Crash106

The Tail of the Dragon is about a day's ride from my house. I road it two up with my wife on our Burgman and had a great time. This is one of my . It shows a man on a Goldwing, but it's shot from a tripod bungee corded onto the top of his trailer. You'll notice a nice smooth ride and a fair amount of lean available on that big touring bike.

Jason said, "... if it's simple, yet we don't understand it, then we would have to feel foolish ..." Oh, Jason! You can't just lay the truth out like that, man. What if I don't understand it? I would probably feel like an idjit.

The LAST THING you want to do is play with using a shorter and shorter braking zone and moving that zone closer and closer to your turn point. On the other hand, if you are already on the racing line, have good exit speed, and have good mid-corner speed, well, the only thing left that can cut your time is to cut that braking zone. So, Lorenzo is at that point. Good for him. He has it all together, all the way through the turn from end back to the beginning. Nothing wrong with that. He's not "charging" the turns when he knows exactly where to get on the brakes, how hard to brake, and where to get off the binders. He'll still enter the turn where he wants and at the speed he chooses. He'll have to be careful to not push to cut too much time by over-braking and falling down or scaring himself and slowing down, but those things don't seem to be happening so ... more power to him.

OUCH! I hope you feel better soon. Take care of yourself and take it easy for awhile, y'hear? Glad you had on enough gear to cover your assets.

Even if you have all six of those qualities or elements, it won't make one bit of difference if you don't do the basics well. If you can't do the basics on demand, or you don't know what the basics are, then working hard, practicing intensely and all that is meaningless. I think the better question is: What are the ESSENTIALS of riding a motorcycle? Seeing? Can you get through a corner with your eyes closed? Not really. Do you have to see your way through EVERY corner? Yes. I suspect seeing is essential. Throttle control? Can you get through a corner with bad throttle control? Well, yeah. Odds are that's how we all used to ride and it works kind-a okay. You can also break the throttle rule in the sense of slowing down through corner four to optimize speed in corner five. Is throttle control an essential? I'm not sure. Maybe throttle discipline is essential. Fast, accurate, steering? It doesn't "always" have to be fast (for example, you don't need to dive into a big sweeper)--so maybe "appropriate" steering is more accurate. I think it always has to be accurate and that means seeing and being relaxed on the bars. Let me give you an example of the essentials for shooting a pistol well. People blab on about grip and stance and gear, but in every situation from big game hunting, to target competition, to self defense, you MUST do three ESSENTIAL things if you want to hit your target. 1) Find the target, 2) Put the gun on the target, 3) Leave the gun on the target while you fire the shot. Always, always, always. If, in competition, you relax and focus on these essentials, you will be instantly faster and more accurate. So, what are the ESSENTIALS that you always, always, always do when riding? Road race, drag race, country road, commuting or touring--what must we always do? When we relax and concentrate on these essentials, we'll all have the tools to ride better and faster.

Hello All, All I want to do is set my tire pressure, but on my bike, I have such a hard time even reaching my valve stems. Then, when I get the hose in there, the chuck or tip won't lock up tight. My front tires is still low. My back tire has, maybe 25# and it's supposed to have 41#, but I just can't get a tight enough seal to fill the darned thing all the way up! It's very frustrating. How do you fill your tires? I'm thinking a hand pump or foot pump made for bicycle tires might work. Something that "locks" or clips in place and has a tire pressure gauge build in. Or, is there a different chuck that a "real" tires store or motorcycle shop might have out in the garage? I hate that uncertain feeling when my tires are off. Any suggestions? Thanks. Best wishes, Crash

Dear Stuman, Thanks so much for posting that helmet-cam view of riding on the track. So often, when I see track video shot from the fairing or a snazzy camera mount, I'm amazed at how freakishly SMOOTH the rider is. I ain't anywarz NEAR that good. YOUR video, on the other hand, is much closer to my experience of going fast. The wind is knocking you around. You're moving around the bike, sometimes getting bounced up in the air, rocking from bumps, taking a look at the turns points or the pavement. Watching your helmet-cam video makes me understand why I don't like to go that fast--It's a little scary! You make it look easy, but you can really feel the human element, and the sense of exciting-danger, in your video. Enlightening!

Welcome to the forum, Nikolas. I would say this is a good "12 Step" group for recovering curv-a-holics, but that group actually meets over at Lee Parks' website. I like your comment that you are riding a "completely different road" than other people. So true. Say, how are the roads in Greece? Are there any nice YouTube.com videos of the best roads in your Mediterranean paradise?

Hello Yigit, Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are a "real biker." I'm sorry to hear that you crashed and hope you weren't hurt too badly--or at least learned something. I hope you get back on two wheels soon.

Grab your copy of "A Twist of the Wrist II" and turn to chapter five on "Throttle Control." Pay special attention to pages 25 and 26. I would quote the details here, but you really need to have a copy of the book. It's the best $20.00 you can spend to improve your riding.

Not yet, Cobie. I hope to go to VFR in 2011. Crash106

Dear David, If you're a street rider, I think you need one of these to store your helmet and rain suit.

I'm another one who has problems with sticky vision--getting stuck looking at my turn point, or frozen looking at the apex, so I guess it's the Two Step that still gives me the most problems. On the other hand, when I get my eyes up and work on making ONE turn per corner, everything else seems to fall into line. Ahhhhhhh!

Hello Vaibhav, Welcome. Good to hear from you. You might be able to related to this story: My wife and I were out driving one day in her Camaro and she said, "You know, you drive around corners a lot faster in the car than on the bike." Ayup. Sure enough. I have no problem sliding the car around, but I have great (and justified) fear about sliding the bike around, especially with my wife on the back! Still, I used a lot of the things from the Twist books and video to help my car driving (and occasional session on the kart track)--lines, turn points, getting on the gas early and so on--great fun! One thing I learned in a car racing book is that good lap times on four wheels require a certain amount of sliding. There is still a fair amount of traction available after a four wheeler starts slipping that just isn't as controllable with two wheels. I watched an AMA Superbike race last year with the guy in first place backing it into every corner, while the guy right behind him hardly slipped at all. They were riding identical lap times. From what I've seen, sliding a motorcycle doesn't necessarily make you any faster. Anyway, I'd certainly like to hear more about your experience of karts versus bikes.

Hello LakeBum and welcome to the discussion. I had some trouble with my cornering until I started letting the bike lean in and grip before rolling on the throttle. "Twist II" covers the many advantages of being on the throttle while cornering. However, you have to read closely to see where it says something like, "Get on the throttle as soon as possible after leaning into the corner." For me, I'm just not talented enough to predict how much throttle I'll need before I need it, and I'm not sensitive enough to roll the throttle on while I'm falling into the corner. For me, and I think for most other people, everything works much more smoothly if I roll the throttle on after I get the bike leaned in and pointed toward the apex.

I don't know what the plan is for the forth book, but I'd like to see a book that maximizes performance and safety for street riders. For example: racing type throttle control works well for most corners on the street, but racing lines often don't (because sand, rocks, kids, dogs or traffic prevents you from using your whole lane); using only the front brake works fine on the track, but will dump you on your head the first time you try it on a gravel driveway. Somethings apply. Somethings just don't. If Keith doesn't write this book, I just might!

Hello Q, What's happening? Been on any good rides lately? Using any of the information from "Twist of the Wrist"? Know any good cornering secrets?

Yeo Fossil, If it hurts to crash, I suggest you not do that any more. Glutamine is a food supplement that sometimes helps people heal faster--although, it's not much of a pain killer. I know it will take awhile, but I hope you feel better soon.

When I put on my gear and leaned well forward toward the inside mirror of my bike, I saw a big chunk of visor tinting. I have a 3/4" tall film with connected dots that acts as a sun shield. For me, the visor sun shield film thingy helps reduce eye strain and migraines. However, I can see that the more I lean in and down, the more it blocks my vision. If I lean over far enough or look in far enough, I'll also see the actual top of the eye cutout on my Scorpion helmet. I'm a safety manager by day and have often noted how awkward this body-leaned-head-straight position looks. Unnatural. The rational I've always heard was to keep the head and eye level with the horizon to avoid getting dizzy. I've often thought, "But I don't get dizzy when cornering." On a side note, I scared some birds yesterday. In turns, three of them jumped up from the road and took off to my right. I got a good look at all three of the little brown creatures. Every one of them had their head on almost straight and their eyes and chins (beaks) pointed where they were going. There heads were almost straight, even though they were turning so hard their little wings were almost 90-degree from the ground. Interesting topic. I'm expecting a truly revolutionary motorcycle to appear any time soon. I just feel we're all missing something fundamental. Maybe the next great motorcycle revolution will come from a more natural seating position "inside" the bike.

Whole new thought here, Ton: Have you considered practicing the skills from "Twist II" while driving your car? I do this all the time by picking a turn point, setting my speed, looking in, turning the car then "rolling on" the throttle in my cage. I actually started opening the driver's door so I could drag a knee in the tight stuff (not really). I started driving my car like a bike when I realized I was having a hard time NOT trail braking my bike because I have ALWAYS trail braked in my cars. (I hope that sentence is convoluted enough for ya.) Trail braking still works fine on the bike, just not at the limit, and I figure if I can't do one or the other On Demand, then I don't really have Emotional Control of the throttle. Anyway, just a thought.

I was just watching "Faster" and wondered much the same thing. I saw so many high sides that I wondered what was causing them all. Do you think it was the sudden throttle changes, "bad" tires, tire/engine mismatch, SRs, pushing the limits or what? We see fewer high sides now with the four strokes, but plenty of tucking the front end. I look forward to reading your responses to Eirik's great question.

One approach used by car racers is to get on the racing line first. You know you've got a "good line" when you can tip in once and roll on the throttle without having to change your line or roll off the throttle till you exit the turn. That's going to feel totally different from what you are used to doing. I find it relaxing. PS Is a trip to CSS in Great Britain really out of the question? It doesn't look that far on a map.

For those asking about bike fit on the touring rigs, I'm 5'10" 205 pounds. My wife really does look like a retired super model at 5'9". You couldn't get me to tell you her weight for a new S1000RR! If it was just me, I'd also be very tempted by the Concours as well--I love the fully adjustable windshield, the power and all the other nice features and electronic aids. They are a great value!

Hello Eirik, You asked about my impressions of the big touring bikes. I haven't ridden them all, but here is my snapshot of the one's I have ridden. BMW R1200RS. Pros: Feels very small and light with great handling and good control over bumps. Cons: Seat nothing special. Big twin doesn't provide good feedback off idle, but motor fairly strong. My wife wasn't real impressed with seat or trunk. Seating position is too sporty/forward for me (others will disagree). I would probably like the R1200GS with the tall dirt bike bars, but my wife wouldn't be caught dead on a giant dirt bike. BMW K1200LT. Pros: Feels big and likes to lean. Comfortable seat front and back. Good accessories. Great deal right now because the K1600LT is coming out. Cons: Top heavy and feels a bit underpowered. No floorboards in back. Honda GoldWing 1800. Pros. Feels "just right," the way a touring bike should feel. Granted, it was heavy but also easy to ride in parking lots. The weight disappeared as soon as you got going (unlike the LT). No problems leaning over. Handles well and quickly. Great big, comfortable seats front and back. Lots of luggage space. Motor feels plenty strong but not scary fast. Cons: Everybody else owns one. Bit dull. H-D Electra Glide. Pros. Good size. Good front seat and okay back seat and back rest. Again, the big twin engine feels vague letting the clutch out (maybe it's just me). Handles fine at slow speeds and in the parking lot. Handles okay at speed, but I didn't push it very hard. Cons. More expensive than any of the others for no more features. Vibrates like crazy. Noisy. H-D has been building bikes for 100 years, so why can't I find neutral? Would never buy an Electra Glide when I could get a Goldwing or FJR for the same money or less. Yamaha FJR1300AE. Pros. I LOOOOVE the automatic shifting! Pick a gear and control the throttle. No clutch and no fuss. Tons of power but very controllable. I spun up the rear tire a bit turning left at a stop light and just kept the throttle steady and counter steered into the turn with no worries. Handles great. Effortless cornering. Very good riding position. I felt very confident and connected to this bike. Cons: Trunk is an extra cost option. My wife wasn't sure the back seat would be comfortable on a long trip. My wife didn't go on my test ride--big mistake! Kawasaki Concours 14. Back seat really cramped with my supermodel wife smooshed up against me. We both said no. Buell XB1200XT. Rear foot pegs so close to the saddle bags my wife literally couldn't even get on the bike. Dealer was shocked. That bike (heck, Buell's in general) could easily have been so much more! No dice. My Picks? I would be very happy with the FJR1200AE. I loved the power, the automatic shifting and the riding position. If it was just me, I would at least test ride the big BMW dirt bike, but we're looking for a two-fer touring bike so that's out. I felt very comfortable on the Wing. It has a delightful effortless quality that instills lots of rider confidence (the theme of this thread). It is NOT slow or clumsy to steer and holds the road very well. The GW seat really is the best and that's important to me. The misses wants the Goldwing--without a doubt. If WE are going to spend $25 grand on a bike, we BOTH need to be happy. I hope that helps.

Hello Eirik, Funny you should mention confidence and being on the right motorcycle. My wife and I have been testing big touring bikes. I always thought the BMW R1200RT would be my ideal. Testing it. Hated it. Because my muscles don't work well, I had ZERO confidence I could ride the bike for a hour without my arms literally failing and leaving my paralyzed on the side of the road. This well founded fear was so strong that I didn't enjoy the test ride AT All. We went out on the giant K1200LT--huge, dinosaur of a bike, but I could lean it, stop it and have much more fun on it because I had confidence it wasn't going to embarrass me and leave me stuck on the side of the road. I've known riders who were scared to death on a big touring bike. They felt uncomfortable with the weight and didn't think they could get the bike turned. I've always loved 'em. I hate jittery, uncomfortable little bikes (like my old GN400 Suzuki). They scare me. I'm afraid I'll sneeze and ride into a tree! Beyond the bike, and maybe you've felt this too, I find that the more relaxed I am, the more feedback I get from the tires and the more confident I feel. Maybe that's what you felt on your 400 Kawi. Anyone else notice this feedback/confidence loop?