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Post by rmak on Nov 18, 2008 16:25:19 GMT -5
A while ago, before winter set in around here, the guy who bought my 05 Bonnie Black stopped by to see my new Commando. He also owns an expensive Ducati full fairing red something or other (he rides and likes the Bonnie more ;D). When he bought my bike he kidded me a little about the chicken strips. I had a chance to talk to him about cornering during his visit. He suggested that the most important thing, as Scratch said in an earlier post, was to look towards the end of the curve. I've practiced all the other things mentioned, apex, rolling throttle, countersteering before and never had any improvement. But when I started to look up and over, my cornering changed dramatically. The bike started to lean on its own much more than I've been used to. Mostly because I quit thinking about it and focusing on the curve itself. It was a Zen like revelation. I can't wait till spring to practice.
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Post by davidc on Nov 18, 2008 17:20:21 GMT -5
I am going to have to reread Scratchers post. A sharp turn resulted in a crash that almost killed me. It took a few hundred miles to get over the skittishness, but I do not have the confidence I once had. It is not exactly fear of pain but more the dread of screwing up my life and those whom I hold dear. I learned how to ride by riding. Never read a book or took a class but listened well. As close as I come to technique in a turn is to look ahead into it, far past the front of the bike. Position on the seat, throttle, brakes, gears are things I ought to know. I WANT TO LIVE!
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Post by oldscratcher on Nov 18, 2008 17:39:49 GMT -5
Self-analysis is as good a learning tool as any other, & I've picked up as much knowlege from analysing my mistakes, as I have from books. Only lessons paid for in blood & pain are less likely to be forgotten. Not that I'm reccomending crashing as an educational tool, but if the worst has already happened, it's foolish not to learn from it. Or as I like to say, they're only crashes if you don't learn from them. So my advice to DavidC, to get his confidence back, is to fully analyse his accident to see exactly what it was that caused him to crash (ie was it down to rider, bike, or environment. Or a combination of the three) & then think of positive alternatives, which could prevent it happening again. I think that fear of crashing is not only rational, it's an essential survival tool (possibly the most essential) & it's the knowlege that we have the skills to ride without crashing that makes high-speed riding possible. So increasing that knowlege & skills base is the best way to increase your chances of staying in the fun zones, & out of the frightening.
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Post by davidc on Nov 18, 2008 18:09:46 GMT -5
Scratcher - I was going into the really sharp right turn a little fast for the narrow, two-laner. I see the pick up truck coming the other way - wide truck and me too near the center line. I remember braking [the rear I think] and leaning more - then I was off the bike sliding into and under the truck. I thought then - after regaining consciousness - and now that braking was bad and shifting down would have been better. I learned - or feel correct in this - that engine braking in certain circumstances, like the one that put me on the road, is good. I am going to read up on this and put some theory into practice.
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Post by UraniumC on Nov 18, 2008 20:45:19 GMT -5
great thread guys. all I can add is my recent "hard" lesson on potholes. ride around them. ride thru them. but don't clip the edge where your tire slides down into them!
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Post by oldscratcher on Nov 18, 2008 22:40:35 GMT -5
Changing gear would probably have been the best thing on a chain driven bike. Shafties can have a torque reaction, which could make things even worse. If the front brake was already beng feathered, you could possibly increase the braking slightly there. But I'd be more inclined the give the rear a short sharp jab, as well as going down a gear, to try & sit the bike up, & out of harms way. The golden rule is never lean into a space you can't lean back out of quickly, until you are completely sure that the road ahead is clear. If I were you, I'd practice doing the quick corrections needed to lean back out of a turn. So you can learn how fast & commited you can go into a corner & still stand the bike back up, if you had to.
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derbyboy
Bantam
07 Black/Bonnie
Posts: 17
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Post by derbyboy on Dec 26, 2008 22:40:59 GMT -5
This thread was excellent!! After 40 yrs. of riding it's good to see others opinions in writing. Most of the info is already locked in to the instinctual memory bank, but it's great to read thru and put a logical sequence to it. One of my pet peves is the recent rash of older inexperienced riders. You know the guy, 60 something, buys a new $20,000 cruiser and they haven't ridden since there 250 honda over 40 yrs. ago. I run a twistie desert road every day and I have been stuck behind these guys doing 30mph and they slam the brakes in the middle of every corner, then chop the corner into 3 seperate apexes. I'm not even sure they know what an apex is. I know this is a bit of a soapbox and a little off topic. I just wish some of these guys would swallow there pride (we all need that on ocasion) and take an MSF course. Thanks for the great thread and info that will make our riding experience safer and way more fun.
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mrt202
Tiger Cub
Don't be so open-minded that your brain falls out.
Posts: 53
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Post by mrt202 on Feb 25, 2009 21:59:23 GMT -5
One of my pet peeves is the recent rash of older inexperienced riders. You know the guy, 60 something, buys a new $20,000 cruiser and they haven't ridden since there 250 honda over 40 yrs. ago. I have been stuck behind these guys doing 30mph and they slam the brakes in the middle of every corner, then chop the corner into 3 seperate apexes. I'm not even sure they know what an apex is. Yeah, what he said!
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