slightly off topic.
Skerries was fun really enjoyed the 600 clipped a bale with my shoulder made me jump that did..............but outside of that it was just fast and fun.
thats two years in a row that I've hit something at Skerries
Changing your line in an emergency mid-corner
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cargo
- zxr400 oc member

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- My Bike: tomos moped
- Location: Carrickfergus Northern Ireland
- Tirpitz
- zxr400 oc member

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- Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2010 2:45 pm
- My Bike: Kawasaki ZXR400L4
- Location: Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Re: Changing your line in an emergency mid-corner
I think the conclusion to this thread is what I suggested before - there is no easy way to get out of a situation like this, so either don't get in it in the first place or take your chances. I probably did ok overall. Will certainly be thinking about taking a much wider line approaching a corner to at least have a peek through before committing. Maybe that's the least worst option.
As Tom says, I shalln't be racing anytime soon. Not only do I not have the right attachment for my footpump to be able to inflate my nads big enough to have a try, but I don't have one of those secure boxes which the race boys use to store their brains in back in the pits before they go out for a lap
I saw enough marshalling to convince me that they were a different breed from me and I'd just be a moving roadblock. Don't know how you do it Cargo but glad you do.
As Tom says, I shalln't be racing anytime soon. Not only do I not have the right attachment for my footpump to be able to inflate my nads big enough to have a try, but I don't have one of those secure boxes which the race boys use to store their brains in back in the pits before they go out for a lap
ZXR400 L4, purple / black / pink
Hel braided hoses
Pirelli Diablos
Ohlins steering damper
A16 carbon fibre exhaust can
Nitron Sport shock
Hel braided hoses
Pirelli Diablos
Ohlins steering damper
A16 carbon fibre exhaust can
Nitron Sport shock
- Vard66
- zxr400 oc member

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- Location: Swindon Area, Wiltshire.
Re: Changing your line in an emergency mid-corner
I had a very similar experience to this the first day of riding the ZXR after my test - only without the object in the road.
I was riding along a road I've driven hundreds of times in the car, following my mate on his CBR400, and I entered a corner, thinking it was a completely different, far more gentle corner. My reaction was to snap the throttle closed, which bolted the bike upright, right across the other lane. Cacking myself, I got a bloody lean on, and managed to just get away with brushing the hedge on the other side of the road with my right side and the bike, instead of going through it.
Fortunately, nothing coming, but a learning experience it certainly was, and I got off the bike five miles later at our destination with my legs literally shaking.
I was riding along a road I've driven hundreds of times in the car, following my mate on his CBR400, and I entered a corner, thinking it was a completely different, far more gentle corner. My reaction was to snap the throttle closed, which bolted the bike upright, right across the other lane. Cacking myself, I got a bloody lean on, and managed to just get away with brushing the hedge on the other side of the road with my right side and the bike, instead of going through it.
Fortunately, nothing coming, but a learning experience it certainly was, and I got off the bike five miles later at our destination with my legs literally shaking.
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stevezx7r
- Posts: 66
- Joined: Sat May 07, 2011 5:15 pm
- My Bike: 1992 (ish) ZXR 400.
Re: Changing your line in an emergency mid-corner
I had a similar experience a few years ago...
Myself and a mate, me on a zzr600 and him following on a gsx750f (teapot) were riding around the scottish borders. I enter a left hand bend (too fast) which tightens up loads, I panic thinking I won't make it and grab a handful of front brake. Bike stands up, goes right over the other side of the road. Luckily, no traffic was coming. My mate did exactly the same thing as he was following my tail light. We both left the road, crossed the opposite road, entered a massive loose gravel area which continued onto a larger grass area. I thought to myself aim for that and if I fall off it should be a soft landing...Well, grass turned into big ditch. I ended up hitting the ditch in such a way as it had me thrown into the front brake reservoir then off the side in a heap on the floor. As I crumpled up in pain I could hear the semi-controlled slide of my mate as he followed me in.
Result - both bikes stood upright in the ditch minus riders.
It's funny as hell looking back at it (we howled with laughter/pain when it happened), but we both know what could have happened. BTW, the next vehicle around the corner was one of those logging trucks - the sort with whole trees on the back and a huge crane thing. The driver stopped and offered to pick the bikes out of the ditch with it
.
Anyway, I suppose what I'm trying to say is, sometimes these things don't give you any time to respond. It's all well and good saying do this or do that, but, when an accident has your number you rarely have anything you can do other than watch it happen.
As me dad would say - Gan steady
Myself and a mate, me on a zzr600 and him following on a gsx750f (teapot) were riding around the scottish borders. I enter a left hand bend (too fast) which tightens up loads, I panic thinking I won't make it and grab a handful of front brake. Bike stands up, goes right over the other side of the road. Luckily, no traffic was coming. My mate did exactly the same thing as he was following my tail light. We both left the road, crossed the opposite road, entered a massive loose gravel area which continued onto a larger grass area. I thought to myself aim for that and if I fall off it should be a soft landing...Well, grass turned into big ditch. I ended up hitting the ditch in such a way as it had me thrown into the front brake reservoir then off the side in a heap on the floor. As I crumpled up in pain I could hear the semi-controlled slide of my mate as he followed me in.
Result - both bikes stood upright in the ditch minus riders.
It's funny as hell looking back at it (we howled with laughter/pain when it happened), but we both know what could have happened. BTW, the next vehicle around the corner was one of those logging trucks - the sort with whole trees on the back and a huge crane thing. The driver stopped and offered to pick the bikes out of the ditch with it
Anyway, I suppose what I'm trying to say is, sometimes these things don't give you any time to respond. It's all well and good saying do this or do that, but, when an accident has your number you rarely have anything you can do other than watch it happen.
As me dad would say - Gan steady
- Tirpitz
- zxr400 oc member

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Re: Changing your line in an emergency mid-corner
Agree with you in principle Steve but what I was thinking of is that if you think through what you did wrong, and you work out what you should have done, and maybe have a bit of a practice to give you confidence that your solution works, then next time you suddenly find yourself in the situation then instinct might kick in and you'll do it better. Having given this more thought / practice since posting his up I actually think that shutting off is probably the worse thing you can do. Seems to me that it's better to try and ride inside the obstruction, lean the bike more (trust that it will do it). It's a question of playing the odds really and going onto the wrong side of the road on a bend seems to be the worst of two poor options.stevezx7r wrote:Anyway, I suppose what I'm trying to say is, sometimes these things don't give you any time to respond. It's all well and good saying do this or do that, but, when an accident has your number you rarely have anything you can do other than watch it happen.
I think confidence is a big issue. Mostly I think few people get these bikes cranked over anywhere near the limit so once you gain confidence that it will do it that's the way to go.
Easy to type from the comfort of a chair .......
ZXR400 L4, purple / black / pink
Hel braided hoses
Pirelli Diablos
Ohlins steering damper
A16 carbon fibre exhaust can
Nitron Sport shock
Hel braided hoses
Pirelli Diablos
Ohlins steering damper
A16 carbon fibre exhaust can
Nitron Sport shock
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stevezx7r
- Posts: 66
- Joined: Sat May 07, 2011 5:15 pm
- My Bike: 1992 (ish) ZXR 400.
Re: Changing your line in an emergency mid-corner
True, practice makes perfect and all that. I'm just saying that, sometimes, no amount of preparation can deal with all eventualities - I'm starting to believe that, sometimes, toad happens no matter what 
