KB Krashes!!

[Drunken Monkey]

Are you implying non-KB rides are incident free? Unlikely.
Without having any figures at hand, my money would be on the number of persons represented in accidents to be statistically similar between KB and non-KB rides.

[aff-man]

If it was not for a few of the riders stopping at intersections I would not of made it. Actually, it was lucky I made it back at all as I was (being a fresh newbie) trying to keep up with everyone else, out of desperation not to get lost. At times like that I wish I was a female, blonde and with big tits, then every rider would of ridden at my pace.

Dude this happens to all of us no matter what your skill level...

I find that I ride alone most of the time usually to fast for the slower riders and to slow for the faster riders....

I ride to for the sure pleasure of riding and not to specifically ride "in a group"

The first ride you went on would have probably been made up of people who had been on KB longer. They would have (as you did mention) left someone at the intersections to make sure everyone went the right way. That being said they were going to enjoy the ride themselves knowing that we'd have a good yarn over lunch somewhere. Therefore didn't see a need to "baby" anyone on the ride . This in my experience is the way mos KB rides are done and I find it to be a good way of doing things. You shouldn't feel the need to keep up cause you know there should be someone waiting at a turnoff for ya.

[Drunken Monkey]

I find that I ride alone most of the time usually to fast for the slower riders and to slow for the faster riders....

See, we're about the same.

Maybe we should start out own "scared cow squadron"; midweek rides through the Hunua Gorge, secret handshakes (or is that steering-damperless headshakes?) and blue & white Gixxers only?

Pace: As always, faster than slow, but slower than fast?

[Mrs Busa Pete]

It's a choice Zed.


All the skill in the world and all the training in the world wont change the n
That is why I wear leather at all times, cause I know I can't be trusted to behave myself at all times.
That said. In future I will pick my time and place to go pushing my limits and do it in the safest manner that I reasonably can, and not with a pillion ever again

Hay good one CaN is that for any particular reason

I think it is testosterone and also the adrenalin rust that you twats get when you are going fast.I do think that sometimes you should think about it especially when you have a pillion on board.(This directed at pete) Also going at a pace that is good for you.

[R6_kid:Me]

Are you implying non-KB rides are incident free? Unlikely.
Without having any figures at hand, my money would be on the number of persons represented in accidents to be statistically similar between KB and non-KB rides.

thats the first thing that came to mind for me. Non-*insert organised group name here* rides have crashes too, its just that normally the skill level doesnt differ so much.

For instance... me neighbour, now on a CBR1000RR, has a group of mates (7 or 8 i think) that he rides with 'at pace' which i believe is rather quick for the road. Now these guys are in there 40's to early 50's and have been on bikes longer than i have been alive. They developed their skills riding together in difference environments and are now at the pace they are at, and each knows the other ability.

When you get to a place like KiwiBiker the whole thing changes... you get people with the skill (bruce,whitetrash,motoracer etc...) who have a fair bit of experience and natural ability, and more track time than most.

And then you have the newbies who ride commuter bikes, see a ride through the country and go "oh, wows, this looks like oodles of fun!!!" and go out for a ride with some crazy dude on a bike 4-5times the size and power.

What this leads to is a vast chasm of experience difference. Now there are two ways to close the gap. Fast guys slow down, or slow guys speed up.

Normally the testosterone (or whatever) kicks in and the newbie rider pushes too hard too soon. It's a mindset thing, there are those that see the challenge and say 'i can do that too', those that say 'thats cool, i'd like to be like that one day" and those that say "your fucken stupid whats wrong with *nanna-ing*".

IMO the latter two are the best way to think about it. I've been riding for 4 years now, but the way i see it i have only been 'riding' for a year (since i got the ZXR). And the fact that i took my time to get 'up to pace' has probably saved my ass a lot of the time. Also being mature about riding before you get on a bike will help save your ass - a lot people get onto a bike because they think it's cool, and that being the fastest on the road is the name of the game... and thats not mature. The reality is that biking can be a very dangerous thing, and without the proper skills it can lead to a lot of pain and financial loss.

I think that the 'learner rider days' are an awesome idea, and i also think that labelling rides at a certain pace will help to some degree too. But i think what we really need, as far as road riding is concerned is a state of mind that errs on the side of caution when it comes to riding at speed on the open road.

It's been said, if you really are the man then put the money into a race bike and win yourself a trophy... then you'll have the goods to back it up. Otherwise dont do it on the road, thats my turf, and i certainly dont wanna get taken out while you prove your worth to some 12yr old acne faced brat on an internet forum!

[Mrs Busa Pete]

well said gareth

[Sutage]

kb is made up of people from every type of person where as other groups are more specific i guess?
on one ride there will be fast/slow/mediium/experienced/unexperienced
all and any of which can crash

[terbang]

On thing that amuses me is the term "Chicken strips" being often bounced around. I have ridden on tracks and shredded my tyres to the edge whilst grinding any thing that can touch (on me old Bandit & 1100's). However I rarely (if ever) use the full capacity of my tyres on the road and generally have a strip on each edge that I prefer to call survival strips or in other words I ride my bike to a much lesser capacity on the road to give me the "Fat" do deal with the day to day unpredicables that we get on every trip.

[NhuanH]

The next Coromandel Loop I did was the one somewhat organised by Jon (the American dude) however he was a "newbie" in regards to the route. So I think it was Nauha (spelling?) who took the lead and guided the group. Everyone seemed to stop at intersections and there was a wide variety of riders, the majority all going at their own pace. I enjoyed that ride more than any other ride I've been on so far.

Glad you enjoyed that ride. By the way, that must be the single most brutal mis-spelling of my name. Ever.

Back on topic, everyone is responsible for their own ride. Just respect tha Jandal and it shall respect you.

[750Y]

Glad you enjoyed that ride. By the way, that must be the single most brutal mis-spelling of my name. Ever.

lmao. i thought i was bad..

i never saw any crashes on the couple of kb rides i did...or with the kb-ers i've ridden with, but it's never good when people get hurt.

[Karma]

Two newbie rides, each with more than 40 people in attendance, no bins... why? because it wasn't a race.

Most of it is pride really... don't wanna get left behind... I had a near miss on my first coro loop when I was trying to keep pace with the group... then I realised that a newb on a 400cc bike wasn't gonna keep up with the likes of Juzzer or Yoshi for love nor money... so settled back and rode at my own pace.

I think perhaps another problem with group rides is focussing more on the rider in front of you then the road. I know I've done it myself that you kinda get locked into the rider in front, but if they take a corner sharper than you can handle, you get into problems.

[justsomeguy]

As Motu said it in one word: Testosterone.

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Glad you enjoyed that ride. By the way, that must be the single most brutal mis-spelling of my name. Ever.

Back on topic, everyone is responsible for their own ride. Just respect tha Jandal and it shall respect you.

Oi - you're an expensive bastard to be around - the bike ran into reserve and stalled at 182ks - the lowest ever I've seen it go, while trying to keep you within the horizon

[Dafe]

Here's my 10 cents worth.......

Pilot Powers are fantastic road holding tyres.... on the public roads.
I ran them on the racetrack and I cooked them after 8-9 laps around Manfield. They just lost their grip and it was bye bye bike.
Worst part was, there was no warning or feedback indicating the diminishing traction, the powers simply let go.
I previously ran BT014's, and I could feel them letting up after a prolonged period, great feedback tyre on the track.

So take it from me, if you run the Pilot Powers and you give them utter death on the track. Be cautious of the period you're running them hard for.
Could save you from making my mistake.

[justsomeguy]

I think perhaps another problem with group rides is focussing more on the rider in front of you then the road. I know I've done it myself that you kinda get locked into the rider in front, but if they take a corner sharper than you can handle, you get into problems.

I've run into grief doing the opposite.......

Concentrating too much on the road and treating other riders like traffic.... Then the complaints of passing too close start....

[NhuanH]

Oi - you're an expensive bastard to be around - the bike ran into reserve and stalled at 182ks - the lowest ever I've seen it go, while trying to keep you within the horizon

What are you doing you throttle jockey?? What's the tank size of an Arrh-Arrh? Even a brisk pace on the Ninja (I'm a nana) only needs 13.x litres Kopu>Kopu.

- anyway, didnt you fill at Whitianga?