down in the wet

OK, I dumped speed from 90 to 50, changed into the turning lane,
straightened up and applied some front brake. Wheel locked so I
released and re-applied gently feeling for the brake. Next thing I
know I'm watching the bike slide along on its left side in front of
me. Safety gear worked well.

The bike is a 2009 Honda 750 shadow, the road was wet and surface
irregularity was not a problem.

Now, WTF happened and what can I do to avoid a repeat when the bike is
fixed?

DM

 

1: You applied too much front brake.
2: Learn not to use the front brake in the wet or,
3: Buy a sidecar or,
4: Buy a used Mitsubishi

I have heard they have not got such good brakes and take a while to stop

 

Possibilities:

Too much front, not enough rear brake?
Oily/greasy road surface?
Sand/gravel on road?

Without a video it'd be hard to tell. Tell you what... when the
bike's fixed again, wait for some wet weather and repeat the stunt,
this time getting a mate to video it. Put the video online and give
us a link to it. I'm sure one of the experts here will tell you what
you're doing wrong, in no time flat.


=================

Onya bike

Gerry

 

Suburu (also not great with brakes), and solve the last two problems
in one!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacelama/5028957515/in/photostream/

 

Add to that wrong tyre pressure in the front tyre.

Fraser

 

How much was it for sale for? I quite like it.

Fraser

 

$4700 from memory! I was tempted by it too, as were half the other
attendees. It sold quickly.

 

Yes, but what did you think of my video idea?

=================

Onya bike

Gerry

 

Not surprised. I'd love something like that painted in nato olive drab.

Fraser

 

If I repeat the stunt in front of a video camera I'll definitely post
a link here before I send it off to jackass!

Thanks for the pointers everyone, I'll be practicing my braking
technique and getting a good balance of front and back before I
venture on the highway in the rain again.

Shouldn't be a suspension issue, and tyre pressure was checked only a
couple of days before.
My fault, not the bike or the road.

Hopefully I can address that.

Cheers.

DM

 

On 05/25/11 6:14 PM, DM wrote:

<cough> ...err, the idea of checking tyre pressures is to find out if a
tyre is loosing pressure.

It is best done just before you ride the bike.

regards,
CrazyCam

 

I take the point. Since its obviously so critical for my life and limb
I'll have to get myself a pocket pressure gauge rather than relying on
the compressor at home.

Thanks for the tip.

DM

 

While on the GPX250 I had a similar accident at lower speeds but was left
asking myself what I did wrong.
In my case it was an unroadworthy rear tyre that was under inflated.... 1
day after picking the bike up from service.

Also I was way to heavy on the rear brake.
This was something I did not realize I was doing until I got the vstrom
with abs.
I have found if I lock the rear up it tends to work it's way to the front.

Good thing the PPE worked!

 

It seems the OP didn't need any advice after all, Cam. Sucked in !

Nev..

 

I appreciate Cam's advice. I have a compressor at home, but I don't
always sleep at home ;-)
A pocket tyre gauge might help me keep an eye on things if I'm away
for a few days.

DM

 

I appreciate Cam's advice. I have a compressor at home, but I don't
always sleep at home ;-)
***************************

Maybe that was the problem in the first place, you decided to have a sleep
while you were riding your bike

 

Could be a while before I'm relaxed enough to fall asleep on a bike. I
reckon I'll revert to the white knuckle stage for at least the first
few times when I get it back.

DM

 

I don't always sleep at home either. Sometimes I wake up and watch TV
for a bit.

 

[applause]

betty