Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Nelso wrote:

zx-10r wrote:Do not stay behind them, should have just blasted past him. They wont just take themselves down but anyone in the vacinity

Did we cross paths at the top of the Pass yesterday? We were on a green 2010 ZX10 and a green ZRX and waved at a green 10 like yours. I thought it might have been you at the time.

Wish I was Nah it wasn't me, but there are not that many 07 lime zx10s around I must say.

The equally clueless Governments riding training at work
The ONLY thing you need to pass rider training is the patience to sit through all the boring BS....
if you have the patience...you pass regardless....and eventually become a patient!

i was a bike instructor in brisbane thru the 90s, and back then u had to do ur training, and testing on road. the bike school i worked for only did one on one training. ur test was done on road.at least that way u are showing all the things u need to learn from the get go, but having said that, there was many a young guy in a hurry to a early death, some just cant and wont be told. but neither could i 34yrs ago!!!!

I think it was the TAC who held reference groups throughout Vic to gain feedback from motorcyclists on how to curb the road toll. They expect a spike in bike deaths as it correlates with increased bike sales.

Along with suggestions about separate licences and training for scooters riders, a mentoring program was highlighted as part of getting your L's and P’s. There was chatter about training hrs to be held on city and country roads, in wet conditions+ at night, with the (accredited) mentor giving advice and tips.

It will be 2 years before any initiatives are ready to be implemented.

After all that there’s still no effective way to address the ‘Farkwit Factor’

You are always going to get the Farkwit Factor not only with motor bike riders ,but do yous think L platers should go back to our days when the biggest bike you could ride was a 250 i know they can still poke along alright but wouldnt be as towy as a 600cc machine,bit like learning on a pony then later hoping onto a big stallion

h.b.bear wrote:You are always going to get the Farkwit Factor not only with motor bike riders ,but do yous think L platers should go back to our days when the biggest bike you could ride was a 250 i know they can still poke along alright but wouldnt be as towy as a 600cc machine,bit like learning on a pony then later hoping onto a big stallion

I agree with the 250 limit, but im a hypocrite.
You could argue less powerful bikes dont nessessariliy mean anyone is going to be any safer.

I think incentives such as discounted track days and additional training for L and P platers, subsidies for their first set of safety gear and mentoring are the way to go.

At one of these reference group sessions, the Pony/Stallion thing was mentioned in reference to people sitting their tests and doing their L's and P's on scooters, then going out and getting on Busa's, R1's and ZX10's.

I think the thing with saftey gear is a teenage macho thing ,i have not long got my L"s again after losing them 27 years ago,but back then it was shorts ,thongs and tee shirts in the summer,but now i was to scared shitless to ride my bike until i had the boots,gloves,kelvner jeans ect,so i guess i am saying i am older wiser

smithy5 wrote:I reckon it's the Gen "Y" factor. The youth of today really don't have a clue. The do what is needed to progress, without understanding why.

Geez, we're not all bad

Possum wrote:

h.b.bear wrote:You are always going to get the Farkwit Factor not only with motor bike riders ,but do yous think L platers should go back to our days when the biggest bike you could ride was a 250 i know they can still poke along alright but wouldnt be as towy as a 600cc machine,bit like learning on a pony then later hoping onto a big stallion

At one of these reference group sessions, the Pony/Stallion thing was mentioned in reference to people sitting their tests and doing their L's and P's on scooters, then going out and getting on Busa's, R1's and ZX10's.

I did my P's test on a postie

h.b.bear wrote:i have not long got my L"s again after losing them 27 years ago,but back then it was shorts ,thongs and tee shirts in the summer

WTF?
Have you you actually been out on the road anywhere in summer latley?

Stereotypes, you have to love them.

Plenty of 40 year olds racing to an early grave, hang another sterotype. Though I did read somewhere that the 40+ who are coming back to riding are making the young ones look good.

Ye who has not ridden above their ability be the first to cast the stone.

It aint the bike it's the belief that they are somehow possessed with the skills of the gods, I am not unbiased as it was a f%&^%#g L plater who panicked and hit the front brake that took me out, before the "accident" I used to treat learners with a lot less didain then I do now, now when I see them I dont wait I get past at the earliest safest opportunity. IMHO they are bad on the road because unlike the older gneration i.e. me and the such I find that most young riders have had none or very litle off road riding/"training" before they got on the road and for all the rider training they undergo this lack of dirt riding/falling off is the biggest thing lacking as they have no idea what to do when the bike moves under them or they over cook in a corner, end of rant I know we all have to learn but I to am getting sick and tried of picking up L and P platers off the side of the road and I know that the authorities dont just look at them in the motorcycle accident statistics they label all of us with the same brush.

Naked Twin wrote:Stereotypes, you have to love them.

Plenty of 40 year olds racing to an early grave, hang another sterotype. Though I did read somewhere that the 40+ who are coming back to riding are making the young ones look good.

Ye who has not ridden above their ability be the first to cast the stone.

Dead right unfortunately (pardon the pun)

The group who have figured most heavily in accident statistics in the last 10 years or so are the 40 + riders who had a bike when they were young, sold it to have kids etc and then jump back on when they've got money and the kids have grown up. Most of these guys haven't had any training and probably fail to realise the jump in performance that's happened on bikes.

There are obviously exceptions but I reckon the youngsters coming through now aren't that bad. Certainly a hell of a lot less of them are dying compared to my generation when we first started riding.

Yes not all young riders are farkwits and there are quite a few of our older brethren returning to riding who just don't have any concept of the HUGH increase in power and performance since they were last riding but at the end of the day there is an attitude issue that seems to go hand in hand with the powers that be not wanting to listen to experienced riders/groups that give them ideas and feedback but never take any notice when they implement the laws. I agree 100% that the L and P riders should have subsidies to get decent gear, very hard for sum of them to afford the right gear so they use whatever they have, as to tshirts and thongs yep been there done that and got the bloody scars to prove it!

There is no law against wearing a g string whilst riding a bike. It is a choice people can make. If you have done the L and P's course in the last 15 years you will find it is much harder and the training much better than it was previously (in NSW that is). I was told by a L and P's trainer that when they introduced the new training requirements the incident of a rider crashing reduced significantly.

Can we do more, hell yes but no matter how much training there will always be someone, young or old who wants to ride abover their ability. It is not the mistake but what you do about it. If you don't learn than you can't be taught either

I personally have never ridden above my ability, though on ocassions my bike has run out of ability long before I did