SPEED channel rider education

How to do the motorcycle lay down "This is the classic method for stopping the quickest" I am not surprised to hear that riders are 51 times more likely to get killed than cagers, video's like this will only help increase that figure. Question for the MC police officers on here: do they really teach you how to lay the bike down in case of an emergancy? And if so, what kind of emergency would that be? From the pics I've seen MC PO's do not wear protective clothing so laying it down sounds like no option.

I like how in the CG part, they showed the motorcycle steering the wrong way.

I can't really think of a good time to lay the bike down. You're probably better off trying to slow yourself down as much as possible before impact instead of just tossing the bike and hoping you don't slam into whatever you were fixated on too hard.

I think years ago they taught how to lay the bike down when you were getting your license or something along those lines.

This can only work if you are on dirt and going under 30 mph, and you know there's going to be a hay bale dropped in front of you. It has nothing to do with riding on pavement

I'm an MSF rider coach and this is the last thing you want to do. The whole is to avoid this by swerving or braking properly.

All things being equal(knowing you can't stop/go around), and you're heading for a tanker(semi trailer) that's going to be in front of you at impact(and ducking won't get you low enough to go under) so if you try to stop only, you're going to hit the tank which will stop you and not the bike(much), and the round angle is going to push you down on the bike that's still going under. Plus if you did get a soft stop, then the trailer wheels will roll over you. so I would probably go for the slide and hope I go all the way past the tanker.

This is going to be hard to do, because I don't practice slides, and to make it worse "I do practice fast stops". I use the front*3/rear/clutch for power stops.... and for normal riding, I use the front brake 1 to 2 *fingers...........Rear & clutch only for slow parking lot stuff(and dirt bike leans/head turns).

I happened to catch that particular scene - and the show (Stuntbusters) was instantly off of my 'watch' list.

That has got to be one of the stupidest most irresponsible things I have ever seen. The rider ends up past where the hay bale was, so he would have hit the truck/car/whatever. Sliding bikes loose speed wayyy less that one with the brakes applied.

A guy asked "What should I do if a car pulls out and I know I can't stop/swerve/etc", my answer "how fast do you want to be going when you hit it ?"

Even the cops quit teaching how to "Lay it down" a long time ago.

As soon as the racing season is over -- lots of times before --Speed is just a waste

Damn. I wish I had read the rest of the post before I went out and practiced laying it down.

Screw that layin' it down, I just drink a Red Bull.

Pu$$ies! I lay my bike down at least once evey outing whether I need to or not!

[image: View Post]slo1, on 29 December 2011 - 07:19 PM, said:

That has got to be one of the stupidest most irresponsible things I have ever seen.

Ditto - so now the newbie rider gets the impression that laying it down is more important than building riding skills. Idiots!

- A big fickle finger of fate to Speed channel!

Just ridiculous. The very idea that hard parts sliding will stop you faster than rubber tires never made sense to me.

I suppose if you were going to slide UNDER the semi-truck, lol!

Remember the name of the show, "Stuntbusters". If you have watched the show in the past, you would have seen other things that you wouldn't try at home. Like driving your SUV through a strech limo, how to flip a car, etc. The show isn't on DIY network, it's how Hollywood gets the stunts done for movie. Take it for what it was intended, only entertainment, not instruction. Although I do admit, the technique hasn't been in any motorcycle safety curriculum for a long time, which they do state.

[image: View Post]hondalover, on 30 December 2011 - 05:03 AM, said:

which they do state.
She doesn't speak in the past tense when she says: "The laydown is typicaly being tought in MC safete and police training classes"
Although the purpose of this video is entertainment, there is no point in giving false information. Nitro Circus is also for entertainment but those guys are riders and will never tell you that laying it down is the quickest way to stop.

I'm agreeing with you, that this is incorrect information. I didn't state it clearly, that they misguided viewers on that fact. And I'm willing to bet the producers didn't give that false information out intentionally. They just didn't do their homework properly. Which is exactly my point. Nothing on that TV show should be attempted by the regular viewer, regardless of the 'mis'-information that they provide. I know you won't be catching me trying to jump from the hood of one car to the hood of another, and then into the back of a truck; all while wearing skin-tight clothes and high-heels.

That video does have a feature I would lay........................ and it ain't a motorcycle...... :tongue:

[image: View Post]hondalover, on 30 December 2011 - 09:49 AM, said:

I know you won't be catching me trying to jump from the hood of one car to the hood of another, and then into the back of a truck; all while wearing skin-tight clothes and high-heels.
If you ever change your mind, make sure you have someone catching it on video and post it on VFRD :laugh:

I didn't notice if they showed the "Do Not Try This At Home" text across the screen (don't care to watch it again). I've even seen some car commercials flash this up once in a while. I have mixed feelings on this, on the one hand, yes it's a show about stunting and on the other they are telling people this is a method taught in MC courses and Police training is a little misleading. It could give young unsupervised riders the wrong impression!

Personally anything I see on TV and/or in the Movies I take as pure entertainment, unless it is a documentary or a historical program. Even the reality TV shows out there to me is just entertainment. Apart from the Police and Military reality shows once in a while, (Alaska State Troopers, Surviving the Cut, Border Wars, etc.) I usually stay away from reality TV. I've been so busy lately, I haven't watched much TV in quite some time.

I've read an article where they measured the emergency stopping distances of a motorcycle with various braking methods, as in 'front brakes only', 'rear brakes only', 'both brakes', 'laying it down', ABS, etc. BELIEVE IT OR NOT...stopping distance (of the rider) while "laying it down" was slightly shorter than using 'rear brake only', when the rider was wearing jeans. So of course ALL of you (I hope) are saying "who the hell would use rear brake only in an emergency stop". Well incredibly, there is a significant percentage of cruiser riders that NEVER use the front brake. Try to imagine a raked out custom with a skinny little front tire and brake drum, not a whole lot of stable braking potential there! Given that fact, I see where the 'lay it down' act of desperation comes from.

I have first hand experience of the 'rear brake only' syndrome, having seen a group of cruisers go wide and hit the guard rails with long black skid lines as they all locked up their rear wheels.

Ever since my first touring pedal bike that had front brakes (grew up mostly on the 1-speed foot brake type) the rear brake has been relegated to a 'use only on slippery surfaces' device.

Brian

I thought this dates back to when bikes didn't have brakes other than drums front and back and the only effective way to slooow down was on it's side. Tires didn't work too good either back in the day.

[image: View Post]Dutchy, on 30 December 2011 - 10:39 AM, said:

That video does have a feature I would lay........................ and it ain't a motorcycle...... :tongue:

Only if I could duct tape her yapper...

Can't find any video about how to have a safe lay-down technic with sport bikes.
Anyone knows?
Thanks.

[image: View Post]VietHorse, on 31 December 2011 - 09:53 AM, said:

Can't find any video about how to have a safe lay-down technic with sport bikes.
Anyone knows?
Thanks.

Seems like from what I'm reading that it's not what most people would recommend. May be why you are having a hard time finding one.

Chuck

So the best recommendation is ride with full gears and try to never get down.

[image: View Post]VietHorse, on 31 December 2011 - 11:04 AM, said:

So the best recommendation is ride with full gears and try to never get down.
Modern day tires and brakes (especially on a 6th Gen VFR) will stop you MUCH faster than laying the bike down. Practicing heavy/panic braking is a more valuable time spent than watching videos online anyway.

It's quite theory for discussing this.
However, for some people, like myself, sometimes tried to figure out some key notes for the lay-down case, such as:
- What 's the best hands/ arms position?
- Should rider try to hold the handle bar while laying down?
- Should rider try to against road surface while sliding, i meant to do the body breaking?
- Should rider try to jump out at very first moment of clash, slide... etc...

Smt like that.

Laying down a bike should be like the stunt rider did it, I'd re watch the video over and over to see what he did (Look for where hands are. etc..... it also mentioned getting the low-side leg out just before contact with the ground).

For good tips on how to position your hands/arms for the subsequent surgeries to repair, watch from 46-50 seconds in.

That segment clearly shows broken left ulna and radius bones just above the wrist from executing a "successful" lay down.

Speed should at least have the editorial sense to place a disclaimer online and in any future airings that the statements regarding this being currently taught and this being the quickest way to stop a motorcycle are not true, lest they be accused of killing off new motorcycle riders so their craptacular crash and stunt shows continue to draw more viewers than their butchering of MotoGP and WSBK races...the nascar channel sucks!

Laying it down is a technique for movie stunts and that's about it. :rolleyes:
Better to brake as hard as possible and hope you don't have to do your Superman impression.

Laying the bike down because you're about to hit a semi isn't going to work. The bike hits the truck,
then you do the same. You know who wins that contest. :ohmy: