Does one need to crash while at the track to become a better rider?

[Lxpony]

Concentrate on working on smoothness, precision and control. That typically yields the best results.

In the 75-100 or so track days I've done over the years, I've had just two track day crashes.

HOLY SHIT!! PROPS TO PETE- And you are freaking fast..been passed by you on that SV many times.

[keeena]

My bike has been damaged more being transported back and forth from the track then actually riding it on the track.

Then buy your own damn trailer!

Crashing doesn't help me. If you feel like you're on a plateau, use the CRs, personal instruction, etc...at a track day or school. Their experience is invaluable & much better than crashing.

[kb1]

My bike has been damaged more being transported back and forth from the track then actually riding it on the track.

- I call Keena's trailer spot next year!!

[Lxpony]

- I call Keena's trailer spot next year!!

Hell no.... Adjustments have been made to avoid future damage and Kian bought a second pitbull rear stand so tie down straps are no longer needed. Get your own ride!

[03Worc9R]

Mike, the way things are looking now, I may be trying to bump youth the bed of the truck.

[Chippertheripper]

You really only need one, maybe two, crashes for 'street cred' purposes. Anything more than that is a waste.

Still, I've fallen over a few more times, and taken away something from each. Learn what you can from every situation in life.

[CBR929RE]

You really only need one, maybe two, crashes for 'street cred' purposes. Anything more than that is a waste.

Still, I've fallen over a few more times, and taken away something from each. Learn what you can from every situation in life.

I don't have any scars from crashes so I think I still need to do it again for maximum street cred.

[Jim]

I don't have any scars from crashes so I think I still need to do it again for maximum street cred.

i've got a gaurd rail in Blue Hills with your name on it. it's right next to my spot

[OreoGaborio]

how did this thread go from "do you need to crash to become a better rider?" to "here's where Brett needs to crash to get street cred"?

[Jim]

shut up pete. doc sucks!

[OreoGaborio]

[CBR929RE]

i've got a gaurd rail in Blue Hills with your name on it. it's right next to my spot

I don't ride on the street

how did this thread go from "do you need to crash to become a better rider?" to "here's where Brett needs to crash to get street cred"?

Jim is secretly in love with me? must be the hair.

[gadget]

When I was autocrossing in the 80's one of the required skills was to know how fast your car could go through a turn without losing traction. The best way to learn this was to keep going through turns each time going faster until you slid out.
You had to learn your car's limits.

How do you do this with a motorcycle?

[e30addict]

Concentrate on working on smoothness, precision and control. That typically yields the best results.

This! Too many people view track days as trying to go as fast as they can NOW. If only they realized if they dialed it back a few notches, and concentrated on building skill rather than the speed, they'd go soooo much faster in the long run!

I've got less than a track day and a half and I've smashed 3 times. I'm disgusted.

Ask yourself what's more important. Going as fast as you can NOW, or even faster later?

[e30addict]

When I was autocrossing in the 80's one of the required skills was to know how fast your car could go through a turn without losing traction. The best way to learn this was to keep going through turns each time going faster until you slid out.
You had to learn your car's limits.

How do you do this with a motorcycle?

Slowly and carefully would be my take!

You can exceed the limits of something and not crash. It's the rate at which you exceed the limits that can bite you

[tsorfas]

When I was autocrossing in the 80's one of the required skills was to know how fast your car could go through a turn without losing traction. The best way to learn this was to keep going through turns each time going faster until you slid out.
You had to learn your car's limits.

How do you do this with a motorcycle?

growing up in Greece (always a few years behind) thats exactly what we were practicing. I guess its pretty similar with the bikes.. maybe not always in the track.. for example i dont think you can learn how to wheelie, and i mean really wheelie like go far change gears etc unless you fall..
everyone has different limits.. but finding where the limit is and crossing it successfully i think is the biggest satisfaction to any motor head..

[keeena]

When I was autocrossing in the 80's one of the required skills was to know how fast your car could go through a turn without losing traction. The best way to learn this was to keep going through turns each time going faster until you slid out.
You had to learn your car's limits.

How do you do this with a motorcycle?

Easing into it once you have a good base skill set. You can exceed traction limits and not crash. By first learning to be loose on the bars, weighting pegs, ratcheting the gas: you can then most likely ride thru a little slide without binning it. And rain riding helps find this at a lower speed.

[Paul_E_D]

When I was autocrossing in the 80's one of the required skills was to know how fast your car could go through a turn without losing traction. The best way to learn this was to keep going through turns each time going faster until you slid out.
You had to learn your car's limits.

How do you do this with a motorcycle?

Crash about 5-8 times. YMMV

[j4eric]

Mike...i told you...remember "top gun" when Maverick was gunshy after the accident that killed Goose? he got out of it better....shot 4 migs......but he had to get the incident out of his mind first....tis all mental.

[Pigman]

I would say to be a better rider NO...to go faster YES

[DucDave]

I remember thinking about this a lot when I first started doing track days. I was pretty sure there was no need to crash to get better.

I still believe this. But that's a bit of a different question than "Will I ever crash?"

So, while there's no requirement to crash in order to improve, there is a certain probablity that, eventually, you will. It may not even be your fault, it's just the law of averages.

I've crashed several times now and except for one really weird tank slapper that threw me at Summit Point, I have learned something each time....

[OreoGaborio]

I would say to be a better rider NO...to go faster YES

Even that's debateable, IMO.

[DucDave]

I would say to be a better rider NO...to go faster YES

I think it's safe to say that every single expert racer, whether MotoGP or LRRS, has crashed...

...so, that suggests that while you may not need to crash to go faster, you certainly will crash going FASTER. See, there's faster. As in, faster than you went before. And there's FASTER as in FASTER than I went before and didn't crash.

Kind of like skiing. Most of us could get through a slalom without falling. And we could get though the same slalom faster with practice withoug falling. But, in the process of becoming competitive...and that may be the key factor...you will certainly push limits that will cause a crash.

[OreoGaborio]

Which came first, the fast or the crash?

[j4eric]

Is it safe to say that you have not pushed your limits until you have crashed?
and with that, do you become a better rider having experienced that.