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csmith12 · March 31st, 2015, 10:42 AM

@adouglas's question

I had written a whole big thing on this subject, then tossed it away to simply cut to chase about how the bike must earn the riders trust and the rider must learn to have trust in their own abilities.

So you want to defeat fear… let’s have a look.

Simple fact
Let’s start by addressing one simple fact that no one can escape, YOU ARE HUMAN. Humans WILL make a mistake from time to time and NOT succeed at everything on their first attempt. Addressing it is fairly simple really, just ACCEPT IT and move on to things we can do something about. Dwelling too long on those mistakes is not going to make anyone any better or net any gains. Any time spent in this area should be just a reflection and recollection of what happened and salvaging any value from the experience. This is normally time spent figuring out what “really” was the mistake and learning from it. Don’t make a 2nd mistake here and spend too much time trying to fix the past. You just can’t…

Overcoming the fear of performance riding is a system, a “product" (combination of skills) if you will. The complete answer is somewhat busy with many steps(@snot’s question) but when you’re just starting, it’s actually too simple, you have 3 main goals;

#1 confidence in your ability to steer the bike quickly and accurately
#2 confidence in your ability to set a good entry speed and complete a smooth and continuous throttle roll throughout the turn
#3 your ability to find a good turn in point and line that allows for a line that allows for a smooth and continuous throttle roll on

Your bike has the POTENTIAL for good traction and handling, your throttle is the primary tool to bringing that POTENTIAL into reality! With good throttle control, the bike will start to provide the rider with the feeling of stability, predictable traction and working suspension. Each rider feels this “product” come together differently and at different times, that is the human skill of it. Once these basic skills are at the riders acceptable level, the majority of the show stopping fears will somewhat subside a bit and the tangible evidence of leaning the bike over more will start to show through.

Once you have accomplished those 3 big things, you have taken a giant leap forward into getting more from yourself while on your bike! This takes time, there is no real reason to rush it either. Let your honed skills push your pace beyond your current perception of fast. Why? Because fast is relative, one riders fast is not the same as another’s. Any given race weekend can redefine what fast is, accept that it is a moving target.

Some might say "I am doing that". Sure, a rider may physically do those things, but... you will know for sure when it physically and mentally happens. All ya have to do is be honest with yourself. Grasping the idea of getting it right every now and then, is quite a bit different than consistently doing it.

The next step to overcoming the fear is being relaxed while on the bike and addressing how you see the world while riding. Somewhere out there is someone who rides the same bike as you, and they ride it faster, they lean it more and they brake deeper. The more stiff and ridged the rider is on the bike, the more you feel. One might think feeling everything is good, but it isn’t. Upon reviewing the technology, riding a sport bike at pace is a fairly violent affair when narrowed down to engine, shocks and wheels. You only want to feel the important parts, not everything! Ok, fine… what does this have to do with fear? Again, simple… if you don’t feel it, you shouldn’t fear of it. Example; To a rider who is not loose, those bumps or ripples in the middle of a corner are felt more intensely than an expert rider.

These are the basic things that separate the novice riders from the advanced riders. No one can pinpoint when it will happen for every rider but it DOES happen with enough patience and practice dedicated to the fundamentals that all riders fall back to at some point.

Addressing the mental aspects

Remember when you were really young?
You know… that age where you knew no better and accepted the outcome with a smile either way? It’s proof that failure is a mindset, an interpretation of an outcome. You have mostly been TRAINED to recognize and fear failure. If you haven’t failed at something, then you haven’t tried hard enough.

Turn a negative into a positive!
This is the meat and potatoes of what we are trying to accomplish here. The trick to it is find a way to make fear work in your behalf instead working against you.

Let’s look at 3 very real scenarios that have been seen posted on this very forum.

The over exited/anxious, track rider – To keep this rather simple, the rider could let the mind run wild with worry about every little detail. They fidget and clearly have the energy and mental capacity to burn. USE IT FOR GOOD! Double-check your bike, leave out no detail if you run outta stuff to do. Still time left? Watch videos and reviews of the track (or street route) you’re about ready to ride. Go out with a friend who will also be riding along. No friends?!?!?! MAKE ONE! Still got time? Don’t just do a track day, do a track school. When you get to the track, put yourself in a comfortable group and enlist the help of coaches. Basically, keep yourself busy doing positive stuff beforehand, and when you need the time to reflect on what you just learned, you’re doing that instead of turning a wrench or a similar chore.

The overly cautious rider – These riders over brake for turns and keep the lean angles at a minimum. While there is nothing really wrong with riding like this if that is what makes you happy and your reaching your goals. It also means, they have the required patience to work a skill at a pace where they can learn in a controlled manner. Move that brake marker 1 bike length and find a new specific marker for that new spot. You have the patience, put it to work! So you don’t pin it on the straight, so what? You now have the time to work on a comfortable tuck, throttle or not… you’re gunna go faster because you’re out of the wind. Basically, focus on what you can do, instead of what you’re not doing. Also, if you’re like me, this fear is also strongly linked to taking care of my responsibilities. What do you have to lose? I have found that if those concerns are handled ahead of time, even when I can’t personally do it, I can manage this fear in a better way.

The bolt turner - These riders are always finding a reason to turn a nut or bolt on their bike thinking it will make them a better rider. Instead, they should be focusing on turning the bolts in their head. Many riders go out ride, then come back and say the bike didn’t feel good or was sliding around a bit. So they spend precious time adjusting their setup thinking it will solve the problem. They go back out and all is well… cool! Then they go a faster and the problem just comes right back. When looking at a problem that a rider/bike combo is having, ALWAYS suspect the rider is causing the problem. It’s kinda of a scary notion to believe that many riders cause their own handling problems and wear themselves out while trying to ride harder, but it’s just the way it is. Again, what does this have to do with fear? It addresses the fear of the unknown. If you don’t have faith in how your bike is going to react, then the rider may be more reluctant to explorer the limits.

Enablers and Support - Working on fears is a tough battle, but it’s a bit easier with a helping hand along the way. Don’t go at it alone, get a friend or family member to tag along for encouragement and support. They also can deploy a secret weapon when needed, humans are competitive by nature. A simple fact of life is competition pushes many people beyond their normal comfort levels. Now I am not saying go out and ride a race while riding at 100% of your ability, I AM saying to get a trusted friend or coach to lead you around the track. A good coach can trigger the competitive instinct by riding just ever so slightly out of your reach, in the sweet spot. This sweet spot can subliminally push a rider without them even knowing or feeling it. And when you get back to the paddock, you might just have surprised yourself most of all.

And one more thing, celebrate every little victory… but always have the next goal already on tap. There is always something else to learn.

March 31st, 2015, 10:42 AM	#31
csmith12 The Corner Whisperer Name: Chris (aka Reactor) Location: Northern KY Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2010 250 (track), 1992 250, 2006 R6 (street/track), 2008 R6 (track) Posts: Too much. MOTY 2015, MOTM - Nov '12, Nov '13	@adouglas's question I had written a whole big thing on this subject, then tossed it away to simply cut to chase about how the bike must earn the riders trust and the rider must learn to have trust in their own abilities. So you want to defeat fear… let’s have a look. Simple fact Let’s start by addressing one simple fact that no one can escape, YOU ARE HUMAN. Humans WILL make a mistake from time to time and NOT succeed at everything on their first attempt. Addressing it is fairly simple really, just ACCEPT IT and move on to things we can do something about. Dwelling too long on those mistakes is not going to make anyone any better or net any gains. Any time spent in this area should be just a reflection and recollection of what happened and salvaging any value from the experience. This is normally time spent figuring out what “really” was the mistake and learning from it. Don’t make a 2nd mistake here and spend too much time trying to fix the past. You just can’t… Overcoming the fear of performance riding is a system, a “*product" (combination of skills) if you will. The complete answer is somewhat busy with many steps(@snot’s question) but when you’re just starting, it’s actually too simple, you have 3 main goals; #1 confidence in your ability to steer the bike quickly and accurately #2 confidence in your ability to set a good entry speed and complete a smooth and continuous throttle roll throughout the turn #3 your ability to find a good turn in point and line that allows for a line that allows for a smooth and continuous throttle roll on Your bike has the POTENTIAL for good traction and handling, your throttle is the primary tool to bringing that POTENTIAL into reality! With good throttle control, the bike will start to provide the rider with the feeling of stability, predictable traction and working suspension. Each rider feels this “product” come together differently and at different times, that is the human skill of it. Once these basic skills are at the riders acceptable level, the majority of the show stopping fears will somewhat subside a bit and the tangible evidence of leaning the bike over more will start to show through. Once you have accomplished those 3 big things, you have taken a giant leap forward into getting more from yourself while on your bike! This takes time, there is no real reason to rush it either. Let your honed skills push your pace beyond your current perception of fast. Why? Because fast is relative, one riders fast is not the same as another’s. Any given race weekend can redefine what fast is, accept that it is a moving target. Some might say "I am doing that". Sure, a rider may physically do those things, but... you will know for sure when it physically and mentally happens. All ya have to do is be honest with yourself. Grasping the idea of getting it right every now and then, is quite a bit different than consistently doing it. The next step to overcoming the fear is being relaxed while on the bike and addressing how you see the world while riding. Somewhere out there is someone who rides the same bike as you, and they ride it faster, they lean it more and they brake deeper. The more stiff and ridged the rider is on the bike, the more you feel. One might think feeling everything is good, but it isn’t. Upon reviewing the technology, riding a sport bike at pace is a fairly violent affair when narrowed down to engine, shocks and wheels. You only want to feel the important parts, not everything! Ok, fine… what does this have to do with fear? Again, simple… if you don’t feel it, you shouldn’t fear of it. Example; To a rider who is not loose, those bumps or ripples in the middle of a corner are felt more intensely than an expert rider. These are the basic things that separate the novice riders from the advanced riders. No one can pinpoint when it will happen for every rider but it DOES happen with enough patience and practice dedicated to the fundamentals that all riders fall back to at some point. Addressing the mental aspects* Remember when you were really young? You know… that age where you knew no better and accepted the outcome with a smile either way? It’s proof that failure is a mindset, an interpretation of an outcome. You have mostly been TRAINED to recognize and fear failure. If you haven’t failed at something, then you haven’t tried hard enough. Turn a negative into a positive! This is the meat and potatoes of what we are trying to accomplish here. The trick to it is find a way to make fear work in your behalf instead working against you. Let’s look at 3 very real scenarios that have been seen posted on this very forum. The over exited/anxious, track rider – To keep this rather simple, the rider could let the mind run wild with worry about every little detail. They fidget and clearly have the energy and mental capacity to burn. USE IT FOR GOOD! Double-check your bike, leave out no detail if you run outta stuff to do. Still time left? Watch videos and reviews of the track (or street route) you’re about ready to ride. Go out with a friend who will also be riding along. No friends?!?!?! MAKE ONE! Still got time? Don’t just do a track day, do a track school. When you get to the track, put yourself in a comfortable group and enlist the help of coaches. Basically, keep yourself busy doing positive stuff beforehand, and when you need the time to reflect on what you just learned, you’re doing that instead of turning a wrench or a similar chore. The overly cautious rider – These riders over brake for turns and keep the lean angles at a minimum. While there is nothing really wrong with riding like this if that is what makes you happy and your reaching your goals. It also means, they have the required patience to work a skill at a pace where they can learn in a controlled manner. Move that brake marker 1 bike length and find a new specific marker for that new spot. You have the patience, put it to work! So you don’t pin it on the straight, so what? You now have the time to work on a comfortable tuck, throttle or not… you’re gunna go faster because you’re out of the wind. Basically, focus on what you can do, instead of what you’re not doing. Also, if you’re like me, this fear is also strongly linked to taking care of my responsibilities. What do you have to lose? I have found that if those concerns are handled ahead of time, even when I can’t personally do it, I can manage this fear in a better way. The bolt turner - These riders are always finding a reason to turn a nut or bolt on their bike thinking it will make them a better rider. Instead, they should be focusing on turning the bolts in their head. Many riders go out ride, then come back and say the bike didn’t feel good or was sliding around a bit. So they spend precious time adjusting their setup thinking it will solve the problem. They go back out and all is well… cool! Then they go a faster and the problem just comes right back. When looking at a problem that a rider/bike combo is having, ALWAYS suspect the rider is causing the problem. It’s kinda of a scary notion to believe that many riders cause their own handling problems and wear themselves out while trying to ride harder, but it’s just the way it is. Again, what does this have to do with fear? It addresses the fear of the unknown. If you don’t have faith in how your bike is going to react, then the rider may be more reluctant to explorer the limits. Enablers and Support - Working on fears is a tough battle, but it’s a bit easier with a helping hand along the way. Don’t go at it alone, get a friend or family member to tag along for encouragement and support. They also can deploy a secret weapon when needed, humans are competitive by nature. A simple fact of life is competition pushes many people beyond their normal comfort levels. Now I am not saying go out and ride a race while riding at 100% of your ability, I AM saying to get a trusted friend or coach to lead you around the track. A good coach can trigger the competitive instinct by riding just ever so slightly out of your reach, in the sweet spot. This sweet spot can subliminally push a rider without them even knowing or feeling it. And when you get back to the paddock, you might just have surprised yourself most of all. And one more thing, celebrate every little victory… but always have the next goal already on tap. There is always something else to learn. __________________________________________________ Goal: Shake A Million Hands \| Look through the corners \| Track Day Prep \| Closest track? \| The Mid-Ohio School Last futzed with by csmith12; March 31st, 2015 at 01:18 PM.
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