ACC - Here we go again

[pritch]

I ain't doing no ride forever course !!!

About twelve years back I attended a course to support the local Honda dealer who was supplying all his staff to assist with the running of the course. The guy who was running the course was very "my way or the highway" though and he upset the dealer so he wasn't going to get any Honda staff in future.

The course kicked off with the main man telling us all how extraordinarily qualified he was to manage this event. He went on and on and on. And on some more. I was thinking that's OK if he knows what he doing and he's allowed time for this. Then he explained that we were now running late so we would not be having the emergency braking part of the course. Wanker!

After the theory and some slow pace stuff around a kart track when he would shout criticism and instructions as you circulated, none of which was audible to the rider. We went for a ride on the road. We were doing a very sedate and boring 80kph yet two riders somehow managed to bin it.

The road ride ended at a pub, a strange choice perhaps as some of these people couldn't stay upright sober. We were given a cleaning cloth and some visor demister but apart from that the day was a farcical waste of time.

[SaferRides]

That doesn't mean they're accurate, only that they agree with each other

How do you know whether any gauge is accurate without a traceable calibration certificate?

They are all different brands and read within 0.5 psi. That's good enough for me.



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[SaferRides]

When my digital jobbie died on me, I found a new one at Repco for 20 odd bucks on special lol.

I like the digital gauges and it has a light as well . (my buggered old eyes).
I can pretty much tell within a couple of psi what the 1400 pressures are when it drops below 36psi (front) the 14 starts to plough like a tractor.

ps beaut sunny day here in the Horowhenua, Wednesday is looking good for my weekly fang as well..... xx

Which gauge did you get? Two of mine are LED and difficult to read outside, and the display on the Ride Forever gauge is a bit small for me.

I can usually tell when the front is low on the R1, but the Road 6 front seems less sensitive to pressure than the 5. I usually check the pressures before every ride.

I persuaded myself to get the bike out on Sunday and go for a ride. It was sunny in the north Waikato but a cold ride home. The back roads were dry and very quiet, just had to watch for dirt tracked from farm gates.

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[rastuscat]

I ain't doing no ride forever course

No problemo. Totally personal choice. Instructors would probably prefer not to have someone on course who already knows everything.

FIGJAM ring any bells?

[pritch]

How do you know whether any gauge is accurate without a traceable calibration certificate?

When I was concerned about such things I took mine somewhere that had calibrated gauges and compared the readings.

[roogazza]

Which gauge did you get? Two of mine are LED and difficult to read outside, and the display on the Ride Forever gauge is a bit small for me.

I can usually tell when the front is low on the R1, but the Road 6 front seems less sensitive to pressure than the 5. I usually check the pressures before every ride.

I persuaded myself to get the bike out on Sunday and go for a ride. It was sunny in the north Waikato but a cold ride home. The back roads were dry and very quiet, just had to watch for dirt tracked from farm gates.

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Gauge is stamped Maxi , sport gauge. Orange plastic with a right angle kink for easy access to bike valves. Has all the measurements with PSI etc etc
Didn't think of the light being handy but in the shed it is !

Like you I'm a bit anal about pressures , it pays off tho as my road 6's are wearing great.
Keep those pressures up !!!!

[roogazza]

No problemo. Totally personal choice. Instructors would probably prefer not to have someone on course who already knows everything.

FIGJAM ring any bells?

haha got a Figjam hat somewhere !!!! But yes I've always practiced driving /riding as an art.

Being and ex mech (way back) my lectures at the Police College always drifted off into the mechanics .
Talking tyres for cars and bikes... etc
Of course you never stop after doing a course,practice and applying skills go on forever !

[jellywrestler]

haha got a Figjam hat somewhere !!!! But yes I've always practiced driving /riding as an art.

Being and ex mech (way back) my lectures at the Police College always drifted off into the mechanics .
Talking tyres for cars and bikes... etc
Of course you never stop after doing a course,practice and applying skills go on forever !

when is the last time you slammed your brakes on at 80kms an hour to the point where if you had ABS it set to work? is it something you practice?

[rastuscat]

haha got a Figjam hat somewhere !!!! But yes I've always practiced driving /riding as an art.

Being and ex mech (way back) my lectures at the Police College always drifted off into the mechanics .
Talking tyres for cars and bikes... etc
Of course you never stop after doing a course,practice and applying skills go on forever !

My lectures at Chateau Papakowhai generally depended on whether I was giving them or receiving them.

Thing with motorcycle skills, is they are a decaying subset. Having an ACC funded reminder each year never hurts.

I really benefit from the Ride Forever courses I do. I chose a different instructor each time, everyone has a different background, so has a different spin on the curriculum.

The day gives me a chance to forget about everything else, and just think about my techniques.

All personal choice. I believe in continual personal improvement.

Ironically, I also know that ACC pays for these courses from the Motorcycle Safety Levy, where I take advantage of the courses or not. Effectively, I'm paying for them, so I might as well take advantage of them.

[jellywrestler]

apart from training, I've never had ABS cut in, ever ! Maybe its because I'm always looking way,way ahead...But It wouldn't be a surprise as I am aware of how ABS works.

Trying to teach braking is another thing of course, stopping with the wheels at locking point is a skill you have to work at.

that's one area we covered and repeated it till it wasn't stressful, I'd never lost trust in my ability for extreme braking, but practising it certainly has been a great thing to do, and the day i need it my energy and concentration won't be going into doing that, that will be more second nature then it was prior to my course, my brain will then be able to work on other things

i found too that the hairpin at the bottom of my hill was just better after the course, whatever they taught me worked, it was a very good day out.

swallow your pride and do one, even if it's just to dust off your Figjam hat for a day

[F5 Dave]

True. I used to disconnect the speedo on my fathers car as a kid. Not to avoid R.U.C. mind, to avoid a B.E.A.T.I.N.G.

Ha! Was at a mates funeral on Thursday and his wife mentioned how that mysterious happened to the family Laser when I borrowed it as we kids drove around all night.

Then we got a *onda City. Boy street cred went down several notches. First time that was tried the inner cable slinkied it's way out never to be found. I offered to arrange a replacement for the 'broken' cable as it was like my motorbikes.

I'm sure he probably knew but never called me on it.

[F5 Dave]

that's one area we covered and repeated it till it wasn't stressful, I'd never lost trust in my ability for extreme braking, but practising it certainly has been a great thing to do, and the day i need it my energy and concentration won't be going into doing that, that will be more second nature then it was prior to my course, my brain will then be able to work on other things

i found too that the hairpin at the bottom of my hill was just better after the course, whatever they taught me worked, it was a very good day out.

swallow your pride and do one, even if it's just to dust off your Figjam hat for a day

Whenever we did Advanced courses (pre ABS days of course) we always noticed how dramatic the improvement of the students over a session of quite a few metres from 80km/h. Racing and dirtbikes keep you sharp and yes I believe you remember that feeling if you have done it on the limit so many times, unlike the road.

Actually, in the wet now I have ABS on 1 bike, I'll often just test the limit of the rear brake just so I know how much traction I have before it cuts in.

[SaferRides]

Whenever we did Advanced courses (pre ABS days of course) we always noticed how dramatic the improvement of the students over a session of quite a few metres from 80km/h. Racing and dirtbikes keep you sharp and yes I believe you remember that feeling if you have done it on the limit so many times, unlike the road.

Actually, in the wet now I have ABS on 1 bike, I'll often just test the limit of the rear brake just so I know how much traction I have before it cuts in.

I think most people would be surprised how hard you can brake once you have transferred the weight on to the front wheel. Even more impressive are modern tyres in the wet, especially for those of us who learnt to ride on Japanese motorbikes in the 70's!

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[JimO]

im just back from Vietnam and if ACC saw the way the 90 million scooter riders ride they would have a conniption

[rastuscat]

im just back from Vietnam and if ACC saw the way the 90 million scooter riders ride they would have a conniption

Really interesting correlation with chaos theory, Vietnam. When nobody has an expectation of the actions of other road users, they ride with less expectation, and more care.

For example, coming up to a side road, when travelling on a main road, we all expect the car in the side road to give way to us. It's the law.

But if as we travel we have no such expectation of that guy in the car in the side road, we can be ready for that person to not give way.

Multiply that by about 2 zillion, and you get Vietnam.

When I visited in the 90s most people in S Vietnam rode bikes or motorbikes. On a more recent visit, the population had become more affluent, and cars had started to dominate. Having a car used to be for the rich, then everyone became better off, and got a car. So now cities are becoming clogged with cars.

North Vietnam is quite a few years behind the south, economically. Thank the war for that. The American influence in Hi Chi Minh City still exists, as does capitalism in general. In the North, there are still more bikes and motorbikes, as they are still more communist-influenced.