Instincts (or just poor training)

[Willow]

Riding home this evening I approached the final left turn onto the street on which I live.  It's a ninety degree left turn downhill approach onto a slight uphill grade.  The trough tends to collect moisture and sand when present.  These days it's left over sand from the snow and ice treatments.  I was prepared for it so I slowed a little more than I normally would.

Surely enough, as I crossed the edge of the road, the rear end kicked out and my left boot went down onto the pavement.  Fortunately, it was just a momentary skip and I caught my reaction before the foot was planted hard enough to do any damage.

Now I know I'm not going to right a seven hundred pound cruiser with a kick to the ground and I was more than ready for the skip, but nonetheless that left leg just seems to have a mind of its own.

The rest of you ever do anything silly like that? 

[grey ghost]

instinct reaction for me, amd I know its the wrong move......

[R J]

4377 yes, it has a mind of it's own.

It didn't want hurt............

I would have been in a lower gear so as to crack it in the tail to bring the bike upright if and when she wanted to go out..   I'm assuming you could have spun out of the sand to bring it up........

[RoadKill]

Been there,dun that! Any one would have done it. I decided long ago that I would eventually do it again and it would be my own fault for riding those two wheel death machines...but if I'm gonna ride it down I prefer that it is at my own hand and I could blame no one else. You know as well as I, that road rash will heal and the wind is worth it 

[T-Bird]

I've been riding Deal's Gap for over 20 yrs and more than once I've had the back tire kick out from under me, not a good feeling at all, luckily I've always saved it "with" the help of my foot! The good thing is I've never done it on a Valkyrie.

[Serk]

It might be more of a curse, but I've got legs that resemble small tree trunks... I've kicked down hard more times than I should have, and by all rights SHOULD have broken my leg a few times... But on the other side, by all means I SHOULD have gone down a few of those times too, IMHO...

And yeah, I KNOW I shouldn't, but as you said, things start going tipsy, and that leg just comes down of it's own accord...

[Jack]

Yep, afraid so.

[Black Pearl's Captain]

I'll only admit to doing that if Scott says he does too.

Raymond

[Black Dog]

Instinct...  It's hard to 'over ride' what comes natural 

Be it riding a bike, or just a slip and fall, our instinct says DO THIS...  And we throw a leg out, put our arms back (in the case of a slip), or otherwise do something the the body says is right, but can have some bad results.

If ya stomp yer foot down, ya risk a broken leg.  If you try to 'catch' yerself during a fall, ya risk a broken arm, wrist, or worse (ask an ER nurse about skateboard accidents).

Not bike related, but two instances of 'reflex' show how bad things can be...  First, when my brother and I were much younger, we would come home from school and make a 'snack'.  On this day, it was to be PB&J...  As he was taking the jelly jar out of the fridge, my brother hit the bottom of the jar on the counter, and broke the jar...  His 'instinct' told him to 'catch' it, to prevent a mess.  That didn't work out so well, as he ended up in the ER, taking more than 30 stitches to close the wounds...  The other occasion, was when I was in college, and riding as a front seat passenger in my buddies '63 Ford Falcon.  It was snowing hard, he lost control, and we crossed the centerline...  We were not going fast, but I 'instinctively' braced for impact, by putting both my hands on the dashboard (no seat belts).  It took almost a year, for my shoulders and neck, to feel normal again.  The alternative woulda been worse (kissing the windshield), but still it was 'reflex', as I didn't have time to think.

Part of riding a motorcycle, is learning how to over ride 'reflex or instinct'...

Glad ya kept the big girl upright 

Black Dog

[Jabba]

spend a bunch of time in the dirt... and that instinct get beaten out of you.  I take my foot off the peg sometimes but for balance, not to put it on the ground.

Jabba

[ChromeDome]

More times then I care to re-call.

[Big Rig]

Been there done that...TG, no scars to prove it...

[Michael K (Az.)]

Yep! Not only that pesky leg deal but I've noticed that it takes some time to extricate my butt from the seat after the event has passed due to the "pucker" factor!

[Normandog]

Yes, more than once. And regardless of the people who've told me I did not "save it", I still know I did. On the other hand, I also know if I keep doing that I may well break a leg someday.

Jabba says spend some time in the dirt. Every dirt race I've watched the riders put their foot down often. I suppose he means practice saving the bike without putting a foot down. That's something I would like to do. I miss riding on dirt. And I believe it would be good to practice/learn certain skills that could help save your butt someday while riding pavement. There used to be a school for that very purpose.

Anyway, glad your story had a happy ending Willow.

[~ Timbrwolf]

......let me get this straight


. . . . ...you were riding yesterday ?!?!? .. 

[Daniel Meyer]

Remember those little 3-wheel ATV's when they first came out?

I ran over my own leg not 10 seconds after mounting up on one of those things....many many years ago...so to answer your question, no, my feet stay planted on the pegs when on the street bikes.

But it was a painful lesson learned, not training that makes it so in my case.

[sugarbee]

I know that reaction all too well...my foot and ankle are still on the mend and I don't know when the swelling will go down enough to put a boot on

[Willow]

...you were riding yesterday ?!?!? ..   

Yes, but I don't live in Michigan.    

[fudgie]

I agree with Jabba, although I never dirt biked it before. Balance tho. In my short years of bull riding you were taught not to sick your legs out or it will get taken off. I do find myself planting my heels into the bike on turns and occasionally will throw out my left arm as I crest a hill or a hit a deep valley.   

My guess is you wouldn't have done this in the summer. Winter makes you more cautious and changes your mind set.

[Westernbiker]

As with Jabba I have ridden dirt bikes since I was 8, started racing at 10 and have a Suzuki DRZ 400 at this time. Lots of experience on two wheels, all I can tell ya Willow is this:

WHEN IN DOUBT.......GAS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jabba]

As with Jabba I have ridden dirt bikes since I was 8, started racing at 10 and have a Suzuki DRZ 400 at this time. Lots of experience on two wheels, all I can tell ya Willow is this:

WHEN IN DOUBT.......GAS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brother... when it comes to dirt bikes... a more true thing has never been said!  ANd that theory had been (mostly) successfully applied to a lot of places in my life. 

When you're riding in the dirt, rarely do you NOT have one wheel or the other slipping to some extent, a nd that little 250 lbs over powered scooter is way more stable accellerating than decelerating.  That goes for hills, dips, whoops, creeks, jumps, berms and about anything else you can dream up.

I never have been too afreaid to hit the ground... I am afraid (respectful) of telephone poles, mail boxes, and other vehicles WAY more than the ground.

I tell people over and over...

When it doubt... GAS IT! 

Jabba

[Gilligan]

The rest of you ever do anything silly like that? 

From instinct I started to do that several times over the years, but thankfully, I never planted the foot.  As a passenger, Navigator put her leg out one time when I dopped the Valk in 1999.  We did not have any gear on it, and she was very lucky.  The IS saddle bag came down on her extended leg, but she didn't break anything.  If we'd had all of our gear (total weight = 1210 pounds), she would have definitely had more than a bruise.  From that point on, she always kept her feet on the passenger pegs.

When I dropped the loaded Valk this summer in a parking lot on the Canadian Icefields Parkway, Navigator kept her feet on the pegs.  My seat pinned her left calf to the black-top and bruised her, but the rear "crash bar" stopped the bike from any additional injury.  BTW, we fell to the left on a down-hill slope.

[JimL]

It's a ninety degree left turn downhill approach onto a slight uphill grade.

Gotta be a trick question....I didn't recall seeing any hills in the great state of Kansas! 

[fudgie]

The rest of you ever do anything silly like that? 

From instinct I started to do that several times over the years, but thankfully, I never planted the foot.  As a passenger, Navigator put her leg out one time when I dopped the Valk in 1999.  We did not have any gear on it, and she was very lucky.  The IS saddle bag came down on her extended leg, but she didn't break anything.  If we'd had all of our gear (total weight = 1210 pounds), she would have definitely had more than a bruise.  From that point on, she always kept her feet on the passenger pegs.

When I dropped the loaded Valk this summer in a parking lot on the Canadian Icefields Parkway, Navigator kept her feet on the pegs.  My seat pinned her left calf to the black-top and bruised her, but the rear "crash bar" stopped the bike from any additional injury.  BTW, we fell to the left on a down-hill slope.

Did it look like this?  Her leg slide down the floor board on the way over.

[Willow]

Gotta be a trick question....I didn't recall seeing any hills in the great state of Kansas! 

Apparently you took a very limited tour.    

[R J]

Gotta be a trick question....I didn't recall seeing any hills in the great state of Kansas! 

Apparently you took a very limited tour.    

Hey Carl, ur buddy says your state has 1 curve and 1 hill.

Now, whos blowing smoke?

I take it you say Raymond is full of gas.....

I do remember seeing 1 overpass about 1/2 down I-35.    The one that the stock trucks use to load up cattle.    First time I saw that I laughed.     

[Gilligan]

Did it look like this?  Her leg slide down the floor board on the way over.

Yep.  That's it on the calf, only on the inside of Navigator's calf.  She did not have the injury above the knee, because we have pegs, not floor boards.  The doctor told her the color won't leave for about one year.

[Willow]

Hey Carl, ur buddy says your state has 1 curve and 1 hill.

Now, whos blowing smoke?

I take it you say Raymond is full of gas.....

I do remember seeing 1 overpass about 1/2 down I-35.    The one that the stock trucks use to load up cattle.    First time I saw that I laughed.     

Lol!  Raymond is a great friend, fine man, and an excellent rider, but if you believe everything the Captain tells you I have a bridge ...   

[Scott in Ok]

I'll only admit to doing that if Scott says he does too.

Raymond

I'm guilty. Too many years on a dirtbike.

Your turn.

-Scott

[Jess from VA]

Yeah Willow, I've done it many times.  Instinct is right. 

My favorite occasion was a while back when I was riding the proverbial..... 'yeah I need a new rear tire, but I can go out for a couple hours today and take it easy.'  In a scenic turnoff, with a really short ramp into 50mph traffic.  Rolled the bike out, not quite straight to the ramp, gunned it too much, and the hot nearly-bald tire slipped sideways.  I jackstanded on my leg (and am sure it did help me recover from a fall), along with a quick release of the throttle.  I didn't hurt my leg from the plant, but I drove the bike bag guard bars into my plant leg calf HARD.  I had no time but to continue to merge into traffic, but took the first turnoff to get off the bike cause I was hurting.  That definitely left a mark and a limp for awhile.

I have oft noted it is a poor practice, but it is an instinctual reaction which cannot be cured.  I was behind an 1800 wing rider who do it when he got off the edge into the gravel, and he broke his leg or ankle, and went down anyway.
 

[RoadKill]

I always thought of my self as highly skilled in my riding,both in traffic and on dirt. At one with the machine,reflexes honed and practiced. I believed that ANY MC accident is the riders fault and there were 3 kinds of riders,Those who have been down,those who WILL go down and the 3rd kind of rider was ME ! I also know that some learn by reading,some by watching others and the rest of us just have to piss on the electric fence ourselves. Well...I take the fence every time  but I have learned(the hard way) that if you log enough miles....crap happens! We are human and can NOT over come that.
I have been in more close calls than I want to remember and I chocked them all up to my ability to forsee and react. I'm a damn NINJA on 2 wheels! Or so I thought...The ONLY thing I was right about was that every motorcycle accident IS the riders fault and that is because we are human..and I'm not just talkin about reflexes or reaction time. My crystal ball is broken and it can not see far enough in the future to keep murphy's law from interfering.

I have put my foot down,I've thrown my foot forward,I have powered thru',brake and weave,power slide,thrown things and cussed saluted with one finger (BOTH hands, even )...but eventually forgot to tuck and roll . It happens,but the wind is worth the risk. We all just do the best we can just dont stop trying to improve. that is what the little scares are there for...to teach us .Ride safe and RIDE ON  ! !   

[Black Pearl's Captain]

I'll only admit to doing that if Scott says he does too.

Raymond

I'm guilty. Too many years on a dirtbike.

Your turn.

-Scott

I just drag a foot because all the kool kansas city riders do it too.

Raymond

[Willow]

... ,but the wind is worth the risk. 

We need someplace to list all the cool mottoes that show up on the board.


And then, of course, there's this stuff:   

I just drag a foot because all the kool kansas city riders do it too.

 

[RoadKill]

Willow, THANX for your ability to read between the lines (Not as articulate as I once was ). But you always get the moral of my stories....It's all about the wind 

Hope to see you again come March riding weather..If not a nice Kansas, February day.