Know your limits - clues?

Holdawayt · Trackday Trickster Joined: 27 Jul 2015 Karma :

Is he autistic?

He'd have a field day watching us lot drifting the cars on track. "JUST GO ROUND NORMALLY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE" + 6000 other words to bulk it out a bit.

Edit - perhaps that's a bit harsh. But my first thought when I decided to ride a motorbike on track certainly wasn't "I hope this is safe". It's a dangerous hobby and that's part of the fun for me. The same way I enjoy throwing myself down a mountain on skiis, of course it's not safe.

If I want to improve my lap times round Donnington I have to push my self past the point of what I feel is safe. As I discover that there is room for more lean angle and speed through a certain corner I'll set that point as my new "safe zone". Then I'll push it again until eventually I'll have a little slide into the kitty litter and learn my lesson.

Safety really isn't one of my concerns when straddling an engine with wheels and a fuel tank next to my balls.

Oneear · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 20 Mar 2016 Karma :

talkToTheHat · World Chat Champion Joined: 21 Feb 2012 Karma :

I have a friend with a garage full of bikes and a transit van. He is a year or two younger than me and an order of magnitude madder. He gave me a lift across a favourite bit of back road to make a delivery. There is a long straight followed by a nice sweeping bend in the distance. he is cursing the lack of speed of the transit.

"So how fast would you take your bandit through that bend?"

"This way, slow, 50? Other way, still accelerating and not looking at the clocks"

(makes yorkshire noise) "one twenny on the r1 easy. Why are you so slow?"

"tractor"

"yeah but when you've grown a pair and overtaken it?"

"TRACTOR!"

We find out the limits of breaking and steering of a transit as a tractor emerges from field into road on exit of bend there is a long silence.

"How'd you see that so far off?"

"It was kicking up dust, wouldn't have seen it if it were any less dry, I can't see through the bend this way, visibility is better from the other direction"

Knowing one's own limit of skill and the limits of bike performance are different. On the road any bike has the potential to be lethal if the rider makes a bad decision. There are tractors, blind bends, road furniture, occasional wondering deer, and all kinds of stupid. Being able to stop in the road that you can see to be clear is a thing. It's a bit different on track.
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Bandit. does. everything.