Makes you think; may save your life.

[trumpy]

Had to see a client in Taupiri on wednesday, it was a beautiful day and all I needed to take with I could fit in a small backpack.........well now, I didn't really have a choice did I??!! Onto the bike and off over Pohipi rd, Mangakino, Wharepapa, Cambridge, Gordonton....Great ride, virtually no traffic and those techniques I was trying out of Keith Code's book really were working. Quick job then back on the bike. Clear run and virtually no traffic (and no boys in blue). Suddenly there was Cambridge, a lot sooner than expected. Time for coffee and reflection (and to calm the shaking).
Those who know me know I'm a tail end charlie at best, so this was obviously a step ahead of my normal pace. As two cups of coffee and sensibility started to encroach on my overexited brain, the realisation of just how many small holdings are on that piece of road, how many of them have blind entrances and what time of the day it was (mums in 4wd time) was enough to give this BAB with exactly 12 months back on a bike a dose of the chills.
I have buried anough friends to know how fragile and transitory life really is. Still, had a quicker than usual trip the rest of the way home (for me anyway) but had those fingers on the brake lever anwhere that looked in the slightest way "suspect".
Looks like regular trackdays might have to start being on the agenda.
Great thread guys, great wisdom.

[Jimmy B]

Great post Beyond

There seems to be a mentality that says fast riders are good riders, in my mind good riders are old riders

[terbang]

I'm with yer there Paul..
Here is some of the weird shit going around in my head on this subject..:
Road Safety

SH-16

[yungatart]

I'm with yer there Paul..
Here is some of the weird shit going around in my head on this subject..:
Road Safety

SH-16

Fantastic write up there! It goes a long way towards capturing the spirit/soul of riding.
I ride, as I drive, cautiously and defensively - maybe being a mother with a still dependent yougun, keeps me in check. I know I'm not ready to leave this planet yet, too many things I still want to do and I'm very conscious of that when I'm on the road.
Regardless of the speed, the exhilaration of riding is the same, dependent on your skill level and the best rides are those that you come home from, with you and your machine intact.

[Buster]

Theres nothing more sobering than having to bury one of your mates. It makes you realise just how fragile the human body is. My riding has always been on the fast side, and Ive had my share of bins. Part of the reason I ride a small bike after 16 years of riding is to keep my speed down. I need to think about building up speed instead of it just being there. Minimising the risk by wearing good safety gear is a good idea but in an accident it mostly comes down to luck. How many times have you heard people say "geez they were lucky to walk away from that"? Sometimes people dont.

[Toast]

This is the reason that I (usually) always keep some in reserve (since I grew a brain anyway)…leave the front tyre with a bit of grip in reserve so that I can tighten my line if need be…

But leaving some in reserve is boring, and that’s why I’m getting out of fast road riding, and have bought a track bike. After a certain age (different for everyone), barrelling around blind corners loses its appeal…at the end of the day, it’s just stupid to roll with the dice of fate like that…but I will always cherish the memories of those 200km+ hot laps around the Coromandel when I should have been at class There is something on the roads that a track can’t quite give you.

[trumpy]

Great post Beyond

There seems to be a mentality that says fast riders are good riders, in my mind good riders are old riders

Some of us are just old............

Seriously tho, I'm with you on that.
Haven't seen any Kiwi stats but if you look at the Aussie figures for motorcycle deaths there are two major spikes in the stats: one at 19 yrs old and one at 54 yrs old........I'll be 54 in a couple of months........................

[Macktheknife]

You helped with the other fellow who decided to superman in front of me, and I will tell you what that was one of the more scary accidents I have seen (too hot for corner , well prob not really but he thought so, on go the brakes lock up then riding along the ditch till he hit a bump and was sent cartwheeling 30 feet high through the air towards some big immovable trees, stop the bike quick as take helmet and gloves off to cool nerves compose then tried to find the bugger but I couldn't! Searching through the bushes I spot some of his leathers hear the next bike coming along so back up from the bushes flag them down pull out there key tell them to stop the next person and there has been accident, back down into the bushes and find the crashee had managed to land himself in a big bed of soft shrubbery right next to the big immovable tree, blood on face not moving much not making much sound oh shit! not good carefully lift visor start to try talk to him grab his hand gave it a good squeeze and got one back plus some murmuring (hopefully not about a broken hand lol) and then the real medics came down and sorted him out.......... )

moral of the story it don't take much to crash and luck has a part in how well you will survive that crash, he had good gear on which no doubt helped alot. And procrastinating uni work is easily achievable on KB.....

Yep that was me, be glad to catch up for a beer sometime mate, how about you pop along to the pub for a beer next thursday night? Or just give me a PM and we will arrange something.

[SPman]

Some of us are just old............
Seriously tho, I'm with you on that.
Haven't seen any Kiwi stats but if you look at the Aussie figures for motorcycle deaths there are two major spikes in the stats: one at 19 yrs old and one at 54 yrs old........I'll be 54 in a couple of months........................

Thats why you shouldnt treat the road like a racetrack.
I'm just a wee bit over 54, but, after 30 odd relatively incident free years, I've now had 2 write-offs in 12 months! This has/is causing a major rethink about the why / how / even when, of riding. (having found out the hard way, riding at night, or even in the evening, is not good for your health, over here).
Both incidents, could quite easily have had very different endings!
Track days are fun, but the real enjoyment is riding on the road, with all of its variables and uncertainties. Speed is really a non event, its the ability to ride quickly and cleanly through an unknown section of road that gives me ultimate satisfaction, but that brings in the inherent risks, pointed out above.
Being aware of all the obstacles and dangers that could be present, is very important - but then - I was very aware of the potential dangers the other week and thought I was riding accordingly, slowing and getting slower, on high alert - I still got caught out!

Sometimes, it just comes down to the way the dice fall!

So, we have to be prepared to accept that probability, or just not bother riding - and that , for most of us, is just not an option!

[Jimmy B]

Spman, Unlucky mate but what I found interesting about your account was the perception of increased risk so you acted accordingly but as you say still got caught out. Important point you made but I wonder what would have been the outcome if you had been oblivious or ignoring the risk, could it have panned out much worse? Glad it didnt but would be interested to hear if caution minimised the damage

JB

[Jimmy B]

Trumpy,

no neeed to woyry mate. You are 53 now and when you turn 54 you will actually be in your 55th year so crisis averted...

[SPman]

Spman, Unlucky mate but what I found interesting about your account was the perception of increased risk so you acted accordingly but as you say still got caught out. Important point you made but I wonder what would have been the outcome if you had been oblivious or ignoring the risk, could it have panned out much worse? Glad it didnt but would be interested to hear if caution minimised the damage

JB

Well - I could have hit it faster - it was bad enough at the speed I was going - at 65-70 k, I went down pretty hard.
Or, I could have missed it by 2 seconds by going faster or slower - in a world of infinite probabilities - ultimately - I was in the one where I hit it!
I guess its all about risk management, trade offs and luck.
Although I thought I was alert - the little sod still came from where I least expected it!

[Jimmy B]

Know what you mean, I nearly got tidied up turning into a side street off Mt Eden Road, stopped waiting for a decent gap, indicating, 100% sure that I had all angles covered, accelerate smoothly into the path of a beanie pilot who had launched 40 meters from parked position on the opposite side of the street, must of got upto 50ish in that small stretch, that would've hurt for sure. Not sure who got the biggest fright but I know who would've come out on top.

[GSX-RJIM]

I know that I do freak out about taking some one or my self out by smacking in to someone/thing at a full on speed, but once I'm out on the road I tend to ride fast after a while any how. This -for me-often happens after I have past a cage and I just keep on going fast. Oh that buzz of riding fast in and out of corners DAM is it good or what.
So I have been thinking I need to buy my self something like V-Strom or someithng to change the ride abit or something with less HP as I can't be trusted. But i have been saved by the '6th sence' on many occations so maybe I should just try to carm down a listen to that more.

[Jimmy B]

GSXR Jim

Interesting you should say that, was having a converstion on the topic with a Blackbird rider, goes like this:

Yep thats all very relavent to the way that I feel about riding these days. If you remember when I started looking the Bird was the only fully faired bike worth consideration with the GS1200 a possibility and I had a strong preferrence to big naked bikes. My reason for this, other than asthetics is that for me, speed is only relevant in as far as it is a product of acceleration (which is where the action is for me) but its not really related how fast I am actually going.



Confused? I maybe having some trouble trying to accurately convey the words :-) its like 0-120kph on a RM250 over dirt would have you believe that you had cracked the sound barrier in a rocketship yet 280kph around a decent track on a fat bike, behind capable fairings could actually be boring by comparrison. Those sort of high end speeds on the road are infinitley more dangerous yet the payoff in terms of acceleration are soon lost because there is no real sensation of speed once you get there, so you become desensitised to it and you dont have to work hard to get there, but the increased danger remains.



So I figured that I would get the same kick out of hooning around at near legal speeds on a naked bike and in fact it may even be more of a challenge and sort of self balancing safteywise. What I have found in the X11 is a comfortable rocketship that will let me know what 140 into a headwind really feels like and I suspect anything over 200 could not be sustained. At very high speed I would have to work way too hard for my liking and therefore reduce some of the inherant danger. I guess this is kind of where your thinking maybe as well. I remember on the CBR1000, 150kph felt like you could hop off and jog to a stop. The same speed on the X11 takes no time to get there and when you do it actually feels fast, really fast, it feels cool.