Getting past the psychological effects of a crash???

Discussion in 'New Riders' started by Wheatchex, Jan 12, 2015.

  1. Wheatchex

    Wheatchex New Member

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    Ok, here is my quick story, 4 years ago I crashed my EX500 going through a corner with gravel in it. Fortunately I was going fairly slow 25 or less when I fell. Reviewing in my head I know why and what happened to cause the crash. I ended up with a small bit of rash, a jacket that gave up it's life protecting my shoulder and fore arm, torn jeans and a hyper extended left thumb. Was able to ride the bike home 130 miles though. Anyway I didn't ride for a month post crash as I was healing up my thumb and getting parts ordered, I then began riding again and I have been riding since except for the period between the EX500 being stolen and getting the VFR. I now am a bit paranoid about cornering and end up focusing on the road immediately in front of me and tense up when I corner. Is there anything one can do to get past the psychological effects of the crash? I'm looking for good advice and not just the get out and ride comments.

    Brian
     
  2. rjgti

    rjgti New Member

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    i would recomend taking a safety riding course
     
  3. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    Building trust again can take a while. Knowing that your equipment is in good working order (tires, brakes, ect) will help. Learning to read road conditions which can change day to day on the same stretch of pavement. Wearing full leathers is a nice preventive measure. I ride with them even in summer. I am an advocate of learning at the track where you can really learn a lot of skills and limits of your bike in a controlled environment. Lots of good schools out there too.
     
  4. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Ooh, that's a tough one as everyone's hurdles are different, as is how they get over them too. Although not what you want to hear, I found the best way to get over it is to get back on and ride. However, to be a little more constructive, maybe instead of getting back on the road, where there are cars, people, animals, etc. maybe start out in an empty lot. This will help remove the "distractions" and create a more controlled environment, as a lot of the fear of going down on the street is the other vehicles that might run you over plus the fear of getting hurt again or to a lesser extent, the embarrassment of it happening in a public place.

    Find an empty lot and place some cones down to make a few turns, start out simple and take them at a slow pace. Get comfortable with the bike and slowly increase your speed and once your confidence is built up, make the turns more complex, i.e. 'S' turns, decreasing radius, a combination of the two and then start off slow again, gradually increasing your speed. Very similar to when riding in a group, ride your own ride, go fast when and where you feel comfortable. If at first you need to look directly in front of you to feel comfortable so be it, but as you feel better about it, start looking more ahead of you and into the curve. All it takes is a few turns where you feel really confident to help get over that initial fear and then doing some more difficult turns should help you get over that hurdle.

    Cheers and Good Luck.
     
  5. grabcon

    grabcon New Member

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    Everyone is different. Building confidence is a big thing like mentioned earlier take one or many classes. Your riding experience should dictate what type of class. Doing things the right way and getting proper instruction should help with your riding confidence. I hate to say it but if you are tight and tentative while riding you will crash again.

    Start slow, we don't have to keep up with our riding partners. Ride your own ride. Don't let them force you into riding beyond your fear factor or capabilities.
     
  6. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Do what Gator says and don't take up skydiving. Tell the instructors your story; most of them have been down too.
     
  7. marriedman

    marriedman New Member

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    I have to agree with what has already been said. But I will add one thing. You say you know what happened and how it happened, but did you go back out to the crash site? If riding out to it is too concerning, then by all means drive to it. Go out and study the spot. Visualize everything that happened. Then do it again visualizing what you would do different. Kind of like reply analysis in sports.

    That is a big help. The MSF courses are a great confidence builder too. They are always a great idea.
     
  8. skimad4x4

    skimad4x4 "Official" VFRWorld Greeter

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    Brian

    Others have pretty much covered the key ingredients - but it is really down to you to choose what you need to do to regain your confidence.

    Even great riders can be caught out if they unexpectedly encounter conditions like diesel or gravel which result in adverse grip. Going down on loose gravel may significantly dent your confidence on any bike, but with suitable guidance MSF? and practice it will return. If you were in the UK I would suggest signing up for one of the advanced rider courses http://www.iam.org.uk/riders which will analyse your riding strengths and weaknesses and then under guidance help you to hone your skills. Hopefully the folks your side of the pond can identify similar schemes running stateside.

    One other thing you may want to consider which may help regain confidence is enhancing the quality of your riding gear.

    Riding in standard jeans, even from a good make, provides only minimal protection if you end up sliding down the road being chased by 240kg of VFR!

    So take ATGATT to heart and kit yourself out with decent boots, gloves, helmet, and armoured jacket and trousers. It won't make you indestructible, but it will significantly reduce the risk of injury during a low speed spill.

    Take care




    SkiMad
     
  9. OZ VFR

    OZ VFR Member

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    I've never been for a slide on my VFR, but after riding it for six months on standard suspension with 60,000k's after I bought it, and just stepping back on after a 15 year gap of riding, I found I had no confidence on the bikes ability to handle bumpy corners.
    It would skip the front end and understeer badly, it got to the stage that I used to tense up badly coming into a corner and make things worse.
    I knew I was doing it, but couldn't get around it. I would fixate on the patch of road just in front of the bike and had a few close calls due to bad roads and tensing up.
    After I decided to upgrade the whole suspension on the bike the handling problems went away, but not my stress levels.
    It took a while to realise that the bike could handle it, and to build confidence.
    I now don't have that problem, I look ahead and my arms are relaxed, I can carry much higher entry speed and concentrate on getting my timing right, and look through the corner.
    The suspension does its job, and I do mine.
    It just took time and practice to build up the confidence again.
    Start on a road you know well, and slowly build up pace, concentrate on one thing at the time, when that is fixed, move to the next.
    You will never get rid of bad roads, or unforseen events, you can only learn to overcome them and ride to the conditions.
    Trust your bike and tyres, they can go harder then you will.
    Never skimp on quality tyres or suspension, they are the only thing that keeps you on the road.
     
  10. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Everyone has experienced this, its not if, it's when. My crash on my Duc was exactly like yours, my problem was I was behind my friend on his 851 and WAS NOT looking past him or even reading the road surface. ...big mistake and a great learning experience,
    Ride your own ride, read the road and always look way ahead threw turns.....took me awhile to feel comfortable going threw right turns, but got right back on the horse *bike* and rode .
    It takes time for us meer mortals, your not Lorenzo...highside crash in gualifying , brake a collarbone and race the GP.
    Good luck
     
  11. NormK

    NormK New Member

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    Those GP riders, hard to comprehend their guts, ability and skills, and the problem is the TV makes it all look so easy
     
  12. Gator

    Gator Insider

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    That is for sure. Actually going to the races and seeing it up close gives you a better appreciation but still nothing like being on the bike. Just the sense of the speed they are at, much less the g force on them. Crazy aliens.
     
  13. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Guess it's just practice makes perfect. ..JMO..
    Just like Roy Rogers song,
    Back in the saddle again
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2015
  14. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    We have lots of great advise here. most importantly the gear and courses. But it is you who has to build the confidence and I don't think you will build it up as quickly on a MSF course or on the street. The advanced course is a good place to go after the basic.

    Really though, I think the best way to build confidence in your riding is to get out there and ride, and push your perceived limits a bit each time. Eventually you will get back to where you were, of even surpass it. But the road is not the place to do this. Pay for a track day or three. Granted, you may still go down, there are other bikes out there, but I believe most if not all tracks have safe guards built in to reduce the likelihood of serious injury and damage. No better place to build confidence.
     
  15. adeyren

    adeyren New Member

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    After getting my first bike for 30+ yrs last June (2001 5th gen) i was also very nervous the first three months. After riding bikes all those years ago, bikes now are TOTALLY different. The thing that gave me so much more confidence in the bikes capabilities was doing my first ever trackday.Eyeopener.Cant wait for my next one 1st March Cadwell Park UK.
     
  16. Rollin_Again

    Rollin_Again Member

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    I just talked to some Harley dudes about your situation and they recommend having a few bottles of Budweiser before you go riding as this will help you relax and loosen up a bit. Also don't forget to put on your leather vest, finger-less gloves, and skull bucket for protection.
     
  17. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Now that's funny Rollin
     
  18. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Harleydoods are funny even without vests or gloves.
     
  19. RobVG

    RobVG Member

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    Good advice here Wheatchex. I'm in the same boat as adeyren, I just started riding again after 20 years and had little confidence to start out with. It grows with each ride. I've had the back end slide a few times and had an eye opening front end wobble in a corner. Each caused my arse to pucker.

    If you're not confident you just need to keep on riding and working on technique. I'm reading "Total Control" by Lee Parks and am trying to put what I learn into practice. I read "Twist of the Wrist" a long time ago and now there is "Twist of the Wrist 2". Books can give you insight to cornering that might take you longer to pick up on your own as well as showing you what you might be doing wrong.

    And it's all about cornering. That's where the fun lays. It's a great feeling when you know you've taken a corner well. And conversly you know when you've fucked it up. Just do it.

    One thing I do is to pick my line- when I'm driving my truck, all the time. Don't laugh, give it a try....
     
  20. OCLandspeeder

    OCLandspeeder New Member

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    The "good" part about your crash is you KNEW what caused it. It wasn't you. It wasn't your tires/bike. It was the gravel.

    So how do you get over it? Simply stated, put it behind you by riding like OOTV said. You can't predict and avoid every single obstacle that gets in your way. You can minimize it by slowing down so you can see the road before you commit. But sometimes even when slow you're already committed. If that happens you just have to ride through it as best you can.

    I would suggest to accept the fact that you can't avoid everything and just go on with riding.
     
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