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Message started by Howitzer on 11/05/10 at 14:37:05

Title: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Howitzer on 11/05/10 at 14:37:05

So I locked up my front brake, and slid over today. Luckily I didn't go flying. I saw a traffic light change, and slammed on the brakes (no-no). It happened to be raining earlier, and the ground was still wet. I think there might have been a metal expansion strip for the bridge I was leaving too. I'm not sure if I just hit the brakes too hard for pavement, or if I ran into the smooth metal strip, or what. I can't even remember if the light was changing from yellow-red, or just green-yellow. I probably should have just eased into the braking more slowly.

I'm mostly ok, and the bike is mostly ok too. My palms are bruised from hitting the ground, and my right arm is sore in places. Luckily nothing serious happened to me, but I'm pretty disappointed in myself for not being more careful.

I'm trying to go back now and think about what I was doing wrong, and what I need to change about my riding habits. When I got into this hobby, I told myself that sooner or later I was gonna have an accident, so I bought myself a bunch of protective gear. I try and be aware of the situation as much as I can, but I suppose there's always room to improve. Experience helps too. I've only been riding for 1 month (although it's been a blast so far ;D)

I should consider myself lucky though.

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by ohio thumper on 11/05/10 at 15:00:05

a thought for you. always anticipate the light to turn on you. if its a light with a walk or don't walk light on the side for pedestrians, i look to see if it is flashing the don't walk sign. if its flashing, i begin to slow a bit cause i know the light is fixin to change on me. glad to hear that you didn't get seriously hurt and it didn't make you gun shy about riding. stay safe and have fun riding

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Trippah on 11/05/10 at 15:44:35

Were you down by South Station? Riding in Boston (in anything smaller than an Abrams) is always challanging. Fall (the leaves stay wet underneath even when the road looks dry) can provide many learning opportunities..sounds like your learning curve is on target. Maybe next Spring we can have a Savage gathering at old Ironsides..the technologies are almost of equal age. :-X

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 11/05/10 at 17:21:15

If the road is suffering from deceased traction, at ALL, that front brake is no longer your best friend. It requires extreme care in application if the road is slick at all. If possible to avoid it, do so, but, if the rear gets applied first, it can transfer some weight up front & make the front brake a bit safer.

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Routy on 11/05/10 at 17:24:54

So glad you are ok,.....for the most part anyway.

And if you learned something from it, it was not completely in vain anyhow.

Glad to know you will keep riding.

I've been down twice in a year,.....gravel on pavement, and checking the oil.

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Boofer on 11/05/10 at 17:38:35

I am glad you're ok. Not to be unkind, but a couple of times on here people have reported wrecks but didn't know why. Your status on here as Newbie does not necessarily mean you are new to riding. I have dropped a couple of street bikes and rode a lot of dirt in the early days. I can tell you every time why I wrecked. You should always see the things that can cause you trouble. Right, left, up, down, behind, and WAAAY ahead. It may be too late, but at least you should know what took you out, or it will happen again. Again, I am happy you are ok. Not trying to pile on.

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Howitzer on 11/05/10 at 17:42:21

@ohio_thumper: Thanks for the tip. There's always more things to keep an eye out for. I guess it gets easier with experience?

@Trippah: I was actually about to cross the BU bridge, finishing up the loop around from Comm Ave. I try to avoid leaves if possible, but I guess I just wasn't on top of my game today. Should have been more aware of the lights. Let's do a get together in the springtime.

@justin_o_guy: That's quite interesting. They spoke in class to release if the front wheel locks up, but there's almost no time from when I felt lock to being tossed off the bike.

What do you do during slippery conditions? Obviously account for longer stopping distance, but do you also apply proportionally more rear brake? I've been in a rear brake skid, and good thing I remembered to hold the brake down until I came out of it.

@Routy: That makes me feel better to know that other people get in accidents too. Hopefully we all have fewer of them.

Thanks for all the wishes guys. Even now, I can't wait to get back on the road haha. I need to bend back my footpeg though. Or buy some shiny new ones.

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Howitzer on 11/05/10 at 17:47:12

0825252C2F384A0 wrote:

I *am* a newbie to riding, but you're definitely right about figuring out what went wrong, so you can learn to avoid it in the future. I plan on going back tomorrow to see exactly what I was riding on when I fell. Sometimes it's hard to remember what happens during accidents though, from the adrenaline or something else. I think police officers commonly hear this from people in traffic accidents.

I do know this. I was going in a loop-around, and was concentrating on making sure there was no one running a red light or anything at the intersection. The loop around is obstructed from the intersection, where it appears that I'm popping out from the trees .

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by kimchris1 on 11/05/10 at 18:18:21

Sorry to hear of your accident. I am relieved to hear that your injuries were not too serious.
Best wishes to you and get back in the saddle a.s.a.p. Hugs.. kim :-*

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Serowbot on 11/05/10 at 18:18:24

Take the footpeg off,.. pull the rubber... then, bang it straight with a mallet... put the rubber back, and bolt'er back up...
;)... glad you're okay...

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Howitzer on 11/05/10 at 18:29:05

I think I'm gonna clamp the thing, and then bend with a wrench or something. I dunno. Or maybe I do need a hammer.

@kim: Thanks ;)

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Tanker2Biker on 11/06/10 at 06:25:19

+1 on the glad you are OK. I'm currently still bruised all down the left leg, wit a brilliant technicolor ring around my left knee from going down on a corner last Sat (see Strike 2 in this Forum). It was my second fall, and I have been riding just short of 1 year and around 7500 miles.

Both times(first one was pretty similar to yours, wet road, changing light, locked brake) I have spend time afterwards trying to recall EXACTLY what happened, in what sequence, and what I could have done differently to avoid. The problem for me is that when things start to go wrong, so much goes wrong so fast that it is hard for me to put the exact sequence together. Which way was I leaning, which brake did I get on first, where was I looking. I have been thinking about the one last week all week long, and I'm still not precisely clear on the sequence.

But I'm still riding!! Left knee still a little stiff, but it doesn't have to move too much. And I really forgot how much wind and wind noise there is with no windshield(it's laying in pieces by the side of the road). I'm going to have to replace it, but I haven't decided with which model yet.h

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Howitzer on 11/06/10 at 07:10:00

Oh man. I think we just need to have a better mental "radar" of what's going on around us. Then we can avoid being in situations where we have to brake suddenly. It's easy to ride when you're calm, aware, and prepared for what's happening.

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Charon on 11/06/10 at 07:33:59

I can only wonder whether a bike with ABS would have saved you from a fall.

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by verslagen1 on 11/06/10 at 08:07:45

6A41485B4647290 wrote:

I can only wonder whether a bike with ABS would have saved you from a fall.

W/o a major revamp to the bike (rear disk) the only upgrade available would be to the front. Yes it would have helped, but when the rear passed the front or worse, a high side dismount, you would change your mind.

So you need a second bike for those wet days, a beemer.

Title: Re: Slipped and fell over today.
Post by Charon on 11/06/10 at 10:30:00

I know it would not be practical to upgrade an S40 to ABS, nor any other bike, either. Drum brakes themselves could be made to work, but they would have to be hydraulically operated instead of mechanically. The semi I drove back in 1999 - 2000 had ABS, and it used drum-type air brakes. I don't know the exact dates, but semis have been required to have ABS since about 1999, and school buses since about 2000. My question about an ABS bike was more rhetorical, in that ABS has been available on at least some bikes for a decade or so. Those of us - including me - who purchase bikes without ABS go into the thing knowing we may be less safe, and that injudicious use of brakes may cause a fall and/or a crash.

Edited to add: My 1994 Pontiac Sunbird has drum rear brakes, and the four-wheel ABS works nicely with them.