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

[Dick Seaman]

Fair point


Primarily it's cornering and braking

Mainly cornering

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[Dick Seaman]

Prof Prolapse said:

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.

Fair point

[Dick Seaman]

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated. Will read through when I have time this evening.

[Dick Seaman]

Harry H said:

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.

That looks ideal too. Caldwell is miles away but probably worth the trip. 7x30 min on track training sessions for £250 doesn't sound too bad.

[Dick Seaman]

feef said:

Have a go at motogymkhana

Looks great. Will consider that in the future. First I want to get some high speed corner experience and training.

[Dick Seaman]

RizzoTheRat said:

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.

There's an IAM club nearby, Solent Advanced Motorcyclists. However, your point about track training helping to develop trust in the machine is probably what I need at this stage.

[Dick Seaman]

cbmotorsport said:

Track days will give you heaps of confidence.

This feels like the route I need to take initially. It worked for me driving a car. I need to experience first hand what these things are capable of.

[Dick Seaman]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Thanks, I've thought about most of those. There's so much advice (good and bad) available at the click of a mouse, you can end up thinking about too much when riding. I think this is part of my fundamental problem, I know lots of theory but don't yet have the confidence to properly test it out, especially on the road. It's probably time to drop the DIY approach and get some proper training,

[Dick Seaman]

alistair1234 said:

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.................Best thing i've ever done.

Thanks, whether or not it's the Haslam school, I think I need to get on track.

[Dick Seaman]

Birky_41 said:

As already said...

Track day, as you'll be amazed how fast a bike will go round a corner and lean

Agreed and thanks for the video link

[Dick Seaman]

Kawasicki said:

Confidence is important, practise looking far ahead, calm down...enjoy learning.

You're right about confidence, hoping it will build as I experience the bike's ability on track.

[Dick Seaman]

cbmotorsport said:

I'll echo this. I bet looking far ahead and 'through' corners is something you do in a car without thinking about it. It's no different on a bike, and will make your riding so much smoother.

Looking 'through' or 'round' the corner was one thing that did not come naturally at all. I still have to concentrate on it but have experienced the benefits enough to know how important it is.

[Dick Seaman]

Dragging my 'rubbish handling skills' thread up from the depths.

Skills are still poor but confidence is generally better. I've just taken the first steps to putting some of your erudite advice into practice. On Sunday I'll be doing a police BikeSafe course. I know it's not designed to address my specific handling skill shortcomings but I'm hoping it'll provide plenty of good advice and bolster my confidence on the road. I'll report back next week.

Then I've got my first track day booked at Brands in June. I've included a tuition session with this and I'm really hoping that this is where I'll learn and improve. I'm going to use my own bike ('06 CBR600RR) , which I'm apprehensive about dropping, but hiring a bike is prohibitively expensive, so I'll have to try and be careful. Easier said than done.

Any advice ahead of the BikeSafe course appreciated.

[Dick Seaman]

Jazoli said:

Dick Seaman said:

I'm going to use my own bike ('06 CBR600RR) , which I'm apprehensive about dropping, but hiring a bike is prohibitively expensive

Are you sure about that? smallboy rent 600's for £240/day, it might seem a lot but that gets you on a newish bike with new tyres and tyre warmers, plus full support and all you have to do is turn up, your maximum liability is £500 if you turn the bike into a ball of scrap, seems cheap to me compared to potentially trashing your own bike

http://www.smallboytrackbikes.co.uk/our-service.ph...

Thanks, that's a little less than I thought it would be, but add the cost of the day itself and it all feels too much (to me). Although I appreciate the cost of fixing a battered old CBR could be more than half the worth of the bike.

I am keen to use my own bike though, I want to learn what it (specifically) can do and gain confidence from that. Think I'll take the risk, fingers crossed and try to take things fairly easy.