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Practice time

3K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  Stingray 
#1 ·
Going out with two friends to practice the slow speed skills. Gotta brush off the skills from winter. U turns figure eights pull outs oh my.... Anybody else remember to do this... It helps
 
#3 ·
Not so much anymore. Now I pull it out and put it on the stands. Then check all fluids, and install the battery. Check the tires. Start and let idle up to when the fans kick on then make sure the fans cool it a couple of degrees. After everything (multimeter on the batt, check lights, signals, etc.) checks out I give it a bit of throttle a few times and shut it down. Then I gear up and put around town a little to give the reflexes a bit of time to return. Then take a short run up a canyon consiously taking it a quite slow. Especially now with this new bike I will do this a few times before turning up the heat so to say.

I went through this last Sat. and what a blast. I didn't even set the clock and took the battery out when I put it back away because I knew the temps would drop again, and it did. Nasty weather as far as the forcast goes.

Stay safe out there!
 
#4 ·
Man I'd really like to get up your way on a bike. I drove along Lake St Mary last year and could not believe how many bikes I saw out there. That place is absolutely beautiful! That's one of my bucket list rides.
 
#7 ·
Beauty is sure in the eye of the beholder. I sure love the North West. But you wouldn't believe how many people here chant, "I hate it here, there is nothing to to do." It is truly sad really, but that is just one less person I have to worry about bumping into out in the middle of no where.

Most people just use the few main highways to get anywhere, but there are a lot of little back country highways that may be a few miles farther but there is next to no traffic.

The big thing for me now is watching for the people who just don't see us. In the last 2 weeks I've had 3 cars turn left in from of me from oncoming traffic. What gets me the most is the way they stare at me like it's my fault I was going forward.
You sure aren't kidding! It didn't take ten minutes last Sat. for me to remember how much I hate riding in traffic. The ones I REALLY hate are the ones that make eye contact and still pull out in front of you. I wasn't planning on going out of town but I couldn't take the cagers anymore.
 
#6 ·
I did all my streets smarts on a Burgman 400 before I got my M. It helps a lot to not have to worry about shifting. The big thing for me now is watching for the people who just don't see us. In the last 2 weeks I've had 3 cars turn left in from of me from oncoming traffic. What gets me the most is the way they stare at me like it's my fault I was going forward. Two weeks ago I almost got hit. The guy stopped and then started moving again after I was sure he'd seen me. I barely missed him as I swerved around his bumper.
 
#9 ·
The big thing for me now is watching for the people who just don't see us. In the last 2 weeks I've had 3 cars turn left in from of me from oncoming traffic. What gets me the most is the way they stare at me like it's my fault I was going forward. Two weeks ago I almost got hit. The guy stopped and then started moving again after I was sure he'd seen me. I barely missed him as I swerved around his bumper.
I had a guy specifically go to the right of me, squeeze in front of me, then move into a left turning lane, knowing full well I was there the whole time. Not to mention the other night I was riding with my fiance on the back and a car, I swear to god, was a foot away from my back tire. are these people stupid???? I'm on a bike not a tank!
 
#10 ·
I've known people in my lifetime that think it's fun to mess with bikers. The keyword is "known". I would never hang with jerks. My wife and I have had people hang on us. She's afraid to go really fast on her Burgman but I had to tell her that speeding up is safer than staying at the speed limit with them hanging that close.
 
#11 ·
I was so nervous when he was on our tail and we were going up a hil and he was so close I was affraid to downshift to go faster and my bike is only a 250 and I was in 5th gear.... after the hill he finally passed us, and I jsut need to watch out for those situations again. I was extremely nervous to the point where i was gonna pull off on the shoulder. Me on the bike alone is one thing, but with my meg on the bike. I wanted to get off, follow him and take care of him the good ol' fashioned way..... I didn't I was level headed and will jsut keep an eye out for next time....
 
#12 ·
In these situations, faced with an aggressive (drug crazed, drunk, psycho, who knows?) driver, you have to do one of two things.
Twist the throttle and get clean away. Or, Pull over and let them pass.
Don't play games with them, as you are very vulnerable on the bike. The odds of you "winning" any such game are not good.
 
#13 ·
I really appreciate the info. My bike mechanic told me "Just understand at some point you are going to drop the bike, just expect it. Everyone does it whether riding 10 miles per hour or 50 it will happen" I don't want to think that way. I have the idea that when no other cars are around I'm going to be as careful as possible and when other cars are around I'm going to stay as far away as possible, whether going 10 or 50 mph, so I DON'T drop the bike.... I'm 34 this coming thursday and I'm not a kid anymore so I don't think like a kid and I'm not gonna hotrod like a kid, sure I'll show off, but I'm not gonna show off by doing childish things, I'm gonna show off by having a pretty bike and all my limbs still attached! LOL
 
#14 ·
Disclaimer!: If you are a newbie this is a very risky thing to do and if you don't feel comfortable don't do it. If you feel like trying this practice it rolling slowly.

That being said, when you start to pull the front brake lever you can feel (and hear if you are stopped) a small click. This is the sensor that activates the brake light. It is adjustable and can and should be adjusted to where it should click right when the lever starts to move. So what I am getting at is if you have someone riding your butt you can just feather the front brake lever, not enough to apply the front brakes, but flashes the brake light. Sometimes this does work. Or feather it on for a few seconds giving the appearance you are braking, and that usually will get them to back off.

This is something I do constantly anyway. Bikes can decelerate substatally more than autos just using engine braking and when I down shift and start to decelerate I usually flash my brake light a couple of times just to let people behind me know. This is a fairly common practice with the sportbike riders I ride with. But on the other hand you are playing with your front brake lever so if you are new at riding use extreme caution if you plan on trying this.
 
#15 ·
I actually do play witht eh front brake when meg follows me in the car to let her know i'm reducing speed and she does see it so that's a great idea. but honestly as close as he was i don't think he would've noticed it... but deff worth a shot and i feel comfortable doing it with my fiance so i will give it a try.
 
#17 ·
I here it works well to wiggle the bike a little approaching those folks about to turn left. The movement catches there eye. Don't know if it's working but... I do know the best thing is being ready. Watch those hands at the top of the steering wheel. When they move left, the foot goes to the gas pedal. Drivers in cars have the same habits as we do when we drive. We have less bad ones when it comes to paying attention to bikes. We practiced panic breaking also... Serious way to get the pucker factor up. First line of defense when vehicle turns left in front of you though. If you can get on the brakes hard and early, you can look for escape routes. No one turns a skidding bike very well. Gotta practice braking hard.
 
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