Triumphrat

Tbirdnz

I've seen different schools of thought in doing this, but I have never ever contemplated doing it. My tendency would be to try and ride it out, stay on, no matter what.

It is said those that have laid a bike down have actually had the bike lay down without any decision by the rider, indicated by rear tyre skid marks for instance.


Anyone got any positive views to the pros or cons in laying a bike down to avoid an accident or for any reason.


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Ride on !

Ballacraine

I suspect a lot of folk make that 'decision' as an apocrapher.

I reckon if you have time to think about it, you have time to avoid the situation.

There have been a few times where I have briefly considered it, but have always toughed it out OK

Nige.

__________________
In faecorum semper solum profundum variat.

(Always in the s**t it is only the depth that varies)

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Ballacraine

A related issue....

Once you are down do you push away from the bike or stay with it?

For me it depends where the bike is going.

If it is not due to go over a precipice I would tend to stay with it.
That way any other traffic has only one thing to avoid not two.

Nige.

__________________
In faecorum semper solum profundum variat.

(Always in the s**t it is only the depth that varies)

Nige's Gallery

skiTTles

Rubber has better traction than metal, if you want to slow down stay on the bike.

ChurnDog

+1

You also have the brakes to slow you down as opposed to the side of the bike.

oldretrorider

I think the urge to lay the bike down in a loss of control situation is instinctual -- the desire to get down and behind the bike before it hits something. That may be a good instinct if you're about to hit a tree or go over a cliff, but the bike is going to slide much farther on the bodywork than on the tires. The MSF rule of thumb is to stay upright and brake or try to control as long as you can before you hit something. Eg., if a car turns in front of you and you can't avoid hitting it, those fractions of a second on the brakes can scrub off enough speed to turn a fatal accident into a painful but survivable one.

Tbirdnz

I remember reading Burt Munro's life story (he of The World's Fastest Indian) and he recanted a situation where after a dance he and his friend on the pillion set off for home on a metal road (unsealed chips).

He was doing a fair turn of speed heading for a train-crossing when a train crossed in front of him. He said there was no way he could have stopped, in this case the metal road had zero grip, so he laid the bike down and they both got off with scratches and bruises.

The bike bounced off the train and was only just rideable home.

I think that is one situation where you had no alternative but to lay it down.

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Ride on !

Diego

I doubt that even as great a rider as Burt was consciously trying to lay it down. Nearly all the time, it's simply what happens when controlled but desperate braking goes a little out of control and the rear end decides to shift around a bit to see what the front end is doing, and you're lucky enough to be in a position to do a lowside dismount at that moment rather than a highside.

For that matter, it was sheer good fortune that Burt and his pillion didn't also bounce off the train. Having seen videos of actual highway incidents where folks dismounted this way, it never looked intentional to me. (The only times I've ever seen it look intentional is with lightweight dirt bikes.) But more to my point re: Burt's good fortune, the riders I saw were never very far behind the bike when both came to a halt--with the exception of cases where the bike encountered something else on the road and flipped airborne for a while, of course. Otherwise, a rider in full gear only has a little more traction than a sliding bike; getting clear of the machine in any controlled fashion while sliding is not always an option, even in a case where you might want to. (And of course, all situations are going to vary in that regard anyway.)

Overall, if laying a full-size street bike down really was (a) something you could do at will, as the name suggests, and (b) had sufficient survival value, I have to believe it would be taught as part of safety courses--although, granted, it is a rather expensive method to practice repeatedly on pavement.

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John

midliferider

I'm a careful 58 year old soul but had a highside this summer, my first accident ever, car or bike. Over 30k on my pretty green Legend. While slowing to make a right turn into a gas station, some bone head actually drove up upon the left side of me. I was inches from his car. So I hit the brakes, turned more to my right side to help provide more clearance from his passenger door. I didn't even remember leaving my bike. I kinda woke up sliding upon my belly down the gravel berm of the highway where cigarette butts, bottle caps, empty bic lighters live. I watched my bike slide past me. The driver missed me. He claimed I simply lost control while turning. I broke my thumb as a result of hitting the pavement. Leather with padding, kevlar gloves work as intended. The driver drove off through the gas station as two fellows helped me get my bike up and off the road. My point is I thought I did the best thing by staying up, braking, and trying to avoid this bonehead, though I guess I didn't. I'm alive and ordering parts after seven weeks with my left arm and hand in a cast after pins were inserted to hold my thumb in place. I've had a few close calls, deers are the worst, but kept cool and avoided them. I guess there is always one situation that for whatever reason can not be avoided. It's that one event that causes others to say... It's not if one will have an accident... it's a matter of when. Well, I still don't buy that. Even though I did. My new rule is to use my bike less for work and stay out of rush hour. I hate cell phone with drivers attached. With the high gas prices, riding my bike (50 per gallon) to deliver my work to clients burned to CD disk seemed like like a reasonable cost savings, than driving my van. A crappy summer and medical costs canceled out my savings. But I'll ride again. BTW Hinckley triples from the 90's... finding parts used or new is becoming trickier.
Stay safer if you can.

Diego

What do you think you could have done instead that would have been any better?

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John