Bailing, stepping off

mike117
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mike117
Edited Date/Time 8/19/2020 10:02am
Watching this analysis of Villopoto's crash got me thinking... when did bailing off the bike when you know you're going to come up short become a thing? Makes sense, if you've got the reflexes and quick thinking to do it. I don't remember anyone (I may have missed it) in the 80s or the early 90s doing it... I wasn't riding or watching a lot of racing from the mid 90s to the mid 2000s; is that when it started?https://youtu.be/KJ-UuVCRR18
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SKIDLID
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SKIDLID 8/12/2020 2:39am
8/12/2020 2:39am
Pichon early 90s?
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fullfloater 8/12/2020 2:52am
8/12/2020 2:52am
It's been popular since 1985 Woohoo

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cwel11
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cwel11 8/12/2020 3:16am
8/12/2020 3:16am
I’ve only had to do it once. False neutral leading up to the takeoff. Between stepping through the bars or pile driving headfirst into the ground it’s a pretty easy choice.
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usp4u
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usp4u 8/12/2020 5:19am
8/12/2020 5:19am
SKIDLID wrote:
Pichon early 90s?
First thing I thought of
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zookrider62!
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zookrider62! 8/12/2020 5:20am
8/12/2020 5:20am
SKIDLID wrote:
Pichon early 90s?
Or the 10,000 times Bradshaw stepped off
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SKIDLID
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SKIDLID 8/12/2020 5:31am
8/12/2020 5:31am
I have stepped off at least twice. Once two stroke sputtered in water before the face of a double. The other four stroke lost a valve on the face of a downhill triple. Both ended badly. Broke my fibula on the first one and my tib fib on the second.
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DynoDan22
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DynoDan22 8/12/2020 6:25am
8/12/2020 6:25am
Pichon was my first thought too. It was the first time I remember seeing anyone hit the eject button.
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Mr. Afterbar
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Mr. Afterbar 8/12/2020 6:33am
8/12/2020 6:33am
I had a pretty spectacular step off about 5 years ago. We were riding in March here in WI due to an unusually warm few weeks. Changed my line one lap on a 100'+ floater and the front end dropped, most likely due to a soft spot from the still thawing ground. Fortunately, I only ended up with a torn up thumb after rolling up the windows and trying to slide it out. My bike landed upside down into the landing and was pretty thrashed. Much cheaper to repair than medical bills. The thought of my bike pile driving me 120' from take off was all I needed to jump off.
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bvm111
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bvm111 8/12/2020 7:58am
8/12/2020 7:58am
Guy Cooper did it also ... when he was on honda 89??? only broke some toes if i remember and he bailed off over a triple.
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bh84
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bh84 8/12/2020 8:05am
8/12/2020 8:05am
I had a big one a few years ago after an electrical issue cut my power over a 90ft table. Landed on the downside and slid to the bottom. My ATV went end over end 4 full rotations. Very glad I got off when I did.

Who knows though, sometimes staying on is better Woohoo

https://youtu.be/wj73ZOZBX5A
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zippytech
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zippytech 8/12/2020 8:49am
8/12/2020 8:49am
There also has been cases where the rider should not have bailed.
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Falcon
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Falcon 8/12/2020 8:55am
8/12/2020 8:55am
I'm a "when in doubt, ride it out" kind of guy. That said, I did step off once in the desert. I was doing this cliff jump step-up. It wasn't too big, but it was definitely a Do/ DO Not situation. No preruns possible. You would jump from a small jump and land on top of a vertical cliff. The drop was only about 10 feet, but it was straight down. I ended up casing the jump, right on the edge of the cliff. It was right underneath my right-hand footpeg, so I just stepped onto the top of the cliff and watched my bike fall away. No injuries, except to the bike. Blush
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T-Fish
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T-Fish 8/13/2020 9:45am
8/13/2020 9:45am
I don’t have the talent or reaction time to bail.
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wildbill
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wildbill 8/13/2020 12:08pm
8/13/2020 12:08pm
The ride isn't over until all movement is done. Luckily, for most of us, we know how to survive the ensuing pain. Even if that's stepping off, in a full endo position. Try to push the bike to one side or the other before you fully hit the eject button.
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Bman_145
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Bman_145 8/13/2020 3:54pm
8/13/2020 3:54pm
Greg Albertyn had a good too. My guess it's been done since jumping became a thing.
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Meister
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Meister 8/13/2020 4:56pm
8/13/2020 4:56pm Edited Date/Time 8/13/2020 4:57pm
bh84 wrote:
I had a big one a few years ago after an electrical issue cut my power over a 90ft table. Landed on the downside and slid...
I had a big one a few years ago after an electrical issue cut my power over a 90ft table. Landed on the downside and slid to the bottom. My ATV went end over end 4 full rotations. Very glad I got off when I did.

Who knows though, sometimes staying on is better Woohoo

https://youtu.be/wj73ZOZBX5A
Speaking of T brown, hate to see he's retiring after these next 4 races.
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resetjet
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resetjet 8/13/2020 5:15pm
8/13/2020 5:15pm
Ask kenny. The first time he bashed his face. The next time cost him his career.

Usually better to ride it out. But when faced with impacting a wall of dirt, i dont blame anybody. Let the bike take the first impact.
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wildbill
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wildbill 8/13/2020 5:20pm
8/13/2020 5:20pm Edited Date/Time 8/13/2020 6:08pm
It's most beneficial to downslope with your flailing, swimming bod.
gsxr6
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gsxr6 8/13/2020 6:00pm
8/13/2020 6:00pm
wildbill wrote:
The ride isn't over until all movement is done. Luckily, for most of us, we know how to survive the ensuing pain. Even if that's stepping...
The ride isn't over until all movement is done. Luckily, for most of us, we know how to survive the ensuing pain. Even if that's stepping off, in a full endo position. Try to push the bike to one side or the other before you fully hit the eject button.
I've always been able to pick a side of the front wheel to tuck into, then kick with your legs as the bike trys to pile drive you. Learned that on bmx bikes. I've endoed real bad off of a jump and done that and my buddies couldn't understand how I rode just fine the rest of the day minus a front fender lol. Every time I've ever been spit off the bike before the crash was over it didn't end well so I always try to stay with the bike. I'm at coos Bay ripping a buddy's RMZ 450 too fast and there's about a 15-ft straight drop I wasn't expecting So I just wheelie off it, gas pinned. After my arms and legs ran out of suspension and the bike bottomed out it sat me down and then I felt my lower back almost go and then I somehow rode out of it. Good times.
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wildbill
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wildbill 8/13/2020 6:21pm
8/13/2020 6:21pm
Wow! Coos Bay huh? I was born in Bay Area Hospital. I've left body parts at Horsefall Beach. Looking back, the name should've been warning enough.
Fonzarelli
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Fonzarelli 8/14/2020 12:33am
8/14/2020 12:33am
I don't know when it was invented, but I do know when it went to a whole new level.

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TheNewOriginal 8/14/2020 8:04am
8/14/2020 8:04am
T-Fish wrote:
I don’t have the talent or reaction time to bail.
Same here. But, you need to improve your explanation.😃 "I thought about bailing, but I remembered that McGrath recommended always letting the bike take the first impact. And, McGrath was almost injury free his entire career."
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Flatliner
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Flatliner 8/14/2020 8:54am
8/14/2020 8:54am
zippytech wrote:
There also has been cases where the rider should not have bailed.
Yep. Mike cinqmars comes to mind.
brimx153
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brimx153 8/14/2020 9:59am
8/14/2020 9:59am
Only at the very last resort. Imo way to many people throw it away. When they dont need to . Ive seen people jump off in mid air so many time s when they are going to barely over jump or barely under jump a tabletop .
NITRODOG
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NITRODOG 8/18/2020 9:24pm
8/18/2020 9:24pm
Ever watch somebody die when the bike comes over on top of them and they never let go of the handlebars? I have. At some point your brain needs to say time to "exit stage left" and it better be at the right time and only when needed. You are going to crash, learning how is an important skill.

We have always taught the kids by having them jump bicycles in to pools or lakes and learn how to get away in the air,
sumdood
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sumdood 8/19/2020 8:08am
8/19/2020 8:08am
A friend who's crashed a lot told me if you know going to crash, get away from the bike and "Get Small" less chance of shit breaking if you're all tucked in like a turtle in his shell Laughing
davis224
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davis224 8/19/2020 10:02am
8/19/2020 10:02am
I don't think I've ever consciously made the decision to bail, it's just happened in the moment. I've only done it a few times, and after the fact I would think, "How exactly did I get away from the bike?" It just happened like a reflex.

One of the more spectacular ones/funniest to watch, I started swapping in a higher speed whoop section, and just stepped off the side of the bike at the end and ran out of it on my feet as my bike cart wheeled. I couldn't help but start laughing because I had no idea how the hell I pulled it off!

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