What I see as a motorcyclist eight years on - A tribute to Kiwi Biker

[Voltaire]

....................................... in the 23 years I owned the 750 I was never knocked off it by a car that did not see me.

Sorry mate we did not see you...

[CB ARGH]

You missed out "How to do a burnout while your dad is spraying water on the rear tyre". You think we forgot about that huh?

Great to still have you on the forum

I was hoping that wouldnt come up! The marks are still there on the driveway

And cheers Caseye!

[Oakie]

1) Get yourself a dictionary;
2) Look up the word "paragraph".

Your post is unreadable.

I thought it was a good read. Was even moved to give some pretty green rep to offset all the red.

[CB ARGH]

What led to your learning about tyres and gear? Have some bad crashes? Congrats for sticking with a 600 for so long they are plenty powerful for the road though can be tiring on longer rides

Tyres and gear. In my opinion the two most important aspects of a motorcyclist.

Regretfully I have had two crashes, if you can call them crashes. One of which was my first ever roadtrip... Rotorua, trying to park the bike in my tent and forgot to put the stand down! FAIL!

The other was scenic drive, heading towards Swanson, coming along the final long straight which leads into a R/H 35, NOT speeding but left the braking too late (ironically to test out the brakes - not thinking about the tyres). Locked up BOTH wheels (yes, FRONT AND REAR), then released, front brake back on and went down the gears as fast as I could, which then re-locked the back wheel, knew I was going to go off so released the front and went a good metre ride up the grass bank. Amazingly didn't drop it. I went back the next day after dry cleaning the shit out of my pants to take pictures of the tyre marks up the bank but can't find them - will upload these when I find them. To this day I have no idea how I saved her. It was an incredible misjudgement of the quality of my tyres. I have since replaced them with Michelin Pilot Power 4's, amazing tyres - the NZ Police motorcycles will be using these during the winter.

As for the gear, back when I could run laps around the school field I wore a Revvit' leather jacket and an unknown brand of leather pants. I felt safe. I knew that if I was going for a slide along the highway I'd be sweet as (probably light up a smoke and check my Facebook as I did so). Now that I'm prepared for the winter/a tad bigger... and do a bit more cruising I've converted to the textile gear. It's great for almost all weather, however if you get caught in a severe downpour nothing beats a good set of DriRider overs.

I've got to say whenever I see a motorcyclist ride past wearing only a shirt, shorts, jandals, and only because they legally have to - a helmet - I feel sick. I'd never go for a ride without the full set on: Helmet, jacket, pants, boots and gloves. Never have they been put to the test - but when that time comes I know I'll be safe.


So long story LONG (oops), tyres and gear are what keep us safe.




STEVEN

[Katman]

It was an incredible misjudgement of the quality of my tyres.

It was more likely a misjudgment of your ability/maturity/sensibility.

[EJK]

+1 for tyres.

Supercorsas are awesome tyres but don't be this guy.

[CB ARGH]

It was more likely a misjudgment of your ability/maturity/sensibility.

Hands up I agree. I made a mistake and I sure cocked up on that day. I thought that I could make the corner and I clearly couldn't. I was lucky enough to somewhat learn the limits of my motorcycle and myself as a team.

I believe that incident made me a better rider, I was made aware of the limit of my skills and I'm not ashamed to say it.

[Big Dog]

+1 for tyres.

Supercorsas are awesome tyres but don't be this guy.

So working on getting one down around round abouts?

Sent from Tapatalk. DYAC

[90s]

Hands up I agree. I made a mistake and I sure cocked up on that day. I thought that I could make the corner and I clearly couldn't. I was lucky enough to somewhat learn the limits of my motorcycle and myself as a team.

I believe that incident made me a better rider, I was made aware of the limit of my skills and I'm not ashamed to say it.

Good one fella, only way to learn make mistakes. Until last week I hadn't had a spill since 1989, and had been learning all the time since, but still found a moment inattention in poor conditions that we can all make mistakes.

Still good gear and no harm to myself, a few scratches on the previously mint Ducati fairings to remind me to keep learning.

When you ride bikes you have to accept that you will crash at some time (and I crash mountain bikes all the time). I just repeat my mantra each ride "but not today" and do the best you can.

I'm hoping for another 30 or so yrs to the next off, but vigilance is needed to ensure maturity does not become complacency!

[caseye]

Good one fella, only way to learn make mistakes. Until last week I hadn't had a spill since 1989, and had been learning all the time since, but still found a moment inattention in poor conditions that we can all make mistakes.

Still good gear and no harm to myself, a few scratches on the previously mint Ducati fairings to remind me to keep learning.

When you ride bikes you have to accept that you will crash at some time (and I crash mountain bikes all the time). I just repeat my mantra each ride "but not today" and do the best you can.

I'm hoping for another 30 or so yrs to the next off, but vigilance is needed to ensure maturity does not become complacency!

Wot he said! 100% true, open mind, learn everytime you go out, might make it to the end before being taken out by blind fucker with no skills or aptitude to learn form their own mistakes.

[Maha]

If you were approaching a corner with a speed sign on it, it goes to prove they are there for a reason. I remember some years ago there was a story of a rider on here that went around a bend at a speed above what the sign said only to come to grief in gravel as they went around the bend and my response was if they had taken notice of the speed sign they may have seen the gravel. They rubbished my advise so are bound to come to grief the same way again.

Interesting that, one morning before we set off on group ride (I know you love those) a question was asked of everyone by Mark Waters (22 riders) what to look for on any given corner, each of the 22 gave a different answer... surprised me.

[haydes55]

If you were approaching a corner with a speed sign on it, it goes to prove they are there for a reason. I remember some years ago there was a story of a rider on here that went around a bend at a speed above what the sign said only to come to grief in gravel as they went around the bend and my response was if they had taken notice of the speed sign they may have seen the gravel. They rubbished my advise so are bound to come to grief the same way again.

Double the recommended speed sign or you're a pussy.

[swbarnett]

If you were approaching a corner with a speed sign on it, it goes to prove they are there for a reason.

Those signs are for a bad vehicle in adverse conditions. To the rest of us they are only a guide.

[Maha]

I thought there would have only been one answer being not losing sight of the guy in front. Going by the answer you gave they are perhaps even more scary than I thought. After seeing a video of one recently which included a safety briefing they dont take notice of them either.

What really surprised me was that about 1/2 of those on the ride were very new to riding, put on the spot but answered the question.
A few photo's of how not to corner.



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In this photo the Bike is over taking the vehicle/horse float.

[Jin]

I thought there would have only been one answer being not losing sight of the guy in front. Going by the answer you gave they are perhaps even more scary than I thought. After seeing a video of one recently which included a safety briefing they dont take notice of them either.

Wrong answer. People in front should be on your peripheral vision. You should be looking at the road ahead through the corner.