Wife has dropped bike 3 times!

I'll probably get cut off for posting this, but can't help it LOL! All three times at two or three miles per hour. First one was in BMW parking lot, she was turning to park and touched the front brake which pitched everything out of whack and she "high sided so to speak".

Second time, about 3 months ago, she was sitting at a stop light, sheriff's cruiser just behind her in next lane. She's sitting there with the bike in first, clutch in, just as I've taught her with plenty of room to maneuver in case someone fails to stop behind her. Everything's fine until a rider going the other direction waves at her. Yep, she let go of the clutch to return the wave and that was it. At the next light the sheriff's cruiser with two deputies inside stopped, rolled down the window and asked what happened. She had to explain which cracked them both up.

Third time was this afternoon. Three of us got caught in a two mile backup on I-17 N. of Phoenix due to a serious accident, (lots of witnesses all around us) so we're crawling along with everyone else. Wife's behind me and suddenly in my mirror I see her just "fall over". Of course, I hurried back to help, but by that time she had the bike already picked up using great technique. Made sure she was OK and we continued home. Asked her what happened (of course she'd had about 30 minutes to make up a story) Said she put her left foot down to stop and "felt a pebble roll under her foot", was afraid she was going to fall so reflexively grabbed the front brake (again); you know the rest.

When I attempted to explain that when going really slow, it's probably best to not even touch the front brake, for some reason, she gave me a really dirty look!

If she is OK with it and learning, carry on. Nothing wrong. Nothing to see here. FWIW, 0-3 mph are some of the best speeds to be involved in a get-off.

No biggie, she'll get a hang of it sooner or later.

I dropped my first big bike, a KLR 650 3 times in the garage before I learned my lesson, haven't dropped a bike since and that was 9 years ago

For your sake and HERS ,be supportive and helpful . I am a re entry rider with a fair amount of experience and every one drops bikes eventually .
Regards,Ed

Function check of engine guards coupled with impromptu practice in righting the fallen bike.

What could possibly be wrong with that?

If you never dropped it, you are either lucky or just don't ride much.

CHeers

Tell ya what OP, just this minute walked in from teaching a BRC... we see this a lot.

One thing, main things, we have to repeat, over and over and over and over and...

DON'T GRAB THE FRONT BRAKE WHEN THE WHEEL IS TURNED!!!

I mean, we're seriously yelling... and yet... people continue to do it. It really takes 2 days of range training, 5 hrs ea, to drive the point home. Even then a few still have trouble.

you have my sympathy.

Cheers

Motorcycling is not for everyone....

I did not understand the first sentence. Why would a mod cut you off. Then I realized who would do the cutting.

But in all seriousness I was much like you when I rode with my ex and she kept doing inexperienced stuff.

Emphasis on the EX.
Is it all that big of a deal? Nobody hurt and she has learned to pick it up very well. but you couldn't tell me that at the time.

Are you sure you have the proper frame of mind to be teaching new riders? I've had many hours of instruction, ranging from the portly guy at the Jr. College ERC to a Moto GP champion. Nary a one of them ever raised their voice. Something to think about if your team is actually engaged in escalating tensions.

390, it is about the learning process and how far your wife is along the process of learning to ride.

Very roughly speaking, let's say that the brain has three levels. The lowest level is the part that controls our automatic functions--pulse, breathing, etc. The high level is the part we think with. The mid level is where we store actions we've learned.

Thinking about something new is relatively slow and tiring. When we try something new it takes several hundred repetitions to "learn" it. This creates new neural connections in the mid level of our brains where things are "in memory" or "learned" or "automatic." And, changing something we've learned (like leaning away from a turn) takes several thousand repetitions of the new movement. Your wife is still in the thinking part of this process. And, there is no such thing as multi-tasking. We can only think of one thing at a time, but we can cut the tasks into thin slices of attention. Releasing the clutch to wave is an example of thinking of one thing at a time. She still has to think of using the clutch. It isn't yet automatic.

Try several sessions of slow speed parking lot practice. She'll have no distractions of route and traffic. Find an empty parking lot where the lines are painted at 90°. Both of you do these. Do something nice for her after each session, and make the sessions fun. If she improves over the last session, make a big deal out of it. If she does some task better than you, do something really nice for her.
---Ride down a long painted line using just the clutch and rear brake to go slow, really slow, slow, really slow, slow, really really slow, etc. Eyes up always.
---Where there are parking lines across the long line, make circles in one direction that are, say, four spaces wide. Smoothness and eyes looking through the turn are the goal. Then 3-1/2 spaces. Then 3 spaces. Then 2-1/2. Then 2. If you don't make 3, OK, reverse direction.
---Make figure-eights in the same area, reducing the size as you progress.
---Set up a swerve and stop with sidewalk chalk. Three lanes, she comes down the middle, you're at the end in a safe spot, you suddenly put up a left hand, or right, signalling a swerve to that side then stop. Or both hands signalling a sudden stop. Then switch spots and she gets to signal to you. The goal is smooth movements, eyes up, prompt responses.

If you see her getting mentally fatigued (which certainly is real fatigue), stop and continue another day.

Have fun. Give her several hundred repetitions over several sessions of the braking and clutch and steering and balancing and eyes up to create those new neural connections in her brain, and she'll learn these actions. And she'll end up being a good bike handler if that's what she wants to do.

You guys are right! I did the original post just to "mess" with her because I know she'll read it. I should add that she had two years of off-road riding experience on a Kawi Super Sherpa before getting her current Versys. We spent a Summer in the Big Horn Mts. WY and the next Summer in Moab. We both did a lot of off-roading there. We both fell a few times there as well It's where we both learned to hate sand. She's actually a very good rider and I'm very lucky to have a honey that rides. She's a keeper for sure!!

Yes, I"m positive I have the proper frame of mind. thnx for inquiring.

Here's some things your Monday Morning Arm Chair quarterback style is missing:

In the BRC they are brand new riders, this isn't the ERC or Total Control. The people we end up yelling to "REMOVE YOUR FINGERS FROM THE FRONT BRAKE" have already been told, clearly, succinctly, quietly, from 15 to 20 times to only reach for the brake when they intend to use it.

A perfect example was a girl today doing a very low speed perimeter turn. It's 90 degrees and they have to be in the friction zone to do it. For the whole day she had been told repeatedly, over and over and over, to not ride around with her fingers on the front brake.

None the less, her fingers were on the brake when it was leaned over, she gave it a little too much gas, and instead of pulling the clutch in, she grabbed the front brake and slammed herself down hard.

Some new riders just have a hard time grasping that you can't do that, no matters how many times you tell them. So after awhile sometimes an RC may start to yell for them to stop that! It's either that or write up more and more accident reports. Or worse, they pass the test and then go and kill themselves in a corner...

And yer off again in your analysis, tensions aren't being escalated. Most are normally very thankful because most of the time they aren't even aware they are doing it. The other very small percentage (1 or 2 percent) shouldn't be on a bike, they just don't have the fortitude.

I'd suggest this... know of what you speak. If you know nothing about BRC's, then don't sit there with a pseudo psychological analysis of the situation, making assumptions you know nothing about.

My point to the OP was simply, in relation to his experience, sometimes you have to yell to make the point. Get yer hand off that front brake or your going to hurt yourself!! Many new riders don't understand that, they think they can use the brakes anytime they want, just like a car.

Cheers

So what. They got two wheels.

I've misplaced my "I've no idea what the fuck I'm talking about" translator...

can anyone help with that last 2 wheels comment? thnx!

Cheers

Tip overs........Meh!


Try tossing em down the road a few times..............

After having a couple low-speed tip overs, I hope the learning curve is beginning to level out for her...I get it that sometimes a person needs a real world practical experience to set their learning.

Oh, and some of you seem to be harping about not EVER using your front brake while you're in a turn or a corner.... in a parking lot a sub-5mph, yes, but in other situations..? or am I reading these posts wrong?

I submit that it's extremely necessary to learn how to modulate the front brake, learn that it does more than just on/off. it's far better to modulate than never.

I've been telling people for years, going fast is easy.

Its going slow that is hard on a bike.

I have to laugh at the wave thing. I dumped the clutch on my bike while sitting still because I was talking to my friend and absent mindedly let go of the clutch to reach up and undo my helmet. The bike lurched forward but I did not fall over. My friend laughed his ass off.

I know I'm going to do the, let go of the clutch, thing sooner or later.
And the "always use the front brake it's where all your stopping power is" is so ingrained in my head I forget & use it at low speed also. Haven't dropped it doing that yet...but have had some oh shit moments.

I'm going to be the meanie here because someone has to say it.

Your wife lacks the physical and mental coordination to ride and should stop either permanently or until she receives further training. If her reflexes are bad at 0-3 MPH when something unexpected happens what makes you think they will be better at 60 MPH?