[lafgas]

To all those that have helped me with my questions about repairing my bike I thank you. I would like to know if anyone has had the same experience as me. I put new stock Dunlops on my Hammer back in April. Had installed a Memphis Shades bat wing fairing at the the same time. Went out for a little putt to see how the fairing was set up. Put on my beanie helmet to check the air flow and all my riding gear. Armoured jacket, gloves boots, etc. Got 3 miles from my house on a beautiful day, entered a long sweeping right hand turn. Going 25 mph and then it happened. I have no memory for 16+ hours but it seems as though the new tires lost grip, slid for a split second, caught then threw me off the high side. The road was dry and clean. Could the new tires cause this? Because of the head injuries I have no memory of the incident. I would like to know if anybody else has had this on new tires. Thank you in advance.

 

[Tenax66]

Do you recall how much you were leaning at the time? First 500 miles on new tires I totally don't trust any tire until i've scuffed them..and really watch the lean.

 

[VicVisionBulldog]

Were they fresh on and not scrubbed in at all?

Not getting them scrubbed in well can cause loss of traction with a new tire.

 

[poppamark]

Excepting the obvious questions, like gravel ,oil spill, or hard front braking, are the arrows on the tires pointed corectly for the front tire,i.e. arrow facing toward the front of the bike.?

 

[jmstang302]

Are there tar snakes in the curve? A scrubbed in Dunlop will slide across a snake, nevermind a new cold one.

 

[waterhog]

To all those that have helped me with my questions about repairing my bike I thank you. I would like to know if anyone has had the same experience as me. I put new stock Dunlops on my Hammer back in April. Had installed a Memphis Shades bat wing fairing at the the same time. Went out for a little putt to see how the fairing was set up. Put on my beanie helmet to check the air flow and all my riding gear. Armoured jacket, gloves boots, etc. Got 3 miles from my house on a beautiful day, entered a long sweeping right hand turn. Going 25 mph and then it happened. I have no memory for 16+ hours but it seems as though the new tires lost grip, slid for a split second, caught then threw me off the high side. The road was dry and clean. Could the new tires cause this? Because of the head injuries I have no memory of the incident. I would like to know if anybody else has had this on new tires. Thank you in advance.

I hope you make a full recovery. A dealer once told me that one thing he sees all too often is a new owner riding off the lot on a spanking new bike than crashing just down the road. Because of new tires. I put on Avon Cobra's recently and the first 50 miles was slow scrubbing straightline and some toward the sidewall. The next 100 miles progressively more closer to the sidewall. Before 400-500 miles no scraping pegs.

 

[Poseidon]

 

[lafgas]

Were they fresh on and not scrubbed in at all?

Not getting them scrubbed in well can cause loss of traction with a new tire.

Yes the tires (front and rear) were brand new. I do not remember the lean angle, although I could have been leaning a bit. I was going slow through the corner, as it was the second ride if the year and first on the new tires. They were not scrubbed in at all 3 miles only.

 

[VicVisionBulldog]

Yes the tires (front and rear) were brand new. I do not remember the lean angle, although I could have been leaning a bit. I was going slow through the corner, as it was the second ride if the year and first on the new tires. They were not scrubbed in at all 3 miles only.

Then they most certainly could be the main contributing factor.

 

[Tenax66]

Yes the tires (front and rear) were brand new. I do not remember the lean angle, although I could have been leaning a bit. I was going slow through the corner, as it was the second ride if the year and first on the new tires. They were not scrubbed in at all 3 miles only.

Sadly, freak crap happens. I was going 25 mph on a 35 mph cloverleaf ramp after a light rain on my C90. I was intentionally going slow as i hate wet roads. Even so my michelin commander 2 rear tire broke loose in a big way on me and I almost dumped. As little lean as possible, a tire that most pple love, well scuffed in and no complaints about rain traction to speak of. I still don't know what happened for sure.

 

[Chopperbob]

This video explains that the tread compound makes a big difference in exactly WHEN your new tires will gain proper adhesion to the road.

If you put on long mileage, touring type tires, then they simply were not scuffed up sufficiently and lost traction. The longer mileage compounds take a long time to get scuffed up. Check out the video to see a properly broken in tire surface.

Glad you are feeling better and thanks for sharing your experience. A great reminder for us all.

 

[kaitiff]

Sorry to hear what happened man... my wife did a slow speed high side 5 years ago and got seriously injured. She was only doing about 25 as well. Going in a straight line trying to stop on a slight downhill just after a thunderstorm. Tires were almost to the point of being replaced so not exactly the same thing.. but in her case there was a fuel oil spill at that spot. 5 bikes lost it on that spot.. and I stress again we were only doing 25 in a 35 because the road was literally soaked at the time. I even back back afterwards when it had dried out and there as nothing on the road that looked out of place.

 

[nickr914]

To all those that have helped me with my questions about repairing my bike I thank you. I would like to know if anyone has had the same experience as me. I put new stock Dunlops on my Hammer back in April. Had installed a Memphis Shades bat wing fairing at the the same time. Went out for a little putt to see how the fairing was set up. Put on my beanie helmet to check the air flow and all my riding gear. Armoured jacket, gloves boots, etc. Got 3 miles from my house on a beautiful day, entered a long sweeping right hand turn. Going 25 mph and then it happened. I have no memory for 16+ hours but it seems as though the new tires lost grip, slid for a split second, caught then threw me off the high side. The road was dry and clean. Could the new tires cause this? Because of the head injuries I have no memory of the incident. I would like to know if anybody else has had this on new tires. Thank you in advance.

First, I'll preface this with I hate dunlops...
Second, I'll tell you I hate bias ply...
Third, you weren't putting the Spurs to it, so the questions I have are...

After accident report,
Length of riding experience?(0-5, +5years, +10, retread, aka stopped riding then started again)
Pictures of area?
Potholes, substances, or gravel?(at low speed all it takes in one 1/2" stone to drop your ass)
tire inflation, rear and rear?,
Curve direction?
Which side of the road was the bike found?
Where were you found?(distance from bike, and side of road)
Were there signs of another vehicle/animal?

You say they slid, then caught, then high side.... I hate to say, 25 mph, round a curve your at a very low point of the bike holding itself up(not completely stable yet)... I know anything over 15 it will go straight, but when you mix physics of cornering, leaning, speed, center of gravity, the bike will generally slow down, front tire receives thrust, rear tire lightens for lack of acceleration, can cause traction loss...

Low sides can happen at even good speeds on low traction surface, or front braking with an adjustment in curve. I had a low side many years back, went from a 55mph highway, right onto a gravel road round a corner... Lowsided cause I kinda panicked...

Highside happens at traction and grip loss then recovery, of grip with high torque, causing the high side, especially when the wheels aren't inline with each other....

So for the future, tires(no more dunlops, and radial if you can)
Scrub in the tires
Accelerate through the entire corner, all it takes, is +.01 g's to weight the rear tire, gotta move weight to the rear tire, acceleration(slowly twisting the wrist) does that, braking lightens the rear tire, weights the front tire..

 

[Spacecoast]

My last two bikes that I purchased I did not ride them home. My Yamaha FZ-09 came home in the back of my truck, and my Hammer S came home on a trailer. All tires were wiped down with a clean rag and mineral spirits prior to the first ride of the bike. It helps.

My last close call came during a slow speed right hand turn. I found myself going over a steel drainage grate bedded into the roadway as I was leaned. My rear tire slid some, but thankfully I didn't crash. It doesn't take much on the road to lose traction. Even a round stick or a small rock during a lean can spell trouble.

 

[lafgas]

First, I'll preface this with I hate dunlops...
Second, I'll tell you I hate bias ply...
Third, you weren't putting the Spurs to it, so the questions I have are...

After accident report,
Length of riding experience?(0-5, +5years, +10, retread, aka stopped riding then started again)
Pictures of area?
Potholes, substances, or gravel?(at low speed all it takes in one 1/2" stone to drop your ass)
tire inflation, rear and rear?,
Curve direction?
Which side of the road was the bike found?
Where were you found?(distance from bike, and side of road)
Were there signs of another vehicle/animal?

You say they slid, then caught, then high side.... I hate to say, 25 mph, round a curve your at a very low point of the bike holding itself up(not completely stable yet)... I know anything over 15 it will go straight, but when you mix physics of cornering, leaning, speed, center of gravity, the bike will generally slow down, front tire receives thrust, rear tire lightens for lack of acceleration, can cause traction loss...

Low sides can happen at even good speeds on low traction surface, or front braking with an adjustment in curve. I had a low side many years back, went from a 55mph highway, right onto a gravel road round a corner... Lowsided cause I kinda panicked...

Highside happens at traction and grip loss then recovery, of grip with high torque, causing the high side, especially when the wheels aren't inline with each other....

So for the future, tires(no more dunlops, and radial if you can)
Scrub in the tires
Accelerate through the entire corner, all it takes, is +.01 g's to weight the rear tire, gotta move weight to the rear tire, acceleration(slowly twisting the wrist) does that, braking lightens the rear tire, weights the front tire..

Thank you for your response,
I am 52, started racing MX in' 75. Been on a bike ever since so I consider myself an experienced rider, not saying I couldn't have done something wrong. I am only surmising that the tire or tires lost grip as it was a gentle right hand merge lane and I ended up on the outside of the curve against the median with the bike lying on me still running. All of the damage was on the left side of the bike. The gentleman who was first on scene and shut the bike off, told me that when he saw me entering the curve he had to look at the intersection he was passing through, and then I was down. It does not seen as though I fought it or tank slapped before I went down. Again, I have no memory of the crash and am trying to put together what could have happened. I ride this corner every day to work either on my Victory in dry weather or on my 1976 Dt 175 in the bad weather. My brother took photos of the scene and nothing of note stands out. It was a beautiful Sunday, roads were clean and dry so I'm a bit of a loss. Again, I thank you for the insights and will make every effort to break in the tires when my "Nuke" (nuclear sunset) is fixed.

 

[nickr914]

Thank you for your response,
I am 52, started racing MX in' 75. Been on a bike ever since so I consider myself an experienced rider, not saying I couldn't have done something wrong. I am only surmising that the tire or tires lost grip as it was a gentle right hand merge lane and I ended up on the outside of the curve against the median with the bike lying on me still running. All of the damage was on the left side of the bike. The gentleman who was first on scene and shut the bike off, told me that when he saw me entering the curve he had to look at the intersection he was passing through, and then I was down. It does not seen as though I fought it or tank slapped before I went down. Again, I have no memory of the crash and am trying to put together what could have happened. I ride this corner every day to work either on my Victory in dry weather or on my 1976 Dt 175 in the bad weather. My brother took photos of the scene and nothing of note stands out. It was a beautiful Sunday, roads were clean and dry so I'm a bit of a loss. Again, I thank you for the insights and will make every effort to break in the tires when my "Nuke" (nuclear sunset) is fixed.

Man, I can't even begin, I'm sure that hurt like hell, still prob does, about 700lbs left side....

Sometimes we wish there was a black box for the moments...

The brain is wonderful like that, protects us from painful moments...

Do you remember traffic wise, we're you slowing, or going up hill, maybe your tire locked for some reason and let go, a rock could have gotten in a pulley, did the bike backfire, flameout, comeback....

This are most likely things you won't remember, I wish I could help more.

These bikes make a good bit of torque low rpm...
Was your fairings still attached to the bike?

I would never state you weren't experienced or you did something wrong, I don't know you, never seen you ride. I was a retread, I quit riding after I went down in the gravel, didn't touch a bike again for years(Soo damn stupid)....

Had a situation last year, 7-4-2017, I rode with 3 people I never rode with before, I was uneasy, 2 guys I rode with, told me the plan for the ride, explained the one guy on permit rode to GA and back...
The ride was made up of, 2 sport bikes, 3 cruisers, and 1 touring bike.

We met at some parking lot (first bad sign), I like gas stations, just in case someone forgot fuel, or like me had to ride 40 miles to get there....
The two sport bikes we're leading(second bad sign)
I wanted to be cleanup, but the permit wanted to be in back, and his buddy was with him, moved me up to my buddy, second set right behind rockets.

Rockets left stop sign, my buddy and I left, back row left...
Make it to another stop sign,
Rockets go,
My buddy and I go,
One from backrow went, saw a blue car go by, other one was moving, buddy and I corner... Come round, see the one back row, rockets 1/4 mile ahead, buddy backs off, I run up, see buddy turn round, I turn round, come round corner, 2 cars stopped, permit in the ditch on left side of the road... Skid marks next to fog line straight across left lane(oncoming traffic) to dirt...
One big divot In The bank(his ass), he's laid up against ditch... Our 4th of July ride was 2.2 miles.... Then it was 3 hours on a closed road(police wouldn't let us go)...

No-one knew what happened, and he was out of it.... Cops didnt know what happened, drivers of cars didn't know what happened... No-one knew.

This is the one that rode to GA and back with 4 in this ride...

He was about 10 feet further from bike(zoom in will see the skid marks, right next to skidmark is where hard parts cut into the asphalt, then see bike.) Luckily he only broke some vertabrae in neck, some ribs, and a lil tiny bit of rash...

View attachment 492009

....
....
....

Year later, found out he was "changing his music" aka looking at his phone...

 

[Phideaux]

Thank you for your response,
I am 52, started racing MX in' 75. Been on a bike ever since so I consider myself an experienced rider, not saying I couldn't have done something wrong. I am only surmising that the tire or tires lost grip as it was a gentle right hand merge lane and I ended up on the outside of the curve against the median with the bike lying on me still running. All of the damage was on the left side of the bike. The gentleman who was first on scene and shut the bike off, told me that when he saw me entering the curve he had to look at the intersection he was passing through, and then I was down. It does not seen as though I fought it or tank slapped before I went down. Again, I have no memory of the crash and am trying to put together what could have happened. I ride this corner every day to work either on my Victory in dry weather or on my 1976 Dt 175 in the bad weather. My brother took photos of the scene and nothing of note stands out. It was a beautiful Sunday, roads were clean and dry so I'm a bit of a loss. Again, I thank you for the insights and will make every effort to break in the tires when my "Nuke" (nuclear sunset) is fixed.

From what you describe, it is plausible that a medical condition could have caused you to "black out" and the head injuries from the resulting accident could have added the long term memory loss. No skid marks from braking, low speed, familiar road; something major is missing. Please have yourself thoroughly checked out by your physician.

 

[Spacecoast]

Is it too late to look at the tires on the bike, or do they now have more ride time on them? If its not too late, see is there are any indications of slide marks, road oil, tar, etc.

 

[MagVic CCT]

It was the tires. I have always taken the time to scrub mine in right after installation. I prefer a good concrete surface for the job. I was reminded just how important it is with my last tire change. I got over a little more than I really wanted in a parking lot and lost traction just like I'd hit sand or fine dirt. Fortunately, I recovered and got the bike back upright, but it was a reminder of just how easy it is to slide a new tire. GET WELL.

 

[nickr914]

Well after this, I started think about the crazy **** I do, it's a wonder how I haven't highside a bike at least 4 times I can remember....

On my Yamaha vstar, I went into a corner extremely hot, I hung off the bike, grinding floor board, twisting the throttle, the bike was litterally twitching front move right, rear move right, front moved left, etc.... For all I know it was just the rear losing and gaining grip.. The bike felt like sooner of later it was going to go somewhere.. made it out of the corner and kept going, I have since slowed down for those signs unless I know the road...

Winter time, making a run home, ice rain falling, doing 55, line of cars in front of me, lead car hits brakes to slow to 35, I hit brakes, started a slide, off brakes over fog line, slid past the line of cars, then caught enough traction to get home... Kingpin

Winter time again, 18 degrees, running to Indian reZ, on highway over pass, doing 70mph, left corner, I was in left lane, hit an expansion joint, rear tire spun, I spun that rear tire and slid to the right side fog line(4 lanes) before it caught, and back to speed... Kingpin

Turned right up a turn steep hill after stop sign, road covered with wet leaves, wife on back, ass slid and caught, she bounced her foot on my exhaust(scared herself).. kingpin

Hell with the Vision I have one more, riding in the pouring rain rounding curves, ass end stepped out on me 3+ times.... I blame dunlops for that...

All I do in these situations is not let go of throttle(sometimes, even more throttle), look up and believe in the physics of the machine...

I think after my stupidity years ago, when I quit riding, nothing "scares" me any more, or I simply just stopped worrying about it...

Every day I wake up, is a good day, **** happens, things go bad, but still I have everything I need, and many things I wanted.