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So I fell yesterday....

2K views 22 replies 20 participants last post by  BMK9251 
#1 ·
I was leaving my driveway in front of my house doing about 3-5 mph and I loss control on some gravel and laid myself and my bike down. I am mostly ok, scraped and bruised knee, sore wrist (currently in a brace/support) and hurt pride. As for my bike (which I've had for three weeks) I bent the right brake handle and broke the right front turn signal. I had on a jacket, so fortunately my skin is ok.

These are the things I've learned.

1. I was feeling a bit too comfortable with the bike and my skill level. I should have walked my bike into the street and taken off on the straight-away, but I decided to ride it onto the street. This was an error in judgment on my part. I am not good enough to make the turn that I was attempting to make especially with the gravel that sits at the front of my driveway. This was stupid and I've learned my lesson.

2. Glad I wore a jacket. It was relatively warm outside (about 75), and I thought about not wearing the jacket. Glad I did.

3. My bike is pretty heavy, but I was able to get it up by myself with relative ease. This makes me feel little better about the potential for having to pick it up in the future.

4. If you fall, take a few minutes to get your bearings. I didn't feel any pain or any injuries, so I picked my bike up and continued to go where I had planned. When I got to the gas station, I noticed a little spot of blood on my pants. It was that exact moment that I felt a small stinging sensation on my knee. I raised my pants led up and discovered I had scraped my knee a bit. Not badly, but it surprised me that I hadn't noticed it before that. My wrist started hurting about 1-2 hours after I had made it back home.

5. Ride to your skill level.

Now a question for all of you experienced riders out there. What should I have done differently, and what things should I check on my bike after a fall like this? The bike seems relatively unscathed. The only damage was the brake lever and the turn signal. Other than that, I didn’t even see any scratches on it.

Thanks and ride safe!
 
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#2 ·
Glad you and the bike are OK. It happens to all of us.
One statistic I always keep in mind from the insurance companies is the likelyhood of a rider having an accident is DRAMATICALLY higher the first 6 months you own a bike.

Not the first 6 months you start riding: the first 6 months you own a bike. Any new bike to you.

Glad you re Ok.
 
#3 ·
Are you able to keep that gravel clear or will it build up again and be a waste of time? If not, maybe you can keep it swept clean.

Loose gravel the worst and something everyone needs to keep an eye out for. You always gotta be careful on it and dont touch the front brake! That will cause a fall, use the rear only on loose gravel.

Just keep riding and practicing. Like you said, you felt like you should have walked it, so keep doing that until you wanna give it a shot again. Slow speed maneuvering is the most important skill you can have. Practice it in a parking lot.

As for the bike, at such a low speed its probably OK. An easy ride around the block should help feel out any problems but im guessing its just scratched up.
 
#7 ·
It sounds like you've given some thought to this and have learned from your fall. Not to worry, a low-speed fall usually bruises your ego more than your body.

Now that you've skinned a knee at 5 MPH, would you consider riding pants in the future for all those times you're in excess of 5 MPH?
 
#9 ·
The reason I bought a 2nd bike was to gain dirt experience. I'd read a bunch about how riding dirt will improve your road skills and it's a good point. I picked up a DR650 last year for that duty. I'm still a relative newb (5 years of daily riding) but the last 8K on the dual sport have really helped a ton with the slipping and sliding aspect of riding. I've slipped on the Tiger since and held my own fine and I'm sure I owe that to riding more dirt and gravel roads with the DR. We tend to panic when the back end kicks out but if you get used to that happening it makes a world of difference. You need a dual sport in the garage.;)
Glad you're basically ok. Sh!t happens.
 
#10 ·
In a very short time on the roads in NOLA you will have achieved expert status! When you add in the creative drivers - my daughter, a motorcyclist, lives there so I have experienced the Big Easy - a few miles in that traffic and on those roads will prepare you for anything! Be safe!
 
#12 · (Edited)
Nine times out of ten people fall off a slow speed because they touch the front brake and the bike slides down by the front. On a loose surface like gravel the tendency for a front slide out is amplified. If you use the back brake and the bike slides it's much easier to stay on as the bike is moving sideways but is upright.

The trick to slow turns, on gravel, dirt or tarmac, is to keep off the front brake and only look up to where you want to go, as the bike goes where you look (were you looking at the ground/gravel?)

Don't take it too bad: I take people on motorcycle tours and 3 weeks ago I watched a customer do just this on the gravel forecourt of a bikers' cafe (Oakdean Cafe on the A20 south of London). Mind you, this was the third time she'd dropped her hired Bonnie in 3 days. Day one she rode into the back of me at the second set of traffic lights we came to.
 
#13 ·
@AMC: word of warning, even if you can pick a bike up easily enough you may not be able to prevent it falling if its quite far over.

I can (and have) lifted my speed four off the ground but if its started to go over the momentum is too much, especially when I'm not braced to lift and all I can do is lower it to the ground (done it at a junction). You may be a lot stronger than me but its worth being aware of in case it happens and you jar something trying to hold the unholdable. It may be better to limit the damage than cause more trying to prevent any if its gone too far.

Hopefully you won't need any of that advice anyway, go easy on gravel, I'll happily ride on it but you don't want to be using any controls heavily.
 
#14 ·
glad you are okay and that you are using this as a learning experience... dumped my bike in the driveway the first week I had it.. bent the clutch hand lever... when I tried to bend it back it snapped off in my hand... be very very careful that your lever is not cracked... if that snaps off while riding it could be pretty scary stuff...

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Motorcycle.com Free App
 
#15 ·
Guys, thanks for the encouragement. I thought that when I told people about this I was going to get a whole bunch of idiots thrown my way. I was so angry that I had done something so dumb, so i guess I was kind of waiting for the reproach. Like I said previously, this was quite the learning experience for me. No matter how good of a rider I become, things can and probably will always happen. I just need to be a little smarter in the future. Unfortunately there is really no way to remove the gravel from the front of my driveway other than paving over it, which is something that i will be considering soon.

I told a few guys at work and the conversation turned into them telling stores about when the dropped their bikes or fell when doing something dumb. Made me feel pretty nice to know that i wasn't the only one to do something dumb and eat gravel because of it. I've only been riding a month, but I'm starting to like this whole brother-sister-hood.

PS-forgive any typos, I'm typing with a brace on.
 
#22 ·
AMC, glad you're pretty much unhurt. It does happen to everyone, especially at slow speed. The only way to learn to ride though gravel is to do it. Great advice from other posters on not using the front brake when in the stuff but to concentrate on the rear.

You can safely navigate though it, look where you want to go, but also keep the bike as up right as possible. Try to angle yourself to take as straight as a line as possible though the gravel. If that is not possible, keep your movements and bar inputs as smooth and deliberate as possible.
 
#23 ·
Now a question for all of you experienced riders out there. What should I have done differently, and what things should I check on my bike after a fall like this? The bike seems relatively unscathed. The only damage was the brake lever and the turn signal. Other than that, I didn’t even see any scratches on it.

Thanks and ride safe!
1. check the whole bike closely. If you are unsure consult your mechanic.
2. invest in an engine guard. (dresser bars)
3. re-evaluate your riding gear.
4. ride on.
 
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