Did you drop / fall during your BRC?

[vulcanbill]

Discuss.  

A friend of ours just took some harley honey class.  She dropped the bike during the class.  She got a sportster (which actually seems like a really good fit) and she dumped it on the way home from her first ride.  Don't have details but she's fine.  Maybe she'll work it out.  Not sure our style of training would ever be accepted but will try.  They're 5 hours away though.

Think there's a correlation between dropping it in the class and being a less than stellar rider later?  

[sleazy rider]

Whatever happened to starting on a smalleR, cheaper bike and actually learning to ride first?    

[bluepoof]

I dropped the bike during the BRC.  

I'd never driven anything with a manual transmission before and didn't pull the clutch all the way in when I came to a stop.  The bike stalled and I dropped it.  

Arguably, given how many times I dropped my SV650S in its first year or two, this may prove the points in both of the above posts.

[Kat-Rider]

I almost dropped mine in the BRC.  The only boots I had at the time were my steel toe work boots.  The toe got wedged under the brake when I had to stop.  I had to fight and twist it out to the side while I came to a wobbly stop.  
I had issues with the figure eight also.

[Kat-Rider]

Also most BRC courses are in parking lots that are open on weekends in evenings.  Why not invite here to meet you there so you can help teach her the skills she needs?

[jay547]

I dropped the bike during the BRC.  

my daughter did too.

when i enrolled her, i asked if she should practice first. they said that they preferred the rider to have zero riding experience.

[naustin]

I tossed the bike down the range!

In the fast corner lean exercise, I was dragging peg/boot harder and harder. Slowing in the straight to create spacing and then accelerating to build as much speed as possible through the corner.  Eventually, I got hard parts on the ground, levered the rear tire out of grip, and tossed the bike down the course.

I got up grinning like a fool at the faces of the terrified ladies taking the course.  

Gotta know where the limits are, and I was happy to crash someone else's bike to find out!

[scotteroni]

Discuss.  

A friend of ours just took some harley honey class.  She dropped the bike during the class.  She got a sportster (which actually seems like a really good fit) and she dumped it on the way home from her first ride.  Don't have details but she's fine.  Maybe she'll work it out.  Not sure our style of training would ever be accepted but will try.  They're 5 hours away though.

Think there's a correlation between dropping it in the class and being a less than stellar rider later?  

It may have.  When people lose confidence in their abilities it usually sets themselves up to keep repeating it in the short term or avoid it all together. Hopefully she's not giving up on herself.  A lot of people start off on smaller lighter bikes 200cc- 250cc ( dr200SE, Xt250, ttr250, etc) on back roads and upgrade as their confidence and abilities increase. These bikes can be had used for $1000- $2,500 all day long and can be resold after a few months or year later with no lost value.  Basically use it for free. If she's stuck on learning her skills on the Sportster, do her a favor and recommend practicing figure eights, stopping and starting, slowing down in corners and riding over dirt and gravel in a protected are such as a big parking lot for short periods of time frequently. IMO, A new rider  should master the basics of controlling their particular bike before they are able to deal effectively with the distractions of driving on public roads with other vehicles, road conditions, signs etc,  

Just a couple questions.  Which level Harley training did she get? Was it boot camp or something more extensive?

[KLRchickie]

During my training course they had an exercise with cones set up right beside a low concrete wall (foundation from a demolished building - 8" high maybe?).  After several times of negotiating the obstacle, *knowing* that you ride where you look, I managed to object fixate on the damn wall, hit it, and go over the handlebars.  Bruised a kneecap through my armoured pants . 

I did drop my bike several times over the following months, but they were all no-speed tip overs on uneven surfaces - I chose to start riding on an un-lowered KLR 650.  Top-heavy pig that I couldn't flat foot liked to slip away from me at gas stations.  I learned to handle it (and also lowered it ) eventually.  Now I only tend to drop bikes in the dirt, that's pretty unrelated.

In *my* case - no - I can't say that dumping it in my course was any indication of future challenges. 

[bluepoof]

I did drop my bike several times over the following months, but they were all no-speed tip overs on uneven surfaces - I chose to start riding on an un-lowered KLR 650.  Top-heavy pig that I couldn't flat foot liked to slip away from me at gas stations. 

Exactly my issue too (not a KLR, but the same problem of top-heavy bike and no-speed tip overs).  I used to carry duct tape and black nail polish in my tank bag because I was pretty much guaranteed to need to tape a lever back on and touch up the bar end paint on most rides.  

[ScottB]

A buddy of mine whom I took my BRC with hit the ground pretty hard in a 40-50 kmh corner during the course, on one of the road training days. We've been riding the same amount of time, and I have to say, he's still pretty tentative 5 years later.  I don't think of myself as an excessive risk taker but when we go riding through the mountains he always waves me by.  He's a very safe rider, however, so I wouldn't say he's a poor rider.

[Cablebandit]

Gotta know where the limits are, and I was happy to crash someone else's bike to find out!

You should not be approaching the limits of anything in the BRC class.

May I borrow your bike to test it's limits?  

[naustin]

You should not be approaching the limits of anything in the BRC class.

It was an old UJM 250 of some kind.  The soles of my boots (old Dr. Martens) were beveled on the outside edges from dragging on the ground.  I don't know what the deal was - I'm 6' 170 lbs, so it's no like I'm a giant...  Maybe I should have been hanging off in the turn.  

May I borrow your bike to test it's limits?  

Hell no!

[Pitts2112]

I dropped a Sportster in my BRC about 14 seconds after getting on it.  And it was a brand-spanking new one, too.  Less than 20 miles on the clock!  

They're exceptionally top heavy and I wasn't ready for that.  I got on it, rode about 50 yards, came to a wobbly stop and, before I could get it stabilized, it leaned past the point of no return and down it went.  I dropped it later doing the uturn, as well, but have had no problem with slow speed maneuvering since.

The Sportster looks smaller so many people think it's an easier Harley to ride.  I disagree.  It's very top heavy and has a bear-trap clutch.  I almost think a Dyna, with a lower CG, makes a better bike for less experienced riders.  Still not a beginners' bike, though.

[dc]

I dropped a Sportster in my BRC about 14 seconds after getting on it.  And it was a brand-spanking new one, too.  Less than 20 miles on the clock!  

They're exceptionally top heavy and I wasn't ready for that.  I got on it, rode about 50 yards, came to a wobbly stop and, before I could get it stabilized, it leaned past the point of no return and down it went.  I dropped it later doing the uturn, as well, but have had no problem with slow speed maneuvering since.

The Sportster looks smaller so many people think it's an easier Harley to ride.  I disagree.  It's very top heavy and has a bear-trap clutch.  I almost think a Dyna, with a lower CG, makes a better bike for less experienced riders.  Still not a beginners' bike, though.

Um, Dude, you didn't ride a Sportster in a BRC. You may have ridden one (yours) in an ERC but not a Beginner's Rider Course, they are limited to under 500cc bikes.
And as far as drooping the bike in the BRC, looking at it dropping it after, sure, if you've developed the habit of looking down, grabbing the front brake etc. yeah, you're going to drop it. It'''s no big deal, everyone drops their bike, and those that say they didn't are lying. Keep practicing.

[sfalexi]

I actually wish US had a program like the aussies with graduated mc licenses.  I think it'd help a lot of folks learn better and deter the "i wanna busa" crowd that only want one causee they think their buddies will see them as cooler.

I can't believe a sportster is considered a "beginner" bike by some.  That's like giving a brand new driver a mustang gt.  except two wheels are harderto learn.  Can't drop a car at a stop, can ya?

Alexi

[viffergyrl]

Oh hell yes, I dropped the Honda Rebel 250 in my first BRC. At my second BRC 10 years later, I did not drop a bike. At the ERC (BRC II) I did not drop a bike (I was riding my own, a Sportster). I dropped my RT plenty of times as that was quite a jump from the Sporty to the RT. But now I know a few more things and haven't dropped that one in awhile.   I've bobbled my VFR a couple of times and scratched the paint up. Eh, it is what it is. It usually pisses me off when I drop my bike so I try to learn something from that. Guess I'm stubborn that way.

If ya ain't burning, ya ain't learnin'.  

PS The Sportster is top-heavy and is not a beginner's bike, IMO.

[caddydaddy]

I waited until after a few years of riding, then dropped my more expensive bike!    I blame it on ice though.  

[Smoker]

I had a young woman in class just this weekend that dropped her bike 3 times before exercise 4. The last one was pretty spectacular, she held the throttle open while it was going down, then released the clutch. Pretty sweet donut. Fortunately she wasn't hurt, she jumped away from it like a cat. She left after that one.

Sad part is, her boyfriend had just bought her a brand new 250 Ninja.  

[viffergyrl]

Dropping the bike separates out the wannabes from those that are serious.... It didn't scare me that I dropped my bike; I knew why - I screwed up!   And I can fix that.