How to CRASH

[savagehenry]

Hi, a bit of an expert here, a short resume:

Complete "Walk aways": Skydiving FULL malfunction w/ tree top landing under reserve, Bad whitewater body surfing incident complete with a waterfall and boulders (worst "road rash" I EVER had), 5 totaled cars and trucks, a totaled BMW after head on with car, years of snow skiing (I am not good), off and on road bicycling and other fun and painful full-contact sports,

Once voted by group of friends as "Most likely to walk away if 25 people HAD to jump from a fast moving train...and will probably have to in his lifetime"

I have for years practiced "Mapping your muscle response". I do it for so many things in life. For the motorcycle, while riding, I imagine being hit by a car, and then "jump" out of my seat just before impact. You don't really let go but do start the physical act of standing. You map a neuronic path after doing the same act over and over, and may just do it naturally in the real instance. After 21 years on the road, my first real two vehicle accident was me turning left and a car running a red light hit me head on. I jumped, cleared two lanes of traffic and landed flat on my back. Three minutes before, I put my hemet and jacket in the bags and told my riding partner, "Never needed 'em in 20 years, it's beutiful, screw it." I DON'T do that anymore...

"MAP" the RACERS ROLL. If you leave your bike at speed, Iit is often best to try to curl up into as tight a ball as you can get, to protect flailing arms and legs, and cover vital organs. A sphere is nature's strongest simple structure, and a short stick is harder to break than a long one, rules to crash by...

Your motorcycle is capable of more than you have probably tried with it, TRUST IT when you think you can't make the turn! Push harder on the bar in the inside of the turn and lean more. Even if you do slip out you will be on the inside of the radius you are making. The more towards the middle of the circle, the slower you are going, and will lowside it, as opposed to a highside.If you are in a uncontrolled slide on the bike, and see you WILL hit the gaurd rail or whatever, TRY to lowside it. It is usually preferable to try sliding than to take a direct impact in to earth,(OR WORSE) coming off a fast 15-20 foot drop, NOT uncommon heights to achieve on a highside.

Just some of my philosyphy, has really worked considering some of the stupid s!!t I've done I my youth.

And remember this, There is always a yin to every yang: CHICKS DIG SCARS!

Hope you ride hard enough to scare yourself, impress yourself with your skill and get home safe, SH

[dlaing]

snip

Great post

I really have to work on figuring out how to lean more and push harder.

I know there is a way to push past what I perceive as my limit of leaning and pushing, but I have not found it yet, or rather, I think I had it years ago, but lost it.

Maybe more pushups

[Guest Nogbad]

Crashing is like nuclear war. The best thing is not to be there when it happens.

[dlaing]

Crashing is like nuclear war. The best thing is not to be there when it happens.

I thought chicks digged scars

I think preventing nuclear war and crashes is a good thing

I think we should skip the thread about preventing nuclear war as some forum members are probably for it and I will turn all blue arguing with them.

But a thread on preventing crashes could be productive.

[macguzzi]

You should all know NEVER to mention war on this site, unless it's a tactical strike against THE AULTGUISH INN

[dlaing]

You should all know NEVER to mention war on this site, unless it's a tactical strike against THE AULTGUISH INN

I think intervention is required

Ever notice how the UN Flag logo looks like a bomb site to demolish the northern hemisphere

[raz]

Ever notice how the UN Flag logo looks like a bomb site to demolish the northern hemisphere

Shite, I'm in the innermost ring ok, so this is where I try to relax?

 

Seriously this was a good thread. I often try to prepare my brains for when to do what and at what point it's more important to change direction than to brake. I'm sure being mentaly prepared is often the difference between crashing and not. Also, I try to listen to my intuition. It has saved me a couple of times, knowing beforehand that a particular car will just drive out in front of me, but I can't tell how I knew.

[Guest gyles]

here are some basic crashing moves...

[Guest Phil_P]

This is the sort of thing, to be serious, I have experienced, too. Almost consistently with cagers pulling out in front of me. I would add one thing: don't suppose that your Tonti with its old, original Brembos will do what a modern Brembo set-up will do. It won't: instead it will lock the front wheel and have you off before you can say "My wrist's just broken". Really.

 

Worth bearing in mind that if you have managed to lock your wheel then your braking power has overcome the grip of your tyres and therefore you have braked too hard regardless of the type of brake. It is possible that a more modern setup is easier to modulate, but your inference is that the old setup is plenty powerful enough.

[Rusty Bucket]

Thanks, interesting replies.

Good point about not laying it down.

There are only a few times when laying it down will pay dividends.

one might be sliding it under a truck, but that would be a rarity if there was a situation where you could pull that off, and thinking along those lines might just get you run over while under the truck.

 

The only fatality I have actually witnessed firsthand was a guy riding two cars in front of my CX 500 in Maui; he went too deep into a long sweeping 90° corner that also had an entrance for the cane trucks to merge on the other side. He 'layed it down' , and he and his bike slid towards the merge on the other side of this corner. The bike slid well, trailing sparks it slid neatly in front of the loaded cane truck trundling along the merge road; the rider slid less well, the added drag of his skin and clothes inserted him neatly under the first driving wheels, which crushed himn and kicked him up into the second set. He sort or machine washed through the truck wheels as the truck came to a stop. So, please don't try to slide under any trucks, as the look and body language of the truck driver as he jumped from the cab is the part that really stays with me. He was devastated as soon as he processed what he was seeing.

[callison]

I think we should skip the thread about preventing nuclear war as some forum members are probably for it and I will turn all blue arguing with them.

 

You do realize that "Nuclear Winter" is the quickest way to counter "Global Warming" don't you? Should we agree on this point, it would be best to test the theory on some other planet...