Noob Riding errors..plz help
- Thread starter sid_for_speed
- Start date
Or our testing standards are too easy to pass.
rmemedic
Well-known member
Last weekend I almost missed my turn at an intersection. Came in pretty solid on the brakes, leaned in and started my left turn. The car coming down the road I was turning on to rolled forward past the stop line, so I had to straighten out a bit, change my apex and then really lean the bike over. Had I nailed the brakes, I would have more than likely low sided, or stood the bike up and ended up going through the gravel and in to the ditch.
Slowing down a bit prevents these kind of things. Just take your time, enjoy just being out on the bike. Most important thing is that you ride safe, it doesn't matter if you look like a pro GP rider (most of us don't).
Hit the parking lot, practice your turns, practice emergency braking... And take up the offers of these guys to go out for rides and learn from them.
rmemedic
Well-known member
I did the course just to get my M2 faster... The majority of the class should not have passed. It was a disgrace, and I don't know how these instructors can say they are safe for the road.
It's not the instructors to blame, it's the testing standards.
I'm pretty new as well but I'm not having any trouble.
I've watched twist of the wrist 2 and have been doing what it mentioned.
Work on your braking and downshifting and all that prior to the turn and when you are going to turn, just concentrate in the turn and maintain the throttle.
I've watched twist of the wrist 2 and have been doing what it mentioned.
Work on your braking and downshifting and all that prior to the turn and when you are going to turn, just concentrate in the turn and maintain the throttle.
Looking down will get you EVERY time. Keep your head up - look AHEAD of you. Never ever ever ever look at your front fender or the ground passing by. The only time your gaze should ever be less than a few seconds in front of where you are, is for checking your instruments ... and that should only be a fleeting glance and ONLY while you are going straight ahead and have confirmed that you have a few seconds of no potential hazards up ahead.
Learn how to ride PROPERLY, before even attempting to ride FAST - and this is of particular importance on corners. It also sounds like you are not ready for traffic, or highways, or group rides (one-on-one instruction from someone experienced is OK and highly recommended, but don't go out with other random riders).
If you feel you will go wide in a turn lean harder and look further, just as its been said by others.. That's the only cure for this and I am speaking from experience....
Try going into an empty parking lot with a marker of some sort(pylon),
place in such a way as it represents a hidden oncoming car..
try to enter that left hand turn over and over again.. Since its empty you won't hit any real cars..
Worse case your hit the pylon.. Best case it prepares you for a massive majority of low speed and even higher speed situation that are far to common in our environment.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Try going into an empty parking lot with a marker of some sort(pylon),
place in such a way as it represents a hidden oncoming car..
try to enter that left hand turn over and over again.. Since its empty you won't hit any real cars..
Worse case your hit the pylon.. Best case it prepares you for a massive majority of low speed and even higher speed situation that are far to common in our environment.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Dresden
Well-known member
That's not me or my bike, so I cant say where - sorry.
Yes -thank you for clarifying! Last thing you should be doing is trying to get your knee down after only riding for 300kms. You have a long life ahead of you - if you choose to live wisely!
Some good advice sprinkled with some unnecessary comments - this is a newbie! Take it easy and try to remember when YOU first started. There are a couple of offers to take you out and help you out - take them up on it and become a better rider! For the couple people that offered that, good for you and good Karma to you! Awesome!!! That's what makes these kinds of forums worthwhile...
I also went to RTI, took the M2 exit and got my M2 this week.
So I can see where you're coming from.
First left turn after finishing the M2 exit, I nearly ended up on the curb...
They teach / test slow speed / emergency stuff but only "mentions" push steering.
I didn't "learn" what that really means til probably a week after I started riding.
I've about done about 3000km now, and I can still say sometimes if I don't look thru the turn but rather at the pavement ahead checking the condition of it, I will feel like I'm going wid (which is odd since it NEVER happens when I turn right or at least that I can recall...)
Its nice to go out and follow some of the experienced riders thru some twisties but remember to GO AT YOUR OWN PACE.
Experienced riders will naturally be able to take a turn at a higher speed than you. what I do if I am not familiar with the road / etc.
I enter slower than I think I need to , since I would rather accelerate out of the turn than to try and slow down in the turn.
can't remember where I saw this video where there was a guy giving advice on turning but it basically went like
to keep your balance.... point your head and chin in the direction you want to go, but NEVER down.
use your eyes to "glance" at instruments but head always level to maintain best balance
Hope this helps, from one noob to another.
p.s. one thing the RTI instructor did say was that your bike will go where you look so.... try not to look down
So I can see where you're coming from.
First left turn after finishing the M2 exit, I nearly ended up on the curb...
They teach / test slow speed / emergency stuff but only "mentions" push steering.
I didn't "learn" what that really means til probably a week after I started riding.
I've about done about 3000km now, and I can still say sometimes if I don't look thru the turn but rather at the pavement ahead checking the condition of it, I will feel like I'm going wid (which is odd since it NEVER happens when I turn right or at least that I can recall...)
Its nice to go out and follow some of the experienced riders thru some twisties but remember to GO AT YOUR OWN PACE.
Experienced riders will naturally be able to take a turn at a higher speed than you. what I do if I am not familiar with the road / etc.
I enter slower than I think I need to , since I would rather accelerate out of the turn than to try and slow down in the turn.
can't remember where I saw this video where there was a guy giving advice on turning but it basically went like
to keep your balance.... point your head and chin in the direction you want to go, but NEVER down.
use your eyes to "glance" at instruments but head always level to maintain best balance
Hope this helps, from one noob to another.
p.s. one thing the RTI instructor did say was that your bike will go where you look so.... try not to look down
An experienced rider will understand the pace a noob needs to go at and ensure they are going at a speed in which the new rider can learn and not be over their heads. An experienced rider has no need to show off how fast he is and will ensure everything is done at the right pace.
Problem is when these so called experienced riders are in group rides and feel the need to show off creating a situation where the new riders egos get in the way and accidents happen.
For someone like the OP which can not yet keep within the yellow lines, group rides are not a good idea.
I don't have a point, just some general information to think about.
slowbird
Well-known member
As I tell my new rider friends:
Slow in. Fast out. ....and "fast" is sort of a loose term.
....and don't try and "keep up".
Slow down before the corner, keep your arms loose (don't tense up), look through the corner, and roll on the throttle through the turn.
Try not to be in too low a gear or the roll on can be jerky.
It's amazing how stable and planted the bike feels when the weight is transfered to the rear while you accelerate through a corner.
On the street it can be a gentle roll on while making a right, and on long sweepers out in the country you can twist the throttle more.
Just keep it slow, and practice makes perfect.
Slow in. Fast out. ....and "fast" is sort of a loose term.
....and don't try and "keep up".
Slow down before the corner, keep your arms loose (don't tense up), look through the corner, and roll on the throttle through the turn.
Try not to be in too low a gear or the roll on can be jerky.
It's amazing how stable and planted the bike feels when the weight is transfered to the rear while you accelerate through a corner.
On the street it can be a gentle roll on while making a right, and on long sweepers out in the country you can twist the throttle more.
Just keep it slow, and practice makes perfect.
sonyminidiscman
Well-known member
Just look where you want to go and stop looking at where u might crash. Its an amazing thing that the bike really goes where you look. If you look at where u wanna go at a reasonable speed, there is no way u can run wide
When I did my course at RTI at 401/404, I found most people's problems were they kept lining up to try the new drills. I spent more time going to the empty lines getting more time actually riding than idling in a line. But at the same time, I also understand riding in a parking lot is very different than on the road.
When I first got my bike, I asked my friend to ride it home for me, I must have at least spend an hour on side streets working going no faster than 50km/h working on acceleration, braking, left turns and right turns. It was scary at first before it got a bit more comfortable before hitting the main roads sharing the road with cars. And even then, I was still sticking to roads I was familiar with.
I don't expect anyone to be an expert once they graduate their M2, it's only been a few hours of actual bike riding time. I just took it easy when I first started before trying to push myself a bit closer to the "limits".
When I first got my bike, I asked my friend to ride it home for me, I must have at least spend an hour on side streets working going no faster than 50km/h working on acceleration, braking, left turns and right turns. It was scary at first before it got a bit more comfortable before hitting the main roads sharing the road with cars. And even then, I was still sticking to roads I was familiar with.
I don't expect anyone to be an expert once they graduate their M2, it's only been a few hours of actual bike riding time. I just took it easy when I first started before trying to push myself a bit closer to the "limits".
slowbird
Well-known member
That's pretty bang on.
knucklesound
Well-known member
So true.
Possibly the most important rule to remember, imo.
Sometimes way harder to do than it sounds- obviously.
It almost feels like magic when you do get it. I remember taking turns wide and struggling while practicing in a parking lot shortly after getting my M2 - using the painted lines as 'pylons', and when i finally stopped looking down at them it was insane how easy it became to go where i wanted to.
I took the course through Georgian College (Gearing Up) Orangeville Campus and i thought the 2 female instructors were AMAZING.
Great encouragement, patience and constantly telling us to "look up", and "look over here"...while we were practicing...making sure we understood what we needed to do...Can't say enough good stuff about them......training myself to do it 'all the time' afterwards was the hard part. But- as mentioned several times already---time on the bike and practice are the only solutions.
Special thanks to the guys who have generously offered to take you out for some personal instruction. You should definitely take them up on their kindness. That was VERY ****ing cool of them.
conundrum
Well-known member
One thing I've always kept in mind is what one of my instructors at RTI said, who also used to race -- remember the bike is designed to lean, and can go all the way to the pegs/lowest hanging part. If pro racers can lean it that far, then the machine is capable, and the only limitation is the rider. What that means, is if you think you are not going to make a turn, lean it more (if it is warm, dry, etc) and have faith the bike can lean more than you think it can.
Also, 9 times out of 10, a lowside (leaning it too much and going down), is preferred to hitting the curb and high-siding, both for you and for the bike.
Also, 9 times out of 10, a lowside (leaning it too much and going down), is preferred to hitting the curb and high-siding, both for you and for the bike.
Watch this.
Everyone keeps saying "lean the bike", but no one mentions that the most effective way of doing that is not with your body, it's by counter-steering. Push on the right handlebar to go right, push on the left to go left. Don't look at the obstacle you're trying to avoid (guardrail, car, etc), look in the direction you want to steer towards.
