Maverick 250 ride 5/8/07

[McJim]

Yeah, I know.. it was more just a dig, I don't even know where the mention of racing came from !
It came from me. Nothing like a hoon round a track with lovely big runoffs to learn the limits of your bike and gain fluency in control of your bike.

I've done 2 track days and am a much better rider for it. Had help from my Mentor at the track days too which helps (otherwise you can end up developing bad habits).

On these 2 fiddy rides there is very little opportunity for true Mentoring from anyone as the stops are too infrequent and too short (normally we don't have bins)

If you can get a Mentor you trust it's useful to follow their lines but it's important to look through corners too and if you're too busy watching a back wheel that can be your undoing.

[Donor]

Well I'm not gonna race you on the open road and I don't condone exceeding 100kph on the open road either......

So suburban streets are okay then? :D

[McJim]

So suburban streets are okay then? :D

If it's in Paeroa, and there are hay bails and it's Battle of the Streets then why not?

[zeocen]

I'm totally lost now, I was just mentioning with jest that mah lil bike can do more than 60x2 !

I don't know where all the track day, mentoring and racing talk came from, did I miss something D:

[McJim]

Just a bit of a knee jerk reaction on my part to hearing that people were popping wheelies and stuff on Mav's ride. I wasn't witness to these events and hope it was somewhere straight and with good visibility but it reflects badly and is part of the reason I ain't organising another ride.

[Sleepr]

But but, how about you organise one for just us noobs, I am sure no noobs will weelie and they will stick to the rules. I know I will :).

[zeocen]

oh I seeee, I planned to turn up for the ride, but donor informed me of the bins so I headed to his house and waited for him to arrive with the poor broken bikes to see if I could lend a hand.

Well with my 6'1ft, 90kg frame, I don't think there'll be much wheelie'n happening on the ninja 250! hehe

[Cr1MiNaL]

Just a bit of a knee jerk reaction on my part to hearing that people were popping wheelies and stuff on Mav's ride. I wasn't witness to these events and hope it was somewhere straight and with good visibility...


Yea Jamie I be one of the "few" that did some urr.. rather unimpressive wheelies... but it was with the fast group (remember where gremlin and u went back to get the lost group) yea on that straight sitting there getting bored... 5 ks of straight smooth tarmac with no one but spectators around...cudnt resist the urge sorry. But yea was pretty safe (for others) well there weren't any others anyway. BTW when we were stopped and the L group passed us in the 50 zone I distinctly remember 2 "L" bikes pulling off some badly timed wheelies and almost going into oncoming traffic.. and I wasn't the only witness to this.

But yea man u did a heck of a job organizing 50 bikes... I know I cud neva! But good on ya mate was heck of a ride... :yes:

[ehab2weelr]

imkeen for a gud noobes ride, somthing nice and cruzy dont wana push my bike too hard i finally fixed up what ever i can on her, let us know bout the next ride and i hope that this time no low braking shall take place :innocent:

[Hellraiser]

Cool - meetcha next trackday round Pukekohe. I'll race you on my missus 150! good enuff?

Only cause a ducati isn't likely to do a full lap of puke without breaking down .......... :gob::yes::Punk:

[discotex]

On the way back, I was purposely slowing down way before the corner to compress the group (6 of them) so they all slow down to a reasonable speed before reaching the tight corner. Also to some of the beginner riders the issue is the changing conditions. E.g dry good roads and then suddenly changing to wet and slippery the next. They need to learn to watch out for them and react before they get themselves into a panic.

Having made it out the other side I learned heaps about reading the road condition. Never seen so much moss and shit and gravel and mud etc let alone with rain thrown in for fun. Glad I was in the right gear when the heavens opened! Pity my nice waterproof winter gloves were under the seat haha!

[Brett]

Just a bit of a knee jerk reaction on my part to hearing that people were popping wheelies and stuff on Mav's ride. I wasn't witness to these events and hope it was somewhere straight and with good visibility but it reflects badly and is part of the reason I ain't organising another ride.

I own up to lifting the front wheel 2 or 3 times on that particular straight - more halfhearted wheelie attempts than decent wheelies however, (did much bigger ones on my 250!) it is a long walk home to be really hoisting the front up in the air. And yes, it was us in the fast group, so no one for us to be setting a bad example for

I agree on your comments about the frequency of stops. If it was to be a true mentoring environment, each slow/new rider should be paired up with a more experienced rider who can follow them, comment on road positioning, braking points and corner lines etc and provide a bit of feedback.

That idiot who wheelied past us in the fast group just leaving Clevedon nearly hit that cage. Whoever you are, I am sure your a top bloke...but as a rider you need to think more when you are riding.

[Zapf]

with rain thrown in for fun.

Ya kidding me? :) If you can ride that stretch of road and SH22 well then you should be able to ride every sealed road around the country.

Even I hate some of that really tight twisted forest & moss covered part.. :)

Also, positioning correctly on the road will give you more time and options depends on how the road condition changes.

[Cr1MiNaL]

.... If it was to be a true mentoring environment, each slow/new rider should be paired up with a more experienced rider who can follow them, comment on road positioning, braking points and corner lines etc and provide a bit of feedback.

And what if the mentor rider binned it? rofl :chase: lol Hey ! it can happen to anyone ! :yes: that would just be a funny 'bin situation'.... he'd be like and whatever u do, don't do what I just did !

[bomma]

And what if the mentor rider binned it? rofl :chase: lol Hey ! it can happen to anyone ! :yes: that would just be a funny 'bin situation'.... he'd be like and whatever u do, don't do what I just did !

lol sounds like experience talkin there bro ;) hehe

[discotex]

Ya kidding me? :) If you can ride that stretch of road and SH22 well then you should be able to ride every sealed road around the country.

Even I hate some of that really tight twisted forest & moss covered part.. :)


I bet it's evil fun in the dry over summer though! Seriously considering a trackday to get some lean and learn to trust the bike more.

Hope to get heaps of riding in over the next few months on the ZXR so I'm ready for endless summer riding, full licence and a new bike. If only I wasn't house hunting every nice weekend :shit:

[Zapf]

I bet it's evil fun in the dry over summer though! Seriously considering a trackday to get some lean and learn to trust the bike more.

Try not to do that in that mossy patch even in the summer. It is usually in the shade and will still have water running across the road :)

If you don't find moss you'll find mud / gravel .... simple really. Its just that section of the road.

If you want something similar but slightly better try Twilight road, or the Coro loop :innocent: or 22 if you want unpredictable corners:shutup:

[Maverick]

If you want something similar but slightly better try Twilight road, or the Coro loop :innocent: or 22 if you want unpredictable corners:shutup:

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 :sick:) but also reckless cagers around some of those blind corners can create very dangerous mix.:shit:
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! :buggerd: )

[Cr1MiNaL]

Geezzz where've u been all my life Twilight? :yes:

[Zapf]

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 :sick:) but also reckless cagers around some of those blind corners can create very dangerous mix.:shit:
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! :buggerd: )

sounds like New Zealand to me. I can attest to my 1st KB ride with 50km's on the clock on my new VTR250. It was going to the Coro loop. So yes I can do it... so can 'some' of you :)

If you think Twilight is bad now, it was worse before it had nice corners put in. And 22 is even worse :)

[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? :Punk:

[Sleepr]

Check gijoe1313's thread, heres the link: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.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 :sick:) but also reckless cagers around some of those blind corners can create very dangerous mix.:shit:
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! :buggerd: )

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 :rockon:

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 :bye:

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 :rockon:

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 :bye:

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.:sunny:

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 :rockon:

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 :bye:

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 :rockon:

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 :bye:

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 :rockon:

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 :bye:

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!