Yum,

Watch an AMA Supersport race.... those bikes are really the same as the one you have. It is amazing what these machines can do!

 

i just wanna thank yall for the input as well on the bike safety and fears. ive been riding a whole month or so (3 wheelers and dirtbikes dont count).. ive had a fear for wet patches or discolorations in the road. i pay homage to the fact that i used to have to park my bike near a patch of mud BUT.. yeah.
going down the highway, counter-steering, looking towards where i want to go, leaning, as well as being perceptive as road dangers like potholes etc... and low and behold -- where i want to end up there is a wet spot. not heavily saturated or a puddle.. just enough to make the ground look a slight different color and make me feel like if i am still leaning when i hit that spot, the bikes gonna slip out from under me and ill have leaned to my doom.

Legitimate fear? ive taken the msf course and read every thread i can find on riding.. water just unnerves me due to spills ive heard of :S

 

See my comment to Yum, except find a race where they are racing in the rain. Taking into account that these bikes have special rain racing tires on them, the riders still manage to get a knee down. Just because the pavement is a tad damp doesn't mean that you will over-ride your available traction....unless you have your knee on the ground and even then maybe not.

Relax, ignore the damp patches and enjoy the ride (I know, easier said than done).

 

@ Acespad3, not only that but we live in the wettest state in the U.S., water is a fear but something I learned to deal with along time ago. The fear is back with this bike, I had Harleys before and the handling characteristics of bullet bikes are so much different.
Riding within your means is the best policy IMHO, stay off the freeways till your comfortable, when you are comfortable for a freeway jaunt, do it when you know there will be little traffic.
Don't go trying to rail corners from the get go, take it slow and steady, we ride to enjoy ourselves not kill ourselves.

 

Don't underestimate the value of dirt bike experience applied to street riding. I rode dirt bikes for years before I got my first street bike and I can't count how many times that experience has saved my bacon on the street.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that just because you rode dirt, you can can ride with Rossi,lol. But the first time you get pushed off the road at 70mph and you find yourself sideways, in the dirt, on your CBR, you'll be glad for that dirt bike experience.
As a matter of fact, whenever someone with NO experience tells me they want a bike like mine, I advise them to get some experience with a dirt bike first. Cheaper, easier to sell with a few scratches when you're done with it, and usually less painful as you get those first few "noob drops" out of the way.

 

Yes....


And no

As the pic illustrates, a good set of tires and some skill will give you more traction than you believe. However, you likely don't have that level of skill. With seat time and familiarity with your bike, you WILL learn where the traction limits are and stay within them. Just take things slow and train yourself to handle the situation so you don't react wrong and cause a spill. Your bike CAN handle the wet. You just have to learn how.

Some tips:

• Before braking, test your traction using the rear brake first before jumping on the front
• A slipping rear tire is handled the same, wet or dry: no front brake and stay on the gas
• Agressive riding is out
• Practice, practice, practice

 

So I read this whole thread. I hadn't been on a bike in over 5 years and just got another bike like a week ago. With my old bike I was comfortable and had no concerns. But I'm scared as hell to lean on my new one, same bike actually, cbr 954.

Everyone is worried about traction causing rear tire to slip, but what about roads/highways that have pavement sections and where they meet are slight bumps? I was scared ****less by one of those. Or just any bump in general while leaning, but I'm sure it'll come back to me. Hell, the first day I thought something was wrong because I could feel every single damn bump on the road. My buddy assured me it was because I haven't been on a bike in a while.

 

Well first thing I'd suggest is setting the suspension up for your weight. Then softening or stiffening it as necessary. Thought my new bike was going to beat me to death till if got the suspension set.

As for bumps, I blatantly ignore them. I mean I intentionally continue to do what I was doing. The traction loss, if any, is going to be the same as slipping the rear tire in any situation. As such, the response is the same: do not touch the front brake and do not chop the throttle.

 

By "chop" the throttle, you mean letting it go right?

I have heard twice now about setting up suspension for my weight. I'll have to search and read up on how to do that. Thanks man

 

I am new to riding as well, this is my 4th day on the bike. What I do is go off of the recommended posted speed limit for the turn and as I come up to it I adjust speed either faster or slower and then take the turn with whatever speed I am confident and comfortable with.

After that the next time I take that turn I go just a little bit faster and lean my body over a little bit more. The biggest thing is just to trust the bike, it can make the turn you just need to get over the fear of making the turn possible.