Whooops!

[Shamrock]

Finished work today at 7 and since it was such a bloody nice day why not go for a long ride and give the bike a bit of a thrashing.
Well after about an hour of fast riding I was feeling quite happy and a little too confident with myself. I come down an empty stretch of motorway with a roundabout. Decide ill go thru real quick and lean real low. It sounded good in theory but I came into the roundabout way tooo fast, realise this just as I begin to turn, slam on the brakes(which werent as good as I thought) and go staight into the kerb ahead of me!! Luckily I was only doin about 10 mph when I hit the kerb but the front wheel slide along the kirb causing me to lose my balance. I dropped the damn bike scraping the left fairing,clutch and mirror.
A guy in a car stopped to help but I very embarresingly said I was grand. Damn NSR stickers all scratched now, bollox!!

Oh well just goes too show you can get a little too cocky out on the bike.
I think ill learn to take corners properely in future.

[Korn]

Ouch, bad luck. Panic braking is what catches a lot of people out, not many realise just how low modern bikes will lean over before they start to lose grip.

[G]

As Kornel said... you can allmost allways take a corner a lot faster than you are doing especially with nicely warmed tyres. Unless you've got enough space to stop in a straight line (and your probably not going too fast if you have) it's best to maek sure you're completly off the brakes before you start leaning and 9 times out of 10 you will be able to make it... you can always try trailing the rear brake a *bit* as well.

[Stevo]

Bad luck m8, but as you say its easy to get overconfident and go in too hot into a bend. I dont care how many times people say it about avoiding panic braking and not touching the front in a bend, its so instinctive that you sort of have to train yourself not to do it, which aint easy and im speaking from experience. When i first had my zx6r and was running in, i had a few close shaves, and i can recall going into bends too quickly and panicing at least half a dozen times probably more before i knew what was happening, and how to deal with it. I can remember a few left handers when i sat the bike up on the brakes mid bend, and came out using all of the road, which is bad. Funny thing is that it was right handers that used to scare me most as seeing the verge/ kerb and thinking that id run off the road felt far worse, than going onto the wrong side of the road on left handers. Im better and safer now, as i can ride the bike better, and learnt what i was doing wrong. Like G says its possible to get round a bend going too fast, providing your in the right gear! and that you can keep the bike leant over enough. Trailing the rear brake is another option, but dont stamp on it, again learnt from experience. I find that looking ahead, planning and taking the best and safest line through a bend helps when on unfamilier roads which is when all of us are more likely to have a moment. Having your bikes suspension set up correctly for the roads and your weight helps with general cornering, and as i said being in the right gear, which if your running in a new bike is difficult. Its ok in a car to be lazy with gear changin, and braking into bends, but on a bike its critical for cornering. I reckon that going on a race school/Track day would teach many people alot about cornering, and braking, and im intending on doing a day this year, probably at the Mick Boddice race school.

[Korn]

Left handers are worse, imho, because you're seeing less of the road ahead and get the whole "Is it going to get much tighter than this? Should I try to brake?" going through your head.

[McJamweasel]

I find lefts harder than rights as well - I dunno quite why but I just dont have the confidence to lean it as far - or hang off.
Odd that. Mebbe its just cuz im right handed.
____________________
BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[Dan]

[minesweeper]

Strangely i pefer lefts to rights.... i always slow down a hell of alot for right handers but left handers i seem to be ale to manage at least 10mph faster.
I can only get my boot down of left handers as well... right handers make me panic

matt

[retrofly]

i prefer lefs handers as i hate leaning over to the right as im scared that a car will take me head off

luke
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"The food was not undelicious"
-Homer Simpson (Exceptional beast : Underachiving Human)
www.geocities.com/retrofly

[Zimma]

ive got my knee down twice on the left, for about half a second each time.. and ive got my knee down on the right more times than i can remember

it feels as if the bike is going to come out from underneath me when i lean too far over to the left...
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-Zimma

[McJamweasel]

A Conspiracy!! Its the only possible reason!!

Maybe we should ask RiDE to do an in depth, undercover investigation for us.
____________________
BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.