[Closed] A wake up call...

Yes, very lucky indeed. Glad to hear that you have no injury.

Can happen to anyone so nothing to be embarrassed about apart from the bike needing repair.

Slight hijack ... just recently I scratched the screen of my Note 9 mobile phone which I have had for about 8 months. Deep scratches as well and I can feel the slow pain in my heart just knowing the screen is scratched. There you go ...

I had my shogun sideways yesterday. I was only doing about 20 into a junction , the roads are a bit greasy after the dry spell. Glad you ain't hurt 😊

Most important is that you're OK.
Don't dwell on it - stuff happens; don't over-analyse.
Get bike repaired and get back on it.
Nothing to be embarrassed about.

Chill. Once you have got over the shock go over what you did incorrectly and practice.

I did something similar in 2010, two weeks after picking up my new bike! I'd been riding for about 10 years by then. Overtook a car, ended up faster than expected into a corner, target fixated, onto the grass verge and down. Cosmetic damage to the bike, I banged my head and hurt my neck quite badly. Was very lucky. That was my first and only crash. Although I don't exactly do many miles these days but I did plenty after crashing. I'm more conscious about getting into dodgy situations through bad decisions and poor judgement now, and I'm more patient. Still enjoy riding though, had the bike over to Europe twice since then.

Is that the twisty up and down section by the golf course? Had you unweighted the bike on the crest of a hill whilst braking? Did the same in my micra a few years ago, no warning just slid.

My scariest bike related near miss was when I used to cycle home when living in Switzerland. I was trying to beat my record. And staring at my Garmin. Flew backwards into a giant hole that was prepped for concrete. I missed the steel shuttering by a miracle. Only broke a couple of ribs.
Now I just look forward. And I bought a wahoo.

I wouldn't worry too much, these things happen on road bikes and MTB's - just the nature of using two wheels.

I wouldn’t worry too much, these things happen on road bikes and MTB’s – just the nature of using two wheels.

This.

And today’s a nice warm windy day for taking the busted bits off your bike and replacing them with new stuff.

That will help reacquaint yourself with your bruised bike.

Then moar whiskey, obvz.

Reflect upon it - don't dwell.

Why did the crash happen? What could I have done to avoid it? How can I prevent the same mistake again?

Maybe some advanced training?

For what its worth after 30 years on motorcycles out for a ride one day I just made a total mess of a corner - fortunately without falling off - stood it up on the brakes and went straight on. A car coming the other way and I would have been in a nasty crash. Pure inattention then "target fixing"

Perhaps it was because you knew the road and your attention dropped for a second? And on roads you don't know so well you are concentrating more and assessing things in greater detail.

My instructor told me many bike accidents happen within a few miles of home just due to lack of attention on roads known quite well i.e. brain turning off and going onto autopilot subconsciously.

There are only two types of rider.
Those who Have crashed and those who are Going to.
Clean it up, get back on and keep riding

My instructor told me many bike accidents happen within a few miles of home just due to lack of attention on roads known quite well i.e. brain turning off and going onto autopilot subconsciously.

This is why I always park a mile from home and walk the rest.

When I was 17 I hit the gravel approaching a T junction too fast and me and the bike slid across a busy road in flashback visual of Frogger, except rolling uncontrolled through the gaps in the traffic.  I consider myself very lucky and have never been near a motorbike since.

Your doing the right thing, reflect on it, what went wrong, why, what you could do differently. Then make your decision on what your doing next: never touch a bike again / repair & get back out there / advanced tuition etc. You came of bruised & battered ego, take your time and decide the next step.

If we're reliving crashes, here's mine:

April 1st 2002, i'd been out on my KTM Duke2 driving like a **** on the essex lanes with a bunch of other riders whose ability far out did mine. We'd stopped all the sillyness & were taxiing back through Epping Forest, i was following my mate on his Fireblade, he went a bit wide on a bend at around 50mph, i was on auto pilot following him, i went wider... crossed the white line & straight into the middle of an oncoming brand new Toyota Yaris at around 50mph, no one had time to brake! My KTM was torn in two, i put a 2' V into the front of their car. I saw a strip of sky as i was ejected into the tree canopy & landed in the bracken. Despite all my armour i had a branch poke my shin through my leathers between my knee pad & boot! Swapped details, got a lift home home on my mates Blade & collected my two pieces of KTM later. I was rather lucky. For around a month after i has some weird deacceleration / whiplash symptoms. I struggled to find someone to insure me after that & ended up on a Gilera Runner 180 two stroke for a bit of commuting.

In retrospect I was simply going to fast. Had I braked before the corner I'd have been fine. When I realised I wasn't going to make it with engine braking I panicked and braked first with the rear then front.

If I'd applied them both calmly washing of that wee bit too much speed I think I would have made it.

The hard application of the front shifted the mass to the front loading the fork which left me going in a straight line.

Feel humbled.

Whilst it is easy to blame the smidsy, sadly the commonest reason for motorcycle accidents and fatalities is solo cornering. Glad you are OK. Never stop thinking.

I've commuted on motorcycles most of my working life, a large part of it 80 miles a day and I do like Fireblades. One thing I've always done is analyse every bit of my riding and driving. Could that corner have been better, why did I not spot that car at the junction sooner? I think I'm over half a million miles on motorcycles and despite my constant analysis there's still things that I could do better.

Have a good long think about the corner in question. What was your approach like, was road positioning OK, how was speed, were you looking at the bend or distracted? Analyse the mistake (there might be more than one) and don't make them again.

Merak

Member
I had a slow speed crash on my Motorbike today. Maybe 30-40mph.

I was 130 miles into a ride.....

Glad to hear that you are OK.

The first thing that struck me was had you taken a break at any point in the ride?
130 miles, must be getting on for 2hrs or so of riding?

In retrospect I was simply going to fast. Had I braked before the corner I’d have been fine. When I realised I wasn’t going to make it with engine braking I panicked and braked first with the rear then front.

If I’d applied them both calmly washing of that wee bit too much speed I think I would have made it.

I would say this has some truth in it but not completely so - you can still turn in after heavy front braking but somehow its psychologically hard to do. What you describe is pretty much what I did in the incident I described

My BMW manual even said something about that sort of situation along the lines of "if you over cook it get off the brakes and turn in hard - you can corner much faster than you think" Certainly in my case I simply stood it up on the front brake rather than getting off the brakes and turning in . Practice counter steering?

Feel humbled.

I rode motorbikes for several decades - I never thought I'd write that - and the one big lesson I think you learn eventually is simply that they're a lot less forgiving than cars both in terms of the aftermath of any sort of crash - you normally get hurt in some way - and in their connection with the road.

When I started driving cars, I was amazed, and still am, at just how gormlessly unaware of the road surface and how much grip there is, many drivers are. As with pushbikes, you get very good at reading just how much friction you can expect from a particular patch of tarmac based on feedback, appearance, past experience and some sort of sixth sense hunch stuff.

You're quite possibly correct that you might have got round if you hadn't panicked. Track riding is a useful way of finding out just how much harder you can corner if you need to and the conditions are right, but you never quite know.

But seriously, you seem to know why you crashed, which is half the battle. And you don't have any illusions about your super human bike-handling skills, which is also good. Maybe, if you're that way inclined, some sort of advanced riding course might be worth doing. Or read the Police roadcraft manual and take the useful bits on board.

Rather than wonder could you have got round the corner at this fast speed I would focus on why you entered too fast in the first place...but then I never really got on with the "Advanced Riders" need to go fast!!

if you do for advanced riding coaching, then I can recommend these guys https://www.rapidtraining.co.uk/

I had mojo knocked after a fair few crashes on track and then getting knocked off on the road. But after spending a day riding with one of their trainers, every thing clicked back in to place.

Pleased your'e ok Merak!

Perhaps it was because you knew the road and your attention dropped for a second?

Yep, complacency get be dangerous! I've never owned a road bike but have ridden a few mates bikes, so no expert but I know 2 lads who've had close calls with the Grim Reaper & some who've gone off with him, all seasoned/experienced riders.
One was a very decent fast rider on track days & knew how to handle a bike, however he came unstuck on a bend in a road he knew very well when a tractor & trailer pulled out just past the bend. In a flash he decided to drop the bike & he went under the trailer, luckily his 'only' injuries were smashed up hands & a few bruises. Pity he owned a petrol station/garage & was a mechanic so couldn't work at that for months. That was his wake up call.