Riding better

[Nelson]

Well I'm not overly experienced on road bikes, I've Leary a bit myself and the old boy has taught me a few things but I'm still essentially a novice, I want to get better at cornering and all around bike control I can ride all day no worries but I get the urge to push myself but being where I am the only close place to practice is the bunya mountains, but a lot of caravans and ken block wanna be cunts fly up as down there all day, so I'm a bit skeptical about it, the old man suggested I do a super bike school which I'm considering, but I was wondering if any I you guys had any ideas on how to get a bit lower and feel more in control of my bike, cheers in advance

Marc

[Yella]

Super bike school is good. Or you can just do a bunch track days run in the slower groups and work up following lines and styles for the quicker guys

[TheRussian]

Hey Marc.
Get yourself a book called Twist of the Wrist 1 and 2 by Keith Code. Read it a couple of times and then go out and practice what you read.
Once you got some knowledge of how things work you will not learn bad habits.
have fun.

[BANDITROD]

i would also suggest his dvd its awesome

[Jinx]

Do some track days and any type of advanced rider training you can find. Other than that join a motorcycle club or ride with a bunch of locals.

[Redmohawk]

Pay attention to how you put weight on the pegs and where your ass cheek sits on the seat , a little weight movement on the bike can make a hell of a difference. And will give you more confidence on the bike, learn how far you can move the bike around without using the bars, with weight control only.

The fast line on the road is often the "in harm" way with dumb dumbs on the road I prefer the safer option (still easy to exceed the speed limit in the safe zone)

Swinging so low your eyebrow scrapes the gravel my look cool but its not always the fastest way around a curve.

[StuNVA]

I can empathize with what you are saying coming from the land of the long flat straight roads.
When I was learning I done some big miles to find corners at lot less cops back then to so speed can make even the straightest road fun.
These days there are track days and ride groups (social ride group) and superbike school, do them all, time in the saddle is the only thing that will teach you what you need to know and then the experts can tell you how fucked you are and how to fix it.
Like what they have already said, a little weight here and there and getting your arse moving around on and off the seat makes a big difference.
Also get someone who knows what they are doing to make sure you suspension is set correctly, this can make a huge difference.
If you can get a dirt bike and learn what the edge feels like it will help too.

[Gix11]

Can't really add much more to the above. If I was to give you advice it would be don't push yourself on the road, push yourself on a track. Hitting the kitty litter and scraping your bike up a bit is much more preferable to hitting a tree/car, totalling your bike and seriously injuring yourself or worse, killing yourself. Try and get a track school day, not just you on your own or with a mate that you "Think" can ride. I was lucky enough to have a mate that owed me money and rather than give me the money he bought me a ticket to the Donnington Park Race School in the UK (I still lived there then) and we were taught by a UK WBSK of the time, but being a novice back then I had no idea who it was! Could have been Jamie Whitham for all I know. Regardless, they take you out and test your ability, then stick you into speed classes and then speed within that class. By the end of the day he had me up front with him and another guy and I learnt shit loads! To this day that lesson has saved me 1000s of times! It's all about knowing the apex, reading corners, knowing blind corners, and having speedy reactions.

Also, don't turn into a dry weather pussy at your age. Get as much wet riding in as possible. Get the right gear and get used to traction in the wet. Better still, get a mountain bike or off road bike to get used to front and back wheel sliding. Panicking with slides is what trashes people. Bringing it back is the skill.

[Nelson]

Cheers for the advice guys, I have a dirt bike that I've been flogging around for a while, will have to find a track day or advanced riding course and book it in, as for social riding I do t really know anyone around here haha, will be good to get out on a ride with you guys one day and get some more tips on the go.

Marc

[Deano]

Superbike school is great. Do that before the track days so you have your bad habits corrected.

Best thing I ever did for my riding

[fimpBIKES]

i suggest sprbike school + track days

if all u have around is roads then i suggest getting a dirtbike, roads are fkd

[davo]

What sort of dirt bike ya " been flogging " around ,and for how long Nelson? That'l give us an idea of where your at

[Aido]

We used to go to a large court in an industrial estate to play around with braking and counter steering. Relatively low speed stuff but useful none the less. So long as your not doing whoolies or skids then plod should leave you alone...at worst they will check you out and tell you to move on.
The court was large enough that you could go around and around grinding knee sliders to dust until you got dizzy. Helped to get confidence and allowed me to understand body position - weighting forward and back, in and out, and getting the bars to feel neutral while lent right over.

[TurboKat]

What sort of dirt bike ya " been flogging " around ,and for how long Nelson? That'l give us an idea of where your at

Something's wrong, there's no insults, rudeness or shit hanging in this post... ?

Who are you & what have you done with Davo?

[fimpBIKES]

+1 for industrial estates, even better are new developments without any houses built yet

[Zed14]

nelson is my youngest. thanks for looking after him guys.

[Gix11]

Wow, is that Rexie!

[El_Hefty]

for a fleeting moment it was

[Zed14]

yes it was

[Gix11]

Where are you hiding these days mate? Still got the 14?

[Zed14]

no simon. been into cars for a bit lately. still have a couple of bikes. just dealing with a smashed right humorus happened on an endure ride so gotta find something to do for 3 months. broken in 6 places.

[Redmohawk]

Humorus broken in 6 places and I'd bet the surgens neck was one of one, Sucks for such a funny sounding bone

[Gix11]

Shit, that's no good Rexie. What kind of car gets Rexie's attention?

[Zed14]

v8s with lots hp

[CICCO]

Just did eastern creek today ran a 2:11 red group ... I started 12 moths ago and love it... Real riding happens at the track it makes u really understand how bikes work... 5168

[nick76]

I was in the garage next to you...saw the cicco on your shirt and didnt make the connection to here.
I was red group...got to 2.14s on my 600 til some fucktard on a ducati overcooked it into turn four and clipped my rear tyre...

[CICCO]

2:14s on a 600 that's fast dude ... You would kill on a 1L...Oh shit was that u on turn 15 hairpin.... I was like 3 bikes behind you !..... Seen u get up with the shits .... Then that lap another zx6 came off at turn 4....

[nick76]

that was me at turn 4....got punted from behind by a prick on a panigale.....he came in way to hot and locked up his brakes trying to miss me.....going for a gap on the inside which wasn't there.....my mate was 50m behind and saw what happened....best thing,he thinks it was a marshal that did it to me. I'd passed him coming out of 3 and he obviously didn't like it and tried to get me back.....shame he didn't come down and near write his bike off too....

[CICCO]

Fuck dude yeah I seen u up against the wall... And had a look at your bike too.. You will fix it no probs.. How u pull up? Any broken bones?... Yeah .... Some dudes really can't hack a 600 passing them or a cheaper bike also... Iv got a 1198s I track sometimes but my cbr is my track monster I love passing dudes on my honda and BMW or panigale dude getting the shits then when they pull me up in the pits and make excuses about them not wanting to drop their 30k bikes I simply reply " get over it Iv got a 30k bike too "
hahahaha... When ever a 600 passes me I try my hardest to follow them that's real skill...

[Gitzy]

How much money do you guys have? 1198s you track sometimes?

[nick76]

Fuck dude yeah I seen u up against the wall... And had a look at your bike too.. You will fix it no probs.. How u pull up? Any broken bones?...
Yeah,i was up against the wall trying to suck in as much air as i could!!!
No busted bones....alot of swelling... Ankle,hand,elbow and chest were the worst....and the rest of me tightened up afew hours later when i got home and i couldn't move!!
100+kgs dont bounce too well when it hits the ground!!!
Bike isn't too bad.....gotta chase up a front radial master cylinder/lever/res if anyone has one...apart from that i got spare clip ons and pegs....and some fiberglass/bog/rattlecans should fix the rest.

[nick76]

How much money do you guys have? 1198s you track sometimes?
I've seen 1098 and 1198 trackbikes sell for less than 10k (that dont have too much bling on them) so it's not that bad...most of us here have a few bikes....just depends where your priorities lie??

[hooligan]

Hey nick, I've got a radial master with level and maybe a plastic res that'll do the job. Pm me your mobile and I'll text you some pics.
No idea what size or what it's off, probably gsxr.

[CICCO]

I did the silly thing and decked out my duke with the lot Its still registered only has 6000km on it I regret it a bit coz I love my streetfighter more hahahha only keeping the duke coz it's a bit special it's got everything a 1198sp has plus more ....

[CICCO]

Don't worry I'm not rich I just work my ass off so I can stick it to the yuppies at the coffee shop hahahaha I'm a tight ass with everything else hahahaha plus no kids hahahhaa

[nick76]

Hey nick, I've got a radial master with level and maybe a plastic res that'll do the job. Pm me your mobile and I'll text you some pics.
No idea what size or what it's off, probably gsxr.
I just pm'd ya Hooligan!

[davo]

Rexie's been hiding at Hungry Jacks? Fess up Rexie. Are you still fucking puppet?

[BANDITROD]

Lol in comes Davo with the uppercut

[hooligan]

That's right, that's the Davo we know and lo...
Well, the Davo we know.

[Aido]

There are no trophies on the road or at track days.....
Reading the above makes me angry. Leave your ego at home and enjoy it for what it is. Want to prove yourself then race at club level and be humble when you get your arse handed to you. Better off slowing down both on the road and on track days than to pass a moron trying to prove themselves.
Speaking from experience of having had a bike written off on a track day by a hero with more ambition than ability.

[Spyke]

Just cos it hasn't been mentioned - for road riding, don't go for "the racing line", go for the "safest line" - go into every corner as wide as possible as this gives you the earliest view of the exit and you get the earliest warning of hazards.

[nick76]

There are no trophies on the road or at track days.....<br>
Reading the above makes me angry. Leave your ego at home and enjoy it for what it is. Want to prove yourself then race at club level and be humble when you get your arse handed to you. Better off slowing down both on the road and on track days than to pass a moron trying to prove themselves.<br>
Speaking from experience of having had a bike written off on a track day by a hero with more ambition than ability.

Oh...ok,i didn't realise,people don't try as hard as they can,and don't crash at race meetings....
A mate down in Melb gave racing away coz he was sick of being caught up in shit from hero's trying to prove themselves,and having to fix his bike after most meetings!!
No one goes out to crash intentionally. Trackdays are for you to go out and have a go,and even learn at higher speeds,without the dangers of doing it on the road.
The lower groups at ride days can be scary coz there is a massive variance in abilities.....by the time you get to fast group...you'd think the people around you wont make simple mistakes.
It cost me last time out(red rider overcooked it and took me out from behind)but i'll keep doing my own thing on trackdays,and go as fast as i can.
Shit happens...and in my case...it shouldn't have.....but thats why they are called accidents.

[Cruisecontrol]

Gotta agree with that.
That is exactly what track days are for. Riding as fast as you can.
I was out at the Creek on Saturday. Every time I went out there were a new set of gouges somewhere on the track.
But that happens when you ride hard.
Don't like it, don't go.

[CICCO]

Tell it like it is nick.... So true dude ....

[hyofighter]

trackdays are worth doing even at the lowest level too , i received a trackday as a work bonus and was thinking before going there it would be a waste as i had been riding since i was a kid , but after doing the day you realise the bad habits you have in riding like posture countersteering and foot placement and as well as learn to flow better , as much as it was a basic day it still was worth it in the end , then it comes down to practise and saddle time