Have you tried riding slowly?
Discussion
I was well early this morning (had to shave, and press trousers!) so thought I'd take in a bit of scenery on the way in....Well, I thought i'd take it nice and slow, and do a bit of self teaching, you know hazard perception, even pretending I was on my advanced test. However, it didn't last. As soon as a blade went past me, I was back to my usual self. I couldn't help it!!
However, I noticed that when I was "wandering around" I woulsd lose concentration very easily...Doesn't usually happen when I'm making "steady progress".
However, I noticed that when I was "wandering around" I woulsd lose concentration very easily...Doesn't usually happen when I'm making "steady progress".
If you think you are not concentrating try this observation excercise:
Every time you see (and as soon as you see) a road sign, hazard, junction, car infront, something behind etc etc, tell yourself what you see.
You'll soon find you can't keep up telling yourself what you see. You'll also start seeing signs and dangers sooner as you'll be looking further ahead to take it all in.
Every time you see (and as soon as you see) a road sign, hazard, junction, car infront, something behind etc etc, tell yourself what you see.
You'll soon find you can't keep up telling yourself what you see. You'll also start seeing signs and dangers sooner as you'll be looking further ahead to take it all in.
black5 said:
If you think you are not concentrating try this observation excercise:
Every time you see (and as soon as you see) a road sign, hazard, junction, car infront, something behind etc etc, tell yourself what you see.
You'll soon find you can't keep up telling yourself what you see. You'll also start seeing signs and dangers sooner as you'll be looking further ahead to take it all in.
Every time you see (and as soon as you see) a road sign, hazard, junction, car infront, something behind etc etc, tell yourself what you see.
You'll soon find you can't keep up telling yourself what you see. You'll also start seeing signs and dangers sooner as you'll be looking further ahead to take it all in.
A very good exercise to do on a regular basis and as black5 says, you’ll find that even at slow speeds you will struggle to keep pace with the rate at which the potential hazards arrive.
cptsideways said:
Slow is when the bugs hits you square on
Fast is when then they get stuck in your teeth
Fast is when then they get stuck in your teeth
A while back I made the mistake of remarking to a friend of mine that I thought the aerodynamics of my Ducati must be pretty good, because there were less bugs stuck to it than my CBR6.
His reply was that he doubted it had anything to do with aerodynamics as I wasn't going fast enough to catch up with the bugs!
mtbr said:
cptsideways said:
Slow is when the bugs hits you square on
Fast is when then they get stuck in your teeth
Fast is when then they get stuck in your teeth
A while back I made the mistake of remarking to a friend of mine that I thought the aerodynamics of my Ducati must be pretty good, because there were less bugs stuck to it than my CBR6.
His reply was that he doubted it had anything to do with aerodynamics as I wasn't going fast enough to catch up with the bugs!
I trust he's no longer a friend??!!
chilli said:
_Dave_ said:
Tried going slowly, its too uncomfortable, too much weight on the wrists and boring, so pretty quick most of the time for me, no speed camera's here either, which helps!
Lovely, and you have the weather and the roads to take full advantage?!
But of course! its rained about 5 or 6 times since er.....May!!!
The roads are amazing too, empty, well surfaced etc....I could go on, sorry srd!
In the past ive found that riding slower and concentrating on lines instead of speed has been the easiest way to ride faster - you relax more and therefore look further ahead, become more consistent and smoother and end up riding far faster but in your own little bubble of serenity. Every perfect corner feels like some kind of artform and you feel at one with the bike.
Or maybe it's just me.
Or maybe it's just me.
Mad Dave said:
In the past ive found that riding slower and concentrating on lines instead of speed has been the easiest way to ride faster - you relax more and therefore look further ahead, become more consistent and smoother and end up riding far faster but in your own little bubble of serenity. Every perfect corner feels like some kind of artform and you feel at one with the bike.
Or maybe it's just me.
Or maybe it's just me.
Nope, it's not just you. If I want to go faster I always start by going slower and concentrating on lines, position and most importantly visibility. As you say, this all makes you smoother and thus the speed increases without the “drama”. There’s nothing quite like that feeling you get as bend after band gets eaten quickly, smoothly and safely.
I tried riding slowly twice, the first time I had an ZX9 knocked from under me at a junction where I had right of way second time vfr800 same thing my right of way, neither driver saw me with my lights ablaze and it being dark??, if I were going fast I would not have been there for the accidents to have happend in the first place.
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