I stuffed up today, nearly a head on...

**Headbanger** · 13th October 2009, 08:51

If I done a trackday I wouldn't push my bike any harder then I already do, I know what it and I are capable of, Including how hard into a corner I can brake. Don't need to be on a track,any corner will do.

**Ixion** · 13th October 2009, 09:00

I done a bit of unscheduled cross country on bikes definitely not intended for it.

Seems to work better than one would expect so long as you keep calm and keep the power on. I suspect folk who are not used to off road panic when they leave the seal and try to stop.

**Insanity_rules** · 13th October 2009, 09:27

Ah the mighty clench of the sphincter, a wail of brakes and a hearty "I fucked up". Yeah I've been there too.

**vtec** · 13th October 2009, 12:10

You read a lot about HD riders crashing. Like that guy the other day was face down in a puddle for 14hours with his bike pinning him so he could only get the corner of his mouth out of the water to breathe. For a group of cruisers it's surprising how many crashes they have.

I personally have an obsession with watching motorcycle crashes on youtube to help "keep it real" and also just a strange fascination. However it appears that crashes involving cruisers are generally put in the basket of reacting badly to a misjudged corner. If you cruise all the time and don't test the capabilities of your machine you WILL screw up. Now you don't need to practice these skills on the track, you can do it on the road, however, you can learn it all so much faster at the track, and in a much safer environment.

I used to go to a nearby carpark to practice finding the cornering traction with throttle on limit on my CBR250RR. However other people were learning to drive their cars in the same area, and it just wasn't appropriate. Also testing braking traction limits on the road is doable but you've got to make sure there's nobody behind you. On the track, everybody is very well aware that if you are behind someone they are going to stomp the brakes before going into the corners.

**Headbanger** · 13th October 2009, 13:27

Originally Posted by vtec

You read a lot about HD riders crashing.

Pfffft. No you don't.

**rocketman1** · 13th October 2009, 18:55

Originally Posted by marty

i got lucky too - know how you feel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEi9QBmgthM

Mate you were miles over the white line, was that on purpose or a mistake, if a mistake, consider yourself lucky to be on the planet.
I looked like a mistake considering you were going into another right hander straight after...Wow

**discotex** · 13th October 2009, 19:45

Originally Posted by rocketman1

Mate you were miles over the white line, was that on purpose or a mistake, if a mistake, consider yourself lucky to be on the planet.
I looked like a mistake considering you were going into another right hander straight after...Wow

He was avoiding the dead possum in his line.

Looking at the vid marty seems to have apexed quite early which meant standing it up was his main option. Late apexing could have helped him avoided the organic ice without running into the oncomming lane.

http://www.msgroup.org/forums/mtt/to...?TOPIC_ID=3555

But yeah we've all fucked a corner up at some stage.

**Ender EnZed** · 13th October 2009, 20:25

Originally Posted by Headbanger

If I done a trackday I wouldn't push my bike any harder then I already do

If only this were true of everyone.

Story. It's about cages. Sorry. But it does relate, a little bit loosely, to the trackday thing.

I did a "Holden Advanced Driver Training" course at Manfield today. It wasn't a trackday by any means but it was a day on a track. There were 18 people taking the course, most put through by their companies I think. One person was drivnig a blue ute (this becomes relevant). There was plenty of driving cars much closer to the limit than one generally would on any public road. It did occur to me when I was leaving at the end that the whole thing, whilst giving people additional skills, was also giving them additional confidence. Whether or not it was needed.

It probably made 17 better drivers. Just North of Levin, maybe 35 minutes from Manfield there was a Police car wit lights going stopped on a straight road. In the ditch was one blue ute, unmistakably the same one that had just spent a day worth $400 on a race track with professional driving instructors.

**SlowHand** · 13th October 2009, 21:13

Done'd a track day or 2. or 3,4,5, etc

I don't believe that it helps an experience rider to better their skills to the point of saving their life or what not. Helps with learning a new skill or getting used to a new bike perhaps, but not how to react to an OSHITE situation.

Having had a couple years off, I'd take myself to a trackday to refresh it all, but it won't be to help me deal with everyday riding on the roads.

As the quote goes, if you want to be good at push ups, do push ups.

**dipshit** · 14th October 2009, 15:52

Originally Posted by discotex

He was avoiding the dead possum in his line.

Which was sitting in the centre of the road on the white line.

That was the third time the rider had crossed the centre line in only 15 seconds!

If the rider wasn't in such a bad habit of crossing the centre line... then a dead possum sitting in the centre of the road on the white line wouldn't have posed such a problem that required using the other side of the road to avoid.

**Ypawa** · 14th October 2009, 20:21

Shit I must be reading the wrong papers!

**mouldy** · 15th October 2009, 09:17

Mr Random speaks the truth . Track days make you a safer rider purely because you will naturally go faster on the track BECAUSE all you are thinking about is motorcycle control not traffic , cops or any of the other distractions you have on public roads so you lean over more then you would on the road so that when you are on the road you have the faith in your ride to lean over further then normal if you have to . Also thats why I'm faster round right hand corners .

**Motu** · 15th October 2009, 16:17

Crap - the OP got himself out of this situation by using his off road skills learned in MX.Off road riding will improve your skills more than a track day.