Low-Side

A low-side is a crash in which the front or rear tyre, most often the front, loses grip while the bike is leaned over, and the bike falls onto its lower side and slides away from the rider. It is the most common type of cornering crash.

Typical causes are too much lean angle or speed for the available grip, braking hard while leaned over, cold tyres, wet paint lines, diesel, gravel or leaves on the road.

Low-sides are usually less violent than high-sides, because the rider slides along the ground rather than being thrown, so good protective gear makes a big difference. Smooth inputs, warm tyres, cornering ABS and reading the road surface reduce the risk.