So I guess I'm "that guy" - MSF wipe out.

First day of on the bike training on my "MSF" course and I wiped out. I tore the peg off a ninja 250 and bounced off the asphalt pretty hard.

To learn from this -

• Braking on a motorcycle is not necessarily natural. In the books (I know...) you read that the front brakes do like 2/3rds of the braking. Soooooo, I was taking it upon myself to get used to using them. I was using them almost exclusively until I thundered in. Brake locked, wheel turned, I let go, wheel grabbed, I went over.

• Ride your own ride. The instructor made a comment about us not coming close to using the bikes potential put-putting around the tarmac. MY brain interpreted this as "grab a little more throttle! Get accustomed to the bike's dynamics - pick it up a bit." I was going a decent, but I thought controllable speed, when I went down. The guy in front of me was (the whole time) slowing to a crawl around the bends. I hauled down on the brakes in what I though was a controllable manner and lost the front wheel. What I should have done was go at my own pace and live with the "slowpoke" in front of me - almost dabbing around EVERY corner.

• The gear works. I hurt from bouncing off the asphalt - a lot. I'm stiff and sore. I have no cuts or abrasions on me. All I have for visible damage is two "rug burns" on my knees from the pads. I came down on my right shoulder and ribs and I'm tender, but not bruised at all (yet). My knees never dragged on the ground, it's just some sort of burn from them moving with the pants.

I got back on and rode, but nervously for the first while. They took me to the garage for another bike. I made a new name tag for it and dubbed it "Marty Two". I applied the tag upside down. I needed a little self-deprecating humor at that moment.

I hurt, but I'm still able to ride tomorrow.

Good lesson. All the gear all the time. Smooth on the controls. Now you've felt a slow speed woops and a little rash. Glad you're ok.

In reply to akamcfly:

Glad you didn't bust anything.

We had a drill where we had to enter a corner and then when the instructor pointed we had to stand the bike up and stop as fast as possible. The third time through I absolutely hammered on the front brake, didn't lock it up but it was very close. The instructor said I used up all the available traction.

So, did you lowside or highside?

Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: So, did you lowside or highside?

I honestly don't know what I did (or the difference anyway). If it helps, my right leg was still under the bike. Not pinned or anything, but under it.

EDIT After reviewing some video, I most definitely high sided. But, I was going slowly enough that I didn't separate myself (much) from the bike.

I once read a Peter Egan column in which he asked a friend how he wrecked his motorcycle. The friend said, "Group ride with a fast guy".

Remember that once you have your license.

We actually were good during the class. Despite a lot of noobs including myself we all rode well and handled things nicely.

Don't feel bad, I did the exact.same.thing. Fortunately I was 19 and nearly invincible at the time. I also didn't have health insurance.

I say it's better to do it there than panic in a real world situation and get ran over.

Don't be scared off from using your front brake. It's still your ally when you need to get stopped like right now.

Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote: Don't be scared off from using your front brake. It's still your ally when you need to get stopped like right now.

Not scared off per se, but definitely more aware of my complete lack of experience. It's like when I first learned to drive standard - very intimidating. I could do it, but it took a little while (days) to get a feel for the car and the controls. I'm not there yet with a bike and I won't be natural with my bike for many days after I start riding it. As with driving a standard, I know it will be worth it - even if it's for selfish reasons.

Shoulder seized up over night pretty good, but I'm using it and it's unsticking. It will be tender for a while.

When I took the Advanced Course a guy dropped his brandy new BMW LT; just because you have a license doesn't mean you can defy physics.

If you are going to find limits the hard way there is no better place to do it than a parking lot with no other traffic while wearing all the gear. Except maybe soft dirt.

Make sure you understand exactly what you did wrong and go back out somewhere safe and practice because you do need to know the limits of your braking and what you can and cannot do at the same time before you are out of capacity. You just need to sneak up on them a little more carefully ;)

Lee Parks Total Control of the Motorcycle is a very good "How to" book for riding that also explains the mechanics of what is happening in an approachable way. Plus it has exercises you can do in a parking lot and goes into setting the bike up. It does not deal with traffic or safety much - strictly the mechanics of riding well. Check it out if you are the sort of person who likes shortcuts :)

Today was a much better day.

Counter steering works - it just does. It feels really cool too. We did our M2 evaluations and I passed with no demerits. When my time minimum on my M1 (minimum 60 days) runs out, I'm certified M2. It's a full on license minus ANY tolerance for alcohol. It must be kept a minimum of 18 months (22 if you don't take the MSF course) before you can test for a full M endorsement. It's good for 60 months.

I'm legal to ride!

In reply to akamcfly:

Awesome! Have fun (as if you could not have fun riding).

Good job!

You WILL drop a bike, awareness means choosing it on your terms. Away from armco or wiggle wagons. Runoff Rules.

It happens. I've got 75k miles on one of my current bikes and I still managed to drop it in a line of traffic a few months back. Pulled the clutch in and...it didn't release. Grabbed the front brake so I didn't rear end the guy in front of me and threw it on the ground. That's about as embarrassing as it gets in my book, with a whole line of traffic watching.

Smoothness is definitely more critical on a bike than in a car, especially where brakes are concerned.

Your point about riding your own pace is a really, really good one. Especially in group rides with more experienced riders, or in a place where you're tempted to show off. I'm 24. I'm often tempted to show off, and it's way harder than it should be to resist that, haha.

I had a '73 Honda CL 175 that I dicked around with before getting my license - did a "rattle can resto", threw some dual sport tires on it, and beat it around the fields at my parents' house for a couple summers. I had a very similar experience of using too much front brake on that thing one time, when rounding a corner on slick wet grass. Good lesson, but that one hurt even on dirt.

Also saw a guy in my MSF class, who was easily one of the better riders there that day, lock the front and put the bike down during a braking drill.

No big deal, that's why the teach those classes in a controlled environment so that you can learn to explore your limits within relative safety. Sounds like you bounced right back and had a great time, congrats!

"Ride your own ride" is great advice when riding with others. Find your comfort zone and ride there. Pushing to keep up with someone else is not a smart thing.

The INSTRUCTOR at my MSF class did something similar while demonstrating the exercise we were supposed to be doing. He was done for the day and went to the hospital. I seriously considered not finishing the course at that point and sticking to four wheels.

If you're going to ride, you have to understand that EVERONE goes down at some point. That's why there's gear.

Bobzilla wrote: ...EVERONE goes down at some point...

NTTIAWWT

I have no idea what that means

Like others have said, much better there then out on the road, and I bet you will remember that the rest of your life and use it to your riding advantage.

Hey it happens to the best of us. Not quite a motorcycle but recently on my Bicycle, I was coming up to a major intersection and the clip on my pedal stuck and I couldn't get unclipped. So there in the middle of a major intersection, I just did a slow tip over. Embarrassing yes but I also learned there was an issue and fixed it when I got home.

bmw88rider wrote: Hey it happens to the best of us. Not quite a motorcycle but recently on my Bicycle, I was coming up to a major intersection and the clip on my pedal stuck and I couldn't get unclipped. So there in the middle of a major intersection, I just did a slow tip over. Embarrassing yes but I also learned there was an issue and fixed it when I got home.

I did that once and slid down a hill.