1 Season Under My Belt!

[kargo]

Well I survived my first season of riding a motorcycle and also did a few mods! I did a quick little vid of my two-bros and I'll be sure to get a better one soon. I'm also starting a naked conversion so I'll have plenty of pictures! I have a PCIII and K&N on the way too!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AISO_-Xxsjg]YouTube - FZ6 Two-Brothers Carbon[/ame]

I also want to thank everyone on this great forum for the wealth of information I have gathered. I have been trolling around here daily but never post, I'll try and change that. :thumbup:

 

[Kriswithak]

Awesome stuff!
Keep riding safe and having fun!

 

[MG-242]

Congratulations! That is awesome. To me one of the most exciting things about our sport is introducing new people to it and seeing their enthusiasm. That is way cool!:cheer:

 

[bigdog9191999]

congrats on your first year.. it is a good feeling to know you did it and learned on the way..

the bike looks and sounds great.. what year is the bike?? and just to recap what are your mods?? i see the 2-bros, fe, duel low beam, seat cowel,

ok after another look you have a pre 07' (swingarm gave it away..) do all the pre 07 have welded rear peg mounts and not bolted like the 07 and up??

 

[Chris]

do all the pre 07 have welded rear peg mounts and not bolted like the 07 and up??

Yep

Congratulations on your first season of riding! Now have fun doing your modifications

 

[lonesoldier84]

Awesome!! Now you get to enter the most dangerous period of your riding career!! You are now statistically more likely to have an accident than in any other period of your riding career.

Seasons 2-5 have the most single or multiple vehicle accidents for a motorcyclist. You are now over your early jitters so will be riding more naturally and less conservatively. Your skills have progressed to the point where you feel confident (and more so over the next few years) enough to push yourself a bit more, but not high enough that in worst case scenarios you have the skills to get yourself out of a jam as effectively as someone with years upon years of experience and training would.

Personal proof:

1) In my first year of riding I pushed myself very hard to learn as quickly as I could. More than a few times I pushed too hard and almost got in serious trouble for it.

2) This was my second year of riding. Because of my greater ability for having tried to actively improve my riding skills over 27,000km of riding, I was EXTREMELY confident in my riding. My cornering, braking, balance, and overall confidence were infinitely greater than last year. Because of this a few times I was less careful than I should have been and almost had spectacular and potentially fatal collisions. You will ALWAYS think you are a better rider than you are.

Keep your head up, don't let your awareness drop, and stay actively defensive. Keep yourself in check.

Ride safe brother.

Enjoy~

 

[kargo]

Awesome!! Now you get to enter the most dangerous period of your riding career!! You are now statistically more likely to have an accident than in any other period of your riding career.

Seasons 2-5 have the most single or multiple vehicle accidents for a motorcyclist. You are now over your early jitters so will be riding more naturally and less conservatively. Your skills have progressed to the point where you feel confident (and more so over the next few years) enough to push yourself a bit more, but not high enough that in worst case scenarios you have the skills to get yourself out of a jam as effectively as someone with years upon years of experience and training would.

Personal proof:

1) In my first year of riding I pushed myself very hard to learn as quickly as I could. More than a few times I pushed too hard and almost got in serious trouble for it.

2) This was my second year of riding. Because of my greater ability for having tried to actively improve my riding skills over 27,000km of riding, I was EXTREMELY confident in my riding. My cornering, braking, balance, and overall confidence were infinitely greater than last year. Because of this a few times I was less careful than I should have been and almost had spectacular and potentially fatal collisions. You will ALWAYS think you are a better rider than you are.

Keep your head up, don't let your awareness drop, and stay actively defensive. Keep yourself in check.

Ride safe brother.

Enjoy~

This is so true. As I grew more confident with the bike and the feeling, I began to push my limits more and more. Always trying to get the tighter turn in, perfect the breaking, and the "how fast can I go"; usually riding above my skill level and having a couple "scares". I learn from my mistakes and looking back now would slap myself. I am lucky enough now to understand that danger is around every corner and skill is learned with experience and TIME.

However, I always have in the back of my mind, "what would my family and gf do if anything ever happened to me...." and this really smartens me up.

In the spring I am going to get some track days down and acquire the skills in a safer closed environment. I feel that I have come along way and developed a good skill set so far, but nothing that experience and time will replace. I look forward to the next season and am going to take it slow as I enjoy riding far to much to let one stupid over estimate of my own skill and judgement ruin that for ever. I cant wait for this winter to be over and it has just started!

haha, saying that, now would be a good time to flame me.... Now I do realize I have MUCH to learn but have come along way even if I have done some "not so smart squid mistakes"

and all you guys that get to ride year round, STAY SAFE!

 

[RJ2112]

As LS said....the biggest reason riders get into problems the second season is due to starting off right where they left off the year before. Reactions are slightly off, tire pressures might have changed, brake fluid will have degraded..... all around the bike will perform slightly differently than it was, when you stopped riding.

Add to that, most riders spend the first year pushing the limits, and don't really comprehend how close they are to the edge, or what to do when they pass that point. It's generally a lot closer than they realize (same applied here, BTW).

Track time, or a refresher course as soon as weather permits would be a great way to start next year. Reading up on the subject is a great way to while away the dreary non bike season....

 

[lonesoldier84]

As LS said....the biggest reason riders get into problems the second season is due to starting off right where they left off the year before. Reactions are slightly off, tire pressures might have changed, brake fluid will have degraded..... all around the bike will perform slightly differently than it was, when you stopped riding.

Add to that, most riders spend the first year pushing the limits, and don't really comprehend how close they are to the edge, or what to do when they pass that point. It's generally a lot closer than they realize (same applied here, BTW).

Track time, or a refresher course as soon as weather permits would be a great way to start next year. Reading up on the subject is a great way to while away the dreary non bike season....

Well, what I was saying was that rider confidence is greater than rider ability in year 2, 3, 4 more so than any other time. The stats are that you are most likely to be in a single or multi vehicle accident in years 2, 3, 4 than you are either in year 1, or any year after year 5.

The point I was making was keep yourself in check and always ride at 70% of your ability so you leave something in the bag in case u need it.

And + 1,000,000 on the track day.

Seriously, going to even one track day where you get formal training from a track school will save your life. You learn so much it is insane. It really IS true you learn more in one track day lesson than you do in years of riding.

When you get out though, remember that golden rule:

Ride @ 70% of your ability and always leave something in the bag