How is this even possible?
 

Really. I know about coefficient of friction and all that but day-um!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1245600665.jpg

iron balls? that takes commitment :D

pucks and sliders.

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That's a great video.

If the Speed channel guy had jammed a microphone under my helmet 2 seconds after I got off the bike I'm not sure I would have been so nice.

What slays me is that these guys are really 'drifting'......at 120mph......with their knee dragging.......

Brass nuts.

That is a sick-ass save. I think it was dumb luck (and physics) more than skill though. His wheels were off the ground at exactly the right times where it prevented "knee jerk" control inputs from making the situation worse. Not to mention his foot was off the brake and his hand was off the front brake - mostly by chance. No chance of the rider making a dumb "reaction" grab on either brake which would've definitely lost it for him.

Still, very lucky and very good result for him.

I found the video hilarious simply because of the juxtaposition of British-accent Queen's English and southern drawl by the commentators. When else can you hear that?!?! The gratuitous sponsor hamming (Monster) at the end was a bit comical too. The way the promoter (I'm guessing that's who she is) jammed that "Monster" cap on his head not a half second after he had his helmet off and shoved a Monster drink into his hand was so blatant. Funny though.

How would you call this ? :eek:

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Also a sick-ass save. In riding circles, that's what's known as a "tank slapper". The front wheel goes lock-to-lock so fast you can't control it and your only hope is that you can hang onto the bars and that the inherent stability of the bike settles it down and dampens the oscillations, which appears to be exactly what happened here.

Lucky he didn't hit the sand trap. He missed it by inches. If he had, he'd have gotten flipped ass-over-teakettle most likely.

Watched it a few times and couldn't see for sure what caused the initial oscillation. Usually tank slappers are caused by hitting something on the road or shifting weight/direction REALLY fast (extremely bad riding practice). Looks like that might be what happened here - looks like the rider came off the turn and stood the bike up way too fast, so the momentum just kept going past the vertical point, then whipped back and forth (tank-slap). Bang-bang. Once it stabilized, the only thing for the rider to do was get back on the bike. Not that hard to do once the bike is stable, but still freaky looking.

doest look like a tank slap. at 10 sec, his rear slides out throwing him off. amazing save

My wife made this her background before I could! This is a GREAT pic!
The "Doctor"

I agree. It was almost a nasty high side.

I dunno. He definitely almost launched high-side, but it certainly looks like the front wheel goes lock-to-lock twice. Either way, pretty scary to go through and a great save. Lucky he got the bike going in a straight line and stable again without getting launched.

And here is what happens when you have more rear wheel hp than traction. A friend of mine a couple of weeks ago down at Hallet in Oklahoma:

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Hope your buddy is alright kurt. I haven't driven it but I hear it can be a nasty at times.

You don't know where he ended up after this pic was taken :D

Amazing what frame and axle sliders can do to protect a bike. Lots of drama but very little damage to the bike or the rider!

actually I do. He won! This was the Catalunya GP two weeks ago.

How is this possible you ask?

It's The Doctor.

Thanks for the great picture.

motorcycle trivia...

who invented that knee dragger method?

Mike "The Bike" Hailwood?

More important, who was the first guy to survive it? :D

nope.

best interview ever: this guy said he would set his knee down, get the bike balance on the three points, (two wheels and his knee), and simply floor it. the rear wheel would spin up. he found drifting around the corners the fastest way. the other riders couldnt figure out he was doing it. awesome story.

opps.

it was Freddie Spencer.

Tankslapper just did in a guy from work. Hit the wall, turn 7 Mission raceways.
Left 2 kids and a wife behind.
Buddy #2 just got life support unplugged at Harborview in Seattle. Left turner.
Not a good week for motorcycles around here.
Ride safe.

kenny roberts invented the knee slider technique....it was even talked about in "twist the throttle" at lenghth

...and that's why that corner is nicknamed 'the b**ch."

What's odd about his crash is that he didn't roll off the throttle when the back end started to come around and he actually spun the thing out. I've never seen anybody do that before, in that corner....give him some style points.

JR

damn! you may be right! didnt both those guys go back and forth in competition?

wasn't McCoy the one that started drifting/backing it in first?

Roberts was nearing the end when Spencer came in...he really perfected what Roberts started...then Rainey took that to an even higher level. Rainey was the on course to be the greatest of all(till Rossi) until his accident in the Italian GP at Mugello in 93(i think 93)

one of the first, certainly the most spectacular. Get "Faster" on dvd, he is on it alot....all these guys are, it gives the end of the 500's and the start of the motogp in great detail.