The lesson I learned is to wait until you stop sliding before trying to stand up. It sounds funny but when you are sliding on your ass and put a foot down you suddenly end up on your face.

actually, smoke eater has an important point to make there. if you're riding in good gear, you should be able stay in one position if you're already sliding (not rolling). as you slow down, you'll feel like you've stop sliding or slow down enough. i tried standing at about 40 mph according to someone who watched me crash. just pat the ground with your hand and stay relaxed. you can be calm if you have on good gear and not ripping skin off your body.

also get you hands in front of your face. don't break your fingers if you can avoid it.

good gear saves your rear.

Yup. I crashed mine all by myself. No one else's fault but my own. Low-sided from going into a turn too hot and dragged too much metal instead of rubber. Stupid me. My only salvation is that I had on full gear and came out of it with a slightly bruised forearm.

Don't be stupid. Wear the gear.

I learned some of those lessons the hard way too, some of them I almost learned but escaped in the nick of time, and some of them I learned by seeing it happen to other people. So let me add some new twists:

1. Riding with stock headlamps, what a dumb thing that was. Lady pulls right out in front of me and I slam into her at 40 mph and brake my back in three places, some ribs, my jaw, punctured lung, lost my job, my house, all that sh*t because the stock headlamps are not bright enough on sportbikes. (CBR929RR being the one exception I can think of). Therefore, get yourself some nice trick looking 90 watt halogen/ion lamps for the measley $30 or so, and be smart, safer, and more styling.

2. Frame sliders. I've seen so many people screw up their bike by not having them. Foot on some gravel, down it goes. Ooops, sorry, $1800 in damage!!!!!! Could have prevented it with $100 or less in frame sliders. OH WELL!!!!!!!!!! Hahahaha...


Other than that, don't brake when you are in a corner too fast. Here are the rules for what to do when you are screwing up in a corner.
1. You are leaning in too far, the bike wants to fall in on itself. What to do? Don't fight it. Hit the gas! Suddenly the bike regains its balance and an invisible string holds you up so you can now lean over as far as you like. Problem solved.
2. You are going wide, probably because you are taking it too fast. Don't fight it. If you are already in the turn, **Don't hit the brakes WHATEVER YOU DO***. Keep an even rpm and lean the bike over while prayin'. Then you will laugh at yourself when you find the bike did it easily and you didn't even get over far enough to drag a knee. Hahahha. But if you put on the brakes the bike stands up and runs wider, right off the ROAD. Once in the turn you are committed, and you don't have enough time to stop anyway. Better retrain your thinking.

great tips. just to expand on them. when you hit the gas on a motorcycle (with a chain or belt drive), it doesn't sqat like a car, it lifts. the throttle gives you ground clearance that you didn't have earlier. you see for yourself, by holding the front brake and easing out the clutch. or watch a motogp race and look at the how extended the suspensions are on the straights.

conversely, the brakes take away ground clearance. on a racetrack, i got into a decreasing radius corner too hot and when from skipping my knee to having it pressed into the ground by chopping the throttle.

great advice.

there are 2 types of riders. those who have crashed and those who are going to.

the 2 times i crashed, it wasn't because of my stupidity nor was it because of another driver. road hazards happen and sometimes they are unavoidable. the first time i was going around a very twisty cornering, treed in road. i was into the corner pretty good, feeling pretty good (comfort, not alcohol), and paying attention to where i wanted to go and i missed the sand in the road. the bike slid out from under me, i hit the ground and me and the bike ended up about 20 feet into the woods. luckily there was no tree contact and i was able to continue.

second instance i was on a similar stretch of road and found myself coming up over the top of a very small knoll where the road rises in front of you the drops and you can't see the other side. when i came over the top of the knoll there was a tree branch across my lane in the road. i luckily swerved around it without hitting it too hard but it still caught my back tire and sent me flying. again, escaping injury and severe damages.

what i got out of it is don't assume things are good when nobody else is around that you have to pay attention to. pay close attention to the road because hazards can come up very fast. especially after a good rain or in the spring when there is still allot of sand and salt on the roads.

i got lucky twice and with the old saying of 3rd times a charm i am more attentive.

My lessons about crashing come from working at the race track.

So my only tip i have is when you know your going down... don't hold on to the bike and try something thinking you'll recuperate.

Just let go of it.

All the injuries I saw last year we're from guys holding on to the thing too long and then going out with it.

When I first was learning to ride, I crashed all the time. Not bad crashes. But falling over, off the road, bad u-turn, crashes... So word of advice: Start out with a cheap bike without fairings. Get a bigger and better one once you have learned the ropes...

Ok, funny and impressive save:
I was riding with this other guy on a twisty road. I was following him at first, and he was fast. I was working hard to catch up to him. So all I was seeing, and thinking about, was keeping him in my sights. I was not paying attention to my own limits, and my own bike. So I managed to catch up, and pass him. Trying to show him I was fast too, I pushed it even harder, to keep him off my ass. As I went into a corner too hot, I kept it leaned over. And the edge of the road got closer, and closer, and closer. At the last minute, before running off into the dirt, I stood the bike up, and took it off the road. In front of me was a line of trash cans. I hit them with my leg, and sent them flying. The bike went into a headshake, in the dirt... How did this turn out ok? I have no F'ing clue! But I managed to keep it upright, and managed to get it back onto the road... Just lucky in 10 different ways that day...

The other crash, was when I was on a twisty road, and I was not speeding. But as a approached a corner, my view was blocked, by a big tree. I was not going fast, but I was leaned over, and going about 30. In the middle of the road, is an SUV, doing an "Austin Powers Golf Cart" U-Turn. Blocking not one, but BOTH lanes of the road. So all I could do, is stand the bike up, and slam on the brakes, and try to stop. I got it slowed to about 5MPM, but still smacked into the door of the SUV. It was ruled their fault, for crossing the double yellow line, and making an unsafe turn. There was not even a driveway. They just realized they were going the wrong way, and decided to turn around... In the middle of a TURN! So, ewven though it was their fault, the fact is that it could have been a rockslide, or a deer, or something someone dropped off a truck. So if you do not know what is around the corner, and you cannot see, do not go faster than your field of vision. Give yourself time to stop, even if it seems really slow. Wait until you are out on the open road to rip it up...

Very good point!

What I Learned During My Crash, by wheelie123:

1. Save the racing for the track........the street is meant for riding
2. If you do decide to race on the street, wear all of your gear......ALL of your gear. My back and ankle look like melted plastic.
3. Anytime you race, stay focused and DON'T screw around. I pulled one up (wheelie) on a straightaway and rode it out and was smiling at the onlookers until I looked over the fairing and saw the corner coming.....dropped her, the front tire (new GP's) grabbed pavement, and we were airborne.

It's the same as anything in life: if it seems dangerous, it probably is. If you do it anyway and get hurt, you knew ahead of time you shouldn't of done it. You'll have time to think about it in the hospital.