How do you lay down a bike in an emergency?

Someone talked about laying down their bike to avoid an accident in a different thread. Just yesterday I had a situation where I had to get on the brakes rather quickly. After giving the 4 wheeler "The Look" and continuing down the road I started thinking about 'near misses'.

I have only 3 years riding experience, to me it seems that avoidance of accidents would go as follows:
1) Don't get caught in a bad situation.
2) Quick stop.
3) Swerve to avoid harm and avoid swerving into harm..
4) Lay the bike down.

Which leads me back to the title of this post . . . .
How do you lay the bike down properly?
Obviously you want to go low side and stay low side. . . What's the secret to doing this?

 

I would think rear brake and turn the bars.

 

The secret is...don't bail and lay the bike down...That's called "HAVING AN ACCIDENT"

You practice braking in to shortest distance possible. If you can't stop in time, laying a motorcycle down is not going to help you stop any faster. The coeffiecent of friction between asphalt and aluminum/chrome/plastic/skin is not greater than tire traction. Which means it WILL take longer to stop. And no, surface area doesn't affect those numbers.

You did the right thing getting on the brakes rather quickly, and avoiding an accident. I believe the secret to a low side (and I've only done this once...and not on purpose and not using this method) is losing traction while trying to turn (i.e. trying to brake and turn at the same time, which is a big no no).

 

Just took the MSF course last month and this is one of the things they talked about...do not purposefully lay your bike down.

Your bike will not stop any faster doing this, and then not only do you keep going, but your bike keeps going turning you into a hamburger.

 

Laying down the bike is ususaly a result of braking hard with the bike at an akward angle.

A few years ago I saw a Police officer "lay" down his bike. A 4 year old girl ran out in front of him to get a piece of candy. He swerved, locked the brakes up and the bike stoped and he didn't (the bike was only going 5 to 8 MPH). His actions probably saved the little girls life. He ended up with some scrapes and a hole in the knee of his pants. If he would have just laid the bike on its side it would have slid right into the girl.

The only reason I could see to lay the bike down is if something is going to cut you in half if you don't.

 

Which is also why, in the MSF course, they make you pass a rear brake only skid test. To lock the rear wheel and keep control so you don't lay it down.

 

Agreed, laying the bike down can only be a good idea when it gets you out of a worse situation like sliding under a semi trailer or if it leads to you avoiding a head on collision. Once your in this position you no longer have ANY control meaning you will slide in the last direction your velocity was taking you.

I firmly believe every street rider should ride on the dirt with a dirt bike and practice accident avoidance and emergency braking in that environment-wearing full gear of course. This will teach you how a bike will behave in these situations and create 'muscle-memory' which has the best chance of saving your tail in an emergency.

Your best bet to stay alive and intact is to use your perception (be constantly aware of your surroundings) and to think ahead. Like a chess player always be interpreting what might happen and what your best way will be to avoid a bad situation.

Stay safe brothers!

 

Yup. Lock the rear wheel? Keep it locked, or you risk a high side crash.

 

"Laying it down" is an old time myth that still for some reason has survied to this day.

Proper braking technique and accident avoidance should keep you from having to utter those words. Or you can just say you dumped it and be done.

You will stop faster on the brakes and in control than you will laying down and letting fate hever her way with out at momentum

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlMbFlPzS24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTn7iisA ... ure=relmfu
one guy tried to save it one just laid it down, who came out ahead?
i'am 100% with MercuryMan, it's just another tool you learn in the dirt.
if you know how to do it it's a controlled crash. a highside on the other hand is never pretty

 

Polock, I don't think those two videos are comparable to the situation at hand. Both lost traction in a turn, but neither were "trying to avoid an accident." One just got more lucky than the other.

And I think I've seen comments on that stretch of road, about the camber of the turn being wrong, causing the loss of traction.

 

Lowsides aren't always that pretty - -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-k0yD- ... ure=relmfu

Keep a mental evaluation of the drivers around you, when in heavy traffic.
Only trust people driving in "zombie" mode - anyone who jockeys for position, you KEEP in your mind that they WILL run you over.

Stay the HE!! out of the way of anyone merging onto an expressway!!

"Quick Stop" - don't stop, but a good jab of brakes will put the Idiot in front of you, where you can now watch him/her.

This man in his '70's stopped to talk to me about his last ride.
He was on a cloverleaf, entering I-4, leaning over, full throttle, and the bike got away, washed out, and he slid UNDER the trailer of a Semi, he held on as the bike hit the inside curb and stood back up. Then he parked it and walked home. Old guys don't lie. I still ride. 8)

 

BINGO!!!

My answer to the original question was going to be: "You don't. You learn to properly use your brakes and how to steer, not just lean."

 

neither were "trying to avoid an accident.".......really? so maybe they were trying to do that?
Fitz, when my peg is dragging and the back tire is a foot out of line, is that a front or back brake situation? hint, i'am turning right

 

Don't confuse "Trying to get into an accident" with "Not trying to avoid an accident." They're not the same. Except to say that they were taking the turn too fast on "not a track" and therefore, were trying to get into an accident.

Neither were trying to avoid an obstacle. No deer or stopped traffic (or moose nor oil tanker i.e. things to slide under). Neither even tried to brake. They lost traction due to their entering the turn too fast, revving down a bit, and unloading their suspension. Heck, the lowsider seemed lucky that he had less clearance when he lost traction.

If you're dragging a peg on a public road, then your mistake is treating a public road like a track. Once you get yourself into a "no win" situation, it's just fortune (and maybe the decision to wear proper gear) that will determine whether you walk away.

The advice for the OP is still the same. Learn to brake in the shortest distance possible. Always be prepared to stop, don't enter turns, especially blind ones too fast. Don't brake in a turn, straighten up first. Wear full gear. Laying down a bike will only be applicable on a dirt or race track, not out in a public street with cagers around, and even then, it's probably more about avoiding a high-side and sticking with the bike then actually deciding to "lay it down." All of the people in the videos could have avoid those accident by simply going slower, and not riding the limit of their traction.

 

lets say your on a off ramp stopped 5 cars from the light, slight downhill
grade turning left to a slight uphill to a 4 lane 45 mph road.
road looks normal, slight dark strip in the cagers center, lets go.
at the point i let the clutch out in second, 20-25, the back wheel comes around 45 deg, hit the back brake, nothing, held it on at a 45 till almost stopped, let off the brake and drove away, pulled over and found grease in the tread of the tire.
had i been going 45, knowing how to lay a bike down would have come in handy. no race track, no pushing the limits, no obstacle,
it's not about getting into a situation but how to get out of a situation.
laying it down is just another way

 

I laid my old CB 750 down once. I was pulling away from the curb, *right* as I did, some idiot jaywalker who was looking past me at cars in the street bolted out into the same gap I was pulling into. I saw him, he didn't see me, even though he was on the same side of the road. Anyway, it was more a matter of: since I'm already turning (going from parked perpendicular to driving parallel) and leaning, I can't stop without putting my foot down. But I'm moving a little too fast and the bike a little too heavy for that, so I jammed on brake and "laid it down" due to laws of physics. Luckily that bike had been set up for touring, wide floorboards, so it didn't really make it all the way over onto its side. Guy glanced at me as he ran by in front, clueless, like "huh, why'd that bike fall over?"

 

If I ever deliberately laid down a bike on the road "to avoid an accident"I would consider that an admission of failure on my part as a rider

 

Not necessarily true. 99% of the time that is true, but depending on speed/skill level/angle of the bike vs. direction of forward motion, not always true.

I agree that riding a dirt bike properly and with lots and lots of practice can help a rider on the street save the bike in certain situations. Been there, done that. I also agree that the sun shines on a dog's @ss every once in a while. Sometimes it pays to be a skilled rider, and sometimes it pays to be lucky.

Practice and experience on any bike that you will be riding is what gains you the skills necessary for proper bike control.

In some situations where the bike is going down, i.e. too fast in a corner, it may be a good idea to lay the bike down so you don't high side and end up landing on the top of your melon. A butt cheek is easier to fix than a cracked skull. Not saying that you won't get hurt, just that you may minimize the damage.

I'm 36 years old, and I've been riding for 30 of them. Spent the first 15 years on dirt and raced moto, so I've had my fair share of mishaps, accidents, and good ol' fashion crashes.

But I've never layed it down to avoid one.

 

I crashed last spring at 60 kph and there didn't seem to be anything productive about it!

I do like the way that "laid down" makes crash sound self serving and intensional but the truth is that hurts, you and the bike regardless of meaning to or not.

I would advise that you do your absolute best to keep the shiny side up and the rubber on the road, it would be a very rare situation were giving up control of your ride is the better option and when the time comes to "lay it down" we should all be so lucky for it to be by choice.

Shaun

 

Interesting how your hypothetical situation actually involved you keeping the rubber side down and not crashing. You stuck with the bike and avoided an accident. Skilled riding indeed.

I "laid my bike down" at speed and I wouldn't call it getting out of the situation. Handlebars were so bent up I couldn't have limped it home even if my left wrist wasn't sprained. I do agree that if in an accident, a low slide, where to slide until you come to a stop, with full gear on is about the best accident to have. But if there's ANYTHING in your way, a sign post, curb, car, tree, etc. and you hit it at speed you are going to be breaking bones or taking on some major hemorrhaging. It just doesn't seem like a risk worth taking with braking is still an option.

Now I can believe that "laying the bike down" is an effect strategy for dirt bikers, because the dirt "moves" when sharp objects jams into it. Moving the dirt actually bleeds off kinetic energy rather quickly. The road doesn't give, so you won't bleed off any speed faster than relying on the tire traction. That low-sider video had the guy run off into the dirt and stop quickly. I doubt he planned that move based on the environment, and it's been said before, if you don't have time to brake, you don't have time to make a decision like that.

 

ok, we got off the topic, the question was how to lay a bike down. everyone answered the wrong question. the bike will lay itself down, the important thing is what to do if it should, god forbid, happen.
if your on the back brake, don't let off. don't get your leg trapped under it. hang onto the bars till sparks fly. try to slide on your back/butt,
feet first, avoid rolling. when you stop, stay down unless your in immediate danger, adrenalin will want to make you jump up, maybe hurting yourself worse.
now we can have a constructive discussion

 

I can agree with that whole statement .

I'll add too that you'll also want to get up to make sure the bike is ok. No matter what state you're in. a noble concern, but stick to not moving. I didn't notice my injured wrist until I tried to bend my handlebars and couldn't. So I tried to use my FEET. You're in a weird state of mind after an accident.

And holding on and sliding is MUCH easier and less painful with motorcycle gear.

 

The dirt doesn't "give" either, take it from someone who knows what "dirt rash" is at 50+ mph. Full racing gear, CR250, fifth gear, high RPM, endo. It was a good thing I had the mind set that "pain lets you know you're alive" when those wounds got cleaned out.

To expound on Polock's explanation, you pull in the clutch, lock the rear wheel, when the bike starts to slide sideways you just kind of lay down and back on the low side, make sure your leg doesn't get trapped under the machine, and hope like hell nothing is in your way, or directly behind you.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlynbyEs ... re=related

Here's how it's done - - he makes it look so easy. 8)

 

Well he practiced that maneuver many times before any obstacles were there-of course he made it look easy. He also had a controlled environment, truck moving at precise speed, water down for a predictable slide, etc. But it was still nicely done.

+1 to to not moving too quickly after an accident. I hit a rut around 35mph in tall grass on my enduro and hit the trail hard, then slid helmet first towards a small pine tree. After hitting said tree head first and spinning around it, I jumped up to tell my buddies I was ok, but at that moment the tunnel closed in and I collapsed. I was more sore the next day from folding my leg under me as I collapsed than I was from the wreck!

 

What a load of crap that video is, it was a carefully co ordinated stunt.

In real life you'd be plastered over the side of it or under the wheels the chances of laying it down and getting it exactly right to slide under it would be pretty much zero

Anyone done any advanced riding courses? did they teach you about "laying it down?"