Wellington 250 rides?

[Wasp]

Maybe KiwiBikers arent dicks after all!!

Don't worry, I made sure to offend him by insulting his riding ability beforehand. (sorry about that, hopefully you understand what I meant either now or later on)

Glad to hear you got back ok rwh (and that our first attempts at tying a bike to a trailer was successful) let us know what happens with the tyre - either on here or it'll make a good yarn to hear while we're eating on a ride.

Roll on 1/10/06

[rwh]

Don't worry, I made sure to offend him by insulting his riding ability beforehand. (sorry about that, hopefully you understand what I meant either now or later on)

Questioning my riding ability is fine and reasonable. The impression I get though, is that experienced bikers sometimes seem to translate that to my road (and other) experience as well. Things like following distances and ability to stop within what I can see etc are not new to me; I've been driving for 20 years. If that's not as valid as I think it is, I apologise. Oh - I've tied lots of interesting things onto trailers, too - never a (motor)bike, but in the case of a trailer it's just a slightly different shaped object

Anyway - I appreciate your concern

Roll on 1/10/06

Absolutely

Richard

[Drum]

I know what you mean RWH.

Just because youre riding a 250 doesn't mean youre a spotty 17 year old! (no offence to you 17 year olds).

This being a motorcycle forum though, you can expect little respect for many years experience cage driving, and you may even get insulted for it!

[Wasp]

no offence taken Drum, that is a fair call but what do you mean?

also agree with the statement about driving cars for x years, I expect alot more from a riding buddy than being able to give way, there have been a few times where I myself have done stupid things and could have taken out Str8 Jacket or phoenixgtr (and probably others) should something have gone wrong.

What I was more getting at about a newbies ability to ride is the group side of things, if said person cant control the bike sufficiently to not crash into me I want to make sure that they have enough self control/experience to not follow closely enough to make matters worse should I fall off. In my eyes any number of years driving a car cannot prepare you for being able to judge minute distances between tyres.

That being said I doubt it would have been a problem as (without trying to brag or look cool or anything) it is fairly easy for an experienced rider to pull away from a rider that is less experienced on a road such as the takas. (it is also advised that a newbie does not try and keep up and takes the road at THEIR pace.)

[Drum]

no offence taken Drum, that is a fair call but what do you mean? ...........

Not a reference to you in any way Wasp. I merely mean that on the interweb, when people see a 250 listed top right corner, they assume that youre some young whippersnapper, when this is not always the case.

[poorbastard]

Just because youre riding a 250 doesn't mean youre a spotty 17 year old! (no offence to you 17 year olds).

Sweet got 3 years on that, must mean im not spotty and here I was thinking I was still a young bastard

Nice to meet you richard even if it was just for a little while you were waiting for the trailer.

[rwh]

also agree with the statement about driving cars for x years, I expect alot more from a riding buddy than being able to give way, there have been a few times where I myself have done stupid things and could have taken out Str8 Jacket or phoenixgtr (and probably others) should something have gone wrong.

My feeling is if you're in danger of hitting someone if either one of you loses control or bins it, then you're probably too close together full stop - and that's true when you're riding/driving anything from a bike to a B-train. My worst experiences riding a bike were when I was on about my second day, unsure of my ability to stop or corner properly, and there was someone in a car about 2m behind me - I didn't even have the confidence I could pull over safely. On the other hand, I also find it pretty nerve-wracking when I'm driving my car and can see nothing but a headlight and a helmet behind me - some bikers seem to think they're invincible - and the guy I'm thinking of was on a Ducati, so can't be that inexperienced.

I'm just saying I don't think I'm a significantly worse risk than anyone else.

What I was more getting at about a newbies ability to ride is the group side of things, if said person cant control the bike sufficiently to not crash into me I want to make sure that they have enough self control/experience to not follow closely enough to make matters worse should I fall off.

Absolutely. That's the following distance I was talking about. Admittedly, of course, many car drivers with plenty of experience don't get it, so I guess you're right to be wary. I think you're still safer with me behind you on my bike (as a buffer zone) - or in a car - than some random cager.

In my eyes any number of years driving a car cannot prepare you for being able to judge minute distances between tyres.

I'm not sure what minute distances you're talking about - if the distances between any tyres are minute, someone is riding too close.

That being said I doubt it would have been a problem as (without trying to brag or look cool or anything) it is fairly easy for an experienced rider to pull away from a rider that is less experienced on a road such as the takas. (it is also advised that a newbie does not try and keep up and takes the road at THEIR pace.)

Sure. My pace is improving though, and I'm not unfamiliar with the takas - I drive them for fun in my car too, and have done since it was a Hillman Hunter station wagon on crossplies when I was 15

The convoy technique I like best is that used by the army - leave about 10-15 seconds gap between vehicles, so that anyone wanting to pass can easily pass one at a time. This doesn't seem to be recommended in biking circles; I'm not sure why.

Richard