Comment by notch656a | Hacker News Reader

Comment by notch656a | Hacker News Reader

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Wouldn't surprise me if equipment failures of even well maintained vehicles can get you to 10x. Just random failure on a motorcycle and you go splat.

I was riding during daytime, with many years experience, safely while going in a precisely straight line and not changing speed. Nice, 90% tires with rain tolerant tread and perfectly maintained vehicle. All drivers around me driving safely, me driving safely, rainy but good conditions. Hit a slippery patch on the road, that was somehow angled such that my rear tire slipped at an angle and I was almost instantaneously thrown high-side from the bike, at 70mph from an interstate.

Full body suit, helmet, gloves. I walked away without even a scratch (I still can't believe how). But almost died; only survived by the fact I was thrown towards the curb instead of towards the fast lane of traffic.

I'd been in lots of crashes before, but usually because I did dumb shit. This time really shocked my conscious because there was just no explanation, no bad drivers, no bad vehicles, no dumb shit, nothing remarkably bad with the road, nothing I can assign fault to anyone or anything. It was a solid week before I got back on the bike after that; usually after a crash I'm back on within minutes if it's still rideable. Impossible to prevent, and no way something like that can happen in a car.

Fellow rider, that's terrifying. I'm trying to even imagine what could happen. I guess at an angle means your rear wheel was coming around, slipping? Maybe the slickness and even your "maintaining speed" amount of throttle was enough to get the rear wheel spinning. That's just especially scary for me, because I really like the--illusion?--that I'm in control. I want a say-so in what happens, especially in risky situations.

I've totaled out a bike myself and gotten back on, but more and more I think maybe it's time to give it up. Especially because I think there's a non-zero (but small) chance we solve aging/death in my lifetime.

I'm thinking something like half the tread hit slippery surface, and the other half didn't, torqueing the rear wheel in one direction and throwing it to the side. The throttle to maintain speed as you say must have been enough to throw it. Happened very quickly, and as soon as the slick patch went away and the wheel gained purchase I was thrown off the bike as obviously there was misalignment between front and back wheel and the momentum of forward motion.

I don't think something like that can happen on an typical uniform slippery surface. I rode motorcycles exclusively for some time in seattle (rain capital of the US) and never had that happen. Rode motorcycles year round off and on for ~10 years before this happened, it was a freak occurrence. I think it requires a particularly nasty freak occurrence of the shape of a wet patch and the angle and entry point at which you hit it.

Unless you have a rear tyre profile like that of a regular car tyre this is very unlikely. (People who ride long distances on the highway do use car tyres) The contact patch width is TINY.

Well it took me a good 10 years with most of that exclusively on motorcycle before I crashed like that in the rain. I do agree it's unlikely, almost a freak accident to have that happen while going in a straight line at constant speed on good terrain. I truly have no good explanation.

I am no expert but if the whole contact patch hit something slick (oil patch from someone leaking in stop and go traffic) the tyre would first lose grip then immediately gain traction. This is like the definition of a high side anyway. Though I am not sure how rain effects things.

Out of curiosity, did the bike have traction control or stability control? I'm curious why it let you apply enough force to break the wheel loose.

nah

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