Hi all

For those who may not know. I've only been riding for 2 weeks and I'm on an old Yamaha FZR 600 R (old style Thundercat).

Anyway, just been out enjoying the sunshine and I had a bit of an incident.

I went into a left hander a bit too hot and I turned in too late, as a consequence I pushed the bike wide and actually went over the white line seperating the lanes. Thankfully, nothing coming so I got away with it (I also cut through a hedge trimmer power cable today so I'm doing well!!).

Can anyone help out with what I should have done? I know this is a pretty silly question but thought I would give it a go.

I know the simplest answer is slow down and I completely aggree, but if it ever happens again I would like to have a better idea of what I should do.

I have noticed that I am not using all of my tyres, I have just put on a new set and I have untouched tread right at the edge. If I had been brave enough I'm sure I could have lent the bike over more and not straddled the white lane...any tips on this other than 'grow a pair'!

Thanks guys

Brett

PS Still loving the bike thing though, I have been well and truely bitten by the bug...and when my 'pair' actually grow I will do a trackday (like Talizman has done recently). Excuse the wittering - still buzzing from the ride! :)

Hi mate

I'd hazard a guess that most people who ride a bike have had a moment like yours today so don't worry about. You've come out the other side safe and sound and a tad wiser.

A couple of things to help here:

- You may have suffered from the dreaded point fixation which will pull you inexoribly to the point you're staring at - normal something immovable and hard. Make sure you're looking where you want to go. Sounds obvious but it's not often taught.

- If you think you're carrying too much speed into a bend, try and get it off whilst you're upright (easier said than done if you're bowling along and the corner's getting tighter). Grabbing the brakes whilst you're canted over is a big no-no. Counter-steer (push the bars in the direction you want to go - push on the left hand side of the bar to go left, right to go right. Sounds odd but it does work) a little more - the bike's grip will far outweigh your bottle.

- If the vanishing point (where the road disappears) is coming towards you, roll the throttle off. If it's going away the road is straightening out and you can give it some beans. If it appears stationary, you're on a constant radius curve so keep the gas where it is. Remember, look through the bend where you want to go.

- Make sure you're nice and loose from the waist up. You're arms should be well bent at the elbow and relaxed to get the best feedback.

- Have a think about getting booked in for some advanced riding instruction. I did a day with Rapid Training advanced motorcycle training (http://www.rapidtraining.co.uk) and it was worth every penny.

Best of luck.

Cheers
Kav

Agreed with Kav, you can stop yourself getting target fixation by forcing yourself to look at the bend exit, not the oncoming verge :) Surprising how you just get round the corner if you do this. Shifting your gaze helps lose the "fear".

The other thing is to make sure your inside elbow is well bent and "soft", this helps you lean the bike further.

Above all, don't worry about it -- just keep riding and practicing :)

just look where you want to be going and never fixate on somewhere you dont.

just look where you want to be going and never fixate on somewhere you dont.

Best free advice you will ever get...

its all in the head dude.....:thumb:

All great advice, and we've all been in the same situation before. I'd like to add a little precaution: take extra care on left-hand bends until you're sure you can get the bike round it safely.

It seems quite common for bikers to occasionally run wide on left-handers, whereas if it were a right-hander you'd be in the hedge. The reality is that 95%+ of the time we get away with it, but that other 5% or so there's something coming in the other direction and neither of you have anywhere to go -- not pretty.

I recently attended a Bikesafe course run by the police and they told us that almost all biking fatalities they attend are either overtakes or left-hand bends. It put things a little more into perspective and I do find myself thinking ahead a bit more and possibly also being a little more cautious approaching a left-hander I can't see around.

Not lecturing just trying to help ensure you don't become another statistic -- I've made the same mistake several times but I hope I've learned enough not to do it again :)

if you ever find yoyrself going into a corner too hot then just knock it down a cou[ple of gears and try and turn it.. if you give it too much toy'l lok the wheel up wich is a no no. if you find yourself in a tank slapper then pull the clutch in dont try and fight the handle bars cos you wont win..... ever... if you find yourself getting high sided then the best thing you can do is stand up and and use your legs to soak up the shock.. remember these things iv just told you they will happen sooner or later and they will save you a lot of time in hospital... there are 2 types of riders.. there's the 1s that have come off and there are the 1s that are going to come off. just make sure when its your time to come off you land on something soft...

that all sounds like good advice, im not a good enough rider to make use of it though...as i steer my bike round corners :lol1:
fast cars...& slow bikes do it for me, but i do envy you sports bike riders and the way you handle your bikes.:notworthy

Thanks everyone for some great advice. Appreciate it a lot. I think I will book myself some further instruction and keep practising bearing in mind all the above.

Cheers

Brett

easiest one is as above but simply stated, push the inside bar and look where you want to be.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m130/Pudders69/DSC_0132.jpg

Be under no illusion the bike WILL do it, just ask.

Pud

p.s. i think further instruction is great but maybe in 3 months of riding as you need to get comfortable on the bike first imho

easiest one is as above but simply stated, push the inside bar and look where you want to be.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m130/Pudders69/DSC_0132.jpg



Also note that the guy is looking right round the corner where he wants to be. That's the main thing, the bike will go where you look and even if you think the bike won't make it, as you have already noticed from your "chicken lines" it more than likely will.

Going in a slightly lower gear will help too. engine braking won't stand tha bike upright like gripping the brakes mid corner. And try to stay relaxed! Sounds a lot easier than it is but you've got a good bike for it and i'm sure you'll have cracked it in no time.

5t.

Agree with all the advice here and would add the following mantra:

Slow in, fast out. Fast in, sh1t out. :thumb:

Thanks chaps. more good stuff :thumb:

Good advice here, I think I'll be out practicing when it stops raining :)

I've only just got back into biking after 6 years and dont feel relaxed just yet, but I'll put into practice the advice given here and it shouldnt take too long to feel at home again on 2 wheels :)

My new bike is a speed triple 1050, so I got to show it some respect :D

gotta agree with most of the advice here look where you want to go , but obviously road positioning is the key {which you will have to learn } and look for that apex , which is best learnt on a track , so get yaself booked up for 1 m8 . heres me looking for the apex on a very fast corner , and if anyone can guess the track from that pic , you will win a lollipop :luxhello:

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o49/r1trickster/ME006.jpg

OK, I'll play....Mallory Park?

nope miles out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi all

For those who may not know. I've only been riding for 2 weeks and I'm on an old Yamaha FZR 600 R (old style Thundercat).

Anyway, just been out enjoying the sunshine and I had a bit of an incident.

I went into a left hander a bit too hot and I turned in too late, as a consequence I pushed the bike wide and actually went over the white line seperating the lanes. Thankfully, nothing coming so I got away with it (I also cut through a hedge trimmer power cable today so I'm doing well!!).

Can anyone help out with what I should have done? I know this is a pretty silly question but thought I would give it a go.

I know the simplest answer is slow down and I completely aggree, but if it ever happens again I would like to have a better idea of what I should do.

I have noticed that I am not using all of my tyres, I have just put on a new set and I have untouched tread right at the edge. If I had been brave enough I'm sure I could have lent the bike over more and not straddled the white lane...any tips on this other than 'grow a pair'!

Thanks guys

Brett

PS Still loving the bike thing though, I have been well and truely bitten by the bug...and when my 'pair' actually grow I will do a trackday (like Talizman has done recently). Excuse the wittering - still buzzing from the ride! :)

Get yourself on the course thats advitised in the ride mag-TAKE CONTROL. Went on it last month and it was the best 200 quid i've ever spent! Give me more confidence on a bike and how to corner properly(how the bike works) just got to put it into practice WHEN IT STOPS RAINING!:mad:
Good luck and ride safe:thumb:

Looks somewhere foreign?

some good comments here well done guys .

just cos its rainig the fun dont have to stop obviously grip is the limiting factor but the technics are the same with good throttle control etc :D

get your self some rider training its a good way to learn the basics which a lot of people forget , i know people who have been on bike s for the last 15 years still making the same mistakes , one of the classic mistakes is turning the bike to early which in turn will force you wide in the turn .:eek2:

lots of good advice in the bike section right ,just ask away with your concerns :thumb:

Looks somewhere foreign?

:thumb: well spotted m8 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 points 2u .

:thumb: well spotted m8 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 points 2u .

Yay:thumb:
I knew it wasnt alot a lot of places here. Strange colour tarmac
But where foreign? Valencia is my guess:)

PS wheres my damn lollipop- Im starving here:D

Yay:thumb:
I knew it wasnt alot a lot of places here. Strange colour tarmac
But where foreign? Valencia is my guess:)
valencia ????? our survey said argh arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
nope fraid not

easiest one is as above but simply stated, push the inside bar and look where you want to be.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m130/Pudders69/DSC_0132.jpg

Be under no illusion the bike WILL do it, just ask.

Pud

p.s. i think further instruction is great but maybe in 3 months of riding as you need to get comfortable on the bike first imho

Its called oppiste lock steering, and if you want corner quickly you need to understadn whatws going on with your bike and the bars.... you dont actaully turn into a corner you do exactly the opposite, with a little speed 20mph min probably.
To turn left you actaully push your left hand and pull with the right, effectivly turning the bars right.... and vice versa..

Although this is a little advanced, you probably would have got round the corner by doing exaclty as pudder96 suggested, push the inside bar away from you... that should be the one closest the the apex of the corner and the road.

Countersteering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countersteering)
motorcycle counter steering (http://www.mc-steering.com/index.html)

although my money would be on target fixation, look where you wanna go, don't stare at pot holes or manhole covers oops person hole covers.

is it the ring or maybe spa???

All this advise is great, but for the best results try one thing at a time, personally i tried this.

1. LOOK WHERE YOU WANT TO GO (95% of the battle imho)

2. Apply pressure to the inside bar (ride straight ahead and gently push either bar, the bike will weave basically, yet you are bolt upright...welcome to countersteering....p.s. you already do it, but didn't know)

3. practice above until natural...then go to the Califonia Superbike School..in a years time.

4. Become riding God, shag models, win races, earn millions.








i am at number 3......most of the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

is it the ring or maybe spa???

erhhh arghhhhhh - nope !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!