[DiamondLil]

While riding down a straight away quite near a right turn I needed to make suddenly a minivan is tailgating pretty close. Not being able to slow down as I would like to have for the turn I entered it too hot and abruptly slowed down at the apex. Not knowing how to take a curve that way it broke my stride and for some unknown reason I let off the throttle and stalled her. Thank God my left foot planted and my right thumb flicked all at the right time. I accelerated and kept going.

Next time the turn will be sacrificed and I'll double back. In the mean time I need to learn how to handle such situations better.

 

[sfarson]

When I first saw the subject heading I thought, "Oh no", but glad it wasn't an accident but instead a situation you want to improve on for the next time! Yes, someone on your rear can be unnerving. Just look through the curve next time (The tried and true important riding lesson -- look where you want to go), and scoot through it... even if entering the corner hot.

 

[Biker Bill]

When I first saw the subject heading I thought, "Oh no", but glad it wasn't an accident but instead a situation you want to improve on for the next time! Yes, someone on your rear can be unnerving. Just look through the curve next time (The tried and true important riding lesson -- look where you want to go), and scoot through it... even if entering the corner hot.

I thought the same thing... OH NO NOT THE NEW BIKE! Glad you OK DiamondLil.

 

[Dinero No Mas]

Good job. Sometimes "instinct" takes over and the experience we have gets us through a situation before we have time to think about it and really screw up.

 

[lakedrunk]

I also thought "OH NO!!" glad you didn't dump it! I'm with sfarson, look where you want to go

 

[DiamondLil]

When I first saw the subject heading I thought, "Oh no", but glad it wasn't an accident but instead a situation you want to improve on for the next time! Yes, someone on your rear can be unnerving. Just look through the curve next time (The tried and true important riding lesson -- look where you want to go), and scoot through it... even if entering the corner hot.

Sorry, I'll have to mellow out before writing posts.

I truly turned into a big

thinking the minivan was going to smash into my rear upon slowing so....you know the rest.
Look through the curve? Oh, yeah! I think I've heard that countless times before.:banghead

Practice point: emphasize looking through the turn on normal turns so when the head becomes a little tense learned reflex takes over.

 

[Dinero No Mas]

"Practice point: emphasize looking through the turn on normal turns so when the head becomes a little tense learned reflex takes over."


My point exactly.

 

[EZE RIDER]

Only smart people get scared.

 

[KBOlsen]

What he said

 

[Nathang]

Maybe there should be a thread of "I messed up" close calls, maybe it can prevent something worse.

I had a scare the other day that I'll know to watch out for now, maybe somebody else will as well after reading mine.

I was following a really tall truck, too closely I guess, and wasn't thinking how and where it was obstructing my view,
suddenly a traffic light that was already fully red came out from above the trailer, too late for me to stop.
No telling how long it had been red.

The lesson I will keep in mind isn't just to watch out for this same situation,
but also for the same hazard as a rider on the side street,
if I ever see a real tall truck go thru the intersection last before the light changes,
I'll remember to be watching for the vehicle 2 seconds behind him, unaware of the red light

 

[aintgotnun]

I did something similar on the 9th of September. Left turn a schosh too fast for the turn. Dragged my boards pretty hard and the asphault decided it liked my toe and flipped it around backwards. I ended up with a dislocated ankle and a leg (tib and fib) broke in 4 places. No damage to the scoot as I kept her up. I'm just now getting back to riding and it's still very painful.

Watch planting the foot and keep your toes in while in a hard lean. I'd rather dump the bike then break my leg and ankle again. It has not been a fun journey to recovery.

 

[EZE RIDER]

I did something similar on the 9th of September. Left turn a schosh too fast for the turn. Dragged my boards pretty hard and the asphault decided it liked my toe and flipped it around backwards. I ended up with a dislocated ankle and a leg (tib and fib) broke in 4 places. No damage to the scoot as I kept her up. I'm just now getting back to riding and it's still very painful.

Watch planting the foot and keep your toes in while in a hard lean. I'd rather dump the bike then break my leg and ankle again. It has not been a fun journey to recovery.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you heal quickly.

 

[DiamondLil]

Maybe there should be a thread of "I messed up" close calls, maybe it can prevent something worse.

I had a scare the other day that I'll know to watch out for now, maybe somebody else will as well after reading mine.

I was following a really tall truck, too closely I guess, and wasn't thinking how and where it was obstructing my view,
suddenly a traffic light that was already fully red came out from above the trailer, too late for me to stop.
No telling how long it had been red.

The lesson I will keep in mind isn't just to watch out for this same situation,
but also for the same hazard as a rider on the side street,
if I ever see a real tall truck go thru the intersection last before the light changes,
I'll remember to be watching for the vehicle 2 seconds behind him, unaware of the red light

Here it is:
http://www.harley-davidsonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1101

 

[DiamondLil]

Sorry to hear that. Hope you heal quickly.

I'm with him!
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is so helpful for all of us to learn through experience, even if it is not our own!

 

[GAZOO!]

I
Watch planting the foot and keep your toes in while in a hard lean. I'd rather dump the bike then break my leg and ankle again. It has not been a fun journey to recovery.

This is a good lesson, Lil. Planting your foot on a street bike is seldom a good idea unless stopped. Also remember a car can stop faster than a bike. Cars tend to tailgate because of the visual perception that your ass needs to be the same width as a semi before they stop closing the gap. You really need to be more concerened about tailgating others more than people tailgating you. Wave em off or tap the brakes if they get too close. The best idea is to slow and pull over and let them pass.

 

[DiamondLil]

This is a good lesson, Lil. Planting your foot on a street bike is seldom a good idea unless stopped. Also remember a car can stop faster than a bike. Cars tend to tailgate because of the visual perception that your ass needs to be the same width as a semi before they stop closing the gap. You really need to be more concerened about tailgating others more than people tailgating you. Wave em off or tap the brakes if they get too close. The best idea is to slow and pull over and let them pass.

Being reminded about the dangers of foot planting is great advice. Thank you for that! I was extremely fortunate that nothing went wrong.
There was no safe place to pull over as the shoulder is only about a foot wide with dirt, grass and gravel on it. The minivan pulled in behind me from the left lane maybe 20 yards from the turn. Thinking this whole thing through, more times than I can count, what I didn't handle well was the fear of taking the turn with more speed than I am used to doing. I let the proximity of the van un-nerve me.

 

[GAZOO!]

In general, it is good to be cautious. I spend some time on a Sportster board and one of the members investigates accidents for insurance companies. He said that in his experience investigating people on motorcycles that exit the road, a study of exit speed etc shows that in all but a very small number of cases people drive off the road in a curve when they, and their motorcycle, have a bunch of lean left. I don't lean as much as I used to comfortably. That is one of the bad things about these nice, shiny, $17,000 Harleys, it is hard to learn to ride them to their limit, because to do that, you have to exceed their limit. It is surprising how far a bike will lean...almost as surprising as how much some scraped up parts can cost!

 

[DiamondLil]

There is something counterintutitive about leaning a moving motorcycle close to the ground in order to keep it in control. It works, to be sure. It is just weird on the surface. If the physics is explored, then it makes sense.

 

[GAZOO!]

Yep, something wrong with trying to make the motorcycle fall over!

 

[Dinero No Mas]

Yep, something wrong with trying to make the motorcycle fall over!

I don't seem to have any problem making them fall over.:rofl: