Ortega Hwy Ride Chad Crash (2 of 2)

The leader of the motorcycle ride crashes in the rain in this vlog of my ride on Ortega Highway's twisty canyon roads with the Crotch Rocket Riders gang.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Crash
• Ride
• Accident
• lowside
• vlog
• Kawasaki
• Ninja
• ZX-10R
• Motorcycle
• ZX10R
• Bike
• Motorbike
• ride
• Ortega Highway
• Ortega
• Lake Elsinore
• Crotch Rocket Riders
• crotch rocket
• CRR
• twisty
• canyon
• roads
• Sport Bike
• knee dragging
• Yamaha
• Suzuki
• Honda
• Racing

[danghewitt]

Thanks. The groups are Crotch Rocket Riders on meetup.com and OCMoto.com. If you're in town and want to join us, just message me. Or if you live in SoCal, joins us!

[Zawan]

Even pros fall in the wet.

dan, you can't get rid of that flat spot. Its inherent in the route you ride. If you ride highway 85% of the time, you will get the Highway strip...

If you ride twisties, it rounds out your tire, but if you already have a flat spot, curves aren't gonna get rid of it.

I ride with a noob who swerves in his lane on the highway just so he doesn't get that flat spot. He recently crashed.

[danghewitt]

@Zawan I run the Bridgestone Battlaxe tires with the three compounds from hard in the middle to soft on the edges. I noticed that the rear tire was the main issue and then it hit me. It is not so much the straight riding as much as it is the rocket-like acceleration I was doing from every stop. Though the front is getting a slight flat spot. Anyways, I've stopped the funky leaning and just toned down my acceleration a bit.

[ICBR2]

trying to burn the side of your tires, or i.e. chicken strips requires more lean angle....

Hanging your body off your bike should DECREASE your lean angle. Not hanging off your bike will INCREASE your lean angle in order to negotiate a turn....

I hope you know that...

[danghewitt]

@ICBR2 I have a very small bit of "chicken strip" left, but I am not anxious to eliminate it without experience of my limits as I am still learning. I know the reason for leaning and knee dragging. What I am looking for is more subtle info such as exactly where your weight distribution should be (i.e evenly on each peg/seat and should you be leaning your weight against the side of the seat and how much weight forward on the handlebars, how much push and pull on the bars, etc.). Please  advise.

[ICBR2]

@danghewitt to reply some more, shift your weight sideways, keep the mass central to the mass of the bike... shifting weight forward releases traction on the rear, and vice versa... common sense....

just practice.... it doesnt sound like you are a track pro.... move your own pace, and when alone dont hesitate to lean off during a turn at a stop light, or better yet.... a parking lot....

[danghewitt]

@ICBR2 Thanks for the advice, sounds similar to what I've been hearing and common sense. I don't have the cash for track days so I am learning slowly on the roads which I agree is dangerous. That is why I am trying to take it very slowly and stay within my limits. I am going on a ride tomorrow -- Snake Run again. I'll post my vlog and you can critique it.

[chadbaldwin]

@ICBR2 you can call me whatever you like. Doesn't bother me. But I just wanted to point out. I didn't just crash and then laugh about it like a dumb ass. I crashed, I was fine, my bike was fine. No reason to cry about it and totally depress your entire group. They came out there to have a good time and enjoy a ride. I didn't want to kill it for them. So I decided to lighten the mood a bit.

[chadbaldwin]

In case anyone's wondering, here's some details leading up to my crash. I had just taken Ortega highway on my way to San Juan, so I was able to scout the road on my way there and it was completely dry. I was wearing my tinted visor in overcast weather in a shaded corner...I guess that's what I get for putting 150+ miles on Ortega every weekend for 6 months straight and pushing harder and harder every time I went. Since then I've converted my bike to a permanent track bike.

[mrmidnight32]

Besides that chick you guys sound like a couple of fun riders.

[vellotrol]

@ICBR2 Totally agree bud with you bud! I ride since I was 5yrs old and when I went to take my motorcycle license test there were many Chads, Todds, Danghewitt(the uploader) and other clearly noobs wearing full gear I mean fancy pansy stuff just like Chad's wearing. It was a rainy day in Norwalk CT and guess what? they freaked out when they didn't cancel the test cause of rain and obviously almost all of them failed, the ones who didn't I know will fail later anyway.

[ICBR2]

@danghewitt is this your first bike,1000? IMO 600 as first bike for some (including you) is perfect.... I'm on a 600 and its like an extension of me... 0 to 60 in 3s np.... 160mph ok.... with that said after 2 years i want a 1k, however I'm still a little nervous about it because I get "happy" on the acceleration in turns... (on the 6, I've popped many wheelies and slid the rear while in a lean).... suspension adjust needed probs (dunlop q2)...

anyways... good luck, you have the mindset