dibeydude85 Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 just came back from the tumbridge wells rounds, very nice round, was with my mates on 400's, and they were leaning and stuff, all very nice... so anyway, unfamiliar territory put me on this fast twisty road which was much fun til i reached this Unholy corner at 50 on a DT..... Good gravy i'v never filled my pants so fast before.... LOCKED THE BACK BREAK :shock: , LOCKED THE FRONT :shock: ...WENT STRAIGHT ON DOWN INTO SOME GUYS DRIVE HALF WAY THROUGH THE CORNER, finally came to a stop and theres this old guy stairring at me questionning me about speeding in a 30 zone... bloody 400's and there grip i tell you, :? other than that was a good ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Hate to tell you mate....but that was down to your riding not the bike. My little DT175 will howl round bends and that's with full knobblies on it. Like I said before....keep it smooth. Go back to that bend and practice taking it....first very slowly getting your positioning right. Then gradually up the pace...but without sacrificing smoothness. These are the 5 stages of taking corners based on the Police Roadcraft manual: Information Position Speed Gear Acceleration It sounds to me as if you screwed up on the very first part....Information. Don't fall into the trap that a lot of people do, by blaming the bike. Cos otherwise you'll make the same mistakes over and over again, irrespective of what you're riding.....and that's dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibeydude85 Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 :oops: yeah i guess... on the way back i took it fine, on the screw up it came out of nowhere, i panicked and buggered it up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidcooled Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 dont beat yourself up too much mate, if you didnt know the road then these things happen. just be carefull when following mates on 400's eh :wink: go with pete's advice, experience counts for alot....he da man 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Don't worry dibey....everybody makes mistakes. But what seperates good riders from bad riders is that the good riders learn from their mistakes. The bad riders just keep repeating them until something serious happens. Think about what you did (only you know) and analyse it bit by bit. Then go out on your own and practice to put it right....that way you won't get caught out again. One thing to always remember on cornering.....being in too low a gear isn't a problem....but being in too high a gear can spell big trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibeydude85 Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 it was that i just didnt expect is, i saw the big black and white arrows for the bend and it didnt sink in, for the rest of the journey i did keep a bloody carefull watch for them though, so i learnt in that respect, i didnt know the route so its always a bit of a gamble going round a blind bend -cheers you lot, although im tempted to invest in some road tyres now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 As I thought....it's the information part that went wrong. Information means taking in all the necessary info to evaluate the manoevre....you do that by observation all around you at all times. So you need to see what is ahead, and correct positioning will allow you to do this. If you're taking a right hand bend then you should be nearly in the left hand gutter entering the corner to gain maximum vision. Similarly if it's a left hand bend you should be just inside the centre line to get maximum vision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Alex Posted May 25, 2004 Admin Share Posted May 25, 2004 Yeah thats all perfectly correct, but some bikes are more forgiving than others 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozzy Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 i came off my cg 125 in a petrol station i dont know y but i was showing off in front of a few girls then hit a patch of deisel no damaga though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 Yeah thats all perfectly correct, but some bikes are more forgiving than others 8) That's true Alex, but most bikes today have far greater handling ability than the rider. Go back 30 years and the reverse was true, cos the bikes felt like they had a hinge in the middle of the frame, and brakes were virtually non existent. So the rider had to compensate for all that. You have to remember that any situation you find yourself in, is caused by the rider, not the bike. Did you see the recent Nick Sanders programme where he was riding the world on an R1? I saw a clip where he was riding this R1 through about a foot of snow on some isolated mountain somewhere like Tibet. Amazing piece of riding. The average Internet riding hero couldn't get his bike out of his drive in those conditions. So it's a matter of adapting your riding style to suit the bike and the conditions. Bit of a lecture I know, but over the years I've attended dozens of bike funerals (mainly the 70's) and I've seen a few deaths of close friends first hand....including a beheading and an impaling. And it stays with you forever. The last time I hit the deck was in 78 on a Kettle at 110.....my youngest boy was 6 weeks old, and I walked away with just cuts and bruises. I wised up after that and completely changed my mindset where everything was built around safety. And I haven't gone down for 26 years, so it must be working, cos I'd gone down about 15 times in the previous 7 years. And that includes twice on the same roundabout in 30 seconds....I fell off going in, then got back on and fell off again on the way out. Though some people have suggested that it's just luck and time is running out for me....but they've been saying that for 20 years and they're still waiting to be proved right. But you know something? It won't happen! 8) Accidents are not something that just happen....they're something that you get involved in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Alex Posted May 26, 2004 Admin Share Posted May 26, 2004 Yep i totally agree with you, i wouldnt even think about taking my bike out in the snow :shock: The rain is bad enough :wink: Like you say, i should imagine that 90% of motorcyclists couldnt use the full potential of their bike :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyline Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 yea some good pointers there. the worst thing u can do when following someone though is not read the infomation and just follow there line, cus if they make a mess of the line u just as fucked as they are :S but hell riding in snow is fun (dangerous) but bloody fun i remeebr having to go up some lanes which were always coated in ice, i was doing 20mph with both feet on the floor in 5th gear (on a 50) trying not to wheel spin lol. i try to get the potential out my bike but i never take a corner fast which ive never taken before cus hell it cud b a shit road suface or anything, but the corners whcih i regualry take i try to go faster and faster on > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidcooled Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 all year round biking teaches you so much about riding. i HAVE to ride one of my bikes every day, through snow rain etc... and every summer i get better and better on a bike, just the other day my old man complemented me on my riding, he hasn't done that in ages :shock: he says i'm getting very smooth and fast and dont take stupid risks, i was so proud of myself, sounds daft i know but it meant alot to me:D it's amazing how much experience and how smooth you are counts in road riding. to cap it all off.....all year round biker=proper biker :wink: oh yeah and older bikes need sooo much more rider input than moderns, my 78 rd goes shapeless when giving it some just the way i like it :roll: 8) modern bikes are too easy unless you're doing silly speeds!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted May 26, 2004 Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2004 It's amazing what Loads of Seat-Time on a bike will do for your skills :wink: ......& riding year-round teaches you how to read & adapt to the ever-changing elements. I broke my personal record this last winter....& rode in 13F(-9C) weather along with a bit of snow :shock: I get all kinds of strange looks during that time of year When I get asked, "Are you Crazy?" :crazy ... .....My response is always: "I'm just training for SKI season!" 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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