PLEASE READ THIS!

[my98xplorer]

I know this isnt the right forum for this, but i wanted to get as many people as i could to read it and this seems to be the most popular forum so here it goes.

Me on my GS1100, my friend on his GS850 and my dad on his Hayabusa went for a ride last night. My dad was first, my friend second and me last. We were almost to a small city called Bartow when I noticed that my friends back wheel was locked while we were going about 60mph. The back end started swinging back and forth and the road was wet. I hit my breaks, locked up the back myself then let off. My friend went down at about 40-45mph and i managed to fly around him. He slid about 150-200 feet and came to a stop with his bike in the other lane. The shaft locked up for some reason which locked the back tire, which made him lose it. Luckily he was unhurt, thanks to his gear. He was wearing a jacket (which the arm has road rash on it) some Suzuki pants with armor in them, also rash on them, leather gloves, and a helment. Luckily we were the only people on the 4 lane road or it could have been really bad. I dont know if you guys wear gear or not, but hopefully to those of you who dont this story will change some of your minds. Think about it, if my friend wasnt wearing gear, he could be seriously hurt or even dead, but instead he got up and walked away. I know everyone doesnt wear gear, but hopefully this will get to at least one person and it could possibly make a difference one day.

[jtcrespo]

Glad everyone is okay! Not enough can be said about wearing proper safety gear.

[Jethro]

Glad everyone is okay! Not enough can be said about wearing proper safety gear.

I second that. With warm weather coming, we should all remember that the trade off of comfort for saftey isn't worth it.

[my98xplorer]

Glad everyone is okay! Not enough can be said about wearing proper safety gear.

I second that. With warm weather coming, we should all remember that the trade off of comfort for saftey isn't worth it.

I live in Fl and still always wear jeans, jacket and helment. I need to get some gloves. It gets hot, but its worth being a little uncomfortable if i go down and can walk away from it.

[duaneage]

As someone who drove a 82 450L into a datsun many years ago I can tell you that I don't care how hot it is I wear what I should. I flew over the hood and onto the pavement and not even a scratch on me.

The 450 died unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Glad everyone is okay... that sounds scary as heck.
Note to self: check your shaft oil on Saturday!

So what's the proper technique in your situation? Obviously your friend's rear was locked and not unlocking! But what about you?

If I remember the MSF class correctly, they said that if you lock the rear, keep it locked or else when you let off and it 'catches' there is a good chance of high siding it. Am I remembering correctly? But what about locking the rear on a wet road? Should you hold it locked, release it?

I only have about 6000 miles under my belt and would like to hear how some of the more experience folks would have handled this situation in an optimal world.

[duaneage]

They tell you to stay locked but at high speed it can be dangerous. I watch a friend wipe out hard when his rear locked. The weight shift and the feeling it gives is very strange and if your not ready for it you overcompensate.

Personally, I think a locked wheel means no control. I prefer to have both wheels turning than one. In the wet this makes it worse since a locked wheel will not channel water like a moving one will.

Just pray you never have to deal with it.

[luc8421]

I just recently took the MSF, and they were assuming that your rear wheel was locking up while you were coming to a stop, so only about 0-25mph. if it starts to go sideways, you'd want to keep it locked, or you might high side they say. although if it's locked in a straight line, I'd just as soon unlock it and reapply lighter rear brakes.

its the only thing I didn't like about the MSF course, yes you should always have a proper working bike, but stuff goes wrong, and they never really said anything about things going wrong, like a rear wheel locking up at freeway speeds.

[my98xplorer]

Glad everyone is okay... that sounds scary as heck.
Note to self: check your shaft oil on Saturday!

So what's the proper technique in your situation? Obviously your friend's rear was locked and not unlocking! But what about you?

If I remember the MSF class correctly, they said that if you lock the rear, keep it locked or else when you let off and it 'catches' there is a good chance of high siding it. Am I remembering correctly? But what about locking the rear on a wet road? Should you hold it locked, release it?

I only have about 6000 miles under my belt and would like to hear how some of the more experience folks would have handled this situation in an optimal world.

When i locked up my back tire, it was only locked for a split second so my bike didnt get sideways at all. I was able to let off without anything going wrong luckily. It was relly scary, and you have more miles under your belt than i do, but i think i did the right thing. I let off the rear then reapplied it with less force, while of course cranking down on the front without locking it too. It something i will never forget, seeing a friend of 12 years sliding down the road. Ride safe, wear your gear, and keep your bikes maintenance up.

[feelergaugephil]

I fully agree with the clothing issue, even more having to be dispatched to motorcycle/car accidents, road rash is not the best!
Here in Louisiana it gets extremely hot and sticky, In summer (slowly upon us) it can get to over 100 degrees plus, it's toooooooo hot for leathers and other protective clothing.
Protective clothing is like my bullet proof vest! In Summer I was working a huge accident on I12 and I had to direct traffic, well, after 20 mins in direct sun I passed out, mainly due to my vest, bullet proof vest DO NOT VENT, they keep the heat in.
When I was living in U.K I always wore my leather jacket, moreover, it kept me warm.
So, I'll take my chances with my sweatshirt and jeans, as I am not sweating my a$$ off in 100 plus heat.
But! I do wear a full face helmet though!

[my98xplorer]

So, I'll take my chances with my sweatshirt and jeans, as I am not sweating my a$$ off in 100 plus heat.
But! I do wear a full face helmet though!

I understand it gets hot, but there are many options out there. My jacket has vents in it and while you are riding it feels great, wind blows right through and its probably cooler than your sweatshirt. I like you wear jeans also, i want to get some pants with armor in them though. Like the saying goes, "dress for the crash, not for the ride"

[Anonymous]

According to Hough, a riding suit actually keeps you cooler in high temperatures. I used to ride 50 miles to work everyday, and I had a full-body suit that a friend lent me. Like xplorer said, it had vents, and cooled really well. I gotta get me another one of those.

[duaneage]

Light colored leathers are a good compromise. If you think it is hot riding , it is even hotter sliding on the ground.

[Hoomgar]

I need pants. I still ride in jeans. Everything else is covered well.

[Anonymous]

Back in 86 in Virginia Bch, Va. I, my girlfriend (on my bike) and friend of mine went out for a day of riding. It was raining off and on that day so we were all dressed in extra gear and stuff (buddie was wearing 2 pairs of jeens. We had just taken off from my place and my girlfriend and I had come to a blind T intersection and stopped, I was watching for my bud in the mirrors and noticed that he seemed to be coming up way to fast, next second he shot past us and out in to the intersection, right in front of a car! Of course physics and science say that two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time, they were right. He got T boned and sent sailing over 60ft to 75ft. I cannot tell you the emotion or gut wrenching feeling you will get when you see someone you know drilled like that, you just can't describe it. I don't remember or recall the exact cause of the accident but I believe that it was mechanical failure of some sorts. The only thing that saved him from being called gimpy, was the fact that he was wearing 2 pairs of jeans. When the car hit him it crushed his left leg between the bike and car and the jeans kept it all together instead letting it be severed. I know that it took over a year to recover and that he was never the same again. I also took a spill outside of Knoxville Tennesse on interstate 40 that same year, I was traveling to LA and had been riding for WAY TO MANY hours (16 or so with stops for gas only) and I guess I was starting to ghost ride cause I dont remember the last half hour or so leading up to the accident, but the truck drivers that stopped to help said I would have been fine if the interstate had continued on straight but you know how interstates are, the gotta be all winding an stuff (lol) anyway I ran off the road and into the center median and came to a stop just a few feet from an overpass support. The truckers said that I skipped along the ground in a head stand for quit a ways, which explained why when I stood up I couldn't see from all the dirt and grass and crap that was stuffed into my helmet along with my noggin. I was lucky. Had I not had leathers and helmet I probably wouldn't be around, had I been expierenced enough I wouldn't have been riding still after that many hours but I was young and dumb and thought I could do it. My point in all this is, proper safety gear may save your life when your primary safety gear (you know, that thing we call a brain) fails you. Glad to hear your friend was fine, hope he has learned that maintanance is an absolute must, although yes you still can have a failure even then.