My first oops moment.

[Newblet]

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So a few weeks ago I purchased a CBR 125 off a forum member and this is my first post about it because the weather has been so nice I have been too busy riding it everyday.

So, the oops moment. I went for a ride yesterday with my brother South on Winston Churchill from Wanless and I thought the roads were dry. I know it rained earlier but I figured after all day heat it would have dried by 6PM. We came up on a small twisty section near Norval that I have done a few times so I thought I knew what speed and gear I could move through it. Just before the turn there is a slight incline then decline, when I saw the decline I noticed it was wet. I panicked thinking "oh crap I cant break as hard as normal or I will lock up", but there was the other thought of "well if you don't break you will end up in the trees". I slammed the breaks, the front wobbled hard and it felt like the back locked I was heading straight for the trees and then put both feet down ready to jump off. Didn't end up hitting anything or jumping off, I just ended up driving through the ditch and the storm drain. No damage to bike.


So no I need to know what to do in situations like this. I know I panicked when I saw the water, I know I was going to fast, and I know I wasn't looking through the turn I was busy staring at the huge tree in front of me. What I want to know is how can I better handle these situations? Was using a combo of front and read break a bad idea? I know I am a newb and I am looking for advice on this, not someone to tear me a new a** hole telling me I'm some jacka** on a 125.

Cheers.

 

[jay-d]

This is great because going through this experience will give you great insights!

1. Trust your tires. A wet road that's been soaking in the heat has 90% traction compared to a dry road. A completely rained on road has about 80% traction. Trust your tires.

2. Threshold braking is your friend. Never grab a hand full of brake.. this is why riders use two fingers because it's gentle at first and you can gradually increase braking threshold. The immediate knee jerk reaction on grabbing a fist full of brake is dangerous and will upset the bike as you noticed (the wobble.)

You probably could have gone through the turn as your normally do because you're new.. you're no where near pushing your bike to it's limit.

There's exercises you can do to help train your eyes to look through the turn.. it's called repetition Always always always look through a turn, even when going 10km/h.

Glad you're ok and trust the bike!

 

[Bigevildoer]

So no I need to know what to do in situations like this. I know I panicked when I saw the water, I know I was going to fast, and I know I wasn't looking through the turn I was busy staring at the huge tree in front of me. What I want to know is how can I better handle these situations?

Classic example of target fixation. If you stare at it, you will end up heading towards it. You have to force yourself to look through the corner where you want to go. You'll still be able to see the tree in your peripheral vision, but won't head towards it in such a direct manner. After all, where your head goes, your body follows.

 

[EngineerJoe]

Thank you for this thread!!! Something tells me the same could have easily happened to me. I didn't realize the bit about 80% and 90% traction in the wet and I may have panicked just as you did. To make matters worse (or better?) I was on the road you speak of only a few days prior, so I know it well.

In the dry though, I do everything I can to avoid road snakes and man-hole covers and would like to know if I'm too cautious.

 

[polo]

Purchase the DVD "Twist of the Wrist". It's sold at just about all moto shops. It's a great learning tool and will help you understand why things happen when they do.

Oh, and don't lend it to anyone, or take it anywhere other than your own dvd player! I used to have a copy, and I left at someone's place, and sadly I will never see it again.

 

[jolomatic]

...would like to know if I'm too cautious.

Probably not, unless your caution is putting you in other kinds of danger (ie: ignoring the cages to dodge the manhole cover).

Over time, you just get a feel for which things to swerve around and which you can ride over.

As has been stated... it just comes with practice.

 

[rich6969]

This is great because going through this experience will give you great insights!

1. Trust your tires. A wet road that's been soaking in the heat has 90% traction compared to a dry road. A completely rained on road has about 80% traction. Trust your tires.

2. Threshold braking is your friend. Never grab a hand full of brake.. this is why riders use two fingers because it's gentle at first and you can gradually increase braking threshold. The immediate knee jerk reaction on grabbing a fist full of brake is dangerous and will upset the bike as you noticed (the wobble.)

You probably could have gone through the turn as your normally do because you're new.. you're no where near pushing your bike to it's limit.

There's exercises you can do to help train your eyes to look through the turn.. it's called repetition Always always always look through a turn, even when going 10km/h.

Glad you're ok and trust the bike!

##### 1

 

[vadasz1]

Purchase the DVD "Twist of the Wrist". It's sold at just about all moto shops. It's a great learning tool and will help you understand why things happen when they do.

Oh, and don't lend it to anyone, or take it anywhere other than your own dvd player! I used to have a copy, and I left at someone's place, and sadly I will never see it again.

You can find a digital copy of volume 2 here......

http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Keith-C.../1037314d4c7c07d0a7edc0f81fedfc8e6ea6a308f4bb

 

[Baggsy]

0. Set the correct entry speed for each turn.

1. Don't trust your tires.

2. Threshold braking is not your friend.

You're riding on the street. The first thing that you need to learn is to set the correct entry speed for the turn, so that when you get surprised it isn't an issue.

If you are going the correct speed into the turn, you can accelerate out faster if there is no surprise.

Trusting your tires is not good because there could be a larger or multiple hazards that make the situation worse than it initially appears.

Threshold braking is not a friend because the vast majority of street riders cannot do it properly. The ideal solution, in fact the only solution, is to never get into the situation in the first place.

People here will tell you to lean more or to trail brake, but they have no idea whether or not you are capable of doing these things. The only thing that works all the time, is starting into the turn slow enough that you can adapt as things change.

Try reading David Hough's books: Proficient Motorcycling and Street Strategies. They aren't as track orientated as Twist of the Wrist I & II.

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