| Author | Message | ||
     Fltwistygirl |
Riding season is upon us (or nearly upon us) again. For most of us, it’s one of the best times of the year. However, if you have been away from your bike for a few weeks, or worse, months, please remember that those skills that you honed all summer long may not be as sharp. Practice and get re-acquainted with your bike and how it responds before you take it on the road. It can be time well spent. For those who are familiar with the MSF’s BRC curriculum, here’s another instance where one of the MSF’s life-saving maneuvers, the swerve, saved another riders hide. And this one’s personal: my riding buddy had an incident over the weekend where the swerve he practiced and practiced potentially saved his life or prevented a much worse outcome and I wanted to share this with y’all. First off, he’s ok physically. 10K damage to the bike (new Harley) and a very shaken wife. They are both retired, grown kids, grandkids, full and happy life. I imagine he has a tough sell to his wife for the argument to continue riding. She’s a retired nurse who has probably seen all kinds of awful motorcycle related stuff. The Scene: He was riding on a well traveled four lane highway on a weekend morning just before dawn. He was the only one, as far as he was aware, on the road. He has three super bright lights on that fairing, you’d have to be blind to not see them unless you are impaired, or just not paying attention. Seemingly out of nowhere, a car pulled out from a side road right in front of him. He rolled off the throttle, press/pressed (counter steered) on the handgrips to avoid broad siding it, hoped he’d cleared it, but caught the front of it with his fairing. He went down, destroyed his lights, fairing and hard bags. Little pieces were all that were left of those beautiful hard bags. The driver checked to make sure he was “ok” then hauled butt and left. My friend got a description of the guy and his vehicle but no tag number. As far as we know, no one has been found. Unbelievable. If they catch the rat, I hope he is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The aftermath: He’s been to the doctor, x-rays were clear, he is sore, moving slow, but no broken bones. Thank God he was wearing his “cold” weather gear. He has some road rash on his hands despite heavy leather gloves. His chaps are trashed, worn thru. Helmet-done, needs to be replaced. Jacket scuffed but can be re-worn. It was cool both mornings this weekend, with some patches of fog, but I think he was far enough west where the fog was not as much of an issue as it was in certain parts of the state this time of the year. The lesson: Wear your gear. ATGATT. Practice those evasive maneuvers: quick stops and swerving. Keep those skills sharp. He did and because of that, I’ll probably get a reply from him to the e-mail I’m sending him tonight. If he hadn’t kept those skills sharp, that may not have been the case. Be safe out there. BeLinda. | ||
| Ezblast |
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| 86129squids |
What BeLinda said!! Bless his heart, hope he gets back in the saddle soon. | ||
| Reepicheep |
+1 I have my own drill I developed... I don't remember it being part of the MSF basic or advanced class, but maybe it was.. It is to do a hard brake from like 40mph down to like 10 mph going dead nuts straight (on the edge of a stoppie), and then immediately transition into a hard evasive maneuver. If you know you are going to hit and there is nothing to do about it, then brake all the way to impact. But if you can dodge at the last instant, having bled off a lot of speed, it's nice to have the muscles preprogrammed to do that. The M2 was a handful to do this with. The 9sx was a dream. I suspect my Uly will be somewhere in between, I haven't tried it yet. | ||
| Strokizator |
If he decides to replace that bike remind him that anti lock brakes are available. Takes the drama out of panic stops and lets you more easily steer around obstacles. I think HD offers it in a package that includes the brakes, 103 engine and an alarm. | ||
| Thumper74 |
I often practice 'panic stops' when I'm alone. I also practice swerving when I come to potholes, manholes, and just general stuff on the mean, no money for repairs, streets of Cleveland | ||
| Breadman |
The swerve saved my bacon a couple of times. One of the times I was riding in the middle lane when a pickup in the right lane next to me decided to come on over. Don't remember thinking "need to swerve, check for vacancy next to me" but I did end up in the left lane all of a sudden. Nice to have a little muscle memory turn to reflex. Spencer | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Thanks for your responses, guys. By practicing, you are doing the right thing. I think he had ABS, that bike had everything. It was his end all be all bike. This situation could have been so much worse, but it still sucks. This is the second "rider down" incident in the last couple months involving a seasoned rider I've known well. The other also took place pre-dawn with a tarp that had fallen off a truck not seen until too late. He also was ok. Reepi- I think what you're practicing makes a lot of sense. And you are right, it's not in the BRC or ERC, but there may be something similar in some of the other advanced "street riding" courses. If other riders who teach/have taken the advanced courses want to chime in, I'm all ears.  What a reality check. New brake pads are going on the XT, and I need to practice evasive maneuvers on the bike I've logged the least miles, the X, since I'm planning to pile some miles on that one. Time to re-read a couple books as well. Better get busy! BeLinda. | ||
| Fuzzz |
I had a Dodge P/U throw a swirling, bouncing (OH Crap!) drive-line (Broken U Joint) at me on a two lane highway at about 70 once, had to make three swerves (Leftrightleft) on an HD FLT without leaving my lane because of heavy traffic going the other way, then had to stop fast because the P/U lost all forward momentum...I was damn glad I practice that stuff all the time... | ||
| Swordsman |
Y'know, I've been wondering what the evasive maneuvers are for a sidecar rig like I'm looking at. Swerving seems a bad idea when you can't lean....? ~SM | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Yikes Fuzzz, that sounds like no fun at all. It's crazy that someone would take a vehicle like that on the road. I understand stuff happens, but some people just seem to lack the common sense (or knowledge) to do a pre-ride check of any vehicle before taking it on the road. Or they don't care. Swordsman-Swerving is indeed an available evasive maneuver for a hack. Sometimes its a better choice than accelerating (another evasive maneuver) because you've not increased inertia and you can use the available traction for changing direction. You need to shift your weight in the direction you are swerving: i.e., for a left/right swerve, shift left as you swerve left, shift right as you swerve right. You want a big butt shift from one side of the seat to the other, not just some mamby-pamby lean/lean. The problem with attempting to swerve is the sudden side loads tend to lift the rig. A sudden swerve with a narrow or lightweight combination can result in a sudden flip. As with all evasive maneuvers, practice in a safe environment before trying it in the real world with traffic. If you are serious about a hack, you may want to get yourself a copy of David Hough's "yellow" book, "Driving a Sidecar Outfit". As an operator, I think you'll find it an invaluable source of info. Let me know if you take the plunge, I'll be jealous for sure! BeLinda. |
