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ducati supersport close call 536


NinjaDoc
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2 minutes ago, Isaac's Papa said:

What the camera didn't catch is I saw his van nose out of the drive. He was just sitting there, barely creeping forward. So I closed in on the center line just as a precaution and then he just starts coming across the road. By then I'd already committed to the left side of my lane and didn't have much room to change my direction towards the tail of the van. I didn't want to stop so abrupt that I caused my bike to become uncontrollable, so I just let the rear slide while I carefully applied front brake pressure. In hindsight, I should have gone full hog on the front and let the rear come up. I would have stopped a lot sooner or maybe created room to shoot right and tuck behind him. Either way, it was pretty gnarly from behind my visor. I had less room than the video shows and missed a collision by inches. 

I'll study this vid some more and work backward from there to gain a better understanding of how to more appropriately handle a situation like this in the future. 

I would like to point out to @Tonik that my Ducs clearly have all kind of rear brake. Just sayin'...

Leaving a long black line with the rear tire won't help you any in tonik's campaign to convince you that your bike is now a harley. 

 

Glad you're ok, that was dicey, and honestly my biggest fear riding in SE Ohio. Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

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6 minutes ago, Isaac's Papa said:

 

I would like to point out to @Tonik that my Ducs clearly have all kind of rear brake. Just sayin'...

 

2 minutes ago, what said:

Leaving a long black line with the rear tire won't help you any in tonik's campaign to convince you that your bike is now a harley. 

 

Exactly. Now that it is a Harley it has plenty of back brake.  Well done @Isaac's Papa  You did it right because you didn't wreck. Second guessing how you should have braked differently is silly, if you are ok you did it right.

I will add:  ABS FTMFW.

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31 minutes ago, Tonik said:

 

Second guessing how you should have braked differently is silly

Not in my opinion.  Self evaluation is a crucial part of becoming better at anything, even if you're already at a high level of competence like IP.  Just don't forget to tell yourself "great job" for avoiding the crash.  

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3 minutes ago, Isaac's Papa said:

My first course of action is a better set of tires. Those Contis are way too easy to lock up and I've developed a habit of allowing the rear to do just that when I need to really get into the binders. Perhaps a grippier set may have offered me some more distance between my face and that van. 

I was completely convinced he wasn't coming out until he did. I wasn't mentally prepared for that maneuver. Near the end I just tried to get parallel enough to his van to gain some more runoff but he just kept going and ate up all of my road. 

Another funny thing is this whole incident looked completely different from my helmet. The chase camera certainly gives way for second guessing my actions, but with very little context as to what was actually happening from the view behind my bars. I find that pretty eye opening and will try to remeber that when I critique footage in the future. 

I will tell you that I had to get on the brakes really hard down at DG this year on our trip back from Krambones when we decided to skip the Cherohala. A jeep came over on me as I was passing him in a legal passing zone. Guy didn't check his mirrors and swerved out right as I was next to him. My front locked up and I felt the tire skipping a little on the road. The rear was up off the ground by that point so I find in emergency braking it's pretty much useless. 

 

I can't speak for traction on touring tires but the Q3's have been the stickiest tires I've ever had on any of my bikes. I still had control even after locking the front too which really surprised me after I realized what happened. I thought for sure that locking the front meant a quick trip to tucking and faceplant town... I guess if you release the brake quick enough once you feel it lock and get real lucky you can stay upright. 

 

As for re evaluating your actions after the fact, you don't have time to sit and consider all your options in the heat of the moment. It comes down to what your lizard brain thinks is the best bet in the half second you have before you react. In this instance, from your point of view, you were completely blocked. 

 

You could have anticipated the van would pull out - err on the side of caution rather than dismissal

You could not have anticipated that the van would continue across the road - he very well could have stopped dead or turned into the lane you were in opening up the left side of the road (where you decided to go to evade). This is where you have no control and this is also the part of the equation that determines the outcome. You could have course-corrected and stayed in your lane, but he could have stopped dead in your lane or decided to reverse and screwed you there. You could have hit the brakes harder, he could have turned and headed your direction, reducing the amount of distance you had available to stop, etc etc etc, coulda shoulda woulda. 

 

There's a right answer in the moment and a right answer written down in the motorcycle handbook. If you are able to open up the motorcycle handbook after the fact and read their version of the right answer, your answer wasn't necessarily wrong. 

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the whole episode lasted only 2 - 3 sec, u did the right thing Pauly. I thought he was looking generally in our way as well but kinda the driver was frozen or didnt even realize we were there, and he was just drifting across. As you said " need to get to church"  was his sole aim at that point. And again the camera makes it look like all things happened farther away and distant but the actual distance was less than 100ish feet, and you could have spit and hit the passenger despite full face helmet :D 

But this is better post event analysis, no artificial rage, no mirror breaking, no psycho drama scaring cagers ...because OR :challengeaccepted:

 

we ride fast, we take chances ... stats add up... numbers catch up... i say majorly out fault for enjoying this way on public roads and slightly his fault for having a licence. All in all good day of ride and lets try to push the envelope safely :)

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5 minutes ago, Tpoppa said:

Probably the wrong thing to do, but I might have stopped for a quick conversation with the driver.

shoot i saw this post after i typed and posted mine :) lol was not referring to your post T

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13 minutes ago, NinjaDoc said:

shoot i saw this post after i typed and posted mine :) lol was not referring to your post T

No worries.

Years ago (before cellphones) someone pushed me off the road on I480, and almost wrecked me.  It put me into a road rage like I've never experienced before, or since.  He got off on an exit about a mile later, I followed him parked my bike in front of his car...blocking him from getting off the exit ramp.  He wouldn't get out, so I dented up his door pretty good with my boots...in front of about 10 other cars.

Later (after calming the fuck down), I realized he had no idea he cut me off.  I'm actually surprised he didn't get the police involved.

 

Edited by Tpoppa
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Scary stuff for sure. Glad you made it through that okay without over reacting and locking the front brakes. Don't know how much front brakes you were using but the thing that counts is you stopped the bike in time.  It's hard to say what we would do in hind sight when split seconds are all you have.

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1 hour ago, Isaac's Papa said:

You'll notice my very slow roll right after it happened. I was talking myself out of doing exactly that. I just shook it off and let it go. I honestly hadn't thought much about it beyond Sunday evening when I discussed it with Lyns. Wiped it from my mind and then I watched this video and realized how fucked I almost was. 

I've been in this situation before. As bad as I want to stop and give someone a piece of my mind, I just tell myself "Mistakes Happen". It isn't the best explanation of the incident, but I try to give people benefit of the doubt. I think you handled the braking well. You didn't crash, so that's at least a passing grade, right? All in all, we learn from experiences like this, which makes us better riders.

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15 minutes ago, bmwnut said:

sorry to say but over the speed limit and assured clear distance??  Ride safe freind

Thinking assured clear distance deals with following another vehicle traveling the same direction as you. 

The van pulled onto the road and into oncoming traffic. 

Not sure about speed but those damn Harley speedometers are notoriously inaccurate 

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27 minutes ago, Killer_kaw said:

Thinking assured clear distance deals with following another vehicle traveling the same direction as you. 

The van pulled onto the road and into oncoming traffic. 

Right, unassured clear distance is for following to close, but it's possible an officer could interpret it differently.

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It's Assured Clear Distance FFS. Damn internet lawyers.

And it could most certainly be applied to the situation above if it could be shown the riders speed was excessive. It most certainly is not limited to following distance. We share partial liability in an accident if we do not have ACDA.

Edited by Tonik
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WOW.  Glad you're safe.  That was sure a pucker moment.

New Q3 Plus would be my suggestion on street tires.  Pretty darn sticky and new "plus" designation is reputed to have longer wear/mileage.  Prefer the Supercorsa's but they are shit in the rain.

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