My first crash..

[nanobots]

Never thought the day would come, I felt so safe and secure on my bike! Until last night, decided to go for a small ride around the nieghbourhood even though it was raining out. Ive rode several times in rain, and noticed back tire wobbles abit when downshifting, so I figured its best not to downshift at all. Anyway, im riding on a slight downhill going about 50-60kmh, routine stop sign in the distance so i let off the throttle and lightly apply both brakes which gets me down to 20-25kmh, I kept clutch pulled in, but let off the brakes so i could roll up to the stop sign. Then to come to complete stop, i apply both brakes again, only this time I noticed my back tire shifting to the left of me!! I quickly let off all brakes, kept clutch in, steer straight ahead, hoping to regain control.....and the back tire kept sliding and ultimately the bike became unbalanced and toppled over with me. Bike slid about 3-4ft, i hit the ground.

Im just trying to piece together what I DID wrong here ? Grab to much front ? Too much rear ? It was such a low speed that I couldn't possibly imagine loosing control like that. I am totally fine, the bike kinda fell on my ankle, and is a little sore but no rash at all! I didnt even slide a centimeter.

I seriously am a little worried, something in my head tells me I should get new tires. When I got the bike certified,(ted) he said I got 20% tire threads left and should look into changing soon.

[SLaP]

Ted is in your head???

[rg0r]

Think you pressed the break a lil too hard making you skid.. Probably the rear brake

[nanobots]

haha no ted from roseytoes.

[jeffjones]

20% tread, rear brake and cold tires is not alot for rain riding. Sounds like garbage tires and too much rear brake to me as the culprit.
I personally never pull the clutch in and coast when coming to a stop regardless of the weather.
I had the same thing kind of happen to me yesterday as well but I hit a little puddle and hydroplaned and went to a wobble with the rear but I just let off the throttle a tad, but stayed on it and it wobbled back and forth maybe 10 times then straightened out.
Sorry to hear about your luck.

[GreyGhost]

Too much rear brake, locked the back tire and around it went. With practice this is normally controllable, now that you bike is marked up, try locking the rear wheel on gravel roads (while travelling relatively slowly) to get used to chasing it.

If you had locked the front wheel, it normally feels like it's tucking under the bike. When that happens you are normally going down (again, it can be controlled with practice, but getting that practice is painful and expensive). I suspect most people that have been riding for a while can deal with a sliding rear wheel, but the ones that can safely slide the front are in the minority (by a large margin).

[ike]

Good to hear you were not hurt! Just think of what might have happened if you had been at speed on the street, or on a highway and you had to brake suddenly - not a pretty scene.

It sounds as though you applied too much rear brake and overcame your tire's grip. Get a new set of tires - you want all the advantages you can get when conditions are not optimum. Do some internet research on different forums and see what other riders say about their tires - there are some tires that are a lot better than others on wet roads. Trying to squeeze a few extra km out of a worn out set of tires is just silly - you could be putting your life in jeopardy just to save a few bucks overall. You know you are going to need new tires soon anyway, so buy them now and then ride with confidence for the rest of the season. And... buy the best you can afford - your tires affect everything you do on the bike.

As for stopping technique - I very rarely (almost never) downshift to slow down for a stop. I stay in the appropriate gear, and downshift to first gear when I am stopped. The brakes are there for a reason - use them for what they were intended for. They are a lot easier to modulate than trying to use the engine to slow down and brake pads are a lot cheaper to replace than clutches. Downshifting to stop in wet weather is just asking for trouble. Get in the habit of using your brakes to stop every time - not the engine.

[wearelopey]

Watch Keith Codes Twist of the Wrist 2.

It'll teach you that by pulling your clutch in you had no forward drive, which would have essentially got your back tire to regain traction after you applied the rear brake. You never regained traction because you had no forward drive

In short you pushed too hard on the rear break.

Don't kill yourself over it. Keep riding and get better. Also get new tires for piece of mind!

[nanobots]

Attachment 26102Attachment 26103 This is on peter rupert, AFTER REVISITING the area.......

Thx for all your responses and tips. Quick question though, even though downshifting under 6krpm will it still cause damage ? On my zzr the redline is 14-16k.

[Dohhh]

Get yourself a cheap dirt bike and get out there and learn to slide that rear mofo all over the place then you'll never have this problem again.
I slide my rear for fun on a regular basis but before having a dirt bike was terrified to do it

[tyrn]

As for stopping technique - I very rarely (almost never) downshift to slow down for a stop. I stay in the appropriate gear, and downshift to first gear when I am stopped. The brakes are there for a reason - use them for what they were intended for.

So what happens when something comes up and you need to get out of the way and you're in 6th going 20km/h

Gears are there for a reason - use them for what they were intended for.

[whetaus-tr]

is the dirt more balanced ?

Get yourself a cheap dirt bike and get out there and learn to slide that rear mofo all over the place then you'll never have this problem again.
I slide my rear for fun on a regular basis but before having a dirt bike was terrified to do it

nanobots, what bike do you ride ?

[Dohhh]

is the dirt more balanced ?

nanobots, what bike do you ride ?

no, it just hurts less when you crash lol

[Maverick95]

In my dirtbiking experiences (and some street) I found that when u start sliding in the rear and it seems to be swinging sideways, let off all brakes if possible and give it a little bit of acceleration to pull out of the slide then apply the brakes when your back in control.

[Baggsy]

In my dirtbiking experiences (and some street) I found that when u start sliding in the rear and it seems to be swinging sideways, let off all brakes if possible and give it a little bit of acceleration to pull out of the slide then apply the brakes when your back in control.

Highsides are more fun?

Last time I did that downhill in the rain, it flipped me and a 650 pound bike, when the rear tire caught traction.

If you catch it early enough you're right. But how do you explain when early enough is?

[Maverick95]

Highsides are more fun?

Last time I did that downhill in the rain, it flipped me and a 650 pound bike, when the rear tire caught traction.

If you catch it early enough you're right. But how do you explain when early enough is?

I guess you have to experience the sliding a few times and then figure it out for yourself...