My bike handling skills are rubbish

[Dick Seaman]

Hello. Passed my test late last year and bought a '06 CBR600RR just before Christmas.
Have ridden 5000 miles since then, all conditions, here and in Europe. Loving it, best thing I've done, should have done it years ago etc.

In that time my general riding has improved significantly, however, my bike handling skills are rubbish. I'm not a driving god but I've learnt enough about car control to realise that I'm on the nursery slopes with the bike. I'm not quite a liability to myself but almost.

I've absorbed plenty of theory, read lots of articles, Twist of the Wrist, YouTube videos, and tried to put the advice into practice. Some has undoubtedly been very helpful, though I don't feel particularly comfortable experimenting on the road.

What is the best/safest/fastest way to improve my skills? Ride more? On road training? Track days? Race schools? All of them?
I'm based in Winchester, can anyone recommend anything nearby?

Thanks

[curlie467]

You really need to elaborate, bike handling skills could mean all sorts.

[Dick Seaman]

Fair point


Primarily it's cornering and braking

Mainly cornering

[trickywoo]

Slow speed or general riding?

A well setup bike as regards suspension, headstock bearing smoothness, tyres the right shape etc make all the difference.

You can ride around all those things but if you don't have much experience to begin with something wrong can make you tense up which makes it all much worse.

Assuming your bike is in good condition a trackday can open your eyes as regards the grip available and give you more confidence on the road. Slow speed practice in an empty carpark / industrial estate at the weekend is worth it too.

Assuming your reading of the road skills are OK your bike handling skills will improve with time and the fact you are thinking about it is a big plus.

[Dick Seaman]

trickywoo said:

Slow speed or general riding?

I'm fairly comfortable with the slow control stuff. That's probably the area that has improved the most since passing. I've ridden quite a lot through London and it's really helped.

My main concern is cornering faster and how to react when things start to go wrong.

[cmaguire]

Dick Seaman said:

I'm fairly comfortable with the slow control stuff. That's probably the area that has improved the most since passing. I've ridden quite a lot through London and it's really helped.

My main concern is cornering faster and how to react when things start to go wrong.

Experience and increasing confidence are probably the main things.

But entry into biking has changed a lot since I started. We started on 50's and worked our way up. The bikes were slower but also handled worse, with bad brakes and iffy tyres.
Nowadays people often start out on bigger bikes, but do have the benefit of those bikes being far more capable than what I rode (X7's and Gs550's etc).
Back then throwing it down the road was almost inevitable if you had any enthusiasm ( the wet was my favoured time to jump off), whereas nowadays nobody wants to do that and the bikes don't stand up to it quite as well either (a club hammer sorted out a lot of problems then).

First thing would be to get your bike a clean bill of health, so you have no doubts about the machinery.
Then maybe a novice trackday or some road riding with someone quick but considerate.

Maybe the Ron Haslam day would be good for you as you get tuition on basically the same bike you have so there is direct crossover into confidence on your own bike afterwards.

[Dick Seaman]

cmaguire said:

Maybe the Ron Haslam day would be good for you as you get tuition on basically the same bike you have so there is direct crossover into confidence on your own bike afterwards.

thanks, I'll take a look at that

[bogie]

Have a look at www.i2imca.com for bike handling training, they do some great courses.

also its cheap to join RoSPA and go out with local instructor for a few rides. For £40 you cant get better training. What is termed " advanced" standard of riding should be the default standard for safe road riding. Its a great way to establish good habits early on in your riding career.

[RemaL]

Dick Seaman said:

cmaguire said:

Maybe the Ron Haslam day would be good for you as you get tuition on basically the same bike you have so there is direct crossover into confidence on your own bike afterwards.

thanks, I'll take a look at that

Or for even less money go with a mate/mates and do a trackday. U will learn loads in your own time. take up a instructor's time

best thing I did

[Prof Prolapse]

With only 7 months experience and 5,000 miles, I would expect the vast majority to be pretty st to be honest.

Whilst tuition helps, it just takes practice mate. Same as learning anything else.

[Harry H]

Training wise do a search for Hopper Rider Training.

Their track training days are focused towards mere mortals and not wanna be riding gods.

It's all about smooth lines and getting your weight right with them and not a track prepared R1 in sight. One bloke last year turned up on a Honda Silverwing scooter which was interesting although I wouldn't recommend it, but he did have a smile on his face.

You will need to travel, but a great day out and you will learn a lot.

[feef]

Have a go at motogymkhana
http://www.motogymkhana.org
or do a trackday and get some coaching.

Motogymkhana is a great way to really get to know your bike as the speeds are low and it's all about balance, control and handling

[Kawasicki]

Dick Seaman said:

I'm fairly comfortable with the slow control stuff. That's probably the area that has improved the most since passing. I've ridden quite a lot through London and it's really helped.

My main concern is cornering faster and how to react when things start to go wrong.

What do you mean by things go wrong? Hitting gravel? Car pulling out on you? Riding a poor line through corner?

[RizzoTheRat]

IAM and RoSPA tend to operate as clubs these days, it's not for everyone but most offer a free assessed ride before you commit to joining, so got to be worth a punt. It's not all blokes with beards and BMWs, my local IAM lot do quite a few track days and usually a trip the 'ring once a year too.

Bikesafe could be worth a look too, 1 day event run by the police.

Riding on a road and a track are obviously very different, track based stuff will improve your control of, and trust in, the machine, but road based training might ultimately be more useful to you on the road.

[cbmotorsport]

Track days will give you heaps of confidence. You'll be able to explore what the bike can do, which helps in the real world. For example, if you know the bike will grip and you can lean it further, you'll be much better equipped on the road if you every come into a corner too quick. A classic rookie mistake.

You'll find yourself breaking much later than you ever thought possible which will prove to you how quickly you can stop when out on the road should you ever need to.

Your bike is also a perfect track tool, good out of the box. Go and do some track days, novice group, take your time, nothing to prove and enjoy it.

[Dick Seaman]

Kawasicki said:

What do you mean by things go wrong? Hitting gravel? Car pulling out on you? Riding a poor line through corner?

All of those. I think anything that compromises the balance and grip of the bike, especially when cornering. Could be change in surface, running wide, sudden need to change line or slow down. That sort of thing.

[alistair1234]

Dick Seaman said:

thanks, I'll take a look at that

In April I had 2 years and 8,000 miles on a Fazer 8 under my belt. Never ridden anything else other than the er6n I learnt on. I did the Ron Haslam school on an 8c cold wednesday where it had started to very lightly hail stone whilst we were in the pits.

1st few corners i was wobbling all over the place, thought i was never going to work it out. By the end of the first session, i was getting the hang of it and losing my dad behind me who was the other person in my group and normally a faster road rider.

By the second session, I was completely hooked, i think the fact that i couldn't damage any of my own stuff or bike meant that i just went for it. the worst that could happen is i bin it and get told i can't continue the day.

3rd session i was getting my knee down on a few corners and really could have done with not having my dad with me as he was slowing me and the instructor up.

At the end of the day when they gave out scores I finished joint top with another guy, out of about 20 people, of which 5 had done the day before. I couldn't believe it, i just wanted to do the whole thing again.

The fact that you're on touring tyres as well gives you confidence in what your road bike can do.

Sold my Fazer and bought a Daytona 675r 2 months later, never even would have considered a sports bike before. Now i just need to get on track on mine so i can get completely comfortable with it.

Best thing i've ever done.

I don't know if the offer is still on, but if you bought 2 Dunlop tyres about a month ago you got the Ron Haslam school for half price.

Edited by alistair1234 on Thursday 27th July 14:50

[tjlazer]

I'm a new rider too, I'd echo the advice here (bikesafe, IAM, track days etc) but the key is really to ride as often as you can and really analyse your riding. If you think you were iffy on a bend try to think about why and do the same turn again or try to correct the fault for the next bend. Bikesafe is a cheap intro to this approach and a good laugh too. I ride every day and that road time has really made the difference, I guess I'm comfortable as I have used two wheels for years but it sounds like you just need some good analysis of where you're going wrong and then focus on getting things better from there.

[Dick Seaman]

bogie said:

Have a look at www.i2imca.com for bike handling training, they do some great courses.

That looks really interesting. I'm trying to experience some extreme conditions on the bike, in relative safety, in order to gain some confidence and ability. That would do. Bovingdon Airfield the closest venue, thanks.

[Dick Seaman]

RemaL said:

Or for even less money go with a mate/mates and do a trackday. U will learn loads in your own time. take up a instructor's time

best thing I did

Yes, the Haslam school looks quite pricey. Would love to try a new version of the Honda though. Unfortunately I don't have any active biker mates. A couple have bikes under sheets permanently hibernating in their garages, that's about it.