"Had to lay it down"???

I have "intentionally" laid bikes down twice in my life. Once in my 20's when a car made a left turn in front of me.... once in my 30's when a car stopped dead in front of me and there was another car to my left so I couldn't swerve.


Truth in retrospect: I braked too hard and lost it.



OK... I said it.



Shut up BD.

[dantama]

Truth in retrospect: I braked too hard and lost it.



OK... I said it.



Shut up BD.

Truth be known, that's how most people lay it down, they just don't admit it.

Kudos to you Nico for having to balls to admit it.

Ask them how they turn right and they can tell you, ask them how to lay it down and they usually either fumble about or come up with an explanation that won't work.

It ends up kind of like talking to somebody that doesn't understand counter-steering. It might sound good, but doesn't work.

[flightdoc]

unless you're trying to save your head from decapitation........NO

[dantama]

This was an interesting blast from the past.

[lw]

Originally Posted by machodc

Truth in retrospect: I braked too hard and lost it.
OK... I said it.

That's how it worked when I did it.

[peterdarby]

An interesting thread. I have always come down (no pun intended) on the side of braking rather than laying it down. However there are exceptions I once saw two pilots die when the landing wire broke and there jet went off the carrier. Their doctrine said to eject which they did (there is only time to do one thing). Unfortunately the wire wrapped around the tail hook and turned the plane upside down and they ejected into the water at around 160 MPH. They had no time to think about it but doctrine was wrong that one time. Had they stayed with the plane they would have ended up safely hanging by the wire from the side of the ship with their plane.

As a new rider I would say that you are better off braking into the impact. And as an experienced rider probably 97% you will be better off staying upright on the brakes. But if the impact was going to be something higher than my bike, like a truck I would brake till the last second then lay the bike down as I hit. Not only the tires would absorb impact but my legs and arms would also. That to me would be preferable to bleeding off the last couple of MPHs with my tires and the rest of the speed with my head.

[Dave]

" .....Once in my 20's when a car made a left turn in front of me.... once in my 30's...."

Nick, was the internal combustion engine around back then? :)

Dave

[dantama]

Originally Posted by peterdarby

An interesting thread. I have always come down (no pun intended) on the side of braking rather than laying it down.

As a new rider I would say that you are better off braking into the impact. And as an experienced rider probably 97% you will be better off staying upright on the brakes. But if the impact was going to be something higher than my bike, like a truck I would brake till the last second then lay the bike down as I hit. Not only the tires would absorb impact but my legs and arms would also. That to me would be preferable to bleeding off the last couple of MPHs with my tires and the rest of the speed with my head.

Peter,

I'm curious what your technique would be for laying it down at the last second? As you are executing a great at the limit stop, what will you do mechanically to lay it down?

[mako]

Beyond the lack of braking once the bike is on it's side how do you guarantee you don't end up high siding it and launching yourself into an even worse condition. I've never seen any data that says the bike slows down quicker or avoids obstacles better on it's side but I have seen numerous videos of riders flipping off the bike high side, rarely ending up whole. Personally I equate someone who has a great "had to lay it down" story with "hardly learned to ride", smile and turn the other way.

[dantama]

Originally Posted by mako

Beyond the lack of braking once the bike is on it's side how do you guarantee you don't end up high siding it and launching yourself into an even worse condition.

Here is what a highside generally looks like.


There is no amount of skill that can determine whether laying it down is going to end up in a highside or not. If it happens, it happens. You have no control over it happening or not once the bike starts to go onto it's side.