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Message started by Aviler on 07/07/06 at 17:28:22

Title: My First Drop(s)
Post by Aviler on 07/07/06 at 17:28:22

Well, I just had what I would consider my first 2 drops. Yes, 2 drops, all within the space of a minute. I think I realize what I did wrong, but if I'm missing something, I would like some input.

Drop #1: I have a neighbor who insists on letting their dog run loose. Wouldn't be too bad if they had a fence around their yard, or if the dog would stay in his own yard. Unfortunately, he roams the neighborhood at will, and they don't seem to care. It's always "We're trying to get rid of him," or "The kids must've let him out without us knowing." Bullshit. They were standing outside with him loose as I pulled in from work this evening. Well, he starts chasing me up my gravel driveway, barking. Now, this didn't scare me, but it pissed me off. So, what do I do? Apply full brakes intending to stop, park, get off the bike and chew out the dog and his owner. What happened? The bike slid on the gravel and I dropped it. Very low speed drop, no apparent major damage.
Lesson(s) #1: Don't apply full brakes on gravel. Don't react in anger when riding, especially when you have very little actual riding experience.

Drop #2: Well, still pissed off about the dog, and now a bit pissed off at myself for being stupid, I promptly go to pick up the bike. By the throttle side handlebar. So, still being in gear and running (laying on it's side, no weight on the wheel to stall the motor), as I lift the bike, I also manage to twist the throttle. Off it goes, with me hanging on, panicking a little this time. I did decide to let go of the handlebar before it hit the side of my pickup, but it still had enough momentum to bounce off the side of my pickup. It bounced off the side of my truck and fell to the ground, again, still running. Little bit faster drop, still no apparent major damage, did knock my driver's side mirror loose.
Lesson #2: If the bike is on the ground running, hit the kill switch before even touching anything else.

I did Lesson #2 before I tried to pick it up a second time. Minor damage to me picked up somewhere involved with these two drops. No bleeding bruise/scrape on right forearm, not flowing bleeding but going to scab bleeding scrape/bruise on outside of left thigh.

Now that I've vented and cooled down a bit, I'm going to go talk to the neighbors.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Brewbrother on 07/07/06 at 19:06:28

Not trying to be rude but, aim your bike at the dog and ride through.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by sluggo on 07/07/06 at 19:13:12

Brewbrother wrote:

Not trying to be rude but, aim your bike at the dog and ride through.

i hit a 130lb black lab two christmas' ago. luckily i sped up and it slammed into the foot peg. or more precisley the hardened carraige bolt i was using as a peg at the time. it was ugly, dog dead, me sliding into ditch, bike a little scratched up. so try to get it with a truck or something. or race by with someone following in a cage, let the cage do the dirty work.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Paladin on 07/07/06 at 20:29:12

Drop #1 I did in '67; pulling off onto the shoulder when my Twinjet lost a cylinder. Besides to not hit the brakes on gravel I learned that a 100cc city bike is not really set up for steady 60 mph highway running.

Drop #2 I did sometime in the mid '60's but with either the 50 or the 100 and instead of taking me for a run it simply reared up and flipped over backwards.

My last drop was a few months ago riding home in the rain -- going <5mph across sharply angled railroad tracks, front wheel slid one way the bike fell the other. Bent left peg, saddlebags not even scratched. I now do a wiggle to cross the tracks more square on.

p.s. Around here we have leash laws -- any dog wandering without a human in tow is fair game to be picked up by animal control. As you have tried nicely, if you have a similar law it is actually good karma to call for a pickup the next time the dog is wandering. You are doing the dog a favor as you will likely save it from being hit by a vehicle.

p.p.s. I'm expecting a leg to buckle sometime in the future as I pull up to a stop.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by YonuhAdisi on 07/07/06 at 20:51:35

Here in New Mexico on the Bike written test for a bike liscense there is a question regarding loose dogs that try to give chase.

The correct answer according to the test is.

Slow down untill you get even with dog, then gun engine.

Supposedly the sudden noise from the engine is supposed to scare off the dog.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by SavageDude on 07/07/06 at 22:41:56

YonuhAdisi wrote:

Supposedly the sudden noise from the engine is supposed to scare off the dog.

Actually it throws off the dog's interception point--where it's going to aim for.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Reelthing on 07/08/06 at 01:00:43

YonuhAdisi wrote:

the sudden noise from

a 9mm to the f'k'n head ought to scare it off pretty well

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Aviler on 07/08/06 at 04:47:32

Kinda hard to aim at the dog when he's already behind you :)

I'm pretty sure we do have leash laws, and I am to the point that I've tried being nice, so I am going to start calling animal control.

Normally, I don't advocate being abusive to animals of any sort, but this one has gotten so on my nerves that I would gladly beat him senseless with a baseball bat just to get him out of my hair. (Un?)Fortunately, I do not have any firearms that I would be tempted to use on him.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Ed_L. on 07/08/06 at 06:09:43

Get one of those plastic lemons full of lemon juice and give the dog a squirt in it's eyes next time it comes after you. If the owner complains tell him it was either that or reporting him to the dog warden. Glad to hear you and the bike got off without too much damage.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Dragon King on 07/08/06 at 06:14:08

instead of calling animal control call the local police you will get farther faster. do not do anything pissed off while on the bike good luck with your niebors

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by clueless on 07/08/06 at 06:15:29

Ed,
You are way to kind. Use mace on the dog. If the owners b!tch, use it on them. ;D

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Island_Biker on 07/08/06 at 07:07:02

The dog is just doing what dogs do naturally.

Run over the owners.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution. Either you are going to continue to be p*ssed at your neighbours, or if you call animal control, or the police, they will be p*ssed at you.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by ratdog472 on 07/08/06 at 08:26:53

Bah just rev and then let it come back down and hope for a whopper of a backfire. Shoud sound something like a shotgun going off and should also scare the dog off. Did I mention straight pipes?

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by slavy on 07/08/06 at 09:29:56

About what happened- You learned Your leson, so just concider it- You paid for the knoledge.
About the dog- It is not dog's fault. the dog behaves the way it has been taught. It is the owner's fault. If it was me- I was going to report to the city and to the police. You have to make these people pay for all Your damages or bring them to court. Somebody will start talking about being a good person and a good neighbour, but it goes both ways and some critters don't understend anything else than fear.

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by MacAttack on 07/11/06 at 11:07:16

If the dog is not aggressive, do this: Next time he chases you, stop as quickly as possible. When the dog approaches, tell him, loudly, NO! BAD! It may take a few tries, but you may save the dog's life.
I live on gravel in the country and have a neighbor dog just like that. He's such a neat guy, though, that I've made him my project.

Sorry about you and your bike! :)

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Tammi on 07/12/06 at 09:14:09

I'm currently blessed with good neighbors to my immediate north and south, but there are several clueless dog owners in my neighborhood who walk their dogs off-leash, in violation of the law. >:(

As Island_Biker noted, it's not the dog's fault.

Let your neighbors know that you are serious, and that their dog is a hazard to your health, both mental and physical.

Give them a chance to change their behaviour, then call the authorities if they don't. Stand firm. Remind them that they had a chance to fly straight and that they blew it.

Good luck.

Cheers. Tammi

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by rokrover on 07/12/06 at 14:27:38

My wife has dropped hers twice now at very slow speed trying to turn. It took me a while to figure out why. She learned to ride on a step-through scooter and when stopping would get off the seat to put her feet down. So on her S40 she'd try to catch the drop by standing up, moving forward to the tank and wrestle the bars to hold it. I taught her to stay seated back on the seat with leg out and forward like a kickstand. That way you support the bike with inner thigh against the seat. Much less effort than wrestling the bars and only a problem if your foot is in loose gravel or on a slick patch. Oh yeah, now she has matching busted rear turn signals on both sides. I'd just duct-tape 'em back up and good to go again!

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by MacAttack on 07/12/06 at 15:57:24

I was just thinking - this bike is perfect for gravel-road practice. Every time I'm on a gravel road (daily) I just want to flat-track the thing (steer with the throttle). I don't, since it's my wife's bike, but I sure want to.

Practice stopping on gravel by 1) making sure you are not turning; 2) stabbing the front brake to quickly lock it up, then release it. Just lock it up for a split second. You will not fall. Then play with the braking a bit, until you feel comfortable and have a good sense of your braking power in an emergency.
;D

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Tammi on 07/13/06 at 07:38:23

rokrover wrote:

I'd just duct-tape 'em back up and good to go again!

If you have a black Savage/S40, use black electrician's tape like I did on my right rear signal stem and it blends in a lot better! :)

Cheers. Tammi

Title: Re: My First Drop(s)
Post by Island_Biker on 07/14/06 at 15:07:16

Duct/Electrical tape comes in most any colour now - I used red to match my paint.