22-28 May: Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practice?

**Terminated** · 24th May 2007, 13:18

Please spend a few minutes and let us all know, 'Where Did You Ride and What Did You Practise?' during the week. Humour and photographs are welcomed, however please keep in mind the general spirit is to enlighten us all about your riding practice and technique.

By all means if you have any concerns about your riding, ask questions and I am sure a mentor or senior experienced rider will be only too happy to touch base with you in the forum or by PM personal message.

Last week Chanceyy and WarlockNZ both chose Daza and I was very pleased to see Bnonn come in with some assistance. Daza well done.

Also I noticed j-bee had posted in a different thread about her general riding confidence and was pleased to see Crashe had provided a ‘heads up’. I have sent j-bee a PM and when she is ready we may do some carpark practice and short rides.

There are riders in this KB community that I know are ready and willing to help out a newbie, and it is comforting to see numerous referrals and the encouraging comments that are provided. Thank you all.

Next Tuesday evening Daza will chose an entry from this thread. The selection will then be copied across to the Newbie Update Blog at the end of May.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/bl...hp?userid=1728

Heads Up and Enjoy

**Cynos** · 25th May 2007, 14:04

I did my usual workday commute from North Loburn to Christchurch and back. It's about 53km one way. To be honest, it was more of a ride than I would've liked to take on so early, but my getting a motorcycle involved fulfilling my wife's wish of moving to the country, ah compromise. I still get to buy a rifle as well.

I can work out how long I've owned the bike roughly by how many K's I've put on the clock - it's now 7000 higher than when I bought it, so I've owned it for 14 weeks.

I have a few queries for experienced riders, but I'll describe what I'm doing first.

A typical day's ride for me involves:

From home to main road - about 3km of gravel road riding on a road bike... ...I really hadn't thought this through very well, but I'm stuck with it. The condition of the road varies from awesome, when the clay has been exposed but not rutted and potholed, to terrifying, when the road has been graded and remetalled.

I managed to drop my bike on this section last week, first time. Hit the front brake on reflex when encountering an unexpected vehicle, managed to time it right for when my front wheel was in some nice deep gravel, bike just folded underneath me. No damage to me (go go gear), but a bent handlebar and a shattered indicator.

Main Road to Rangiora
I have two routes I can use, one's higher in altitude, less traffic but with a rougher surfacing and no reflective markers, the second is lower down with more traffic and better marking.

Rangiora
The most boring section of my trip. I have great difficulty restraining myself here. It seems that 50km is too fast for a lot of people in the morning.

Rangiora to Christchurch
Once I've made my way down Lineside Road, I get to travel down the motorway. Most people travel at 110km/h - 120km/h, so I tend to do the same as I don't feel safe travelling slower than other traffic, especially as I have limited rear vision.

Belfast to Sydenham

I normally travel down Main North Road as I can lanesplit through most of the congestion with relative ease. I've located an alternative route through St Albans which avoids the Sherbourne St section of Cranford, so stoked on that. I've attempted Marshlands Road a few times but feel really uneasy with the concept of overtaking into the face of oncoming traffic - that said, it seems far more riders travel down Marshlands than Main North, and most of them seem okay with the overtaking.

In the evenings I reverse this route.

Things I learnt
Well, when I dropped my bike I learnt that I really need to control that panic reflex to hit the brakes - the moment I'd seen the oncoming ute, I squeezed the front brake without thinking, which was precisely the wrong thing to do.

I learnt I'm glad I don't have fairings.

I also learnt that my bike has a habit of having slightly different parts - different enough to cause trouble, my indicator bulb being a case in point.

Queries

Cable lubrication
I snapped my clutch cable last week, due to lack of lubrication. I got that repaired and lubed by Trevor Pierce Motorcycles, but I've still got two accelerator cables and a clutch cable. How would I go about lubricating them myself? Is it possible, or do you need specialist gear?

General maintenance: The K's I'm clocking and the dust are having a notable effect on the bike. I've had a few bolts vibrate free (had to hold my rear mudguard up with a shoelace one day), and if I don't wash the dust off the bottom of my crankcase every few weeks, I lose the partial air cooling effect I get. What other things should I be checking on? I lube the chain about once a week.

Winter riding
I'm riding in all weather. My gear is sufficiently waterproof so far, but I have had one wet crotch once from torrential rain all the way home. The cold air on my face was horrible in the early mornings, but I invested in a ninjaclava and have never looked back. Is a rain suit necessary?

I haven't yet encountered any ice on the road, but I'm terrified of it. I know the general conditions likely to form ice, and will take my car on those days, but if I make a bad call and hit ice, is that it, game over, or is it possible to not come off on it?

Gravel road section
This really scares me at times, and I was wondering about perhaps getting a slightly knobblier tyre for the front wheel - but in saying that, the other 50km is road, and so I'd imagine I'd have less grip on tarmac and more wear. Can anyone provide advice on possible solutions?

Motorcycle parts
My first port of call is Budget Motorcycle Spares, but I need an alternate source for when Budget don't have what I need. A decent wrecker for second hand parts would also be good - the last three times I've been to that Japanese Motorcycle Wrecker dude down Tuam Street, he's been open but not responding to the bell...

So yeah, advice and suggestions more than welcomed.

**Terminated** · 25th May 2007, 20:56

Originally Posted by Cynos

So yeah, advice and suggestions more than welcomed.

Cynos I have put a 'snapshot of your post above' over in the General forum inviting people to look at your queries and hopefully followup for you.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=50611

Heads Up and Enjoy

**Biff** · 25th May 2007, 23:34

Originally Posted by Cynos

Rangiora to Christchurch
Once I've made my way down Lineside Road,

Dude - cut down the South Belt >> Townsend, using Fernside Rd to get you to the Ohoka/Kaiapoi entry onto SH1. It's much more fun.

**Cynos** · 26th May 2007, 12:29

Originally Posted by Biff

Dude - cut down the South Belt >> Townsend, using Fernside Rd to get you to the Ohoka/Kaiapoi entry onto SH1. It's much more fun.

Excellent, I'd love to eliminate Lineside Road. I'll check it out.

**yod** · 26th May 2007, 17:09

i rode on the road and practiced my riding....twas nice

**carbacca** · 27th May 2007, 17:11

did my proper long stretch of riding, it would have been 3.5 weeks since i got the bike too

i went out/attempted to have a ride around the block last weekend, but was not too successful as i was far too tense and didnt have anyone to point out the minor but oh-so-important fiddyly little bits (will elaborate later)

organised for a biker friend to ride the bike somewhere quiet where i can jump on and do loops and circles til the cows came home. he taught me those little fiddly but important bits such as "if you let the clutch out slowly enough the bike wont stall and will thump along quite happily" <<--- i didnt know that since i have never driven/anything with a clutch before. and that i am placing my foot in the wrong place (middle of the foot on the right peg, hence i was unconsciously putting on the rear brake as well, hence stalling). clutch control and foot position out of the way i was quickly doing figure out eights in the carpark at the penrose business park (the one slightly opposite of AA penrose; twas a nice place to practice for any learner rider). then we went home for lunch

in the afternoon decided to go for a spin again, while its still fresh in my mind. this time with the skills under my belt decided to at first do some rounds of the block my house is on (left turns only :P haha) one turned into two turned into three and soon i ended up doing endless loops of the block (my dad followed in his cage just to make sure i dont end up as a puddle of goo on the road. he teaches cagers how to drive), i think the old ladies out walking their dogs must have gotten sick of seeing my go past for the n-th time. there was also a copper stopped to make a phone call, i passed him about 3 times before he left. was getting some funny looks from him until he saw my L plate and realised what i was doing. i lost count of how many rounds i did but eventually had enough. looked at the fuel gauge and was nearly empty, so went to find a BP where i can get some 98 octane (hey i am on a 250, i need all the help i can get). all fueled up i decided to go a little bit further afield. found a new block where i only have to do left turns and went at it again. i even got a nice friendly nod from an obviously more experienced biker on a suzuki something (wasnt looking for long enough to ID) with a pillion passenger. they were both wearing tinted lenses so i couldnt see anything. did the new block ride i think 4-5 times and then it started to get dark, so i went home.

hope that wasnt too long winded

**kiwifruit** · 27th May 2007, 17:32

today i had gates closed behind me on a sealed forestry road, i was kind of trapped....

i then practiced riding a 169hp litre bike on farm races and thru paddocks
who'd have thought a zx10 would make a usable trail bike

**James Deuce** · 27th May 2007, 17:40

I cleaned and detailed my bike, though I haven't finished detailing the engine and wheels. I broke my toothbrush and it was my last one, so I'll have to go to the $2 Shop tomorrow and get some more.

**skelstar** · 27th May 2007, 17:55

A ride down to Lake Ferry on Sat and rode back on a lovelly Italian V-Twin. Felt really planted in the corners compared to mine. To be expected I suppose.

A general hoon around the rapa today. Usual usual.

**Motu** · 27th May 2007, 19:59

I got blown off the road!!!

I don't like riding in strong winds,it just takes all the enjoyment out of the day.But as this was my first ride in 6 months,and my first ride on the XT600 in 18 months,I was still enjoying myself in the wild conditions.

On some gravel back road in the middle of nowhere a massive gust hit me as I was going across a ridge - I ended up on the side of the road,stopped.But it was a planned move,one of those things you weigh up in your mind in a couple of milliseconds.I could of held in the gust,but the countersteering input and bike lean would of been pushing my traction in the gravel....and a sudden drop in the wind would see me in the ditch on the other side of the road.The left side just cambered off into grass,so I took the gentle way out.I stopped and had a little think about it.....that's never happened to me before,and so that's good.....another one to add to my collection.

**Daza** · 28th May 2007, 18:13

Saturday 26th

Where: Cambridge/Rotoorangi
Aim learn riding lines.

The chosen route (by me) turned out not to be ideal. Bnonn (thanks again) helped organize a group of guys (i don't know all their
KB usernames) Paul, Peter, Cain, Shane, Smokey, Zeroindex to name a few, some others turned up at the meeting place before embarking on another ride elsewhere. The weather looked abit dicey at first then it improved alittle.

So what did i learn?

To set myself up for corners earlier, eg on a right hand corner, moving to the left before turning into the corner and also making sure
not to come too close to the center of the road when leaning over because your head will be over the center of the line.
To gently nudge the rear brake if needed going alittle too quick into a corner (did i state that correctly?) Another bit of advise was if needing to break hard before a corner, to apply the front brake gently at first then apply more pressure afterwards. (i hope i understood what was said correctly) im sure i will be corrected.

Getting confidence in corner speed will come when i get the lines right and with practise.

I also learned that my fuel tank can go 145ks (or there abouts) before it needs a top up.

Monday 28th

Ah what a day for riding, blue sky and sunshine!
After topping up at the bp i went out to Karapiro Dam to take some photos.
Then i went out to TA and then towards Hamilton, turning off just out of Ohaupo towards Mystery Creek. Then past the airport towards the main road that heads into Ham, i headed back towards TA before turning off back on to Airport road and back onto Mystery creek route home. All up i only clocked up 89ks today. I know these roads quite well because i drive to work that way. So it made it more fun. I was working on what i was shown, to set my corners up early coming from the outside of a corner turning towards my apex line and alot of the time i just came off the gas instead of breaking and accelerated out of the corner. I think i only put it into neutral twice when trying to put it into 2nd today. I have bigger boots than i did before, and still getting used to them. I seemed to feel the gears click down more easier in my smaller pair of boots.

I am quite comfortable riding at 100kph with the wind buffer now. My wrists still get sore now and then. My back got started to get sore half way on my ride, but flexing it now and then helped. Its all part of conditioning the body to riding over time i guess. Is a bigger sports bike more comfortable for long rides than a smaller one? I hope we get nice weather again tomorrow.

**vamr** · 28th May 2007, 22:42

Today I learnt the reason why the main corner on peach parade is set to 25km... was going around it to find a hiace van sitting completely across my lane waiting to merge into the oncoming one.
After the initial clench of the buttocks I didn't bother standing the bike up and continued arching into the street he was coming from.

Had to get off and have a breather after that.

**Swoop** · 29th May 2007, 09:04

Ride: Coming back from a short "pootle" around, I decided on the off chance to shop for curtains for the lounge/dining areas of home. Swung by Briscoe's and walked out with two plastic bags full of material...

Practice: My thought was "how to transport this safely". Then this was changed to "f*ck that, HOW do I fit it on the bike at all?"
Decision was that it will all fit on top of the tank. Hop on and then place the bags on top. They were about the size of the new phone directories that you get at your letterbox each year... times two!
So. Sitting on the VFR, legs supporting the bottom bag, chin of the helmet pressing down on the top bag, upper arms holding the top of the pile and off I go. NOT easy negotiating the carpark and narrow roads, but once underway, all is fine. A new speedo was invented since the plastic bags russle in the wind at exactly 50kph!
A gentle trip home which was rudely interrupted by a tosser in a bongo van who decided that he wanted to turn left from the right hand lane (USE the f*cking left lane - morons!)

Emergency braking practice! PLUS tryimg to stop the bags from flying forward and off the front of the bike while attempting a downshift AND finding the horn button (never did get that part done).
All sorted out eventually. I really hate it when there is a perfect excuse to do some panel damage to a cage but every part of the body is in use at the time!!!!

**Rosie** · 29th May 2007, 09:13

On Saturday I went for a cruisey ride to wear in my nice new tyres. I went around my usual Waikite valley route - nice quiet, slightly twisty country roads. I was told to take it easy for the first 100km on the tyres, so I was trying to be nice and smooth, take the corners a bit slower than I normally would etc. I noticed that my gear changes are becoming much smoother, so all those rides working on 'frequent smooth gear changes' must be paying off.

Monday lunchtime I went for a quick ride from work past a couple of the Rotorua lakes - Okareka, Blue Lake and Tarawera. I hadn't taken my bike out there before, so thought I would go for a look. Nice quiet scenic section of road, but not terribly inspiring for motorbiking, most of the corners were covered in road works/gravel/dead possums/50k zones. The few corners that weren't I was thinking about my cornering lines, and seeing how the new tyres felt. They are nicer than the old tyres, but not in an its-like-I've-got-a-whole-new-bike way.