First Mishap: Ditch @ 15kms/h

[Poustman]

Been a bike-owning rider for about 2 weeks.  Had my first mishap.  No injuries, besides a little to the pride.

6pm in Abbotsford.  Sunny, quiet.  Riding very sedately through the countryside, enjoying the sights of farmhouses and some of the serpentine roads near Sumas Mtn.

Stopped at a stop sign, I am signalling to turn left to go up a hill to where I vaguely recall from past drives (in car) that there are more quiet roads like this one.  Several other sportbikes have been by (I usually wave them past from behind me, as I am not testing the speed limit!) but the roads are quite empty.

I go into the intersection and begin my slow but relatively sharp turn left, when I note a fairly large patch of fine sand and gravel where my front wheel is about to turn.  I have a brief mental image of the front wheel sliding out, so I straighten to widen my turn.

Uh oh.  

My momentum and I guess my 'line' are now right towards a ditch.  I'm still thinking about sand/gravel beneath, and the need to turn, and my balance is being pulled outwards.  I feel the ditch coming and try to hold it.... I straighten up just before the front wheel enters...

but my balance...
is...

OVER
                and into the ditch, where the bike mushes into the mucky weeds and stops.


Glurgh.

Another guy on a bike is there in less than 5 seconds.  I'm extricating myself from the bike, weeds (thorns!  thank goodness for full leathers) and huffing up the ditch and he is standing there offering me a hand and making sure I'm ok.  An SUV stops with a couple (bikers it turns out, too) who dismount to help.  A nearby guy on a John Deere mower powers over and we all agree that while John Deere's truck could have my bike out in a jiffy (SV100S, 410lbs dry) it might damage something, so we'll muscle it out.  After some wrestling we get it out, and besides a bunch of muck and stalks of grass, it is fine.

The only damage actually occurred then:  I was leaning awkwardly on the windscreen as one of the others held the back, and crack!  Broke a chunk off.  Sigh.

So besides being muddy and thoroughly humbled (which is never a bad thing) that was my first mishap.  Thanked everyone, and they all set out.  Another guy on a bike stopped to make sure I was ok.  I rode very quietly for a bit longer to get the mud off the tires, and headed home for a hosedown of bike and self.  

Had a service appt early this next week, so will make sure nothing more was injured.

[coho]

Well, that's out of the way.  You'll probably tip over again, but it'll never be the first one again.
Good on you for getting back on and keeping a positive outlook.

On the up side, you now have an excuse to try out something in an aftermarket windscreen.
 

[miles]

You could have done far worse for your first off.  I'm glad you were wearing protective gear, and I'm glad the whole thing happened at such slow speed.  

Might I suggest that next time you go ahead and try riding across the sandy patch?  If you do it correctly, nothing untoward will happen.
A good first step in that direction is aiming for sandy spots while travelling at decent speed and in a straight line.  The bike might move around a little bit, but it'll regain its proper line the moment you're back off the sand.  When you're comfortable with that, try hitting them in gentle turns at moderate speed.  Again, the bike will move a bit, but nothing bad should happen, as long as you stay very smooth on the controls.  Eventually, they will lose their ability to intimidate you.

[stw]

Pride heals.  

You'll be back on the road.

One thing to remember about an off like this, but where the bike appears to be fine, is to give yourself a minute and look over the bike before you get back on and go. Riders sometimes want to hurry off--pride, embarassment--and don't notice important stuff like broken off brake levers. You want to notice that before you go and not next time you're braking.

[veefer800canuck]

Could have been worse, glad you're ok and your bike is relatively unscathed.

And practice, practice, practice. I had a 1-2 MPH drop in a parking lot when I was first riding on the street with a full-size bike, so after that, I went and drilled and drilled on low speed manouvering in empty lots.

Tight circles with handlebars at full lock, stopping in a straight line momentarily without putting feet down, backing the bike up a slight incline, etc, etc.

It's paid off over the years.

[Poustman]

Thanks to all for very good points.  I was asking myself, 'what can I learn from this?' but am still so green I could hardly think of anything, besides 'learn to ride!'  

Your specifics on what and how to learn are much appreciated.

[Mac]

Your first off is very similar to mine. I was following a friend who was teaching me to ride and got too confident. I took a tight corner without enough lean and went wide and off the road at about 15mph into a big mud puddle. The bike and I were both filthy and smelly with mud, but it all washed off, no damage to me or my bike. I did get a really cool nickname, Mudslide.  

[Poustman]

Thanks Mac!

[TriumphTiger1050]

Hey, it happens!  For motorcyclist it is not "if"; it is a "when"!  Those who think not are destined to and their egos to become in check!  

Glad you did the only minor damage you listed!  

[kevin_stevens]

 

The second thing you do in an accident (after hitting the kill swtch) is to grab a camera!  Newbie mistake.  

KeS

[gradus]

Thanks to all for very good points.  I was asking myself, 'what can I learn from this?' but am still so green I could hardly think of anything, besides 'learn to ride!'  

Your specifics on what and how to learn are much appreciated.

When you were heading toward the ditch, you likely target fixated on where you didn't want to go - and ended up where you were looking.  (I only skimmed the thread - so I could be off)

[FiremanBob]

Others already gave the good advice. I'm just glad you're ok.

[jfurf]

Take it easy on the SV1k for a little while. It's a pretty "easy" bike to ride fast but with a bit over 100 hp it can still get away from you!

 

[garry]

When you were heading toward the ditch, you likely target fixated on where you didn't want to go - and ended up where you were looking.  (I only skimmed the thread - so I could be off)

I was going to post the same thing. IMO, one of the most important skills for riders to develop is to train their vision. Target fixation is usually bad (you look at the thing you want to avoid), but if you pick good targets, like the clean bit of road through the gravel, your escape route in a bad situation, or your turn-in point for the next turn, it's good. It can be really really hard to force your vision to the good target when there is a bad target screaming for your attention.

So try to look where you want to go, and look farther down the road. The other common mistake is to watch the road right in front of you too closely, which increases your sense of speed and that increases your anxiety with the perceived speed.

[FirstVtwin]

I broke my windscreen back in the day.  Just caught my glove on the corner of it, and broke off the corner of it....about 5 or 6 inches worth.  I found a two part plastic super glue and gave it a try.  That stuff held the corner of the windscreen on for 5+ years...and felt stronger than than new.  

[cbsnbiker]

Thanks to all for very good points.  I was asking myself, 'what can I learn from this?' but am still so green I could hardly think of anything, besides 'learn to ride!'  

Your specifics on what and how to learn are much appreciated.

That's an excellent question to ask yourself. I encourage you to continue to explore it.

Here are a few thoughts to help you continue with this process:

• Where were you looking while performing the maneuver?
• Is there anything you could have done differently before you started riding? (For example, how could you have missed the sandy area?)
• Once you were riding, what could you have done to keep from riding into the ditch?

I hope this helps.

[Poustman]

Thanks again, all!  I've noted out some [lean/countersteering/when to accelerate and when not] elements of cornering that I am slowly starting to practice into motor memory status.  I think my mishap had much to do with allowing my mass to move outward rather than thinking about keeping it inward.

I probably did fixate on the ditch, although I kind of think I was mostly looking at the front wheel in disbelief that the bike wouldn't turn.  Under stress I had no reflexes to rely on, and my conscious thoughts were bewildered at what to do.

Seems to me that is probably the #1 thing I'm currently aware of:  I have almost no repertoire of instincts, except for the most basic things, and the speed of analysis and application is way too slow for any utility during a crisis moment.  Gotta drill!

[cbsnbiker]

Have you taken any motorcycle safety courses or private lessons? If you were in the U.S. I'd recommend that you take the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course.

I'm afraid I don't know much about what's available in Canada, but there are courses available up there.

If you happen to live close to an MSF course in the U.S., you might find taking the course worthwhile.

[Poustman]

Yes, I took the full course with Action Motorcycle School in Langley, BC, spring of 2010.  Got my license immediately.  Took a year to buy a bike; the delay is certainly a factor.

[cbsnbiker]

If you feel like it, there is an MSF site in Bellingham, WA. There may be one even nearer. You could take the BRC2 (formerly known as ERC -- Experienced RiderCourse) there if you like.

[Poustman]

Thanks csnbiker;  I am looking forward to taking an Experienced/Advanced Rider course soon.  I'm almost to 2000kms ridden now, and I sort of have a goal to hit 3000 before I do that.  (I've looked up one such program and my understanding is they want applicants to have at least 3000kms riding experience or 1 year.)

[Mastros2]

 

The second thing you do in an accident (after hitting the kill swtch) is to grab a camera!  Newbie mistake.  

KeS

Trust us!  It is funny by the next day! Glad you were ok.  

[Justin]

Starting with something a little less torquey than a SV1000 might have been prudent too  

[Poustman]

Have now passed the 3000kms, and after a ride from Abbotsford to Whistler along the Sea to Sky Hwy am getting much more comfortable with cornering.  Am registered for the Advanced Rider Course with Westcoast Superbike School on Aug 2.  Very much looking forward to it.

@Justin: No doubt!  But having found a great deal on what was my secret heart's desire for a bike I couldn't say no. That ditching was hopefully the light spank I deserved for such hubris.