SCAB DOWN!

[madmike2]

Thanks for sharing your story Scab. I'm glad you're OK.
Things I'll try to remember from reading this thread:

* Ride my own ride.

* Get a good tire gauge and use it often.

* Experiment with lowering tire pressure a few pounds before the twisties.

Recovery quickly, and take care.

OC_Ed

Er...uh...let's take a long, hard look at: Ride my own ride.

I'm NOT flaming, merely commenting. Spoken as one who has been guilty of "raising" my speed because of the person ahead riding faster than I am comfortable, I must use a great deal of self control, mental energy and logic to overcome what my emotions (competitive tendencies), but I'm learning to do it. Not every time but luckily enough times to know it. Fortunately I have recognized when my mental acumen wasn't what it should have been and wisely let others go by while I adjusted for my "comfort zone". I repeat...fortunately....as I could just as easily met the same end you did.

Kudos to you Scab. I hope that baring your soul and thought processes awakens others. If ONE other owner reads this and folds it into their book of lessons to apply your experience has been worth it.

I have also experienced a tire pressure anomaly. I checked the tires before a 800+ mile round-trip to Ellay from Sacramento. When I got home there was a pronounced flat spot from the freeway riding. When I checked the tire pressure the next morning they were at 80 lbs. I don't know if it was a gauge or owner problem, but since then I double and triple check the tires when I'm adjusting pressure. I figure its mui importante!

Now, let's talk about your new Olympic event: FJR LUGE :yahoo:

 

[RoadGlide]

Scab, glad to hear you're ok. I did the same thing 7 years ago in that area on my Ducati. After reading all the replies and info so far I think we should blame Jeff....he's the only one I've actually have met. :lol:

 

[rogdeb]

Maaaan !! I read these post headings and my stomach starts to turn over

Glad you're ok Scab

Some good info in all the replies also to add to my "mental notes"

 

[NovaFlyer]

Glad to see you still have your sense of humour Scab. It's a good sign that this experience is a learning one and not a healing one.

ps ... Cold tires and cold roads suck

 

[twowheelnut]

Sheesh, I check out for a day and looks what I find! Dammit man, glad you're okay, but I guess I shouldn't expect that bumper sticker and Barney badge anytime soon - looks like you have some refarkling to do! I hope that that cuthtum stithed theat thurvived...

Hugs!

-TWN

 

[Luke]

Wow and a Woah! Glad you're OK, Scab. Thanks for sharing with us.

P.S. You had enough air pressure to pull a fairly heavy trailer on that beautiful hitch of yours. Do you have 10-ply tires as well?

 

[git-r-dan]

Scab, sorry to hear you went down but real glad you're the one telling the story. As a newbie, caught myself trying to keep up with the one in front of me through some twisties just because of being competitive. In skateboarding (at age 53!), you learn one lesson quickly which relates to this: Go for what you know. You learn little bits of a trick until the trick is learned or else you slam pretty hard.

You must have been wearing all the right gear for as little injury that you had.

And I thought I was bad for riding in 32 degree temps. You guys are NUTS but I'd do it in a second just to RIDE.

git-r-dan

 

[Bounce]

No matter which tires, a 20° swing in ambient temps can make a difference; but I don't think it would be as much as you're reporting. Like you also said, it would be wise to verify your guage at home with 2 or 3 others to see if there's a problem there. I suspect it wasn't the PR's (in and of themselves) at the root of this fall. Of course, they aren't sticky "track" tires but then they never were advertised as such. Your first post about riding your own ride seems spot on.

Bottom line is that YOU'RE okay.

 

[Toecutter]

As a newbie, caught myself trying to keep up with the one in front of me through some twisties just because of being competitive.

I guess the old adage "If you ain't fallin', you ain't learnin'" applies best to dirt bikes and toddlers.
In our neck of the fire service, we have "If you ain't breakin' shit, you ain't trainin'". "Shit" in the previous term relates to shit you don't own, not "Your" shit (bones, tendons, teeth, etc...)

 

[NSFJR]

SCAB, Sorry to learn of your mishap, glad you (and your FJR), came out of it as well as you did. Last year the local Yamaha dealer held an FJR day, eight showed up. During the ride through a Federal Park, with lots of twisties, the speeds steadily increased, to the point where the guy in front of me ran REAL wide in a blind turn. Had a cage been in the other lane, we would have to scrape him off the pavement, and I would have been damn busy avoiding the debris. While I was able to make the turn well within my side of the road, the experience caused me to immediately revert to "ride my ride".

 

[pickax]

Scab

Glad you're Ok. what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

 

[Scab]

I really appreciate all the well wishes, kind words and advice. Today has found me feeling very good. My neck is just a tad stiff and my shoulder feels like I had a junior high-school day of "passing licks." My foot has no after-affects whatsoever. All is well.

I've been pretty busy today. The wife is hosting her company's Christmas party here in our house today. And since I am the resident cook, my hands have not been idle. Currently there are somewhere in the neighborhood 16 or so women in my house. I am hiding.

While playing the role of Chef-MAN-ardee (I got your boy right here...), I have been contemplating the events of yesterday and all the comments. I am sure a retrospective analysis will be forthcoming.

While I am trying to become invisible, I am going to conduct some tire pressure guage experiments that involve household appliances and things made of rubber. If I can secure some volunteers from the current household female pool, the videos will be for sale at WFO. Free copies for my riding compadres of yesterday.

Odot and I will be forming a crash-club. All scabs will be saved, bagged, and served with dip. Be extremely careful of any parties we host.

 

[HaulinAshe]

I'm growing a bit concerned about all the posts concerning ABS. My 05 has ABS and I am a great proponent of ABS. BUT...

People reading this thread should not assume that ABS would have prevented SCAB's spill. It MIGHT have helped, but it would not likely have prevented him from going down.

I distinctly remember as I passed through that corner thinking, "Oooo that was a nasty little corner. Hope those guys take it easy through there."

There was no way to charge through that corner on anything BUT good rubber. In a straight-up hard stop, ABS is WONDERFUL. But if you are charging a corner and your ABS activates, then you are in trouble.

Just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about ABS. It helps, it's not a cure.

Jeff

 

[fjrchik]

Scabalicious! I'm so glad your OK and you walked away!!! Bet your wife is too. How did she take the news?

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

good to hear that it ended up with you healthy and only slight damange to the bike!

 

[mcatrophy]

I'm growing a bit concerned about all the posts concerning ABS. My 05 has ABS and I am a great proponent of ABS. BUT...
People reading this thread should not assume that ABS would have prevented SCAB's spill. It MIGHT have helped, but it would not likely have prevented him from going down.

Jeff

As the one who mentioned ABS, I will say I agree ABS is no panacia. It's just that I read this bit:

Hey, ScabYou left a pretty good skidmark on the road. You got one to match in you pants?

If he left a skid mark it suggests a wheel was locked. Somehow I can't picture a sideways sliding rolling wheel leaving a skid mark, although it would leave a trail in gravel. That's why I mentioned ABS. Which should give you as much traction (steering and braking) as is available.
As an aside, I find the ABS on my '06 is much less intrusive than that on my car. The car's is quite vicious in operation, sending a judder through the car. The bike's I can barely feel (I've tried it out on verious road surfaces from dry tarmac through to slimey mud). But I've not dared try it when cornering!

Oh, Scab. 16 women? At once? Is there a connection? Is this something we all should try? Or is this your normal fare?

Best of luck, have a good Christmas.

 

[Randy]

Glad to hear you're OK Scab. Refreshing to hear a rider state why he crashed, rather than say 'I dunno know what happened' when he/she knows deep down what really happened.

 

[FJRMGM]

glad you are OK but I am concerned about the "get an ABS bike and it will save you" comments.

Overriding a road and expecting ABS to keep you out of trouble is just asking for more trouble.

Slow down and ride sensibly.

 

[ionbeam]

Glad you are OK Scab, really good that things turned out as well as they did (if it had to happen)! What kind of gear were you wearing?

I am concerned about the "get an ABS bike and it will save you" comments....Overriding a road and expecting ABS to keep you out of trouble is just asking for more trouble.

If you ride harder because you have ABS and expect it to save your bacon you are indeed asking for trouble. However, if you are riding within a range that is normal for you, then ABS is an extra safety feature. Add to this some type of unforeseeable or unexpected issue such as water, sand or over inflated tires(!) ABS will increase your odds of 'getting away with one'. Scab may have been at the outer limit of his performance envelope while unknowingly riding on over inflated tires yet ABS still *might* have given him enough of an edge to avoid the accident all together. It was the rear tire locking that distracted Scab and precipitated the ensuing series of events.

 

[Scab]

As for how the wife took the news; I did the only smart act of the day there. Since she was at work and wouldn't be in until about 9pm, I waited to break the news. When she arrived, I jumped up, gave up the hugs and kisses, did a little ballerina spin, and asked her: "How do I look?" She said: "You look fine." That's when I told her I went down. It saved her from having to freak-out from the news.

Gear: I was multilayered for the day. Full leather outer pants, leather jacket, leather gloves. I don't think gear was a major player in this one as speed was down and any sliding would have had to be minimal. This crash was more of a "smack-down" on the right.

As for ABS: I don't know. I am sure it would have helped, but I can't say it would have saved the crash. The big traction issue may have been the overinflated tire so I don't know that ABS could have compensated for that.

My retrospective opinion is that there were contributing factors to this smack-down and not a single issue.

First: I was running at prolly 90% of my abilities. This may be fine and dandy on a new road when you keep the rider in front within sight, giving you indication of road direction and condition. When I lost sight of the leader, I should have backed off. MISTAKE.

Second: I did not listen to the bike. Twice prior, in nice sweepers, perfect road surface, in right-handers, I felt the front slip a tad. The bike was trying to tell me something and I ignored. I should have either spent the time to figure out the issue or backed off of her. I did neither. MISTAKE.

Thirdly: I have ridden in cold weather. But mulling it over, nearly ALL my cold weather experience is straight-up commuter-type riding. Big difference than what we were doing Saturday. I didn't take this into account or place enough importance on this issue. MISTAKE.

Fourthly: There was a major mistake made the night before the ride. I don't know what happened with the tire pressure. I have checked the guage against 2 others. I even froze the guage to see if the guage would misread at a low temp. I cannot reproduce the guage misread. Therefore, by reason of deduction, I am the only link left in that chain. I did something wrong. I don't know what, but it had to be me. MISTAKE.

So, I think the error on tire pressure was the biggest physical factor but not the cause of the crash. Human error gets the trophy here. I kept thinking; the bike will do this, or the bike will do that. It has before. But something had changed. The bike tried to tell me. I did not listen. You never really know anything.