Quote:
Originally Posted by csmith12
^^^ dats what I'm talkin' bout.
There is much to be learned from the turn @2:00.
1st, throttle control. If you entered a corner with enough speed where you can't get a good throttle roll then you might want to get a handle on that.
2nd, when your straight up and down, you can get on the brakes much harder than you think. Remember that one if you ever feel your gunna enter a corner too fast.
3rd, you already know that you could improve on your clutch/braking and upshifting but honestly, for street riding your upshift is fine but do try to kill the coasting. As you learn the capabilities of your brakes, you will get a better feeling of when to hit them so you will not brake to early.
Things that most riders will NOT tell you;
That corner at 2:00 is under shade. Your traction could vary with different conditions/temps.
The corner at 2:00 is bind as well, late apex it. Why? So when you exit the corner, your bike and a cage will not try to occupy the same space at the same time (cars turn in too early too). It will also give you more time to set your entry speed.
Be mindful of the double yellow. While your tires my not cross, you head might while leaning. 
Start by working on your shifting up and down and go from there. I think you riding just fine for where you are. Glad to see you are seeking education and working on skills too, just don't forget to have fun while your at it. |
Thanks! That was all very helpful.
I still haven't gone and practiced my emergency braking...I need to find a good parking lot or similar safe practice area and get around to that. I think that will help me with my confidence in the bike's ability to slow down quickly when upright if necessary.
I took the same road on the Ninja 300 today. That right turn at 2:00 was MUCH easier when I knew it was coming. I agree with some of the previous posters that 45mph is nowhere near the traction limit, and I can see how my poor throttle application (or lack thereof) when the corner surprised me actually made life more difficult for me.
I tried to practice blipping the throttle while downshifting while braking...I think I almost got it right a couple of times but more often than not my brain would be overloaded by trying to do all of those things at once, or I'd get a sympathetic reflex going where pulling the clutch would affect the amount I would pull on the front brake. My first few emergency stops in the MSF class I had a similar situation where I would pump the front brake every time I clicked down a gear with my left foot (I know, weird...I was able to mostly get that gone with practice). I'm going to watch some videos and read up on the technique and keep practicing when I get a chance (open road, nobody behind me...minimal stress situations).
I did focus on not holding in the clutch while braking. I'm getting better at that, but I noticed I still tend to just pull the clutch lever at about 10mph and keep it pulled until I'm stopped when I'm stopping at a red light. Typically I'll be cruising at 45 or 55mph in 5th or 6th gear, see traffic slowing ahead, downshift to 4th or 3rd well before I need to start braking to engine brake (tapping the rear brake to light up the brake light if there's somebody behind me), then I'll use appropriate combined front and rear brake to slow while in 4th or 3rd, not touching the clutch lever. Once I'm down around 4000rpm I'll either clutch in and stop, or downshift into 2nd and split up to the front depending on conditions.
I've been trying to late apex corners like they taught in the MSF class, but I still miss every now and then lol.
Oh and I do have fun when I ride, even though it seems like all I'm doing is working on improving. Part of the fun for me is improving, but the other part is just being out on two wheels enjoying some beautiful roads. It seems like on almost every ride I take on the back roads I have a moment where it's just me and the bike, there's no other vehicles visible anywhere, the countryside is rolling by, and I get so happy I wind up with a huge smile on my face that would probably look pretty ridiculous if anybody were around and could see through my helmet.