Riding over my head.

[sjryser]

I went to the local mountains friday and found myself in a blind, right hand decreasing radius turn going too fast. Felt the urge to let off the throttle, luckily, I've read Twist the Throttle II. Still I went over the yellow line about an inch or two and was freaking out! I stuck out my inside foot like I was back on the dirt:squid:! The extra weight shift brought me back to my side, but what would have been the right thing to do? Still learning...only been riding 7 weeks.

 

[Andz]

The right thing to do would be to stay out of the mountains a bit longer.

 

[fazer.rider]

i remember someone told me from that book you can drag the rear brake while on the throttle to correct your line a bit. but since you only been riding for 7 weeks perhaps you shouldn't try that just yet. you wouldn't want to jam it and lock up.

 

[mstewar1]

^ what andz said...

A public road is not the place to make that kind of mistake. I'm glad you were able to make it through and post about it.

Riding the pace. Read it, ride it, stay a rider...

 

[abacall]

Definitely don't start pushing just yet. I would ride at about 50% max for the first 2 months. Then I would stay below 70% on ALL public roads.
Thing is, what if you encountered a patch of sand there? What if some cager was taking the turn just a bit tight? What if there was something in the road? All the answers are bad, very bad.
I never take new turns (especially blind ones) over 50%. That leaves me plenty of room to correct if there is a need to. Once I know that road a bit better I go a bit faster each time.
Please leave extreme lean-angles for the track, or at least deserted well known roads.

 

[LERecords]

yea.. take it easy and do the speed limits and posted (extra slow down speed limit) and you'll be fine.. that was the advise i got when i first started and its made me a great rider .... just go a bit slower and you'll learn all sorts of little tricks to help you out i everyday riding.. good luck RIDE SAFE!!!

 

[tuningfork]

more "push" on the inside grip (countersteer) should have brought you back into your lane, assuming you had some more lean angle left to use.

I don't think you'd want to touch the rear brake that late into the "situation", I believe that technique is for use earlier in the turn while you are still upright (ie to settle the chassis). In general brakes + lean = bad news, you could cause a skid of the rear tire which could highside you, or if you over do the front you could wash it out = a lowside. Have you taken MSF yet? They cover a lot of cornering drills, the technique is to set your speed at the entrance, then roll on the throttle a bit as you progress through the turn. So, in other words, ride the mt. roads slowly first to asses the situation then proceed to "session" them once you know what's coming your way. The guys you see out there railing have probably ridden the roads many times so they know how to set up for the turns. :thumbup:

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

had a similar issue when i first had my bandit 650 4 years back...a mix of lack of experience and lack of confidence in the bike (never felt comfortable on it for the 2 years i owned it)

i say ride the twisties as often as you can BUT..do it at your pace ,stay well withing your comfort zone (it also turns a stressfull ride into an enjoyable one)..and dont get drawn into cat and mouse tear ups if out riding with freinds.

Once you get home and reflect on your day you will want to do it again instead of thinking "thank f**k im still alive"

 

[keira]

best thing you can do right now is tell your family that you love them and learn from the experience. you were lucky there was no one coming, etc. i have been there and it is a scary experience. if you have the time and funds, i would invest in a track day this year to learn more about riding a line, holding the line, and managing your bike at more than 50% or 70% comfort level. until then, you already know you were over your head, so that will help you out in the future. keep it tame until you have more seat time.

 

[jtarkany]

Well, you got a lot of good advice, so I'll just say GLAD YOUR OK!

 

[lytehouse]

best thing you can do right now is tell your family that you love them and learn from the experience. you were lucky there was no one coming, etc. i have been there and it is a scary experience. if you have the time and funds, i would invest in a track day this year to learn more about riding a line, holding the line, and managing your bike at more than 50% or 70% comfort level. until then, you already know you were over your head, so that will help you out in the future. keep it tame until you have more seat time.

Well said Keira....I've been there too! Scared the Holy Crap out of me & my husband, who was behind me! But I was also a new rider and I definetly learned from the experience. Also, I am hoping to ride a track in August during the AMA Womens Conference.

 

[staticghost]

^ what andz said...

A public road is not the place to make that kind of mistake. I'm glad you were able to make it through and post about it.

Riding the pace. Read it, ride it, stay a rider...

This must be one of the usefull info I have read about safe riding thus far on this forum. Thanks for the post.

 

[SovietRobot]

Either accelerating or using the rear brake on any RWD vehicle(including a motorcycle) will cause oversteer, which can be a good thing.

I don't suggest you do it just yet, but using the rear brake alone will help you in a corner. It'll help with turn in

 

[sjryser]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I never touch the brakes in a turn, but I will look into using the rear in some practice corners to get the feel of it in a controlled turn so i can use it when I need it. Also, i probably had a bit of lean angle left since i have about 3/4" "chicken strip" all the way around my back tire. need to learn to trust the bike more i guess.

 

[MRGM]

Using the rear brake is a very advanced technique that I would steer you away from.

The bike will turn much tighter than you think, just lean it over some more and don't stiffen up on the bars.

 

[ChromeX]

I don't know how old/young you are or for that matter does it make a difference. There are old pilots - There are bold pilots - but No Old Bold Pilots!
Been there done that and am just lucky I've learned from my experiences and not been killed by them.
Best advice like those who have said before is SLOW DOWN you are just a beginner, beginners start testing themselves and sooner than later get caught!
And yes you probably had a lot of tire left but if you are talking rolling over on to that chicken strip you are going to be in for a nasty awakening i.e. probably has the manufacturing sheen (not scrubbed gradually) SLIP Down you go!.
Save the Luck for when you really need it vs pressing your luck all the time!
OLD PILOT!

 

[Hellgate]

As others have said, slow down, but sometimes the corner will suck you in, especially if is a decreasing radius corner. As MRGM said the bike will turn much sharper than you think. The OEM tires will hold you just fine at zero inches chicken strip. The trick is to learn trust in your abilities and bike as opposed to blind faith and ignorance. Twist of the Wrist is an excellent book, so is Sport Riding Techniques. Read the chapters on counter steering and when you get into a pickle like that again simply counter steer harder. In a nutshell...push the handlebar the direction you need the bike to go. And a final piece of advice, look through the corner to were you want to go, don't fixate on where you think you are headed, otherwise you will end up there. Don't worry everyone has done what you've experienced, just learn from it.

 

[Cali rider]

Hey sjryser, if you want to ride with someone with a little more experience, hit me up and I'll meet up with you for some safe rides.
Getting used to the twisting roads takes time and patience.

 

[Cuba]

Great advice, although I wouldn't recommend trying the tail braking any time soon. We've all been there, I'm starting only my second season so those situations are still fresh in my mind. I had several "pucker moments" that were unneccessary and did nothing to advance my skills. Learn to enjoy cruising around, riding more relaxed, realize that the more you ride the smoother everything will become, that you don't have to push it or "practice" to become a good rider, at this stage you just need to put the miles on plain and simple. Be safe, have fun.

 

[ozzieboy]

I couldn't remember seeing this mentioned so I'll slap it up:thumbup:.

Even once you have a bit of experience riding your bike, do not go hard on a new track.....ever. You are also better off to ride your track before you start going harder on it even once you know it. Also remember that things on public roads change quickly and don't ride over 70-80%. That 20-30 % makes it a snap to get out of trouble for most circumstances:cheer:.

This time out it appears you were lacking in experience ( don't worry, we've all been there...I still am...lol) but even that shouldn't necessarily stop you going into the twisties. The other thing lacking was track knowledge. Track knowledge is incredibly important.....so do it over and over at a nice easy pace. Learn the bumps, the patches, the braking points, the surface quality in different areas....seasonal changes can produce nasty debris or other effects. You can't expect to be able to go hard on a new track even if you're an experienced rider.

And stay safe.:rockon:



This has been another quality ozzieboy opinion..lol

Cheers
Mike