OOPS I'VE HAD A TUMBLE...........WHAT DID I DO WRONG?

[xbally]

8.00 am yesterday on my way to work on the XBR with newish Avon Roadriders.....roads were wet,going down a steep hill 30 mph limit through housing,could not realistically have been going any slower,(estimated speed 10-15 mph)using the engine braking to approach a mini round turning right -did not lock up the brakes,the plot just slid away-both tyres i think-came to a very gentle halt half way through the mini roundabout.Bent the front brake lever and broke off the rear brake pedal stop on the right footrest hanger.Just a slight soft tissue injury to my right elbow.Two kind motorists stopped to assist but i had already got the bike upright in my embarrassment!I don't know what i did wrong?There was drain cover but i'm sure i would have ridden around it.There were a few oily marks in the road but i couldn't see much evidence of diesel.It's not a road many lorries use.The rest of the ride to work was very slippery.I think i shall just have to put it down to unique conditions.A month long largely dry spell,at the end of winter with salt deposits still apparent,followed by not particularly heavy drizzle.

[spooky]

bummer, mostly dented pride then,  onwards and upwards, glad your ok

[themoudie]

Aye xbally,

Pleased to read that you are reasonably OK and that the bike is just a wee bit roughed up and nothing more.

Man on FZR1000 going past my place just over a month back at no more than 40mph, had the front end tuck and fold on a straight road for no immediate apparent reason!    The road was damp from salt/brine solution and he was riding in between the car/lorry wheel tracks, where rubber, lorry chassis lubricant and other rubbish (fine dust/mud) accumulates and when rubbing the sole of the boot over it, the road was definitely slicker in the middle, than either side in the wheel tracks. The police also commented on this at the time. Incidentally, he wrote the FZR off, fairing, forks, frame after it slid over 50m on its side up the road pirouetting off the curb/verge. Whilst, he suffered a broken collar bone, that once investigated, required old war wounds to be rectified, followed by screwing and plating! 

Without the flushing action of a good drop of rain, your summary "A month long largely dry spell,at the end of winter with salt deposits still apparent,followed by not particularly heavy drizzle." sums up the situation the best for me. "Et cave ne equitem!"   

My regards, Bill

P.S. Now, about water/soil chemistry from road surface run-off? 

[Andy M]

Glad you are OK.

Tyre mould release and oily water give a bad ride, especially after a few dry days for tyre dust and grease to build up on the road.

Andy

[manxie]

Nightmare, good you`re OK (reasonably). Any moss about? I know the road I travel every day, new tar-mac about three years ago, the middle of the road between car tyre tracks, is starting to turn green but only visible when the sun`s shining.

[iansoady]

Glad you're OK and the bike nearly so.

As said, probably showers after a dry spell which can be very slippery. My last (and first for many years) off was in a ford down near Worcester about 3 years ago. The ford was coated with exceptionally slippery green algae - so much so it was almost impossible to stand and the kind chap who helped me pick the bike up ended up on his backside.

I don't think you get algae on normal road surfaces but who knows?

[xbally]

Thanks......just been through my spares stock and i have a front brake lever with my RS spares and a right footrest hanger with an intact rear brake stop from my XBR stock...My elbow seems ok this morning.I know i was lucky not to hit anything hard!
No there isn't any moss or algae -it's about a mile from any countryside-on the edge of the conurbation-but there is a country lane not far away which i ride very regularly and this does have a green tinge to part  the road surface.
As everyone has said-i think it was just a unique combination of circumstances but it just goes to show that even after about 45 years of riding there is always something to catch you out-NEVER BE COMPLACENT of let your concentration lapse for a second!

[johnr]

glad youre ok, first drizzle after a long dry spell makes roads terribly greasy, all the dust, rubber fragments and oil residue, combined with dried mud, salt and a light coating of drizzle is pretty slick, add to that the hill and camber and its a pretty dangerous situation. having said that, you walked away, which is always a huge plus.

[timbo]

Yes, glad to hear your relatively unscathed, and I agree with all previous about build up of residues due to dry period. I reckon the roads need a good 'power wash' from above, every few weeks.

[CrazyFrog]

Yes, good to hear that both you and the bike are relatively unscathed. I have to say that I've had quite a few offs, mainly on push bikes, where close examination of the road surface have revealed nothing. Apart from one occasion, the road was just slightly damp, as in your case. I ride around like I'm on sheet ice in these conditions now....

[SteveC#222]

I missed this yesterday with everything going on!  Sorry to hear you've had a tumble  but ity sounds like you and the bike aren't too badly hurt.  Sometimes you never know why these things happen, Avon Roadriders are pretty good tyres so must have been something on the road.

[xbally]

Thanks again to all posters-yes i'm fine and the bike is easily repairable although i had to order a new front brake lever as my RS spare wasn't quite right-although it fitted the brake light switch was permanently on as the lever was either worn or missing a locating indentation.I do usually ride very in the wet carefully as a matter of course and over the years have gained a bit of confidence in such conditions-sad to say this may have evaporated now-but at least i had to get back on the horse straightaway.The dry ride home from work on Friday was fine and i took out my Guzzi yesterday without any problems,although it was dry.I have even done a deal yesterday to trade in my old Guzzi and W650 for a 2014 Guzzzi V7.

[guest2083]

As long as you're okay, as of course everyone has said. I must admit I tend to ride where the car tyres etc don't go as well but haven't had this happen, maybe it was partly the newness of the tyres? You'd be right about the lever, I think the later electric start lever would be the same as the XBR but assuming your RSA has the original 4 screw mastercylinder yes it is rather different in fact I didn't think they fitted at all, but then never tried it. Anyway, safe riding from now on I hope.

[xbally]

Yep,my RS is the A model rather than the D and it has the 4 screw master whereas the XBR has 2 screws.The brake does work with the lever but as i said the pip for the switch has nothing to engage with-the ends are just slightly different.Spent this afternoon swapping over the right hand footrest hanger-i've also managed to fit a pair of CBR125 rear pegs as my originals were pretty shot.

[guest2083]

Yep,my RS is the A model rather than the D and it has the 4 screw master whereas the XBR has 2 screws.The brake does work with the lever but as i said the pip for the switch has nothing to engage with-the ends are just slightly different.Spent this afternoon swapping over the right hand footrest hanger-i've also managed to fit a pair of CBR125 rear pegs as my originals were pretty shot.

If it works it works, my old red has CD175 rear rests, because I got a set cheap, and uses a master cylinder from Mr Silvers, which is a two screw so like the RSD/XBR later types so I hope if I ever need a new lever for it I'll be able to get one of those later ones to fit. I had to replace it, although I have two original type ones, as I just could not get them to work, well, they worked too well, the brake kept seizing as there was a blockage and I could not clear it. I must have another go at them sometime, as otherwise they're okay. Anyway old red also wears later RSD tank and panels etc, and an exhaust made from motad downpipes and a micron silencer, plus RSD forks as well oh and all sorts of other oddities. The main thing is it starts, runs and stops as it ought to and gets me there and back, as indeed does old blue.