The bike's steering "locked up"

[exskibum]

Riding since '66 and skiing since 1954

Holy cow, Rich!Stay out of antique stores. They'll slap a price sticker on you.

Jus' sayin'.

Well, my friend, I was born in '52 and I damn well know you weren't far behind. So, what kinda price have you been commanding of late (whether as an antique or for specialty hire)? :rofl:

FWIW, the bad dream of my childhood was falling through space, so I've got a certain respect for those of you who have actually flown your bikes (unintentionally) off mountain drop-offs.

 

[NMRoadRunner]

His brain "locked up" not the bike! Target fixation is hard to overcome, ask any desert riders who have hit the rock instead of the opening between the rocks.

 

[RichDoyle]

Target fixation on that last phone pole. He headed straight for it.

Yep, been there done that: Oh no, I'm gonna hit that tree - look at that tree - I don't wanna hit it - maybe it'll move - BANG - Owowowow, I hit it. why wouldn't the bike turn? (answer: Because you didn't turn it, stupid. You stared at that tree like you were in love with it.)

 

[HotRodZilla]

It's very hard to learn to not look at what is scaring the shit out of us. We are wired to look at our "threat." Riding motorcycles and driving cars requires a different approach. Gotta re-train the brain, and I still find myself doing it more than I would like. If I never did it, I'd be way faster, especially in the dirt. Gotta know our limits!

 

[Old Michael]

Wow, y'all are dispensing some cosmic shit, man.

Dude shoulda gassed it going over the edge.

No?

 

[wetwolf]

Target fixaation. Had it last week. Me and a buddy went for a ride around the lake. He leads for a while, I lead, we just trade places. Anyhoo, he left his right turn signal on. Me being OCD had a problem with that. I put my blinker on for like 2 miles hoping he would see it, i got as close as i could to try and hand signal, but we were going thru the twisties. I didn't let it bother me much. Until that one fukkin corner. About 95 % of my attention was focused on the right rear turn signal of his bike, because it kept fuggin flashin. When he started heading left for the curve I was wondering why my attention was focused to the right.

Ya gotta practice and think about this shit every time you ride. When I'm doin the twisties, I'm pretty sure my brain and eyes are lokking at about 50 things to put it all together so I come out alive. But thats all it takes is one shiny object or FLASHING LITE to steer your attenton away.

Glad the guy lived to talk about it, the trees defineatly slowed ih fall

 

[Auburn]

It's very hard to learn to not look at what is scaring the shit out of us. We are wired to look at our "threat." Riding motorcycles and driving cars requires a different approach. Gotta re-train the brain, and I still find myself doing it more than I would like. If I never did it, I'd be way faster, especially in the dirt. Gotta know our limits!

It always amazed me how a car can hit a light pole that is 25 feet off the edge of the pavement on completely flat ground with nothing else around to hit.

When I road raced back in the day, there was another racer trying to pass on the outside of me, lost the front end and crashed. I remember seeing it happen in my peripheral but was concentrated and looking where I was going. The next two racers behind us followed him off the track too.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Not target fixation, but a yearning to imitate Steve McQueen's jump in The Great Escape. McQueen's character tangled in barbed wire; this nimrod hit trees.

......

I mean, really; how does a motorbike's steering "lock up"? Did he get a stick caught in his forks that prevented him from turning? Did he clamp down on the front brake and start the front tire skidding?