A RECENT EXPERIENCE I JUST WANTED TO SHARE...

Curtis Stone
Chairman,
Aragona Moose Family Center, lodge 1198 "Cruisin' Moose"

I just wanted to share a recent experience with everyone. Hopefully, it might help prevent problems for other new riders in the future.

My wife had just started riding. She started out by registering for the TCC "Basic Rider Course" but her class date was several months in the future. We found a bike for her that we couldn't pass up and purchased it for her before she even was able to ride it. It is a 1997 Honda Shadow VLX Deluxe 600cc. It sits low, has a relatively light frame and engine and is easy to handle even at low speed, but has enough power to keep up, even on the Interstate, when necessary.

Unable to control her excitement, she went to the DMV, took the written test and obtained her "Learner's Permit" for Motorcycles. After that, it was a matter of taking her to local (empty) parking lots and teaching her the basics. She picked it up quickly and graduated to the smaller streets, following behind my Valkyrie. Within a couple of weeks of riding almost every evening after work, she was comfortable riding the larger, more heavily trafficked streets. She finally got the chance to attend the Basic Rider Course and passed it with flying colors. The very next day she obtained the full-fledged and highly coveted "M" endorsement on her Driver's License.

Fast forward a couple of months. We had been riding regularly. Other than a couple of minor parking lot "drop" incidents, she was doing well, was confident and in control. On the fateful day, we were on an afternoon "Dinner" run with the Aragona Moose Lodge "Cruisin' Moose". We were almost to our destination of Edenton NC, heading southeast on 32. We got stuck between a couple of farm trucks hauling Cotton trailers at about 30 MPH (in a 55 zone). The road in that section has some curves, but there are plenty of "Pass with care" zones. We reached just such a zone and I (in the lead) started to pass the trucks. After getting into the left lane, I realized that a vehicle was coming around the turn ahead and that we probably wouldn't have time to get around both trucks…they were too close together to get between them, so the best course of action was to slow down and return to the right lane behind the trucks.

Unbeknownst to me, my wife had accelerated hard to keep up with me, fearful that I would get around the trucks, she wouldn't be able to keep up and would lose me. She was so pre-occupied with keeping up with me that, when I slowed down to get back into the right lane, it took her by surprise. She hit the brakes a bit too hard and locked up the front brake. In her inexperience she didn't know to let off the front brake which had lost traction and, therefore, control. In a nutshell, she laid the bike down at about 40 to 45 MPH, and slid down and across the road into the right hand ditch.

Luckily, she handled the slide well and didn't seriously injure herself or damage the bike other than some scuffed metal on the engine guard and exhaust pipes. She scuffed up her leathers pretty good and ruined her boots, but only had a few bruises and scrapes to contend with.

While discussing the event afterwards, a couple of things came out.

My wife says that she was never told to let off the front brake if it locks up, she only remembers being told, "if the brakes lock, keep them locked".

Another person who was on the ride and had gone through the BRC in the past couple of years verified that they had been told the same.

A couple of people told us that they "Never" use their front brakes because of a fear of exactly what happened to my Wife.

I don't know if the instructors at TCC are putting out bad information or if it is nothing more than a case of misunderstanding their instruction but I want to make a couple of points:

First of all: I learned something from the incident. I've been riding for a long time and am very confident in my abilities…however, I did not consider the experience level of the riders with me when I decided to attempt to pass the trucks and then changed my mind when the car came around the curve. I acted way too aggressively and put the inexperienced rider with me (who happened to be my wife) at risk. That was dumb.

Secondly, My wife learned a couple of things. The rule for locking up Motorcycle brakes is this: If the BACK BRAKE locks up, keep it locked. You can control a back tire skid without losing control. However, you CANNOT CONTROL the motorcycle if the front tire breaks traction. If the FRONT BRAKE locks up, let off the brake and gently re-apply it.

Also, the decision to NEVER use the front brake in fear of locking it up is not an effective response. Approximately 60% of your stopping power comes from the front brake. Refusing to use the front brake is the same as voluntarily doubling your braking distance. You may get away with only using your back brake over and over again under normal conditions, but if you are ever presented with a situation where you NEED that extra braking power, your instincts will not dictate that you use it. Most likely, the event will happen so fast that you won't have time for conscious thought and you will act on instinct. You will only use your rear brake and you may be injured as a result. Get in the habit of PROPERLY using the front brake so that when you need it, it will be there instinctively.

Finally, if you are helping a new rider learn the ropes, be sure to help them check out their ride. After the incident was over, I tested her brakes by hitting them hard a couple of times. In the process I realized that the brakes were adjusted in such a way that the front brake locked up significantly before the back brake. Readjusting the back brake so that they are at approximately the same sensitivity might have prevented the front brake lockup in the first place.

My wife was lucky, she got away with her first spill with little ill effect (she considers herself a "real" biker now and wears her scuffed leathers as a badge of honor) and we both learned some valuable lessons from it. I can only hope that others will learn from our experience as well and not make the same mistakes.

Back to Stories, News and Entertainment