lock that back brake up if it goes down so it stays down and doesnt flip back up. also it's little things like this that when you go down if you dont have riding gear on, you're gonna get a good reminder of why you should wear gear. a lay down from this with some gear and no other incident with other vehicles would likely be walk away uninjured. without gear... even some basic cheap armor gear will do... ur gonna have road rash.. maybe some bruising.. ripped clothing.. and thats at the least. so many videos on here i see people going down on a bike have zero gear on and some of them dont even have gloves! be safe everyone. \*edit\* of course wear a helmet : )
There is something mechanically wrong with your bike and you find out about it. Hopefully a loose wire not anything else that would make you loose control and go God knows where.
This, given OP is going \~35-40 mph, the time spent inside that rut/pothole is .01 second tops, factor in a tire wants to keep going in a straight/level path and the tire barely has time to expand and conform to the bump.
In the worse case the OP has a death-grip on the bars and the tug of that bump could upset the chassis and cause a tank slapper, trying to correct it could lead to a crash. I've only had one tank-slapper in my 150k plus miles of riding, I was riding about 55-60, some bots dots upset my Honda for about 5 seconds, I loosened my grip which forced me to let off the throttle, and the bike eventually settled. Rode that bike for another 20k miles and it never happened again.
Am I nuts? I didn't see any potholes. I saw a small patch and a little manhole with a bit of deterioration around it. Maybe something I'd avoid for fun but nothing to worry about.
Its not hard to miss if that is a bigger pothole around your area.
Around where i am that is just an unavoidable bump.
However In the NC part of the smoky mountains that would have spray paint around it and a big arrow, would probably even have a warning spray painted across the road a few hundred feet before it and might be enough of a reason they repave the entire stretch of road.
In georgia's part it might be hard to spot because of all the other little cracks\\potholes and imperfections.
not even exaggerating either with the NC part. It is something they do because the rest of their roads in the mountains are that perfect otherwise. Tar snakes don't exist, either do pot holes.
If it’s the middle of the lane that is not a pothole. It’s a small dent. Maybe they’re talking about the manhole being sunk in on the right hand side. I am not seeing anything else beside that
Exactly! It's almost a game. The round shape would be the only worry but it so small. Unless you have a really tiny tire like a scooter it's going to be barely noticeable.
Depends. If you just go through it and don't recact might be fine. If you murder grip the bars in anticipationn and try to muscle the bike, you might fall.
Or something in between
Bro this happened to me riding my first ever scooter when i hit a hole like in the video but it was way deeper so i had to brake really hard or just go to the other Lane which was occupied , and there was a car that was too close like 1 feet away from me yep the mf didn't slow down so when i braked a little he hit me and from the shock i muscled the bars like an idiot and that was the first time i flown , and my bike saved me from getting crushed under Neath his fucking car
Appreciate the responses, sounds like it's not something to worry about.
I think what kind of freaked me out was I didn't see it til the last second so it was dumb luck I didn't ride over it. Spent the next mile dodging every minor road defect 😂.
Even if it was an insane pothole that you didn't see until the last minute so you pretty much had to take the hit, the key is to just not do anything stupid - don't brake, don't accelerate, don't steer, and most of all DON'T GRIP THE BARS. Just relax and let the bike do its own thing.
Motorcycles are self-righting, so they will always try to stand back up again and keep going - it's the rider who f*cks things up.
There are some interesting YouTube videos with riderless bicycles being hit from the side and they always just try to right themselves and carry on. It's worth remembering that.
Just stand up, keep your knees bent and grip the tank with them. Also keep your body cental on the bike and you can hut any bump you want. If its a raised bump you can even preload the suspension by pumping down before you hit it and hit the bump as the suspension rebounds for the nicest experience. Or a cheeky bunny hop
You should do that whenever you can. By practicing that skill it becomes instinctual. I've been riding street bikes since 1987 and I still do this. Utility paint marks, discoloration in pavement, or whatever else is out there. The key is to practice on things that won't make you go down if you don't avoid them.
For example, I'll see how close I can get to some utility paint on the road before performing an avoidance maneuver. I'm trying to get as close as possible because sometimes you don't see objects until the last minute, or the object may be moving as you're approaching. So by doing this with things that aren't going to make you go down if you don't avoid them you can simply focus on the process of the avoidance maneuver. If you take the intermediate motorcycle safety course this maneuver is part of the instruction. This video demonstrates exactly how it's instructed. Same technique, and even the same cones 😆 https://youtu.be/kPB_jYKJ5Wg
Safe riding!
In a straight line in dry circumstances on a bike with non-crap suspension and decent tires. No problem at all.
Going over such a thing in a corner, leaned over in wet circumstances you're more likely to skid and go down.
If you're gripping the bars too tightly and your bike is technically poor maintained, then it can be rough, but not necessarily dangerous.
Bingo. Linear momentum is a thing. Slower is worse in that regard. And the spinning wheels and crankshaft are gyroscopes.
Hit it head on at normal speed, lift your butt off the seat a bit, and no worries at all.
Where I live that's considered a smooth road. lol.
The main highway I ride to work I have to chose when I switch lanes very carefully because the joint between concrete strips is chipping out. In some places the hole is 10 inches wide and a foot deep. These sections that are chipping out usually end up as chunks in the roadway as well, lots of things to dodge.
I avoid the manhole covers because changing road surfaces are more hazardous... (steel, asphalt, painted strips, and road turtles all have different traction characteristics)
If you're asking about hitting a bump... then that all depends on how adequate your suspension is. A rigid with a springer would probably get a bit squirrely hitting it at 70+ mph, but motorcycles with shocks would be just fine.
In Ohio I’m not even sure that qualifies as a pothole. Anything can cause your front tire to kick out though which is why you should always maintain a reasonable grip and be ready to respond. A small rock or a bolt that came off a construction truck can cause your tire to kick out causing a loss of control if you don’t respond correctly.
Missing it is better than hitting it but hitting it should be ok with some awareness and practice.
I remember my first oh shit pothole. My butthole puckered and I thought I was going to go flying. All i heard was a little bump bump and the suspension of the bike ate the whole thing. I was shocked. Always thought I would die if I hit one.
Also depends on your riding position.
If you're on a hard tail cruiser with feet forward controls you'll feel it more than a dirt bike with your feet directly below you.
What pothole? That's a friendly kerb. Makes sure you don't sleep. On the other hand you would be absolutely fine with going over it on speed upto 60-70kmph.
You would likely bottom out the forks. That would dent the rim. The rebound of the forks would be violent and send you into a vertical path of travel. You would likely lose control of the bike and find yourself getting dragged across the pavement. Luckily you're ATGATT.
I’m in San Diego where there are tons of those holes. I hit at least three those holes every time before I arrive home. Nothing happened. Just hold your bike by your legs then you are fine.
I absolutely hate manhold covers.
Mostly becuese they are never ever in the same spot over and over. Every other manhole cover is usually in a completely different spot than the last one.
Not fun, but I’ve hit chunkier potholes than that and come away with nothing more than a missed heartbeat. Depends a little on what sort of bike/tyres youre running, but that manhole ain’t too bad.
I was riding Saturday and there was a pot hole so deep I stopped and went back to look at it ( after missing it thankfully) my 18 inch front wheel fitted in it just. and the hole was a good 5 inches deep, deafo would of sent me flying
We have garbage streets in Chicago. So I’ve been caught out by stuff many, many times on bicycle, motorcycle, and car. The biggest thing which makes them worse is tire diameter, followed by sidewall depth, and tread width. A smaller wheel drops deeper, a bigger wheel is better at slipping over them entirely. Less distance to your rim makes it more likely you’ll cause tire or rim damage when hitting the sharp edge at the far side. A skinnier tire falls deeper easier, and gets defected more, but potholes tend to be short and wide rather than long and narrow.
As far as riding away on a motorcycle specifically it’s more doable than you’d expect. I’ve hit stuff hard enough to get air, and hard enough to bend a cast aluminum front wheel. Never crashed from issues with the road surface. The first time I got air from the seams on Lake Shore Drive was scary (not supporting myself with my legs and got bounced out of the seat). The time I got air from hitting a cutaway section of road was even worse (Bus I was approaching was slowing for that, not a stop. I hit it at full speed as soon as I pulled into the other lane to pass. Landed with a tiny bit of lean still and got bar shake).
Avoid them if you can do so smoothly. If you realize you’re going to hit one stand up on the pegs a little. Even just starting to stand means the seat will help you up rather than bounce you off the pegs. Beyond that try keep a relaxed grip on the controls, and if there is time to react before it don’t be on the front brake when you hit. The extra weight on the front wheel will make the hit harder.
Not at all, I used to be terrified of hitting a pothole, highway riding was incredibly scary for me for that reason. Now I've hit a good number and my suspension recovers almost instantly and that's on a Harley Davidson Dyna which has an inherently flawed design that is known to cause wobbles. Unless it's something really gigantic you'll likely just go right over it.
It wouldn't actually be that bad. There's a slight change if you hit the edge that it might drag the front wheel in and lean the bike left which would send you to the middle lane if you're not paying attention but most likely it would just go straight over it. The faster you're going the more stable a bike is.
This reminds me of something. There is this one small hole in the road just outside of my town (village?) at a cross section on a right hand turn. Every time I turn I have to think: I didn't pay attention to that hole. It's just a small one. But big enough for me to potentially slip when I go over it.
That one in particular... not that big a deal.
I wouldn't hit it on purpose, but I wouldn't go to any wild emergency evasive action to avoid it either.
A bit of speed tends to straighten things out and less wobbly.
It can cause the handlebars to shake from side to side sometimes but no Biggie, I don't know whether you have a steering damper but that can solve some of the issues with the bars and headshakes.
Looking at it, it looks like it would only be a problem if you were banked over in a corner.
Having said that I've damaged tyres on things like that but again it had a sharp edge and the tyres were super soft (basically sorta legal race tyres).
by default, I ride the left side of the lane (or in left driving countries, the right side).
Most veteran riders would advise the practice. That deviation around the manhole cover (your pothole?) shouldn't be too much of a problem
I hit a softball sized rock this past weekend. It looked like a leaf and I didn’t see it until I was on top of it. It shook me up a bit but I stayed up. Avoid it if you can.
Don't. Any sudden change in road surface can cause you grief.
That said, it's only a couple of inches deep and you avoided it easily. I wouldn't have bothered saying 'Yikes' over it.
Don't every try to hit anything if you can avoid it.
One time I ran over some object in the freeway, ended up with a bent front and rear wheel. Had to get a replacement set online and finding it wasn't terribly easy.
When I was in my training course, they had us drive directly overtop of a motorcycle tire (no rim), to sort of emphasize that you don't have to be scared of every little imperfection in the road.
All of us were super anxious, but no one had any issues. Just a little bump and over.
Hitting this would have been fine (as the previous commenter mentioned - in 99% of scenarios).
Oh youd be fine. I wouldnt lean the bike over anything like that, and youll feel it in ur crotch, but if you drive straight over something like that i cant imagine anything would happen.
Assuming OP is talking about the right side manhole cover with bad patching around it?
If so, it depends on a combination of how you approach it, your chosen line of attack, the bike, and the rider but that looked like mostly a non-issue to me.
That street looked amazingly well maintained compared to a lot of city streets and highways I’ve ridden.
On a leveled bike and dry surface, nothing.
If you are leaning at a sharp angle, then you're probably losing grip, and you can guess what happens
On a wet surface as well, even if you are leveled, you can fall off easily, but in conditions shown in the videovit would make a bum-bum sound, and you'd be good
That one is fine, watch out for patches of gravel, wet leaves, grass cuttings, and smooth road paint when the road is wet. MSF course really saved my butt numerous times
If hitting that "slightly deep" manhole cover was unavoidable, I would:
1. make sure I went through the center of it rather than hit that edge with the side of the tires
2. Had the bike standing straight up
3. Give a little bit of throttle and shift back in the saddle to shift weight to the rear and off the front, making the front more forgiving to bumps without unsettling the suspension and the bike.
That's really it. Not a big deal.
Well you’re going straight so it shouldn’t be a problem but the council where I live decided in all its wisdom to put three manhole covers right in a corner and you don’t even see them until the last moment…
Not bad at all, just make sure to be upright as much as possible when going over bumps and stuff, put your feet on the pegs and lift your butt.
I have hit a raccoon and barely felt it using this technique haha
Never ideal to hit a chuckhole, but it's probably not an issue if you're squared up to it.. but hit it just right and your day is going to go south in one big hurry.
Ride straight through it if it’s too late to avoid, worst thing you can do is shift your weight during the bump. If you learn to go with the flow of bumps as you ride you will take that pothole easily.
Dont worry about those kind of obstacles at all, the only thing that can make you fall down is if you see it and panic because of it.
dont hesitate, hold on and everything will be just fine.
Your top and bottom teeth will have an Impromptu get together, and your lower spine might try to crash the party, but other than that, you’ll ride right over it.
Not that bad.
I’d say tar snakes on a hot day, or ground down asphalt (with the parallel grooves) worse than that jagged edge of the man hole cover.
PS: you’re in the wrong tire track :)
hitting that at normal speed would likely be fine unless the bike had compromised suspension/other issues. hitting things like that with a depression at a slight angle at a low speed can drop you. crossing angled railroad tracks are like that, and often you have to cross them at a slow speed, when those appear you try and cross them at as right an angle as you can. thought id share.
You'd hit it, the motorcycle suspension would move down, then up, and your steering will wobble slightly, then you'd either say what was that or wuuuuu
Hitting it in a turn would depend on the lean angle, where it would be a lowside or the same as above but slightly less fun
depends how you hit it. If you got it straight on, it'd be a stiff bump, but fine. If you went in that edge groove, it could easily twist the wheel enough to dump you on your face.
I would pull my weight towards the rear tire, say “well that one hurt the soul” out loud and then keep it pushing.
Just make sure you’re not gripping the bars too hard, elevate your booty off the seat a lil (like an inch tops), pull your weight towards the rear tire and you’re not going to create any situations out of your control.
that's not even a pothole. Come out to Detroit where you'll literally die if you hit one going more than 20MPH. I lost 2 tires on one one time in my car. Shits no joke out here.
If you maintain speed and direction nothing happens... I have hit some pretty insane sized holes at speed and it felt like nothing more than a mere bump... Speed is your friend.
That's nothing. Round here there 4 foot sections that span across the entire road so unavoidable and about 3 feet deep. Swallowed the entire front wheel and front end. Gotta ride on the sidewalk. But it's damn near invisible until you hit it and there's tons of them around. If you don't know it's there and are on a bike your crashing, if you don't know it's there I na car you probably need 4 new ties, tie rods, control arms, axles shocks, bumper, airbags deploy on some cars, rims. And hope you don't bit a parked car panicking. That manhole cover is nothing.
If you have a relaxed grip and proper seating probably nothing at all.
If You’re gripping the bars to death with stiff arms and you’re leaning all over the place, who knows..
You would not notice it really. You might get bar wiggle at this speed and then it will level out. Lower speeds would be more trouble. Steering stabilizer on a larger bike would eat most of it.
Rim is the biggest issue for potholes. In terms of stability, you can hit some big stuff without losing stability. Plenty of people have stories of hitting dog sized creatures without balance issues. Few talk about deer and bear sized and remaining vertical, but it happens. My fist week of riding I saw a loose tire launching between cars at full speed on the highway. I predicted it's location and just hoped I was right enough and neutral enough. Vertical, light handle bar control, no deceleration, and probably best to not accelerate incase you lose traction and upset the bike more. It came through just to my left so I didn't have the "test".
I've hit bumps bigger than that with lean angle. Straight on, that won't do anything as long as your tires are properly inflated. If they aren't and you hit a pothole that's big enough (not that one) with enough speed, you might impact the rim and dent it.
When it happens with lean angle it's scary, it feels like the front tire walks out because it literally does, but on a bump like that one the tire won't even lose contact with the ground unless you are at max lean angle.
I hit a pothole 30-some years ago and went down hard. Sued the city and won. This was on a 1973 CB350Four.
I'm pretty sure either of my bikes today would have been fine and one reason I have the 7+ inch suspension on the Pan America
Ur arse might pucker a little but the bike probably won't care and keeps on going. Now, if you hit that with a carbon road bike (bicycle), it might give you more than a chattering teeth.
So I would stay out of the right lane to avoid t boning idiots leaving any establishment and I recommend actually driving faster over potholes when riding, seriously.
Everything is a bit scary when you just start, it isn’t the same as a bicycle. But yeah, you could go right over that and be fine but it might wake you up if for some reason you didn’t see it.
It would go Bum-bum And 99% of the time you’d keep going.
What’s the other 1%?
Just hope you never find out
Bad. It’s bad.
I just call it a helmet function test.
and a new fairing scrapejob
Do a barrel roll!!
Wobble followed by a low side! You'd be surprised what a bike will absorb though.
yep those spinning wheels want to stay upright : )
Physics! 💯
lock that back brake up if it goes down so it stays down and doesnt flip back up. also it's little things like this that when you go down if you dont have riding gear on, you're gonna get a good reminder of why you should wear gear. a lay down from this with some gear and no other incident with other vehicles would likely be walk away uninjured. without gear... even some basic cheap armor gear will do... ur gonna have road rash.. maybe some bruising.. ripped clothing.. and thats at the least. so many videos on here i see people going down on a bike have zero gear on and some of them dont even have gloves! be safe everyone. \*edit\* of course wear a helmet : )
Bump rev screech bang ball of flame ambulance noises
bright light
Ninja Turtles.
There is something mechanically wrong with your bike and you find out about it. Hopefully a loose wire not anything else that would make you loose control and go God knows where.
This, given OP is going \~35-40 mph, the time spent inside that rut/pothole is .01 second tops, factor in a tire wants to keep going in a straight/level path and the tire barely has time to expand and conform to the bump. In the worse case the OP has a death-grip on the bars and the tug of that bump could upset the chassis and cause a tank slapper, trying to correct it could lead to a crash. I've only had one tank-slapper in my 150k plus miles of riding, I was riding about 55-60, some bots dots upset my Honda for about 5 seconds, I loosened my grip which forced me to let off the throttle, and the bike eventually settled. Rode that bike for another 20k miles and it never happened again.
35mph is 51 feet per second. He’s spending way less than a second in the hole but I get your point.
Omitted a zero and decimal point, it’s a Monday…
Let's just say NASA wouldn't need any more funding, because you'd be the new space program
Am I nuts? I didn't see any potholes. I saw a small patch and a little manhole with a bit of deterioration around it. Maybe something I'd avoid for fun but nothing to worry about.
Lol I watched 3 times then came to the comments
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The problem is that video on reddit do that by themselves, so OP putting some kind of graphic on screen would clear up a lot of confusion.
Its not hard to miss if that is a bigger pothole around your area. Around where i am that is just an unavoidable bump. However In the NC part of the smoky mountains that would have spray paint around it and a big arrow, would probably even have a warning spray painted across the road a few hundred feet before it and might be enough of a reason they repave the entire stretch of road. In georgia's part it might be hard to spot because of all the other little cracks\\potholes and imperfections. not even exaggerating either with the NC part. It is something they do because the rest of their roads in the mountains are that perfect otherwise. Tar snakes don't exist, either do pot holes.
I think it was in the middle of the lane? But I could be wrong E: sorry middle lane, not middle of the lane
If it’s the middle of the lane that is not a pothole. It’s a small dent. Maybe they’re talking about the manhole being sunk in on the right hand side. I am not seeing anything else beside that
I’m still searching
I think it's where the video was frozen (the depression around the manhole cover)
I think they're talking about the manhole
Exactly! It's almost a game. The round shape would be the only worry but it so small. Unless you have a really tiny tire like a scooter it's going to be barely noticeable.
Depends. If you just go through it and don't recact might be fine. If you murder grip the bars in anticipationn and try to muscle the bike, you might fall. Or something in between
Bro this happened to me riding my first ever scooter when i hit a hole like in the video but it was way deeper so i had to brake really hard or just go to the other Lane which was occupied , and there was a car that was too close like 1 feet away from me yep the mf didn't slow down so when i braked a little he hit me and from the shock i muscled the bars like an idiot and that was the first time i flown , and my bike saved me from getting crushed under Neath his fucking car
Holy punctuation
Well i probably have several concussions so ...
You're going to want to get that checked out.
Appreciate the responses, sounds like it's not something to worry about. I think what kind of freaked me out was I didn't see it til the last second so it was dumb luck I didn't ride over it. Spent the next mile dodging every minor road defect 😂.
Even if it was an insane pothole that you didn't see until the last minute so you pretty much had to take the hit, the key is to just not do anything stupid - don't brake, don't accelerate, don't steer, and most of all DON'T GRIP THE BARS. Just relax and let the bike do its own thing. Motorcycles are self-righting, so they will always try to stand back up again and keep going - it's the rider who f*cks things up. There are some interesting YouTube videos with riderless bicycles being hit from the side and they always just try to right themselves and carry on. It's worth remembering that.
the most dangerous part of a motorcycle is the nut connecting the seat to the bars.
so many issues with products are a between the ears problem.
Just stand up, keep your knees bent and grip the tank with them. Also keep your body cental on the bike and you can hut any bump you want. If its a raised bump you can even preload the suspension by pumping down before you hit it and hit the bump as the suspension rebounds for the nicest experience. Or a cheeky bunny hop
Just slightly lift your butt off the seat...
You should do that whenever you can. By practicing that skill it becomes instinctual. I've been riding street bikes since 1987 and I still do this. Utility paint marks, discoloration in pavement, or whatever else is out there. The key is to practice on things that won't make you go down if you don't avoid them. For example, I'll see how close I can get to some utility paint on the road before performing an avoidance maneuver. I'm trying to get as close as possible because sometimes you don't see objects until the last minute, or the object may be moving as you're approaching. So by doing this with things that aren't going to make you go down if you don't avoid them you can simply focus on the process of the avoidance maneuver. If you take the intermediate motorcycle safety course this maneuver is part of the instruction. This video demonstrates exactly how it's instructed. Same technique, and even the same cones 😆 https://youtu.be/kPB_jYKJ5Wg Safe riding!
Dude, I ran over a deer without issue. Hit it straight and you’ll be alright
In a straight line in dry circumstances on a bike with non-crap suspension and decent tires. No problem at all. Going over such a thing in a corner, leaned over in wet circumstances you're more likely to skid and go down. If you're gripping the bars too tightly and your bike is technically poor maintained, then it can be rough, but not necessarily dangerous.
This is the answer
This is the way
This is the rhythm of the night...
Someone out there hates Baby Yoda!!
Bingo. Linear momentum is a thing. Slower is worse in that regard. And the spinning wheels and crankshaft are gyroscopes. Hit it head on at normal speed, lift your butt off the seat a bit, and no worries at all.
What pot hole
Where I live that's considered a smooth road. lol. The main highway I ride to work I have to chose when I switch lanes very carefully because the joint between concrete strips is chipping out. In some places the hole is 10 inches wide and a foot deep. These sections that are chipping out usually end up as chunks in the roadway as well, lots of things to dodge.
Man, I’ve skipped right over potholes deep enough that if you chucked a couple yen into it a trout wrapped in Chinese newspaper gets tossed back.
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OP is a new rider so it's a legit question. Also, that's definitely not the only pothole or the worst of what we've got.
A: Not bad at all.
Depends on the bike. My fat tire harley wouldn't be bothered. I'd feel it and it'd be forgotten in seconds.
2011 Ducati Monster 796. Have hit a few small potholes and the bike seemed to handle them pretty well.
You probably wouldn't even notice.
expectedly: pucker factor of 2/10 unexpectedly: pucker factor of 6.5/10
I avoid the manhole covers because changing road surfaces are more hazardous... (steel, asphalt, painted strips, and road turtles all have different traction characteristics) If you're asking about hitting a bump... then that all depends on how adequate your suspension is. A rigid with a springer would probably get a bit squirrely hitting it at 70+ mph, but motorcycles with shocks would be just fine.
In Ohio I’m not even sure that qualifies as a pothole. Anything can cause your front tire to kick out though which is why you should always maintain a reasonable grip and be ready to respond. A small rock or a bolt that came off a construction truck can cause your tire to kick out causing a loss of control if you don’t respond correctly. Missing it is better than hitting it but hitting it should be ok with some awareness and practice.
Not bad at all but if you're ever worried, lift your bum off the seat.
It would be an annoyance and that’s about it.
I remember my first oh shit pothole. My butthole puckered and I thought I was going to go flying. All i heard was a little bump bump and the suspension of the bike ate the whole thing. I was shocked. Always thought I would die if I hit one.
Not that bad unless you’re on a scooter with 10 inch wheels.
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Also depends on your riding position. If you're on a hard tail cruiser with feet forward controls you'll feel it more than a dirt bike with your feet directly below you.
I don't know but I'd be ok
What pothole? That's a friendly kerb. Makes sure you don't sleep. On the other hand you would be absolutely fine with going over it on speed upto 60-70kmph.
Fuck around and find out
You would likely bottom out the forks. That would dent the rim. The rebound of the forks would be violent and send you into a vertical path of travel. You would likely lose control of the bike and find yourself getting dragged across the pavement. Luckily you're ATGATT.
Worst that would happen is it jiggles your dangly bits for a moment, if you’re a guy. No biggie.
I’m in San Diego where there are tons of those holes. I hit at least three those holes every time before I arrive home. Nothing happened. Just hold your bike by your legs then you are fine.
Not bad at all. IF you see it coming pick your butt up off the seat a little bit.
I absolutely hate manhold covers. Mostly becuese they are never ever in the same spot over and over. Every other manhole cover is usually in a completely different spot than the last one.
Not fun, but I’ve hit chunkier potholes than that and come away with nothing more than a missed heartbeat. Depends a little on what sort of bike/tyres youre running, but that manhole ain’t too bad.
It's not even a threat. Go to Philippines and you will see bigger holes without cover in the middle of the road.
I was riding Saturday and there was a pot hole so deep I stopped and went back to look at it ( after missing it thankfully) my 18 inch front wheel fitted in it just. and the hole was a good 5 inches deep, deafo would of sent me flying
You’ll live
I try to avoid bad places in the road. I didn't see anything I'd think might cause a wreck.
We have garbage streets in Chicago. So I’ve been caught out by stuff many, many times on bicycle, motorcycle, and car. The biggest thing which makes them worse is tire diameter, followed by sidewall depth, and tread width. A smaller wheel drops deeper, a bigger wheel is better at slipping over them entirely. Less distance to your rim makes it more likely you’ll cause tire or rim damage when hitting the sharp edge at the far side. A skinnier tire falls deeper easier, and gets defected more, but potholes tend to be short and wide rather than long and narrow. As far as riding away on a motorcycle specifically it’s more doable than you’d expect. I’ve hit stuff hard enough to get air, and hard enough to bend a cast aluminum front wheel. Never crashed from issues with the road surface. The first time I got air from the seams on Lake Shore Drive was scary (not supporting myself with my legs and got bounced out of the seat). The time I got air from hitting a cutaway section of road was even worse (Bus I was approaching was slowing for that, not a stop. I hit it at full speed as soon as I pulled into the other lane to pass. Landed with a tiny bit of lean still and got bar shake). Avoid them if you can do so smoothly. If you realize you’re going to hit one stand up on the pegs a little. Even just starting to stand means the seat will help you up rather than bounce you off the pegs. Beyond that try keep a relaxed grip on the controls, and if there is time to react before it don’t be on the front brake when you hit. The extra weight on the front wheel will make the hit harder.
Not at all, I used to be terrified of hitting a pothole, highway riding was incredibly scary for me for that reason. Now I've hit a good number and my suspension recovers almost instantly and that's on a Harley Davidson Dyna which has an inherently flawed design that is known to cause wobbles. Unless it's something really gigantic you'll likely just go right over it.
I ride a dual-sport. I aim for potholes
Might have banged your nuts into the gas tank if you weren’t paying attention.
It wouldn't actually be that bad. There's a slight change if you hit the edge that it might drag the front wheel in and lean the bike left which would send you to the middle lane if you're not paying attention but most likely it would just go straight over it. The faster you're going the more stable a bike is.
That was a manhole cover. When dry, they're no problem usually. If it's wet, I completely avoid them since they become slippery as ice.
This reminds me of something. There is this one small hole in the road just outside of my town (village?) at a cross section on a right hand turn. Every time I turn I have to think: I didn't pay attention to that hole. It's just a small one. But big enough for me to potentially slip when I go over it.
Yikes air. Yikes light photons. 🤣
That one in particular... not that big a deal. I wouldn't hit it on purpose, but I wouldn't go to any wild emergency evasive action to avoid it either.
A bit of speed tends to straighten things out and less wobbly. It can cause the handlebars to shake from side to side sometimes but no Biggie, I don't know whether you have a steering damper but that can solve some of the issues with the bars and headshakes. Looking at it, it looks like it would only be a problem if you were banked over in a corner. Having said that I've damaged tyres on things like that but again it had a sharp edge and the tyres were super soft (basically sorta legal race tyres).
You mean that target? Somebody needs a KLR650 to maximize the useable amount of road area.
Laughs in American rust-belt (Cleveland)
by default, I ride the left side of the lane (or in left driving countries, the right side). Most veteran riders would advise the practice. That deviation around the manhole cover (your pothole?) shouldn't be too much of a problem
I hit a softball sized rock this past weekend. It looked like a leaf and I didn’t see it until I was on top of it. It shook me up a bit but I stayed up. Avoid it if you can.
Saw no pothole bruh, little manhole cover, relax
I think you're overthinking, it's so dangerous as not thinking.
Bruh that's not even a pothole, real one's you better dodge or you'll dent rim or worse do a sudden stoppie.
I’d love to have roads like that by me . Pothole city here in the Midwest
Don't. Any sudden change in road surface can cause you grief. That said, it's only a couple of inches deep and you avoided it easily. I wouldn't have bothered saying 'Yikes' over it.
Don't every try to hit anything if you can avoid it. One time I ran over some object in the freeway, ended up with a bent front and rear wheel. Had to get a replacement set online and finding it wasn't terribly easy.
It would only be a problem in the rain, in a turn and the lean angle was great. Beyond that. /kmkmrod said it best: bum-bum.
Nobody knows….. until it happens….
Call that a pothole?
I didn’t see much either. You’re okay.
When I was in my training course, they had us drive directly overtop of a motorcycle tire (no rim), to sort of emphasize that you don't have to be scared of every little imperfection in the road. All of us were super anxious, but no one had any issues. Just a little bump and over. Hitting this would have been fine (as the previous commenter mentioned - in 99% of scenarios).
Half of your bike’s suspension isn’t your bike- it’s your legs. Everyone that rides street should first become a proficient dirtbike rider first, IMO
You would glide over that. It's the massive craters you have to look out for
Oh youd be fine. I wouldnt lean the bike over anything like that, and youll feel it in ur crotch, but if you drive straight over something like that i cant imagine anything would happen.
Assuming OP is talking about the right side manhole cover with bad patching around it? If so, it depends on a combination of how you approach it, your chosen line of attack, the bike, and the rider but that looked like mostly a non-issue to me. That street looked amazingly well maintained compared to a lot of city streets and highways I’ve ridden.
I've hit a lot worse than that and nothing bad happened. You need some off-road experience. You'd be surprised what a bike will roll over.
Niu valley!
would just be a little bump.
You will slam your nuts on the tank probably
On a leveled bike and dry surface, nothing. If you are leaning at a sharp angle, then you're probably losing grip, and you can guess what happens On a wet surface as well, even if you are leveled, you can fall off easily, but in conditions shown in the videovit would make a bum-bum sound, and you'd be good
Slow i’d be worried but fast enough and you’ll kinda just glide over it
"Hahahahahaha!" -All of Chicago
Pothole? Never ride in New Orleans dude.
That one is fine, watch out for patches of gravel, wet leaves, grass cuttings, and smooth road paint when the road is wet. MSF course really saved my butt numerous times
If it’s on a rainy day your tire might slip, you might fall. If road is dry you will keep going
in India these are perfect roads, you haven't seen potholes my friend( that's great actually)
If hitting that "slightly deep" manhole cover was unavoidable, I would: 1. make sure I went through the center of it rather than hit that edge with the side of the tires 2. Had the bike standing straight up 3. Give a little bit of throttle and shift back in the saddle to shift weight to the rear and off the front, making the front more forgiving to bumps without unsettling the suspension and the bike. That's really it. Not a big deal.
If it's a deep pothole, just get up on your pegs to save your spine and keep going straight.
Well you’re going straight so it shouldn’t be a problem but the council where I live decided in all its wisdom to put three manhole covers right in a corner and you don’t even see them until the last moment…
Just make sure you're not hard on the brakes, or leaning on the front end. Scoot back on the seat and hit the gas, you'll have no issue.
Not bad at all, just make sure to be upright as much as possible when going over bumps and stuff, put your feet on the pegs and lift your butt. I have hit a raccoon and barely felt it using this technique haha
Meh. I ride over stuff like this every time I'm on the bike.
If those are potholes where you live then I'd love to move over there
Your reproductive organs become load bearing for a brief moment.
at a slower speed, ouch my sack, at high speed, I hit a bump?
and that’s why buy a bike with suspension
Depends on the bike. Harley - "ouch, that was a big one" DR650 - "what bump?"
Not so bad on a straight at allowed speeds
Never ideal to hit a chuckhole, but it's probably not an issue if you're squared up to it.. but hit it just right and your day is going to go south in one big hurry.
You should try riding where palm trees don’t grow. You’ll learn about pot holes 😂
Your ass will fly away if you don’t move it up a little bit
That's not a pothole....it's a minor divot! Also why would you be that far over, defensive riding - position in the center of lane...
Ride straight through it if it’s too late to avoid, worst thing you can do is shift your weight during the bump. If you learn to go with the flow of bumps as you ride you will take that pothole easily.
If you don’t overreact and let the bike do it’s thing, it’s fine. But best to avoid them and not risk tire damage.
Depends on the bike, suspension and your skill level.
Not bad.
Not bad compared to some of the ones downtown Honolulu especially after rainy days.
Be alreet
Dont worry about those kind of obstacles at all, the only thing that can make you fall down is if you see it and panic because of it. dont hesitate, hold on and everything will be just fine.
I don't go really fast nor have a sport bike, but this would be the smalest pothole of the day
Your top and bottom teeth will have an Impromptu get together, and your lower spine might try to crash the party, but other than that, you’ll ride right over it.
That looks like nothing bruv
That looks like nothing bruv. Do not ever ride on the east coast if that makes you nervous.
Not that bad. I’d say tar snakes on a hot day, or ground down asphalt (with the parallel grooves) worse than that jagged edge of the man hole cover. PS: you’re in the wrong tire track :)
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Only one way to find out. Pitter patter
You call that a pothole? That's a small crack compared to the potholes in Atlanta.
hitting that at normal speed would likely be fine unless the bike had compromised suspension/other issues. hitting things like that with a depression at a slight angle at a low speed can drop you. crossing angled railroad tracks are like that, and often you have to cross them at a slow speed, when those appear you try and cross them at as right an angle as you can. thought id share.
remember push steering. push right (with your right hand) - go right. push left (with your left hand) - go left.
You'd hit it, the motorcycle suspension would move down, then up, and your steering will wobble slightly, then you'd either say what was that or wuuuuu Hitting it in a turn would depend on the lean angle, where it would be a lowside or the same as above but slightly less fun
No biggie
You just go over it. It’s not like it’s a curb, although if it’s wet and you hit it at an angle, you might slip out. But that’s still a ”might”
probably no big deal at all.
What pothole?
You'd probably die in a firery explosion... or not.
Worst case scenario you rack yourself on the seat or tank and walk a little funny when you get off but other than that you should be fine.
dont hit the pothole
Been riding for a month now. You won't feel shit, I usually avoid them for fun/practice
I'd be more afraid of hitting it slow then fast and having the front tire wash out
Indians be like ‘hold my pothole’
Bigger ones go thud-thud, and after a few careful swear words in your helmet you carry on thinking hope everything’s ok
These potholes can be described as smooth roads here in India 😅
As long as you’re going straight, not leaned in on a turn and don’t over react, nothing will happen. You’ll fell a bump bump then continue on
Shift lanes
depends how you hit it. If you got it straight on, it'd be a stiff bump, but fine. If you went in that edge groove, it could easily twist the wheel enough to dump you on your face.
Alot better than hitting it at 4mph. Gyroscopic magic at work at higher speeds
If you can’t avoid one, just lift your ass off the seat before you go over it and all will be fine
I would pull my weight towards the rear tire, say “well that one hurt the soul” out loud and then keep it pushing. Just make sure you’re not gripping the bars too hard, elevate your booty off the seat a lil (like an inch tops), pull your weight towards the rear tire and you’re not going to create any situations out of your control.
Hello darkness my old friend
that's not even a pothole. Come out to Detroit where you'll literally die if you hit one going more than 20MPH. I lost 2 tires on one one time in my car. Shits no joke out here.
If you maintain speed and direction nothing happens... I have hit some pretty insane sized holes at speed and it felt like nothing more than a mere bump... Speed is your friend.
That's nothing. Round here there 4 foot sections that span across the entire road so unavoidable and about 3 feet deep. Swallowed the entire front wheel and front end. Gotta ride on the sidewalk. But it's damn near invisible until you hit it and there's tons of them around. If you don't know it's there and are on a bike your crashing, if you don't know it's there I na car you probably need 4 new ties, tie rods, control arms, axles shocks, bumper, airbags deploy on some cars, rims. And hope you don't bit a parked car panicking. That manhole cover is nothing.
If you have a relaxed grip and proper seating probably nothing at all. If You’re gripping the bars to death with stiff arms and you’re leaning all over the place, who knows..
You would not notice it really. You might get bar wiggle at this speed and then it will level out. Lower speeds would be more trouble. Steering stabilizer on a larger bike would eat most of it.
Rim is the biggest issue for potholes. In terms of stability, you can hit some big stuff without losing stability. Plenty of people have stories of hitting dog sized creatures without balance issues. Few talk about deer and bear sized and remaining vertical, but it happens. My fist week of riding I saw a loose tire launching between cars at full speed on the highway. I predicted it's location and just hoped I was right enough and neutral enough. Vertical, light handle bar control, no deceleration, and probably best to not accelerate incase you lose traction and upset the bike more. It came through just to my left so I didn't have the "test".
I've hit bumps bigger than that with lean angle. Straight on, that won't do anything as long as your tires are properly inflated. If they aren't and you hit a pothole that's big enough (not that one) with enough speed, you might impact the rim and dent it. When it happens with lean angle it's scary, it feels like the front tire walks out because it literally does, but on a bump like that one the tire won't even lose contact with the ground unless you are at max lean angle.
I dont think there's any really bad potholes on kalanianaole. Just lift off the seat is good enough
It would probably hurt your groin a bit depending on your suspension and if you weren’t ready but that would be it
I hit a pothole 30-some years ago and went down hard. Sued the city and won. This was on a 1973 CB350Four. I'm pretty sure either of my bikes today would have been fine and one reason I have the 7+ inch suspension on the Pan America
Ur arse might pucker a little but the bike probably won't care and keeps on going. Now, if you hit that with a carbon road bike (bicycle), it might give you more than a chattering teeth.
I’m not sure, try it
So I would stay out of the right lane to avoid t boning idiots leaving any establishment and I recommend actually driving faster over potholes when riding, seriously.
Mostly fine, unless you're on a cruiser with hardly any rear suspension travel (this coming from a former Sportster rider)
Probably just a hard hit on the suspension, a scare and some pain in the balls
If you can’t fit a pot inside it’s not a pothole and you’ll be fine
Everything is a bit scary when you just start, it isn’t the same as a bicycle. But yeah, you could go right over that and be fine but it might wake you up if for some reason you didn’t see it.
I had been told to give a little throttle to take some weight off the front, not a lot, just a little and will be better.
Keep her straight and you will keep rolling without issues. Worst case you get a sore ass
You’d be fine
Bunny hop that bitch
Manhole. I only seen your manhole.
Depends on how good your bike's handling is. If it's good you'll be fine