The newb squid goes down for the first time!

[toocrazy2yoo]

Hey man... great advice and which I will def put into practice. No offense taken... I know I'm new at this and there's so much to learn by just listening to more experienced riders.

I never understood why people want to learn the hard way!?!?

question for you though... I have tried going to parking lots and whatnot to practice but I stopped because on those large flat surfaces, theres usually pockets of sand,glass and puddles almost everywhere...

Anyone know of some nice, flat clean parking lots around me that are good to practice at?

Best, Kaz

Dunno the area well enough to tell you where, but church lots, the Mall early in the morning before peeps start shopping, High School lots, there should be some clean pavement somewhere. You also have that closed down Air Base up there in Maine, but that ain't practical. There are also corporate campuses all over the North Shore, too. Surely the sand and stuff is rinsed away somewhere up there. As for me, I live in No. Va. and I'm moving up, but I won't be up there with my bike for a couple of weeks or a month. I'm moving up to Hamilton this summer, but still engaged in closing my business, the house down here and in Charlottesville, stuff to do in Florida, and I'm working on getting my vehicles up there. My bike, I haven't even picked it up from the dealer yet, but it's being made ready.

When I get up there with the bike, I'll touch bases with you doods, assuming I ain't PISSED everyone off by then!Finding NESR was a bit of a blessing, I'll have a head start on where ta ride, a good shop for the Suzuki, and some pals to run around with..

You, Flyer? You lead the way!

[Danno]

It's really hard to find parking lots that are smooth. For a better chance of smooth, I'd try busines parks on the weekend. You can use Google's satellite view to see where the big lots are.

I used to worry about the "bad parts" of the lot when I started my PLPs until I figured out that I can ride them and get used to them. Most streets are less than ideal and learning to relax your hands and let the suspension do what it was designed to do is what you're going to need long term.

[gus310]

i was riding with a friend in wilton nh this weekend and he did the exact same thing.

we were coming down hill with a left hand corner in wilton nh, approaching the intersection of 31 and 101, i was in front, and when i got to the intersection and i didnt see him coming around the corner about 10 seconds later i turned around hoping he got a flat or something.

with no gear except for his sunglasses and my spare pair of gloves, he came into the corner a bit too hot, grabbed some combination of brakes, and while wrestling his machine trying to make it lean more, he stared at the side of the road where he inevitably landed. when he went onto the soft shoulder, he was leaned over a bit, and his front tire turned all the way left, highsiding him into what was luckily soft dirt, sand and a rotten log.

he scratched his forehead, which didnt bleed much, bashed his shoulder on the log, and tumbled in the dirt. when the adrenaline wore off, he said he thinks he sprained his first finger.

just a few feet from the soft dirt berm he landed on was a steel guardrail and a steep dropoff. he was lucky to walk away sore from what literally could have killed him. we got a truck to bring his bike home.

[OreoGaborio]

Missed this the first time around.... Sorry to hear that, kaz, that sucks.

If you ever wanna go for a ride, just gimme a shout. I'll let ya know next time I'm goin for a rip. I don't mind riding with newer riders & helping them out w/ their riding & answering questions/talking about technique. If I did I wouldn't work for Tony

[gus310]

my buddies bike, went down probably doing about 30mph, busted plastics, oil line and coolant line. should have it running soon, hopefully he'll put on some gear and maybe i can convince him to take an brc when he finds a job.

[Dieseldan]

glad u r ok...........

[reiobard]

seriously, if you feel like the front end is constantly going to fly away from under you then it is time to get those forks serviced or upgrade the bike, that map shows a very subtle turn and if the front feels weak to you in a turn like that then it needs some help.

you can do it on the cheap too if you have a bit of mechanical ability and a bit of a lack of fear.

Racetech springs should run you about $110 and now fork oil will run about $15-20. in the end it is like buying a new bike!.

That bike has some years on it and i would guess that the fork oil looks more like month old coffee than fork oil.

[flyer_kaz]

Hey guys.. thanks for the words of encouragement...

a little update on that turn actually... I rode through that turn a few days ago... ( a little slower this time.. ) 1. to see what I did wrong and 2. to kill the demons I had about that turn.. and what I didn't realize at the time, is that the turn starts out shallow and then gets sharper about 50 yards into the curve. Totally didn't realize this when I went down but it makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. Also lets me know that I was not looking through the turn enough... duh...

reiobard - Thanks for the suggestions about the forks.. I think that will be my end of season project that I will take care of for next season... and I have a question related to that..

Do old springs and forks feel softer or stiffer as they get older..?

I feel like my forks lack some "cushion" I guess you could say.. like when I'm going over little bumbs or pot-holes, the forks feel "jittery" and a little stiff versus "absorbed smoothly"

OreoGaborio- thank you for your offer and one I will def take you up on as soon as possible.
Vawn and I are supposed to ride today if it at least stops raining for a bit. I was going to suggest maybe we should watch each other and see what we could improve..etc..

gus310- sux dude! hope your friend is ok and tell him to always remember that crash as a great lesson!

I'll look into the costs of some forks springs and what goes into that and get back to you guys with some questions.

Thanks again!

Kaz

[ctbandit]

every REAL rider goes down at least once.

later odieoh24

Crashing doesn't make you a REAL rider. It just makes you a rider that has crashed. I believe that I read that Ken Condon recently crashed on the track for the first time in 10+ years of track riding, and I'd sure call him a real rider.

Crashing is part of the game though, so take it in stride and try to make the most of it and learn from the experience. Braking in the corner isn't going to make you go down, it sure can, but it doesn't have to. Keep an open mind to riding courses and such, lots of good info out there.

[Pittenger5]

and what I didn't realize at the time, is that the turn starts out shallow and then gets sharper about 50 yards into the curve.

I like to drag knee through that turn, yknow, impress the cougars walking the lake.

But on the serious, and not to sound like a dick, if you find thats a tough turn to negotiate, some proper rider training is exactly what you need. Although you seem to have accepted that, so you're a LOOONG way ahead of the game.

[flyer_kaz]

Crashing doesn't make you a REAL rider. It just makes you a rider that has crashed. I believe that I read that Ken Condon recently crashed on the track for the first time in 10+ years of track riding, and I'd sure call him a real rider.

Crashing is part of the game though, so take it in stride and try to make the most of it and learn from the experience. Braking in the corner isn't going to make you go down, it sure can, but it doesn't have to. Keep an open mind to riding courses and such, lots of good info out there.

thanks and I def learned from this experience! I'm not one for making the same mistake twice..

[reiobard]

reiobard - Thanks for the suggestions about the forks.. I think that will be my end of season project that I will take care of for next season... and I have a question related to that..

Do old springs and forks feel softer or stiffer as they get older..?

The spring replacement is only if your factory springs are the wrong size, all you probably need is just a fork oil change, but while ou are in there if you can get springs that are made for your weight then it is a worth while move. I recently found out that my 2007 FZ6 is set up for a 112 lb rider and after getting the correct spring and hicker oil it feels like an entirely new bike. If ou can swing the extra cake definatley ake it to Peter Kates at GMD Computrack and have him set you up all professional style.

IO just ran your bike on the Racetech website and the factory spring rate is set for something like a 50 LB rider in the front and a 132 lb rider in the rear...

[flyer_kaz]

The spring replacement is only if your factory springs are the wrong size, all you probably need is just a fork oil change, but while ou are in there if you can get springs that are made for your weight then it is a worth while move. I recently found out that my 2007 FZ6 is set up for a 112 lb rider and after getting the correct spring and hicker oil it feels like an entirely new bike. If ou can swing the extra cake definatley ake it to Peter Kates at GMD Computrack and have him set you up all professional style.

IO just ran your bike on the Racetech website and the factory spring rate is set for something like a 50 LB rider in the front and a 132 lb rider in the rear...

Yikes!!

really!?!?

Why would they do that from the factory!?!?! Who do they think are going to be riding their bikes?? Little people!?! WTF?

that makes no sense to me...

So wouldn't that mean I need stronger springs..? and wouldn't that make the front end stiffer..? I'm so confused about how all these suspension settings work together...

All I know is I want my front end to work smoother... if anyone knows what I'm talking about..

[flyer_kaz]

I like to drag knee through that turn, yknow, impress the cougars walking the lake.

But on the serious, and not to sound like a dick, if you find thats a tough turn to negotiate, some proper rider training is exactly what you need. Although you seem to have accepted that, so you're a LOOONG way ahead of the game.

Its not that I found it a tough turn to go through.. going back through it the second time.. I realized I didn't expect the turn to sharpen like it did... I expected the turn to be constant throughout and so coupled with not looking through the turn enough..and the un-expected increase in curve threw my position off...

but I def need more practice and experience.. *sigh* only riding time will make me better...

Kaz

[Pittenger5]

but I def need more practice and experience.. *sigh* only riding time will make me better...

Kaz

Exactly. The difference between what happened to you, and a more experienced rider is night and day. The experienced guy will turn the head and lean the bike more and make it. The inexperienced rider will panic, and target fixate. Usually you can get lucky, unfortunately it bit you. Like I say, experience has a lot to do with it, but the best thing that happened for me was to hit the track and get some real experience to know how far my limits are. Not saying the tracks right for you yet, but some proper training certainly isnt a bad thing.

[nt650hawk]

I know a place where you can practice looking thru the turns over and over again. It's also a much safer environment than out on the street.

The speed seems to be something that you are looking for. This environment encourages the ability for a controlled spirited street ride as well as meeting new friends

[flyer_kaz]

just think of how much time and agro a BRC or ERC would have saved you....
you've looked at class availability & signed up right?

you'll get a 10% discount on part of your insurance as well upon successful completing of either course....

http://www.mass.gov/rmv/motorcycle/training.htm

I actually took the BRC at Streetwise!!..lol.. but even the instructors say, "Even after this course, you will not be fully prepared for riding on the street."

and they were right... you never get above 20-25 mph on the course there... and I'm cruisin' the streets around me at around 35-45 mph average

granted I was taking the turn at around 25-30... and I was looking through the turn a little... just not enough to see the turn get sharper and also to adjust my line...

So... more practice for me!

Doing a track day would be ideal for me as others have suggested. With life as it is... its just not something I could afford right now. I've made a promise to myself to do at least one at the beginning of next season though so you guys can count on that!

Thanks for the wise counsel and encouragement!

Kaz

[Ken C]

My .02:

Yes, get trained and keep getting trained throughout your riding career! BRC, ERC, ARC, track days... And practice to keep these perishable skills fresh.

BUT, even experienced and well-trained riders get into trouble. We are all human and when we are faced with an unexpected situation, we all experience a twinge of panic that easy leads to poor decisions. The degree of panic varies from person to person and how you respond is partly based on experience and ability.

So, the immediate solution is to understand the limits of the environment. Ask yourself why you did not expect a possible decreasing radius turn. Public roads often have hazards that cause panic whether it is a tightening turn, sand, a dog, or a car in you lane.

Tip: If you cannot see around the corner, enter at a conservative speed. Be pessimistic about what is around the curve and you will reduce the likelihood of having more of those panic moments.

[Quigs]

Bikes are replaceable, people aren't. Glad to hear you're ok bro.