How to keep up on a small bike

[ducatilover]

Have you read the twist of the wrist books?
Anyone who wants to go fast can benefit from these.

Going fast is sinful and nobody on KB does it, except Drew because he's a riding god, nor did we ever ride fast as learners. We're all perfect here, but there is some handy advice

[Katman]

I ride my 250 pretty hard but my comfort zone and skill level isnt that of someone wet behind the ears

And I know im at the point atm where im riding the bike alittle to hard and if I fuck up it could go bad I am aware of that

Let's hope those words don't come back to haunt you.

[george formby]

Yeah seems to come off wrong I dont expect people to ride flat out but at least ride correctly clearly I didnt put things across correctly.

Heh. t'was either a troll or just ambiguous.

+1 on practicing wit the brakes. So rarely used in anger but so vital.

As somebody pointed out maintaining a good average pace smoothly & safely, minimal brakes & throttle use, will teach you more than riding hard on the gas or brakes. Thrashing it just wears stuff out & stretches your power band to far.

I guess you have point if a new rider is struggling to keep up with the flow of traffic when the bike is capable of doing so. Training & practice to identify issues, learn the correct techniques, learn the bikes ability, get a bit of confidence.. start enjoying the pleasure of a bike.
Re practice. What works at 20kmh also works at 120kmh. So start at the slow end.

[Dragon]

Let's put this in context.

This posting this due to frustration over the pace of a NEW LEARNER rider on an advertised SLOW PACED RIDE in near enough to peak hour traffic. If the OP is frustrated with the pace of the ride, which by necessity needs to be dictated by the slowest rider in the group, then I humbly suggest that maybe that group ride is not what they are looking for.

It was more in regards to other people I have dealt with but yes that did factor into it, I have been enjoying the slow paced rides

[wysper]

Nup. Two different things.
And before you can go fast, you must first go slow. Learn pace riding (set a reasonable speed and try to maintain it), be smooth with accelerating and gear changing, read the road conditions as far ahead as is practical/possible and adjust speed through throttle control and road position to setup corner lines. Brakes are for stopping/emergencies.
Get the above right and then you are in a better position to up the pace a little. A little. Do not try to keep up with better riders. Perhaps ask them to keep you in their mirror/s so they keep to your speed.

Best post so far to my mind.

The little snippet - And before you can go fast, you must first go slow. - is gold. Also true for pretty much learning ANYTHING.

[Monkfish]

Best post so far to my mind.

The little snippet - And before you can go fast, you must first go slow. - is gold. Also true for pretty much learning ANYTHING.

Ah ha, I aggree, but it is not a rule set in stone. I put this to you.
When I was a toddler I never crawled, I used to slide around on my Arse all the time, and then one day (the mother tells me) I simply got up and walked. to follow dad down the hall.
what say you to that? It seems you can skip steps in the learning process and not always adhere to the normal learning curve.
I believe in sensible learning but sometimes a baptisim of fire can also do wonders,. as long as one is not pushing themselves beyond their means, that is.

Let people do their own thing. and Noob riders should never feel pressured into "Keeping up" or riding beyond their skill base.

[Mom]

Yes I have come off before both from my own stupidity and from other peoples

Yes I have had oh shit moments since I got back into riding but because I have been asking questions and working out what to do if something happens I have been ok (touch wood)


Lean into corners take correct lines and untill you hit your pegs (or the ground) you can go further (this has saved me before)

Don't hesitate if you decide to do something do it, if you hesitate and then go your probably going to get taken out

If you get scared don't lock the brakes

DON"T PANIC

umm will think of more latter

Thoughts comments?

These little snippets in your first post, genuinely have me scratching my head.

You are saying when on a small bike you should "Lean into corners take correct lines and untill you hit your pegs (or the ground) you can go further (this has saved me before)"?

You are a moron, if you think that is how you should be riding and certainly a double moron if you ride like that on learner rides. I would not ride with you ever, just on the strength of this post.

[bosslady]

I am not completely sure, but I think if you Google 'keeping up' it refers to keeping up, not getting there half an hour later.

I'm talking about keeping up with what's legal, unless someone is going crazy illegal speeds all the time then yea, I would be half an hour behind. But in saying that, I don't ride with those kind of people. -Not- keeping up, for example, is taking 85kmh sign posted corners at 60kmh, for example. Or doing 90kmh on straights rather than 100kmh.

[ducatilover]

You are saying when on a small bike you should "Lean into corners take correct lines and untill you hit your pegs (or the ground) you can go further (this has saved me before)"?

I'm not sure here, but perhaps he means, until your pegs hit the ground, you can go further and there's some in reserve?
I'm not sure on that one though.
And it's not always true.

[speeding_ant]

I'm not sure here, but perhaps he means, until your pegs hit the ground, you can go further and there's some in reserve?
I'm not sure on that one though.
And it's not always true.

+1. Suspension on 250's are mostly shit.

I can lean my bike over until I'm 5mm away from the edge of the tyre, and my pegs still don't scrape. If I go any further on a public road I start getting a wiggle on, and the suspension can't keep up. At that point you don't have control of the bike if something goes wrong. You only ride like this when you can see the exit of a corner, and the smooth asphalt is hot, and your tyres are in good nick, and you know what your bike can do.... and so on... So it's not all about the pegs, it's about how capable you and your bike is. If the situation is not ideal (and most New Zealand roads aren't ideal), back it off so you're in control if something happens. On a 250 you seldom have to worry about the speed limit, they're not THAT fast.

If you want to ride faster and lean harder, leave it for the track. Or until you get a more capable bike that is safer in those situations. Trying to keep up with someone on a more capable bike is just asking for trouble in my opinion. Ride your own ride

I should add that I'm not an amazing rider - anything you read or see written here should taken with a grain of salt. Go see someone like Andrew Templeton if you want an experts opinion on how to ride without binning it.

[Dragon]

I'm not sure here, but perhaps he means, until your pegs hit the ground, you can go further and there's some in reserve?
I'm not sure on that one though.
And it's not always true.

I wasnt meaning you should go out trying to hit your pegs I was meaning until you hit them you can keep going so if you hit the corner to hot you can keep pushing it to get around

[Katman]

I wasnt meaning you should go out trying to hit your pegs I was meaning until you hit them you can keep going so if you hit the corner to hot you can keep pushing it to get around

A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

[speeding_ant]

I wasnt meaning you should go out trying to hit your pegs I was meaning until you hit them you can keep going so if you hit the corner to hot you can keep pushing it to get around

That's really the only option, but at that point you need to re-evaluate how you got into that situation in the first place. Looking into the corner, assessing your line, assessing your speed and the condition of the road all come into play here.

If you're scraping the pegs on a 250, and you need to corner harder to stop yourself from going through a fence then that's a bad day. Most 'sport' 250s were designed to let you know you're reaching the limits via peg scrape - AT FACTORY. Put worn tires, suspension and a learner rider in the mix and the outcome might be less than satisfactory.

[ducatilover]

Put worn tires, suspension and a learner rider in the mix and the outcome might be less than satisfactory.

I've always said the biggest handling problem a bike has is the nut on top

[MSTRS:Me]

I wasnt meaning you should go out trying to hit your pegs I was meaning until you hit them you can keep going so if you hit the corner to hot you can keep pushing it to get around

You have a LOT to learn. Hopefully it won't be too painful a process.