Maverick 250 ride 5/8/07

[breakaway]

I did the coro loop as a newbie. It wasn't that bad, but I had more "oh shit I'm gonna die" moments than I could count.

[McJim]

22 has improved a lot in the past few months. The roadworks are finished and most of the loose material has moved off the best lines - still pays to watch the road surface for changes as I went there on a nice day, passed through a shady area and the back end started squirming. got back to dry ground and full lateral traction was resumed.

Takes a while to learn what good traction and bad traction look like - some wet surfaces can be very grippy and some dry surfaces can be as dodgy as the slopes of hell.

All good fun.

[Cr1MiNaL]

Yay thats y we insure our bikes and pay 80 bucks a month :O

[Zapf]

"oh shit I'm gonna die" moments

That is how you learn to not get in "Oh shit I'm going to die" moments... its all about being able to pull it off, learn and carry on.

22 has improved a lot in the past few months.

Takes a while to learn what good traction and bad traction look like - some wet surfaces can be very grippy and some dry surfaces can be as dodgy as the slopes of hell.

22 improved? don't tell everyone that, its someone's private back road remember.

And if in doubt, slow down.

Yay thats y we insure our bikes and pay 80 bucks a month :O

No, this is why you have 2 bikes. Crash one and ride the other while its getting repaired. :P

[breakaway]

That is how you learn to not get in "Oh shit I'm going to die" moments... its all about being able to pull it off, learn and carry on.

Exactly right mate.

[U1AGO]

hi all first time poster long time reader

i wanted to come on the last 250cc ride but my throtle cable broke so i have to miss out.

so my question is this:

when is the next ride as my bike is all fixed and want to come out and play?

[Sleepr]

Check gijoe1313's thread, heres the link: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=55130

[Brett]

Actually I wouldnt reccomend Twilight as a learner road as it is very unpredictable also in terms of not only conditions (one time there were easily a dozen nolonger-possoms on one straight of road ) but also reckless cagers around some of those blind corners can create very dangerous mix.
As some of the riders on KB can attest to, just a moments laps in concentration can end up with you and your bike sliding 30ft down a steep bank into the undergrowth where noone will even know to look for you. (if you are lucky you might get snagged on a Punga a few feet down and be able to climb back out! )

Yep, have to agree, that was the road that bit me on my ZXR...many hidden wet spots learners dont often pick up, corners with double apex's, dodgy road surfaces, dodgy cage drivers to name but a few.

[Brett]

I had more "oh shit I'm gonna die" moments than I could count.

You just described my usual morning commute through remuera...dodgy bloody cage drivers.

[breakaway]

Hahaha yeah. But coro loop is really not recommended for newbies. It wouldn't have stopped me though

1. Almost went head on into ford falcon on overtaking
2. Almost went off road more times than I care to remember
3. Ran wide heaps due to wrongly estimating corner bend. Some biker saw me do this (coming the other way) and disapprovingly shook his head to me. Sooo embarassing.

Not a ride for newbs

That said, you gotta start somewhere right?

[McJim]

Hahaha yeah. But coro loop is really not recommended for newbies. It wouldn't have stopped me though

1. Almost went head on into ford falcon on overtaking
2. Almost went off road more times than I care to remember
3. Ran wide heaps due to wrongly estimating corner bend. Some biker saw me do this (coming the other way) and disapprovingly shook his head to me. Sooo embarassing.

Not a ride for newbs

That said, you gotta start somewhere right?

Alternatively you can do an appropriate speed for each corner based on your own skill level.

This is what I do and I find it very useful for avoiding the whole running wide on corners issue.

Any road can be a ride for noobies if they just adhere to a sensible speed. I have yet to see a road in New Zealand that requires a tighter turning radius than the figure of eight in my basic handling skills test.

[Leong]

Hahaha yeah. But coro loop is really not recommended for newbies. It wouldn't have stopped me though

1. Almost went head on into ford falcon on overtaking
2. Almost went off road more times than I care to remember
3. Ran wide heaps due to wrongly estimating corner bend. Some biker saw me do this (coming the other way) and disapprovingly shook his head to me. Sooo embarassing.

Not a ride for newbs

That said, you gotta start somewhere right?

FWIW you were riding much better last weekend than on that Coro Loop ride - that was a bit of a worry.

Just remember that if the group you're riding with is small... like it was on the Coro Loop, ride your own ride (like McJim said) - the others will wait for you at turnoffs. When there's a bigger group it's much more difficult for those leading to know who is on the ride, and keeping count doesn't always work when people swap groups, or groups get mixed up like last weekend. I always used to carry a map!!

[Zapf]

Hahaha yeah. But coro loop is really not recommended for newbies. It wouldn't have stopped me though

1. Almost went head on into ford falcon on overtaking
2. Almost went off road more times than I care to remember
3. Ran wide heaps due to wrongly estimating corner bend. Some biker saw me do this (coming the other way) and disapprovingly shook his head to me. Sooo embarassing.

Not a ride for newbs

That said, you gotta start somewhere right?

Stop scaring the newbies... the fear is always in your mind. And fear is the mind killer... control the fear.. and you win!

I just came back from doing a small Coro loop, Kopu -> SH25 to Wihi -> Pieroa -> Akl. Left at 3:30pm and back around 7ish. It was dark by time time I got to the twisties, some wet patches.... but all fun... stuff all cages too.

Its called knowing the limits of YOU / YOUR BIKE / THE ROAD~! and ..... the CORNER!

[Brett]

Hahaha yeah. But coro loop is really not recommended for newbies. It wouldn't have stopped me though

1. Almost went head on into ford falcon on overtaking
2. Almost went off road more times than I care to remember
3. Ran wide heaps due to wrongly estimating corner bend. Some biker saw me do this (coming the other way) and disapprovingly shook his head to me. Sooo embarassing.

Not a ride for newbs

That said, you gotta start somewhere right?

Shit no mate, it is a progressive thing. Yes those things will happen as you learn, but they are not somewhere to start from and learn from..
Slow it down, work on your lines, entry and exit speeds, the 'feel' of the bike and what it is wanting to do so that when it does something unexpected you are at least aware of what is happening.

I am no nana, ask the guys I ride with, but you also need to appreciate that it doesn't all come at once, start easily get the groundings and work on your skills from there. Have you ever tried a Taupo trackday? Excellent way to learn your machine, have a blast, meet brilliant riders who can give you pointers and most of all, less chance od doing yourself in!