Motorcyle crash to analyze

[Bob Denman]

Locking a rear tire is a sign of inexperience, On two wheels the front brake does 70% of braking power,
The rear brake should used only to scrub off some speed.

:agree: I missed that one... :thumbup:

 

[Raptor]

The car driver it at fault,
But the message here is, if your in any kind of traffic and riding a motorcycle you stay in left or right tire track,
So if the car behind you can't stop you can escape' But once you lock up your rear tire it doesn't matter you lose all control of the bike.
Locking a rear tire is a sign of inexperience, On two wheels the front brake does 70% of braking power,
The rear brake should used only to scrub off some speed.

I did not want to be critical of the rider's technique but you are correct, and it is an important point. That is one thing that would be different in that the Spyder has a completely integrated braking system so we don't have to worry as much about which tire has the best contact patch. Braking on a Spyder is almost a no-brainer compared to braking on 2. But when proper technique is applied it's not an issue. And if you dictate pace and use proper lane positioning it's not an issue at all.

Of course there are more times than not that I will power out of a pack rather than stay in a sitiuation that I don't find comfortable. You can tell right away how things are going in the group you are riding in, what people are doing in their cages and so on. If I see one fool on the phone or doodling with something or if the driver behind me has their head down and not paying attention I'm outta there! If you wait for trouble to happen it will eventually find you.

 

[bruiser]

I was on Columbus AFB in June. If I recall, we were required to wear reflective vests as civilians. Base commander is at liberty to augment the safety rules.

:agree:The commander has options. Here at Seymour Johnson the requirement is for the reflective line belt while ryding in uniform. I think the reflective vest is required on base 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise. I seldom ryde on base at night. But, as I said, I do have vest for night ryding. The MIL SPEC vest has a see through pocket on the front left side for ID cards. Each branch is differeent to. I've been on Marine bases that require a MIL SPEC orange vest for ryding in uniform or civies

 

[Bitten]

He didn't think quick enough and divert to the left shoulder as insurance.

Just wanted to add my $.02...
I live in Dallas - there actually is no hard shoulder on the (left lanes on the) Tollway...

Also, it was reported somewhere here (on a Dallas news source) that he passed the car that hit him earlier and they were dancing around in the car with their arms in the air like a bunch of kids, which I think they were.

 

[Magnum Force]

I knew the CR thing would surface sooner or later in this thread. One thing you learn when riding a sport bike or a sport touring bike is that they can stop faster than most anything you have ever riden or been in control of. My C-14 stops so much faster than my wifes spyder that it isn't even comparable. Knowing this the rider must be constantly aware of the vehicles behind him and position himself in the lane to give himself an out if possible to get out of the path of the vehicle behind him that is not going to be able to stop as quickly.
That being said I also wanted to touch on the leaving space ahead also. This is a topic I have discussed with my wife many times. When riding with our group of 4-8 bikes in traffic in multiple lanes what do you do as far as spacing. If you leave too much room the cars keep cuting into the bikes and this can be very dangerous. If you follow too close that can be also dangerous. You have to keep a distance far enough to be safe and hope that no fool in a car is gonna pull the squeeze play and try to cut in front of you. I don't think this is quite the problem with the spyders as 2 wheelers because of the width. On a 2 wheeler the cars think you only take up a couple feet of the lane they will use the rest and cut in.
These are all why I prefer to ride on country roads and to stay off of the freeways. NOT always possible though. All we can do is drive safe and be as alert to things around us as possible.