Laying it down?

[tkent02]

If you talk to any older motorcycle cops they will tell you this "lay it down" procedure was taught to them. It might be those guys heard it from someone like this or even were taught it themselves (if they're from the 50s and 60s).

As everyone else has mentioned, this is now motorcycle "folklore" and is totally useless and missinformed. Keep it on two wheels. Learn to ride in all conditions and educate yourself to perform controlled stops and swerves. Keep your head on a swivel, always do shoulder checks before lane changing, check your mirrors frequently, keep a cushion of space around you, constantly scan the traffic patterns, look far ahead and always keep an out.

Always remember, rubber grips metal slides.

Ride safe and keep it upright.

Cheers,
spyug

I believe it is taught to cops so they can lay the bike down, take cover behind it and come up shooting. It makes sense in that case, maybe sometimes.

[simon kuether]

Well,looks like I'm the idiot.Having cut my teeth on dirt bikes,mostly enduro's etc in the bush , and not on the moto x track , I learned to "lay it down" as a matter of survival.I have consciously layed a road bike down once.I was out for a ride and forgot to check my tyre pressures then ran wide on a corner.I could have smashed into a solid rock face , upright on two wheels, or lean a little and jam the back brake on.I went for the second option.Saved me but absoloodle destroyed my bike.What you all have said is right.It's not a thing you want to do.The bike takes off like a rocket and you don't want to get caught between it and what stops it.Also you don't want to slide under anything,like a car or a truck.....but sometimes you just gotta do....... Cheers,Simon.

[Colorado85gs550]

The "lay it down properly" phrase is one that I was tought back in 95 out in Hawaii at the Campbell Industrial Park road course......

I was racing a 90 ZXR750 back then while I was stationed at Ford Island.....

We were taught how to lay it down properly because of the nature of what we were doing. The class I first took for racing used a bike converted with sliders and no fairings to show how to crawl onto the bike if you lose it while dragging a knee through a long sweeping corner. We also extensively went over how to slide on our back and where to place our arms if we went down at high speeds to keep from planting a limb into the asphalt!

I don't think speaking about this to someone who drives on a commute is worth wasting your breathe about since there is too many obstacles in traffic.

I agree with the others posting that driving defensively is most important and not worrying about "how to lay it down"!!!

[82Shafty]

ahh ahhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhh Hardley Ableson.

I would tell your friends that this does not apply to you because you do not ride a HD.

2) Tell them that when someone hits the NOS button, they really don't go into warp speed like on the fast and furious.

3) This cat never even attempts to slam the bike over into the corner; he panicked and locked up the rear tire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Uug3S-Lro&NR=1

[Big T]

ahh ahhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhh Hardley Ableson.

I would tell your friends that this does not apply to you because you do not ride a HD.

2) Tell them that when someone hits the NOS button, they really don't go into warp speed like on the fast and furious.

3) This cat never even attempts to slam the bike over into the corner; he panicked and locked up the rear tire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8Uug3S-Lro&NR=1

There's really no way to convince them they are wrong because they already know how to ride a bike (*)

So, just hope the subject passes. If they bring it up, mention that you've been practicing stoppies and see what they have to say.

Gotta love that Deal's Gap video - no riding skills whatsoever. But he can ride!!!!

[Pete Logan]

The laying it down thing may have been more useful in the days of totally inadequate drum brakes, when the rear brake was typically stronger than the front, largely because the tire technology was so bad that any serious use of the front brake was impossible without dumping the front end, especially in the wet, where any use of the front at all would simply throw you down.

In those times, learning how to lock the rear end and then slide the bike to a stop was a useful survival tool. Laying it down, however, was likely not the desired outcome, but a failed slide stop.

[earlfor]

The laying it down thing may have been more useful in the days of totally inadequate drum brakes, when the rear brake was typically stronger than the front, largely because the tire technology was so bad that any serious use of the front brake was impossible without dumping the front end, especially in the wet, where any use of the front at all would simply throw you down.

In those times, learning how to lock the rear end and then slide the bike to a stop was a useful survival tool. Laying it down, however, was likely not the desired outcome, but a failed slide stop.

Well, I'm not going to be intentionally laying any bikes down because I never learned the skills required to steer or brake with the bike sliding on its side with me on my back.

Earl

[sonnygs1100]

Well,looks like I'm the idiot.Having cut my teeth on dirt bikes,mostly enduro's etc in the bush , and not on the moto x track , I learned to "lay it down" as a matter of survival.I have consciously layed a road bike down once.I was out for a ride and forgot to check my tyre pressures then ran wide on a corner.I could have smashed into a solid rock face , upright on two wheels, or lean a little and jam the back brake on.I went for the second option.Saved me but absoloodle destroyed my bike.What you all have said is right.It's not a thing you want to do.The bike takes off like a rocket and you don't want to get caught between it and what stops it.Also you don't want to slide under anything,like a car or a truck.....but sometimes you just gotta do....... Cheers,Simon.

well i guess im in the same boat as you , I KNOW HOW TO LAY DOWN A BIKE AND WALK AWAY . i guess that makes me an idiot or a harley rider . when i took riders saftey in mid 80s they still taught you how to lay down a bike and jump curbs oh well what do i know

[Pete Logan]

Well, I'm not going to be intentionally laying any bikes down because I never learned the skills required to steer or brake with the bike sliding on its side with me on my back.

Earl

I actually learned how on a bicycle. I got a granny bike, and then my younger brother got a racer, so in an attempt to keep up I stripped absolutely everything off that bike, including the brakes.

So the only way to stop it was to stand on the left pedal, and jam the right foot on the rear tire, against the frame. That got the back locked, and then it was just a question of dancing it till the thing got stopped.

Strange though it sounds, it has stood me in good stead more than once on a motorcycle when I overdid the rear brake. Though I still regard laying it down as more of a loss of control than a deliberate technique

That said, we did have a member here who slid his under a semi trailer when he couldn't get stopped in time the conventional way, so like everything else, I guess there is a time and a place it might come in handy too be able to slide the rear with confidence, and even lay it down.

[KiwiGS]

Having done a bit of racing on dirt oval speedway tracks, I have laid a bike down a few times.
When I started racing we were told if someone crashes in front of you to lay your bike down. To protect yourself, them and your bike!
That said the bikes we raced did not have brakes and there was a fecking great concrete wall around the track!
I have also had a bit of "practice" at falling of bike on the road, and never once have I thought "right that is it I am gonna lay her down."
I think there are just too many variables on the road to be deliberately chucking your bike down the road
Cheers

[themess]

In the '70s I read a book on motorcycling that told how to do it, and advised practicing on wet grass, and loose dirt, before attempting it on pavement. Other than sliding under a semi, I can't imagine when it would be useful when riding a GS on the road.

As for explaining it, I would use the technical explanation that the friction coefficient for modern rubber tires is much higher than the coefficient for steel. After they reject engineering, I'd politely thank them, and change the topic.

[mottyl]

I was driving home from work on thursday going about 50km on a city street. Did a shoulder check and moved from the left to the right lane, just then a 5 ton truck decided to pull out of traffic and hang aleft in front of me. The driver spotted me and then stopped, leaving me a 3-4 foot hole to go through.

I hit the rear break too hard (panicking). The bike started to slide and I actually thought about bailing off the thing seeing as it wasn't handling like my old dirtbikes. Released both brakes, the tires caught and I made it through the hole on the right side.

This all happened really, really quickly. I am glad I decided to stay on the bike but you sure don't have alot of time to evaluate your position.

Chris

[MelodicMetalGod]

I got my motorcycle license a week ago, after successfully completing a 20-hour motorcycle safety course. I rode my Suzuki to work 1 day this week (I'm training for a 200km bicycle ride, so that's my main bike atm).
Anyways, a few people at work are asking if I know how to lay a bike down properly because it's very important. Some of these people actually ride. How do I (as a newbie) convince these riders that laying down your bike isn't an option, and that it's just an excuse to save face? (without totally offending them). Or is it worth it?

My response today was, "When you learn defensive driving in a car, you don't practice how to evacuate a car submerged in a lake, because they hope that the skills you have learned will avoid such a scenario."

Perhaps...

"No I don't...didn't even know there was a proper way. However, I've learned and practice how to keep from laying it down through good judgement and awareness and proper use of the controls."

The only POSSIBLE exception to the "there is no benefit to laying it down" rule is IF you are forced into a collision course with an elevated target (such as a semi's trailer) and will not be able to slow down/stop prior to reaching said barrier. The justification being that it's probably better to slide under than drive into an obstacle. Still, it would be an EXTREMELY rare set of circumstances that would find you in such a situation.

Stay up and in control as long as you can - that's the best you can do in virtually all situations. On the other hand, if a rider is so unskilled as to be out of control while their still up, they may just be better off layin' it down.


PS: One more thought. Layin' it down is THE way to go if you're trying to knee cap a group of people by sliding your bike into them. Staying up and in control will usually only get one or two at time.

[MelodicMetalGod]

Well, I'm not going to be intentionally laying any bikes down because I never learned the skills required to steer or brake with the bike sliding on its side with me on my back.

Earl

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor boy. Don't worry, I think the MSF is developing an updated ERC for poor souls such as yourself.

[Billy Ricks]

You don't have to practice or know how to lay a bike down. If an impact is unavoidable reflexes are going to cause you to steer away from the impact at the last second and the bike is going down.