A personal example of how full gear can save your ass!

[z06boy]

Originally Posted by dubbs

woops.. I knew i missed it somewhere, just couldn't find it.

[OTB]

First off, SHit! how did i miss this thread... and DLIT, I am so sorry.

I am going to take a WAG (wild-assed guess) about the cause of the crash.

You said that in the transition from left to right the front end just "went away"; without more details it's just a guess, but bikes like the R1 (short wheelbase, little rake, short trail) can do a little "pogo" type thing where when you've popped from full lean to full lean side-to-side the suspension unweights for a second at the top of the transition.... a lot of it has to do with if you are trail braking or on throttle and in that photo, it appears that the direction of travel is slightly downhill which also contributes to the unweighting on the front.

Doesn't take much at racetrack speeds. Rushing even slightly downhill causes the vectors to change NOT in your favor.

Just guessing without more data. But I've lost the front in similar situations on bikes i was familiar with, on roads I "Knew".

[DLIT]

Originally Posted by OTB

First off, SHit! how did i miss this thread... and DLIT, I am so sorry.

I am going to take a WAG (wild-assed guess) about the cause of the crash.

You said that in the transition from left to right the front end just "went away"; without more details it's just a guess, but bikes like the R1 (short wheelbase, little rake, short trail) can do a little "pogo" type thing where when you've popped from full lean to full lean side-to-side the suspension unweights for a second at the top of the transition.... a lot of it has to do with if you are trail braking or on throttle and in that photo, it appears that the direction of travel is slightly downhill which also contributes to the unweighting on the front.

Just guessing without more data. But I've lost the front in similar situations on bikes i was familiar with, on roads I "Knew".

Not a bad guess. I wasn't trail braking. I just use my lean to scrub speed off if need be. But you could be right. I still think I should've felt some feedback. I was already leaning right. Who knows. Important thing is I'm here still. I'll proly never ride street again. I don't have fun unless I'm hauling ass, but I can't risk getting that lucky again. My gear and a metric fuck ton of luck saved my ass.

[101lifts2]

Originally Posted by DLIT

..... I'll proly never ride street again. .....

Yeah you will. Give it time. You need to find a road thats a slower pace with quicker turns. Of course then you'll have to move back down to a 600.

So....were you at least faster than this guy you met?

[DLIT]

Originally Posted by 101lifts2

Yeah you will. Give it time. You need to find a road thats a slower pace with quicker turns. Of course then you'll have to move back down to a 600.

So....were you at least faster than this guy you met?

I still have my R6. And I'm the fastest guy I know on the streets. But I highly doubt I'll ever ride street on a sport bike again.

[azoomm]

Wow. So relieved you're still with us. Shit, those pictures are incredible.

Heal quickly and completely...

[julie j]

That is one hell of a story. Glad you are still here to tell it. I hope you heal quickly!

[Dnyce]

damn...but hey u still here, so put yourself back together, hit the track. dainese was money well spent

[ericr]

Just had a thought, you haven't mentioned it(or I missed it)...do you wear a seperate back protector or was it just the suit (whatever pad it has)? Wonder if a back protector would have helped or if it was from flipping (getting twisted) over the curb that got your back.

[DLIT]

I wear a Dainese back protector. You can see scuff marks from where it broke through the flexible leather by my lower back. It definitely helped while sliding, hard to say if it helped with the curb. I took the curb on my side. It also helped while I was tumbling down the hill on my back, too.