Noob Riding errors..plz help

sid_for_speed

sid_for_speed

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...so after putting 300kms on my 1st ever ninja I've found the following things out...

1. RIDING A BIKE IS WAYYY MORE CHALLENGING THAN I THOUGHT....
2. I keep practising swerving, countersteering, leaning near my area but still target fixate....I've already had near misses twice and on both occasions it's on a corner where I was still adjusting my speed and not leaning over...
3. I tend to run wide making left turns even in 1st gear.....I turn from left lane straight onto the left lane on the right curb...this after all the practicing I did...
4.Also the rear end is tending to fishtail slightly when I brake....
5.I cannot recover fast eneough going 60 kmph from a counter steer...I sweaved around a drain hole from the left lane and nearly ended up going over the curb on the right lane
5. thankyou to all of you who recommended a lower CC bike.....


Please comment.......
 
ofcourse i did ...RTI
 
You are not looking far enough ahead. I'll just about guarantee it.

When you are approaching a corner, you need to look THROUGH the corner. At the entrance to the corner, you need to be looking at where the corner ends. Look right at where you want to be at the end of the corner. Then shift your gaze down the road further beyond the corner. By the time you get to the end of the corner, you should be looking several seconds ahead down the road.

If you spot something that you want to avoid, look at the place you want to go in order to avoid the obstacle.

Practice in parking lots and low-traffic roads away from traffic.

Also, if you are sliding the rear wheel when braking ... you are using too much rear brake and not enough front, which is a very common new-rider error.

edit: You need to re-review what they told you in RTI. Perhaps you need to set up some of the exercises you went through in an empty parking lot and do them yourself on your own bike.
 
It looks like RTI didn't do a very good job.
 
im in the same situation as you, i reccomend you fix it before taking any more corners as i went down going fast today on a corner and went wide

i got lucky im not dead and i'd hate to see another rider get hurt, watch that video "twist of the wrist" it helped me understand countersteering more and errors that new riders make, i'll be sure to try them out when i get better. Also get frame sliders incase you do fall, wear full gear. I got lucky i had frame sliders but i had slim to no gear and paid for it.

Low rider said:
It looks like RTI didn't do a very good job.
Click to expand...

i went RTI aswell and have the same experience, not much knowledge on how real life riding works, its mainly the basics like how to turn a bike on and ride around the block.
 
guys...I've memorized twist of the wrist 2...I watched that video and memorized it 2 years BEFORE i purchased the bike....I think fast turns rumbling down ,trail breaking and trying to lean the bike is doing it for me....target fixation thing happens when I go fast...

RTI teaches you everything in 2nd gear....going 5th at 60kmph that same swear that got me full marks at RTI seems a lot harder....

and yes I go full gear....need some knee guards though...
 
You want to learn how counter steering works? Go ride a bicycle- it's the exact same principle. If you're running wide making left hand turns, I would not be riding a motorcycle on public roads (For now). You're creating a dangerous situation for yourself that could be very costly. It sounds like you're not looking where you want to go and instead looking into the other lane, especially if you're in first gear and you're still running wide.
 
sid_for_speed said:
guys...I've memorized twist of the wrist 2...I watched that video and memorized it 2 years BEFORE i purchased the bike....I think fast turns rumbling down ,trail breaking and trying to lean the bike is doing it for me....target fixation thing happens when I go fast...

RTI teaches you everything in 2nd gear....going 5th at 60kmph that same swear that got me full marks at RTI seems a lot harder....

and yes I go full gear....need some knee guards though...
Click to expand...

Do you have any riding buddies to show you the ropes? DT Toronto is a horrible place to learn. Come on out to Mississauga on a warmer day and we can go on some empty curved roads and take it slow till you get comfortable.

300kms is baby steps.

Also, what Brian P said. Look THROUGH the curve, not in front of you.
Alex-Gobert-Turn-9-72-dpi.jpg
 
Dresden said:
Do you have any riding buddies to show you the ropes? DT Toronto is a horrible place to learn. Come on out to Mississauga on a warmer day and we can go on some empty curved roads and take it slow till you get comfortable.

300kms is baby steps.

Also, what Brian P said. Look THROUGH the curve, not in front of you.
Alex-Gobert-Turn-9-72-dpi.jpg
Click to expand...

See the pic...wow...that's what I was trying to attempt...may be I will put this off untill i get some more kms under my tires
 
Slow the **** down, if you are running wide means that you are aggravating your bad technique with going faster than what you can and listen to what Bryan said

If you wanna come up to Brooklin on Sunday I can take you out riding for a bit and we can work on it.
 
sid_for_speed said:
See the pic...wow...that's what I was trying to attempt...may be I will put this off untill i get some more kms under my tires
Click to expand...

I how your just referring to the head positioning. I'm assuming Dresden was using that pic for the example of looking through the turn, you shouldn't be hanging that far off the bike making lefts in town. Even on nice curvy back roads I would not recommend trying to get that far off the bike with only 300kms under your belt. It sounds like you need to work on your counter steering and throttle control for turns. If you have have the speed where that's needed then you are definitely riding well past your current skills, and its going to end badly

Take up the offer of riding with more experienced guys who can show you where your going wrong, and how to apply what you learned in rti in real world situations

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
sid_for_speed said:
...so after putting 300kms on my 1st ever ninja I've found the following things out...

2. I've already had near misses twice and on both occasions it's on a corner where I was still adjusting my speed and not leaning over...
Click to expand...


As you prob know, you want to do all your braking before the turn (and not during), keeping the throttle constant during the turn. At this stage, I wouldn't worry about leaning (or not). If you're unable to control your turns going slow, I doubt leaning will help you (and might make matters worse, if you don't know what leaning is supposed to do...and contrary to popular belief, the goal of leaning is not to get the knee down). Generally, at city-speeds, there's no real need to lean.

I second Dresden's rec about riding with someone else. Or, might be worthwhile to sign up for some private lessons.
 
Brian P said:
You are not looking far enough ahead. I'll just about guarantee it.

When you are approaching a corner, you need to look THROUGH the corner. At the entrance to the corner, you need to be looking at where the corner ends. Look right at where you want to be at the end of the corner. Then shift your gaze down the road further beyond the corner. By the time you get to the end of the corner, you should be looking several seconds ahead down the road.

If you spot something that you want to avoid, look at the place you want to go in order to avoid the obstacle.

Practice in parking lots and low-traffic roads away from traffic.

Also, if you are sliding the rear wheel when braking ... you are using too much rear brake and not enough front, which is a very common new-rider error.

edit: You need to re-review what they told you in RTI. Perhaps you need to set up some of the exercises you went through in an empty parking lot and do them yourself on your own bike.
Click to expand...

ZX600 said:
Slow the **** down, if you are running wide means that you are aggravating your bad technique with going faster than what you can and listen to what Bryan said

If you wanna come up to Brooklin on Sunday I can take you out riding for a bit and we can work on it.
Click to expand...

+1000...I was actually looking down onto the road when this happened rather than looking up Through the turn....Thing is..It'll happen only when I go too fast or "miss" my intended speed....meaning I may be scared to lean the bike further so this "S.R" kicks in...
Perhaps I need to revisit my slow speed maneuvers...
 
ZX600 said:
Slow the **** down, if you are running wide means that you are aggravating your bad technique with going faster than what you can and listen to what Bryan said

If you wanna come up to Brooklin on Sunday I can take you out riding for a bit and we can work on it.
Click to expand...

Slowing down is a huge help. I did a MX race school last year, and they didn't have us blasting around full out the entire time. Slowing down a bit, mentally make sure you do what you really SHOULD be doing, and then the speed comes with the proper technique.

It takes a while to get the hang of it all. I've been on the street a few years now, and I'm just now getting far enough over that I am close to touching peg to pavement on the corners that I know well... And since it's a public road (debris, bad pavement, cops, etc etc) I doubt I'll be getting it over any further... Plus I don't want to crack up the bike.

Looking through the turns where you want to be is good practice. Set up for the corner, do a quick scan through your line for debris/road imperfections and then spot your exit. Before you hit the apex you should be staring down the road and planning for the next move. This sounds like race talk, but it comes in handy on the streets where situations can change rather quickly.

Are you using your legs to support yourself? It's natural to be using your arms, but that could be a bit of the issue. It doesn't take lots of pressure on the bars to get the bike to do what you want. Squeeze the tank with your thighs. That's why the tanks on sport/sport touring bikes are shaped the way they are. This comes in extremely handy when you get good enough and start to double. Coming to a hard stop with a 120lb (or more if you're the cruiser type) can be hard on the arms, unless you squeeze that tank.
You don't need to squeeze with all your strength, just do it to feel that you're connecting to the bike through more than just the handle bars.
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