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L4G4RT0

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Hi there,
Some of you already knew it, since I posted it some time ago. Well, I went down on a July Sunny afternoon... Went to the beach, ride a bit on sand, went back to tarmac, rode 1 or 2 miles and then, I was driving at 20mph and had to change direction, so I hit the front brake (usually at that speed I hit the rear brake, but mainly for lazyness). The front wheel blocked immediately and I went down. No injury, no big damage on the Busa, but I stood with a big question mark on top of my head. Well, some of you told me that the road could have oil on it (didn't notice any slippery substance there), there could be sand (didn't notice that too). The only thing I knew is that there was dust there, and that my front tyre was not in a good shape, but mainly, I fixed the bike and changed the front tire immediately (bike almost went down again when front tire was being replaced) (argh! had to be strong and catch the Busa when she was falling to the opposite side where i was - don't ask me where did I got the strength for it).

Bike fixed, and then again on July there is the big Faro Motorcycle Party in south of Portugal. Well, went there with a friend. After a (not long) night we decided to get back home. I gave a lil' bit of gas in 1st gear, and there it goes again: lost control, went down again, this time a little stronger than before - my fault - the tire was cold and it's not as soft as it should. Again the same damage, bit bigger, and brake my double bobble iridum.

I'm still fixing the Busa now, going to polish the cans so I won't spend much money. Busa is looking fine again but... I FEEL VERY SCARED when riding it. When i make curves I just feel too afraid to fall again, when I brake I feel afraid of losing the front wheel control, when accelerate, I feel afraid of losing the rear wheel control... Damn stuff here. I have a drivers licence for motorcycles for about 4 years, but July month was the worst of all my moments while being a motorcycle rider. 4 years and before this i had only one little accident, and that time i understood that it was really my fault since the rear tyre was in an horrible shape and the road was slippery... And now... what should I do? Don't want to ride the Busa like driving an Harley
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men... this sucks!...
 
Man dont worry learn from your mistakes. Everyone has there bad times like my first time on a bike was a katana 2003 brand new. I droped it 4 times within the first two weeks. The last drop was pretty bad, and after that i was like screw it. If i fall i fall and havent been down since. Knock on wood. When you start riding scary is when crap happens. Just take the falls as lessons learned and saddle back up .
 
Feeling scared of the bike will cause you to crash. You need to be relaxed when you ride and dont think about crashing. Once you start thinking about it, you will tense up and do something stupid. Just relax. If you are worried about the front brake causing it always hit both brakes at same time. I never hit the rear by itself. I will use the front ont by itself for normal everyday stopping, but if I need to stop fast, I hit both. Just get back on and call it good.
 
Ride it like you stole it! Seriously, be careful in the preparation and make sure that you are in the right frame of mind. Go out and do some low speed maneuvers to help regain your confidence and that may make you feel better.
 
yeah man what they said.....the last time I went down it took me some time to even consider getting back in the saddle. Now as BigBS puts it, I ride it like i stole it. I ride and consentrate on riding not crashing. There is definitely a whole lot shizznit to be thinkg about like the every present Brain Dead Cager and your reaction to there non-driveing ability, at least in my neck of the woods, those damn forest rats that seem to travel in large packs, road condition, and much more let alone worrying about crashing.
Just mount that baby and ride....ride your ride....just my .02
Martin
 
Tires in bad shape Bike's in bad shape. Put good rubber on it. You take care of your bike and it takes good care of you.
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Dude it happens to everyone... If your really concerned don't ride for a little while. Buy a book and relax... Take a break... BUT DON'T RIDE SCARED!!!

Riding when your head isn't quite right will keep getting you into trouble, so take a break Bro, you know how to ride, you know what the deal is with the front brakes. Get out there and practice with the front brakes and maybe replace your tire... Something aint right...

Either way just relax and take your time... No sweat...
 
Sorry to hear about your accidents. Just take it easy for a while and you'll be fine.
 
Dude, sorry to hear about your crashes, that has to suck.  For what its worth, when my busa was new I would go to the local high school and ride in the empty parking lot.  I did circles, figure eights, left, right whatever.... Then I practiced stopping, light at first and then harder and harder to get the feel for the bike in emergency situations. Pretty soon I was zipping all over the place doing turns, setting up little cone courses with soda cans or whatever was out there.  Point is, I fealt like a retard for about the first 1/2 hour, but I honestly have to say it's the best thing I ever did.  I still go out and do it....it's nice to work on fundamentals without having to worry about any other traffic.  Find yourself a big parking lot and give it a shot...you may be surprised.
 
Thanks guys. What stands right now in my head is "is it me or is it the bike"?
On the day I crashed the first time I went to the beach and fortunately on the moment the accident happened I was alone, because all the way there I was driving with my girlfriend on passenger's seat. Just half an hour before I almost had an accident on a low-speed corner... Guess that road was in terrible bad shape, and you know what? Last time I was there, on the same corner, the rear wheel also slippered a bit... so I knew the corner and was aware of it. 30 minutes later... I went down. What scared me most on this lil' crash was the feeling that I didn't made any mistake: I was driving at 20mph and hit the front brake... that shouldn't throw me to the ground!! What scares me now is thinking that on some particular conditions, everyone can go down without making a mistake
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Have to keep that away from my mind, I know, but it's kinda hard to do it.

Anyway, I drove my Busa last week. Went to a pub where lots of motorcycles join every Thursday night and for a while there was nothing wrong with me or with my mind. Cool stuff. Have to regain confidence slowly, even doing what Monty wrote "Find yourself a big parking lot and give it a shot"... it may sound weird for a guy who's driving for about 4 years, but yes, maybe I will do it, not to learn anything in special, but I will regain some confidence for sure.

... and again, thank you guys, it feels nice to read your answers
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