Hi John & folks. A very very long time ago I got into a situation where with a passenger on the back we were taking a turn & right in our path there was some real big piece of steel that fell off some big truck. I knew I couldn't stop & slowing down wasn't a good option either. On instinct, I centered the motorcycle's front wheel as best I could to the object & accelerated enough in the hopes that when the front end hit the object , it wouldn't just stop us in our path & propel us into oblivion.Well the result was when the front wheel hit the object it rolled over it & the whole motorcycle with us on it leaped right over & we landed with the 2 wheels on the ground & kept going. We didn't realise it at the time but when we pulled over a riding buddy that witnessed the whole thing told us that we went a good 15 feet in the air. The motorcycle had no damage & there was no panic. Another time I was riding in the back roads & a dump truck full of square logs right in front of me but at a safe distance lost 1 of those logs & when it hit the road it started spinning around like a merry go round. Avoiding it altogether or stopping was not an option as it was like a ground missile coming toward me. I did the same thing as before & rode right over it. I was quite amazed both times at the ease of avoiding those obstacles even though they were both pretty hairy situations after the fact of course. I think the morale of the story is when riding, ride defensively, don't stare, look around, look ahead, be aware of what's in front on the side(s) even behind you & be ready for any situation that may arise. Oh! and by all means don't panic & don't tighten up on the motorcycle, keep your cool & things work out OK!. Don't forget also that when you're on unfamiliar territory it's always better to slow down. After all riding shouldn't be a competition or race on whose better or faster or even how good you may think you are. You should never have anything to prove to anyone.Keep the 2 wheels on the ground & just ride the motorcycle. Of course practice riding as much as you can. The more you practice the better you get. Have fun with it, after all it's only a toy. Don't abuse it & you'll keep it. Be good. Ride safe. Peter Piazza. ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Laurenson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 7:38 PM Subject: Re: Time to debunk a myth (was Re: Advice on a purchase)
> Never say never..........exceptions to every debunked myth > > Years ago, I was on the way back from Daytona one evening during a couples > group ride on a dirt bikes, with about 5 other couples, back when I was into > enduro's in and dirt bike riding. We decided to relax and ride the beach > home. My wife was on the back and we were the lead bike. About the same > time my headlights picked up what appeared to be a rusty bar directly in our > path, because its blended into the sand color I didn't see it until we were > less than 50 ft. away. I realized I could never stop the bike in time. > > Surprisingly the first thing that immediately entered my mind was a > discussion I had a few months earlier with an older English gentleman. He > was talking about the instructions and the tests they had to pass in the > motorcycle English corps during the war. They were all instructed the > safest way to get off a bike on gravel or dirt was to lay it down in a real > emergency. They all were required to lay their bikes down at 50 mph on a > gravel road as part of their training. > > In almost a reflect reaction I laid the bike down remembering his comments. > We slid right up to the obstruction. If I hadn't we would have definitely > hit it real hard and it would have been a real mess. That conversation > probably saved our lives. The obstruction was a rusted railroad steel rail > fence set up earlier by the PonteVedra beach club to keep dune buggies away > from their section of the beach on the Atlantic. It would not have moved an > inch if we hit it. They removed it soon after. > > I called my friend soon after thanking him for saving our lives. Without > question we would have hit the rail if I didn't lay the bike down. > > hawke > > > From: "Phil Benson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject: Time to debunk a myth (was Re: Advice on a purchase) > > > > > >> This is not directed at Mark specifically, but at the rather widely held > > view > >> that "layin' it down" is EVER an appropriate emergency procedure. I take > > the > >> STRONG view that it's not. > >> > >> Folks, the rubbery parts will always, ALWAYS give you a better out in an > >> emergency than the non-rubbery parts. To intentionally "lay down" a bike > > is to > >> admit defeat. Period. Stay with the bike, USE the massive and wonderful > > front > >> brake our GTSs have, and try to regain control. Swerve if that's > > appropriate. > >> > >> "Layin' it down" is a technique we DON'T teach at MSF. We do teach > > swerving and > >> braking. Accident involved motorcyclists often lack those skills. > >> > >> My take? Most people who claimed to intentionally lay down a bike > > actually used > >> inappropriate braking technique, lost control, and hate to admit to wives > > and > >> girlfriends (may they never meet) that they're really pretty shitty > > riders. > >> > >> Phil > >> > >> > >> Mark Steiger wrote: > >> > >>> acouple of people did mention it would be tough to bring a GTS down in > > an > >>> emergency because of how nice it looks, and I do have to agree on that > > one.. > >> > >> > > > >
