Makes you think; may save your life.

**GSX-RJIM** · 20th October 2006, 15:31

Jimmy B

yep you are on to something there.
To increase the chances of riding till I'm so old I can't hope on my bike i will need to change something I do/ride.
With the V-Strom my wife can jump on the back and we can ride around the SI and do all the metal roads easy to really 'get away from it all' as well.
Maybe I could get a track day bike of some kind as well?

**trumpy** · 20th October 2006, 16:42

Originally Posted by 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...

Thanks mate, I feel much better now.........!

**Ixion** · 20th October 2006, 16:46

But, until then you are still in your 54th year. So the crisis may be nearer than you think

**trumpy** · 20th October 2006, 16:50

".........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.......... "

You're absolutely right about this JimmyB. It's pretty damn breezy at 140k on a naked bike so you get the sensation of speed at much lower velocity. In fact my bike feels faster at 130kph than my racecar (single seater) felt at 230kph (I used to sit very low in the cockpit, thus very sheltered....although some did suggest I was really hiding in there 'cause I was terrified)

**trumpy** · 20th October 2006, 23:34

Originally Posted by Ixion

But, until then you are still in your 54th year. So the crisis may be nearer than you think

Well that thought buggered my weekend...!!

Although the sheer lunacy I observed driving home from Auks today will probably keep me off the road for the weekend anyway. After watching several very,very near misses on blind corners (DUMB ARSES!!) on state highway one, I gave up and dived down some of my favourite back roads for a while.....not quite so much fun in 3 tons of high roof, four wheel drive van with enough unsprung weight to anchor an entire navy! Got me home safe tho'.

Never mind about cagers trying to kill you, theyre trying pretty damn hard to kill each other!

**babyB** · 21st October 2006, 00:35

well done Beyond hope it'll touch a few

guys if ya wanna test limits go to the track and do it

heres food for thought..
its realy not nice to lose someone close
and its tough when one becomes a widow
and tougher on children to understand

......one of the reasons ill never be fast on track is
my gal lost her dad (& nearly lost me)
so i cant/dont take the risk, i dont want her to lose me too!

stay safe out there ppl
take a look at what gets left behind

**R6_kid:Me** · 21st October 2006, 23:46

MotoTT now has tracktime booked pretty much once every month for the next 16months or so. When with the months that they dont have them Puke or Manfield (and hopefully soon Hampton Downs) will be open anyway! I've got to the stage now where i have to much to lose riding at 'that' pace on open roads and i'm choosing when and how i ride quite carefully.

Also my bike goes into the workshop next week to get my gearbox rebuilt, which is going to unleash 2nd gear again, meaning im going to have to take a step back and learn to ride my bike again for a little while. I've done my first performance mod - braided brake lines, soon to be followed by a beefy ohlins rear shock.

I find i can be all too reckless with my riding when on the bike alone, and after reading some of twist of the wrist and putting it into action i now ride at 7-8/10 of 'my pace' and spend that left over 2-3/10 on thinking about my riding which leaves me a that extra bit of room, both time wise because im going a bit slower, and in thinking space because my head is already engaged - this may not stop me from hitting a 4x4+trailer as mentioned but it'd give me a much better chance.

But i can say, nothing makes you take things as seriously as when you are carrying someone special on your pillion seat.

**trumpy** · 22nd October 2006, 07:24

Originally Posted by R6_kid

..........I find i can be all too reckless with my riding when on the bike alone, and after reading some of twist of the wrist and putting it into action i now ride at 7-8/10 of 'my pace' and spend that left over 2-3/10 on thinking about my riding which leaves me a that extra bit of room, both time wise because im going a bit slower, and in thinking space because my head is already engaged............

I find that I do virtually all of my riding by myself now as I tend to ride faster when with a group. I think that (putting the testosterone issue aside) it is too easy to be focussed on just keeping up with the group (or in my case at least keeping some of them in sight!) , despite any promises you might have made to yourself about "riding your own ride". Being tail end charlie is worse as you seem to have to ride even harder to keep up - strange phenomen.
This leaves little time for conciously working on your technique so that you can work towards that state of unconsious competence.
By myself I can slow down, speed up, try different body positions, repeat corners several times if I want to without having to worry about anything/anyone else. Seems to work better for me.
Having said that, the company of a group is nice every now and then.

**RnB Fan** · 22nd October 2006, 12:08

Excellent post. It's words of wisdom and experience that help newbies like myself on the road. It's too easy to get cocky once you've been riding for a while with no incidents. reading of others experiences and thoughts makes one think a little more about their own style of riding.

Cheers

**thehollowmen** · 22nd October 2006, 14:48

Well said.
I ride a bit like a nana, late apex and all that for that very reason. Had a few close encounters on blind curves... I have a good one about a helecopter on the road just outside of picton.

**Highlander** · 22nd October 2006, 15:38

Originally Posted by terbang

SH-16

And here's me thniking he was going to spot a cyclist as he was hanging it into a left hander....

Good thread people.

**Squeak the Rat** · 12th November 2006, 19:23

Originally Posted by beyond

So, when you are entering that fast sweeper and leaning over enjoying your ride, ask yourself; what if there is gravel on the road on the apex, farmer brown pulling out of a blind gate around the corner on his slow moving tractor with a hay trailer attached, a stray beefer wanting to give you a free leather suit when you whack him and take his hide off or a farmer on a tractor with those huge fork things sticking out the front at chest height coming around the corner on your side of the road while sucking his coffee (it happened to me and it was real close.)

....snip...

So, if I can save a life tonight, next time you are riding and everytime you ride, always ask, "what if", when you commit to a corner that you can't see around at speed.

I was on this road yesterday and this thread came to mind. I've always prided myself on riding with a what-if mentality, but I decided to put it to a test.

Entering a long sweeping right hander doing a reasonably decent speed I reasoned that I would have no problems stopping within the visible road ahead.

Long story short, I hit the brakes in a practice emergency stop. And fuck me if I couldn't stop before the point I had picked.

I've practiced many times doing emergency stops from 100kph or on straight bits of road but never tried with limited visible road. What got me was underestimating the huge difference in stopping distance between 100kph and 1xxkph.

Made the rest of the ride a little unsettling. What if there's an accident around the corner.....

Sobering.

**Terminated** · 12th November 2006, 19:30

On my first mentor ride, Uncle B corrected my riding strategy particularly on left sweeping bends, all bends now always have me thinking 'what if'.

Thanks Uncle B.

Heads Up and Enjoy