Subconscious

[Blackshear]

I don't think this is one of those things i should admit, but... does anyone else every now and then realise they have been riding and not paying attention and wonder how the hell they got to their destination at times? Very rarely i get that feeling when riding or driving... its a little unsettling, but i put that down to subconscious abilities as well!

A little too often. I'll start daydreaming about future life scenarios, what could happen if I this, what could happen if I that... Let's say I changed this in the pas- Hey, look, a red lig- WHOOOOOA NELLY!

[yungatart]

The other thing that I find interesting about your subconcious is you can 'programme' it.
So you can tell yourself something over and over, and eventually your subconcious acts as though it is real, and volia, it becomes real!
And it is just as easy to programme it for the 'good ' stuff as it is for the bad...eg, I love cornering fast on my bike vs I hate twisties.

[Bass]

Do you remember the documentary series "Speed" hosted by Jeremy Clarkson?
There is one program from the series that has stuck in my mind. It was the one where they were testing the mental make up of racing drivers.
They tested the reaction time of Michael Schumaker and found that while it was good, it was by no means exceptional.
They did similar stuff with Colin McCrae.
The final conclusion was that in both cases, it was the guy's subconscious that was doing the driving - they weren't really thinking about it at all.
Their conscious mind was occupied with the exceptional stuff, the stuff that could take them out.
How would you like to be able to drive like Schumaker or McCrae and not have to think about it?
They put Clarkson in McCrae's car and he tried to do a couple of K's at "McCrae speed". He was off the road and in the bushes in less than a minute.

[Motu]

So was Rossi - obviously WRC drivers are better than TV celebs and MotoGP riders.

The progame also talked about visualisation - this is important in life as well as motorcycling.Trials riders have always done this,and even more so these days.They walk the section picking the path the bike will follow,they memorise the route - and put this into action when they ride the section.You can sometimes see top riders standing before a section - hands on imaginary bars,bending legs and arms,blipping the throttle as they visualize themselves riding through the section.Then they put it into action.

All this stuff has been done before - I am surprised at it's ''reinvention''.

[GSXR Trace]

I do this too, it's rather disturbing, especially at lights, when I go through them and then have no idea if they were green or not... I always check in my mirrors to see if the person behind me went through and they always have, so yay for the subconscious!

A little too often. I'll start daydreaming about future life scenarios, what could happen if I this, what could happen if I that... Let's say I changed this in the pas- Hey, look, a red lig- WHOOOOOA NELLY!

Ok, red lights... watch out guys! I often realise this when am coming into a corner and suddenly realise i took no notice of the speed of the corner and im thinking... bloody hell this corner is TIGHT... and thats when you have to throw it through the corner and thats when im thankful that i ride well within my ability!

[discotex]

Roberts comes first for me and doesn't have any fancy theories,just riding facts - like, you'll never lose the front if you are on the gas.

That is not a fact as I have disproven it on T5 at Taupo

However I still subscribe to the "if in doubt gas it out" rule of thumb and agree it's a fact that more front-end washouts have been avoided by staying on the gas than chopping it.


One of the reasons I think everyone should at least do one slow group trackday is that it trains your subconcious about what the bike is really capable of should you ever need it on the road.

And visualisation really works. I've taken to visualising my lines around Taupo from time to time and it's really made a difference to how consistantly I put the bike in the right place on the track.

[dpex]

At speeds over 350kph, the brain cant keep up with what you see in front of you (not that 350 plus will effect any of us on the road) thats when the subconscious part steps in, and sometimes fails at those speeds. Accidents happen on the track at times.

But for your everyday/weekend ride, if you ride a particular road regularly, that little part at the bottom rear of your brain certainly helps, familiarity?? I guess in part. I for one need to hear my bike.

Actaully, its at speeds over 352.5 where that phenominon kicks in.

[Motu]

That is not a fact as I have disproven it on T5 at Taupo

I think you need to be approaching KR's level before you actually gain front wheel control.And he teaches that with mini bikes on dirt tracks...much better than a track day on your favorite bike.Reading KR's article last night - he talks about pushing the front wheel out by turning the bars in,then catching it and maintaining control....you have to catch it before you lose it,can't be done after you have lost control.I used to dispute his gas on theory too,as I have dropped bikes that way....but have since learned he is right...as to be expected.

[discotex]

I think you need to be approaching KR's level before you actually gain front wheel control.And he teaches that with mini bikes on dirt tracks...much better than a track day on your favorite bike.Reading KR's article last night - he talks about pushing the front wheel out by turning the bars in,then catching it and maintaining control....you have to catch it before you lose it,can't be done after you have lost control.I used to dispute his gas on theory too,as I have dropped bikes that way....but have since learned he is right...as to be expected.

Yeah totally. I think we're saying the same thing? I only meant the "you'll never lose the front on the gas" thing isn't quite that simple as clearly people still lose the front while on the gas (without having the other parts of the equation).