Re: change of subject

["Ted Porter" <tporter@xxxxxxxxxx>]

- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Makohin" <wateredg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

> Hello Ted,
>

>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: <tpcutter@xxxxxxx>
>>>
>>> Maybe I didn't make it clear. In a crash, you are going wherever the 
>>> bike
>>> tosses you. There is way more energy than you have any hope of hanging
>>> onto. If you are able to "ride out" a lowside, you probably could have
>>> avoided it in the fiorst place.
>>>
>>>
>>> Tom Cutter
>>> Yardley, PA
>>> www.RubberChickenRacingGarage.com
>>
>>Ted Porter wrote:
>> I have to toss in my two cents here because I couldn't agree more with
>> Tom's comments. There are several variables at work in a crash obviously
>> such as speed, whether other vehicles are involved and so on. I am no
>> accident expert, but I do speak from experience after totaling my new '04
>> R1150RT in a high speed low side two years ago. It was my first major
>> crash in over 30 years of street riding on BMW motorcycles. Aside from
>> many hematomas, a partial tear of my left MCL, and compression fractures
>> of two vertebrae (anterior cracks at T4 and T5) I survived the accident
>> thanks to good riding gear. I'm a musician and mechanic, I count on good
>> finger dexterity, thankfully I had recently purchased road race gloves
>> with armor. I think a lot of folks overlook quality gloves when buying
>> riding gear.
>>
>> A friend who was riding behind me just happened to be filming the ride
>> with a helmet cam, so my entire accident is on video. This gave me a
>> chance to analyze the accident and determine what I did wrong. I'm
>> thankful for the video because the crash was so violent (~65 MPH lowside
>> into a tall dirt embankment) and it was over so fast, I had no idea what
>> happened until I viewed the video.  Physics took over and I was tossed,
>> rolled and tumbled like a rag doll. To think that I could have had some
>> control over my body during the crash is laughable.

>
> I *think* Tom Cutter was talking about something different -- The "moments
> of peril" in which the bike is leaning over too far for the rider's 
> comfort.
> Note that the specific conditions under which a rider feels he is in peril
> are subjective, and different per rider.
>
> I believe Tom was noting that when many riders enter this "moment of 
> peril",
> they tend to do the wrong thing, such as:
>
> o Right the bike, hit the brakes, and hope to stop in time. We've seen a
>   recent video of a rider do this (or was it on another list?) and the
>   rider was just dumb lucky to come out of it unscathed.
>
> o Give up, and deliberately drop the bike (AKA "had to lay 'er down"),
>   thereby committing to having "an accident" rather than trying to avoid
>   one.
>
> I have to side with Tom, in that many riders underestimate the abilities 
> of
> their machine. This happens because they don't know the actual limits of
> their machine, and they are reacting in accordance to perceived limits. A
> rider will avoid leaning over what they believe is "too far" for fear of a
> low side, not knowing that the bike can lean still further and not lose 
> its
> grip. This is very common amongst riders who are not proficient at
> performance riding on a track, which covers most riders.
>
> -Steve Makohin
> '01 R1100S/ABS
> Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Thanks for your comments Steve.

I was responding to Tom Cutter's comments at the top of this message stating 
his opinion that you have little control over your body during a crash, I 
stated that I was in complete agreement with him and shared my experience. I 
also agree with his secondary comments and your comments above regarding 
giving it up too soon. I'll bet most of us have had moments like those in 
the early years of our riding experience. I can remember a few of those back 
in the 1970's on weekend rides through the National forests of West 
Virginia. There were some close ones that probably weren't really close 
ones, but back then I was still learning the limits, and how to trust my 
tires. Some of those roads are twisty forever and fatigue can set in after a 
while too.

My crash in 2004 was due to excessive speed for the road conditions, a crest 
at the apex of the turn, and a hidden closing radius of the turn. I thought 
I had picked a good line, but when the corner closed down on me, there just 
wasn't any ground clearance left to adjust my line due to my rate of speed. 
The crash video shows quite a few sparks from the bike before I laid it 
down. The crest at the apex caused an unloading of the suspension which 
didn't help.

Ted Porter
Scotts Valley, Ca.
www.BeemerShop.com 

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