Unlike others, I went really slow on Sunday

[IG.]

I always ride solo. A really noice guy I've known for a while kept asking to ride together. So, this Sunday we went for a short 40 mile ride.

I've never rode that slow. He was going like 50 - 60 with occasional bursts of 70. And, he is not too comfortable leaning the bike.

I've been there when I just started, so I understood perfectly how he felt.

We met up, I gave him a few basic instructions, hand signals, etc. Told him about the route, any places to watch for. We also stopped a few times, and I made sure he was OK. I offered him to lead, but he was more comfortable to stay back.

When I had a chance to go fast or a nice turn would approach, I would open her up for 5 - 10 - 15 sec, but then slow down to like 45 - 50, and wait for him.

He was very happy, and had very positive experience. I also enjoyed the ride. Mostly one handed, as I was waving to him, and waving to other drivers to "go around - pass me". It was odd to see cars passing me though.

We chatted during stops, discussing various aspects of riding. I insisted that he reads "A Twist of the Wrist 2" by Keith Code. I will lend him the book. We talked about track days.

I felt sense of accomplishment. He had negative experience with some other riders he tried to ride. They just leave him (which is easy), and that's it.

I think it's important to realize that there are always better riders than you are, and there are always less experienced riders than you are. Helping the latter, and learning from the former is the best we could do... That is unless you encounter an a s s h o l e. In this case, staying away is the only approach.



<!--EDIT|IG.
Reason for Edit: None given...|1082998244 -->

 

[BigDawg_03Busa]

Understand perfectly, grooming a newbie with a zx9 currently. Very slow in the turns and slow to accelerate and amazingly easily distracted for a newbie. I've told him to take the MSF course, but he doesn't seem to be too interested. You know it hard head......makes for a....hmhmhm you know the rest.

 

[bigpoppa1969]

Hey IG what does your buddy ride???

 

[BigBSBusa]

Good for 'ya, IG! There are times when we all need a little help and I'm sure your friend appreciated your respect and generosity.

 

[VaBusa]

Good story IG...I think it's good to offer up someone for him to follow (no pun intended). It will probably help him heaps to watch you...learning with someone that's willing to be patient means all the world.

New riders tend to get hurt when they feel pressured to ride outside their expertise...I think you should ride with him every now and again until he's gained more experience...

Who knows, he might turn out to be a good riding buddy a few years from now!

 

[Revlis]

Right on man, it's hard sometimes to hang back and wait for the folks who may be unfamiliar with the route or new to riding in general.  But, The most important thing is to emphasize to them that you WILL NOT get them lost, you WILL be waiting at the next stop sign, or turn... and for them to ride at their own pace.

However, having someone out there to ride with who is familiar with the roads and doesn't hesitate to leave your ass in dust is very good for improving your riding abilities, especially your cornering.  This is something that Raider, RC51Guy, and Raider's Bro In Law are all real good at.  Riding just fast enough that if you want to keep up on unfamiliar roads you are going to be pushing your comfort zone a little bit.  It makes all the difference though having the lead guy on an identical bike...  Psychologicaly for me it made a big difference, gave me that extra boost of confidence knowing that if Raider just went 90 through that set of corners, so can I.  "From a Bike To Bike" perspective...  What I mean is that seeing him twist his Busa through a section lets me know, that if I just ride like I usually do the bike will make it no problem...  It's been really handy in settling into my Busa which is taking me a real long time...

Now the Fun part is watching RC51guy knock 10-15 off of his normal cornering speeds when I am tailing him cause he's worried about me and is busy babysitting me...  Which actually is appreciated, cause while the Busa is surprisingly capable... it's not an RC51 and in the real twisty bits if I follow his line blindly I'm going to be in the ditch eventually...

So I say Good work IG, helping a newbie settle in, get comfortable with his machine before he feels he has to start exploring limits.  It takes a lot of patience...

What I used to do for my buddies who just got thier first bikes was scout out a Big Ass parking lot, or Industrial park, get them out there and have them do laps around a pre arranged circuit.  Just have them do about 10 laps one direction, then 10 the other, it gets them all sorts of practice turning left and right, braking and shifting in a relatively controlled environment...  Back and forth etc.  It's amazing how quickly folks can improve their riding when left alone out there in a big open space...  Get them practicing figure 8's, fast stops, u-turns, everything....  Usually a good time watching them too.  Just try to make sure that the location isn't visible from the street, and that there isn't anyone around for them to try and show off for or be thinking about....



<!--EDIT|Revlis
Reason for Edit: None given...|1082999669 -->

 

[STUNNAH]

Good deal...You were really cool to take time from your style of riding to help this guy out...Pat yourself on the back...We should all make a practice of this and maybe that will be our part in decreasing the potential for future accidents...

 

[Juggler]

IG,

Nice job! You earned a bunch of Good Karma points!

--Juggler

 

[IG.]

Thanks for kind words, guys.

He is not exactly a newb. Been riding for a few years - mostly highways, but never got to improve for whatever reason in high speed/cornering department. He is riding gixxer 600 which is more than capable of doing triple digits. Heck, I was routinely taking my Kat 600 into 110 - 120 on this same route.

Yep, he was a happy camper. Told me stories when others left him behind, and he took the wrong exit, etc. So, he was very thankful, and excited. I am sure he will improve - he showed definite desire. He is not a young guy either. About mid 40s - which is my age, too.

 

[IG.]

...We should all make a practice of this and maybe that will be our part in decreasing the potential for future accidents...  

...

Yeah, I completely agree with it! We all like to give advice, etc. But, if each of us helped only one less skilled rider with the actual ride, made him/her feel comfortable, and with no pressure, that could start a devinitive learning curve in that rider.

Some people just don't believe in themselves, and need a bit of assurance.

I'm glad you guys feel the same way, and no-one said "you just waisted a perfect ride".

 

[IG.]

What I used to do for my buddies who just got thier first bikes was scout out a Big Ass parking lot, or Industrial park, get them out there and have them do laps around a pre arranged circuit.  Just have them do about 10 laps one direction, then 10 the other, it gets them all sorts of practice turning left and right, braking and shifting in a relatively controlled environment...  Back and forth etc.  It's amazing how quickly folks can improve their riding when left alone out there in a big open space...  Get them practicing figure 8's, fast stops, u-turns, everything....  Usually a good time watching them too.  Just try to make sure that the location isn't visible from the street, and that there isn't anyone around for them to try and show off for or be thinking about....

That sounds like a good idea! I could practice a few things myself.

 

[busa1300nut]

I know how you feel, Me and my girlfreind went to the Busa Bash this weekend, and we all went to ride the skyway, and I really wanted ride with the other board members, but after a few minutes, I noticed she wasn,t in my mirror, but with 10 or 12 Busa,s on a twisty road, it wasn,t hard to get caught up in the fun, so I droped off the pace, and zukracer stopped to check on me and I told him I was waiting on her and we would catch up later, so after 12 min., she came along and told me to go ahead and catch up and she would wait back at the motel, but I said no ,we will ride your pace, besides, you give that many Busa,s 12 min. headstart, they aint no catching up, so I,m like you ig, when I want to RIDE, I usually go solo, but there isn,t anything wrong riding someone else,s pace every now and then.

 

[MET]

Good deal, it is very important to not push new riders. I will not open up my bike with peope that are just experienceing a new ZX-10 zx-12 R! or Busa. I do not want to push them past their limits. Sometimes I enjoy going slower anyway, it is a refreshing break. Sometimes we all need to remember how we can push things.

 

[Ride_or_Fish]

To appreciate the faster times, you have to slow down once in a while. Besides, you can take mental notes of the roads and environment for next time...

 

[Revlis]

I do notice when I am out in the twisties taking it a bit easier, that some of the roads out there are actually really damned pretty... Only took me 5-6 months to notice too... Hmm, Maybe I should learn to take it easy more... Nah...

 

[DaddyPhatSaks]

great job dude much respect to you !!!!! and i have been there on both sides of the spectrum as a newbie and being there for a newbie i feel its our responsibility as riders to keep a level sense of humanity when seeing a new guy with a bike i mean its just curtious and looking out for the best interest of everyone including cagers by helping them out . i had a buddy who bought a gsxr 750 and wasnt to comfy with it so every weekend i would take him out for a ride all day thing so he can get use to her , i seen a few buddies on our way all the time on their bikes and they were getting on it but i feel if i want to have safe riders riding with me then i can take the time out of my schedule and help a guy out needless to say he had some problems at first but after a few months he got comfortable with it and has been really good also talked him into taking our motorcycle safety class we have here

 

[rubbersidedown]

the idea in this thread is Good/Bad .

I'll explain . Motorcycles are just small moving targets.

I USE TO ride ride with a couple buddies , one on a Katana,one on a boulevard cruiser . They ride within' the packs of cars....they like that pace . I DONT .
One day I was painfully riding with them . They were doing the usual 100 K/60 MPH thing . So the 3 of us are sitting there(STOOPIDLY,if you ask me) within' this pack of cars , doing the posted limit . So my buddy DUMB , no not his brother DUMBER , is following this pick-up truck loaded with "moving day shid" . All of a sudden a piece of that thin hardboard becomes de-tached from the back of one of those entertain units in the box of the truck, an flies out just about severing the head of my buddy"Kana-tuna Boy".

that was my last ride with those buddies , that was 2 years ago.

ride safe , DONT do the speed limit.

have a good 1............RSD.

 

[monsterspeedfreak]

I like stayin at the pace I wanna stay at......my seem rude or ignorant or whatever, but I'm with Rub on this one........
I'd rather be ahead of the traffic than in it.
I always try to ride with the least amount of traffic......if ya can't keep up, take the msf......(no not the monsterspeedfreak) they ride slow


.02

 

[IG.]

RSD and MSF, I am absolutely with you on this one. Know exactly what you mean. And, that's not how I usually ride. But... had to do it.