Ever feel like your stuck in a rut with your bike?

[Dean-J]

Ok so what i would call a decent rider, but im by no means Fast. I have a group of 8 or so people i ride with regularly, and id say im quicker/more confident than probably 5 of them.

But i cant help but feel that i havent progressed in the last couple months of having my Thundercat, i just cant seem to get comfortable enough with the bike to push myself any more than the day i started riding it. I had an Sv650s prior to the thundercat and learnt so much on that bike and was so completely comfortable on it that, felt like everytime i rode her i got just a little bit quicker, my lines got a bit neater, braking got less and later etc etc. With the thundercat im just not getting that. I mean, its a damn sight better than the SV ever was ( not dissing SV's as i loved that bike!) at pretty much everything, but i just dont feel like im learning anything with it? I just cant seem to push it that bit farther, and im really unsure as to whether the bike just doesnt "fit" me or whether the problem is in fact just me!

I rode a Bandit 1250S today and it felt so much better for me than my bike does! Felt so much nicer to tip into a corner, presumably because of the seating position and raised bars, and im seriously considering buying it now... Power/speed wise etc the two are on a pretty even keel, and i just think id possibly feel more comfortable on the Bandit, which would help me gain the confidence i need to learn more.... Anyone been in a similar predicament? if so, what did you do? Should i buy the Bandit or stick it out with the Tcat?

[swiftb]

could be as simple as changing to some tyres more suited to your style and having the suspension setup to your style /weight. Have you had it set up? always amazes me how many people just jump on a bike and ride it and never try to improve it.

[Dean-J]

Yup she's been set up and is on BT023's which i love... Just something not there, like a bird that you really fancy, and you'd love to shag her rotten but theres just no chance of wanting a relationship with her!

[swiftb]

sell it.

[Suntan Sid]

The difference between the Thundercat and the other two bikes you mention is low down grunt!
My guess would be the other two bikes were more forgiving, whereas the Thundercat may require a bit more, precise, input from you.
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"Everybody needs money, that's why they call it money!"

[Pete.]

[Dean-J]

Thats certainly a possibility.
But is that a bad thing? i mean the more confidence i have, the more ability i can build surely?

[craigs23]

Sort of, not really, not sure.

I've reached a plateau with my riding ability, that would require some more experienced/skilled/professional tuition to improve further, or some excursions to track/green laning/something different.

But I'm comfortable with where I am at the moment, often feeling like I don't want to push any further anyway.

That usually depends on the bike I'm riding though. Mid-long term ownership, I'm usually left cold and unsatisfied on anything sportsbike orientated and over 600cc (especially with 4 cyclinders), but when I really questioned what I enjoyed about riding, the rush of riding fast on the road wasn't really it. Yes, it was fun hooning around on something fit for purpose, pushing myself a little beyond my limits (or most likely my luck) each time, but I found such a craving was a hollow reward - that I 'needed' to ride faster and faster to get the same buzz each time. It was going to end in tears, or, in most cases (as the amount of bikes over the years would say), boredom.

A 'rebirth' of returning to 125s again a couple of years back opened my eyes back to what I really enjoyed about riding and its redefined the bikes I now own and ride. I still get the hankering for a bit of a high speed buzz, but to cater for those occasional fixes I always have the option of jumping on someone else's bike, taking a new litre demonstrator out from the local dealers, or booking up a trackday school.

In the meantime, there's very few times I get off one of my bikes without that warm fuzzy feeling that isn't biking great?

[Fizzer Thou]

A friend rides a T.Cut as a day-to-day commuter bike and has a nice R1 for hooning around on.For years he had used other peoples cast-off tyres and put up with rubbish handling.But recently he had to buy some new tyres for the T.Cut and he said that it has transformed the way that the bike rides.It does not give him the 'buzz' that he enjoys with his R1,but has now started to enjoy the commute rather than loathe it.
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[whitedevil]

Do a trackday
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GPZ500 sold ~ CBR600FS-2 sold ~ ZX6R sold ~ Street Triple R

[_Iain_]

"Dont think, just go for it"

Worked for me
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[keggyhander]

Don't feel you have to ride like something you're not, or not ready for.

[haroman666]

What's your perception of the best way to learn?
Be within your comfort zone but still gain experience and riding time on which you can then build and advance in a more "controlled manner" (Bandit).

Or perhaps subject yourself to a bad scenario and and make do with the best you can do until you build up the skills to deal with that "bad scenario" better. By this I mean, in comparison to the bandit, consider putting yourself on a revvy sports bike where you have to have your wits about you to be able to get by. If you put yourself in that situation, and you learn to deal with it well, you'll go back to the simpler situations (Bandit/T-cat) and realise it's a piece of piss and you have the ability to push those bikes to a new limit.

Perhaps not a brilliant way to think about it, but something to consider I guess.
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The mistresses: 2000 Honda CBR600f, 2000 Honda VTR1000

[TUG]

Nope, love my bike, always do love them. I only impulse bought one bike and it was a SRAD...
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Haz ER-5, innit!

[Teflon-Mike]

You learned a lot on the SV because you had a LOT to learn.
Its also a very 'forging' machine, and quite soft, that would give you a lot more feed-back, so you would get a lot more 'sensation' of 'getting it right'.

I suspect that you are right, and you are not 'getting' the T-Cat; a more competant more composed machine; and in many ways a lot more sterile.

It's not 'talking to you'.

Nature of the bike; its a propper sports-bike, a 'proffessional' rather than an 'enthusiastic ameteur'.

Why SHOULD it talk to you? What's expected of it is to DO, to tell you what YOU are doing! You should KNOW already what you are doing, and ought to be able to tell what the bike is about as you do it!

It IS mainly down to you, and where your head's at. You are expecting the same kind of 'progress' as you had building a relationship with your SV, and you aren't getting it, becouse you have already MADE that progress, improvements are going to now me incrementally smaller each time, and your bike, is not of a nature to create the same kind of relationship.

I think you MIGHT find something like the Bandit more rewarding and more satisfying to ride; certainly that less single minded, less clinical, less 'proffessionally-distant' nature of a modern sports-bike is one reason I have not found one much 'fun' to ride in the last ten or fifteen years; but DO enjoy riding my CB750 'all-rounder'.

I suspect you may find the same thing; that the 'sensation' is as much what you seek as the actual speed, and your desire to 'improve'? Well, 'Faster' doesn't mean better, though better CAN mean 'faster'....

An advanced riding course may be something to consider; but, advanced rider snobbery, training-junkies, you need to find decent rider group to join, or it can just 'go against the grain', or you can end up, dissapearing up your own back-side, and when people are trying to demonstrate 'knee-down' technique on a bar stool, going all precocious and explaining the merits of being able to perform the Cardington-Clug-Dance instead!

So THIS
https://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumb300/20080710/Trials-Bike-799882.jpg
May be worth a thought....

My sport from the stone age; I got 'in' to trials becouse I was too young to ride on the road; been lured away by the glamour of road-racing & other persuits since, but always come back to it, and the bike I had right at the beginning, my 1981 Montesa Cota.. now THERE is building a relationship with your bike.... THAT one is a 'life-partner!'

Its a new challenge every event, and its thoroughly challenging, and that 'sense' of improving, that drive to 'get it right'.... nearly 30 years, and I STILL get it, and am still looking for improvement.

It ent fast; it ent glamourouse; BUT, feeding that 'need', its a VERY good way to get the satisfaction... cheap too! A lot cheaper, than track days, and means that you may NOT be driven to try SO hard on the road, and from THAT re-find some of the 'joy' in just riding.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Dean-J]

I started out with off roading, and got very quickly bored of it if im honest. Road riding is much more my "thing" as it were. I just hate that i feel like im not improving, but as has been said, maybe that is just me, maybe the Tcat is expecting more of me, which im not giving it hence me not feeling like im getting better, because actually im not!

I mean, i know the bike is not 100% of the issue. in the right hands i know its capable of far more than i am, but that doesnt stop me from thinking that maybe on the Bandit id be more comfortable, and more confident, and gain that bit extra that i need. A trackday would be a valid option, however i dont have the spare cash at the mo to rent a bike/buy a track bike/or risk damaging mine!

I think i need to take the Tcat out for a proper ride on a set route by myself, then take the Bandit out on the same route,see which bike feels better to/for me....

[P.]

2 guys on Thundercats had no trouble keeping with me at the weekend and I rode past my ability that day. It might take some more time with the bike to be honest. My bike needs a little work and could do with the suspension set up...maybe have a look at getting it sorted for yourself?

[garth]

[killa]

I took the TLR around the forest of dean over the weekend and had a little play. It’s been awhile since I’ve played on some tight country roads and i was surprised how rusty i was. The bike is defiantly capable but i was making some silly errors. Back in and around town though, i had improved and felt at ease with it again.
What i will say is keep the momentum going and at no point during your ride on some roads you’ve headed for get cocky. I had to keep telling myself ‘It’s not a race’ keep my composure because one mistake at high speed and I’m gonna have a bad day. Nice and smooth, constant pace keeping everything smooth.
I’m not sure about the T-cut, I’ve never ridden one, perhaps it isn’t the bike for you...
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Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.
Bike:- Yamaha TRX850 | Killas Biking History | Killas Gaming History | Killas autmotive history

[D O G]

'Ever feel you're stuck in a rut with your current bike?'

Absolutely, it's been sitting in the garage in bits for nearly 18 months. Not even that difficult to fix, just the lowest priority. Annoying tho.

[garth]

[J0Al1]

I didn't get on with my first bike.. but it might just have been because it was what I did the steepest learning curve on & I went out and did things before I was ready..

Things changed for me completely when I got a bike that suited me.

Do new things.... I am country lane rider. But recently have done some commuting thought heavy busy traffic (inc M25) and have had to push my bounderines filtering at reasonable speed. I really enjoyed it (too much).

Hope you find what wil brigten things for you. . . .

Mew bike?

[Dean-J]

[P.]

[garth]