Dammit, now I'm scared (as in afraid).

Well I finally got back on the bike today after laying it down about a week ago and I am so skittish! I have lost confidence in my skills to control the bike. I spent some time in a parking lot today and whenever I made a left turn the front wheel still seemed to slide. I can't tell if it is my fear causing me to "feel" something or if it really is sliding. I'm going to take it to the dealer tomorrow and have them check the steering just to make sure nothing is wrong. I dont want to put the new parts on just to wipe out again if something really is wrong with the bike.

Anybody have any advice to help regain enough confidence to enjoy riding again.

Drew

Have the bike checked so that you can exorcise that particular demon. Then pick a nice route that you can ride at a relaxed pace, even if you run slower than the speed limit. Take lots of breaks to figure out what your nervous system is telling you. If you get the willies, just hang out for a couple hours til they pass. It'll take a while and you may decide you need to park it for a couple of months. No shame in that. Just keep trying and don't expect too much of yourself.

Been there, done that. Hair of the dog - the only known cure. I strongly recommend you have it checked out to make sure nothing is wrong with it mechanically, then spend lots of time on it. I also strongly recommend that you DO NOT park the bike for an extended period of time. Ride, ride, ride. It will get easier as the miles pile up.

I made this mistake with airplanes after some mechanical issues in a rental Cessna 172. It rattled me, so I decided I'd take some time off from flying. Two years later I tried to force myself back into it. I booked some flight time with an instructor, etc. By that point too much time had passed and my worries had sufficiently entrenched themselves into my brain. The last time I flew a plane as Pilot in command was over 14 years ago.

I've had two motorcycle crashes in the last 16 years. One was almost nothing except for some minor damage to the bike, one was a nearly totalled bike, a fractured ankle, lots of road rash and accompanying pain. Both times I refused to lose motorcycle riding the way I lost flying. It's paid off in spades. I'm more comfortable than I've ever been on two wheels and ride about 30,000 miles a year.

The more you do it the easier it gets. That which does not defeat you makes you stronger.

Once you start to feel comfortable again you should sign up for some advanced training on a track.

I had an unintnded getoff several years ago -- on a right-turn on to a freeway onramp, the front end washed out and the bike lowsided.

It took me a while to get confident enough to ride again, but I'm still antsy on some curves. My approach has been to know where my own limits are and stay within them. Once in a while I successfully exceed my own limits by successfully executing emergency escape maneuvers in city traffic.

I know what I need to do -- find someone who can critique my riding style without getting all hung up on the proper line through a curve. When I can get really comfortable controlling the bike to do exactly what I want it to do, then I will worry about the correct line. Yes, I know that the right line will let me go through turns faster, but I'm not there. I know my limits, and I stay inside them.

What I want to do is have the job I'm working become successful enough that I can buy myself a second bike -- a beater I can practice with and drop and not hurt myself much or get all upset if I hurt it. But then I'll have to buy a pickup truck and I hate pickup trucks.

Anyway, keep on riding. Go back to basics: keep loose on the bars, countersteer, look through the turn, breathe, keep loose on the bars, you made it.

englt

If yur bike checks out ok, take the MSF class again

I get lots of people in my MSF classes 'cause they had a get off.

Let me ask ya, how much ride'n ya done before this last get off?

Take it slow and give it some time....your confidence will return. I also suggest you do some dirt riding. But be sure to have the bike checked out too!

If the bike didn't take a serious fall, you can do a lot of checking out your self. I had the suspicion that something odd was happening with the back end of mine, so I did the full joint checkout:

Put the bike on the centerstand. Sit next to the rear wheel (on the side opposite the swingarm). Grab the wheel at 9:00 and 3:00 and try to turn it on its vertical axis. Verify that there's zero play. Grab the wheel at 12:00 and 6:00 and try to turn it on its longitudinal axis. Verify that there's no play. Grab the wheel at 9:00 and 3:00 and try to push it in and out along its axis. Verify there's no play either in the axle or in the swingarm bearing.

Sit next to the front wheel. Grab it at 1:00 and 7:00 (to sort of align with the forks). Try to turn the wheel around the 10:00-4:00 axis. Verify that there's no play. Get someone to hold the steering bars at one steering lock and then the other. Hold the wheel at 10:00 and 4:00 and try to rotate it around the steering axis. Verify that there's no play. Grab the wheel at 10:00 and 4:00; push and pull the whole wheel toward and away from you. Verify that there's no play. Sitting in front of the bike, pull and push on the front wheel (just not hard enough to pull the bike off its center stand!). Verify that there's no play.

None of these tests should reveal any significant play in the suspension. If you find something, take the bike in for further checking. This technique is limited because the suspension spring force can hide certain loose joints.

Next, if you're still worried, set up some string. Using some handy chairs or whatever, stretch two pieces of string tightly parallel on either side of the bike. The strings should be at the level of the wheel axles. Carefully measure from the string to the tire rims. The two back-wheel measurements from each side should match: this means each string is parallel to the rear wheel. Then make the same measurements in front, on both sides, with the front wheel as close to straight ahead as you can get it. Now you can do some clever math (I'll have to make a drawing and post it here) and figure out the sideways offset that the front wheel has from the back. Some BMWs have a significant amount of offset built in to balance the weight of the muffler on one side. :huh But I think it's supposed to be centered on the GS. Does anyone know? (Maybe I should measure mine!)

That must have been a helluva day Steve!

And as the others have said....get the bike checked out first!
When you know that's OK, then you'll have a foundation to build your confidence back up.

Hey, that sounds like a great idea.

Me, I ride/race dirt so have crashed HUNDREDS of times. It has never occurred to me that it would bother me to ride again. And I have ridden out of the woods hurt many times. But then, I have never dumped it on the street/pavement as in traffic cars etc. Maybe that would indeed spook me.

-Vincent

I didn't know you're an MSF instructor. :huh
You continue to amaze me, man.


(If I take the Advanced Course from you, can I get a Moderator's Discount? )

About a year ago I had a big front-end push "event". I was riding a fun, rolling, twisty road that I am quite familiar with. I was trail-braking into a tight, decreasing-radius right-hander when the front end just tucked. The bike fell to the right hard enough to take my foot off the peg, and then the front end just regained traction and the bike stood back up. By then, though, I was in the middle of the left lane. If anyone had been coming, I would have been a hood ornament (or worse). I went back, looking for loose material or liquid on the road, but it was clean as a whistle. I guess I just asked too much of the front tire. It pushed a loooong way before it grabbed. It was one of those days where everything was clicking, and I was riding pretty damn hard.

But, after that, nothing clicked for about 2 months. I rode like an old lady, but I rode. I gradually worked my way back into being comfortable in the twisties. I kept feeling the bike doing weird stuff under me. I finally realized that I was really tense. Tension will make you feel the bike doing stuff that it's not really doing. It will also keep you out of the gas, which in a corner, makes the bike feel weird anyway. Once I relaxed, my rhythm came back.

So, relax and enjoy the ride. Don't push yourself to ride hard, just ride.

Another thing: I have crashed before, but I was a lot younger, and it didn't scare me as much as it pissed me off. I think becoming a dad changed my perspective a little.

Thats what my dad told me.

Yep, thats me. Even in a parking lot the bike felt skittish. I took it to the dealer and they checked it out and the guy that sold it to me even rode it around for awhile. I took it to the back roads today and a pretty tight corner that I found on accident that no one drives on. Spent a few hours riding back and forth. I am still avoiding riding in town so I don't wipe out/hold up traffic. I will hit it tomorrow morning (Sun) when there is no traffic and ease back into it.

I did today. Thank you all for your advice and support.

By the way. I have a Joe Rocket Meteor 5.0 Jacket that I wore today and it was AWESOME. Temp was about 55 deg f, overcast, widny as HELL and I was toasty warm under the jacket. It also saved me from significant roadrash when I bit it, although I put the pads back in, I dont care how "odd" it feels, I want the pads.

Drew

... what Rad said.

If you can find someone who can help build your confidence at the same time, helping you re-build your technical riding skills (but doing so in that order) I'd say it was well worth a few bucks invested.

I took some advanced lessons about a year ago - and was completely amazed at how much more there was to riding my scoot. I thought I had it pretty well sorted out - but was pleasantly surprised at how much an experienced MSF instructor could show me.

... in fact - I think I might do it again next Spring!

cheers - and good luck!

Those that can't do, teach


Hey englt

One thing to keep in mind about ride'n again, ya don't have to

Some people crash or get scared and never ride again, that is ok.

The reason I say this is because if you know it is ok not to ride, and you chose to ride, you will over come the fear quicker.

Good luck

i had a scarey crash and just put the bike in the back of the garage for 6 months. No point in riding if it doesnt feel right. The good part was when i did start riding again i was/am much less prone to make mistakes.Knock on wood.