The_Phantom
04-21-2006, 04:15 PM
I just realized that I never fully understood what all these damn technical terms mean. Low-side/high-side/:blah When I took my MSF course and noticed that these terms were being thrown around and when I'm :barf -ing all the time they come up and I realized that I never reeeeeeally understood them. I had a general idea but not much details. So I did what I do best.....googled it! :p
I found this...
The Riding Skills Newsletter (http://www.megarider.com/Articles/Newsletter1.html)
How To Fall Off
For our purposes, there are three types of motorcycle crash - the Highside, Lowside, and the Impact crash.
A HIGHSIDE crash is a crash where the rider is thrown upwards off the bike. This is usually caused by the rear tyre sliding out, then catching suddenly. This creates a dramatic pendulum effect at the top of the bike and, as it is a trifle unusual for a motorcyclist to wear a seat belt, the rider is often flung upwards off the bike. At higher speed the ejection off the bike can be quite spectacular. Canadian reports have indicated that, at higher speeds, the rider can be flung to the height of a lamppost.
In a highside crash the danger for the rider is the impact on landing. Thus, in this type of crash, the more protective clothing the rider is wearing the better, especially if he/she lands on his/her noggin. On the whole, though, it is better to land on one's feet if one can. And remember to relax as you land. As a New Zealand Motorcycle Safety Consultants (NZMSC) (http://www.megarider.com/index.html) supporter reminded us as he recounted how he emerged unscathed from a spectacular highside crash, a relaxed baby can fall five floors and survive. So, as much as it sounds crazy, remember to relax just before you hit the ground!
An IMPACT crash is the sort of crash that occurs when a bike hits a car or roadside furniture, such as a fence post. These impacts usually occur when the bike is in some sort of upright position. The chances of the rider being seriously injured is quite high in this type of crash unless the rider has pre-planned his/her reactions in the situation.
The simplest way to prevent crashing into roadside furniture is to follow the Golden Rule of Riding and look where you want to go.
The best way to avoid injury is to get up and over the thing you are impacting into. The various ways you can do this are too complex to go through in this short article but the NZMSC book The NZMSC Accident Survival System, available for $10 from NZMSC, covers these.
A LOWSIDE crash occurs when the bike slides out from under rider. Since these crashes usually occur when the bike is leaned over while cornering, the rider has only a foot or two to fall. Consequently, these are reasonably "safe" crashes as long as you don't get caught under the bike and know what to do once you hit the ground. The most important thing is to apply the rule that, whether you are riding or sliding, "Look Where You Want To Go".
Of course, the riders who walk away from a Lowside crash with the least injury are those who were wearing good protective clothing, especially gloves. Since your natural reaction when you fall is to put your hands down, lowsided riders without gloves usually end up with very nasty hand injuries. The gloves that will protect you best in a lowside crash are those made of strong leather and preferably with two layers of leather on the heel of the thumb. Gloves with studs in palm should have the studs covered with leather inside. Otherwise the studs will heat up as you slide and burn neat holes in your skin...
Once you are on the ground, slide. Don't roll. When you slide, you can see where you're going and thus steer yourself away from hazards by dragging your hands and feet on the ground. If you roll, you can't see where you are going and, also, your extremities will fling and are inclined to break.
Another advantage to wearing good protective clothing in this type of crash is that you can concentrate on steering to safety rather than being distracted by the pain of skin being ground away!
Steering while you slide works. A senior NZMSC instructor was unfortunate enough to drop his BMW on a corner on one of New Zealand's delightfully winding roads not too long ago. He hit the ground and wase sliding along the road when around the corner came a large car. So our instructor steered his body away from the oncoming Holden Commodore while his bike slid into the path of the car!.
The score was: Rider, scraped leathers and minor bruises. BMW: lots and lots of damage. Car, minor dents and dings.
Well, there you have some thoughts on how to crash. We do not, however, encourage you go out there and practice the techniques. Just think about what we've said, discuss with your riding buddies these ideas and generally mull them over. That way they get lodged into your subconscious and when the time comes, you'll probably use them instinctively.
Which is just as well because, in the 1.8 seconds one normally has in a crash situation one has no time to mull over survival reactions and implement them.
______________________________________
A subscription to these newsletters is free and all you have to do is email us at nzmscon@paradise.net.nz to get it.
Include on the subject line the words "Free riding skills newsletter" and, in the body, include your name and email address (if it differs from the address the request was sent from).
I found this...
The Riding Skills Newsletter (http://www.megarider.com/Articles/Newsletter1.html)
How To Fall Off
For our purposes, there are three types of motorcycle crash - the Highside, Lowside, and the Impact crash.
A HIGHSIDE crash is a crash where the rider is thrown upwards off the bike. This is usually caused by the rear tyre sliding out, then catching suddenly. This creates a dramatic pendulum effect at the top of the bike and, as it is a trifle unusual for a motorcyclist to wear a seat belt, the rider is often flung upwards off the bike. At higher speed the ejection off the bike can be quite spectacular. Canadian reports have indicated that, at higher speeds, the rider can be flung to the height of a lamppost.
In a highside crash the danger for the rider is the impact on landing. Thus, in this type of crash, the more protective clothing the rider is wearing the better, especially if he/she lands on his/her noggin. On the whole, though, it is better to land on one's feet if one can. And remember to relax as you land. As a New Zealand Motorcycle Safety Consultants (NZMSC) (http://www.megarider.com/index.html) supporter reminded us as he recounted how he emerged unscathed from a spectacular highside crash, a relaxed baby can fall five floors and survive. So, as much as it sounds crazy, remember to relax just before you hit the ground!
An IMPACT crash is the sort of crash that occurs when a bike hits a car or roadside furniture, such as a fence post. These impacts usually occur when the bike is in some sort of upright position. The chances of the rider being seriously injured is quite high in this type of crash unless the rider has pre-planned his/her reactions in the situation.
The simplest way to prevent crashing into roadside furniture is to follow the Golden Rule of Riding and look where you want to go.
The best way to avoid injury is to get up and over the thing you are impacting into. The various ways you can do this are too complex to go through in this short article but the NZMSC book The NZMSC Accident Survival System, available for $10 from NZMSC, covers these.
A LOWSIDE crash occurs when the bike slides out from under rider. Since these crashes usually occur when the bike is leaned over while cornering, the rider has only a foot or two to fall. Consequently, these are reasonably "safe" crashes as long as you don't get caught under the bike and know what to do once you hit the ground. The most important thing is to apply the rule that, whether you are riding or sliding, "Look Where You Want To Go".
Of course, the riders who walk away from a Lowside crash with the least injury are those who were wearing good protective clothing, especially gloves. Since your natural reaction when you fall is to put your hands down, lowsided riders without gloves usually end up with very nasty hand injuries. The gloves that will protect you best in a lowside crash are those made of strong leather and preferably with two layers of leather on the heel of the thumb. Gloves with studs in palm should have the studs covered with leather inside. Otherwise the studs will heat up as you slide and burn neat holes in your skin...
Once you are on the ground, slide. Don't roll. When you slide, you can see where you're going and thus steer yourself away from hazards by dragging your hands and feet on the ground. If you roll, you can't see where you are going and, also, your extremities will fling and are inclined to break.
Another advantage to wearing good protective clothing in this type of crash is that you can concentrate on steering to safety rather than being distracted by the pain of skin being ground away!
Steering while you slide works. A senior NZMSC instructor was unfortunate enough to drop his BMW on a corner on one of New Zealand's delightfully winding roads not too long ago. He hit the ground and wase sliding along the road when around the corner came a large car. So our instructor steered his body away from the oncoming Holden Commodore while his bike slid into the path of the car!.
The score was: Rider, scraped leathers and minor bruises. BMW: lots and lots of damage. Car, minor dents and dings.
Well, there you have some thoughts on how to crash. We do not, however, encourage you go out there and practice the techniques. Just think about what we've said, discuss with your riding buddies these ideas and generally mull them over. That way they get lodged into your subconscious and when the time comes, you'll probably use them instinctively.
Which is just as well because, in the 1.8 seconds one normally has in a crash situation one has no time to mull over survival reactions and implement them.
______________________________________
A subscription to these newsletters is free and all you have to do is email us at nzmscon@paradise.net.nz to get it.
Include on the subject line the words "Free riding skills newsletter" and, in the body, include your name and email address (if it differs from the address the request was sent from).