wet roads and me = bad news :(

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klohiq · #1 Unread post by **klohiq** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 4:12 am

Well I thought I was getting used to the power of my bike, but apparently it has a few extra lessons to teach me. Coming out of a stop sign I stalled it once and with some traffic around me I decided stalling it a few more times was a bad idea. So I revved it a little and once the revs dipped under 2 or 3k I started feathering the clutch a little. Apparently not enough and the back wheel started spinning on the damp pavement. Instead of easing back on the throttle or pulling the clutch back in, I just gripped the handle bars in fear as the rear flipped back and forth like a fire hose. Then either the bike flipped or threw me off because I ended up face planting in a ditch.

The good part is other than a sore shoulder and bruised ego I'm alright. The bike however faired a little less well. I rode it a few miles home, bike it's going to be awhile before I can get it on the road. Broke the left side peg, peg bracket and the bracket that it mounts to, along with bending the lower mounting point on the frame so that it comes in contact with the chain. Destroyed the screen, some damage to the fairing mounting points on the left-hand side. Otherwise just a few scuffs hear and there.

I'm amazed at how little grip I had when in dry conditions I have so much that I can't seem to spin the rear at all...I guess I don't have the balls to really give it some stick in the low gears...not that I want to rear to spin, I was just hopping to get used to what it felt like when it started losing traction so that I could stay calm when I wasn't expecting it.

Glad I just bought my riding jacket the day before which is a whole lot better than the sweatshirt I had before.

sapaul · #2 Unread post by **sapaul** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 4:18 am

Glad to hear you're OK, the bike can be fixed, even the ego can be fixed and you can't put aprice on the experiance, Bet you won't do that again.

klohiq · #3 Unread post by **klohiq** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 4:23 am

hopefully not...I guess I really need to respect the fact that I only have a few square inches out back and that if I'm on anything slippery I need to be very cautious.

do you think a wider than stock rear will fit and improve my traction?...I think the rear is a 150 while most newer sport bikes use a 180-190mm wide rear...

just a thought...I realize this was purely my riding abilities fault, but anything to give me a better chance at keeping it upright would be nice. probly a 600 would be easier to ride since the low-end grunt isn't there, but I've got this bike so I might as well learn to live with it...and any bike I ride right now will probly end up getting crashed eventually...just hopefully not a complete loss :-/

Thu Sep 01, 2005 6:07 pm

klohiq wrote:
do you think a wider than stock rear will fit and improve my traction?...I think the rear is a 150 while most newer sport bikes use a 180-190mm wide rear...

When it is wet out, you need to be gentle on the throttle. It wouldn't matter what size tires you have, if you are too aggressive with the throttle,you will slip.

Take note of guys in their muscle cars or 4x4 trucks on a wet day....they have 4 big fat tires and when the foot is too heavy on the gas, the tires spin all the way around the corner and then they usually fishtail as they straighten out. If they had been gentle on the gas, they would have had traction.

Mintbread · #5 Unread post by **Mintbread** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:23 pm

The stop line at intersections are a terrible place for oil, fuel and other fluids dropped from vehicles sitting there previously. The rain brings all of this gunk to the surface, so in all possibility that is why you broke traction so easily there. I remember being told at my learner rider course that every advantage a bike has in the dry is lost on a wet road. Ain't that the truth.

sapaul · #6 Unread post by **sapaul** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:51 pm

When I taught my wife and kids to ride I would sit them on the bike, engine off and make them learn where all the contols where. Then I would blindfold them and make them do it again and then I would shout stuff at them like "emergancy stop" and they would have to work the contols blindfold for that situation. I know it sounds stupid but we took it in good fun and they would even have a turn with me. Panic is the worst enemy of the motorcyclist. Try this, write down all the situations you can think of and then write down the controls you need to use for this, it's amazing what your brain will absorb. Remember that your brain controls everything whether you think it or not, you will panic when your brain cannot compute what it needs to do next.

klohiq · #7 Unread post by **klohiq** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 6:55 am

sapaul wrote:When I taught my wife and kids to ride I would sit them on the bike, engine off and make them learn where all the contols where. Then I would blindfold them and make them do it again and then I would shout stuff at them like "emergancy stop" and they would have to work the contols blindfold for that situation. I know it sounds stupid but we took it in good fun and they would even have a turn with me. Panic is the worst enemy of the motorcyclist. Try this, write down all the situations you can think of and then write down the controls you need to use for this, it's amazing what your brain will absorb. Remember that your brain controls everything whether you think it or not, you will panic when your brain cannot compute what it needs to do next.

Not a bad idea and once I get my bike back on the road I will definitely try that out. Have to wait for all the parts to arrive that I need though so I'll have lots of time to practice what I would do next time something like this happens.

blues2cruise wrote:
klohiq wrote:
do you think a wider than stock rear will fit and improve my traction?...I think the rear is a 150 while most newer sport bikes use a 180-190mm wide rear...
When it is wet out, you need to be gentle on the throttle. It wouldn't matter what size tires you have, if you are too aggressive with the throttle,you will slip.

Take note of guys in their muscle cars or 4x4 trucks on a wet day....they have 4 big fat tires and when the foot is too heavy on the gas, the tires spin all the way around the corner and then they usually fishtail as they straighten out. If they had been gentle on the gas, they would have had traction.

I know it was definitely my fault in this case, I'm just wondering if that would help. I will definitely have to work on how ham-fisted I am...I'm just so used to a fwd that rarely gets out of hand, even with very "spirited" driving on wet/icey roads.

#8 Unread post by **dr_bar** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 7:34 am

Another slippery item at stop signs and lights is that painted stop line or crosswalk. You can and will break traction on those if you're not careful. I always get rolling and off of any paint before really applying throttle in the wet. I also give a whole lot more respect to any curves in the wet, despite my Avon Venoms incredible grip.

Speaking of avons... Here are a couple of shots of a set of Venoms on a custom. They apparently come in sizes much bigger than I have.

NorthernPete · Sat Sep 03, 2005 8:46 am

Im not sure if its a good idea, but I have my throttle set fairly high, so I dont really have to use much in the way of the hand grip when Im going from a stop. kinda makes it a bit easier for me as I dotn worry as much about stalling out.

Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:03 pm

dr_bar wrote:Another slippery item at stop signs and lights is that painted stop line or crosswalk. You can and will break traction on those if you're not careful. I always get rolling and off of any paint before really applying throttle in the wet. I also give a whole lot more respect to any curves in the wet, despite my Avon Venoms incredible grip.

Speaking of avons... Here are a couple of shots of a set of Venoms on a custom. They apparently come in sizes much bigger than I have.

Hey, I think that should be my next bike. What is it?