First spill (bit long)

I could ramble about how the road had bumps, no grip,the turn is the wrong
angle, the wind was too strong etc etc, but I knew all that as I ride every
day to work. I was taking the exit from the motorway after I stupidly
overtook "just one more car" before turning, got in faster than I should
have (that's a total speed of about 65mph, nothing really fast), didn't
manage to brake enough, went wide and said hello to a couple of shrubs.
Nothing broken, bike was good enough to ride further. My problem is that the
bike (a Suzuki Freewind) most probably had enough reserves to brake better
and/or take the turn at that speed, but I didn't dare/know how to use them
so rather than turning the way the bike could, I turned the way *I* could,
knowing full well that it wasn't good enough. I generally can't trust the
bike much, it's mainly the front that feels remote. I've lost grip in front
a couple of times and it was rather unexpected (I mainly blame the tarmac
and oldish tyres), but only for fractions of a second and the bike recovered
from it without much fuss. The main problem here is the asphalt which would
often grip better if it were waxed and polished, but either way, I need to
improve.

So, what say all you experts, any suggestions on how I can bring myself to
at least try and push the bike closer to its limits without falling on my
arse too much (I can already do that without pushing, thank you)? I tried
doing it gradually, but losing grip when you don't expect it screws up the
learning process.

Getting a less pikey bike is not a suggestion atm, it does all I need it to
do very well and cheaply.


Geo

 

Geo wrote:

Clumsy ****.

 

Geo wrote:

Did you really go too fast, or did you fixate on the target corner and
ride striaght into it?


--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 145 2.0 Cloverleaf 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Geo wrote:

<snippo>

Clumsy fucker. At least you and the bike are still around.

 

I suppose a fair bit of the latter. I *felt* I was going too fast so I think
I had already mentally accepted the fact that I would crash rather than
telling myself to try and brake/turn a bit harder. The bike might have made
it or at least I would have dropped it trying, rather than being pissed off
at myself for falling like an idiot. I think I also got scared of the
complications of a potential mid-road spill with the car following me. What
I really should have done was not overtake that last car and I bloody well
knew it while I was doing it.

I wasn't objectively fast, but I was apparently going faster than a person
of my experience/capabilities should have. The turn's a rather unpleasant
one (abrupt exit from the motorway, 160 degrees, bumps on the
entrance/braking zone, not much grip in general), but should be lots of fun
for those who like drifting.


Geo

 

A Bikesafe course? Or something similar.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

Hurray for protective gear on me, bars on the bike and soft earth next to
the turn. Only things that got damaged were a footpeg, a mirror and my ego.


Geo

 

I'm actually doing that to some extent (a bit like minimal
counter-steering), but although it makes the bike turn easier, it doesn't
give me a very good feeling (front's a bit wobbly sometimes and feels like
it's about to lose grip). The only times the bike feels more solid is when I
place all my weight in my outer foot and press with the knee to the inside
at the same time. Extending the inner leg supermoto-style makes it even
better, but I don't like looking like a twat and I like having access to the
gear/rear brake levers.


Geo

 

That would definitely be a good idea, but I'm not sure I'll find anything
around here (Crete). I will have a look anyway.

Geo

 

I'm not an expert, but how about a track day? I'm hoping a few of those will
give me a clue.

 

Did you say the tyres are crap? If so, that could be a good reason for the
lack of feel.

 

Safety Nazi

 

Aye, that was already among the "to do" list. They have plenty of thread
left but they don't look that fresh and have been behaving somewhat worse
the last couple of months. Then again maybe I got more cocky the last couple
of months.


Geo

 

Heraklion, where the sun is bright and the roads are crap.


Geo

 

Aye, unless you fancy go-karting.... Even then, there's not that much on
offer I think.

You could easily replace "Crete" with "Greece" altogether and still wouldn't
be far off.


Geo

 

That might be the most important thing to learn, then.

I *doubt* it's quite that bad, but ISTBC. At least you're still around
and learning.

Where is it, out of interest?




--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 145 2.0 Cloverleaf 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

For some reason, I thought you were in the UK. Your roads may well be as
bad as you claim


--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 145 2.0 Cloverleaf 156 V6 2.5 S2
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

Apologies in advance if I'm telling you stuff you already know but were you
braking and cornering at the same time? Are you aware how weight is
transferred to the front tyre under deceleration just as it's struggling to
cope with the reduced grip caused by cornering? Should I shut up now?

 

Greek roads are generally rather poor, but Heraklion is just awful. Of all
the places I've been in Greece, I haven't seen so many problematic areas in
so little space. There's places where the asphalt isn't a year old and it's
already slippery as hell. Not to mention all the cracks/bumps/potholes in
older roads.

The main reason is allegedly that the minerals used aren't as
abrasion-resistant as they should be (asbestolithic rather than e.g.
granite-basalt from what I remember) and get a lovely sheen within less than
a year - at least that's what an article claimed several years ago. Add
mediocre maintenance, very high temperatures in the summer and often shoddy
manufacturing/repairs and you get the idea.

It's a shame, as the weather here's good enough to ride 300 days a year
without waterproofs.


Geo

 

I am *very* careful when braking during cornering and I generally avoid it
altogether. That was part of the problem, as I ran out of "straight line"
early and pertty much stopped braking while cornering. I didn't lose
traction, I went wide and ran out of road.


Geo