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Damn lucky and I had my angel riding with me...
Riding with friends today and I was ripp'n it with my buddy through the twisty's. He got aways ahead and I got on it hard to catch up, and got in a mostly flat 40mph curve at 80mph...(dumb ***!)
I started real tight on the inside but it started drifting to the outside...fast. It took be across the center line and thank the lord no one was oncoming...clear to the white line on the opposite shoulder with only about 6 inches before the gravel shoulder.
Leaning and pushing...and probably not the thing to do...applied a little brake, but saved it and got it back. Coming out I was still about 70mph.
DAMN I was beyond lucky and blessed to be writing this tonight. I slowed down, learned a lesson...and cleaned my shorts.
A similar thing happened to me once, but not to that extreme. That was the last time too. When you’re getting that close to the gravel, it’s hard not to look at it coming up on you but as we all know, you go where you’re looking.. Glad you’re here to talk about it and kudos to you for admitting it to everyone.
Nice looking ride too 👍
I remember the first time out riding through the mountains in B.C , a real learning experience , some of those turns can be quite challenging . Myself and a buddy were heading towards Cranbrook , there is a spot where you travel through a small tunnel , on the other side , there is a sharp right hand turn . I was in the lead , going pretty fast , I held the bike on the center line , wasn't easy . I looked through my mirror and couldn't see my friend anywhere , looked over to the left and noticed my bud on the far side next to the guard rail on the opposite side of the highway , thank god there were no cars coming towards us .
He rides a breakout , so turning into a corner is way more of a challenge than it was for me , but yes , we both took that one way to fast .
I've been through that tunnel a few times since then , I'll never forget it .
Glad you made it out of that one , bet we've all had an experience that taught us a thing or two .
OP, laying a bike down or running head on into a vehicle coming from the other direction because you went into the turn too hot and couldn’t extricate yourself from that situation safely is one of the tragic outcomes for riders that don’t master the basics or get undisciplined. I routinely ride twisties and 50+ mph in a 25 mph speed limit can be done in a controlled methodical way. Here are my tips for next time you want to take sharp curves hot:
1. Practice taking curves without using brakes so you can understand proper speed to enter a curve and accelerate out of the curve. If I have to use brakes in a curve, it’s a personal demerit for me, lol. It’s always the rear brake if I do and never touch the front, just an old school habit for me.
2. Practice straightening the curve, outside to inside to outside. Try to draw a mental line and follow it.
3. Always look into the curve where you want the bike to track, never at the road.
4. Remember, the bike can lean a hell of a lot more than most bikers are comfortable with. If you really want to go all out, know how to push it down as hard as necessary.
Final comment would be, each curve needs a mental plan and practice till you don’t even realize you’re doing it.
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Whew!!!
