DJ Downunder wrote:
You may be right but that pic was taken after the bike was dragged from the bushes.
DJ
Yes it was, but the edge scuff was still there as was the scuff line between the worn part of the tire and the edge scuff. It was not under maximum cornering traction when it fell over. This discussion has probably gone as far as it should go. I won't have any more comments on the topic. I don't mean to discredit FNFALMAN or his riding technique and another poster is correct that I was not there. I have dropped a few in my 39 years. I've run out of brain, I've run out of nerve, and I've run out of skill, but I've never run out of motorcycle. In every case there was an input change that I could have made that would have changed the outcome. One technique that is very hard to come to terms with is that when you are overcommitted in a turn, the best response is often the application of throttle. If you are too fast and trying to turn and slow the bike at the same time you will use up front traction and ground clearance in a hurry. The application of power (not engine braking, but power) will raise the suspension which adds ground clearance. It also unloads the front tire which is probably near or at its traction limit and pushing the bike wide. It adds load to the rear tire which is probably underloaded, and if you happen to slip the rear tire with acceleration it will point the bike further
into the turn. Conversely, sliding the front tire widens your turn track. The keys to maintaining control are to unload the front so it has traction available to steer and to increase ground clearance so there is more lean angle available without grounding out hard parts. Sometimes you just ain't gonna save it, but when a bike crashes anyway under these conditions of maximum possible force applied in an attempt to turn the bike, the damage tracks are observably different from one that has simply lost the front end. I've seen skilled racers simply lose the front end. It don't make them feel good but they know what they did wrong. They didn't run out of motorcycle. The key to learning what to do different next time is to fully understand how it all went bad. Engine braking won't put power on the ground, sport tires won't increase cornering clearance, and a sportier bike will probably just fly off the road at a higher speed.
I'm glad FNFALMAN wasn't hurt and his bike came out ok. It's a chance to go to college on the accident. Blaming your golf clubs doesn't improve your game. - Lee
