laying down a bike

every one here says that "YOU WILL LAY THE BIKE DOWN" how many of you have actually layed it down, how long have you been riding, and how bad was it. also how much is insurance i havent even looked into it yet

I count my first "down" experience as a "laying the bike down". It makes me feel a little better about the saying "it's not IF you go down, but WHEN". I dumped my dad's BMW dual-sport when I was first learning how to ride. The bike jumped when it stalled (single cylinder) and I couldn't keep the bike up, and down both me and the bike went. I now have 3 years of riding under my belt, and I hope not to go down "at speed" cause I've seen it and heard about it too many times. Looks painful.

heh thats kinda funny but realistic at the same time ive never been on a bike so i still have to learn and have no room to talk

My bikes have been down a total of 3 times so far, twice with me on them.

The first time was just stupid, i had to run upstairs and i left my bike on and parked on a slight downhill, it fell over and broke the mirror and turn signal and bent the clutch lever.

Second time was my first crash, I was on my gsx1100 and was doing about 85 at night down a highway in arizona. I hit a javelina (desert warthog) and it just made the whole front of my bike dissapear. I was wearing full gear which no doubt saved my skin and probably my life, luckily a car was not to far behind me and saw it and stopped.

The last crash I had was at a trackday on my old trackprepped R6. The guy infront of me blewup his master brake resevoir, or maybe his brake line ruptured, eitherway i ended up getting a smear of breakfluid on my helmets visor as I was entering a slow turn. Lowsided the bike and it scraped through the dirt for about 10 feet, I was fine because of gear again, and my framsliders saved my plastic from damage, but the dirt ate some of the paint off it.

nearly laid it down but never have in my 2 years of riding now.

so does everybody know/think that laying down is a inevitability rather than a possibility?

i think its a very very high possibleity but i know 2 riders both more then 20 years and both hand to god no lay downs yet.

I know 2 riders with over 30 years of riding each (yeah, they're OLD) and both have been down, but obviously lived to tell the tale.

Never dropped myne. Been riding almost a year. I cant say that I wont but I never made any of the beginner mistakes. Who knows what will happen.

is the highway like the most dreaded place for a begginer?

Kind of depends on the highway, during the day out of town highways are commonly the safest. At night though there can be debris like retread and shit or animals, so depending on the location it varies. I tend to think that around town driving is the worse, it is where drivers are the most unpredictable. The freeways through town are are usually not as bad, but when traffic is heavy they can be everybit as bad as streets.

The easiest way to protect yourself is by always wearing gear, taking the MSF, always look ahead about 5-6 or more cars, give yourself "outs", and never second guess your natural intuition.

I feel that some people, myself included, have ESP too. It isn't that we are able to read minds, but after so much riding I can just almost have a feel for traffic and know what people are going to do usually before they do. (goes back to keeping your eye down the road, gives you time to predict the reactions of cars)

where is the best place to learn how to do start stops? is it possile to lean on a 4wheeler i have no access to a dirt bike

A 4-wheeler won't give you the same thing as a dirtbike would... it sorta seems the same, but it's truly not.

Honestly, find a VERY empty parking lot and play around with starting and stopping and seeing how the clutch reacts to throttle and the like.

everyone i've ever met did say every bike goes down sooner or later. I've been down twice, one was dumb and the other was fun.

after riding for 9 hours straight after working fir 3 hours and being away for 15 also, no 10 mins + breaks, (i was also extremly sick with a flu)2 blocks away from my house, I stopped perfectly at a red light, but after 2 secs, I realized im falling over to the right, I instantly placed my right foot down and stood up while easing my zx6 down with my left arm. then i was on one foot while standing (right only, left in the air) my bike on my leg and i fell over. it was quite funny, because the cop at the intersections stopped traffic to help me up and laught with me. I forgot to put my legs down when i stopped!

the 2nd time = track, i dont know what speed, 3rd gear at 13 grand, i took a sharp left to fast, lost it and slide like a mad man. the suit saved my skin and the sliders saved my bike until it slid off the track then it filpped, I bought another 6 and parted out banged up tracker to the other!

beilive me, your body will love you if you invest in a suit and go down; you'll always learn from your mistakes.

a simple mis judgment can make you go down.

where is the best place to learn how to do start stops? is it possile to lean on a 4wheeler i have no access to a dirt bike

Personally, I think thats a really good idea. If you have a one with a m/t then you can get all the controls down first. Then worry about the power and balance.