Why am I falling off my bike?

 Hi,

I came to motorcycling late (45) and passed my UK test in March 2008.
I ride a Suzuki 125 with a top speed of 60mph. The bike is nippy
enough for local trips but was tiring for a 120-mile round trip. I'm
happy with it.

I had been incident free until last week. In the past week (December
2008) I have come off twice. Both times I was taking a 90 degree
corner. Now it may have been something on the road such as oil but I
suspect there is something about my riding style that's the real cause
of the problem. However, I don't know how to go about finding out what
the problem is and correcting it.

I suspect my riding style because a couple of times when I braked, but
did not fall off, I felt the back "twitch". Could it be I used too
much back brake? I'm only suggesting that because I can't think of
anything else. When I fell off I don't remembering feeling a "twitch"
but everything happened quickly so I may not have registered it.

Luckily the falls were at low speed and no-one else was around. I
haven't broken anything nor fallen into the path of another vehicle.
However, I feel I'm riding my luck. I want to keep on riding but I
want to minimize the risk of this happening again. I realise one is
always vulnerable to a fall or impact on a motorcycle.

Thanks

Clive

 

Respect your rear brake pedal, use the rear brake lightly and use the
front brake more, but release the front brake smoothly before leaning
into the turn.

It's very common for inexperienced riders to use too much rear brake
and
slide the rear tire. It happened to me more than once.

And you shouldn't be braking hard whilst leaned over. Experienced
riders do employ what is called "trail braking" to tighten the radius
of a turn whilst leaned over, but that is not a good technique for
newbies.

There is also the possibility that your rear brakes are locking due to
mechanical malfunction.

You can *see* if the rear lever arm on a drum brake is sticking after
you release the pedal.

The brake dust would have to be cleaned out of the drum and the
operating cam lubricated.

It's not so obvious that a rear disc brake caliper is sticking, but
the same thing happens, too much rear brake in a turn can throw you
down.

Road salt and brake pad dust build up around the caliper piston, and
you can sometimes flush it out with aerosol brake cleaner.

 If you're going to ride like that, you should fasten your seatbelt.

--
Jack

 
Don't brake when cornering. Brake first, lean the bike in, power
round.

If you didn't brake when in mid-corner, then go in slower.

Finally, the roads in Britain have been utterly foul these last few
weeks. Cold and damp, so slippery, and covered with rotting leaves
(which are as slippery as oil), and streaks of mud, grit and God knows
what. And what appears to be a clean dry road won't be all the time,
as where the sun (what sun?) hasn't got to it, it'll still be damp and
covered with cack. Tyres don't warm up properly in these conditions
either. So use the brakes with care.

That's it.

 


The list of hazards includes the lines painted on the pavement.
They can be VERY slick when wet and one tends to dismiss them as a "hazard".
Use both brakes a little instead of one a LOT.
How's the tread on your tires ??