bendy roads and chicken strips

I have both.

Having commuted by bike for over a year now, punctuated with the odd
'bimble' for the sake of it, I still utterly suck.

I have a new (less than 1K miles) BT45 on the back of my bike and as
much Cornish lane as I can shake a stick at. It's still got most of the
mould bobbles on it.

What I can do in droves is 90mph on the straight bits, overtake a lot of
cars, panic every time I see a corner with a hedge near it and eek round
at 30mph.

Now, it's no assistance that I don't know the roads very well, although
the more I ride up and down them the more I can remember the way the
bends link together which means that I feel I can prepare for a corner
better, but it just doesn't feel *comfortable*.

Considering I'm sitting here just back from a ride, would anyone have
any suggestions for things I could do to build my confidence in the next
few days? removing the chicken strips isn't my main aim, but enjoying my
riding more would be nice.

I got chased by a chav in an rs2000 which was nice, I couldn't get rid
of him, but it's fun watching the car get smaller on the straight bits

 

fnarr

 

These seem to be FOTM at the mo, but I've never been a believer in
training beyond a fairly basic level. In my view, there's no
substitute for mileage - get out there and ride, then keep riding
until it starts to feel natural. Once it's flowing all the time, or at
least most of the time, you should find that your pace increases
slightly, assuming you're not a spastic[1], and that your chicken
strips will have reduced accordingly.


[1] With all due respect to Ginge, AndrewR, etc.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

Forget about trying to ride faster or lean further, & concentrate on
just being smooth & the technical aspects (road positioning, line,
looking further ahead, vanishing point etc). When they become second
nature so you don't have to think about them, the confidence & speed
will follow.


--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

<sni>

Sounds like the R1 riders riding style that got annoyed when my KGT blew him
away on the A525 recently.

Vertical cornering, funny hanging off position, kept kicking his left foot
out when changing gear (what's that about?) on the straights opened it but
back to crawly for the bends. He got so miffed when the GT out dragged him
he took some deeply disturbing overtakes to get in front

--
Steve Parry
BMW R80RS, BMW R45, 01 Kawasaki ZX12-R, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
07 VW Passat SE Estate for comfort
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

<suspicious>

Was it Bear?

<runs away>
--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

I'm not sure my corner entry speed is a particular problem, for example,
I'm not loading my forks braking into the apex by any stretch. The 90mph
comments are just me trying to sound cool.

I think it's more nerves, people are mentioning the vanishing point of
the corner. I do look to it, it's really true that you GO where you
look. I have found that I tend to ride TO the vanishing point, so I'm
often finding myself right on the inside of the bend, where I *feel* I'd
be better placed being further out. It also feels like in that
situation, were I carrying more speed and lean I'd be naturally
following the same arc as the bend. Don't think I'm going in narrow, on
left handers I'm just inside the white lines wetting myself that some
twat in a people carrier is going to cut the corner from the other side.

 

Ok, I'm on unfamiliar roads in a place I don't live, so those things
can't be done right now.

I don't believe I'm doing this overly much, I DO check my revs
frequently though. I check when I think I might get the attentions of
plod, at the points where I'm approaching a junction and on the way into
reduced limits. I have today been checking my speed as I exit corners
into a straight and have actually been surprised to see higher speeds
than I anticipate It's more the confidence I'm concerned with.

Is this key? I can't ride on roads I don't know before I CAN ride roads
I *do* know like a *&^%.

Maybe I'm actually going as fast as anyone *should* on these roads then.

Heh, then what?

That scenario is nice, opening the throttle into a half mile of clear
road is love.

Thanks for the advice.

I may have had some music on, that's probably a silly idea if I'm trying
to learn, right? I can still hear the revs over it, and it does relax
me, but still...

 

It's all about road positioning and speed (or it was for me)

As others have said here and elsewhere many times before, concentrate on
accuracy and speed will follow. Or something....


Here's what worked for me.

1. Realise you suck (tick - you've done that)

2. Get a copy of Motorcycle Roadcraft. Read, digest, try some stuff.
Realise that you need someone watching over your shoulder to get honest
feedback of what you're doing wrong.

3. Get some advanced training. Personally I'd recommend Rapid Training
(all Police/ex Police Class One riders), but anyone reputable should do
the trick.

4. Get on a track. You need to practice cornering, tracks have lots. And
you will go round them all many, many times, so you have a pretty good
chance of working out what's "right". Also your bike will normally
outperform you, you just need to be convinced of it. Plus there's no-one
coming the other way if you screw up. Or anything (too) hard to hit if
you do come off (rare). Again those nice chaps at Rapid do some very
friendly track days (disclaimer - I don't get anything for this! I'm
just a happy customer; they really sorted out my riding).


HTH

Chris

 

I'm surprised no-one has suggested that you visit Dave Corden. There's
plenty of people here who have and achieved what you might be looking
for. There' s also a bunch of people that will tell you that you don't
need to and that you can figure it out yourself.

 

In north Wales .. I think not. I've actually seen this guy and his riding
companion a couple of times and had cause to snigger at each occasion

--
Steve Parry
01 Kawasaki ZX12-R
07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650
86 R80RS
87 Yamaha FS1
Sukida SK90PY
91 Kawasaki AR50
07 VW Passat SE Estate for comfort
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

Why?

If there's no other traffic about (and so you're not holding people
up) why shouldn't you just plod along?

 

<semi-waves>

Riding a motorbike is something you do for yourself and as such, is a
voyage of self discovery. Ignore all that advanced training bollocks,
it's way too early (maybe later if you're *really* bored). It's meant
to be fun FFS.

The last couple of times I've had friends do their DAS and wobble
out onto the roads. I've taken them out for a couple of long day
rides round Wales with the strict instructions that they are to
remain glued to my rear wheel (well, with 50 - 100 yards of it)
the entire day.
Over the day I just gradually increased the pace from pedestrian to
'spirited', each time backing off when they started to lose touch.
Stop. Coffee. Reinforce the keeping up bit. Repeat.

Suggest you find similar. It seemed to work for them.

 

Because that's gay?

Isn't there some bikey thing about making progress? I recall my car
instructor suggesting 27 in a 30, my bike instructor demanded 30mph on
the nail through the speed cameras.

 

Is there any subject you're not an "expert" on?

 

<snip>

Seems like you advocated both sides of the equation - go you.

 

Good point. Googling for both "brakeless run" and "bears tin can
braking method" should reveal two good techniques that are quite
useful.

 

Oh, I dunno. If I'm on a sprots bike then sure, I'll ride as fast as I
can comfortably get away with, but often I'm on the Guzzi and it's
simply a more relaxed bike to ride; it doesn't reward riding at higher
speeds that it is technically capable of doing.

 

Ain't no thang.
I'm all for the inclusive approach, me.

Although, I might just add, some of my riding 'techniques'
would possibly be frowned upon by your typical training
organization.

 

Among others.