Regaining confidence

[BMWST?]

at the risk of repeating myself...how old are the tyres!?

[davebullet]

Test the things you fear, in a safe environment. For example - the brakes. Go to a parking lot and test emergency braking until you a) confirm the brakes are working as they should and b) get the feel the front brakes now they've been re-done.

Same goes for cornering...

Part of the reason for your fear, is you are worried you won't be as good as you were before. This means you know you can do it and don't want to disappoint yourself that you aren't the rider you were before the crash. Know that you are STILL that rider, it is just your confidence to ride as you did. The two are separate.

Lots of good advice above too.

[Gubb]

Come down for a Track Day with me.

I'll drive the down with the bikes and Trailer, and you can have fun. I've already learned so much in such a short space, it's done wonders for my confidence, and skill levels.

[Mrs Busa Pete]

What about doing ride right ride safe with the stranger. Or get qchk to give you some lessons to gain some confidance.

[EatOrBeEaten]

Big thanks to everyone who's posted on here

BMWST: I'm not sure, they came with the bike but they're not the best by any stretch- could really stand to invest in some grippier beasts but I'm a bit brassic at the mo.

Frosty mate, I'm taking you up on that for sure

I'll update this thread as I do more training, as a couple of people have suggested it'd be a good thread to do for any n00bs who are having a crisis of confidence...

[MsKABC]

they came with the bike but they're not the best by any stretch- could really stand to invest in some grippier beasts but I'm a bit brassic at the mo.

Tyres are the number one priority for ensuring you stay rubber side down. Chances are they are sub-standard or old if they came with the bike. I'd be investing in a really good pair pronto, if I were you. It's your life we're talking about, after all!

[EatOrBeEaten]

Tyres are the number one priority for ensuring you stay rubber side down. Chances are they are sub-standard or old if they came with the bike. I'd be investing in a really good pair pronto, if I were you. It's your life we're talking about, after all!

Aye, a good point

Still waiting to get paid properly, and the damage I did to the car I hit is not going to be pretty....

[mujambee]

Get to know your bike.

Even if it is not in the best shape, it works, so there must be a point in wich you can ride it safely and a point beyond which it turns dangerous. Just go and find it.

A good trick for that is,on a good dry and sunny day, convincing yourself that the road is wet. You'll ride on dry as if it where wet. As the day goes on, you'll get more confidence and your brain will go on automatic, constantly increasing your speed. Cut it off short; next day stay a bit longer, and after a time you'll find your point.

And, as said before, check your tires. Are those very old? May have gone crystall (don't know how to say that in english, when a tire is so old that rubber has hardened to the point it does not wear off but provides no grip).


When you find some spare money, do service it:

- Replace brake lines.
- Replace fork oil.
- New fork springs (or a couple of teflons if that is too expensive).
- New back absorber (is that it's name? )
- New sport-touring tyres

I've been expending just little money here and there and my old bike has been improving over the last 4 years. It's not exactly a circuit beast but I can safely have fun on mountain roads (and embarrass the occasional brand-new CBR/GSXR/R6 )

[mujambee]

Tyres are the number one priority for ensuring you stay rubber side down. Chances are they are sub-standard or old if they came with the bike. I'd be investing in a really good pair pronto, if I were you. It's your life we're talking about, after all!

First thing to do on second hand bikes is check that tyres and brake lines are not too old.

Press your nail into each tyre. If the mark you leave on it is very slight, chances are that the tyre has gone crystall. For reference you can try on someone else's bike or on a car; if your mark is similar to that of a car, your tyre should go to the bin inmediately.

If a tyre has gone crystall, you should never ride that bike untill you replace it. Don't delay that.

[The Stranger:Me]

You may never have confidence in that bike again by the sounds of it. Get it checked over by someone to make sure it's in the best possible condition it can be. I see that White Trash is offering to help KBers with suspension set-up, so maybe drop in on him sometime.

I gather the bars are a touch taller now, which will have moved some of the weight off the front suspension to the rear, it should be better, but it won't have corrected the problem.

Personally, I would quit the bike.
I must confess to some ignorance as to how bad the suspension on those things are prior to riding it. You out rode the bike, you weren't asking a lot of the bike and weren't pushing boundaries - had you been on almost any other bike.

That, or you could spend aprox $700.00 on front suspension upgrades.

Honestly, if you don't either quit it, or upgrade the front end it will let you down again. Just a question of when really.

This is an absolutely classic reason why the 250 learner laws need to be gone. By putting those least able to deal with crap like this on the worst bikes they are ensuring accidents like this happen.
This was a government mandated accident.

[The Stranger:Me]

at the risk of repeating myself...how old are the tyres!?

Can't say for sure, but I can say that tyres played no part in either accident - other than the bike was rolling on them at the time.

[FROSTY:Me]

Sorry Stranger I disagree with you. The ZZR/er250/gpx250 have an extremely soft front end -stupid soft.
But they sold in their thousands with this being the first time someones raised the issue
With the oli work you have done ,her bike is at the same softness as Jorjas 250.
Having ridden the bike breifly I think I could go out and deliberately ham fist a few corners and come out the other end fine.
Lets think this through. She did a full coro loop with no problems. So you have sorted the issue.
Higher bars are gonna take weight off of the front even more so demphasising its desighn flaws.
Im pretty confident its phsycocymatic (sp) Ie she thinks the bikes shite so shes stiff so the bike feels shite so shes stiffer so the bike feels worse.
Almost (and not that Id suggest this ever) a case of get her pissed so shes relaxed then go for a ride
I wonder if maybee a blast round my playground on a squidgy soft trailee would help.

[MSTRS:Me]

This talk of baggy suspension...do we know whether this particular bike is worse than average? Non-performance 250s are renowned for soft suspension, and it's not necessarily a problem. Frosty will tell you how well a Spada handles and just how 'bad' their suspension is.
Personally, I think this is a case of rider lacking confidence and ability. (other than a failed front brake, if I understand correctly)

[The Pastor]

i'd have to agree with frosty here too, bikes and road conditions dont cause accidents, rider failure to adapt to the conditions causes accidents.

EOBE, either sell the bike or just take it relaxed, the goal in motorcyling is not travelling at speed, its about enjoyment and getting there alive.

While regaining your confidence allow for the worse case - i.e., brake failure etc. Increase the following distance. I used to ride a gpz1000 with bent forks, frame and discs - coupled with 260kg dry it was more than a handful in corners or under brakes. Basicly just ride to the conditions, which include your bike, your skill level and your confidence level.

Corner speed will increase with time, dont even worry about it.

[EatOrBeEaten]

Thanks again folks, it's fascinating seeing the opinionson this.

I commuted in to work today on the bike. Nothing terribly exciting, just a hop on/hop-off on the motorway. It felt OK I guess. Played it very gently. The new handlebar setup has made a difference to the handling and the suspension, and although I felt the need to check the brakes all the time (just a gentle squeeze every now and again) I didn't get that panicky feeling I had on Sunday. I think I'm going to take it easy this week, commute to and from work (like I have other options that don't involve lifts with other people O_o) and short runs out.

One of the interesting points raised here (and elsewhere) is that I have only been riding a couple of months and only have a few thousand K under my belt. I'm not trying to be a proper hooner, but I keep feeling like I should be better at this than I am, that I should have more experience. I guess it's a side effect of hanging about almost exclusively with experienced riders, it's sometimes easy to forget just how new I am sometimes (if that makes any sense!)