What a Great weekend!

[IsMad]

Sunshine, dry roads, light traffic and a motorbike. the makings of a great time. I did not ride far over the two days, 200 miles, I know, I know, I should do that in the first 30 mins and you are not a biker till your feet have attached themselves to the pegs and you can not tell where your ass ends and the seat begins, , but for me it was a good distance. I am still a noob to this and am spending most of my time trying to make sure I do not bump into Chilli in the hedge, sorry mate could not resist.

A couple of observations; Man I am sooooo slow I thought I was going well but when that group of bikers passed me doing twice my speed and carried on through the bend, made me realise just how conservative I was being. an illuminating experience. Even better when I was able to follow another biker, obviously taking it easy and who knew the roads, I learned a lot about positioning and bends just from the 10 miles I was able to follow. I can see the attraction of getting out there with a more knowledgeable biker to learn more.

And another thing, if you nod, most bikers will nod back, no matter what they are riding, something I really like, there is still a hope for the biking "community" I really can not wait till the next dry clear day to do it again, I can not believe I waited so long to get on a bike, I have so much to learn and I am looking forward to spending the time to learn it!

Sorry for the long post but it was that kind of weekend,

[Mad Dave]

Firstly, don't allow yourself to be suckered into riding above your limits - it'll all end in tears. As you say though, having another biker to learn from will make you quicker, but just be aware that just because he has the skills to corner at Xmph, doesn't mean you do - so be careful and build up gradually. Trackdays are a good way to find the limits of how your bike will corner.

re Roadcraft - Police bikesafe days are good, and the Police will give you some good tips on sight lines etc. Well worth doing.

[Hooli]

brilliant wasnt it?
i went to matlock saturday then up the cat n fiddle. got a puncture during the day but those kits with the bungs & CO2 canisters really do work. new tyre required anyway as its almost bald.
took the old toy out today & just pottered about making a noise & so on.

[Biker's Nemesis]

Mad Dave said:

Firstly, don't allow yourself to be suckered into riding above your limits - it'll all end in tears. As you say though, having another biker to learn from will make you quicker, but just be aware that just because he has the skills to corner at Xmph, doesn't mean you do - so be careful and build up gradually. Trackdays are a good way to find the limits of how your bike will corner.

re Roadcraft - Police bikesafe days are good, and the Police will give you some good tips on sight lines etc. Well worth doing.

Bloody hell Mad Dave, you sound like a copper.

[Busa_Rush]

Mad Dave said:

Firstly, don't allow yourself to be suckered into riding above your limits - it'll all end in tears. As you say though, having another biker to learn from will make you quicker, but just be aware that just because he has the skills to corner at Xmph, doesn't mean you do - so be careful and build up gradually. Trackdays are a good way to find the limits of how your bike will corner.

re Roadcraft - Police bikesafe days are good, and the Police will give you some good tips on sight lines etc. Well worth doing.

I agree with this, been riding since July and four track days and a Bikesafe have been fantastic, learnt most from the last TD at Snetterton on Sat and Bikesafe, both well worth the money.

[black-k1]

Mad Dave said:

Firstly, don't allow yourself to be suckered into riding above your limits - it'll all end in tears. As you say though, having another biker to learn from will make you quicker, but just be aware that just because he has the skills to corner at Xmph, doesn't mean you do - so be careful and build up gradually. Trackdays are a good way to find the limits of how your bike will corner.

re Roadcraft - Police bikesafe days are good, and the Police will give you some good tips on sight lines etc. Well worth doing.

Very wise words. All too often I have seen newbies hanging on to the coat tails of experienced riders, focusing on the rider in front rather than the road ahead. Suddenly something happens that the experienced rider can handle (as they have been riding well within their capabilities) but the newbie is totally out of their depth.

Track days are good for teaching bike control but is important that newbies understand the VERY DIFFERENT techniques used to take corners on the track compared to corners on the road. Ride road corners like the track and it is only a matter of time before something very painful happens.

[Chilli]

As per Dave's words....I did exactly the same. New R6 all the gear, suspension set-up by a pro, thought I was the guv'nor after 5 minutes riding. Tried to follow the big boys and was on my arse in a field within 10 minutes. Simple, NEVER ride outside of what you're comfortable doing.
Having said that, following an experienced rider is excellent. I always try and hang behind one or two, just picking things up along the way.

Good luck mate, and glad you're enjoying it.

[IsMad]

Mad Dave said:

Firstly, don't allow yourself to be suckered into riding above your limits - it'll all end in tears. As you say though, having another biker to learn from will make you quicker, but just be aware that just because he has the skills to corner at Xmph, doesn't mean you do - so be careful and build up gradually. Trackdays are a good way to find the limits of how your bike will corner.

re Roadcraft - Police bikesafe days are good, and the Police will give you some good tips on sight lines etc. Well worth doing.

I followed him, not stuck to his rear at the same speed . I learned a bit about positioning on the road before the corner and then did my own thing for the bend. I agree that I would benefit from additional training, and am going to look into a skills based day of some sort. Cheers for your comments

[sammy_bibs]

Aye, it was fantastic weekend, nice to see so many out & about, shame it was so damm cold in the mornings!! But let's hope we get the same again next weekend! =)

Edited by sammy_bibs on Monday 22 October 16:58

[Mad Dave]

Biker's Nemesis said:

Mad Dave said:

Firstly, don't allow yourself to be suckered into riding above your limits - it'll all end in tears. As you say though, having another biker to learn from will make you quicker, but just be aware that just because he has the skills to corner at Xmph, doesn't mean you do - so be careful and build up gradually. Trackdays are a good way to find the limits of how your bike will corner.

re Roadcraft - Police bikesafe days are good, and the Police will give you some good tips on sight lines etc. Well worth doing.

Bloody hell Mad Dave, you sound like a copper.

LOL

Edited by Mad Dave on Tuesday 23 October 11:37

[Mad Dave]

Chilli said:

As per Dave's words....I did exactly the same. New R6 all the gear, suspension set-up by a pro, thought I was the guv'nor after 5 minutes riding. Tried to follow the big boys and was on my arse in a field within 10 minutes. Simple, NEVER ride outside of what you're comfortable doing.
Having said that, following an experienced rider is excellent. I always try and hang behind one or two, just picking things up along the way.

Good luck mate, and glad you're enjoying it.

Oh definately. I learned the most from riding with one particular mate who's very fast and skilled. You just have to be careful to ride to YOUR abilities, not THEIRS!

[Mad Dave]

sammy_bibs said:

Aye, it was fantastic weekend, nice to see so many out & about, shame it was so damm cold in the mornings!! But let's hope we get the same again next weekend! =)

Edited by sammy_bibs on Monday 22 October 16:58

Pah! It was barely morning when we met up and it was much warmer then that it was at 10am when I met up with Norman! My god it was bloody cold then!!