6 Reasons You’re Crashing Your Motorcycle

“It’s me, it’s me, it’s always me!” Is one of the first lessons taught at The Yamaha Champions Riding School. That quote has been engrained into my brain from the start and will stick with me forever. It makes things easier when it comes time to point the finger if you go down.

Time and time again I see guys crashing at track days come off the track in the passenger seat of an old farm truck pulling a trailer that carries the remains of their once beloved track bike. They’re shaking their heads in amazement that they went down. Talk to them a little bit and they’re blaming the suspension, brakes, tires etc.

Did the brakes really fail you or did you fail the brakes? Who’s responsible for maintaining them? Did you do everything you could to make sure they were in working order before you went out for your session? Whether you did or didn’t – it’s still your fault. Maybe in the rarest of cases. A ninja didn’t come out of the ground and sweep kick your front tire…although that would be pretty awesome.

Top Reasons You’re Crashing Your Motorcycle:

Cold Tires – One of the most common reasons riders are crashing. Coming onto a green track with tires that haven’t been warmed up enough. Driving out of the corner by adding throttle and lean angle, causing the tire to unload = less contact patch on cold rubber = crash. Abrupt Inputs – Are you smooth? Or are you “stabbing the brakes” “grabbing a handful of them” “slamming” and “flicking” the bike around like a monkey with his hair on fire. Lose all of those verbs. Staying safe while going fast is a dance with the machine. You have to be smooth. Riding Over Your Head – The day is going great and you’re having a blast with your buddies, feeling confident. You’re trying to keep up with guys much faster than you and out of your comfort zone. It isn’t going to end well when you don’t know how to slow down from the higher speeds. Lack Of Concentration – Your mind is wondering and you’re not really focused. Too busy thinking about anything else. Catch yourself in these moments, refocus or get off the track before it costs you. Rushing The Corner Entrance – You came barreling into the corner, missed your apex now it’s time to compensate for your mistake, over braked and now you’re on your head. Don’t rush the corner. Use your entrance to set up for your exit. Repeating Mistakes – Riding poorly and crashing doesn’t improve with speed. Be real with yourself if you crash and try and point out the things you did wrong. Learn from them and do not repeat them.

“It’s me, it’s me, it’s always me!”

I’d like to thank YCRS for this knowledge the course has instilled in me. The information I learned from the school is invaluable and the reason I haven’t gone down. That’s not to say that I won’t ever crash – but if I do, I know who to point the finger at and will learn from it.