And there he goes ...

[you you]

Sorry you fell off. Passage of rights. You'll do it again a couple of times and after that you wouln't be able to tip off even if you try

Experience

Don't give up

[socoguy78]

Sorry you fell off. Passage of rights. You'll do it again a couple of times and after that you wouln't be able to tip off even if you try

Experience

Don't give up

How often do you think this happens? Dropping the scooter/motorcycle? I'm still expecting this to happen anytime to my self. I've known people who dropped theirs on the highways and had done a lot of damage but they pulled through it. My uncle gave me his Yamaha Heritage Classic after he some how dropped it on a highway and the bike landed on top of him, but it was to heavy for me to lift.

The best advice I've gotten for when I do drop my scooter or motorcycle my first time and every time there after is to just be completely relaxed, don't tense up, let my control go... don't tense up any muscles at all. Act as if I am completely drunk, as in the relaxed nature of the body as to when the drunk driver hits a car and kills or seriously injures the passengers. The drunk driver, comes out with a few scratches and bruises because of how alcohol relaxes the body... Been told this many times by E.R. physicians (half my family worked in hospitals.) Not sure if being completely relaxed is causation for less injuries or if it is simply a correlation. Have never seen any data on this, only word of mouth from people who help those in accidents.

I'm expecting to be rear ended by a car and am always looking behind me at stop lights/signs, while giving enough space in front so I can "zoom" out of the way.

[kramnala58]

How often do you think this happens? Dropping the scooter/motorcycle? ...... The best advice I've gotten for when I do drop my scooter or motorcycle my first time and every time there after is to just be completely relaxed, don't tense up, let my control go...

I don't think any of us can say how often it happens because we are all different. I have been riding for about a year and a half and have dropped my scooter twice. There was no damage to the bike both times.

The first time I dropped it was because I didn't have the side stand extended all the way and it folded back in when I leaned the bike ... my bad.

The other time I dropped it the bike slipped from under me. I was pulling into the spot at work where I always park and was coming in only slightly faster than I typically do. It is very smooth concrete (as in almost a polished finish) and there was a film on construction dust on top. As I started to turn left into the stall the bike immediately slipped from under me. I ended up on the ground with my left foot caught under the seat before I even knew what happened. Thus, speculating that a person can/should go limp (completely relaxed) is a nice theory, but not always possible because: 1) the natural tendency is to tense up; 2) you may not have enough time to react before you are already on the ground.

I keep hearing that when riding a bike it is not a question of "if" you will be in an accident but "when" you will be. The fact is, the same could be said about driving a car. The difference is that the car offers more protection.

[gn2]

I remember an old study which reckoned that in the UK riders average one crash per seven years.
I've had about 25 so should live to be over 150 even if I don't crash again....

[iceman]

Lucky the PCX can topple due to the side-stand swinging back and not get any damage at all, I'd expect at least the handlebars and side panels to take a beating.
I can't believe how many idiots on 'L' plated 125 bikes (perhaps post-teens feel scooters are not cool enough to impress their mates) there are on the roads in London - it seems as soon as they passed their CBT (or perhaps just stuck the 'L' plates on and have no insurance) they ride so wrecklessly I'm surprised they last a whole week. I've seen them just about brake in time to stop rear-ending large vehicles, wizz in and out of cars, lorries and buses at speed and ride several meters on the other side of the road to get ahead of traffic even on blind bends and just get out of the way in time, often with t-shirts on and no gloves and shorts.

[Valiant]

Learned four things today:
1. Doesn't matter what colour ... painted things on the road are slippery when wet.

Don't expect that to be changing anytime soon, as cars don't have the same problems as 2-wheelers on narrow segments of slippery surfaces. I'd write a letter to the local authority in charge of painting that lane red, as a bicycle will have the same problem on the painted surface, and that is a life threatening hazard. Hell, if this were the US, you could sue for that easily.

2. Red asfalt isn't always red asfalt, but sometimes asfalt PAINTED red ...

They make asphalt in red?

3. Jeans aren't slide proof, a motor jacket is ...

Precisely why I didn't believe jeans were proper protection during my MSF Safety Course, and why I invested in Kevlar pants to protect my family jewels .

4. Things in your pocket are going straight in to your muscle when hitting the asfalt!

I was starting to think how it would be a hassle to take things out of my pockets to shove them into that little glove compartment thingy, but now I see a very good reason to do so . Still, quite amazing the screen didn't crack. What kind of phone is it?

[Ben Lee]

They make asphalt in red?

Yep, but only bicycle lanes ... but they do crss over intersections ...

Still, quite amazing the screen didn't crack. What kind of phone is it?

A Huawei Ascend P1 ... I always put the screen on the muscle side, the glass coverering the camera scratched off all the way though. It works, only isn't that water proof anymore.

[kramnala58]

I remember an old study which reckoned that in the UK riders average one crash per seven years.
I've had about 25 so should live to be over 150 even if I don't crash again....

[you you]

They make asphalt in red?

Yep, but only bicycle lanes ... but they do crss over intersections ...

Still, quite amazing the screen didn't crack. What kind of phone is it?

A Huawei Ascend P1 ... I always put the screen on the muscle side, the glass coverering the camera scratched off all the way though. It works, only isn't that water proof anymore.

That's an unexceptional bit of road. You need to be honest with yourself about why you tipped off otherwise you are never going to learn from it.

[you you]

I remember an old study which reckoned that in the UK riders average one crash per seven years.
I've had about 25 so should live to be over 150 even if I don't crash again....

No please, not 150 years!!!

[Duggle]

They make asphalt in red?

Yep, but only bicycle lanes ... but they do crss over intersections ...

Still, quite amazing the screen didn't crack. What kind of phone is it?

A Huawei Ascend P1 ... I always put the screen on the muscle side, the glass coverering the camera scratched off all the way though. It works, only isn't that water proof anymore.

That's an unexceptional bit of road. You need to be honest with yourself about why you tipped off otherwise you are never going to learn from it.

I don't think that is the spot where he went down. He crashed on wet slippery red paint, the picture above is red asphalt in reply to the question "they make asphalt in red?" which was asked because of the first post in the thread.

1. Doesn't matter what colour ... painted things on the road are slippery when wet.
2. Red asfalt isn't always red asfalt, but sometimes asfalt PAINTED red ...

[Ben Lee]

@ Duggle you are totaly right.

@ You you: the place I did fell down, there is a left corner right after the intersection. Because there was a car coming, I needed to cut my corner a little bit. This I did on that slippery bit of bicycle lane, lozing grip of my front wheel.
To be honnest... my faut, a lack of experiance... the slippery paint didn't help though.

Ben...

[WhiteNoise]

Ben, you out there? How are you and yer bike doing? You haven't posted in awhile, hope all is well

[Ben Lee]

Ben, you out there? How are you and yer bike doing? You haven't posted in awhile, hope all is well

Still OK... 2500 km's on the bike now.

The first few weeks after the drop I felt a little insecure specially on wet asphalt, but now I am back to my nimble self. Did learn my lesson though, crossing every bit of paint straight as can be.

Didn't really a fix the damage yet (a like bit of scratches ) put a little white paint over them without sanding.... OK for now. First let me see I can get through winter without dropping it again.

Got the white cover for the Honda topcase... looks great (wil post a pic later )

Didn't spend much time on the computer these last months, probably will change this winter.

Ben

[William T]

I only slid once so far and it was on a pocket of gravel thrown out on a paved road, I was leaning for a turn. Leaning into a curve seems more real than the term counter steering. I think it is way past time for our various hwy departments and local governments to find a way to paint without causing these slicks. Maybe something could be mixed with the paint to make it less slippery. A local man was hired by my city to paint stripes on some of the roads and I don't know what he mixed with the paint but it was so slippery that cars were sliding on it at the stops. This should be a concern to all who ride on two wheels. Strength is in numbers. I try to be very careful on painted areas, wet leaves and grass, where gravel meets pavement and oil spots at stops in light rain, but it's hard to be careful enough. It is always fun to hit spots of road that tar and gravel have just been laid down for repair also.

[wilbur]

Here they're starting to use a textured (sanded?) paint for bike lanes, and it's even starting to show up at crosswalks. Not slippery at all.

[Vesper2112]

We have a gravel parking lot at my work. The very first day I rode in went fine. When I was leaving, the back tire spun then gripped. Being a very new rider, I was trying to take off a bit too quickly and the bike essentially fell over as it jerked ahead once the tire got traction. I was perfectly fine, but the Forza took some nice gravel scratches... I was going to hold off replacing the panels until I had a bit more experience, so I might look into it after I get the tall windshield.

[WhiteNoise]

Ah good, you're okay! Shoot it's only human to be shaken up after any kind of spill!
Some of our roads here look like canvas'... So much friggin' paint! Slick sheeny lines, arrows, dashes, and what nots! Look ahead, go in or around them if you can. Man hole covers. Railroad tracks. Speed bumps one after another. Wahoo! Sand, gravel, oil, glass ....List goes on. Look for it, see it? Slow down.

Back to your scoot, I'd like to see your white cover on your top case when you get a chance. Cool

[iceman]

Gone are the days when roads were flat - now it's speed humps (don't mind those that are smooth to get on/off, but some even at slow speed are bad), ridges, holes, dips - awful. Not so bad with four wheels or motorbikes as they have wider and larger wheels, but scooters with narrower and smaller circumference wheels feel everything - esp with PCX suspension.

[Ben Lee]

Ah good, you're okay! Shoot it's only human to be shaken up after any kind of spill!
Some of our roads here look like canvas'... So much friggin' paint! Slick sheeny lines, arrows, dashes, and what nots! Look ahead, go in or around them if you can. Man hole covers. Railroad tracks. Speed bumps one after another. Wahoo! Sand, gravel, oil, glass ....List goes on. Look for it, see it? Slow down.

Back to your scoot, I'd like to see your white cover on your top case when you get a chance. Cool

The centre of the village I work is paved with a kind of bricks, they're OK in dry weather but slippery as hell when wet. And some idiot decided to pave every crossing and every turn with them. Good thing it's in the center of town, so low speed is acquired...

I will post a picture shortly,but since the drop damaged my cells camera, I need to take out the big camera and transfer the picture on my computer before posting.

Ben.