Not a how-to but couldn't find a general section
I finally took a twisty ride on some local roads today. But I felt like a wuss on how I rode. A little history, I rode for 4 years, 2 years track, and the 4th year strictly track. its been almost 2 years since i last rode exept for a few trips to work/store.
So there was 3 issues i realized while riding
1. Track habits crossing over to street such as braking into corners.
2. Confidence in myself. I was feeling so nervous that i was taking 30mph corners at 20-25 slowing down cars behind me!
3. Confidence in my ride. The suspension on the F4i's feels like crap after riding a fully setup and tuned track bike for 2 years. And the brakes aren't to how I like them.

I'd like to hear how others have overcome this kind of situation or tips to do so? I'm thinking retaking Total control or some other advanced class nearby.

 

Riding on the street like you rode on the track is the fastest way to 'meet' the street up close and personal.

Be a wuss and live a little longer.

On the track your aware of everything from track conditions to the ins and outs of every corner and straight. Not to mention unlimited repetition and limited traffic.

The last you want to do is hang a street bike into the great unknown around a high speed corner on a public road.

I guess my answer is to not let cars or others intimidate you. Ride till you feel comfortable and no harder. Your the only one that has to pay the price when all is said and done.

 

Run up the miles. Don't need to push, yet.

If you want to start "sporting", do it on the backroads with no traffic. Ride the strech,
at least once, slow-looking for hazards and learning the coarse. Then, start slowly
picking up the pace. Never "push" harder than 70-ish %, always hold back a reserve
when on the street.

If you don't like the suspension, put some time into it. Tweak it to your standard.
Same with the brakes, etc. I gain a certain confidence, KNOWING, that the bike's
various sytems have been gone over by me and are at their optimal performance.


Play the "Perfect Line" game. Keep your eyes far enough down the road to asess the
best path. Then try to maintain that line. That means staying between the lanes on
your side, ONLY (including your head and the bike, not just the tires!). Treat a single
lane as having two sub-lanes L/R (never center, except for transitions). Practise
holding those lanes not deviating except with deliberation. It's harder then you think
it is, for mile after mile. That gets you practise for "buddie" rides, too.

Add all of that together, plus a skill course update and I think you'll be headed right.

The street is NOT a track and takes a whole different set of resources to master.

If ever!

Ern

 

for the confidence in yourself - you know the physics of it, just give yourself more room for error because that is the difference between street/track riding. on the track, you can safely push it that much further than you can on the streets simply because the track is better maintained, traffics going in one direction, there aren't other cars, and there aren't any distracted riders. give yourself the room that's needed.

o no! you went 10 mph slower than you thought you could have, the horror! ---- its no biggie.


as for confidence in your ride - don't think so much about it. check the bike at home, make sure everything is up to spec, then ride. when you start thinking a lot about what's going on with the bike, it takes away from what you need to be doing rider wise and can create problems in itself. like matt said, go through all the systems and components, check them, but then you need to know that they are up to spec and that they work. you checked it

there's a ton of people that ride the f4i in stock trim on the street all the time. if the guy i am now (mechanically wise) were to see the guy i was back when i started riding on my first bike (f3), i would be embarrassed. the only thing i really kept up on was motor oil. brakes, suspension, chain sprockets, everything else - its a miracle that i didn't kill myself!

the point is, yes the suspension is a lot softer, but thats okay. it doesn't mean the bike doesn't work, it means that it can handle the bumps better while you having to give up on the knee dragging. yes the brakes may have a lil more "mush" type feel, but then again, the brake lines and pads are different. it doesn't mean that half of your brake fluid is water and you won't stop the next time you need to, it just means you won't be able to carry the rear wheel into a corner.

remember that your tires aren't as warm as they are on the track and that you shouldn't move around on the bike as much because you'll have more of a chance of upsetting the tires/suspension on the street.

most importantly though, have fun and enjoy yourself. riding is supposed to be enjoyable.

 

+1 on going over your bike. Getting confidence in your ride is the easiest confidence to gain.

I know Ororo, my F4i, pretty well. I know her brakes, know they are in excellent condition and have confidence they'll perform to their fullest capacity. That's one doubt down. After that, it's up to me to have confidence in my ability to use them properly and effectively (doubt I'll ever use anything on the bike to its fullest capacity). I know the chain is tight (though it needs cleaning / lubing), know the tires have the right pressure (thought the front needs to be replaced due to age) and pretty much know everything I need to ride her on the street. No doubt in my bike means no distraction worry bout her while riding.

It's almost to the point where I feel even in situations I don't know wtf to do, Ororo will handle it... so long as I don't **** up and interfere