Back end got loose on the Interstate
OP, could have hit a reflector button or painted stripe right when you were goosing it. Glad you're ok!
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,167
Likes: 11
From: Belgium
Yep. Last winter, freezing temps, hit the road to go to my work, the highway being salted as usual, so no worries. I was riding at 75 MPH.
And then, on that bridge, with some side winds, a 15 yards (at least) long icy patch. The rear went sideways, I held on tight, countersteering as needed.
Almost wetted my pants, I have to say
And then, on that bridge, with some side winds, a 15 yards (at least) long icy patch. The rear went sideways, I held on tight, countersteering as needed.
Almost wetted my pants, I have to say
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
From: Hatfield, pa
Did something like that pulling out of a gas station. Must have gotten oil or gas on the back tire. Pulled out turning right,...hit the throttle and back ends starts to go sideways, ready to fall over. Without thinking I let off the gas and it came back up. Heart pounding like crazy.......
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,488
Likes: 30
From: Maryland near DC
I had the same sort of thing on my roadking the other day...but it was the front wheel hit something slippier when I was changing lanes and the front end slid sideways for a some 10 feet or so...scared me so tight I just about bit a hole in the seat...
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,525
Likes: 8
From: Wheeling, WV
I actually like that feeling "most" times when I'm throttling it.....I don't like it when I have a tire going down. 
I actually came sliding sideways full throttle out of the convenient store parking lot onto my main road a week or so ago just for the hell & it had been a while since I actually got to go for a ride. 
I actually came sliding sideways full throttle out of the convenient store parking lot onto my main road a week or so ago just for the hell & it had been a while since I actually got to go for a ride.
Advanced
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 59
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
Similar feeling I had on a Honda ST1100 (no ABS) while halfway through an IBA Great Lakes 100 ride a few years ago. In Canada, at night, two lanes, pitch black, good lights and a VERY BIG moose standing in the middle of the road just over a rise. Saw him just in time, braked HARD front and rear the right way but the back end slid out to the left. Kept it fairly straight and stopped 20' in front of the moose. He walked away slowly and I kept on riding.
Probably the only thing that kept me from hitting the Moose was riding within the braking distance of my lights. My next bike, BMW R1100RT, had ABS and I learned how valuable that can be when the unexpected happens. And no matter how good you are, the unexpected WILL happen.
Current ride is a '98 Road King Classic (no ABS). I've slid the back end out on purpose a few times to learn how hard I can break and still keep adequate traction/control. Going to new Metzeler 888 tires next month which will help slightly as new rubber generally does.
Black ice, wet leaves, tar strips...not to mention moose, deer and other hazards. As I get started riding this Spring (if the freaking snow ever stops in NE Ohio...) I will do my usual bike handling practice skill set in a big empty parking lot.
Edit : saw this here as I bought a Sportster for my wife this year, so I'm just learning about Sportster's....
ride safe.
Probably the only thing that kept me from hitting the Moose was riding within the braking distance of my lights. My next bike, BMW R1100RT, had ABS and I learned how valuable that can be when the unexpected happens. And no matter how good you are, the unexpected WILL happen.
Current ride is a '98 Road King Classic (no ABS). I've slid the back end out on purpose a few times to learn how hard I can break and still keep adequate traction/control. Going to new Metzeler 888 tires next month which will help slightly as new rubber generally does.
Black ice, wet leaves, tar strips...not to mention moose, deer and other hazards. As I get started riding this Spring (if the freaking snow ever stops in NE Ohio...) I will do my usual bike handling practice skill set in a big empty parking lot.
Edit : saw this here as I bought a Sportster for my wife this year, so I'm just learning about Sportster's....
ride safe.
Last edited by unclecurt; Mar 21, 2013 at 12:35 PM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,906
Likes: 11
From: Grottoes Va.
I had a front tire blow out on my old Triumph around 70mph. I got to the side of the road after some handlebar wrangling and smoked a pack of cowboy killers before I could call for a truck.
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Tourer
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 431
Likes: 2
From: St. Louis, MO
Could be bad wheel bearings. When I had bad rear wheel bearings, the back end would feel like it shifted a little and would slip slightly when leaning. Was a little unsettling when cornering. The locking would have only gotten worse if I didn't have the bearings changed right away.
-Beer
-Beer
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,051
Likes: 7
Tar snake, maybe? HATE those friggin things. Tar snakes are where they patch the road with tar, and it gets soft in the hot sun. It'll change conditions just enough to make the bike squirrel around a bit. Going around a turn and hitting a tar snake makes one pucker. Could have been oil as well.