So I was driving home from work, sunny afternoon. Third time taking it to work. I was at a stop light 4 cars in front of the light, light goes green check beside me, cleared the intersection. Now then I looked down to see my speed, looked up saw the car in front of me stopped and my mistake was panic and I went heavy on my front brake, and I must of went on my front tire because all of the sudden I got the wobble and couldn't control it. Landed on to my left side and pulled my right arm out of the socket, and other scrapes.
I got up and a guy came and helped pick my bike up. I thought I was ok at first but I guess not. Then the pain kicked in, another guy came on his motorcycle and offered to take me to the hospital or call an ambulance. So he helped put my helmet back on and jacket and I got on the back and he took me to the hospital, were they popped my shoulder back into place.
So to everybody reading this thank you for not forgetting to pull over :D

I guess you came away pretty good considering what could have happened.

Let see some pics of your bike.

Ouch, lucky guy you... don't know if I would have jumped on the back of another bike to head off to the E-Room but glad you seem to be in good shape and spirits.

And know what ya mean about thinking your are OK, adrenalin has a funny way of doing that. Did an endo on a mountain bike once and got up thinking I was just gonna be sore. Went to take my helmet off and my arm wouldn’t do what I was asking it... later found out that I snapped my clavicle in 2 places... ANYWAY, point is any time y’all have an “OFF” play it safe, easy and slow, get checked out.

Wow, 3rd time taking it to work? How long have you had the bike? Glad to hear you're ok. Good luck to you, and take it easy on that arm. Popping out of socket is one of those things that never quite recovers fully. Prepare yourself for when it pops out again!

I did the same about a month after I got the bike, except I was looking over at the car next to me, thinking it was coming into my lane, and when I looked back, the car in front had stopped. Good that you're ok, though. Scary with all those cars around that might not brake...

I was looking over at the car next to me, thinking it was coming into my lane, and when I looked back, the car in front had stopped.

Something tells me there's another version of this story that goes something like:

"so I was looking over at the car next to me, thinking 'this chick thinks I look soooo cool', OH SH%T!" :lol:

Glad you're ok machunter.

Actually, it was the chick that stopped to help me that got me thinking that...

When I first started riding to work, I almost ran myself into the back of an SUV. The traffic was a wierd stop and go. Moving fine for a while and then a sudden stop. I got distracted by another rider to my left and when I looked forward I saw myself going smack into the back of Jeep. I swirved just in time and was super lucky to have a bit of extra space in the lane to the right. Could have been bad. Very bad.

I've never forgotten that morning and from that day forward I made a special effort to always pay attention to the car in front of me. I advise everyone to do the same.

Glad you're relatively okay! Get well soon and be careful out there.

Glad the accident wasn't worse than it was. I'd be hesitant to hop on another bike to go to the hospital, but you made it there fine, so I guess it was alright.

Learn from the experience and get back on :)

:welcome to the site and to the real world of crashes.

Glad you're ok.

I think everyone should practice high speed / quick stops.....


I like to find an open road and get up to 80mph and then break hard and keep pushing it harder and harder until you feel really comfortable. Even at 25 just practice abrupt stopping. You would be surprised how far you go before you stop the first couple of times you do it and then when you get the hang of it you can stop in shorter distances with a little practice.

It also doesn't hurt to practice stopies. When you feel comfortable bringing the rear tire off the ground a couple of feet you will have an excellent feel for the front brake.

Wish you a speedy recovery.

It also doesn't hurt to practice stopies. When you feel comfortable bringing the rear tire off the ground a couple of feet you will have an excellent feel for the front brake.
:shock:

Any advantage to letting the back lift vs keeping it on the ground as you brake?

Glad you're OK machunter. Could've been worse. Arm outta socket is not
a cool injury though. That and broken clavicles affect arm strength and
mobility/utility for a long time. Some say the arm is never quite right
afterward. Hope you fully heal.

when it comes to high speed braking, the force of a hard brake shifts most of the weight onto the front tire, giving the front tire the majority of the grip on the road. so, having the back tire on the ground doesnt really do much. getting it off the ground sounds kind of dangerous though... if you have ever watched motogp races on tv, their back tires come up sometimes. eh. whatever.

i remember in my msf class, some squid who got a ticket and had to take it said something about how the back break is useless, and the instructor talked about how the back brake actually does a lot; the exception being during emergency braking, but you should still use it because pushing down with your foot on the brake also pushes down on the pegs and helps keep you stable. i dont know how much of that is true, but the instructor of my class knows more about bikes than anyone i have ever met. i trust him.

A little yes and a little no.

I've been reading a lot about performance riding for both the street and the track, and the rear brake can get you into a lot of trouble if you aren't careful with it (according to these guys). But it's not useless by any means. You just have to use it sparingly and when you know you have good rear-wheel grip. In straight-line braking it will certainly help you stop quicker.

machunter, hope you get feeling better. I had a shoulder injury a little over a year ago and it has never been the same. I don't suspect it ever will be. A compination of bone spurs, SLAP tear impingement, and a partially torn labrum - aggrivated by lifting more in the gym than my 150lb frame should be trying. It still feels soupy in there, but even after an MRI they couldn't pinpoint everything and didn't want to get into exploratory surgery. It still works so I deal with it.

As far as falls go, you didn't fare too badly. You'll be back in the game before you know it.

Practicing stoppies just allows you to get the correct brake modulation and lets you know your limits with how much front brake you can give it without the rear tire lifting up. It also teaches you that squeezing the break is much preferred to 'Grabbing' the front break.

I don't do rolling stoppies(where you try to balance on the front tire while moving forward) those actually are less effective but do demonstrate great brake modulation.

Under emergency braking situations I wouldn't focus on getting the rear tire up, infact its going to hurt you want both tires on the ground in case you need to let off the brakes and swerve to avoid something.

The most important part is to make sure your straight up and down before braking hard, and to squeeze the brake at the same time you apply the rear brake.

As far as the rear brake being useless... I can tell when im braking hard and the rear tire is locked up I notice that the bike starts to not stop as quickly as it was when the rear tire wasn't skidding. Its simple physics if the brake is slowing the wheel down and the wheel is getting traction its going to slow you down not as much as the front but every bit helps.

They tell people if the rear tire starts to skid don't worry about it. The most important piece is the front brake at that point.

When I feel the rear tire locking up i just let off the break a bit until the tire grabs and then start applying it again.

A lot of racers use the rear brake to keep the front tire down while corning.

The back break isn't useless or they wouldn't put one on the bike. I definitely isn't nearly as effective as the front brake but don't get in a habit of not using it.

Thanks guys for all your replies, I just bought my 04 yellow 599 Feb 11th, surprisingly there is no damage on the gas tank, my knee must of protected it. I was debating about getting back on another bike but I couldn't wait for the ambulance. I will try to get a pic up to show my helmet, and bike.

Over all, I think the best tactic is to be ever vigilant so as not to get into an emergency braking situation in the first place. Using the bikes maneuverability is the second most preferable way to avoid these situations...

As far as your eyes/attention goes... SCAN SCAN SCAN. Never keep your focus in one place.

But yeah, also practice just in case. You need to be comfortable, oh and if you are starting to get appreciably sideways with the rear locked... just stay on it and hope for the best. Better to lay it down after slowing a bit than high side it.

As a fan of braided brake lines I'm going to keep the back lines rubber for now to keep the back tire from more easily locking. If you have to panic stop my gut reaction is to just keep the rear half way down so you know you are getting some benefit while really concentrating on the front brake. I find using the rear brake compresses the whole suspension and not just the front forks which is why I use it at all, mostly I'm on the front brake unless I'm just scrubbing off a little speed. I think hard braking practice is the best thing you can do.

What benefit do braided brake lines give? I thought it was more of a "check out my metal brake lines, bitches!" kind of thing. But I'm guessing it allows for more responsive braking?

I thought it was more of a "check out my metal brake lines, bitches!" kind of thing.

YES!!! :lol:

The braided brake lines don't expand as much as unconstricted rubber, so less pressure is lost. Thusly, they are more responsive and potentially allow more braking force to get to the caliper quicker...

As a fan of braided brake lines I'm going to keep the back lines rubber for now...
+1 errrr, or rather I wish I would have... Think the front works great but the back is way too touchy now. I'd go back but threw the old ones out... :banghead

As a fan of braided brake lines I'm going to keep the back lines rubber for now...
+1 errrr, or rather I wish I would have... Think the front works great but the back is way too touchy now. I'd go back but threw the old ones out... :banghead


That's all good to know. I'll keep that in mind. This summer is going to be heaven with my bike being paid off after only 6 months and having tons of extra cash to waste. Braided brake lines will be put on the list then.