When you fall off your bike....

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Dan

Member
When you fall of your bike, does it stall, stop and fall over, or does it keep going at its current speed and kill thousands?

I'm trying to learn clutch and throttle control to pull the front wheel off the ground for hopping over logs, curbs, etc, but I'm having that natural fear of falling off the damn thing when it comes up.

Should I be thinking about adding a tether switch like on my snowmobile?
 
R

Ripple

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That really depends on what you just did. Talked to a guy on the weekend that grabbed a tree when he wiped and watched his bike launch off the cliff. My last one the rear wheel locked on the grass, back end came around, fell over on it's side (still doing about 40kph) and dragged my knees and elbows across the rocks untilI gained the sense to let go. Protection is a good idea for when it does happen.
 
c337b

c337b

Moderator
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Go out with some experianced riders and learn from them. It will come with time

When I fall off my bike Rosco video tapes it and posts it on ther internet
 
O

old trials guy

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If I were to single out one skill that would improve most riders abilities I would say it is clutch control. I am sure many people believe the clutch is simply there to allow the rider to shift gears smoothly but the clutch is virtually as important as the throttle when is comes to control of the bike, especially at low speeds. Slipping the clutchabusively canwear out the plates prematurely but the modern motorcycle clutch is designed to handle a great deal of heavy use. By modulating the clutch the rider can control engine rpm, traction, wheelspin and compensate for a first gear that is typically too high for many tighter woods situations. When hopping a log, speed is notalways the answer.The correct combination of clutch and throttle can allow the rider to loft the wheel without excessive speed.

Practice slipping the clutch to manuever at low speeds and try lifting the front wheel using throttle and clutch. Keep your right foot ready to brake in case you get too much elevation. Sensible use of the clutch can act like a gear below first gear for those nasty sections you encounter.

Watch this video to see how a trials rider clears logs (may take a few seconds to load file)

<<http://www.ronwalsh.ca/wilsoncraig.wmv>>

Keep the shiny side up...old trial guy
 
Phoenix

Phoenix

New member
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Find a clear area to practice practice practice with a smaller obstacle at first. One technique I had been shown for smaller logs (10 inches or so) was to stand on the pegs and preload the front springs just before the obstacle and apply just enough throttleas springs rebound to help the front tire over the obstacle, great practice in first gear,slow speedto get your timing right.
 
Mud-Ectomy

Mud-Ectomy

Member
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Falling is part of learning, it you are not falling you are not pushing yourself past your current abilities.

As 337b says, going out with riders that are more experienced than you will help to develop your riding skills.

That being said, alway's wear protection and keep your speed to acomfortable level.

Note, I am referring to trail riding and would not recommend the same learning technique for road riding:shock:

That's my excuse for crashing all the time:D


Mud
 
D

Dan

Member
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Lucky for me, I have obstacles in my yard to practice on, and grass to fall on.

With my last bike, well I never really needed to use a clutch to pull the front wheel off the ground, and I never wanted to wheelie on purpose, it just happened sometimes.... on the freeway..... while lane splitting......

but 35 horsepower versus whatever the Ninja had, I'm gonna have to learn to use the clutch and the bottom end torque instead of horsepower

when I took the course to learn to ride a bike, the first thing they teach you is how to ride the clutch and balance at 2mph, so I did learn to control a bike at low speed, and then promptly bought a fast bike and never had any desire to go 2mph

learning all over again, and I really don't have any desire to fall down.
 
roscopcoletrain

roscopcoletrain

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c337b wrote:
Go out with some experianced riders and learn from them. It will come with time

When I fall off my bike Rosco video tapes it and posts it on ther internet
Click to expand...

Videos work Great so you can see yourself and learn ;)

And if people think those Vids are Funny then they are just SICK !!! :D
 
R

Ripple

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Try to stay over the bike when the rear wheel hits the log. My habits from mountain biking sometimes find me off center (balancing) at the wrong time and I have found the bike rising higher and faster than my body. Sometimes it works out ok but many times not. I'm pretty sure your XR will rise without the clutch in the right speed range for your gearing, could be wrong though. I am much more comfortable lifting the wheel without the clutch but the universe has to be properly aligned with my little bike:D.
 
Proudman

Proudman

Been known to fly
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My KLR starves and shuts off pretty quickly when it is on it's side.
I'm not telling how I know. ;)
 
O

old trials guy

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Then there are the times when it lands on the right side and jams the throttle wide open :shock:

I won't tell you how I know but my avatar might give it away.

otg
 
D

Dan

Member
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I learned that it stalls pretty easily as its in gear and at idle speed



and it somehow manages to break your wrist at the same time....
 
Fbomb

Fbomb

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.. and no self-respecting mountain sledder would have a tether either.
 
D

Dan

Member
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I always attach the tether, and I always regret it when I step off the sled without detaching it, and it then pulls out and whacks me in the face
 
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