How to ride faster than you ever have before

[NZsarge]

Just ride baby ride Once your out there on the road goin nowhere in particular you'll be in love I promise you

[Macktheknife]

Motivation? Sounds to me like fear is your problem, are you normally scared of doing new things, does it usually stop you from enjoying stuff?
Just get on the bike and go for a bloody ride! lol
It doesn't matter if it is only to the end of the road and back, just get going and let your confidence build up naturally. If you need more help and guidance, go to the mentors nights, or ask for a mentor to come and work with you for a bit to improve skills and confidence.
Most important thing, just get on the bike and go somewhere.

[Boob Johnson]

My motivation: The feeling of freedom that I only get from riding a bike (or driving a convertible cage (similar but not all the way there).

I have been riding bikes on and off for years but only ever owned a scooter prior to a few months ago. I can honestly say im pissed I didn't get my own bike years ago.

When I first picked up my new toy (the very next after getting my bike license) I was riding from the guys house back to the motorway at Manukau, I took a right turn off Redoubt rd onto the Southern motorway on ramp heading north & proceeded to open her up for the first time. I can honestly say that was one of the happiest times of my life. The song "Born to be wild" by Steffonwolf popped into my head & I sang it loudly inside my helmet with the biggest smile on my face.

The best part is the smile comes back every time I ride her


Signed......"madly in love with my motorcycle"

[Storm]

Because I can

[jaybee]

just what he said

If you're actually asking others for motivation, and don't posses it yourself, maybe you're just not that into bikes.

No big deal, take up knitting or hang gliding or bungey jumping or whatever else.

[Fub@r]

Motivation: I use any excuse to jump on my bike. Plus my daily commute has gone from over an hour to 10 minutes. No more waiting for mutiple light phases to get anywhere. Filtering through traffic and pissing off grid locked cagers. Travelling obscure roads to find twisties, when in a car it just seems a chore to go from A to B whereas on a bike you go from A, skip B through to Z and then finally get to B

eg: I'm currently in my office waiting for a guy to fix our phone system. I didn't have to but it was a good excuse to feed the missus so I could get some riding time in today to and from office

As for fear, thats more of a confidence thing. Make sure your in a good mood and try not to fight the bike and then 'fear' will turn in to pure enjoyment

[BigG]

If you like bikes you dont need motivating, the sound the power the fresh air its awesome, I just got back from a ride adrenalin pumping through youre body. If you want Ill buy it off you and take it to the track, big bloke on a little bike wow you cant have through them around.
Get out and ride and do what every one else has told you to do

[klingon]

I need to get my ass into gear and ride the bike (AND I really want to) um whats my motivation people???? Tell me what motivates you to get out and face the fear and just ride.

Ok so you really want to ride the bike, but something's not quite happening for you?

I suggest
a) Joining a biker forum and chatting to other people who ride (maybe you already thought of that one...)
b) Using that forum to find other people who live in your area who you might like to ride with. Organise a ride, and off you go.

The people you ride with may be people at a similar skill and confidence level as you (I'm assuming you're a relatively new rider - correct me if I'm wrong). Or they might be people who have been riding for ages and would be happy to take you out on a few confidence-inspiring rides around your neighbourhood.

By the way, this maverick who has suggested you drain the petrol out of your bike and put it into storage - does he ride? Is he a much more experienced rider than you? Has he been teaching you to ride? Do your riding lessons end up with you feeling stupid and clumsy and like you'll never be as good as him?

Just asking

[busaman]

Ok so you really want to ride the bike, but something's not quite happening for you?


By the way, this maverick who has suggested you drain the petrol out of your bike and put it into storage - does he ride? Is he a much more experienced rider than you? Has he been teaching you to ride? Do your riding lessons end up with you feeling stupid and clumsy and like you'll never be as good as him?

Just asking

I'm the maverick petrol drainer
Been trying to find ways of getting Slikchick out on her bike but I'm obviously not pushing the right buttons. I think the other problem is we just have too much fun when we are out riding together on my bike.

Might sell both bikes and just get me one really cool bike (Ducati 1098 should do the job), what do you think?

[SixPackBack]

If slikchick is not frightened pillioning while the pilot is chasing down a gixxer then from what I have seen fear is not an issue.

Sell the Busa, buy a 1098 [cos you can!], keep the 250 just in case motivation is found or for a track bike.

[Viddy]

What motivates me to ride is the thing that i didn't have when trying out other sports - enjoyment.

For me, riding is something of a form of meditation. When I'm on my bike, I can't think about anything else, as the road demands my total concentration. I love the elegant application of physics and applied mathematics as I carve in and out of corners; to me, its a beautiful thing (though I'm not sure that it is to someone watching me ride - I probably look like a big tubby dude on a little bike ).

I don't ride because I need to, I ride because I want to. I really wish that I felt the same way about say, doing the dishes, or going to work or the gym Its this want that has me looking around on a perfectly blue day with dry roads when I'm sitting at home, and I start idilly thinking about where I could go.

That said, a mate who also rides, and drags you out also helps. Particuarly when you are first learning.

[howdamnhard]

Find a nice quiet street or park nearby and just practice the basics,once you get the feel for it,take it out on the road on a Sunday when theres not much traffic about.Ask someone with a little more experience to acompany you if you lack confidence.Once you feel in control you'll love the sheer freedom of riding,especially on a nice winding country road with the sun beating down on you and the wind whistling past you.You've got a nice bike use it.

[Bob]

Hopefully my ride out today will cover the "why":

Day off, with perfect weather, so...

Went out for a "spirited" ride out to the local forest roads (for anyone who has ridden in Essex in England, I'm talking out to Abridge, Theydon Bois, through the forest in the direction of Woodford, then towards Epping but on a whim changed direction and to Loughton then skirting the edge of Debden back round to Chigwell) and then past home and over to the cheap fuel at Tesco Beckon... then on to the main A roads for the old docks between Essex and East London and back via the A12 to home again.

50 miles, on a range of roads from bumpy local B-roads, to involving, but slightly better surfaced b-roads through the forest, to urban a-road to major A (M) routes. And the ER did it all beautifully. Everything from 20mph potter, to 50/60 on the better bits of A and B-road that take you out to Abridge and Theydon, to "ahem, better not state them" speeds on the major A-roads.

And pushing the ER harder than I have for a while - and using the b-roads around Abridge/Epping Forest to get my sights back in properly after months of nothing but main roads (funny how I naturally slipped back into talking my way through the route to sharpen concentration... which ironed out a little niggle that I'd been lining up my left-handers a little too far to the left), when I blatted round the A1020 and tipped into the traffic-calming 'almost a roundabout', I found myself nearly going into the other lane as I tipped in so sharply!

(Relatively speaking of course).

Nice to let the ER loose to play on a beautiful day without too much traffic to get in the way. Do that and it really is a lovely bike - and one of those "adds up to more than the sum of the parts" machines.

And perhaps most importantly, after 50 miles of going for it, I got home without an ache.

Happy.

Do that and you'll lose the "fear".

If you are worried, then get out on a quiet day, keep the speed down, only increasing when you are feeling more confident. And - as I did above - TALK yourself round the ride, forcing yourself to concentrate on what is happening.

Nothing like it.

[DMNTD:Me]

What motivates me to face the "fear"? ...I love being scared and fear that if I don't get up off my arse and face my fears that I'll shrivel up and get "old" and boring.

Other reasons... transport,adrenalin pumping action,sights,smells,meeting people,learning,networking,travel...list goes on and on

[Grahameeboy]

What motivates me to face the "fear"? ...I love being scared and fear that if I don't get up off my arse and face my fears that I'll shrivel up and get "old" and boring.

Other reasons... transport,adrenalin pumping action,sights,smells,meeting people,learning,networking,travel...list goes on and on

Crashing.................anyway, get your arse in gear Chris could you will have to leave soon to get to Whangamata by 11.........