I suppose if you knew you were going to do it ahead of time thats all fine and dandy, but in the real world, it doesnt work that way. Most get offs are of the unplanned kind, and most of them involve involuntary seperation of bike and rider. Id say yours was of the maybe 10% variety where you may actually be able to make a decision as to weather or not or at what time to let go......

Something to keep in mind: Sometimes guys riding time has nothing to do with their ability or knowledge....
Im not saying the guy YOU knew didnt know what he was talking about, but not everyone does.....

and i agree with that, but i do thing that there is a proper way to lay down a bike but you don't think about it when you are laying the bike down

i was thinkin that when u go down, u dont really have a say in where u go, cause i u did then u wouldnt have gone down in the first place. so im saying that if u go down. u do what gravity makes u do. theres not gonna be a time to react. try to stay behind the bike!

In some instances you can avoid going down but it's a fine line. Like going off line in a corner or getting into sand,gravel or grass sometimes you can ride it out. But if your going down get the hell away from the bike and enjoy the flight or slide before the sudden stop.
Helmet, gloves, leathers, boots can make it a more pleasant LEARNING experiance.
PEACE

Depends on the bike.

What's been said here is true about sport bikes or dual sports, but some cruisers have chrome "crash bars" that will allow you to stay on the bike and let it, rather than you, take the punishment. I've gone down twice on a bike equipped this way and I lost a little skin on the outside of my hand. Other than that, not a scratch.

The point here is not to argue about which is best; depending on the situation and the bike, either answer might be right. The point here is to THINK. Be aware of your situation and your surroundings. KNOW if you're about to slide under a dump truck, into a light pole or just slide down the road. In other words, pay attention.

Originally Posted by DarthQuagmire

i was thinkin that when u go down, u dont really have a say in where u go, cause i u did then u wouldnt have gone down in the first place. so im saying that if u go down. u do what gravity makes u do. theres not gonna be a time to react. try to stay behind the bike!

What did you do with all that free time that you saved up by typing u instead of you? Just joking...

This thread is killing me - can't, hold out..... any longer.

Seriously, I would focus on two things here.

Practice looking through your corners - it takes concious effort! Practice, Practice!!

And if you think you are are too hot coming into the corner - lean some more (or hang off the bike a tad). You might be surprised how far a sport/naked bike can lean over safely.

Granted, laying the bike can (and sometimes does) happen. Prepare yourself to "get through the turns" and making it a natural reaction to handle the situation would be better prep work, IMHO.

Originally Posted by Berto

Practice looking through your corners - it takes concious effort! Practice, Practice!!

And if you think you are are too hot coming into the corner - lean some more (or hang off the bike a tad). You might be surprised how far a sport/naked bike can lean over safely.

And don't PANIC.

After seeing this post I just had to add my humble opinion in here, the last time I rode (back in 1998) was on a '85 Honda Shadow 500cc. I too was involvled in a "lay down".

I was going 40-50 mph on a road posted 35 when I came to an S curve, I approached the curve and started to turn when I got nervous that I was going to fast ( I know should have slowed down more/sooner, hind site is great) I knew I was going to hit the ground so I decided that the grass looked much softer to hit, so I quickly did a controlled hard brake and got the bike down to 18 mph when I hit the soft gravel on the side of the asphalt, then the handle bars did a "jerk" and the next thing I remember is being on my feet trying to get my "stupid helmet off" so I could breath (I had the wind knocked out of me).

After talking to the police officer he estimated that I did an end-over-end 5 times before the bike stopped and seeing as how when I "came too" I was standing next to the bike the officer figures I was on the bike the whole time.

I received a hole in my helmet (not so stupid after all) and grass stains on the bottom of my forearms because my jacket sleeves got pushed up (ya lucky, and smart equiptment: helmet, jeans, hi-top steel toe boots, jacket but not a "riding" jacket) nothing broken, but bike was trashed. But like others have said bikes can be replaced.

Morale of the story is, sometimes you can't think about the bike, in my case I was "blacked out" so I was as limp as you get, but also unable to think about what the bike or myself was doing. IMHO a crash once set in motion, is just an uncontrollable act that I for one plan on doing my best to NOT repeat again, but I am listening to the other posts just in case.

My crash was doing 60Km/h following too close when the guy hit the brakes for no reason.

i went over the bars right before the bike slid into the trailer hitch of the van. I remember hitting the ground thinking that wasn't so bad. then I realized the van behind me(i landed in the lane beside where I was riding) wasn't going to stop so i moved my legs outta the way. I hopped up real quick after that.

Let's just say the road rash on my Knee and a totalled mesh riding jacket were a hell of alot better than if i'd hit the trailer hitch with my bike. Bike was $4000 to repair and i was sore for about a week.

The best part is my charge of following too closely was dropped in court cuz I wasn't on the bike when it hit the van!!!

Yeah and anyone who says it's too hot to wear gear, Get a mesh jacket from Joe Rocket with the mesh pants. Saved my Shoulder and back and it feels like your not wearing any gear

Originally Posted by streak07

So I'm getting pretty good with riding but haven't had the "pleasure" of dumping my bike yet. I know all the sayings about if you haven't been down you will be so I'd like to get some info. A lot of people say they sat on the bike after it falls and kind of rode it out. How do you move your legs to do this so one doesn't get crushed? Where do you put your hands so they don't get jacked up? My father went down at very low speeds and now has pins for life in his hand so I'd like to avoid that. Where do you grip?

It's not like it's something I want to practice but I know it would be good to know if it ever does happen. Any info or links to info would be appreciated.

I've been down very hard(drunk hit me head on)20 years ago and I just went down nice an easy on my own last week. I think your momemtum pretty much decides what you can do. getting away from your bike is most important because if it hits you after you hit the graound it can do some damage. If you have riding gear on just let gravity and momemtum carry you until you stop and try not to get run over by anything including traffic and your bike.......

I have to say, I also just started riding and have been bombarded with stories of "Oh I remember the time my bike slid out from under me blah blah blah" more times than I care to remember.

One story, however, stuck with me. It's the voice of my father telling me, "Son, I've been riding for 30 years, and I've been racing for 15 of them. I have never, ever, EVER put a bike down. And there is no reason why you should either."

I have to say, I havn't yet. Just ride a little slower, look a little farther ahead, and plan a little further in advance. Who knows? Maybe we can all ride for 30 years with no accidents...

Originally Posted by Ryne002

i wanted to bring this back up, contrary to what others say, i take back what i said.

THERE IS A PROPER WAY TO DUMP/LAY DOWN A BIKE

from what i understood listening to a guy who has been riding longer than i've been alive he told me that you are suppose to hold onto the bike until you get to a point where the bike will always be ahead of you then you are suppose to basically tuck and roll off the bike.

+1, also I find that frame sliders protect your bike as well as your legs. I lowsided my old sv1000s in a 90 degree turn, when the bike hit the ground I was able to pull my leg out from under it because of the frame slider propping the bike up.

It happens real fast so you probably wont have time to put your hands down (which is a good thing), make sure to get away from the bike if you can, ROLL, not slide, and above all else BUY THE BEST SAFETY EQUIPMENT YOU CAN AFFORD.

Originally Posted by Snebber

Yeah and anyone who says it's too hot to wear gear, Get a mesh jacket from Joe Rocket with the mesh pants. Saved my Shoulder and back and it feels like your not wearing any gear

In hot weather, the Cortech GX Air Mesh jacket is a really nice compromise to perforated leather. It has armored leather panels on the shoulders, forearm/elbows, and back. And it looks like it fits more snugly than casual fit jackets, so the armor stays where it should.

Make sure your jacket isn't the wrong size, aka too loose fitting.