"Thought I was going to have to lay her down to avoid a wreck."

[bicyclist]

You hear this fairly often, usually from someone in a pirate outfit. Can someone explain the logic?:rolleyes1:

 

[bicyclist]

I believe the word, "worse", is missing from the sentence.

Sorry, I don't get it. How can shiny metal sliding on pavement stop you faster than rubber tires that are designed for the purpose.

Furthermore, how is this maneuver executed? I can understand a practiced stuntman doing it, but for everyone else it seems like an excuse for, "I lost control and fell off."

There was a story in the local rag about some guy who got killed on a turn. The article said that two riders encountered a vehicle over the line and that the guy who got killed had to lay it down. Now that phrase was not in quotes, which made it sound as though "laying it down" is a proper response to an emergency.

 

[Warren]

You hear this fairly often, usually from someone in a pirate outfit. Can someone explain the logic?:rolleyes1:

I have heard the term but I am not exactly sure how I would do it and I am sure not going to practice it.

 

[Thwakum]

A high percentage of those who use such a term, I suspect, have no idea what they are talking about. "I was going to fast, thought I was going to have to change my pants" or "My last thought was, Is the insurance up to date?" somehow doesn't give the speaker the same air of daring do. Incontinence is simply less heroic.

 

[schwartz]

I assume it means to low-side it...which if that is true I would much rather "lay it down" then have it throw me off high side.

 

[Lorien]

The logic of it evolved long ago when motorcycles did not have particuliarly exceptional stopping capabilities. The idea was that skidding metal stopped faster than skidding tires and any place was better to be than the wreak your MC was about to be involved in. Times have changed of course.

 

[karl]

Laying it down is when you stop riding and crash just to get it over with.
No logic there at all. There is a lot of bad information out in our world. Lies repeated often enough sound like the truth.
Remember WMD?

 

[maxweljames]

When I was riding a Rebel laying it down was always an option because it was so light. I was only in the scenario once where it crossed my mind. A semi truck with long trailer blew a stop light right in front of me. My brain did the calculations pretty fast and I determined that I could lay the bike down and slide under the trailer but before I would emerge from the other side the rear wheels of the trailer would have me. I cranked the tiller over the opposite way and narrowly avoided the end of the trailer. A good decision on my part(noted after the fact).

 

[charlie b]

Lorien is correct as to where the term came from.

My father-in-law learned to ride in the 40's. His lessons started on the beach so the bike would not be hurt by learning to do emergency stops. In those days the bikes did not have front brakes and rear brakes were marginal at best. So, to stop faster you 'laid the bike down' with you ending up sitting on the bike as it slid, or, letting it slide in front of you to hit first. There can be bad consequences. A neighbor ended up crushing his legs when the bike slid under a car. If he had hit it straight on he probably would have come out better off.

Now days it is only done if you are going to hit something and want the bike to hit it before you do. Rarely does this help any. Partly because most people cannot execute the maneuver properly, ie, only if you have already got as much speed off as possible before crashing.

 

[ARKNT]

Yes, "laying it down" is an old school phrase and old school thinking. The case would be very, very, very rare that laying it down allowed a rider to come out better than staying rubber side down and using the brakes properly.
Try an experiment. Take some metal and slide it on some concrete or asphalt. Then take an old tire and try to slide it using the same weight on it. The tire is pretty tough to slide around.

Brad

 

[suvcw04]

Go fast, lock up back brake, lean left, turn bars to the right.
Don't ask how I know, but it involved a 1966 Yamaha YL1 100cc "Twinjet".
Ahhhhhhhhh, good times.

 

[JQL]

I seem to remember reading on one of the tyre manufacturers' sites that, of the accidents where they were asked to investigate the tyres, most riders didn't need to lay the bike down as the tyres would have coped with the situation!

I'll try and find the link...

 

[ataraxia]

you tube videos from this gentleman's channel ;

http://www.youtube.com/user/rnickeymouse

...show alot of low and high side crashes as well as good riding practice, all in the same turn. I think it is Mullholland (sp?) drive in L.A. All the vids definitley show the tires do a better job!

I remember that t.v. show CHiPs, poncherello "layed it down " alot. Most of the people saying they would do the same no doubt saw it on t.v. or in a movie. Another Movie that comes to mind is "Mad Max", Goose slides into a car and then delivers a smart alec line. I liked both. Both are definitely fiction.

I agree with John that we all should practice stopping in parking lots, deserted parking lots. The NT dives pretty hard and for me reacts very differently than my last bike. I am still trying to talk my wife into practicing the way I do, anybody know how to do that? haha

ride safe and have fun watching the videos, although macabre they were educational to me. IMO high to low side seems to be whether or not the back brake/wheel is locked up or not.
Leo

 

[Nomad]

I think "laying it down" is really just an excuse for "I locked up the brakes in panic, tried to avoid the object I thought I was going to hit, and down it went".

Nope, not an excuse. I started riding in the early 1960's and "laying it down" was the technique of the day (not necessarily a good one). As charlie b mentioned, the goal was to get on top of the bike as you laid it down so your body wouldn't be sliding on the asphalt. I certainly can't speak to the effectiveness of the technique, but I can tell you that I still ride a vintage Bonneville and I'm not convinced its brakes would stop the bike any quicker than laying it down -- it's amazing how much better brakes and tires have become over the years.

 

[coaster]

I think "laying it down" is really just an excuse for "I locked up the brakes in panic, tried to avoid the object I thought I was going to hit, and down it went".

I totally agree.