Author Topic: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...  (Read 4861 times)

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Offline NinjaBob

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wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« on: March 01, 2018, 05:57:53 PM »
Went to the city today to order parts for connie. The dealer is in the middle of a heavy industial area. Heading to my next errand stop (beverage store) I made a right hander at an intersectiion at a normal pace and to my surprise the back end came all the way around! All my years of rising I have never had such a massive slide. I was sure I was going down!  With way more finesse than I thought I ever had I corrected and brought her back, the rear swung maybe 30 degrees the opposite direction and then settled back in line.
Woo Hoo! :trink39:
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Offline Brick

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2018, 07:41:14 PM »
Not sure we want to know about your years of rising!! But I bet your years of racing helped!

I had that once in Columbus when I lived there. As the rear started to come around I smelled diesel fuel. Apparently a diesel powered vehicle made the same turn and splashed a strip of fuel.
I have no idea why I didn’t go down but I rode home to change my shorts!!!


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Offline NinjaBob

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2018, 08:29:23 AM »
There are so many big trucks in this particular area that the roads are just extremely greasy.  Shorts too. :o
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Offline stevegrab

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2018, 01:50:10 PM »
years of rising, dirty shorts, thanks for the laughs ;)

I actually went down once with something like this, exiting a parking lot bike came around 90 degrees and I went down. Not sure if wheel got slippery (was fresh asphalt in parking lot) or I just levered it off the ground (didn't hear anything and doubt I got it leaned that far). Scuffed up some plastic and bruised my ego.
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Offline bcd

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2018, 05:18:44 PM »
The time that happened to me, it was because my newly-installed oil filter was dumping all the oil right in the path of the rear tire.  :o


Turned out the seal from the old filter had stuck to the surface of the engine and I hadn't checked. It made a gap under part of the new filter seal.

==BD

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Offline NinjaBob

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2018, 06:48:22 PM »
Hate when that happens...
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Offline DirtFlier

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2018, 04:16:06 AM »
"...Turned out the seal from the old filter had stuck to the surface of the engine and I hadn't checked..."

I've always made it a habit to wipe clean the machined seat on the engine where the oil filter fits.  Never thought about it before but that keeps an "extra" O-ring from being stuck in place!    ;)

Offline doug mcpeek

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2018, 11:00:17 PM »
BD, BTDT.  Didn't get out of the gararge, though.  It leaked as soon as I started the engine. 

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Offline bcd

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #8 on: March 05, 2018, 08:10:18 PM »
I learned a number of things about paying more attention during a simple oil change that day   :P
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Offline stevegrab

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2018, 02:05:02 PM »
I learned a number of things about paying more attention during a simple oil change that day   :P
My first oil change on my Bandit as a novice rider with virtually no mechanical experience....tighten the drain plug until its snug, wait still turning, and now turning even easier.  DANG IT stripped the plug. Called the shop, they picked up the bike ,did Heli-coil and finished my oil change. Never had that happen again.:) 

But removing filters on any inline 4, or even my VFR is a giant pain and messy with the headers right there, especially after heating up the bike before draining the oil. Sprint is a breeze since the filter is on the bottom pointing straight down.
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Offline JimRRides

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2018, 06:20:18 AM »
Thank goodness for your r****** experience. Nothing quiet so unsettling as that unanticipated slide.

I experienced said slide turning onto an interstate on ramp after a quick fuel stop (I didn't even put the kickstand down) at the 700 mile mark of a 875 mile day. I'd been cruising at elevated speeds on a brand new, just passed the break in miles, 2017 Yamaha FJR1300ES all day. I made the 90 degree turn onto the on ramp w/o even touching the brakes, it felt like I was barely moving but in hindsight I was probably going 35-40 it just seemed excessively slow because of how long and quickly I had already traveled. I fed it power as I went through the turn as I wanted to get back up to speed and the back tire spun up and came out like a MotoGP bike on cold tires. Afterword I was certainly scared but at the moment I just kept in the throttle trusting the traction control to keep the spin under control and pointed my front tire down the tarmac like I was riding a dirt bike, perhaps the only time I've ever done anything that resembled one of the Hayden boys. The bike straightened out w/o too much drama and I continued down the ramp, my heart thumping away like I'd just run a foot race.

Seriously close to scariest slide I've done because I hadn't anticipated it. I believe there was either spilled fuel or a build up of motor drippings in the center of the lane which I should have had sense to watch out for but didn't likely due to some road fatigue (which I also should have watched our for and actually taken a break at the gas station).

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Offline HawkGTRider

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2018, 08:22:11 PM »
I pulled out of my driveway one day and turned right to head out on a ride (aboard a BMW R1100RS). I rolled on what I thought was pretty normal, but the rear end stepped out. It wasn't anywhere near the extreme of your experience, but it sure got my attention. My experience told me to hold the throttle steady and see what happened. I was sure rolling off would lead to a high side or other unpleasantness. The bike straightened itself up in some fraction of a second (it felt like it lasted much longer) and that was the end of the drama. I turned around to find a big black curving streak across the pavement. Somewhere I have a picture of my "slide" as a reminder of myself to keep working on being as smooth as possible.
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Offline normkern

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Re: wow I shoulda been a flat tracker...
« Reply #12 on: April 16, 2018, 08:48:26 AM »
JimRRides,

The FJR traction control kept your back tire from spinning up too much. Played with the TCS on my '14 FJR at the end of winter on country roads that had gravel patches on them to to see how it worked. Some TCS systems kill ignition so they are an on-off proposition, but the FJR system modulates the fly-by-wire throttle on the Gen III models. Was very impressed with the finesse while accelerating over gravel patches. Sounds like it worked well for you too!

Norm Kern
« Last Edit: April 16, 2018, 08:54:43 AM by normkern »