How to ride faster than you ever have before

[slikchik]

OK so the title was more of an appertiser than an advise column. What I really want to know is well I actually have a 250 thats parked in the shed and had been for a wee while and my partner who thinks hes a maverick wants me to drain the petrol out of it, and Im quite sad about that, so to help me get over the draining petrol state, I need to get my ass into gear and ride the bike (AND I really want to) um whats my motivation people???? Tell me what motivates you to get out and face the fear and just ride.:sunny:

[Ixion]

Fear ? why do you have to "face the fear" ? What is there to fear?

Do you think you are not competant to ride it? (I do not mean that in any derogatory way, at some stage we were all incompetant riders). If so, then take steps to acquire competance. Do a RRRS course. Go to a mentor evening. Ask for a mentor's help.

Do you fear you will embarrass yourself, by stalling and such like? That happens to all of us at the beginning the only way to overcome that is to practice.

What do you fear? Why? Do not say you fear crashing or getting hurt, thta just comes back to the competance thing. There is no reason to suppose that you must crash or get hurt.

Go out tomorrow morning. start the bike, and ride it down to the shops. Then ride it back. There, there was nothing to fear , was there? Then ride it a bit further. Rinse lather repeat.

[crashe]

What motivates riders to ride?

I can not answer for anyone else but for myself...... as others will have their own reasons.

Mine: The freedom and the enjoyment of being out there on the bike.
The love of riding........

Thats what motivates me........

So tomorrow get your bike gear on...... start the bike up and take it just up and down your road.... get the feel of the bike......
It doesnt matter what your neighbours think of you doing that..... just do it.
Learn all the basic stuff...... and then venture further.... and the further....

One step at a time.
Good luck.

[Wasp]

simple, crash the car - you'll soon realise riding the bike beats walking!

[dogsnbikes]

freedom and being at one with my machine and its a great place to think and forget about the world and focus and its something a look forward too every day I'm not working:Punk: and thats 6 months a year but I am pushing for 7:innocent:

[Ixion]

What motivates riders to ride? It's rather a silly question isn't it? I ride because I am at place A and I need to get to place B. For all sorts of reasons.

As it isn't practical to stay home all the time, and I would not wish to anyway it is necessary for me to ride.

I ike to go to places, some places I have to go to like it or not. As the mountain (literally) will not come to Ixion , Ixion must go to the mountain.
So there is no question of "motivation". I ride because I must.

Do you (OP) stay home all day every day, then?

[aderino4]

What motivates me to ride?

So I have reason to buy expensive race replica gear and feel fast.
To reduce the bug population in the world

LOL :gob:

[yod]

1) line up corner
2) put bike into it
3) power out
4) repeat

doesnt get much better.....

[pevs]

Every now and again I take my bike to work.. I get there wide eyed and bushy tailed!! It turns a commute into an event. And occaisionally.. when the moment grabs me.. I show the fat git in his 50 grand aussie V8 just how slow his car is with my affordable.. straight to the front of the lights.. sub 5 second nought to 60mph motorcycle is. Perhaps it's a boy thing.. but I love it!!

[chanceyy]

I think i understand the fear feeling


I get a slightly apprehensive feeling ... that completely goes away once i am on the bike & on the road ..

I remember when i got my car licence & getting geared up for a long trip by myself .. same feeling that totally went once i was on the road ..

sometimes its the fear of what ifs .. but the sheer joy & feeling i get from riding the bike totally out weighs the fear .. also I mostly ride with three other great freinds that are aware of my limitations, & newbie status .. it gives me confidence when i am out there riding cause I know i am not alone ..

I have ridden short distances by myself & feel fine .. but still have a moments aghhhhh at the thought .. but still get out there cause I know once i am there its fine ...

get a mentor, or a freind to ride with, try short distances, & acknowledge how you feel but do it anyway ... but if your gut instinct tells you to not ride .. then listen to it ;)

good luck

[cowboyz]

sub 5 sec quarter? think you missed a 1 in there somewhere but hey, never let the facts get in the way of a good story. I cant relate to the fear thing. I ride because I find it relaxing and like having the illusion that I am in control. If you are not enjoying it... why are you doing it?

[White trash]

If you're actually asking others for motivation, and don't posses it yourself, maybe you're just not that into bikes.

No big deal, take up knitting or hang gliding or bungey jumping or whatever else.

[FzerozeroT]

The motivation to ride: WHEELIES!

[breakaway]

Motivation: It's fun

[surfer]

Having the biggest grin/smile spread across my face. I feel very different after a ride.

[NZsarge]

Just ride baby ride :Punk: Once your out there on the road goin nowhere in particular you'll be in love I promise you :yes: :rockon:

[Macktheknife]

Motivation? Sounds to me like fear is your problem, are you normally scared of doing new things, does it usually stop you from enjoying stuff?
Just get on the bike and go for a bloody ride! lol
It doesn't matter if it is only to the end of the road and back, just get going and let your confidence build up naturally. If you need more help and guidance, go to the mentors nights, or ask for a mentor to come and work with you for a bit to improve skills and confidence.
Most important thing, just get on the bike and go somewhere.

[Boob Johnson]

My motivation: The feeling of freedom that I only get from riding a bike (or driving a convertible cage (similar but not all the way there).

I have been riding bikes on and off for years but only ever owned a scooter prior to a few months ago. I can honestly say im pissed I didn't get my own bike years ago.

When I first picked up my new toy (the very next after getting my bike license) I was riding from the guys house back to the motorway at Manukau, I took a right turn off Redoubt rd onto the Southern motorway on ramp heading north & proceeded to open her up for the first time. I can honestly say that was one of the happiest times of my life. The song "Born to be wild" by Steffonwolf popped into my head & I sang it loudly inside my helmet with the biggest smile on my face.

The best part is the smile comes back every time I ride her :Punk:


Signed......"madly in love with my motorcycle" :innocent:

[Storm]

Because I can

[jaybee]

just what he said


If you're actually asking others for motivation, and don't posses it yourself, maybe you're just not that into bikes.

No big deal, take up knitting or hang gliding or bungey jumping or whatever else.

[Fub@r]

Motivation: I use any excuse to jump on my bike. Plus my daily commute has gone from over an hour to 10 minutes. No more waiting for mutiple light phases to get anywhere. Filtering through traffic and pissing off grid locked cagers. Travelling obscure roads to find twisties, when in a car it just seems a chore to go from A to B whereas on a bike you go from A, skip B through to Z and then finally get to B :)

eg: I'm currently in my office waiting for a guy to fix our phone system. I didn't have to but it was a good excuse to feed the missus so I could get some riding time in today to and from office :)

As for fear, thats more of a confidence thing. Make sure your in a good mood and try not to fight the bike and then 'fear' will turn in to pure enjoyment

[BigG]

If you like bikes you dont need motivating, the sound the power the fresh air its awesome, I just got back from a ride adrenalin pumping through youre body. If you want Ill buy it off you and take it to the track, big bloke on a little bike wow you cant have through them around.
Get out and ride and do what every one else has told you to do:rockon:

[klingon]

I need to get my ass into gear and ride the bike (AND I really want to) um whats my motivation people???? Tell me what motivates you to get out and face the fear and just ride.:sunny:

Ok so you really want to ride the bike, but something's not quite happening for you?

I suggest
a) Joining a biker forum and chatting to other people who ride (maybe you already thought of that one...)
b) Using that forum to find other people who live in your area who you might like to ride with. Organise a ride, and off you go.

The people you ride with may be people at a similar skill and confidence level as you (I'm assuming you're a relatively new rider - correct me if I'm wrong). Or they might be people who have been riding for ages and would be happy to take you out on a few confidence-inspiring rides around your neighbourhood.

By the way, this maverick who has suggested you drain the petrol out of your bike and put it into storage - does he ride? Is he a much more experienced rider than you? Has he been teaching you to ride? Do your riding lessons end up with you feeling stupid and clumsy and like you'll never be as good as him?

Just asking :innocent:

[busaman]

Ok so you really want to ride the bike, but something's not quite happening for you?


By the way, this maverick who has suggested you drain the petrol out of your bike and put it into storage - does he ride? Is he a much more experienced rider than you? Has he been teaching you to ride? Do your riding lessons end up with you feeling stupid and clumsy and like you'll never be as good as him?

Just asking :innocent:

I'm the maverick petrol drainer:bye:
Been trying to find ways of getting Slikchick out on her bike but I'm obviously not pushing the right buttons. I think the other problem is we just have too much fun when we are out riding together on my bike.

Might sell both bikes and just get me one really cool bike (Ducati 1098 should do the job), what do you think?:Punk:

[SixPackBack]

If slikchick is not frightened pillioning while the pilot is chasing down a gixxer then from what I have seen fear is not an issue.

Sell the Busa, buy a 1098 [cos you can!], keep the 250 just in case motivation is found or for a track bike.

[Viddy]

What motivates me to ride is the thing that i didn't have when trying out other sports - enjoyment.

For me, riding is something of a form of meditation. When I'm on my bike, I can't think about anything else, as the road demands my total concentration. I love the elegant application of physics and applied mathematics as I carve in and out of corners; to me, its a beautiful thing (though I'm not sure that it is to someone watching me ride - I probably look like a big tubby dude on a little bike :) ).

I don't ride because I need to, I ride because I want to. I really wish that I felt the same way about say, doing the dishes, or going to work or the gym :) Its this want that has me looking around on a perfectly blue day with dry roads when I'm sitting at home, and I start idilly thinking about where I could go.

That said, a mate who also rides, and drags you out also helps. Particuarly when you are first learning.

[howdamnhard]

Find a nice quiet street or park nearby and just practice the basics,once you get the feel for it,take it out on the road on a Sunday when theres not much traffic about.Ask someone with a little more experience to acompany you if you lack confidence.Once you feel in control you'll love the sheer freedom of riding,especially on a nice winding country road with the sun beating down on you and the wind whistling past you.You've got a nice bike use it.:yes:

[Bob]

Hopefully my ride out today will cover the "why":

Day off, with perfect weather, so...

Went out for a "spirited" ride out to the local forest roads (for anyone who has ridden in Essex in England, I'm talking out to Abridge, Theydon Bois, through the forest in the direction of Woodford, then towards Epping but on a whim changed direction and to Loughton then skirting the edge of Debden back round to Chigwell) and then past home and over to the cheap fuel at Tesco Beckon... then on to the main A roads for the old docks between Essex and East London and back via the A12 to home again.

50 miles, on a range of roads from bumpy local B-roads, to involving, but slightly better surfaced b-roads through the forest, to urban a-road to major A (M) routes. And the ER did it all beautifully. Everything from 20mph potter, to 50/60 on the better bits of A and B-road that take you out to Abridge and Theydon, to "ahem, better not state them" speeds on the major A-roads.

And pushing the ER harder than I have for a while - and using the b-roads around Abridge/Epping Forest to get my sights back in properly after months of nothing but main roads (funny how I naturally slipped back into talking my way through the route to sharpen concentration... which ironed out a little niggle that I'd been lining up my left-handers a little too far to the left), when I blatted round the A1020 and tipped into the traffic-calming 'almost a roundabout', I found myself nearly going into the other lane as I tipped in so sharply!

(Relatively speaking of course).

Nice to let the ER loose to play on a beautiful day without too much traffic to get in the way. Do that and it really is a lovely bike - and one of those "adds up to more than the sum of the parts" machines.

And perhaps most importantly, after 50 miles of going for it, I got home without an ache.

Happy.

Do that and you'll lose the "fear".

If you are worried, then get out on a quiet day, keep the speed down, only increasing when you are feeling more confident. And - as I did above - TALK yourself round the ride, forcing yourself to concentrate on what is happening.

Nothing like it.

[DMNTD]

What motivates me to face the "fear"? ...I love being scared and fear that if I don't get up off my arse and face my fears that I'll shrivel up and get "old" and boring.

Other reasons... transport,adrenalin pumping action,sights,smells,meeting people,learning,networking,travel...list goes on and on

[Grahameeboy]

What motivates me to face the "fear"? ...I love being scared and fear that if I don't get up off my arse and face my fears that I'll shrivel up and get "old" and boring.

Other reasons... transport,adrenalin pumping action,sights,smells,meeting people,learning,networking,travel...list goes on and on

Crashing.................anyway, get your arse in gear Chris could you will have to leave soon to get to Whangamata by 11.........:scooter:

[DMNTD]

Crashing.................anyway, get your arse in gear Chris could you will have to leave soon to get to Whangamata by 11.........:scooter:
2 crashes in 19 years riding,both road surface related and low speed...I'll go with that lad :yes:
LOL...we're leaving here at 9:30am and going the long way there.
BTW...mint weather



Hijack over :sunny:

[Grahameeboy]

2 crashes in 19 years riding,both road surface related and low speed...I'll go with that lad :yes:
LOL...we're leaving here at 9:30am and going the long way there.
BTW...mint weather



Hijack over :sunny:

1 Crash in 27 years laddie..............hit and run.

Anyway, you can smell me later for being cheeky..............will be good to catch up and take care buddy.:rockon:

[busaman]

If slikchick is not frightened pillioning while the pilot is chasing down a gixxer then from what I have seen fear is not an issue.

Sell the Busa, buy a 1098 [cos you can!], keep the 250 just in case motivation is found or for a track bike.

Good to meet you yesterday SixPack, enjoyed chasing you round what would have to be some of the best roads I've been on. Hope to cate you out there By the way, I think the CBR as a track bike could be a plan.

[SixPackBack]

Good to meet you yesterday SixPack, enjoyed chasing you round what would have to be some of the best roads I've been on. Hope to cate you out there By the way, I think the CBR as a track bike could be a plan.


Was lotsa fun huh?.........I swear the Busa is 10 feet wide when trying to get past, I laughed my arse off watching speedie trying to get past.
Roll on the next ride:yes:

[klingon]

I'm the maverick petrol drainer:bye:
Been trying to find ways of getting Slikchick out on her bike but I'm obviously not pushing the right buttons. I think the other problem is we just have too much fun when we are out riding together on my bike.

Might sell both bikes and just get me one really cool bike (Ducati 1098 should do the job), what do you think?:Punk:

Hiya, busaman :spudwave: So you're the maverick petrol drainer!

My point is that having a partner who is a much more experienced and skilled rider can be pretty intimidating for a new rider. I have a pet SV1000-rider who has been riding for thirtymumble years, and has no idea what it's like for me as a learner.

So maybe you're not the right person to either teach her or motivate her? I reckon she should find a riding buddy who's also a learner, to go out and practise with - like me for example! :sunny:

[idleidolidyll]

1 Crash in 27 years laddie..............hit and run.

Anyway, you can smell me later for being cheeky..............will be good to catch up and take care buddy.:rockon:

last race crash in 92,
last road crash in 86

95%+ of my crashes have been racing

................touches head...............

worst race crash, cbr600 Bay Park I think. Braking duel on the last lap, 2nd to last corner for the podium. Lost the front end and highsided. Paul Gee managed to miss me and I ripped my skin off and rolled up the bank amongst the spectators, coming to rest beside a guy with a coke; i took my helmet off and asked him for a drink then looked down at all the blood..........adrenaline is the BEST painkiller anywhere!

worst road crash, cagiva allazurra; t-boned an old lady in a land crab as she pulled a U turn on the open road: ping goes that achilles, crutches and a year to get over it.
my mates back at the motel (BEARs meeting), were pissed I'd smashed all the beer i had onboard.

[Bob]

I've been thinking about this.

It sounds like you need to build up confidence before going out on the road.

So - do you have a car park near you - preferably one that does not get used at the weekend? Then if so, can you ride (or if that is too nerve-racking, can you get your partner to ride the 250 there - maybe with you on the back?) there and use it to do some gentle practice?

What I have in mind is simple start up and ride forwards in a straight line.
Then when you are OK with that, try turning gently.
When that is OK, ride in a circle.
When that is OK, ride in a circle, practicing changing from 1st to 2nd and back again.
Once that lot comes together, you can use the paint lines on the ground for a little more advanced stuff:
Ride slowly along the long white line which marks the end of the car bays.
Then try using the lanes between the car bays to practice riding up to the end of a road, stopping at the end and then turning into the main road.
Then, how about using the width of the car bays to practice gentle U-turns - and if that is fine, then try tighter turns by using the lanes between the car bays.

If you've got all that lot covered, then time to try something a little more advanced, like using the car bays to practice riding between markers (cones would be ideal, but if you don't have cones, then you can use the lines of the car bays as markers).

You can also use the white lines as your stopping markers as well. Starting slowly, brake gently, aiming to stop just before the line. As you get more confident, you can (very slightly) up the pace a little.

With all that lot in place, treat the lanes between the car bays as the road, with the car bays as buildings - so you practice your left and right turns, aiming to avoid crossing the white lines - as they'd be a little harder in real life!

If you have all that lot together, then you're going to be much more confident and ready for the road.

Big thing is to take this as fun. Don't think of it as work, more getting ready to enjoy yourself in a safer environment.

In the UK, we have to do this stuff before we are allowed out on the road - and we have to pass a riding test on the road as well to make sure we're OK with road riding. And as we've been taught the basics of machine control, by the time we ride onto the road, we know enough about machine control to let us concentrate on the ride.

Give it a go and let us know how it works out.

Hope this is useful,

Bob





Just a thought - is all this talking about crashes really a good idea when we're dealing with someone who is nervous about riding on the road?

[Dodgyiti]

Motivation?
How about reducing your environmental footprint by using a more ecologically sound means of transportation?
Or reducing the strain on motorways and city parking (or is it just Auckland)?
What about inspiring other ladies, seeing you out and about, that they can do that too?
:done:

Good stuff bob.

Klingon- I am no use to my lady learner for the same reasons, doing it so long I forgot why, lol

[BarBender]

Tell me what motivates you to get out and face the fear and just ride.:sunny:

Two personal observations:

a)I dont need motivation to ride. Riding motivates me to live.
Either I want to ride or I dont. Personal experience has taught me that when I force the issue the ride is shit or something happens...

b)Fear and bikes dont mix. I dont start a bike or ride in fear and certainly dont go looking for it when I ride. There's no emotional or mental energy expended to get on the bike, start it up and in your words...just ride.

In your case - work out what the barrier is: competency or confidence or both. Then get someone to get out on the road with you to get you along your way.

[Stirts]

Hey Slikchik....totally get where u r coming from....still in the process of getting my first bike....done my BHT YAYE.

100% agree with BarBender it's a competency/confidence barrier, for me anyway....so if you need someone in the same headspace, quite happy to tee up and practice to smash those barriers

[Lissa]

What motivates me? I'm a mum of three kids, who has never done anything remotely scary in my life. Bikes don't scare me, as long as I am comfortable with what I am riding and know my limitations. I love the feeling of going out there and doing something for ME. Accomplishing the little things, like riding the Rimutakas, or scrapping my boot on a corner or just tootling down the road as the sun comes up. Its a feeling that motivates me. Cant wait to have the feeling on a bigger bike though. :)

[peasea]

Every now and again I take my bike to work.. I get there wide eyed and bushy tailed!!

Yup, it sure livens up an otherwise dull day, or makes a great day one to really remember. When you've clocked up a few k's, several circumnavigations of both islands and more besides you'll get the picture. Every ride is different, every ride will have memorable moments. The motivation to ride is in the garage, in your head, in front of you in the form of the road itself. Take a camera with you and use it; in years to come you'll be thankful that you did. I have a pic (taken by a mate) of me on a beach taking my first ride; that was 1973. The albums (and my life) are based on that first ride.

[Quartermile]

OK so the title was more of an appertiser than an advise column. What I really want to know is well I actually have a 250 thats parked in the shed and had been for a wee while and my partner who thinks hes a maverick wants me to drain the petrol out of it, and Im quite sad about that, so to help me get over the draining petrol state, I need to get my ass into gear and ride the bike (AND I really want to) um whats my motivation people???? Tell me what motivates you to get out and face the fear and just ride.:sunny:
Take it for a very small ride something you feel comfortable with like 100m up your street even 50m and a :D will form on your face and you will never look back, hell I started by riding a scooter 20m

[Sanx]

Went out for a "spirited" ride out to the local forest roads (for anyone who has ridden in Essex in England, I'm talking out to Abridge, Theydon Bois, through the forest in the direction of Woodford, then towards Epping but on a whim changed direction and to Loughton then skirting the edge of Debden back round to Chigwell) and then past home and over to the cheap fuel at Tesco Beckon... then on to the main A roads for the old docks between Essex and East London and back via the A12 to home again.

Don't tell me they've actually finished digging up the A12 and erecting revenue cameras every 300 yards through the roadworks?

Anyway - if you like riding through that area, try heading out towards Finchingfield (about ten miles north-east of Bishop's Stortford). From there, you can carry on up towards Long Melford or Haverhill and on up to Bury St Edmunds. Twisty back roads all the way, and if you go early enough on a Sunday morning - not a cop in site.

Or - if you like some challenging bends, head down to Burnham on Crouch. Ten 90 degree bends in the space of about 3 miles all on a damn good road surface. A few good pubs at the end of it and one or two decent fish and chip shops too. Oh ... and if you see a guy in his late fifties in a power-ranger set of leathers on a red VFR800, wave hello. It's probably my dad.

[Mrs Busa Pete]

go and do the corses that teach you confadence

[slikchik]

If slikchick is not frightened pillioning while the pilot is chasing down a gixxer then from what I have seen fear is not an issue.

Sell the Busa, buy a 1098 [cos you can!], keep the 250 just in case motivation is found or for a track bike.

He procrastinates too long so dont listen to him, he will have the busa for a while yet. Well as long as Im still being a passenger he will!!!

[slikchik]

go and do the corses that teach you confadence

Nah bugger that just been to Raro and got my bike license Im skipping all that hooha:Punk:

[Mrs Busa Pete]

He procrastinates too long so dont listen to him, he will have the busa for a while yet. Well as long as Im still being a passenger he will!!!

that passenger mind set is the very thing that is keeping you from ridding your bike:Punk:

[slikchik]

that passenger mind set is the very thing that is keeping you from ridding your bike:Punk:

no its just the most comfortable one to be pillion on and I like being the passenger once in a while. I like being in control too much to always be a passenger!!:yes:

[Maha]

Nah bugger that just been to Raro and got my bike license Im skipping all that hooha:Punk:


Only last for 12 months tho' aye?....more of a $25 donation to the Raro Government....rather cheap for a Cook Island souvenir i thought?...:yes:
We are going back there in Sept but now i have my full im sweet, but aint those scooters shit as fun?....:scooter:

[slikchik]

It lasts 12 months from your next birthday, god knows why they've done it that way. But yeh $16 aint too bad. Thank god we survived the scooters and escaped the raro rash as they like to call it. Tho some chickens nearly didnt make it due to busaman thinking he was on his bus!!:scooter: