How long does it take to learn to ride a sprot bike

[Gremlin]

i guess its mainly that i have "keeping up with the guys" issues and whenever riding with groups i feel like a bit of a liability.

i do need to trust in the bike however. if the hyosung just went around the corner in front of me - stands to reason i should be able to do it as well right.

Both of these are MAJOR learner mistakes. First, you should never feel pressured to keep up. If there is a TEC, you'll never be behind him anyway, or if you know the route, it doesn't matter how long you take. Never ever feel under pressure to keep up, as thats how accidents happen.

Never Ever assume that because someone went around a corner at x speed, you can. This too causes accidents, seriously. You have no idea how much someone has in the way of coping skills if the shit hits the fan, or remember, they can screw up the corner just as easily as you. Come steaming into it, at their speed, on their line, and find its a line into a ditch....

250s are also much much more flickable through tight twisties than a 7r, unless you are a good rider, with a good setup. The standard settings for a 7 are not that great, and the bike doesn't change from side to side very fast at all. I changed my preload a bit, and it fixed it a bit... bit more work to do there, and perhaps professionally, maybe Hawera M/C or something.

I went from 7 months on a zzr250, 3 weeks break to a zx7r, and after 5 months and 10,000km I'm just coming to grips with it, and still nowhere near what it can do.

[Jamezo]

I always found the "if that bike can take a corner like that, I should be able to", a great confidence aid, which was especially useful when I started riding with alarumba, on an identical machine.

Using that confidence, I was carrying ridiculous corner speeds (scraping almost every corner, cause I hadn't discovered the whole mass shifting thing...), beyond all my rights to as a week-old rider.

When I ride with others, I feel like I'm pushing my limits less, even when I'm going faster than I would on my own.

[Pixie]

You could start learning on a proper bike rather than a sport bike.(the worst possible type to learn on)
But I suppose appearances are more important than learning the skills.

[N4CR]

250s are also much much more flickable through tight twisties than a 7r, unless you are a good rider, with a good setup.

200+Kg Dry vs 160kg wet and 2/3rds inertia.. hahaha no competition. Might be more stable in the high speed stuff where a 250 ain't great though, I LOVE THE FRONT END ON YOUR BIKE 'Tis surely one of the best ever...

[skidMark]

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/599267/

i want to see texmo explain why his knee aint down...not that i can talk i am self admitting i am the shittiest rider on these forums

[N4CR]

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/599267/

i want to see texmo explain why his knee aint down...not that i can talk i am self admitting i am the shittiest rider on these forums

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/gallery/displayimage.php?album=346&pos=9

Go suck a dick.

[imdying]

Interesting to note in those two pictures; the first one where the fella in behind hasn't got his knee down, he's got his visor up, and is looking at the camera. In the shot where he does, he's looking through the bend, and just looks more committed.

[N4CR]

Interesting to note in those two pictures; the first one where the fella in behind hasn't got his knee down, he's got his visor up, and is looking at the camera. In the shot where he does, he's looking through the bend, and just looks more committed.

Yes, it's called exit and entry points.. something mark needs to learn about. That was just a bit of a muckaround day with the cameras really, nothing too serious. Good fun though, tex got much more confident on his new bike (had it for.. 1 week at that stage..) and had a good time (he sorta dissed the carpark method I swear by beforehand ). Started off a bit average and not too confident with the bike, left dragging his knee and getting used to cranking the bugger over a bit.

Proof enough of a 'carpark session' working? Give it a go lazy!

[Hitcher]

I reckon it takes about 8,000km to get properly "zoned" on a bike. But then again, I've never done 8,000km on a sprot bike...

[Titanium]

Got to everyone you can get to, a fantastic way to learn yours and your steeds limitations........

You will find out how far you can lean your bike over, how hard you can hi the brakes.

I am learning to ride again after 7 years off.

cheers


Peter

[Gremlin]

I LOVE THE FRONT END ON YOUR BIKE 'Tis surely one of the best ever...

bike isn't set up properly yet, I suspect. Rear is much too hard, front was very soft until I did the preload up a bit. But now the bike may be a little on the hard side, not good for winter, and not good for handling in general. Sharper in smooth corners though. You shoulda seen my first little ride after adjusting the preload, I was weaving a bit in corners, the front was sooo much more responsive to input.

Knowing that your bike is well set up, aids your confidence no end. Having doubts in your bikes ability will totally screw up any confidence you have. You will wonder if the bike will be ok on this bump, or "oh shit, it'll never cope with this problem". Been there, and almost screwed up when I didn't think my previous bike could cope with something. Only pulled it back just in time.

[Squeak the Rat]

Definitely get the bike checked. Ditto Gremlin - even if it is ok, it at least removes doubt in the machine.

Other than that, I had about 4 years off riding myself recently, and was very surprised how much slower I was, or more accurately how much confidence I'd lost. Combination of new bike and lack of riding (and getting older). What I did was decide that I like going around corners more than the straights so I concentrated on corner entry speed and forgoed the squid 100-240-80 accelerating / braking before the corner.

I still have problems decelerating the bike to the correct entry speed, stabilising it, and turning in a the correct place when hard on the brakes after giving it death down a straight. But that's next on the practice list....

[ZeroIndex]

Got to everyone you can get to, a fantastic way to learn yours and your steeds limitations........
You will find out how far you can lean your bike over, how hard you can hi the brakes.

I plan to do that once I have a bike with an engine..

[Macktheknife]

i have ridden the 7r since february.

before that it was almost 4 years since i rode - and the bike i had then was a zxr400 for about 8 months. i definitely felt a whole lot more sorted on that than i do on the 750.

maybe 4 years younger = immature big balls syndrome? i dont know.

so only about 13 months total riding experience. maybe i am just expecting too much.

I would say yeah.... you are expecting too much.
All the advice here is good especially the carpark tips IMO.
I have some cones and a convenient carpark nearby on the shore if you want to practice, PM me if interested.

[kawa]

best way to learn is to go to one of the race track days where they have an experienced racer giving you tips. Practice and more practice. But remember once back on the road it's never quite the same, better to be safe than splattered.