emergency action

[Bob Denman]

If you ever lay a Spyder down :shocked:; your troubles are JUST beginning to get warmed up... :yikes:

 

[Deanna777]

Head on a swivel and eyes always looking for the next threat. I say next, because they really do come one after another. Rider complacency can get you in trouble faster than you can emagine. It's a jungle out there and it's each of our responsibilities to look out for the lions.

:doorag:

:agree: Deanna777

 

[Gray Ghost]

Have to disagree, here in Australia in an advanced riding course a number of years ago we were taught the techniques of laying a bike down in an emergency. They supplied the bikes for this action. This action can actually give the rider some degree of ''control'' in an bad situation, and is better than slamming into the side of a vehicle or tree etc. It can also save the bike from some pretty bad damage.

I have taken the basic and advanced courses here in the US. Both highly discouraged laying a bike down. I have been down twice due to road surface issues, the road rash was the pits and the first time the only thing that saved me from getting really creamed was that the bike and I had the green light when we slid through the intersection during rush hour. I had a woman pull out in front of me on a city street once. I was still attempting to get away from her when we t-boned her SUV. My injuries were a bloody nose from faceplanting her side window, contusion on a forearm and sore muscles. I have no memory of the details of the wreck, my first memory afterwards was standing in the road and I had no road rash so I don't think I ever actually hit the pavement. If the same situation happened to me again while on two wheels I would still be trying to steer around or stopping rather than dropping it.

 

[Michael211_2000]

@JDSD1: Your Spyder is A LOT more stable than any 2 wheeler, and can STOP in a much shorter distance I believe too (ie: ABS brakes, a lot more rubber meeting the road but not that much heavier than a 2 wheeler)!

I've had to *emergency* stop mine 2 times in the past 6 months due to other drivers not paying attention... you stand on that brake pedal hard and hold on to your handlbars with all your strength. The Spyder *will* stop on a dime but you have to stay on it! If you don't believe me go find a backroad somewhere with no traffic get it up to ~45 or so then stand on the brake pedal (and seriously, hang on!). Also it will swerve much faster than you probably think it will, the DPS will kick in and the machine will nearly come out from under you (ergo, hanging on is REALLY important!).

Finally as always keep your eyes outside the helmet... know what's around you at all times, check mirrors to know what's behind you (as most all other vehicles will not be able to stop as fast as you can, if you have to emergency stop; that's even mentioned in your operators guide).

There's only so much you can do that's the bottom line. If you do get in an accident, yeah it's gonna hurt (or maybe not hurt at all, in the worst case). But a lot more people die in full sized vehicle accidents every day than any other vehicle type. Spyder accidents don't appear to be all that common.... but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that somebody!

Ride safe ya'll.

- Michael