Riding 'fast' on the open road?

[Drew]

Consider doing a course or two, or find a mentor. You don't know what you don't know...

Are you also riding regularly? Even just riding regularly can help, otherwise you can get rusty.

Since I'm involved, I would also suggest IAM, see if it suits you: http://www.nz-iam.org.nz/

An unco day on the bike, does not in the slightest way reflect the need for training.

[slofox]

Go back & do the same road again. Twice at least with a break in-between.

Wot 'e said.

I have a couple of roads I ride regularly and have ridden some hundreds of times. These can teach basic principles, if I take notice - I have the time to repeat, assess and repeat again, every corner on the road and work out how to do 'em comfortably and how it all works. Apply to other corners.

Course every corner you don't know could possibly have, just around it, something serious to think about...

[hayd3n]

what condition are the tyres in? i find worn out tyres or flat tyres mess with the handling, along with poor suspension
slower is smoother ,
consistency is fast

[caspernz]

Define fast on the open road for starters? How fast does a 250 Honda from last century go...

If you're still relatively new to biking, as in only a year or three, a bit of proper rider training won't do any harm. Riding year round helps, and if I can pass on any advice is to just ride within your own comfort zone. Hardly new stuff...

[Drew]

Define fast on the open road for starters? How fast does a 250 Honda from last century go...

If you're still relatively new to biking, as in only a year or three, a bit of proper rider training won't do any harm. Riding year round helps, and if I can pass on any advice is to just ride within your own comfort zone. Hardly new stuff...

Hornet250 will get along just fine.

[Robbo]

Our resident expert "CASSINA" should be along shortly to endow you with his wisdom in regards to "fast" riding and "fast" cornering.

Just be patient.....waiting...waiting...waiting...

[caspernz]

Hornet250 will get along just fine.

Mildly more spritely than a GN250 for sure...but hardly fast

And where is CASSINA tonight? We're all holding out for a lecture or two...

[Drew]

Mildly more spritely than a GN250 for sure...but hardly fast

Guess it depends who's on it. But that's not the bike's fault. It'll do near enough to 180 clicks, and handle pretty good.

[Akzle]

Guess it depends who's on it. But that's not the bike's fault. It'll do near enough to 180 clicks, and handle pretty good.

a stock gn?
You been at the woodies again boy?

[Drew]

a stock gn?
You been at the woodies again boy?

Heineken, but we're talking Hornet 250.

[GrayWolf]

So this weekend, I rode down to Whangamata - particularly over the road from Thames to Whangamata - which I must say is absolutely glorious, however whilst riding it, I didn't think my riding was either fast or particularly good.

Now before you all jump on the 'riding fast is unsafe' and 'speeding is evil' - I am not talking about speeding. I rode keeping it rubber side down, without any 'Oh Shit!' moments, without speeding and with a big grin on my face from the road.

What I am talking about however is that during that ride, I didn't think my riding was very smooth, I felt that I wasn't transitioning between corners well, that my lines were a little uncertain etc.

What I am looking for in this thread is tips on how to smoothen out my riding so that I can ride 'fast' on the open road

its an easy fix,,,,, you have too much 'Gayness' in your life, you ride a small Nonda, AND listen to ManOwimp.... take off your faux furskin loincloth, go back to roots and listen to Black Sabbath's first 4 albums, Deep Purple in rock, Led Zep 1/2/3/4,
THAT will introduce enough 'Manliness' to offset the Nonda ownership..... Smooth riding will simply 'flow' from thereon


As you were

[caspernz]

its an easy fix,,,,, you have too much 'Gayness' in your life, you ride a small Nonda, AND listen to ManOwimp.... take off your faux furskin loincloth, go back to roots and listen to Black Sabbath's first 4 albums, Deep Purple in rock, Led Zep 1/2/3/4,
THAT will introduce enough 'Manliness' to offset the Nonda ownership..... Smooth riding will simply 'flow' from thereon


As you were

There's also a "Life begins at 100mph" T-shirt to go with the above education program

[Urano]

What I am looking for in this thread is tips on how to smoothen out my riding so that I can ride 'fast' on the open road

i suggest you to go to a track in a weekday, when it's fairly empty, and try to ride without using the brakes. (you can do it in a wide parking too, but it's much better in a track...)
you start slow then get as faster as you can go without braking.
repeat at least once a month.

Happens to everyone, for no apparent reason ya just can't get it together.

true. sometimes you just wake up with crippled bike attitude...

Define fast on the open road for starters? How fast does a 250 Honda from last century go...

everything bigger than a lawnmower has the capacity to give you hard times if not properly handled.
the misunderstanding of energies involved in he usage of cars and motorbikes is the main reason of many problems...
example: this image shows how a car looks like 25m away. stopping distance at 50kmh. make the math.

[Akzle]

Heineken, but we're talking Hornet 250.

oh yeah. They tickle.

On fuken stella tonight. Green bottles are all much the same.

[haydes55]

If you have an off day, riding over cautiously and making slow progress, maybe that's a good thing? Maybe you aren't 100% and it might be ok to just cruise for the day. Don't sweat it, stay within your limits, if your limits are less today than yesterday, don't sweet it, relax, every day shiny side up is a good day.

You can't go wrong with a rider training course, or even a track day to learn that the limits of your skill/bike are further than you expect.