Originally Posted by Tufel

In my head whenever I read or hear "I had to lay her down" I read or hear, "I lacked the skill to avoid the accident and panicked locked the rear tire and low sided my bike."

If you had the time to make a conscious decision to throw your bike down, you had the time to avoid the accident altogether.

Originally Posted by hogcowboy

I've NEVER understood why someone would not try to stop versus purposely lay the bike down. That has just made zero sense to me. I can see braking improperly leading to laying it down but to purposely do it???? I've always thought brake pads or shoes would have a better chance than metal but I guess that's why I'll die trying.

Originally Posted by Nomadmax

The difference is intent. Intentionally crashing may not be covered in some states or with some insurance carriers. If they covered damage or total loss from intentional crashes; what would stop people from armoring up and getting a new bike every couple of years?

The reason I posted the link is because there are real world reasons why someone shouldn't say to anyone that they intentionally crashed a motorcycle to avoid a POTENTIAL crash.

"I had to lay er down" is code for; "I wasn't riding defensively, looking far enough ahead or was going too fast on a road with intersections and a car pulled out in front of me (or looked like it was going to). I panicked, stomped the rear brake and low sided my motorcycle before I knew what was happening. I'm embarrassed by that because it makes me look like I'm not a skilled rider.

So, I tell people that in the blink of an eye, I realized an impending crash, weighed the lesser of two evils and decided the best thing to do was to crash the motorcycle on it's side to preempt the POSSIBILITY of a crash despite the fact that I could have scrubbed off more speed using the brakes properly while the tires were still on the pavement; minimizing impact speed or maybe even avoiding a collision altogether."


There it is. Tell your insurance claims adjuster that you intentionally crashed your motorcycle and you may wind up making payments on a bike you can't ride anymore, and probably shouldn't. What's worse is that this face saving lie that some people tell themselves is keeping them from seeing how they really crashed and quite possibly got injured. People post here all too often about "giving it up" or "too many close calls" never realizing that if you get the sh*t scared out of you fairly regularly when you ride, you probably aren't good at it. Get real training, read a couple books and really practice riding skills and proficiency. But please, don't mess it up for the rest of us who have to pay higher insurance premiums or deal with legislation trying to regulate motorcycle injuries or deaths.

If this made you nod your head in agreement or laugh a little, pass the word. If it p*ssed you off; it might be you.

Originally Posted by vaxt

The quickest way to "lay it down" is by grabbing a handful of the front brake.

While travelling in a straight line, I think that it is extremely difficult to "lay it down" by locking the rear brake. While in a corner is another story. The front or rear will do!

I agree that education, training, and practice are the way to prevent having to tell this sad lie.

Originally Posted by vaxt

The quickest way to "lay it down" is by grabbing a handful of the front brake.

While travelling in a straight line, I think that it is extremely difficult to "lay it down" by locking the rear brake. While in a corner is another story. The front or rear will do!

I agree that education, training, and practice are the way to prevent having to tell this sad lie.

Originally Posted by vaxt

The quickest way to "lay it down" is by grabbing a handful of the front brake.

While travelling in a straight line, I think that it is extremely difficult to "lay it down" by locking the rear brake. While in a corner is another story. The front or rear will do!

I agree that education, training, and practice are the way to prevent having to tell this sad lie.