Worst case sceneario

[psycoreefer]

I think the best/easiest thing you can do to help survive a crash is wear your gear, helmet, gloves, jacket, pants, and boots.

If your the "textile" type then there are tons of options with "armor".

If your the "black leather" type then there are more and more options with armor everyday.

If your the "muscle shirt & jeans" type then buy lots of life insurance.

Heck they've even got jeans lined with Kevlar so you can look "cool" and be protected.

I won't tell you how to ride but if you want to survive an accident gear is the way to go, it doesn't matter how you land/roll/slide/fly if you've got more layers between you and the hard surface your about to come into contact with your better off.

[Yahman]

When time slows down...

I have been in many situations both on and off road. I have stared death in the face more than once. I will tell you that, when everything seems to be in slow motion. That's your brain telling you that you are about to kiss your a$$ goodbye, unless you make the right decisions in the next half second.

Larry

[webbcraft2150]

What are the best tires to have if your gonna crash?


Geez, someone got a bug up there butt, (most likely from rolling during a get-off).

[Wildkat]

Originally posted by webbcraft2150
What are the best tires to have if your gonna crash?

Impact resistant?

[ClarkGriswald]

Id say the ones that blow up like giant airbags encompasing the entire bike and rider, then you just bounce along like that mars lander thing. (until you suffocate)

[LoHo]

Having looked at the "get-off" videos, it seems obvious that the riders do their best to slide. The guys who roll or tumble look as if they were knocked out upon impact. Of course, those guys are all armored up as much as possible; the "wheelies-gone-bad" videos are the best instruction for what happens to tank shirts and shorts and bandanna helmets...

A judo roll is great at 0.25 miles an hour. I doubt that anyone could manage it at more than about 10 mph. No one thinks to grab their helmet on the way down. Hands reach out to stabilize our bodies, even if tumbling through the air.

Always wear glasses, a helmet, gloves, and boots. Only wear the other gear if there is a possibility you might go down...which is every time.

Oh, and avoid calling names on the list, or anytime, for that matter. It does no good and leaves ill will forever.

[Chuckster]

There is a link on this site to a web site called Motorcyle Tips and Techniques which focuses on safety, etc. One of the tips (055 How to handle a fall) discusses what to do when you hit the ground. The advice depends on whether its a lowside fall (you should slide and let the bike continue on in front of you) or a highside fall (you should roll or tumble in order to get away from the bike which will be following behind you). They also say that not all people will have the presence of mind to think and react this way, but that some people have shown the ability to do it. Sounds like at least some experts believe the nature of the fall dictates the proper technique.

[TopCatGr58]

Myself and a friend have had a few falls/spills.

One I did was when I was not dressed for it back in my ignorant youth, hot 95+ degree summer days, Friday coming home from work, only dress shoes, slacks, shirt, helmet!

Due to inexperience with cruise/throttle lock, and cresting over a hill on 2 lane each way highway encountering a panic stop traffic jam, locked up the front wheel, crossed up on me, slammed me down at 55mph, slapped the slab as I came off the bike, then tucked into a roll, legs straight, once realized was clear of bike, reached up and grabbed helmet base to stabilize until I stopped rolling, did about 20 pirouettes, shoes blown off, modest spots of road rash on impact points, elbows, knees, ankles, but nothing broken.....just pride and spark plug. Strapped the broken 1/2 plug back on with piece of belt chord, and rode bike home!

Another incident was even younger, friend ran into me, he on his bike, me on mine, I was just spun up off since I was standing still, friend flew off his bike at time of impact, bikes grinding below him, he flew past them, and then landed on slab, dug his heels and helmet in to make a 3 point slide till he ended up on the side of the road, minimal road rash!

Third incident was when I was going to work, wearing FULL GEAR, dipstick cage turned in front of me, I plowed into the right front quarter panel....after a modest braking effort....no where to swerve on small 2way 2 lane road, relaxed at time of impact, flew thru my little fairing, flipped and flew across car hood, impacted windshield, crushed it in, then legs pulled me back off the car onto the side. Stood up, brushed broken glass off, had bruise on leg from when I hit handlebars, but otherwise unscathed.

It makes sense to me that dirt bikers would roll, their riding environment is more uneven, irregular, and they are also usually running at much lesser speeds than the road racers, and so rolling sounds right for traversing over bumpy terrain, slowing down to a stop. Conversely, the road racers are on nice flat pavement at much faster speeds, and so sliding makes more sense, more control, less flailing around of body parts while trying to slow down.

And finally, to Stripped, as has been mentioned in a few replies, this site does NOT state that it is any authority on riding/fixing your bike, etc.. This is an OPEN FORUM for polite discussions of technical or other topics, where opinions are shared, info is presented in a friendly and courteous manner!!

We do NOT ALLOW or PERMIT inferring ill of others levels of intelligence, attitude, experience, etc.. We have had to BAN 2 members because they could not control their tempers, emotions, and use of inappropriate "terms of endearment" !

SO...a spirited discussion about almost any topic is permitted when proper etiquette and decorum are observed, but if the rules are not followed, consequences will be encountered.

[prometheus578]

"You don't get a choice..."

If you hit an immovable object on your bike, you're gonna go over the handlebars. Chances are you will be flying end over end and will continue to do so on the pavement till an arm or leg sticks out far enough to stem the flopping and you stop.
Laying a bike down, you will slide. Might roll over a time or two, but no summersault rolls.
Unless you see the potential accident several seconds ahead of time and can plan for it, there's no way that you get to pick and choose which method of landing you'll do.
Happens too fast and at too much speed.
In the army, I've walked off cliffs and fallen down gulches.
Low velocity... easy to control sliding.
At a ten, twenty, thirty mile an hour dismount... you're at the mercy of physics.
I don't know... maybe it's just me... but all I ever remember is the "Oh sh!t, here we go!"... and then getting up afterwards.
Nothing in between.
I really don't believe that one has their mental faculties in order enough to dictate how they choose to land, given the speed of the incident.
Low speed, sure...

[trbig]

In the army, I've walked off cliffs and fallen down gulches.

Not quite sure about this one... but sounds like you were the perfect candidate for the ol' "Charge that machine gun nest with your pistol soldier!"

On a couple of my wrecks, I became unconscious and obviously didn't remember things. But just about all of them, I still remember very vividly in slow motion. I would do a fip, then look at my bike.. remembering seeing every knoby on the tire.. doing another flip and looking for the bike again...

Since I was on a dirt bike, you may think that these were lower speed crashes, but the majority of these were in Nevada on hard cross country runs, and had our bikes geared to run 100+mph. I have wrecked many times at full out speeds, watching the bike cartwheel away when I could see it. I have watched as I went over the handlebars.. seeing the little screws holding my grips on tear into my pants and start removing meat and hair from my shins. Yeah, gross... but it was so vivid and slow at the time.

The same thing used to happen when I pitched in baseball. Sitting here.. you can take a glove and snap it up from your waist to chest in an instant. But when you see a line drive drilled back at you, you can feel the weight of the glove as you try to bring it up. Almost like trying to run in a dream.. like you're in molasses. You sit there thinking, C'mon glove.. hurry up. What's the problem glove..?? Why does this thing weigh so much? Is that cheerleader watching me? Wow, look at those seems on the ball.. If you're going to catch this, you better speed things up glove..

All of that in what.. a tenth of a second?

ANYWAY.. My crash maneuver opinions may may not agree with everyone, but it's served me well. I cracked my pelvis once in another unconscious crash moment, but while conscious, the only thing I have broke is fingers and toes.

"It's just a flesh wound... let's keep going!"

Tod

[ClarkGriswald]

One time a long time ago I was riding a snowmobile on a lake near my house, a friend was with me on a kawasaki dirt bike with studded tires.. he was flying around doin wheelies and whatnot, and I was getting up as fast as that ole early 70's John Deere JDX8 440 would go. About 60 top speed at its best days..

Well this is where it gets fun.. it was glare ice cause of high winds.. Id get that sled goin as fast as it could go then steer full stop, drop the throttle and grab the brakes.. you could do endless spinning donuts but in a straight line until ya run out of juice.

Well eventually I hit a patch of soft snow right when I was sideways. STOP!!!.. that ole sled rolled so fast it threw me quite a ways ahead of it. I vividly remember scrambling to get control of myself as I was also sliding along at 60, looking back and seeing that thing spinning thru the air like one of those nascar wrecks and a stream of plastic parts flying off it like a wheel on a wet road.. that and clamoring to alter my path enough to where the sled would go by me and not thru... right then I hear a noise to my left.. look over and its my buddy doin a highspeed wheelie right past me laughin his arse off. hahhaha.. I hate to say it but as "mission impossible" as it was.. it sure was funny..

My own opinion is again if you are alert and in attack mode all the time (same as "we are invisible"), you have a better chance of peceiving a threat and adrenalizing. Although I have to admit that if your unconcious then your a ragdoll. Nothing like the rush of going into "hulk" mode.

[wa407mpp]

If you have time to figure out what to do during an accident you have time to avoid it in the first place. Sliding is fine if that is what you are doing but rolling is ok too, but you really don't have a choice, what happens, happens so fast it will be over before you have time to think what the best thing to do is. When someone slides on the track they have a big runoff area and soft barriers to use, on the street you have ditches, poles, rocks, trucks, cars, and trees just to name a few, and rolling usually breaks bones and scatters your personal belongings all over the road, that's why motorcycle jacket pockets have zippers, so the I.D. stays with the body. So your best bet is to practice braking, counter steering, accelerating and paying attention until it comes without thinking, because when it's needed you won't have time to think about it.

[latexeses]

Never had any of the high speed stopages end in any ground contact= Thank God.
Had one event in town on the small get around town type bikes.
Headed home from work one afternoon when a guys Golden retriever launched out of the driver side window of a station wagon parked at the curb. The dog hit the street right in front of the bike. The bike tried to run over the dog getting the front wheel about 12 inches off the pavement at the same time turning the front tire to full lock left. Then the slow motion thing started for me. I saw the dog tumble. I looked down at the front tire. I realized I still had the handle bars in my hands and I knew there was no chance that the tire was going to be straight when it hit the ground. I realized I was going to take a digger right there on the asphalt. No golves or helmet. I remember thinking that I would rather take my chances on a forward roll than a face plant. I pushed off the foot pegs and just tucked up. Did a great forward 3/4 roll and about a bounce and a half on my back and butt. People that saw it said it was quite a sight.
All I wound up with was a bruise about the size of a softball from the work keys I had on my belt.
This only happened at a bit under 20 mph. But I do remember weighing about 5 options before that front tire hit the ground.

[olebiker]

After 43 years of riding all I know for sure is that it hurts a lot to crash. I go to great lengths to avoid it. I have never seemed to have much choice in how I was gonna dismount. I did one time a long time ago have a buddy that took a corner on a dirt road that had just been oiled. The bike went out from under him in a nice enough way that he was able to land on his feet running. He was doing about 40 mph his feet were hitting his butt trying to keep up. Went real good but the darn bike stopped before he did and yep he got hurt when he tripped over it. It was one of those times that you know you shouldn't laff cause he is hurt and the bikes messed up but none of us were much help cause we couldn't stop laughing. I hope the vision of my old buddy helps to lower the hostility. This is a wonderful forum that rarely needs anger and if there is it is much better to use a PM to try and resolve it. Someone here taught me that.

Carl

[Toolmaker Tim]

Lay down a bike?

My niece's significant other has taken the ABATE training class. What he was taught has been the source of a couple heated discusions.The subject is "laying the bike down." I contend that doing that is comitting to an accident, once you have done that you have given away any other option. He says riding without a helmet is perfectly sane, if you take a head blow you are going to be seriously injured anyway, so why bother. I figure as long as you can keep tires on the ground, you can still scrub speed off till the last second. Opinions please. I have only been down on pavement once, so I don't have a vast amount of experince to draw from, thankfully.