[Syndacate]

Turning one way will always be easier /more comfortable then the other.
Lefts are more dangerous in some ways, (crossing traffic etc) so it's just as well you feel better about it,

It's actually ironic that you mention that.

A (very seasoned rider) friend of mine at work was telling me the same thing before I went home (where I then practiced).

I was going to mention it in here in my post but apparently I did not.

He said it was all mental though - I'm not sure if I agree. I think the reason I'm better at right turns is because my left hand (clutch hand) is in, and I can control the clutch better, when I'm doing a tight right at low speeds my left is decently far out. I think with me it's more of a physical issue than a mental one.

As for making left turns being more dangerous - yeah, that's a very good point. Although this really isn't the type of situation where you'd turn like that. Typically you can get some momentum up after waiting for traffic for a left turn on a road, even if it's not a lot, you're accelerating, you have more balance. Doing a circle to the left while not accelerating a whole lot (barely at all) with the fork that far turned is completely different, IMO. If it's not I at least find the former a whole lot easier.

[Syndacate]

On a more depressing note, I heard it again today - and then not too long ago on here (twice in one day), about how you need to be born on a motorcycle, grow up on one, etc. to be good. Else if you're just a sucker destined to fail (at least that's my interpretation of the insinuated alternative).

Nothing like a couple more shots like that to the heart to really bring the confidence level down to the ground. I realize people typically tell you it's not true as a sort of comfort phrase, but realistically - is it true? I'm not sure. I'd like to believe it's not, but statistics win 9 times out of 10..doubt you'll find many people in professional leagues who started riding when they were in their late teens or early 20's.. Probably were all on smaller dirt bikes and the like by the time they were 4.

So what's the deal, people that weren't born throttle in hand can't become good or something? I don't believe that crap, but I'm too broke and too heavy to prove otherwise... Either way, I feel like I got dicked over way back when, 30 or 40 years ago, when my dad decided it (riding) really wasn't for him, and stopped riding (he wasn't a very avid rider, just for a couple of years after med school).

Blowish...

[Wild-Bill]

If it makes you feel any better, it's complete BS originating from retarded poseurs. Yeah, you got shafted by not learning to ride early but not because that'd make you a better rider. You got shafted because you missed out on years of good times.

I've seen lifelong riders that I don't want to be anywhere near and I've ridden with folks who had been riding for just a couple of years who were outstanding. There's also a huge difference between track riding, stunting and street riding. Different skill-sets and all... Things that work great on the track would get you jailed or even killed on the street.

Concentrate on taking a mature, thoughtful approach to your riding and ignore the idiots.

[Syndacate]

If it makes you feel any better, it's complete BS originating from retarded poseurs. Yeah, you got shafted by not learning to ride early but not because that'd make you a better rider. You got shafted because you missed out on years of good times.

Yeah, that's the way I saw it, it's just an offset, so to speak. Though it seems the word around says different..

I've seen lifelong riders that I don't want to be anywhere near and I've ridden with folks who had been riding for just a couple of years who were outstanding. There's also a huge difference between track riding, stunting and street riding. Different skill-sets and all... Things that work great on the track would get you jailed or even killed on the street.

Well there's a difference between lifelong riders who you wouldn't want to be near because they're dangerous to other people, but there's also the question as to whether or not they're dangerous to themselves, and if they have the skills to be able to be so..

Also, I do recognize different skill sets I suppose, but stunting aside, I'm willing to bet that people who race professionally have no issues what-so-ever on the street..probably faster reactions, too. I wonder if the reactions come with experience.. (?)

Concentrate on taking a mature, thoughtful approach to your riding and ignore the idiots.

Yeah, that's what I try to do. Hard **** when it seems everybody reinforces it, though.

Took the bike out for an hour or so again yesterday, still felt great, still having trouble with right U turns and starting on hills. Getting near the red on my gas - first full tank is getting to the bottom O.o (yay )

I love it, but I'm running out of campus roads and roads adjacent to campus. Need to start actually riding places. I just want to get this clutch issue worked out (hopefully tomorrow), and get my license at some point.

[~Btech~]

syndacate bud,
dont worry about the insults or ppl that argue about weither or not you have to be born a rider or grow up riding. as wild bill says, it is bs.
ive been riding dirt bikes, four-wheelers and even had some experience riding on street bikes(prior to getting my license) for years.
doesnt make me the best rider. every rider is going to learn something more about riding at some point in time. i saw my motorcycle instructor today and had a chat with him. he agrees that its a never stop learning deal. he's been riding for over thirty years and he says he still learns something every day.
even today after talking with my instructor i learn something. always pay attention to where you park your bike. i wasnt paying close enough attention when i parked my bike on an uneven surface and the bike fell over. some minor scratches but, was a stupid move on my part.
every body can and will make mistakes. no one is a perfect rider.
keep your confidence up bud, i think your doing great. you got a good head on your shoulders and you keep it real, that makes all the difference.

[Syndacate]

syndacate bud,
dont worry about the insults or ppl that argue about weither or not you have to be born a rider or grow up riding. as wild bill says, it is bs.
ive been riding dirt bikes, four-wheelers and even had some experience riding on street bikes(prior to getting my license) for years.
doesnt make me the best rider. every rider is going to learn something more about riding at some point in time. i saw my motorcycle instructor today and had a chat with him. he agrees that its a never stop learning deal. he's been riding for over thirty years and he says he still learns something every day.
even today after talking with my instructor i learn something. always pay attention to where you park your bike. i wasnt paying close enough attention when i parked my bike on an uneven surface and the bike fell over. some minor scratches but, was a stupid move on my part.
every body can and will make mistakes. no one is a perfect rider.
keep your confidence up bud, i think your doing great. you got a good head on your shoulders and you keep it real, that makes all the difference.

Hrm, Yeah, I suppose it is a never-stop learning type of game. Ouch, bike falling, sorry to hear . Thanks for the good words, though, I do try to keep my head up when I hear that crap...guess I just gotta grow tougher skin regarding it..

[Psycho1]

Something for you to try when working on those low speed tight turns. When keeping the rpm's up like Wild Bill has previously mentioned, lightly apply your rear brake to control your speed. Low speed maneuvers are one are one time that the rear brake can truely be your best friend. Lightly slipping the clutch with the rpm's up gives you added stability (while also preventing stalling and surging), then lightly scrubbing the rear brake keep the speed managable in the tighter turns. I use the rear brake quite often at low speeds, and can complete most of the tests given at the DMV's with the wife sitting on the back seat.

[Syndacate]

Something for you to try when working on those low speed tight turns. When keeping the rpm's up like Wild Bill has previously mentioned, lightly apply your rear brake to control your speed. Low speed maneuvers are one are one time that the rear brake can truely be your best friend. Lightly slipping the clutch with the rpm's up gives you added stability (while also preventing stalling and surging), then lightly scrubbing the rear brake keep the speed managable in the tighter turns. I use the rear brake quite often at low speeds, and can complete most of the tests given at the DMV's with the wife sitting on the back seat.

Yeah, a friend of mine at work told me that at the tail of last week - low speed trail braking.

I tried it, and I couldn't find a difference. It was a bit awkward at first, but just dragging it a bit didn't do a whole lot as far as I was able to tell.

Seems like my best bet is feathering front brake/clutch. I've had the most success with that.

I'm able to make my left U turns/circles in the desired radius easily, but my right has a bit to be desired. A bunch of people say at low speeds you favor one side..though I think this is more of a physical thing, as the clutch is further out in left turns, and I feel like I don't have as much control over it.

Either way, I'm pretty sure I only need to tighten the right turns at this point.

That being said:
Last night me and a friend when to a meet - approx 200-250 cars, about 500 people. I had him take point (he has a boosted Accord) as I didn't wanna screw up in front of everybody with some last minute decision - I just followed him around until we parked.

Eventually, when you have that many people in a strip mall parking lot, the cops are going to come and tell everybody to GTFO (I really don't get why, it's better that people are meeting there and doing doughnuts, burnouts, etc., then racing on the streets, but whatever). But after 20m we decided cops would be there soon getting all ****y so we decided to jet.

Then two things happen:
A) My friend goes the OPPOSITE way of what we said and I had to pull a right U turn in front of like 50 pple. It was quite wide, but not enough for people to start laughin 'n such - didn't have any issues either, just kinda blew being put on the spot with my weak point like that on sheer luck .

B) We get to the exit, and there was massive cops, they blocked off all the entrances and were just filtering everybody out through one exit. So naturally, only having my permit, I was scared ****less. All went well though, just stopped for the stop signs (completely), stopped for the red light to make my right (even though it didn't matter much as they had 1/2 the road practically shut down), and pulled out nice and easy, short shifted, stayed behind my friend.

There was quite a few people on the way back who got bagged, I counted about 6 or 7 squad cars total, about 4 people got pulled over (my guess was hauling *** out of the parking lot or burnouts or something).

Though everything went well and we got back to my place alright. That was about it, quite an exciting night, I've never seen so many cars at this meet and it happens every Sunday.

On another note:
I was kind of screwing around with my friend on the way there (in a safe sort of way, about a mile worth of straight-away) (obviously not so much on the way back, lol), so we decide to do a rolling pull, that'd be, his 2nd at about 4k (right in the center of boost for him), against my 3rd (I was lugging around 3-4k and I have a flat spot around there due to the jet kit - should have been in 2nd. It was about dead-on-balls equal, he started to pull when I was getting up until 7k, but he backed off b/c his radar detector went off. I'm sure I would have passed if I got up into the 9's I think, but he had to be nearing the end of 3rd, too, so think a few seconds longer and it would have been mine.

Then the scary part: I dropped it into 2nd to pull passed him (after we stopped, just screwing around), and got on it quite hard, then I let him pass to follow him and we went to the meet. At said meet, him and his passenger both said that the front whee was an easy 3-5" off the ground on the 2nd gear pull. Now I had absolutely no idea, everything felt 100% normal. I was completely flat on the tank, how the heck do I make sure that that front is staying planted?

It was a really good night, though, and I'm sure people will complain because we were screwing around, but it's a big road, damn near empty, and it wasn't anything serious, just a 1 gear pull for ****s and giggles.

Things have been going really well, though, and normally, I take it reallll easy, high gear, 5mph tops over the speed limit (some of the 40mph zones around here are ridiculously placed), passed cops before without them looking twice. Hoping the mirror will make it even cleaner, even though 1 is apparently legal, it's just a reason to pull you over realistically, so I ordered one last night from motorcycle superstore, hopefully it'll bolt right up and be quite OEM style - guess we'll see...

So I've gotten a lot better at:
- starts
- throttle control
- turn signaling
- braking (?)
- shifting

Need areas of improvement:
- right U/circle turn in particular

As for braking, how should I brake?
A car uses a 65/35 or a 60/40 ratio (somewhere in that ballpark) front to back. Now some people say "only use your rear" other people say "only use your front", other people say "only use your rear if you're going downhill or in the rain", other people say use them as you would a car, 60/40, and yet other people say use them both equally..

What do I do? Lately I've been doing both, at a 60/40, but I'm not really sure what the proper protocol is in stopping, whether it be a hard stop or just stopping for a sign or red light. Any thoughts?

[~Btech~]

for right hand turns, i scoot up close to the tank to make sure i have enough arms length to control the clutch. but im not a very tall guy anyway. it just helps me keep my center of gravity while being able to use the clutch.
as for breaking, every body has their own thing.
i generally use the rear but also mix it up. on straight passes, i start with the rear and add the front and continue to equal out the pressure(example: comming to a stop sign or traffic light). breaking into a turn, i use mostly the rear. down hill i use both. slowing in speed reduction zones i use engine breaking and the front. after a while youll get the "feel" for it. but as i said, every one is different.
never hurts to take in other ppl's advice on breaking.

[Syndacate]

for right hand turns, i scoot up close to the tank to make sure i have enough arms length to control the clutch. but im not a very tall guy anyway. it just helps me keep my center of gravity while being able to use the clutch.
as for breaking, every body has their own thing.
i generally use the rear but also mix it up. on straight passes, i start with the rear and add the front and continue to equal out the pressure(example: comming to a stop sign or traffic light). breaking into a turn, i use mostly the rear. down hill i use both. slowing in speed reduction zones i use engine breaking and the front. after a while youll get the "feel" for it. but as i said, every one is different.
never hurts to take in other ppl's advice on breaking.

I'll try scooting up more, I'm not tall either, 5'9".

Well, driving manuals for all of my driving life I'm quite adept to trans/engine braking, and do it quite often, both in my cars and the bike, so I already use that when coming to stops or slowing down or something, but I was more concerned about the "which to use, how to use it types" - but like you said, it seems as though everybody has their own methods. I'm not a knee dragger, but there's gotta be a "best way" for stop signs and such..I think? I've been doing a mix with trans braking, but I have no official training (like MSF) yet. Just doing what's logical.

[Psycho1]

the weight bias on a sport bike (or sport touring) is front heavy to begin with and when you have to stop hard the rear brakes are nearly useless, since if you are using all the braking power available from the fronts the rear tire will be barely touching the road if not in the air. I use front brakes only most of the time when riding solo, other than lightly applying the rear if I ned to scub off a little speed mid corner (my Kat likes to ty to stand itself up if I use front brakes mid corner). When I have the wife on the back seat, the extra weight makes my rear brakes a lot more effective, so I'll use them more often if I have to make a quick stop, or when going down steep grades, to help keep my front brakes from heating up as much.

[~Btech~]

i thought id share this: emergency braking while in a turn.
my instructor taught me this, but there are those who may not agree.
while coming into a turn or corner, and you see an obstruction or something that you need to avoid (like another car), the first thing you want to do is staighten the bike up. meaning, get the bike out of the leaning position and upright. then get the front wheel straight. after that, use both brakes to make a quicker more positive stop. ofcourse, while doing all this, you need to judge the distance on either side of you(depending on if your in a left turn or right turn) so that you dont end up in the ditch or heading twards an on coming vehicle in the opposite lane.
the reason for getting the bike upright and straight before braking is so that you wont low side or high side and the chances for coming to a safe stop are greater.
my instructor was very big on this and drilled me until i got it right. since then ive had to use this technique once and it save me from hitting another rider that was in front of me.
like i said, some ppl may not agree with this technique but, as for me, i know it works if its done correctly.

[Syndacate]

the weight bias on a sport bike (or sport touring) is front heavy to begin with and when you have to stop hard the rear brakes are nearly useless, since if you are using all the braking power available from the fronts the rear tire will be barely touching the road if not in the air. I use front brakes only most of the time when riding solo, other than lightly applying the rear if I ned to scub off a little speed mid corner (my Kat likes to ty to stand itself up if I use front brakes mid corner). When I have the wife on the back seat, the extra weight makes my rear brakes a lot more effective, so I'll use them more often if I have to make a quick stop, or when going down steep grades, to help keep my front brakes from heating up as much.

Yeah, I plan on riding solo - always - the girlfriend isn't coming on board. Lately I've been mostly engine braking (I always do that if I have time) and drag the rear brake, maybe put a little front brake into it, typically I feel that the front brake bites a lot harder, obviously. I think right now I mostly try to trans brake but I'm using about a 50/50 to slow down if I need to and it's not an emergency. The 65/35 or 70/30 concept kind of went away for some reason. I hear 20 different methods from 20 different riders. With putting the rear brake on a bit mid-term, are you talking about trail braking? Also, I don't go into turns that deep yet . Although I do know what you're talking about it standing up mid-turn, seen that a few times, I usually just push harder into it and it stops doing it.

i thought id share this: emergency braking while in a turn.
my instructor taught me this, but there are those who may not agree.
while coming into a turn or corner, and you see an obstruction or something that you need to avoid (like another car), the first thing you want to do is staighten the bike up. meaning, get the bike out of the leaning position and upright. then get the front wheel straight. after that, use both brakes to make a quicker more positive stop. ofcourse, while doing all this, you need to judge the distance on either side of you(depending on if your in a left turn or right turn) so that you dont end up in the ditch or heading twards an on coming vehicle in the opposite lane.
the reason for getting the bike upright and straight before braking is so that you wont low side or high side and the chances for coming to a safe stop are greater.
my instructor was very big on this and drilled me until i got it right. since then ive had to use this technique once and it save me from hitting another rider that was in front of me.
like i said, some ppl may not agree with this technique but, as for me, i know it works if its done correctly.

It makes sense, but I definitely see where the issue about oncoming traffic lies. I'd like to think I'd try that if I was in a panic situation..but unfortunately, all the training in the world can't ready you for your reaction when it actually goes down like that..

===========================Riding Update

So I have a bit over 100 miles on the bike so far. I took it to work last Friday (about 25min drive, 10 or so miles), that was my longest drive so far, everything went 100% well. Even resisted the urge to hammer it against some d-bag who felt like revving his engine at me and hitting OD in his late model chevy impala - I just backed off and eventually passed him when he was at a light.

I had trouble starting on some really steep hills (I was scared of hills a bit, well, starting on them, due to the coordination required), so I went to the steepest low traffic area I could find - and pulled the hell over. I practiced for 15min or so (lots of stall-outs....a bike requires A LOT higher rev and clutch release than a car in ratio to what you need to start off flat). I'd like to think I was quite a bit better by the end. Which leads me to the counter of that, and the next part:

So at like 10p last night I come back to my place, had left the bike at a friend's, we chilled for most of the night here, then we went back to his place and I got my bike, this was about 5am now, sun was just starting to peak, wiped all the dew off my seat and headed back..but I wasn't ready for bed so I went for a little ride. Took a long way around to my appt and let me tell ya, the feeling of driving at 5 in the morning, it was quite cool out (low 40's), some wet spots (which I avoided), memorial day morning - not a single car on the road, had the whole road to myself, at some parts, 2 lanes each way, all empty, one or two other cars on rare occasion, was epic to say the least. Ended up taking a side road which I needed to get back to the other side of town cruising for like 10m (about 55mph), everything was quite, everything was empty, just me, the bike, and the road. An absolutely amazing feeling. I stopped at a stop light which never changes for me because my bike isn't magnetic enough (thankfully I always have to make a right turn from there) and just chilled out for a bit, the world was at 100% rest, I was at rest. First time in awhile I've found total, 100% inner peace, where nothing at all seemed to matter, a feeling that I've never had matched. I continued on my way back and stopped on that hill (not the steepest part, but still, pretty steep) - not sure why, but I did. I took off as if there was a stop light there and it was 100% smooth, no over-rev, no clutch grind, no nothing...so I stopped, and tried it again - again, the same effects. I think I've realized one of two things:
A) I saw my bike in an all new light that morning while riding..I can't go into the details about that b/c I don't feel like getting yelled at, but I had suddenly met my bike at a whole new level, and wasn't [as] afraid of it anymore. Not to say I'm no longer careful, but once you see something in all its glory, you take a whole new understanding of what it actually is...
B) The fact that I was at complete peace - no cars to worry about coming up behind me, nowhere to be, no storms to beat home, no appointments I had to attend to, 100% time to myself. I think I've realized mistakes come on bikes when you rush things..if you're not rushing, if you're 100% calm, things come easier - much-so. I believe that to be true regardless, as I rushed the other day, and had a rather abrupt and embarrassing start, rushing causes ****-ups, especially on new riders. I don't mean rushing as in going fast, I mean rushing as in doing it quickly, not fully thinking about your actions, just jumping into it.

Which one was responsible for it, I'm not entirely sure, probably a bit of both. Though I definitely feel a lot better about starting on hills knowing I had absolutely no issues on that steepest of steep hills (probably the steepest in the area) twice. Again, I didn't exactly sit there and worry about the clutch, or lifting the wheel, or anything, it just happened..so maybe thinking about the details too much causes screw-ups..?

So that's where I sit now, about 110-115mi on the bike (none of it supervised, as it's supposed to be, with a permit ). I hope to get my license soon, kind of waiting for summer hours to start at work (July 5th?) as people will have Fridays off and I can schedule it for one of those days.. I haven't practiced turning in awhile...although I did pull a U turn last night/this morning while I was riding and it happened without issue across a 2 lane (one each way) road...but then again, it was a left turn, and I seemed to be okay (or decently okay) with those..it's those damn right handed ones where I can't seem to get my act together with..

The feeling of riding is completely unmatched, there's nothing like it. I feel I'll continue to enjoy it for awhile to come. I'd like to take it out today but it's getting towards the evening on memorial day and people will be putting the booze back from bbq's and such all day today...I don't want to die because of a drunk driver...

[MattAlexander12]

Thats to bad man. Keep with it you will get it. The motorcycle safety course is a good idea it will teach you a lot about riding.

[Syndacate]

Thats to bad man. Keep with it you will get it. The motorcycle safety course is a good idea it will teach you a lot about riding.

Which part is too bad? The part about me tipping it way back? Water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned. I lived, I learned.