What helps you be a great rider

[Henrik_imp]

Henrik... I totally agree with you about tension. If you feel tense you will not ride as well as you can and mistakes will follow. I got back from a week long tour Sunday on my big touring bike with tires that were near the end of their life and getting misshapen. It took a lot of bar pressure to initiate turns and transitions. Monday I rolled out the CB with good tires and went for a ride. I found myself putting a lot of pressure on the bars and this bike reacted how a bike should with that much bar pressure, which made for too sharp of turns, scary actually, which tensed me up. Ended up only riding 28 miles because I knew it was better not to ride that tense. Another ride on the CB yesterday and I felt much better. Todays ride I trust will be better yet.

See if you agree with this. My issue with track days is that they ingrain in you the fastest way thru a turn or series of turns rather than the SAFEST way thru a turn or series of turns (which would be more valuable to a rider on the street). Cornering apexes on a track do not translate well to the street IMO, where you only have 1/2 of the width of the track (road) to use, where vehicles may be coming toward you crowding or crossing the centerline, where there are slick painted lines (particularly after a rain), or gravel or other objects we need to be able to see, understand and avoid safely.

There are a lot of things you can take away from a track day which are invaluable for the street rider, in particular throttle, clutch and transmission control and most importantly braking and body positioning exercises, plus riding a motorcycle fast in a safe environment lets you ride without tension, which is a great lesson in itself.

Ferret, I agree that learning the fastest way and not the safest way through a corner is not something that necessarily helps you for riding on public roads. However, I believe that you need to apply what you learn on the track to road conditions. As you mention, everything related to throttle control, braking, body position etc. obviously benefit you on the road as well. The trajectory issue can as well because although you should not treat the road as a track, you learn to understand the dynamics of your placement in the corner. If you then start of by considering that on the road, your "track" ends at the centerline, you can start to look for braking point markers that will help you to remain on your side of the "track". Understanding the dynamics of the trajectory helps you avoid coming in to a corner all wrong that will then make you go wide on the exit.

So, as long as you keep in mind that you are on a public road and factor in the required safety margin, I think the track day trajectory courses help too.

When I would teach some beginners on track, the most common mistake to correct in the beginning would be that they all go in too fast and too soon, making them go wide on the exit.

[redbirds_imp]

When I become a great rider I'll post the path I took to arrive there.

[Haystack_imp]

I grew up on a farm in Ohio. I was constantly bicycling, 4 wheeling, and dirt biking.

I find that the time on dirt bikes taught me quite a bit. They are harder to ride than a street bike as they will toss you off in a second. They stand higher, and of course you have to constantly be scanning the upcoming terrain for obstacles. Not to mention learning how to fall/crash...because you WILL fall/crash.

People that talk to me about getting a motrcycle I always ask if they've ridden dirt bikes. Will be a prerequisite for my kid.

Ditto! In my family, dirt riding is the required requisite to street riding.

[activedirt_imp]

In the "Hurt Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors" (1981) there is this statement:

"In the multiple vehicle accidents, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the accident in two-thirds of those accidents."

Two out of Three!

[LongRanger_imp]

Telelever gives me the confidence to be a great rider but the mush between my ears keeps me grounded.

[Toddman_imp]

...I forgot to mention...

TURN YOUR TURN SIGNALS OFF

Leaving them on will get you killed quick.

[jitaylor_imp]

@activedirt you are totally correct in your recommendations. It is not for nothing that MotoGP riders and superstock, supersport, flat track, cross riders all train on road bikes, at least. I saw a show on Velocity channel about a husband and wife who were both top ranked road racers. They were out training hard on the road in full kit and Specialized Roubaixs. They were really going at each other too.

MotoGP riders train on the bike(cycle) too.

[Rebel73_imp]

I like to go out to a big empty parking lot, set up some cones, and practice the maneuvers I learned in the MSF course. It's the fundamentals that will probably save your butt.

[Inhouse Bob]

Tension... I find some days that, for any number of reasons, I feel tense or otherwise out of sorts when starting a ride. So I pack it in. No need to tempt fate.

Turn signals... my worst problem. I really have to keep working on that. Thanks for the reminder, Toddman.

[Pterodactyl_imp]

When I become a great rider I'll post the path I took to arrive there.

Please PM me details as soon as possible. Thanks in advance.

Cheers