MT07 - My first bike!
Discussion
Dynamoduck said:
Update
I’m definitely getting more comfortable with having the bike leaned over, I think the main thing is being on some nice roads without much traffic.
As for the power I am starting to want a bit more but only on the long straight and motorways, however when I’m on country roads it’s plenty plus I like the fact that I can go “full throttle” through a few gears without doing crazy speeds.
Great to hear you're really enjoying your new bike but ...I’m definitely getting more comfortable with having the bike leaned over, I think the main thing is being on some nice roads without much traffic.
As for the power I am starting to want a bit more but only on the long straight and motorways, however when I’m on country roads it’s plenty plus I like the fact that I can go “full throttle” through a few gears without doing crazy speeds.
Stop worrying about leaning over or how much of the bikes performance you are or aren't using. The thing to be concentrating on now is where you are looking. I will bet a virtual beer that when you're out riding, especially as you approach a bend, if you actually concentrate on where you are looking, you will be focused on the tarmac 20m ahead of you. Worrying about paint, gravel, man hole covers etc. Take note next time you're riding and let us know who owes who that virtual beer.
The single most important thing when riding a bike is to look where you want to go by looking to the vanishing point. (There are lots of videos out there on looking to the vanishing point.) Doing this will prepare you for what is coming, allow you to set up the bike correctly and ensure that the number of times you are caught out/surprised is significantly reduced.
If the vanishing point is "moving away from you, then you can open the throttle and increase the speed. If the vanishing point is coming towards you then you close the throttle and reduce your speed. Leaning the bike and going around the bends will just happen if you really are looking at the vanishing point.
Your peripheral vision will spot the gravel and the man hole covers so those will not be ignored but you main concentration will be focused on where you want to go and how you’re going to get there safely.
Even after 44 years of riding (f
k I'm old!!! 
) I still find I have to remind myself "eyes up" when I first ride the bike after a few days off. [quote=Dynamoduck]Update
I’m definitely getting more comfortable with having the bike leaned over, I think the main thing is being on some nice roads without much traffic.
As for the power I am starting to want a bit more but only on the long straight and motorways, however when I’m on country roads it’s plenty plus I like the fact that I can go “full throttle” through a few gears without doing crazy speeds.
Re the Full Throttle -the MT 07 is a torquey engine and a good handful in 2nd and then the front hitting something like a cats eye will get front in the air, maybe not a full wheelie but definitely enough to compromise where you might want it to go!
I’m definitely getting more comfortable with having the bike leaned over, I think the main thing is being on some nice roads without much traffic.
As for the power I am starting to want a bit more but only on the long straight and motorways, however when I’m on country roads it’s plenty plus I like the fact that I can go “full throttle” through a few gears without doing crazy speeds.
Re the Full Throttle -the MT 07 is a torquey engine and a good handful in 2nd and then the front hitting something like a cats eye will get front in the air, maybe not a full wheelie but definitely enough to compromise where you might want it to go!
black-k1 said:
If the vanishing point is "moving away from you, then you can open the throttle and increase the speed. If the vanishing point is coming towards you then you close the throttle and reduce your speed. Leaning the bike and going around the bends will just happen if you really are looking at the vanishing point.
That’s excellent. (I’m a complete beginner)black-k1 said:
Great to hear you're really enjoying your new bike but ...
Stop worrying about leaning over or how much of the bikes performance you are or aren't using. The thing to be concentrating on now is where you are looking. I will bet a virtual beer that when you're out riding, especially as you approach a bend, if you actually concentrate on where you are looking, you will be focused on the tarmac 20m ahead of you. Worrying about paint, gravel, man hole covers etc. Take note next time you're riding and let us know who owes who that virtual beer.
The single most important thing when riding a bike is to look where you want to go by looking to the vanishing point. (There are lots of videos out there on looking to the vanishing point.) Doing this will prepare you for what is coming, allow you to set up the bike correctly and ensure that the number of times you are caught out/surprised is significantly reduced.
If the vanishing point is "moving away from you, then you can open the throttle and increase the speed. If the vanishing point is coming towards you then you close the throttle and reduce your speed. Leaning the bike and going around the bends will just happen if you really are looking at the vanishing point.
Your peripheral vision will spot the gravel and the man hole covers so those will not be ignored but you main concentration will be focused on where you want to go and how you’re going to get there safely.
Even after 44 years of riding (fk I'm old!!! ) I still find I have to remind myself "eyes up" when I first ride the bike after a few days off.
Very nicely put. If you overcook the entry, eyes up and look for the exit (drill that into yourself on every bend to make it become second nature). The other thing is "pressure on the inside bar" as it'll make the bike corner cleanly and quickly.Stop worrying about leaning over or how much of the bikes performance you are or aren't using. The thing to be concentrating on now is where you are looking. I will bet a virtual beer that when you're out riding, especially as you approach a bend, if you actually concentrate on where you are looking, you will be focused on the tarmac 20m ahead of you. Worrying about paint, gravel, man hole covers etc. Take note next time you're riding and let us know who owes who that virtual beer.
The single most important thing when riding a bike is to look where you want to go by looking to the vanishing point. (There are lots of videos out there on looking to the vanishing point.) Doing this will prepare you for what is coming, allow you to set up the bike correctly and ensure that the number of times you are caught out/surprised is significantly reduced.
If the vanishing point is "moving away from you, then you can open the throttle and increase the speed. If the vanishing point is coming towards you then you close the throttle and reduce your speed. Leaning the bike and going around the bends will just happen if you really are looking at the vanishing point.
Your peripheral vision will spot the gravel and the man hole covers so those will not be ignored but you main concentration will be focused on where you want to go and how you’re going to get there safely.
Even after 44 years of riding (f
k I'm old!!! ) I still find I have to remind myself "eyes up" when I first ride the bike after a few days off. Practice, practice, practice.
bgunn said:
...The other thing is "pressure on the inside bar" as it'll make the bike corner cleanly and quickly.
Practice, practice, practice.
Yeah, this. Try it first on an easy corner that you're familiar with. Lightly push forward on the left bar if going through a left-hand corner, and push forward on the right handlebar when going through a right-hand corner. If you've not experienced it before, it's a bit of a shock how much is improves your cornering ability and how much it brings the bike tighter into the turn.Practice, practice, practice.
Plenty of videos on YouTube about it, it's well worth watching a few to get a grasp of the concept because it sounds completely backwards but eventually becomes second nature once you've got the hang of it.
Next time you're out on the bike, be very conscious which way you are actually turning the handlebars and which hand you are pushing forward in order to turn through the corner... it's the opposite to what you think.
Counter steering is just this but more actively thinking about it, rather than on a bicycle where you're simple turning the bars left to go left and right to go right.
FatboyKim said:
bgunn said:
...The other thing is "pressure on the inside bar" as it'll make the bike corner cleanly and quickly.
Practice, practice, practice.
Yeah, this. Try it first on an easy corner that you're familiar with. Lightly push forward on the left bar if going through a left-hand corner, and push forward on the right handlebar when going through a right-hand corner. If you've not experienced it before, it's a bit of a shock how much is improves your cornering ability and how much it brings the bike tighter into the turn.Practice, practice, practice.
Plenty of videos on YouTube about it, it's well worth watching a few to get a grasp of the concept because it sounds completely backwards but eventually becomes second nature once you've got the hang of it.
Next time you're out on the bike, be very conscious which way you are actually turning the handlebars and which hand you are pushing forward in order to turn through the corner... it's the opposite to what you think.
Counter steering is just this but more actively thinking about it, rather than on a bicycle where you're simple turning the bars left to go left and right to go right.
To ride a bike, even a push bike, you already know how to use counter steering. You may not understand it or even believe it, but your brain is making you do it. Trying to think about it too often just slows things down, which is not necessarily a good thing on the road when things are starting to go pear shaped.
If you are truly looking at the vanishing point, and truly riding within the requirements defined by the vanishing point, then you will automatically apply more counter steering if the bike needs to turn harder, but you won't actually know you're doing it.
I find you only need to steer harder in a bend if you’ve got something wrong, and, in pretty much every such situation, you’ll have gotten it wrong because you weren’t looking at the vanishing point. Likewise, in pretty much every such situation, concentrating on looking to where you want to go is more important to getting out of the situation in one piece than concentrating on moving the bars in the "wrong direction"!
black-k1 said:
Great to hear you're really enjoying your new bike but ...
Stop worrying about leaning over or how much of the bikes performance you are or aren't using. The thing to be concentrating on now is where you are looking. I will bet a virtual beer that when you're out riding, especially as you approach a bend, if you actually concentrate on where you are looking, you will be focused on the tarmac 20m ahead of you. Worrying about paint, gravel, man hole covers etc. Take note next time you're riding and let us know who owes who that virtual beer.
The single most important thing when riding a bike is to look where you want to go by looking to the vanishing point. (There are lots of videos out there on looking to the vanishing point.) Doing this will prepare you for what is coming, allow you to set up the bike correctly and ensure that the number of times you are caught out/surprised is significantly reduced.
If the vanishing point is "moving away from you, then you can open the throttle and increase the speed. If the vanishing point is coming towards you then you close the throttle and reduce your speed. Leaning the bike and going around the bends will just happen if you really are looking at the vanishing point.
Your peripheral vision will spot the gravel and the man hole covers so those will not be ignored but you main concentration will be focused on where you want to go and how you’re going to get there safely.
Even after 44 years of riding (fk I'm old!!! ) I still find I have to remind myself "eyes up" when I first ride the bike after a few days off.
This, it’s lovely when you learn how to look through the bends, you’ll end up leaning much more without even realising you’re doing it. Stop worrying about leaning over or how much of the bikes performance you are or aren't using. The thing to be concentrating on now is where you are looking. I will bet a virtual beer that when you're out riding, especially as you approach a bend, if you actually concentrate on where you are looking, you will be focused on the tarmac 20m ahead of you. Worrying about paint, gravel, man hole covers etc. Take note next time you're riding and let us know who owes who that virtual beer.
The single most important thing when riding a bike is to look where you want to go by looking to the vanishing point. (There are lots of videos out there on looking to the vanishing point.) Doing this will prepare you for what is coming, allow you to set up the bike correctly and ensure that the number of times you are caught out/surprised is significantly reduced.
If the vanishing point is "moving away from you, then you can open the throttle and increase the speed. If the vanishing point is coming towards you then you close the throttle and reduce your speed. Leaning the bike and going around the bends will just happen if you really are looking at the vanishing point.
Your peripheral vision will spot the gravel and the man hole covers so those will not be ignored but you main concentration will be focused on where you want to go and how you’re going to get there safely.
Even after 44 years of riding (f
k I'm old!!! ) I still find I have to remind myself "eyes up" when I first ride the bike after a few days off. K1 is extremely old so he must be doing something right
Kawasicki said:
There are many opinions on countersteering.
I‘m in the do it consciously camp. It made the bike MUCH more agile for me, and I like agility… I think it’s fun to use huge amount of bar force to rapidly change direction. The physics of it are very intriguing.
For a newbie? Who passed their test less than a month ago? Really?I‘m in the do it consciously camp. It made the bike MUCH more agile for me, and I like agility… I think it’s fun to use huge amount of bar force to rapidly change direction. The physics of it are very intriguing.
THE single most important lesson in motorcycling I have had is:
If you can't see it, you can't deal with it
If every newbie could grasp this early in their career and really take it to heart then I'd suggest there'd be conciderably fewer statistics!
black-k1 said:
The single most important thing when riding a bike is to look where you want to go by looking to the vanishing point. (There are lots of videos out there on looking to the vanishing point.) Doing this will prepare you for what is coming, allow you to set up the bike correctly and ensure that the number of times you are caught out/surprised is significantly reduced.
If the vanishing point is "moving away from you, then you can open the throttle and increase the speed. If the vanishing point is coming towards you then you close the throttle and reduce your speed. Leaning the bike and going around the bends will just happen if you really are looking at the vanishing point.
Your peripheral vision will spot the gravel and the man hole covers so those will not be ignored but you main concentration will be focused on where you want to go and how you’re going to get there safely.
black-k1’s advice is excellent. And I recommend Reg Local’s videos on YouTube, including this one on how to use the vanishing point (a.k.a. limit point) for cornering: Limit PointsIf the vanishing point is "moving away from you, then you can open the throttle and increase the speed. If the vanishing point is coming towards you then you close the throttle and reduce your speed. Leaning the bike and going around the bends will just happen if you really are looking at the vanishing point.
Your peripheral vision will spot the gravel and the man hole covers so those will not be ignored but you main concentration will be focused on where you want to go and how you’re going to get there safely.
Reg has also done a series of advanced motorcycling videos that are invaluable for road riding, e.g. Advanced Cornering part 1.
Also, I highly recommend a BikeSafe day if you can get a place (they soon book up)
black-k1 said:
Kawasicki said:
There are many opinions on countersteering.
I‘m in the do it consciously camp. It made the bike MUCH more agile for me, and I like agility… I think it’s fun to use huge amount of bar force to rapidly change direction. The physics of it are very intriguing.
For a newbie? Who passed their test less than a month ago? Really?I‘m in the do it consciously camp. It made the bike MUCH more agile for me, and I like agility… I think it’s fun to use huge amount of bar force to rapidly change direction. The physics of it are very intriguing.
THE single most important lesson in motorcycling I have had is:
If you can't see it, you can't deal with it
If every newbie could grasp this early in their career and really take it to heart then I'd suggest there'd be conciderably fewer statistics!
Your advice on looking and seeing is also valid, I am not questioning it. I would say it is even more important than conscious countersteering, but one compliments the other. People freeze on bikes, and leave the road, at well under the capability of the machine. It’s sad.
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