flhtc06

i was not turning . i was riding straight.

what i meant by looking left is that the car in front of me was hit with such force that it was moved from the right lane ,on a 2 way local street, to the left lane and the car that shoot out of the driveway then was blocking the entire road in front of me as i approached it.

so, my eyes and maybe even my head ,moved , as i looked to my left following the image of the impact on the car that was hit.

and, simoultanously , i was operating the brakes and trying to not hit the offending car which was now crossed right in front of me and by now about 2 or less ,car lenghts from me.


IN A WAY, I WAS LUCKY THAT THERE WAS THIS CAR IN FRONT OF ME GOING IN MY SAME DIRECTION.AND DOING 20 TO 25 MPH,
HAD IT NOT BEEN THERE MAYBE I WOULD HAVE BEEN GOING FASTER ,AND I WOULD HAVE BEEN OCCUPYING THE SAME SPACE AS THAT CAR WHEN THE HIT TOOK PLACE AND THEN I WOULD NOT BE HOME WAITING FOR THE INSURANCE ADJUSTER WHO SHOULD BE HERE BY NOW ,AND Passing time by reading this site.

thank you

ffb

 

ffb,, didnt mean you, i was refering to all that posts about, " applyed to much back brake,",,,
if you read through... only a couple mentioned the front,,, and the experienced would agree
,, hold on,,, we'll get through this ... many more miles to be had!!! lol

 

I agree with FLHTC06 on this. Too much front brake when leaned to the left will cause the bike to "high side" and land on it's right side, which sounds like what happened here. If the rear brake was locked with minimal or no front brake you probably would have slid out in a "low side" and damaged the left side of the bike. Braking when leaned over always gets tricky because of the physics involved. That's a tough situation at that speed, leaned over having to panic brake. The best scenario in trying to stay upright would be to try to straighten the bike first and then brake as hard as possible when moving in a straight line..

 

Check this website (www.msgroup.org/TIP001.html) in reference to "high siding" a motorcycle. It is a very interesting article. One of the most important exercises that you can practice is bringing your motorcycle to a complete stop safely and quickly. Emergency braking is something I practice every time I am on the motorcycle.

 

ffb, I live in Miami as well, and symphasize with your sentiments. I highly admire and respect you, for publicly asking the **why's and why not's** here, to not have this happen again, and it be rider error.

Jim

 

ffb, The general consensus is too much rear brake. Things like this happen so fast you can barely recall all the details. An advanced rider course such as the one by MSF can teach valuable techniques to even the most experienced riders. I'm signed up for one this spring as a group deal with my HOG chapter. Until then I would reccomend www.ridelikeapro.com. Probably the best instructional videos out there.

 

You hit your front brake into the lean , did'nt you? that would cause the bike to go straight down to the ground. depressing your back brake gently would cause the bike to stand straight up.

 

Glad to hear you were not injured. I wasn't as lucky. Last april I was traveling at a speed of around 50mph when a woman in a van made an abrupt left turn right in front of me. there was no intersection, she was attempting to pull into a farmers market that was on my right. I slammed on the brakes and went into a fishtail with the rear of my SG going to the right. My front wheel remained straight and impacted the van. I felt like I was skidding forever.Finally,at impact, I flew off the bike to the right. Over the throttle and wound up shattering my pelvis. I think I must have landed on my knee which pushed my thigh bone and hip into the pelvis. Spent a month in the hospital. I know I locked the rear brake but I can't remember how much pressure was applied to the front but obviously it was not enough. I can tell you this, that bike was hard to stop. Much harder than my previous metric bikes. I do believe that I need more practice with panic stopping but I also think the MOCO needs to spend a little more R&D on their braking systems to keep up with todays available technology. I'mfeel confidentthat if I were on a sprort bike or maybe even a Beemer I would have avoided this accicdent but hind site is always 20/20.
I've also learned the value of body armour, the hard way. Chances are that if I would have been wearing knee armour it would have absorbed and spred the impact point and prevented the pelvis from shattering.

 

Maybe I read it wrong, but if you were turning when you applied the brakes, that can lead to a problem, too. Tires can only provide so much traction, so if you need to brake heavily, you've got to straighten the bars first, then apply brakes. Not good in a turn, but keeps you from losing traction and skidding. This is what they taught us at the MSF course.

 

guys
thank you for all the info which i hope will benefit all of us .

streetrunner i agree with you on the braking issue of hd.

the europeans and japanese bikes have hd beat in many areas and braking is one of them. this is why i keep saying that i want to learn how to ride my stret glide.it is so different from the others that it requires re-learning or going back in time to other riding skills ,namely,go slow and avoid sudden movements.
but,in time i will re-master it.
my first bike ,back in the early fifties when i was 13 was a single cylinder 2 cycle harley ,(made in germany under the harley name ),this street glide is not far from that bike .

anyhow .............for those of you who cherish your health more than your looks and want to keep your looks ,may i suggest that you visit the following sites and with regret i ask that you do a google to find them,i am computer lazy to look for them........

KNOX ARMORED CLOTHING --THIS IS A U.K. COMPANY and they have distribution in the usa , i got all my stuff from them as they are the best.
look at their armored shorts which protect your tailbone ,hips and thighs , and you wear under your pants.
then at their back protector .the best out there .

there is a knock off of them n the usa by the name of BOHN also good but not the real thing .and they do offer a full line. better than nothing.

and look for DAINESSE and their armored shirt. back ,elbows ,arms and chest .in a mesh --this is the one i had on when i went down....bohn also has this one but not as cool,due to the fabric used.

those of you who have gone done appreciate what i am saying .

those of you who have not ,take a peek and learn from others mistake.

i am not preaching ,only trying to help.

and in helmets , most hd riders like the open face helmet.

well, take a look at WWW.SCHUBERTH.COM and take a look at their j1 open face helmet .

it is unique ,because it has a front chin guard hoop that will protect your face somewhat if you go down and it comes with a full face visor ,(it helps when the car in front throws a rock your way,) those rocks hurt. the negative is that because of usa liability ,it is available only from stores in germany ,avoid the uk stores they are much more expensive.

well, i hope that these sites will help someone. it did me .