Basic Riding Errors

.OrgOwner · 08-07-2007, 11:26 PM

What is the most common skill that you see inexperienced riders either not using or using incorrectly? Street or track does not matter, lets compile a list.

skorpia · 08-08-2007, 12:54 AM

failure to use turn signals, hand signals or ANYTHING

MaxwellEdison · 08-08-2007, 2:23 AM

Riding in flip-flops with no shirt on a 3 lane highway

Natezlvnit · 08-08-2007, 2:44 AM

Rear brake.
Oh yeah, don't forget the idiots on the cell phones.

ninetoonine · 08-08-2007, 3:03 AM

Are you serious?!?!? Using a cell phone? Glad I haven't seen that yet.

TKDmasterZ · 08-08-2007, 3:30 AM

Trying to do too much in a corner. Simplifying what you have to do entering a corner is a quickest way around it. For example, you can do braking and downshifting much earlier and be on the throttle already when you hit the apex. Then you can move the braking and downshifting points further into a corner as you feel more confident. I've seen (I also did) riders going through corners in false neutral (clutch pulled in all the way) because they didn't get a chance to be in the right gear and be on the throttle out of corners.

Another thing too is that many riders think they have to pull the clutch all the way in when shifting, when infact you can set it up to only pull about 1" and snap to shift instead of gradual release of clutch which can be somewhat inefficient.

.OrgOwner · 08-08-2007, 3:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TKDmasterZ

Trying to do too much in a corner. Simplifying what you have to do entering a corner is a quickest way around it. For example, you can do braking and downshifting much earlier and be on the throttle already when you hit the apex. Then you can move the braking and downshifting points further into a corner as you feel more confident. I've seen (I also did) riders going through corners in false neutral (clutch pulled in all the way) because they didn't get a chance to be in the right gear and be on the throttle out of corners.

Another thing too is that many riders think they have to pull the clutch all the way in when shifting, when infact you can set it up to only pull about 1" and snap to shift instead of gradual release of clutch which can be somewhat inefficient.

dr_love · 08-08-2007, 3:37 AM

slow turns and riding in the oil spots in the roads.

sammae01 · 08-08-2007, 4:28 AM

New rider forgot to turn off blinkers, Look over their shoulder for impending danger, They try to keep up with more skilled riders, or ride above their skills level. Also new rider do not scan ahead enough, someone once told me that when your riding a motorcycle, when you get surprised, slow down.

kiai · 08-08-2007, 4:52 AM

most new riders in here get these bikes and have no idea what it takes to control one they just like how they look on sport bikes add to that that almost everybody is racing the streets no turn signals so they are the most likely to cause accidents

slickwill · 08-08-2007, 9:47 AM

No gear, bare skin, no signals, not looking through the turn.

06CBR1KMFNRR · 08-08-2007, 11:32 AM

For street riding, not taking into consideration that no-one sees them and everyone is trying to kill them.

SamoanzRR · 08-08-2007, 2:18 PM

fixate on something instead of looking where they want the bike to go, my friend just got a new r6 and was going around a corner but looked straight ahead and went off the road trying to keep up with another rider.....another guy was doing a wheelie and should've let go of the bike but held onto it and scrape his knees down to the bone (IDIOTS!!!)

TKDmasterZ · 08-08-2007, 3:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamoanzRR

fixate on something instead of looking where they want the bike to go, my friend just got a new r6 and was going around a corner but looked straight ahead and went off the road trying to keep up with another rider.....another guy was doing a wheelie and should've let go of the bike but held onto it and scrape his knees down to the bone (IDIOTS!!!)

Yep. This is something that I still struggle too (does that make me an idiot?

) Not so much on the track, but on the canyons. I know I can stay much calmer and stable if I look ahead, I sometime struggle to take my eyes off dark patches and marks on the ground. In the corner of my head, 'that's oil, you'll slip!' continues to ring, until I pass it, and nothing happens. There seems to be always something new to watch out on the streets even if I have been there a hundreds of times. However, even in the case of going over the patch of oil, looking through the turn will get through it safer than trying to do something about it in the mid-corner. I've had two wheels slide on a streak of oil for about 10-15" without crashing because I kept off the brakes and throttle hand steady. Not so easy as it sounds though...

sheepofblue · 08-08-2007, 4:24 PM

On the track:
Erratic shifts in line
Looking behind them

loadedthorn · 08-08-2007, 4:29 PM

Not knowing what to do when they come into a corner too hot. And for that matter, going into corners too hot.

SamoanzRR · 08-08-2007, 5:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TKDmasterZ

Yep. This is something that I still struggle too (does that make me an idiot?

) Not so much on the track, but on the canyons. I know I can stay much calmer and stable if I look ahead, I sometime struggle to take my eyes off dark patches and marks on the ground. In the corner of my head, 'that's oil, you'll slip!' continues to ring, until I pass it, and nothing happens. There seems to be always something new to watch out on the streets even if I have been there a hundreds of times. However, even in the case of going over the patch of oil, looking through the turn will get through it safer than trying to do something about it in the mid-corner. I've had two wheels slide on a streak of oil for about 10-15" without crashing because I kept off the brakes and throttle hand steady. Not so easy as it sounds though...

Not you, the wheelie kings are idiots

TKDmasterZ · 08-08-2007, 5:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheepofblue

On the track:
Erratic shifts in line
Looking behind them

On the track2:
Using the whole track, edge to edge, to turn at 1/4 of the speed...hate that.

Phadreus · 08-08-2007, 5:56 PM

Trying to control the direction of the bike solely by leaning the bike with their body weight instead of leaning the bike over by counter steering: it's not natural to turn right to go left and visa versa. It's hard to teach people to do this and once they learn, they sometimes will revert back to trying to guide the bike with their body lean, unintentionaly. Hope all that makes sense...

CBR929RE · 08-08-2007, 5:57 PM

number 1 think was already said, not looking through the turn/target fixation
second I think might be not trusting your tires. that one is a big problem for new riders.

loadedthorn · 08-08-2007, 6:08 PM

On the subject of tires, but not really riding error is not checking tire pressure often enough.

.OrgOwner · 08-08-2007, 6:29 PM

I think newbs take a long time to work out correct use of brakes. It's one of the most important skills on the street and the track, understanding that the front brake gives you the most stopping power and the rear brake can get you into lots of trouble. If your starting out go to a carpark somewhere and practice brakes.

Phadreus · 08-08-2007, 6:33 PM

More on braking; getting too ambitious with the front brake can help you get the bike into a horizontal attitude very quickly.

Phadreus · 08-08-2007, 6:35 PM

Something very common for first time riders is to get the throttle open and find themselves not able to close it, especially when on a bike with some decent acceleration abilities. Always ends badly...

slickwill · 08-08-2007, 6:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phadreus

Something very common for first time riders is to get the throttle open and find themselves not able to close it, especially when on a bike with some decent acceleration abilities. Always ends badly...

There is a perfect video showing that somewhere on here. Some guy who has never ridden before and his friends put him on a 900RR and video tape it. He goes straight over in about .3 seconds. I can't seem to find it though.

*ratchetman* · 08-08-2007, 7:05 PM

Too much speed.

Losing the front end when there's sand on the intersection.

Feelininvincibl · 08-08-2007, 7:13 PM

So now that us newbs know we don't brake right, etc. Give us pointers step by step how to fix it.
I know my bike is faster than I need. The price was right. I love riding it. I have about 3000 miles that I put on it and still ride it everyday rain or shine.

I went around a corner the other day and was leaned over pretty hard. As I was coming out of the corner I was slowly throttling up. It felt like the front was pushing away from me. Luckily it stood up and carried forward. Did I not throttle up fast enough, was I to fast into the corner. Mind you it was after the apex when it started to feel this way. I have a brand new Diablo corsa on the front. I didn't see any gravel on the road after going back through there later on.
You guys talk about braking in the corner. My MSF instructor said never to do that. What is with that?
I am a 223 pound guy. How hard should the front suspension be to handle me?

How do I scrub speed if I come in to a corner too hot?

I scan a lot, especially now. I got sideswiped by a tractor who didn't use his blinker to signal he was turning. I was almost all the way past him with my signal on. I kept it on two wheels and the only damage was a bruised knee and bent foot peg bracket. 60 bucks later and it is all good.

In case I haven't updated my sig block I have an 01 929 it is one of three on the island and I love it. It is THE only one painted like mine.

Natezlvnit · 08-08-2007, 8:03 PM

Tailgating is another common one.

CBR929RE · 08-08-2007, 8:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feelininvincibl

So now that us newbs know we don't brake right, etc. Give us pointers step by step how to fix it.
I know my bike is faster than I need. The price was right. I love riding it. I have about 3000 miles that I put on it and still ride it everyday rain or shine.

I went around a corner the other day and was leaned over pretty hard. As I was coming out of the corner I was slowly throttling up. It felt like the front was pushing away from me. Luckily it stood up and carried forward. Did I not throttle up fast enough, was I to fast into the corner. Mind you it was after the apex when it started to feel this way. I have a brand new Diablo corsa on the front. I didn't see any gravel on the road after going back through there later on.
You guys talk about braking in the corner. My MSF instructor said never to do that. What is with that?
I am a 223 pound guy. How hard should the front suspension be to handle me?

How do I scrub speed if I come in to a corner too hot?

I scan a lot, especially now. I got sideswiped by a tractor who didn't use his blinker to signal he was turning. I was almost all the way past him with my signal on. I kept it on two wheels and the only damage was a bruised knee and bent foot peg bracket. 60 bucks later and it is all good.

In case I haven't updated my sig block I have an 01 929 it is one of three on the island and I love it. It is THE only one painted like mine.

not sure why it would have slid like that if you were standing it back up.

the MSF teaches not to brake in a corner because when you're new and you lean the bike over and grab the brake you're probably going to grab too much and end up lowsiding. it takes practice on how much to brake into a corner. once you start to get really proficient you'll find a lot of the stuff the MSF teaches about braking is backwards.

to scrub speed off in a corner you can gently apply the front brakes, just be real careful. if you're new the best thing is to do is probably just lean more, chances are you have a lot more lean angle to use. as I said before its all about trusting your tires.

TKDmasterZ · 08-09-2007, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feelininvincibl

So now that us newbs know we don't brake right, etc. Give us pointers step by step how to fix it.
I know my bike is faster than I need. The price was right. I love riding it. I have about 3000 miles that I put on it and still ride it everyday rain or shine.

I went around a corner the other day and was leaned over pretty hard. As I was coming out of the corner I was slowly throttling up. It felt like the front was pushing away from me. Luckily it stood up and carried forward. Did I not throttle up fast enough, was I to fast into the corner. Mind you it was after the apex when it started to feel this way. I have a brand new Diablo corsa on the front. I didn't see any gravel on the road after going back through there later on.
You guys talk about braking in the corner. My MSF instructor said never to do that. What is with that?
I am a 223 pound guy. How hard should the front suspension be to handle me?

How do I scrub speed if I come in to a corner too hot?

I scan a lot, especially now. I got sideswiped by a tractor who didn't use his blinker to signal he was turning. I was almost all the way past him with my signal on. I kept it on two wheels and the only damage was a bruised knee and bent foot peg bracket. 60 bucks later and it is all good.

In case I haven't updated my sig block I have an 01 929 it is one of three on the island and I love it. It is THE only one painted like mine.

First of all, you should never feel invincible on a bike, as confidence beyond your skill level can get you into trouble real fast. Your confidence must come from knowing exactly how you will be attacking the corner.
I'll tell you that, at least for me, performance riding is like martial arts, a never ending quest to become better at each technique, whether it is braking or controling a slide. So you must take it step by step, corner by corner, to understand what a bike can do (and the tires), specially the one you have underneath you.
This is where tracktime can become so helpful in improving your skill, because the controlled environment gives you a much better training ground. You will be able to take you to the limit of what you & the bike can do.
Unless you are a riding genius who can do magical stuff from the getgo...
Also you should learn about setting the static sag on your bike, which can help you understand what properly traveling suspensions feel like. Suspension is another piece of puzzle that you'll need to play and learn as you get more seat time. It's all about you being comfortable on the bike.