? Makes a difference when in a compromised situation...

Is it not a problem for scrawny bastards or fat shites?

[Chickadee]

Smoothness, speed, looking through the turn (where you want to go) is all I can say. Target fixation (looking at the ground) and snail speed are not our friends when on two wheels.

[Pussy]

Gravity is only a theory, so it can't have been that.

Gravity is a myth... the Earth sucks!

Sorry to hear you dropped your bike, wezo. I damaged the tank on Gassit Girl's few week old K5 SV650S over three years ago, the side stand wasn't properly over centre when I took the bike off the paddock stand, that was a simple/stupid mistake too

[idb]

Smoothness, speed, looking through the turn (where you want to go) is all I can say. Target fixation (looking at the ground) and snail speed are not our friends when on two wheels.

Ah yes, target fixation - the act of the bike going where you are looking.
In no circumstances at any time on a bike should you look at the ground as that is where you will surely end up!

[merv]

Chances are you turned far enough to hit the steering stop - when that happens over you go, unless you try to ride as upright as you can and slip the clutch as you turn and keep it off the stop.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Ah yes, target fixation - the act of the bike going where you are looking.

It doesn't always work yah know... I look at Boobies all the time (thinking I wouldn't mind end there...) but alas boobies

[The Stranger:Me]

OK, been riding 'big' bikes for about 6 months. Was doing U turn at end of rural road. Sports bike (Duke 900SS) Road slightly sloping to right (slightly). About half way through turn and its tipped right over?? Didn't expect that! Broke indicator. I feel bad. Thankfully no one saw me that i know of. I got a sore back too picking the thing off the road.

What did i just do wrong. Signed brusied ego.

Wild guess, throttle control.
A slight off of the throttle, particularly on a twin, will have a similar effect to a bit of front brake - as jrandom points out - not good.

If you turn the wheel to the right, then your front contact patch moves to the left as does your centre of gravity - thus the bike is heavier on the RHS.
Try it, put your bike on it's side stand and turn the bars full left then full right. Which is more stable?
Ditch a little speed (brake or throttle), loose the gyro effect and the bike falls to the heavier side.

Regardless of the cause, the easiest way to correct the situation and guarantee this never happens again is to weight the fuck out of the outside peg. This re-centres the COG and permits (with a little practise and LOTS of weight) tighter than full lock turns at low speed.

Oh and always look where you want to be, not where you don't want to hit.

One more thing. If it starts to dip into the turn (but it wont if you weght the peg as I have said) the best way to correct it is to give it a little throttle, don't stab the ground, if put your foot down, your leg going out to the inside to make the stab will add more weight to the inside compounding the problem.

[Winston001]

Gravity is only a theory, so it can't have been that.

Absolute codswallop.......he said respectfully


Gravity is a well-known.................working hypothesis .

[Winston001]

OK, been riding 'big' bikes for about 6 months. Was doing U turn at end of rural road. Sports bike (Duke 900SS) Road slightly sloping to right (slightly). About half way through turn and its tipped right over?? Didn't expect that! Broke indicator. I feel bad. Thankfully no one saw me that i know of. I got a sore back too picking the thing off the road.

What did i just do wrong. Signed brusied ego.

Hmmmm......I feel your pain. All too well.......

Exactly the same situation happened to me a short time after I got my Duc. I discovered myself being tossed over the right-side bars onto the bitumen which then took a nasty bite out of my lovely ST4 just behind me.

The greatest damage was to my ego.

I had been used to wide bars and low centre of gravity on the BMW so balance was never an issue.

Don't feel bad. Find a carpark and practise. Not that I've done that of course, but you should

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Exactly the same situation happened to me a short time after I got my Duc. I discovered myself being tossed over the right-side bars onto the bitumen which then took a nasty bite out of my lovely ST4 just behind me.

Difference is use is character issues