Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

after friday's run with the HCSC rider trainer, ive come away feeling a little down on my confidence when tackling some corners on the putty...

the road has lots of 35km/h posted rights and lefts and although the rights gave me some trouble on the 250, the lefts were always a hoot, and felt i could keep a fair pace through them...

however as of friday's run i was having lots of trouble with these corners... i know its the first time through on a new bike, but on the wide open stuff the 6 couldn't feel any better, and i couldnt feel any more at home on a bike...

the coarse surface of the road may be to blame (ie thats my excuse ) as the re-surfaced corners on the old road were a hoot (lots of them 35km/h posted) and wattie did say pilot powers were a squirmy tyre... i was just not having any confidence to turn the bike quickly or at any great lean angle (but could happily dump it on its side for a 65 posted corner for instance )

turns 2, 7 and 9 were no problem for me at the creek, so i just dont know what it was that was giving me the heebie jeebies...

needless to say if u had followed me through some of the turns i would have looked very amateur...

anyways i guess i just better go through there again with a clear mind and tackle it with a clean slate...

cheers

Owen

Have you checked your suspension settings/tyre pressures, especially if you take a pillion sometimes? Last time I felt a bit off-colour I realised my suspension was still set for carrying a pillion. Put it back to solo settings and suddenly my confidence was back because my tyres were actually staying on the ground.

the suspension is not stiff and i had been carrying a pillion earlier but did adjust tyre pressures back to normal during the ride (before i lost my confidence)

and having said that the suspension does need to be tweaked a little

Six Addict wrote:the suspension is not stiff and i had been carrying a pillion earlier but did adjust tyre pressures back to normal during the ride (before i lost my confidence)

and having said that the suspension does need to be tweaked a little

Owen, a good tradie never blames his tools mate!!!

Forget about it and just ride the thing will ya! Stop being a pussy and chuck the thing on it's side. Providing the tyres are good, the road is clean you will run out of clearance before it falls over. If it does fall over, work out what you did and don;t do it again!







































I guess i am just trying to say, stop over anylising things and just go riding and enjoy it. Stop worry about lean angles and just ride the bike mate!!!!!

Its all in your head Pinchy !!!

i figured it was in the head, given i have no problem doing it at higher speed, just the low speed stuff...

and marty if i do bin it then i can assure u i wont be doing what ever it was again!!!

Powers - squirmy??? Sure your not talking bout qualifiers??

Hotmix always seems to be more confidence inspiring in the dry than aggregate surfaces [and a lot kinder on the tyres]

Have you done the cable tie round the fork trick re fork travel ?

Ol horn dog left some good advice above also

Owen you cant have it all........you will have days when you are a bit off & cant get into the groove & I take it just you a Wattie went on this run? well you are in good compmany but there is a big difference in ability level that will probably play on the mind a little Marty has hit the nail on the head but remember it is better to be cautious on the road & ride the pace than end up in the armco on the wrong side or the road from a bad decesion, if you dont feel comfortable just ride it out & dont let it get to you....... there will be plenty of other opportunities to do it again but faster

robracer wrote:..you will have days when you are a bit off & cant get into the groove

X 2 , in all sports there is someone who they say is having an "off day" . Riding your bike is just the same . Some days you are nailing every corner and some days it can be like the one you just had .
Recognising when you are not in your groove and not forcing yourself will help keep things safe . Especially on the road .
On the track push it till ya bin it , then back off a little

Six Addict wrote:wattie did say pilot powers were a squirmy tyre...

Agreed... I cannot understand why people like the Michelins so much. I find they move around all over the place and when they let go, they give no warning at all!

Wait until you park your bike upside down after riding through some oil, or have a huge front end slide in the middle of a hairpin corner because some jackass has let a heap of gravel fall out of his trailer. That's enough to smash your confidence for a while.

Having said all that, I always find that confidence quite often comes down to your observation skills. Keep your eyes up, look as far ahead and through the corner as possible, and then just hope for the best. If you find you're cocking corners up, think about where you were looking when it happened. I bet you'd let your eyes drop and weren't paying enough attention.

the kid wrote:On the track push it till ya bin it , then back off a little

+1

Ride it out Owen. Sounds like its just an off day. Besides its the road... Get to Oran Park next time we book. Its probably the sort of slow speed cornering your on about as opposed to Eastern Creek!

robracer wrote: I take it just you a Wattie went on this run? well you are in good compmany but there is a big difference in ability level that will probably play on the mind a little

Hey! i was being nice to him, we were "pacing" it up nicely, no brakes, no ass off seat (me anyway).

Pinchy was getting along at a pretty good pace, but he was not confident in the tights corners. i think its just getting used to the weight of the bike.

maybe time to head for galston gorge, or berowra ferry, or Hawkesbury hill? 15-25km/hr corner to ya hearts content.

practise, and it will come pinchy

thanks watt-man, i did ignore rubs comment and no it wasnt playing on my mind and i did appreciate that u didnt just piss off into the distance... i think i might just need more

My problem on those tight ones are pretty much the same. Thus far I'm pretty sure it's about were I'm looking. I'm either not looking far enough and going wide, or looking too far (such a thing?) and cutting the corner too sharp. I think I need to look too far and then just give it more throttle!

i think the biggest thing in bikes, is being in the right gear and at the right speed b4 you turn, so you can juts power through. but also a bit hard when you dont know the road.