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In gear has saved my ass two times.. I shit you not.. Dont feel like writing the whole saga.. but I would likely be dead otherwise

 
Yep - it happens fast. Glad you're ok.
I'm still trying to totally understand what happened a couple weeks ago when I dropped mine in stop & go traffic. Uphill right hand turn in the rain, travelling less than 5 mph and coming to a stop I downshifted from second to first but got caught in neutral. As I was almost completely stopped traffic started moving, which is when I noticed I was in neutral. After thinking on it, I've determined that I either lost it when I shifted from neutral to first and the bike lurched, or more than likely I stalled the bike. Tipped it right over on the right side.
There is a tendency at times to hit a false neutral on the FJR, especially from 2nd to 1st. Sometimes due to stuff going on around you it is easy to miss. If possible, when you can glance quickly at the gear indicator. When the false neutral is hit and you don't realize it all kinds of fun things can happen.

 
As an old instructor of mine used to say, "Throttle chop bad". Been there, done that, flying leg, stomping foot, and always learning. That's the best part. I can always be a little smoother. I just have to ride more.
Good instructor. Trick is to either hold it, or roll off very easy to the point you regain control-granted it is easier said than done. I learned the hard way also-my best being a high side in which we measured off 60 feet from the point I left the bike to the mark on the ground where I made my first bounce. Throttle chop bad, indeed!

 
Yep - it happens fast. Glad you're ok.
I'm still trying to totally understand what happened a couple weeks ago when I dropped mine in stop & go traffic. Uphill right hand turn in the rain, travelling less than 5 mph and coming to a stop I downshifted from second to first but got caught in neutral. As I was almost completely stopped traffic started moving, which is when I noticed I was in neutral. After thinking on it, I've determined that I either lost it when I shifted from neutral to first and the bike lurched, or more than likely I stalled the bike. Tipped it right over on the right side.
There is a tendency at times to hit a false neutral on the FJR, especially from 2nd to 1st. Sometimes due to stuff going on around you it is easy to miss. If possible, when you can glance quickly at the gear indicator. When the false neutral is hit and you don't realize it all kinds of fun things can happen.
Gee I never get one of those.

 
Good to hear you kept it upright! :clapping:

Typically, I'll stay in N except on uphill slopes at a stop...
WTF are you gonna do if you need to either move out of the way fast or get rear-ended? I'm always in gear and ready to launch, with an escape route planned, if needed.

Ride the bike....
I dont think I'm ever in neutral except when stopped for an extended period of time. Even when parked and on the side stand it's in gear.

 
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Around here we get a lot of sand on the roads in early spring. The other day on the way home from work I had a simalar experiance. The road I take has 4 real nice but tight slightly banked 90's seperated by about an 1/4 mile between them. So with out getting too stupid I kinda like to hone my skills a little on these curves. The first curve I come to is LH then a small hill with R/R tracks at the crest then a short swooping down hill stretch then levels out for about 3/8 mile before a hard RH 90. As I come over the tracks I like to crank it up pretty quik before the next curve. Only this time I hadn't noticed that there was sand on the road until I was already comitted. I don't know if how I handled it was right or not but it worked at the time. All I did was as soon as I felt the ass end start to go I just lifted my ass off the seat slightly and kept the throttle steady until she gathered her self back up and away we went. I think that had I let off the gas the back would have grabbed and all hell would have broken loose. The way it was it was both scary and fun at the same time. I think the biggest factor is control of emotions at that very moment that some thing happens. If you freak then things are going to go bad quickly.

 
I'm still trying to totally understand what happened a couple weeks ago when I dropped mine in stop & go traffic. Uphill right hand turn in the rain, traveling less than 5 mph and coming to a stop I down-shifted from second to first but got caught in neutral. As I was almost completely stopped traffic started moving, which is when I noticed I was in neutral. After thinking on it, I've determined that I either lost it when I shifted from neutral to first and the bike lurched, or more than likely I stalled the bike. Tipped it right over on the right side.
About the same exact thing happened to me last year. Happens fast. Just a due to a momentary lapse on my part....

Bike was just over a weeks old at the time. :angry2:

 
As an old instructor of mine used to say, "Throttle chop bad". Been there, done that, flying leg, stomping foot, and always learning. That's the best part. I can always be a little smoother. I just have to ride more.
Good instructor. Trick is to either hold it, or roll off very easy to the point you regain control-granted it is easier said than done. I learned the hard way also-my best being a high side in which we measured off 60 feet from the point I left the bike to the mark on the ground where I made my first bounce. Throttle chop bad, indeed!
Tank slapper to high sides suck!

Probably the only way to learn the skill and avoid chopping the throttle is just like anything else...practice to make it a controlled response rather than a surprised oh sh!t reaction. It is really no different than practicing slow speed figure 8's, panic stops, quick line changes at speed, braking in corners, etc. Just another skillset added to your bag of safety tricks for those that dare. Probably best to start on a dirt bike in the dirt/sand > dirt bike on wet black top > light street bike on blacktop(if no flattracker or Smotard is available). They can actually be done at quite slow speeds. (Ever seen someone spin the back of a bike around from a stop) When you can spin the back of the bike around from a stop while staying on the seat, ya got it licked! Enjoy your quality time in the parking lot!

 
Yep - it happens fast. Glad you're ok.
I'm still trying to totally understand what happened a couple weeks ago when I dropped mine in stop & go traffic. Uphill right hand turn in the rain, travelling less than 5 mph and coming to a stop I downshifted from second to first but got caught in neutral. As I was almost completely stopped traffic started moving, which is when I noticed I was in neutral. After thinking on it, I've determined that I either lost it when I shifted from neutral to first and the bike lurched, or more than likely I stalled the bike. Tipped it right over on the right side.
There is a tendency at times to hit a false neutral on the FJR, especially from 2nd to 1st. Sometimes due to stuff going on around you it is easy to miss. If possible, when you can glance quickly at the gear indicator. When the false neutral is hit and you don't realize it all kinds of fun things can happen.
Gee I never get one of those.
One of the many reasons I love the AE. I use my left index finger to up/down shift the paddle but for those who like to toe shift, neutral is at the bottom on the AE. Having a free left hand while stopped and in gear is something I have trouble giving up when I switch back and forth on bikes.

 
two weeks ago at the STN burger run we ran across a detour that forced us onto 8 miles of dirt road. this was my first time with the fjr on loose dirt. the first part was a fairly steep gravely up hill. it was the perfect place to test the fjr in slides i took it up to about sixty up that hill fish tailing the whole way. the bike does nothing drastic and tracks very well. was standing on the pegs with my rear just setting on he seat. if you get caught in a slide sitting down remove your inside foot and point it out and forward at about the 10:30 or 1:30 position and about 5" off the road. this makes a big addition to your balance point moving it forward and down. to try it get in a parking lot and do slow speed tight turns. you are going to think it looks stupid but you will notice a big change in how tightly and smoothly you can turn. i have used this to help a lot of people who struggled to do u turns on narrow streets and it helped them all.

+1 on the no neutral at stop lights. va beach in the early 80s waiting for a light with a friend heard skidding and launched the vision hard. heard a crash and was passed by my friends harley without him on it. it slammed into the car in front of us and i shot past just as the cage hit it to. my friend got lucky, his stepped seat and short sissy bar shot him upward and his but made contact with the windshield sending him up a little more and he landed sitting back on the street. we joked often that this was the only time his bike ever out accelerated mine.

 
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