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went down
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:45 pm
by bria
i went down yesterday..
i don;t know what happend ..
i was waiting on light and trying to make a u turn.
i was behind this car and i followed the car to make a u turn
and all of sudden i couldn't make a complete u turn and hit the curb and went down.
i picked up the bike to start moving again and i notice the chain came off and couldnt move it , so police came and took my bike to police impound.
contacted the insurance and need to fix the bike.
any tips on making a smooth u turn guys?
thanks
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:20 am
by Loonette
Same thing as with your other two topic questions (stalling and braking). You obviously need more practice OFF THE ROAD. All these topics were covered in your MSF course. All of them. So... you need to apply those skills to some practice.
Maximum braking involves squeezing down on the brakes at an even pace over the course of, say, two-three seconds. If you grab the brakes too quickly then you will lock them up.
Stalling - what others said in your post... practice finding your friction zone. Practice...
U-turns - you didn't describe how you took your failed U-turn... maybe too fast... maybe not a large enough radius. But this was covered and tested in your MSF course. Steady, slow speed - maybe a bit of clutch for speed control (a bit of rear brake can help a bit as well). Keep your eyes where you want to go - NOT ON THE CURB OR THE GUY IN FRONT OF YOU! Remember, we tend to go towards the things on which our vision is focused. Practice, practice, practice.
Good luck - being a newbie is no picnic, but you need to dig into your brain and find those tidbits that were taught to you and practice them. There's not much else to do.
Cheers,
Loonette
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:16 am
by MrShake
You dropped your bike in a U turn and the police impounded it? that seems a little odd to me. Maybe I'm just missing something.
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:22 am
by WolfeRules
Well you have to look through your turn. You have to look ahead of where you to where you want to be going. Like stated earlier in the topic you learned all that in the safety course.
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:43 am
by Bubba
"police came and took my bike to police impound."? What right do they have to do that?
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 7:07 am
by storysunfolding
That doesn't make sense to me... it's also hard to do a u-turn with flat tires.
So bike in good working order- check
You in good working order- check
Power to the rear wheel-check
Turn handlebars in direction of turn-check
Look over your shoulder at the direction you ultimately want to be going-check
Good u turn
So what iddn't you do?
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 10:16 pm
by Dragonhawk
MrShake wrote:You dropped your bike in a U turn and the police impounded it? that seems a little odd to me. Maybe I'm just missing something.
Bubba wrote:"police came and took my bike to police impound."? What right do they have to do that?
I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking that sounds a bit fishy.
Something has been left out of this story........
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:21 am
by Shorts
No insurance?
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:25 am
by whisper15
This is what they teach you in the class Keep your eyes where you want to go - NOT ON THE CURB OR THE GUY IN FRONT OF YOU! Remember, we tend to go towards the things on which our vision is focused. Practice, practice, practice.

You were probable going too fast. Practice in a parking lot no one is using.
Why would the police take your bike if you were just riding it?
Good luck

i know what i did wrong
Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:26 pm
by bria
just like Loonette said i think i was looking at the curb when i was u turning , i don't know why i looked there.
still now i don't know why i couldn't make that u turn.
feel very stupid of me..
oh yeah about the impound. i do have an insurance but didnt buy a towing so i couldnt use towing service and had to leave a bike on the road.
and thats why the police came and took it.