"Scooter Talk"

theWB said:

Ouch is right, I can feel his pain just watching it.

See it happened on a curve.
I was reading somewhere that 80% of all motorcycle accidents happen on curves, could it be because we like to accelerate through the twistys.

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Isn't it much better to accelerate through the twisties or at least out of the twisties? He was probably doing the rookie thing and braking through the turn instead of before the turn rather than accelerating out of the turn.

He obviously went into the turn too hot for his own skill and way over the yellow line.

Hard to say from that video. But if there's one thing about riding a motorcycle on a curvy road that you should know it is that it is very easy to run wide in a turn. Especially on a sport bike, whose handling is considerably less forgiving than a cruiser.

Railing turns on a mountain road takes a certain level of discipline. Knowing your limits is a big one. Avoiding being distracted is another. I, and many riders on this forum, have found ourselves going too hot into a turn, facing down oncoming traffic and have felt the urge to panic-brake. This is where one's discipline comes in.

As for the matter of accelerating through turns -- well yes, that is the proper thing to do. Slow in and fast out is the preferred technique, but it comes with a caveat: Don't over-do it. Many of the higher displacement sport bikes can easily overwhelm the back tire if you gronk on the throttle. Slipping the back end through a turn and wheelie-ing out may look cool, but is not recommended for those short on skills.

Take your daring and skill-stretching desires to the track -- always a good piece of advice.

~VDR

VanDaRo said:

Hard to say from that video . . . a sport bike, whose handling is considerably less forgiving than a cruiser.

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HuH?

Well anyway, it's very easy to tell what happened there. Too hot into the curve and too off the throttle,too much brake instead of pushing the bike down harder. Typical amatuer move. How so? Just look at his riding boots.

A sportbike would get out of that, whereas a cruiser? Lets just say the car would be cooling off in the driveway at the time.

Edit: Oops. Didn't read all the posts

Speaking of boots, did you notice his left shoe is missing after kissing the truck?

"Dress for the ride, Don't ride with the dress." Did someone say that?

Beakman said:

HuH?

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My comment on the handling was ill-worded. I was trying to find an easy way to say that sport bikes are inherently unstable, requiring more rider interaction to pilot competently. A sport bike is vastly more capable than their cruiser counterparts, but not necessarily easier to ride.

~VDR

Beakman said:

HuH?

Well anyway, it's very easy to tell what happened there. Too hot into the curve and too off the throttle,too much brake instead of pushing the bike down harder. Typical amatuer move. How so? Just look at his riding boots.

A sportbike would get out of that, whereas a cruiser? Lets just say the car would be cooling off in the driveway at the time.

Edit: Oops. Didn't read all the posts

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The car probably saved him from running off and into a tree. Notice how when he hit the car he was straight up? He wasn't even leaning, which tells me he overshot the curve and was hard on the brakes and there was no way he was going to make the corner.

VanDaRo said:

Hard to say from that video. But if there's one thing about riding a motorcycle on a curvy road that you should know it is that it is very easy to run wide in a turn. Especially on a sport bike, whose handling is considerably less forgiving than a cruiser.

Railing turns on a mountain road takes a certain level of discipline. Knowing your limits is a big one. Avoiding being distracted is another. I, and many riders on this forum, have found ourselves going too hot into a turn, facing down oncoming traffic and have felt the urge to panic-brake. This is where one's discipline comes in.

As for the matter of accelerating through turns -- well yes, that is the proper thing to do. Slow in and fast out is the preferred technique, but it comes with a caveat: Don't over-do it. Many of the higher displacement sport bikes can easily overwhelm the back tire if you gronk on the throttle. Slipping the back end through a turn and wheelie-ing out may look cool, but is not recommended for those short on skills.

Take your daring and skill-stretching desires to the track -- always a good piece of advice.

~VDR

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Absolutely right. There are many reasons for slow in, fast out. The reasons vary for street versus track, but the main reasons are: you want to load the suspension properly and the rear tire has more rubber, therefore more traction. For track that means better accelleration out of the corner (so you get by that 1000 on your 750), while for the street that means you have more time to see possible hidden obstacles (don't ask me how I know). Of course, a good line through the turn will help with that immensely. VDRs advice about taking it to the track is right on, too. I remember my first track day (over 25 years ago) and how slow I found out I really was. At the time I thought I was soooo fast:ROFL:

Did my first track day 1995 (six years after starting to ride on the street). Been a junkie ever since . I strongly recommend professional instruction to all sport bike riders. The amount of skill you gain from Keith Code's CSS or Kevin Schwantz is astounding. I've done both several times and am a much better rider for it.

One more bump for taking it to the track.

~VDR

First Shots of My New Chop

My Chopper is finally in a rolling chassis form. It is 9'3" long so no canyon carving for this bike.

Sweet !! Who's big "114" is that ?? RevTec, S&S ??

I noticed the Amsoil in the background (arranged neat beyond belief BTW !), will you be going the synthetic route ?

twich54 said:

Sweet !! Who's big "114" is that ?? RevTec, S&S ??

I noticed the Amsoil in the background (arranged neat beyond belief BTW !), will you be going the synthetic route ?

Click to expand...

Its actually a TP Engineering mill. I really like they way his engines look and perform and it has one of the longest warranties for a crate motor.

Awesome! Keep us posted on the progress.

Shockingly beautiful, MDS. Keep up the good work. Can I take her for a rip when yer done ??

Jus' kidding...

~VDR

Bike Builder Show - Valley Forge, Pa 1/24/09

My brother inlaw and I attended the Bike Builder show yesterday in Valley Forge and while the attendence was down it was never the less a great show.

A couple of pics here, first is of Keino's Tribute bike to Indian Larry, RIP my friend you were my favorite !

Second is a shot of a local builder to me..."Old School Chopper", Philly area, a super kool Sporty creation