Laid the Bandit down today :(

[Tryvelcro]

Ok, I know this is a Nighthawk forum, and I wasn't on my Hawk, but please forgive me.  This affects the Hawk in the long run, so we're doing an end around.

So I went for a ride today with the BF and his dad (first time riding with his dad, he lives in Oregon).  We go all the way up to Sonora Pass, heading back down, no problems (well, 1 little "run the bike out of gas cuz there's no gas stations" issue, but that doesn't count).  180 miles of nice riding.  On the way home, hit a section of 25 mph switchbacks.  About 3/4 of the way through the 1st turn, there's a car in my lane.  I tried to slow, but apparently in spite of the panic stop practicing, I still locked it up.  Anyway, between the braking & sand on the edge of the road it slid out & went into the drainage ditch running along side the lane.

Now, I'm a really cautious rider.  I don't take risks, I don't ride fast.  I'm not entirely inexperienced, but only about 10k miles under my belt - and since I know this, I never push my limits.   I ride on the outer edge of the lane, near the outside white line - this was always because I was cautious of people cutting corners, but now I wonder if it left me with no way out.  Then again, any closer to the yellow & I would've been on her hood. And I know I took my eyes off the road because I know she wasn't even looking at the road.

The bike is fine, just a few scrapes, a broken turn signal, broken clutch lever, but nothing major.  I'm fine, no injuries at all.  But I'm rattled, and I rode the 75 miles home actually scared, which was a first for me.  I'm always cautious, but never afraid.  Now, I'm afraid to lean.  I'm afraid to ride at a reasonable speed.  I'm afraid of going down, but not getting as lucky as this time.

Any words of wisdom?

Edit:  Also, please feel free to flame away if it's constructive.

[DesignFlaw06]

When I went down, I was trembling when I got back up. Had the handlebars not been bent out of whack, I still don't think I could have driven it home. It actually happened on the day I was going to put it up for the winter. The advice I got was to get the bike up and running as soon as possible. Then make sure I get out for a ride before I put it up. The reason being that the longer you wait and stew over it, the harder it will be.

On my first ride back out, I drove the road that I dropped it on. Kind of a prove to myself I can do it thing. And now I take that route everyday to work and back. I still think about it often, but my confidence is back up and I don't have that fear.

Best of luck in the recovery. Glad to hear you're not injured.

Tim

[fishmeister]

       Good to know you are ok. Hopefully your fear takes back seat to

       your desire to ride, so after some time you be good.

[Tryvelcro]

Thanks for the kind words. 

Design - I WAS shaking.  I rode about 5 miles down the road, til there was a safe spot to stop, and hand to get off & chain smoke for about 10 mins.  Once the shock wore off, I was sooo pissed - about both that ass driver & myself.

Funny thing, I think my natural instinct to simultaneously brake & get the hell away from the car at the same time were wrong.  As my BF said, the bike can handle far more than I can.  I should have pushed harder on that left grip, I think he's right that I could've made it around her. 

I know I gotta get back on & ride again if I'm going to get over it.  I almost think that having no choice but to ride home might have been a good thing, in the long run, even though I was scared.  Better than being able to just walk away & not get back on.

Ugh.  Time for parking lots again, I guess, just to convince myself I know what the hell I'm doing. 

[niteman]

Very glad to hear that you're okay! I don't have any insightful words as I have not been riding that long and have not laid it down yet. Just glad you were not hurt.

[happycommuter]

Yourself and the bike are still in riding condition, so the day wasn't totally ruined.

Design - I WAS shaking.  I rode about 5 miles down the road, til there was a safe spot to stop, and hand to get off & chain smoke for about 10 mins.

A post-crash (or even post-drop) cool off period is always advised.  Don't let adrenaline cause an immediate second mishap.

Ugh.  Time for parking lots again, I guess, just to convince myself I know what the hell I'm doing.

The Bandit has a rear disk brake.  It isn't as forgiving as the NH drum in panic situations.  BTW the recipe for lockup (I did this for too long) is to use the front to unload the rear (moving COG forward) and THEN stomp on the rear.   Ideally you always want to start rear braking a split second before the front.   You're absolutely correct that you swerve OR brake.  Or brake then swerve.  The MSF ERC goes into budgeting traction.

The only case where I advise riding in the right third of a lane stateside is left-lane traffic.  For curves/hills there is debate about whether to be in the far left for visibility or center for evasiveness.

[LuminousPube]

Its good to hear your up and about without a problem!

Bikes can be fixed people cannot always heal and you dont get as much for a written off person.

My off was completely unavoidable I had a lady driver pull a U turn from the opposite side of the road into me.
I fell on my right side and bashed my shoulder and hip hard into the floor and my right foot got very squashed under the bike.

After alot of shouting and swearing at myself and the bike and more at the floor.  Then she walked over and just said "were you speeding, i didnt see you" I very sarcastically pointed out the speed trap on the road i was coming from and said if you indicated, put the phone down and opened your frigging eyes we might not be standing here talking.

She gave me her details and left as soon as possible, i spent 15mins calming down and checking myself over as i took a quite a hit and the adrenaline picked the bike and me up.
The bike was bashed but ridable the crash bars were bent under the rear brake and the handle bars were wonky but I took a slow backroad ride home and then got my ex to run me up the hospital.  I then spent a week with my right arm locked up and a severe limp.

After physio and 4 grand personal injury im back to full health.

Just take it easy and get back riding when you feel comfortable, enjoy it.

[Bumblebee]

Damned cagers. Too bad you weren't driving a heavily loaded semi-truck at the time. I'm guessing the cager who did this to you got away and learned nothing from it other than motorcycles are less of a threat than they previously thought they were instead of getting the beating they deserved.

Glad you're ok. ATGATT works.

my natural instinct to simultaneously brake & get the hell away from the car at the same time were wrong.

As soon as you touched the brake in the turn, you lost the ability to maneuver. Think in terms of traction. The wheel has 100% available traction to work with on any given surface. That 100% can be balanced between turning and braking. If you're using 70% of the traction in the turn, you can't put 50% braking on that same tire and if you do, that tire will step out on you or stop rotating since you exceeded 100% of the available traction. Add in the dynamics of the motorcycle standing up and going in a straight line when you when you apply the front brake and you suddenly go wide in a straight line which is likely a bad thing on a turning road.

While you're at it, you might consider the physical position of the rear brake lever and the point where it engages the brake. If the engagement point is a longer lever push, it might help you avoid locking the rear wheel as easily. It still comes down to training and proficiency though.

Ugh.  Time for parking lots again

Parking lot practice is your best friend, not something annoying that you have to put up with occasionally. Proficiency and training is everything. Retrain your natural instincts to do the right thing on a motorcycle. While you're at it, remove the word "panic" from your dictionary. In this culture, the word "panic" basically tells your brain to stomp the brake, switch brain off and wait. "Emergency" is a much better word so you'll apply the brake, keep thinking about the dynamics of the situation and continue to operate the motorcycle under control to a complete stop.


Being rattled after a faceplant is natural. The Earth is a seriously big hard thing to have slam into you. Wait about 15 minutes before getting back on the motorcycle in order to let the adrenalin wear off first. The best thing you can do is get back on the motorcycle and ride. Take it easy and go put time in the local parking lot getting use to leaning and controlling the motorcycle again. You'll be back to normal in no time. You've been humbled and will be a lot more cautious and a better rider as a result of this.


Welcome to the Faceplant Club. Sorry you had to join. The entry fee sucks doesn't it.

[gammer]

Glad to hear you are ok.

As you stated, you ride close to the center line, which is recommended practice. However, I generally break this rule when cornering...for the exact reason of what you went through: Cars cutting corners.
I've had a few close calls when riding close the center line...its fine for strait stretches when you can see far ahead, but its when I can't see that gets me worried.

Hope you overcome your fears and get riding again soon.

[Custom82Hawk]

Always nice to come out of one of these uninjured.  My first laydown was just because I was inexperienced and shouldn't have hit the back brake so hard around a corner.  Luckily it was in a parking lot and we were only doing about 10 mph or less, so I don't really count it.  My buddy was leading, who was even more inexperienced than me, and, knowing I was behind him, hit his brakes too much when turning into the parking lot and for me it was either hit him or go down.  Nothing broke, got a few scratches on me and the bike, purely cosmetic. 

My incident with the deer was much worse.  Didn't have a chance to do any kind of crash avoidance.  It was one of those "poof! there's a deer!" and then a peter pan routine of attempting to fly (except I didn't have any fairy dust).  That one really shook me up.  Took quite awhile to get the sling off and the bike fixed thanks to the insurance co being idiots, but when I got it back, I started riding it work again (after a new $80 battery the shop didn't want to replace cause it wasn't part of the wreck, it was them not keeping it charged the almost 3 months they had it).  It wasn't much fun at first, but here I am, about 6 months later and I've had my confidence back for a good long while.  Great thing is, my confidence is stronger because I've been through that wreck and have learned from it.  It makes a better rider out of you IMO.

[pittsoccer33]

i went down about a month into riding and it shook me up a little.  another person pushed be off the road, but had it been someone with more experience in my place they wouldnt have let themselves get into that position.  im a smarter, less hurried rider now and have another scenerio i look to avoid.

[Tryvelcro]

I jokingly said today that the hawk was pointing & laughing at the bandit, since I've ridden that hawk about 8k miles without a single incident of any kind. Funny thing, when I get back on & ride again, I know it will be the hawk that's getting me confidence back. 

I've tried to slow the whole thing down in my memory, to catch the whole thing in slow motion to see what I could do differently, to analyze it.  Strange, isn't it?  I already know I'll ride again. I guess this thing might have gotten in my head, but not defeated me by any means.

[mazer]

Ahhhh the Sonora pass, nice twisties, some very very scary. On top of that I doubt the Cal Trans sweepers have removed all of the sand on the road...Not a good combo. I think your not wanting to pull the bike farther out into the lane and away from the white line might have been your issue here. You can not hit the apex of a corner well by hugging the white line. I think you should get ahold of Doc Wong and take some free classes. He will help boost your confidence.  Go to the barf (Bay Area Riders Forum) web site and look for the training page, search for doc wong, I think he has a number of clinics coming up...hope you and your bike are okay

[Tryvelcro]

Ahhhh the Sonora pass, nice twisties, some very very scary. On top of that I doubt the Cal Trans sweepers have removed all of the sand on the road...Not a good combo. I think your not wanting to pull the bike farther out into the lane and away from the white line might have been your issue here. You can not hit the apex of a corner well by hugging the white line. I think you should get ahold of Doc Wong and take some free classes. He will help boost your confidence.  Go to the barf (Bay Area Riders Forum) web site and look for the training page, search for doc wong, I think he has a number of clinics coming up...hope you and your bike are okay

Yes, I know BARF, even gone on a few of their group rides.  Most of the road was really good, even up towards the summit, although there was more snow still on the ground than I'd expected to see.  It was a beautiful day, the smell of the pines, nice temps & fresh air were awesome!  Except I hate heights, so the really tight stuff at the top freaks me out a bit :)

[mazer]

The twisties at the top freak me out even when Im in a car.
Seriously, Check out Doc Wongs free riding clinics. Apparently he is a chiropractor a well and can also help out with body position on your bike to allow for a smoother less streesful ride for your muscles. Good luck

[Zugzug]

Well if you ride its gonna eventually happen, wether someone else runs you off the road or you do something stupid yourself. Ive been involved in a little bit of both... Im glad your ok and hope you get back on 2 wheels again soon but understand the reluctance. To me my bike is my "happy place". Its my one point of freedom in a overcontrolled world so the only way Im gonna stop riding is if im physically incapable. 

[rhodyne]

You're doing fine if you drop at speed and by the next day you're going over the specifics thinking "What did I do wrong?"

Without being there and seeing how things went down (unintended pun) the most I could say is, you probably didn't leave yourself any wiggle room. As Bumblebee pointed out, the physics were against you when you tapped brake with no place to use it. If you'd been to the middle or left you could have flattened your turn temporarily to brake. But if she was that far over, you could have just as easily been riding hood. Tough call.

Glad you're ok and haven't given up on riding.   

[Tryvelcro]

You're doing fine if you drop at speed and by the next day you're going over the specifics thinking "What did I do wrong?"

Without being there and seeing how things went down (unintended pun) the most I could say is, you probably didn't leave yourself any wiggle room. As Bumblebee pointed out, the physics were against you when you tapped brake with no place to use it. If you'd been to the middle or left you could have flattened your turn temporarily to brake. But if she was that far over, you could have just as easily been riding hood. Tough call.

Glad you're ok and haven't given up on riding.   

Ya, I'm trying to get over it.  Getting the Nighthawk running is doing me good, in a weird way, since it's refocusing me. 

The lanes weren't all that wide, I'm not sure I would've had enough wiggle room regardless of where I'd been riding. In the end, I don't think it was a bad position for what happened, it didn't give me an out but it gave me a 'could have been worse'.  I got lucky, and let's hope it's a "one & done" kind of thing :)

[LOKi]

Tryvelcro

Put it this way. It's not a matter of if your going to wreck its a matter of when. Everyone eventually crashes on a bike. It's just about unavoidable. Some get hurt some don't. You had your wreck and didn't get hurt. YOUR IN THE CLEAR. Well not really but you are the wiser for it. Stick in there and it will come back to you. If it didn't shake you up a bit THEN you should be worried. 

[Brittles]

Sorry to hear about your incident. I've been there and done that and, like you, am 'kinda mad at myself because it was totally avoidable...........momentary lapse of reason.

[Tryvelcro]

I'm getting better with it, I think.  Wish the hawk was running so I could take it out.  Thinking about taking the Bandit out this weekend for a short trip, see how I feel about it.

[Brittles]

Thinking about taking the Bandit out this weekend for a short trip, see how I feel about it.

Do it , you won't regret it.

So, what's up with your petcock problem on the Nighthawk?

[Tryvelcro]

the repair kit is on backorder... everywhere... so mostly it's hurry up & wait for the part to come in.

[frmtexas]

How bunged up is it and how do you feel about that? I laid down my NH 750 the other day and it won't look perfect anymore, even after it's fixed. I have trouble with that, but I need to get over it. At least I don't want to give everything away anymore.

[detdrbuzzard]

glad to know that you came out of this with only a bruised ego and a little peeved. so the car was in your lane, crossed the center line. what i ifnd is that people are lazy and as long as they are moving they don't care what side of the road they are on, don't care if they are taking up two lanes and thats even going streight down the road lets not add a curve into the drive. don't over analize what you did though you'll just get mad at yourself and the real truth is the driver of the car was wrong. driving too fast or not paying attention and crossing the center line. bumblebee will tell you seeing he is a full time rv-er and me i drove big trucks for 25yrs. dooing whet that person did will get someone or themself hurt. i take my driving just as serious as my riding