[Hosay]

Was out for a spin to the Swan in Gt. Yarmouth last night (usual meeting point on a Friday) when it really hit me that I've lost my confidence cornering

The big off I had last year is the route cause, no doubt (50 mph corner, salty but dry roads, front wheel decides time to let go, ouch) and it's not helped by the GCWS I've got fitted to the Twin (Girlfriend Corner Warning System). She broke ribs and thumb in the accident so is still a bit twitchy and tenses up on the back when we approach the twisty bits.

Strange thing is, I've been riding for 20 plus years, mainly on sportsbikes until I got the Twin and thought the Twin would be a good thing to steady my down a bit, which it did. Then as Mr Steady I drop it !!!!

Before you ask, nope, never tried to chuck it around like I used to my TL1000 or even the Hornet that followed for that matter.

Any ideas how to get the cornering confidence back ? Dim Reaper suggested one of those plod run safe rider courses. which I may well go for, but training days not really my thing.....

What do you reckon ??

 

[Lumiya]

Simple answer to getting back your cornering confidence...Roundabouts!!!

MK's close to me, previous to that I'd use Birchwood (near Warrington) when I lived in Manchester. Both are blessed with more roundabouts per mile than trolleys in Asda's carpark.

You don;t need to speed just go out on a Sunday and take the roundabouts one by one leaning into them.

It's amazing how fast it comes back to you.

Kymmy

 

[barryw33]

best thing is lots of miles under the belt. i used to ride upto 200miles a day last year working as a pc installation engineer for dell, covering cornwall and devon and after a couple of months I was flicking the deauville I was riding all over the place. Then bought an @ and with the height and lack of riding through the winter(missus was pregnant and had to drive her to work everday) I am now a cowardy custard again. I live in Norwich, anytime you want to get some miles under your belt give me a shout.

 

[squirrelciv]

Hey first thing is stop worrying about it Try to put it out your mind and just ride. take things real slow to start and let yourself get back into the flow at your own rate.
Remember these two facts;
1 We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
2 perception is reality

If you fear the corner, you will tighten and your percieved accident will happen
Don't worry and picture yourself sweeping through the countryside and that will be your reward

Off to sniff another josstick whilst adopting the resting warthog position

 

[Lord Vader]

Off to sniff another josstick whilst adopting the resting warthog position

Up to here your post made really sense

 

[Sohoeasy]

Sorry,this paragraph has replaced the original text which had no further need to be displayed online.Thanx

 

[chronyx]

Up to here your post made really sense

You're just jealous he got that far

 

[Lord Vader]

You're just jealous he got that far

No need to get nasty:shock::shock::tongue2::tongue2::tongue2::tongue2:

 

[stanbloke]

Find a road you know well, ( where are you based ?) one with good surface, flowing bends .

Practise gettin the lines right first , dont worry about the speed. keep your eyes on where you are going, not on the bend, let your eyes follow the road in front, and remember to smoothly accelerate from the apex (if you dont it will feel like the bike is falling into the bend).

do this at your pace 30/40/50, build up slowly and take your time !

time spent on your bike will bring it all back to you, would'nt hurt to explain this to your girlfriend and maybe she will get her confidence back too, you fell off together, fix it together ,slowly.

Good luck

 

[Whealie]

it's not helped by the GCWS I've got fitted to the Twin (Girlfriend Corner Warning System).

Interesting. My wife came on the back for the first time in over a year last weekend. Absolutely fine at high speed, overtaking, cornering, everything, And then we hit London and every time I went between cars she squeezed me and went "oooh!" in very high-pitched voice. Nearly made me fall off every time.
"have you never scratched a car?," she asked. "No" I said. "You come very close'" she replied. I've lost it now. Can't bear going through gaps now.

 

[Lumiya]

The @ can and does outrun most any sports bike around London (this'll start a war).

Nah, it won't start a war, though I disagree with ya. Best courier bike I ever found for zipping around London was a GPz500S, nice thin water cooled inline twin, decent brakes and could turn on a dime. The @ is still too wide for some traffic.

After I grew up and stopped couriering I used to commute from Heathrow to Wimbledon on my GPz900R, a bit to wide for some traffic situations but could easily do the trip in 30 minutes.

Getting back to the confidence issue, the good things about roundabouts is that you can take them at various speeds and retake them time and time again. Before you do though run the route at a slower speed checking for manholes and the usualy diesel spill

Kymmy

 

[severs]

I have a similar bottle problem - high speeds on British motorways.

I can "tear along the dotted line" in dense traffic on an A or B road, no problem (comes from cycling).
I can rip along a deserted dual carriageway as fast as you like.

But even in summer in broad daylight, a British motorway make me poo my pants. I have difficulty getting above 65mph and have to summon up a big dollop of "oomph" in my heart to zip past one of those pairs of lorries you see - you know, one doing 59mph in lane 1 and one overtaking it in lane 2 doing 60mph.

Why do I feel this way? I can do 80 on a continental autobahn, two up, full luggage load, without a blink.

Back in the UK, I can add in darkness or rain (or both) and I'm bricking it and doing 55, actually getting in the way of the wagons - they must all think I have an engine problem. I get sore knees from squeezing the tank so hard.

Why do motorways frighten me so much?

 

[Sohoeasy]

Sorry,this paragraph has replaced the original text which had no further need to be displayed online.Thanx

 

[DaveS]

It's an interesting subject confidence.
The traditional method would be to gradually expose yourself to the weakness and keep building from there.... in that in the end you will get comfortable again. I ride daily to and from work and all over the place and I can highly recommend this for building confidence and skills. Nothing really phases me as I see all traffic and road conditions on a regular basis.
However I now have the potential to slip in to the complacency end of things, e.g. a few times I've come hairing round a corner I know to see a diesel spill right there on the corner. Buttock clenching stuff I can tell you.

So I'm enrolling on an IAM course to try to make myself safer.

 

[Dim Reaper]

While booking the TA in for a service yesterday I picked up the Safe Rider info for you which I will let you have next week.

I really enjoyed the training which I attend with a mate, who had been riding for 20 years and had also attended Honda MAC courses in the past.

We both agreed that this was really good value for money training that was given by pasionate experienced motorcyclists who also happen to make their living in the Police Force.

 

[Hosay]

Thanks for all the words or wisdom......I reckon I need to spend a bit more time riding without Mrs H on the back for a while for as much as I try and forget the tarmac encounter, a tightening grip from the pillion everytime a corner approaches reminds me of the spill. Hardly suprising though, she came out of it with more injuries than me......

Give her due credit though, she's still keen to hop on the back.

Thanks DR for the leaflet, I'll take a look tomorrow (and public apologies to the DR who had to follow me through some sweeping bends in Belgium last week with me riding like my Gran :!: )

 

[Hosay]

oh....btw....cheers Barry, will take you up on that when project patio stops dominating my life !

btw2....based in Norfolk Stanbloke, and know just the road. It runs past Lotus cars (for anyone who knows Norfolk). It's a sweepy B road with 2 roundabouts at the end - I'm convinced Lotus paid the council for the surface !!!

 

[Dim Reaper]

Lotus probably did not pay for the 50 mph limit put on it though!! :disgust:

 

[Slimie]

I've abnged on about this before but the Met Police Bikesafe course is brilliant and it WILL show you safe, fast lines thru' all sorts of corners. It's also cheap and great fun.

I lost my bottle completely after a fall last October and didn't ride for more than three months. When I finally did get back on a bike I was embarrasingly slow, especially on R/H bends (where I'd binned it). Slowly, however, my confidence has returned, it's now nearly ten months since I effed up and I'm gradually getting back to where I was.

That old saw about getting back on your horse is probably true, get some training, watch what others do -or don't do! And ride yer bike

Good luck, I understand how you feel.

-Simon

 

[sbikerbud]

I suppose I had the benefit of knowing the fall was my fault, but when i crashed rather heavily in 2000 I just went out (about a month later) and got myself another bike and got straight back on (well as soon as i could bend my knees to get on a bike again)

I even visited the site of the accident and went round the same corner i came off on. It excorcised a few demons and I've been fine since.

My girlfriend (who came off worse than I did...as pillions always seem to) is still a tad nervous and will occasionally resist truning into a corner...but she is getting more relaxed the more we travel.

Just start off slowly and your confidence will be back before you know it